Understanding the Devices Page

Reference for the gateway Portal's Devices page — what each column means, how the per-device action menu works, and the common workflows for naming, reserving, and troubleshooting clients.

Portal Updated August 21, 2025

The Devices page in the gateway Portal lists every client seen on a site’s network — wired or wireless, online or offline. This article walks the page top-to-bottom: toolbar, columns, per-device menu, and the common workflows the page supports.

Toolbar at a glance

  • Search bar — filters the list by device name, IP, or keyword (e.g. iPhone, Android).
  • Download — exports the current list to CSV.
  • Map MAC to IP — opens the full MAC-to-IP binding table for the site.
  • Mac Filter — opens the MAC allow/block filter configuration.
  • Ping etc. — site-wide diagnostic tools (ping, traceroute, DNS lookup).
  • Refresh (top-right arrow icon) — reloads the device list.

Row-level toggles

Two checkboxes on each row apply policy at the device level:

  • Reserve IP — creates a DHCP reservation pinning the device to its current IP.
  • Alert if offline — sends an email alert when the device transitions online → offline.

And the three-dot menu at the end of each row contains the per-device actions: Change Description, Change DNS Name, Change DHCP IP, Ping.

Column reference

Name

Resolved in priority order:

  1. Administrator-set description (via Change Description).
  2. DNS name (via Change DNS Name or reverse DNS).
  3. Hostname broadcast by the client (DHCP option 12).
  4. <no name> if none of the above are available.

When the name is <no name>, the Portal shows the Manufacturer below it, resolved from the OUI (the first three octets of the MAC). That’s often enough to identify what the device actually is (Tuya Smart Inc. = IoT, Brother Industries, LTD. = printer, Apple, Inc. = iPhone or Mac, and so on).

Status

  • Online (green) — connected and reachable on the LAN.
  • Offline (grey) — not currently connected.

For wired devices, the offline status sometimes shows additional detail such as Port PoE, Link down — the switch port is up but no link is detected on the cable.

Group

The policy group the device belongs to (Employees, Guest, IoT, custom groups). Group assignment drives firewall rules, VLAN, and content filtering, and is set automatically from SSID, switch port, or manual override.

MAC

The device’s hardware MAC address.

Note. Modern phones and laptops use MAC randomization by default. The same physical device may appear under different MACs across sessions. If a client device keeps showing up as <no name> with a different MAC each time, randomization is the cause — disable it for the customer’s SSID on the client device to fix it.

IP

The current IP. The Portal shows (non-DHCP) underneath when the device is using a statically assigned IP rather than one from the gateway’s DHCP pool.

Watch out. A static IP set inside the DHCP pool’s range is a classic source of intermittent conflicts. If you see (non-DHCP) and the IP falls inside the pool, either move the static assignment outside the pool on the device or convert it into a DHCP reservation with Reserve IP.

Connection

How the device is attached:

  • Wireless: SSID: <ssid> / AP: <ap-hostname>, <band> / (RSSI <value>)
  • Wired: Port: Switch Port <N> or Port: Switch connection port: <switch-hostname> (#<port>)

RSSI is signal strength in dBm. Rough interpretation:

RSSI Quality
-30 to -50 Excellent
-50 to -60 Good
-60 to -70 Fair — may impact throughput
-70 to -80 Poor — symptoms likely
Below -80 Very poor — expect drops and retries

For Wi-Fi complaints, RSSI is the first thing to check. Anything worse than -70 is a physical problem (range, obstruction, AP placement), not a configuration problem.

Time

  • For online devices: Connected at — when the current session started.
  • For offline devices: Last seen at.

Last-seen time is often the fastest way to triage “is this device broken, or is this a network problem” tickets. If last-seen is recent and matches the reported issue time, the problem is likely device- or application-side, not the network.

Reserve IP

Ticking this creates a DHCP reservation pinning the current MAC-to-IP mapping. Good fits:

  • Printers and MFPs
  • Servers and NAS
  • Workstations referenced by IP in firewall rules or port forwards
  • Any device that needs to be reachable at a consistent address

Untick to release the reservation and return the IP to the general pool.

Alert if offline

Enables email notifications on the next online → offline transition. Use sparingly:

  • Good fits: servers, critical infrastructure, POS systems, cameras.
  • Bad fits: laptops, phones, tablets, guest devices, anything that goes offline in normal use.

Enabling this on transient devices generates alert noise and trains staff to ignore notifications — exactly what you don’t want when something does go wrong.

Per-device three-dot menu

Each row has a three-dot action menu on the right. Options:

Change Description

Sets the administrator-facing display name for the device. This is a Portal-only label — it does not change DNS or how the device identifies itself. Use for human-readable names like John's Laptop or Front Desk Printer.

Change DNS Name

Sets the device’s name in the gateway’s local DNS. Other devices can then reach it by name (e.g. printer.local if the site’s DNS suffix is configured). Use for devices that need to be referenced by name — shared printers, NAS, internal servers.

Change Description vs. Change DNS Name. Change Description is just a label inside the Portal UI. Change DNS Name actually propagates to the gateway’s DNS resolver. Use the one that matches the job.

Change DHCP IP

Changes the IP that the gateway will hand to this device on its next DHCP lease. Effectively a reservation at an IP you choose rather than a reservation pinning the current IP.

Use Change DHCP IP when you want to move a device to a specific address. Use Reserve IP when the current address is already correct and you just want to lock it in.

Ping

Sends an ICMP ping from the gateway to the device and shows the result. Fast way to verify LAN reachability without leaving the Portal.

Close

Closes the menu.

Common workflows

Identifying an unknown device

  1. Note the Manufacturer shown below <no name>.
  2. Check the Connection field — which AP or switch port is the device on?
  3. For wired devices, physically trace the switch port to the device.
  4. For wireless devices, see if RSSI changes when a suspected device is moved.
  5. Once identified, use Change Description to set a human-readable name.

Triaging a “my Wi-Fi is broken” ticket

  1. Search for the affected device by name or IP.
  2. Check Status — is it currently online?
  3. Check Time — when was it last seen?
  4. Check Connection — which AP, what RSSI?
  5. If RSSI is worse than -70, the problem is physical.
  6. If RSSI is fine but the device is still dropping, escalate to deeper wireless troubleshooting.

Setting up a new printer or server

  1. Power on the device and let it pull an initial DHCP lease.
  2. Find it in the device list (search by manufacturer if <no name>).
  3. Use Change Description for a friendly name.
  4. Use Change DNS Name if the device will be accessed by name.
  5. Tick Reserve IP to pin the current IP, or use Change DHCP IP to assign a specific address.
  6. If the device is critical, tick Alert if offline.

Spotting static-IP conflicts

  1. Look for devices with (non-DHCP) under their IP.
  2. Check whether the IP falls inside the site’s DHCP pool range.
  3. If it does, either move the static assignment outside the pool on the device, or convert it to a DHCP reservation via Reserve IP.

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