# How many wi-fi hot spots can you detect at home? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023 "2012-03-28T04:46:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/1 "2012-03-28T04:46:23Z")
I’m currently detecting 22 different wireless networks including my own. Three of them are entirely unsecured. I actually used one of them one morning when my cable provider’s system was down. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/2 "2012-03-28T04:47:53Z")
I live in a fairly small city, so I’m only detecting six wireless networks, excluding the one I’m connected to. All of them are secured. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/3 "2012-03-28T06:01:55Z")
13, which is a lot higher than I would have guessed. Only one is unsecured, though, and the signal is really weak. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/4 "2012-03-28T06:13:59Z")
It’s fluctuating between about 10 and 15. Most of them are probably just computers with broadcasting AirPorts or the like, not dedicated routers, and at least some of them are at least two floors down from me, so it’s not surprising that the signals are weak. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/5 "2012-03-28T07:20:57Z")
Just one other at the moment. Not surprising considering we live in a house in suburbia. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/6 "2012-03-28T07:27:29Z")
About six, which is quite a lot given we live in a small village. They are all secured though. And they all are called SKY\_something, thanks to Sky being pretty much the only supplier who offers broadband where we live. At least we changed our name to something more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/7 "2012-03-28T07:50:26Z")
I live in the middle of the city, so it’s surprising that I’m only getting 9, including my own. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/8 "2012-03-28T08:19:55Z")
About 20 (I live in the middle of four small buildings of an apartment complex). Impressively, all but one (specifically marked “guest,” and even that only has one bar) has a nice little lock next to it. Guess the folks here are either tech-savvy, or learn quickly in this kind of close-knit environment what having an open access point gets you. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/9 "2012-03-28T08:38:15Z")
Well, let’s see. Fn-F2 turns on wireless. Counting my own, four. Only one is unprotected, but for some reason it often still appears even if wireless is turned off. Connecting to it accomplishes nothing, and it disconnects over time. I hope it isn’t something built into my computer, as I have no idea how to protect it. If I were to go outside, I could probably get 8 or 9 connections. Even though I don’t live in town. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/10 "2012-03-28T10:15:01Z")
Just mine. If I go outside I can pick up one more. If I go outside, I can find one more, but it’s secure too. I’d have to go down to the gas station which is half a mile away, or 2.5 miles up the road before I picked up one that’s open to the public. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/11 "2012-03-28T10:22:26Z")
We live in the boonies, so only the signal from the router next to me. And it’s secured, so even if it would reach as far as my nearest neighbor, he’d be out of luck. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/12 "2012-03-28T12:34:52Z")
19 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/13 "2012-03-28T12:45:13Z")
Other than my own, one, and it’s secured and a weak signal. The rest of my neighbors are too far away. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/14 "2012-03-28T12:46:23Z")
I can detect seven, all “secured.” I say that last word with quotes because Kismet reports that five of them use WEP, which is so trivially crackable that I am reluctant to sue the word “secured.” ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/15 "2012-03-28T12:48:07Z")
Just one, mine, and we’re in town, though just barely. I have neighbors but they’re not RIGHT next to me the way they would be in a typical neighborhood. I don’t even secure mine; it just doesn’t seem necessary, and we’ve never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/16 "2012-03-28T14:39:33Z")
It varies between two and eight, say. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/17 "2012-03-28T14:49:29Z")
One (mine). We are very rural. I cannot see our nearest neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/18 "2012-03-28T15:01:15Z")
Twenty four, besides my own, all secured. I live in the heart of Lincoln Park (Chicago) where people are cozy close together! ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/19 "2012-03-28T15:41:31Z")
Three. Ours and the two closest neighbors. Occasionally, there are only two as the further neighbor is just barely in range. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023/20 "2012-03-28T15:50:46Z")
Watching for a minute or two, I see between 4 and 6 including our own. One is the amusingly named “notyournetwork”. I see another one’s a 802.11n using WEP security and the factory-set router name. Bad security. Bad bad bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-wi-fi-hot-spots-can-you-detect-at-home/617023.md?page=2)