How can I tell what wireless router I am connected to?

[mosley1]

I have two wireless routers in my house. One from the phone company (Actiontec) and the other (Linksys) connected to the first via ethernet and is set up as an access point.

How do I know which router I am connected to? I have been searching on the internet and finding answers related to the MAC address and ARP tables, but still not sure how to do this.

 

[RealBeast]

They should be using different radio channels to prevent interference. Look in the router and AP configurations at the radio channel set on each. You can use INSSIDER to look at the signals and channels. You should be connecting to the stronger signal if both are the same SSID and network.

 

[mosley1]

Just checked - they are both on the same channel. What do you mean the "stronger signal"? How do I determine the "stronger signal"? Is this something that INSSIDER will tell me? I am not familiar with INSSIDER.

 

[RealBeast]

They should be on different channels (choosing from 1, 6, and 11, whichever have the least or no other signals).

Just click on the 2.4GHz tab with inSSIDer and you will see which signal is higher on the chart (stronger) by channel with the SSID names. Very good freeware program.

 

[mosley1]

I'm on OS X and it looks like they are charging $4.99 for it now. But I think the Windows version is free. After I change the channel how can I tell which router I am connected to?

 

[RealBeast]

All of the tools that I use are Windows or Linux based, and I don't think any of them support OSX. In any event you should set a different channel on the main router and AP to improve your signal by decreasing interference, choosing from 1,6, and 11.

 

[minwedar]

On OSX there is a good way in a terminal window to see what your BSSID (the wireless mac addresses) are. The command is kind of hidden so it's best to create a symbolic link.

To create a symbolic link to the airport command:
$ sudo ln -s /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport /usr/sbin/airport

To run a wireless scan:
$ airport -s

That one will show you all the available access points. Change the '-s' to '-I' and it will show you all the info about the one you are connected to including the BSSID your looking for.