Windows 10: Under Network and Sharing/View....and devices what I suspect was a neigbours phone was...

I checked later that evening and it remained but shortly after it was gone. I have little idea of what this means i.e. what if anything they would or can have access to which is the main question? I also have almost no idea of what security is available i.e. I have about five passwords for the modem; three seem to do nothing and from recollection I was forced to keep adding new ones at some juncture. I use it for sharing between Android phone and Apple computer so complete re-set would probably result in the same or a similar set up. If it is a neighbour then perhaps my WiFi signal is ava

:)

 

What is this network device?


This is a weird problem I've been seeing in windows for years now (not just windows 10). I've been unable to figure out what it is, but we're not alone in this, I did some research a while back and a lot of other people were seeing it as well.

Some suggest it's a bug in the network stack. Some suggest it's neighbors who are connecting somehow, but not able to use the network. Regardless, it's not an uncommon problem and doesn't seem to be anything worry about. Here's some examples:

Solved Strange phones in network - Windows 10 Forums
Strange phones listed on Network heading

 

What is this network device?


I woke my desktop PC from sleep this morning, clicked on Network and immediately spotted a Phone in the device list that doesn't belong to anyone here (a Blu brand phone which is unusual enough that I would know about it).

I clicked on the device and was able to view the MAC address, but nothing else useful. A couple minutes later it disappeared from the network list.

Then a few minutes later I went and looked at another PC on the same home network and saw the same phone in its Network list. It also disappeared a couple minutes after I clicked open 'Network'.

Scanned both PCs with various anti-malware programs including Malwarebytes - they look clean.

Any suggestions on what I was seeing, and if it's malicious how to deal with it?


UPDATE: It popped back up again. I checked my router's connection list and don't see it there. For now I blocked the MAC address in my router but would still like to know where this is coming from.

 

Sharing folders over network - access denied

Hello,

To troubleshoot your concern with sharing files over the network using your Windows 10 device, we suggest that you run the Shared folders troubleshooter and check if it helps. Kindly refer to the steps below:

• Type in Troubleshooting in the search box and press
  Enter.
• Click View all.
• Click Shared Folders.
• Click Next and follow on-screen instructions.

Hope it helps.