ACNet

Getting started

Find devices that answer on a network you are authorised to test. A missing reply is not proof that a device is offline.

Updated 5 October 2026

Prerequisites

Accept the terms in the app once. Opening the Dashboard does not start a scan.

Local Network permission is required to find devices. iOS asks the first time ACNet contacts the local network. If you declined it, allow ACNet in Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network.

ACNet reports Allowed only after a device on the network answered, and Denied when iOS reports the path as denied.

Choose an authorised range

On Devices, the scan covers the network of the selected interface, for example 192.168.1.0/24.

Change the range under Scan options. Only addresses inside the range are contacted, each one directly.

  1. Open Devices.
  2. Open Scan options and set the range you are authorised to test.
  3. Choose a scan speed: Quick, Balanced, Thorough or Gentle. They differ only in timeout, parallelism and pacing.

What the result means

Slower settings can find devices that answer late. None of them invents a device.

Scan and Stop

  1. Tap the floating Scan button at the bottom right.
  2. While the scan runs, the same button is Stop.
  3. Opening a device or Scan options during a scan keeps it running.
  4. Tap Stop to request cancellation. Devices found so far are kept.

What the result means

A stopped scan is saved as Stopped, so you can tell it from a complete scan. A scan that stopped early is a partial result: counts that depend on it are a lower bound (“at least”), not a full inventory.

Filter and open details

Search narrows the list by name, address, service, brand or model. The filter button offers types that are present, plus Unknown and Conflicting. Neither changes the scan.

A row shows a name the device reported, or your label, otherwise its address. An icon and type word appear only when the device stated what it is.

  1. Open a row to read the evidence: method, endpoint and raw outcome.
  2. At the end of the device screen, Ping, Port Scan, Reverse DNS, Diagnose, TLS and Wake on LAN open with that address filled in.

What the result means

An address is listed only after it answered this device directly. A silent host is not shown. iOS does not give apps the neighbour table, so a MAC address appears only when the device reported it or for this iPhone’s own interface.