In accurate Device type reported by Meraki

[Dave]

Anyone else get wildly inaccurate Device types reported by Meraki on clients across multiple networks?

Some examples: 

Meraki:  Dell iPod  In Reality: OptiPlex 9020 workstation

Meraki:  Cisco Systems iPhone  In Reality: Cisco Catalyst 2960X 48 Port Switch

Meraki:  Cisco Systems iPad  In Reality: Cisco IP Phone 8945

Meraki:  Cisco Systems Cisco Catalyst 35xx  In Reality: Cisco IP Phone 8945

Meraki:  Hewlett-Packard iPod  In Reality: HP LaserJet P2055dn printer

Meraki:  Cisco Systems Cisco wireless phone  In Reality: Cisco IP Phone 7942G

Meraki:  CyberPower Systems Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card  In Reality: CyberPower Systems UPS Remote management card 

Meraki:  Dell Windows Server  In Reality: OptiPlex 9020 workstation

No matter how many times we Flag the device as inaccurate and put in the correct device it stays the same thing. 

It is also very bizarre that all workstations are in Meraki Systems Manager which knows exactly what model the device is. 

[Mr_IT_Guy]

@Dave We get these all the time. I think the one that stood out the most was a Cisco Apple, which was really a Mac Pro.

You may be crazy, but not about this.

[Teague]

Yep, 

I see the same on my Meraki networks, so it is not just you.

[MRCUR]

Wow - I've rarely had issues with inaccurate client types. Most of my networks with MXen are run as IP tracking so I expect the device types to be wrong or blank, but for those where I have a full stack I haven't noticed these things. 

Dell iPod is pretty great though. 

[BHC_RESORTS]

I've noticed it to be around 60-75% accurate. For us, it seems to like identifying things as "Playstation 2". Another popular one is "Cisco/Linksys router". We average around 10-14k unique devices per month, so there is no way we're going to review them all and flag them as wrong. These are all guest devices, so I don't really care too much but for analytics to be more accurate it would be nice.

For our managed systems, however, we DO review the inaccurate types and flag them. I don't recall any have changed.

Off the top of my head, ones I've noticed that are wrong:

• Sonos speakers: Labeled as Cisco/Linksys Router
• iPod (any generation): Labeled as Apple iPhone
• Linksys router (some goofball brought their own): Labeled as Playstation 2
• Old Cisco AP (was converting over equipment): Labeled as Cisco Catalyst 35xx
• Dell Optiplex 3010: Labeled as Dell Android
• Synology NAS: Labeled as iPod. This is new. Used to say Generic Linux i believe.
• Konica Minolta printers: Labeled as iPod
• Windows Server 2016: Labeled as Windows 10
• Windows Server 2012/R2: Labeled as Windows 8
• Vizio Smart TVs: Labeled as Axis communications ab IPCamera, Generic Linux, or DD-WRT
• ProCurve switches: Other or Generic Linux

Actually, just looking at the list, it seems like it is way more inaccurate than I remember. Was something changed recently? Even a ton of our managed workstations are showing "Other" when they are clearly Windows 7/8/10. Strange.

What is the method Meraki uses to determine the OS for the client view in dashboard?

[Dave]

I'm glad to know it isn't just my network.  

I seem to think a year ago it was fairly accurate then it went off the rails.  I thought it was related to a Meraki MX update, but I'm not positive. 

[TheMerakiGuy]

Meraki uses LLDP for automatic discovery of connected devices.

https://documentation.meraki.com/zGeneral_Administration/Other_Topics/LLDP_Support_on_Cisco_Meraki_P...

LLDP is enabled by default on all Meraki devices with varying degrees of support.  Keep in mind that if you are not a full stack customer you will likely have to enable and or configure LLDP your other network devices.

Note you can always suggest a new device type to Meraki if you find that the automatic discovery is incorrect.

Select the client in question under Network-wide > Clients 

Click on the gray flag to the right of the existing device type

Enter the correct device type and click "Save"  

This will not update the device type in your dashboard immediately but I have had success using this feature in the past.  

Providing accurate feedback to Meraki should help them to identify and resolve any potential problems.

[BHC_RESORTS]

---

@TheMerakiGuy wrote:

Meraki uses LLDP for automatic discovery of connected devices.

https://documentation.meraki.com/zGeneral_Administration/Other_Topics/LLDP_Support_on_Cisco_Meraki_P...

LLDP is enabled by default on all Meraki devices with varying degrees of support.  Keep in mind that if you are not a full stack customer you will likely have to enable and or configure LLDP your other network devices.

Note you can always suggest a new device type to Meraki if you find that the automatic discovery is incorrect.

Select the client in question under Network-wide > Clients 

Click on the gray flag to the right of the existing device type

Enter the correct device type and click "Save"  

This will not update the device type in your dashboard immediately but I have had success using this feature in the past.  

Providing accurate feedback to Meraki should help them to identify and resolve any potential problems.

---

I'm pretty sure it uses more than LLDP for device identification. The majority of connected devices do not support LLDP, which is more designed for network infrastructure hardware. My guess would be it uses a combination of LLDP, SNMP, WMI, and MAC vendor lookup.

Flagging the device type as inaccurate has never resulted in any changes for me. We have like 100 Vizio smart TVs that show up as Axis cameras, and I've flagged a ton of them. Since they all have the same MAC Vendor OUI, it should be a pretty easy fix. For this example, looking up the MAC returns "Vizio, INC". Sure, it doesn't identify it as a TV, but at least it gets the right manufacturer.

[NFL0NR]

Yes we've had some very amusing ones... like one device showed as an xbox but wasn't at all

[Shanec]

we have had a few xbox too. seems like a poor feature

[PBS_IT_DIrector]

What I find frustrating besides all of the above is when it DOES identify some of my devices correctly and the exact same device with the exact same makes, models, configurations, and even the purchase dates somehow are misidentified? Makes no sense to me at all and fixing them changes nothing I'm afraid.  My OCD can't take it!

[blakekrone]

The base of device fingerprinting is OUI lookup tables. You can also profile a device based off of the DHCP request that it might send up, or if it does a Captive Portal detection that makes a request to a web page you can intercept the request and grab the User-Agent string. From my experience Meraki is matching on OUI and maybe DHCP fingerprinting, then also using LLDP if the device supports that.

I've put in a ton of changes and have never seen improvements there.

[MattinVegas]

Vizio Smart TVs: Labeled as Axis communications ab IPCamera. 

Ah Ha, Thank you for that. Its a little uneasy thinking there was a hidden cam in my house. LOL. 

[MerakiJockey505]

I get a ton of devices showing up as XBOX's in our clinics and always seem to have a fun time trying to track down who is playing video games at work ha.  They usually end up being WiFi USB modems or Non-Mainstream Mobile Devices.

[blinkylight]

would love to find out if someone at meraki is even checking the corrections we enter and have entered for past 4 years. Based on the response or lack of updates I'd guess no. My favorite one is carrier tstat shows up as xbox. I know iot devices have generic wifi boards but it is true that if you can cross-correlate MAC address to manufacturer you can correct the low hanging fruit that @Dave suggested. I have tons of inaccurate ones on my network and have always tried to submit feedback - never seen it changed however. sigh.

[Welles]

This is something that has bugged me from day one also, but, have learned to just ignore it, as it never is close to being accurate, even for "high profile" devices(i.e. things like an Apple device). I'm pretty sure I even did the "Make A Wish" process to have my own list/database, that could be very specific, just for my dashboard.

Maybe this database could even be shared among other dashboards(i.e. trusted group of companies, educational verticals etc...). A good example could be a group of colleges in a state could all share the "device type" database among themselves, plus also have the Meraki device-type database be a secondary source. This way they could tag devices more correctly and faster. 

[MerakiDave]

@blakekrone is correct that Meraki devices will attempt a combination such as OUI lookup, DHCP fingerprinting via option 55 in the DHCP request, HTTP snooping for the User-Agent string, LLDP if available, and of course NONE of those methods are close to perfect.  I've also seen "amusing" results (like my Honeywell thermostat is reported as an XBOX 360) and I have often flagged incorrect device types.  I'll ask around too and report back with any updates.  

[Lia]

ours is so screwy and it's gotten so bad...we tried to use the apply policy by device type feature in meraki. All hell broke loose because Meraki was flagging all our devices as iPhones....turned that crap off real quick. Flagging the device as inaccurate doesnt do anything. Reached out to Meraki they told us Meraki determines a deice type based on the HTTP GET request it sends to clients.

Asked what our options are to get this fixed since we're trying to block personal devices from our network. They just said to try and upgrade to the latest beta firmware because the feature "MAY" have been improved. Doesn't really inspire much confidence when the support isn't 100% sure what's what and asking you to run a beta firmware on production systems...but okay...i guess??

[BHC_RESORTS]

---

@Lia wrote:

ours is so screwy and it's gotten so bad...we tried to use the apply policy by device type feature in meraki. All hell broke loose because Meraki was flagging all our devices as iPhones....turned that crap off real quick. Flagging the device as inaccurate doesnt do anything. Reached out to Meraki they told us Meraki determines a deice type based on the HTTP GET request it sends to clients.

Asked what our options are to get this fixed since we're trying to block personal devices from our network. They just said to try and upgrade to the latest beta firmware because the feature "MAY" have been improved. Doesn't really inspire much confidence when the support isn't 100% sure what's what and asking you to run a beta firmware on production systems...but okay...i guess??

---

It's also LLDP. But yeah, it's not particularly accurate.

[enmartinson]

So I have a weirder one on my network - my Meraki access points show up as Polycom 335 phones. That makes zero sense to me... 

[Hernan]

May i know if this issue was fixed already? I'm having same issue now.

[Welles]

Nope, nothing new or updated on this end. 

[Hernan]

This is frustrating, I'm trying to enable group policy by device type using windows laptop on a different SSID only, it seems it bypasses even on some android devices.

[IT_NCBF]

Just wondering if Cisco could post something here.

It is a widespread "inconvenience" trying to keep environments manageable.

Think that alone would warrant input of the seller of the product.

Much appreciated.

It screams "we don't care" when you flag inaccurate devices and still nothing happens, it is 2019 now, calls for help/assistance started in 2017.

Looking forward to an explanation.

[lBayonetta]

We were having this problem on our networks, several notebooks were being classified as XBOX. However, as our environment is a hybrid with catalyst switches and Meraki MX, it was enough for me to change the client tracking configuration to IP and not MAC that solved it. The rating is poor, the old "XBOX" is now rated as "other" but it's better than an incorrect rating.

To change the customer tracking configuration, just go to "Vlan Addressing"

[AmyReyes]

Thanks @lBayonetta for sharing that potential workaround with the community! If you or anyone else is experiencing this issue, the Meraki Support team will be best equipped to help. There are many variables at play here, such as the device, firmware, etc. Support will be able to investigate and give the most accurate information to your partiuclar situation.

You can open a case through the Meraki Dashboard or by calling +1 (415) 937-6671. If you need detailed steps on how to open a case, more info can be found on the Contacting Support page. We are always working to improve our services and will be happy to help!

[asendia_stuart]

We are having the same exact problem.  The device types are seeing usually incorrect, leading us to was a lot of time

[ChristopherR]

May want to try looking into this again. I recently noticed that many of my Amazon Echos which were previously showing up as XBOX are now showing up as Amazon Technologies. I noticed a number of other random devices much easier to identify as well. 

[mr_mahoney]

We noticed some of our Chromebooks not being able to get to Google sign in page.  Upon research, we noticed this is a policy issue.  We block Android OS to keep phones off the network.  Some of our devices show OS:  CHONGQING FUGUI... Android

Meraki Tech support states that the process for identifying device type is "hit or miss"

He suggested we implement (buy) an additional service:  Meraki Systems Manager, or Cisco ISE. 

I asked if there was the ability to just specify a custom OS so we could apply policy as needed.  He said we would need a feature request.  

We need your help.  Would you consider adding the following feature request?

Sample message:  (feel free to copy and past for Meraki Feedback)

We have Chromebooks being identified as CHONGQING FUGUI... Android
We need to block Android to exclude phones from our network,
We need the option to create a custom "device type"  for OS detection.  This setting is in the SSID settings (Assign group policies by device type)
Request:  ability to create a custom "device type"
Thank you very much for your consideration.