What Is An SSID?

Date First Published: 6th May 2022

Difficulty Level: 6/10

CONTENTS

How To Change The SSID?
Can Multiple Networks Have The Same SSID?

Learn more about what an SSID is in this article.

Short for a service set identifier, an SSID refers to the unique name of a wireless network that differentiates it from other networks. For example, when searching on a device for wireless networks at home and a list of different names appears from the neighbour's wireless routers, the proper term for all of those names is SSIDs. It is also possible to manually specify an SSID with the password to connect to a hidden network. When devices with wireless capabilities search for wireless networks, SSIDs from the neighbourhood will often appear. SSIDs can contain up to 32 alphanumeric characters and cannot contain special characters, spaces, or symbols. They are also case sensitive. For example, Home Network is a different network than HOME NETWORK.

Below is an example of an SSID that can be seen when connecting to a network on iOS devices.

How To Change The SSID?

The SSID can be changed on the router configuration page by entering the IP address in the address bar of a web browser whilst connected to the router. The router configuration page will provide options where the password and SSIDs can be changed.

Note:

By default, most manufacturers set up their devices to use a name that includes the make of their router. The default SSID can often be found on the label of the router.

Can Multiple Wireless Networks Have The Same SSID?

It is possible for multiple wireless networks to have the same SSID. Entering a custom SSID does not prevent anyone else from using that SSID. However, if two networks with the same SSIDs were nearby and a device disconnects and then tries to reconnect to a network, it will confuse the device as to which network is the correct one and not someone else's as it will choose the network with the strongest signal. If both SSIDs have unique passwords, it will make it easier to determine which SSID is the correct network, since one password will only work with one network.

However, if there were no passwords, it would be possible to connect to a completely different network and this might be a form of piggybacking, since the owner of that network might not have given permission for their network to be used by external people. In addition, connecting to unknown networks is unsafe as it could allow someone else to peek at the data sent through the network, becoming a security risk.