Fing Desktop FAQ’s
Question: What is Fing Desktop?
We have been working very hard on our new product offering ‘Fing Desktop’ since the end of 2019 up to its official release in February 2020. Our Engineering & Product teams have been working tirelessly on addressing queries and working on features based on user feedback.
Fing Desktop was released on a ‘Freemium’ basis, i.e. it is free of charge, but a premium would be charged for additional features, services, tools etc. that expand the functionality of the free version of the software).
We have recently launched Fing Desktop. In this release, we have included a ‘Premium’ option, with additional features and enhanced capabilities including: Intruder Alerts, Security Checks, Timeline of Events & Unlimited tools.
Download Fing Desktop, here
Premium Plan info: https://app.fing.com/internet/account/subscribe/choose#
To log in to Fing Desktop, you need to have a Fing account (as network data is synchronized with your Fing account and Fing Desktop).
Fing Desktop, like the mobile app and Fingbox, leverages our device recognition service in our cloud servers. Hence, Fing Desktop needs to contact the Fing services. To create a Fing account please see the following: Creating a Fing account
Question: What is the relationship between Fing Desktop & other Fing products?
Fing Desktop is a completely separate product from the Fingbox. From a technical standpoint, in comparison to other Fing products, it can be considered:
Fing Mobile < Fing Desktop < Fing Box.
Fing Desktop allows a far more precise engine than the Fing mobile app, but doesn’t require a purchase of dedicated hardware.
Question: Will I lose access to my Fingbox features if I don’t subscribe to Fing Desktop?
All existing Fingbox functionality will still work on Fingbox and there is no subscription for these features. It is a completely separate product from the New Fing Desktop.
To note: If you have a Fingbox, none of your Fingbox features or functionalities have been affected. Fing Desktop is a completely different product to Fingbox. None of your Fingbox features or functionalities have been affected.
We have released Fing Desktop on a ‘Freemium’ basis, i.e. it is free of charge, but a premium would be charged for additional features, services, tools etc. that expand the functionality of the free version of the software).
In this release, we have included a ‘Premium’ option, with additional features and enhanced capabilities including: Intruder Alerts, Security Checks, Timeline of Events & Unlimited tools
Download Fing Desktop, here
We now have 3 Fing product offerings:
- Fing Mobile App
- Fing Desktop
- Fingbox
Question: Can I still use Fing Desktop for free? How do the ‘credits’ work?
As mentioned, Fing Desktop was released on a ‘Freemium’ basis, i.e. it is free of charge, but a premium is charged for additional features, services, tools etc. that expand the functionality of the free version of the software.
Fing Desktop still does have free features that can be used, some of these have limited daily credit’s however. Once the credits run out for that particular feature, you will have to wait for the following day to get more credits, or subscribe to Fing Desktop Premium.
Credits cannot be accumulated, i.e. they will reset each day.
Premium Plan info: https://app.fing.com/internet/account/subscribe/choose#
Question: What Operating Systems is Fing Desktop compatible with?
Fing Desktop is compatible with Windows & macOs operating systems. The following versions are compatible:
- Fing Desktop should support any version of Windows that is still within its extended support lifetime to current version. Windows 10 is recommended. Windows Server versions are not included
- Fing Desktop supports macOS 10.14 (Catalina) and later to current version
Download Fing Desktop, here
Question: My device was not recognized 100% accurately, what can I do?
Have you tried using the ‘Recognize’ functionality on Fing Desktop? Using this functionality you can choose the specific device make and model, if it was not recognised 100% accurately.
When you click on the device, you will see the following:
Choose the Recognize option to see a full list of devices from our Fingpedia library.
Question: Why do I need a Fing account to use Fing Desktop Premium?
To log in and use Fing Desktop, you need to have a Fing account (as network data is synchronized with your Fing account and Fing Desktop).
The reason for this: Fing Desktop, like the mobile app and Fingbox, leverages our device recognition service in our cloud servers. To do this, Fing Desktop needs to contact the Fing services. Hence that is why a sign-in is required for Fing desktop to work.
Question: How do I get the most up to-date version of the Fing App?
As soon as an updated version of the Fing Desktop is released, simply open Fing Desktop to get an auto-update and enjoy the latest version. Please note that the automatic update may take up to 8 hours after the release time to appear.
If you have not yet downloaded Fing Desktop, you can click on the following link to download: https://get.fing.com
Question: Will there be any more functionality added to Fing Desktop?
We have big plans to develop more functionality for Fing Desktop moving forward. We have previously completed an intense Beta test with a large group of users. We have taken feedback and suggestions. Based on this, in the latest release, we have included a ‘Premium’ option, with additional features and enhanced capabilities including: Intruder Alerts, Security Checks, Timeline of Events & Unlimited tools.
We plan to build on this and continue to add more features that will assist our users based on their requirements for Fing Desktop.
Question: How do I sign in if I use “Sign in with Apple”?
Currently ‘Sign in with Apple’ is not present on the Fing desktop.
If your Fing account email address is an Apple relay email address/Apple ID and you want to use Fing desktop or Fing Premium features then you need to create a manual password for the mentioned Fing account i.e. your Apple relay email address or Apple ID email address.
You can create/reset your password from here: https://app.fing.com/recovery
After that, you can sign in with your Apple relay email address and password and it will work on the Fing desktop as well.
Question: Is there a Fing Desktop version for Linux?
No, currently there is only Fing Desktop versions for PC & MAC platforms.
Question: Fing Desktop gives “Fing Service not found” error on installation?
Can you try to reboot the windows device and then check? if restarting PC hasn’t help to resolve this behavior, these commands may be useful to windows (to launch from Command Prompt as administrator):
- Stop service command: sc stop Fing.Agent
- Start service command: sc start Fing.Agent
If this is unsuccessful, please check under Services.msc and restart the Fing agent service. Here is an external link on how to do that: https://www.minitool.com/news/how-to-open-windows-services.html
- Installing the Fing Desktop under the ‘Applications’ folder only. If not, Fing Desktop won’t be able to connect to its services. If it is not, it will appear as ‘Unidentified’ or ‘Undefined.
- In this case, the service might have been disabled and cannot launch until the service is re-enabled. This is likely the result of the service having been unloaded using ‘launchctl’ in conjunction with the -w switch. This will disable the service. This condition can remain, even if the software is uninstalled and reinstalled.
To resolve:
Re-enable the disabled service using the following commands:
- sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.fing.service.plist
Question: Fing Desktop consumes a high percentage of CPU/GPU?
Fing desktop may use CPU or GPU. It is used seamlessly by our UI framework to render pages and graphics. You can disable this utilization but maps won’t be working on Fing desktop.
To disable Hardware Acceleration, click on the username on the left corner and then go to ‘Preferences’ and then ‘Disable Hardware Acceleration’ which will fix your issue.
Question: Fing Desktop is not opening/loading?
Still experiencing issues?
Please include all details related to your issue and write to us from your registered email address at support@fing.com