I'm dealing with a situation where I have the MAC address and local IP of a device connected to my Wi-Fi, but all I can find out is the manufacturer's name, which is Espressif. I'd love to gather more information about what type of device it is because I've blocked its access to the network and am changing all passwords. I suspect there might actually be a device in my basement or nearby, given several clues that suggest something is close by. It's been ages since I've worked with networking, but I'm wondering if I can scan for open ports or use any command line tools on my Mac to uncover more details. The only smart device I own is a door lock, which isn't even connected to the network. This isn't just curiosity on my part; I'm concerned there could be a hidden camera or sensor placed by someone else, so I want to proceed carefully.
2 Answers
If you don't have a lot of devices, you could take a simpler approach: disconnect all your known Wi-Fi devices to see if this mystery one disappears from the network. If it's the only one left, it might be something you weren’t aware of. I also recommend changing the Wi-Fi password. Today, so many gadgets connect to Wi-Fi that pinpointing one specific device through MAC and IP alone can be really tricky. If your router has traffic monitoring features or if you can use some software, that could give you a peek at what it’s up to, but remember that most data is encrypted now, so it may not be super helpful.
Espressif is known for the ESP8266 and ESP32, which are popular in IoT devices. Scanning for open ports might reveal if it’s hosting a web server, but usually, these devices are set to make outbound connections, so you won’t get much info. Just keep that in mind as you explore.
Yeah, I tried unplugging everything on my end already. Thanks anyway!