Entitled man hounds neighbor to share his Wi-Fi with him, calls in a noise complaint when he refuses: 'Sharing your wifi is part of being good neighbors'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Apr 23, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Would you share your Wi-Fi with your neighbor?

I find that in this life, it's best not to keep score. If you want to continue having healthy, non-transactional relationships, then you probably want to just let things go and assume that with good faith, it will all even out in the end. It saves you the headache of being miffed at every turn. There is, of course, a limit to this kind of attitude. You might not keep score with the people who are closest to you, but you might with your pesky neighbor. If they're not in the habit of doing any favors for you, then you might not feel like rolling out the red carpet for them. You might even want to keep your distance if they're a certain kind of entitled. Because as the book goes, you give a mouse a cookie… and you know the rest. 

But if sharing Wi-Fi, where do you draw the line? It can be a difficult thing to keep to yourself if you have given out the password. It's also an easy thing to share. But if you're paying for it, then it's your right to use it as you wish. You might not feel like having to loan it out to everyone who asks. You also definitely don't want to be relied on to do this. Because once people start relying on you, then they might expect more and more. You would hate to end up in a place where you're taking care of someone you didn't mean to start taking care of. 

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  • 01
    A man holds a cell phone to his ear outside his neighbor's house
    via Fab_ Fotos

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    Karen neighbor harasses me after I refuse to share my wifi.

    For context, I recently rented and moved into a new apartment and held a housewarming party open to my neighbours. My 50-60 year old karen neighbour, we'll call him K, asked for my wifi password to use my wifi "while at (my) house" (yes, he said that). I thought it was strange since his unit was right beside mine and his own wifi should have some range, but i didn't think much of it otherwise.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 03
    A week later, I decided to change my wifi password to personalise it. A few hours later, K knocked on my door and said my wifi was down and that **he couldn't connect to it**. I asked him why he was even trying to connect to my wifi, and he said that I gave him the password during my party.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 04
    I told him I changed my wifi password and wanted him to stop using my wifi without my consent, to which he called me an "a hole" and said that "sharing your wifi is part of being good neighbours". At this point I was ped, so I told him to leave me alone, which was enough to get him to leave.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 05
    Things were normal until I received a phone call from my landlord saying that I was being disruptive and making too much noise in my apartment. I immediately suspected that K was up to something since I was literally living alone and had no visitors over, but I had no proof so I didn't do anything about it.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 06
    The very next day, K showed up at my door again and said this (I wrote a transcript down from memory as best as I could right after he left): "Everyone shares their wifi, you're selfish and everyone here hates you"
    via eggwhit_e
  • 07
    I knew that was a lie, because my phone literally detects my other neighbours' wifi. A while later I also visited one of my other neighbours and she said there wasn't any "unwritten rule" about sharing your wifi.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 08
    Before K left, I asked him why he felt I was obligated to share my wifi, to which he said that I was richer than him and therefore I ought to help him out (I'm drowning in student debts, and I'm still looking for a suitable part-time job). I told him to get his own job, which probably ped him off
    via eggwhit_e
  • 09
    A man talks on a cellphone inside his house
    via Sable Flow

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 10
    Every now and then until now, he comes to my door to demand for my wifi, but thankfully I have a doorbell camera that I can see through so I can ignore him, but it sks that everytime someone knocks on my door I need to put my guard up.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 11
    I was thinking of calling the police, but I kinda don't wanna escalate this. K has been around a lot longer than I have (I wonder if he'd always been using his neighbours' wifi) and I don't know how the other neighbours are gonna feel about a newcomer calling the cops on a miserable old man.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 12
    Will probably confront him. eventually. But for now I'll enjoy watching him waddle away from my door everytime I ignore him. I thought this kind of people only existed as urban myths in my reels i've literally seen memes joking about this EXACT type of person, so imagine my surprise when i realised they very much exist as sentient beach balls.
    via eggwhit_e
  • 13
    tldr: 50-60 year old male karen neighbour harasses me for my wifi. EDIT: I took some of your advice and changed the wifi name to "Not_K's_Wifi", we'll see how he reacts. That's all the trolling i'll be doing. I'll call the landlord about K soon too.
    via eggwhit_e

  • The neighbor in this story was definitely asking for too much. They put their neighbor in a tough position, and then wouldn't let up. They wanted what they wanted, and they were going to do whatever it took to get it. But that's no way to treat your neighbor. You want to have a peaceful, sometimes symbiotic relationship. You don't want to feel like you're being used for your resources. Keep reading to see what happened here and see what you think about it.

  • 14
    Future_Beings You need to get ahead of this with your landlord immediately. Send the landlord the footage of him huffing and puffing at your door and demanding your password. Explain that the
    via Future_Beings
  • 15
    noise complaints are retaliatory because you won't let him steal your internet. Landlords hate drama, but they hate liability more. If he's harassing you, he's the disruptive one
    via Future_Beings
  • 16
    No-BSing-Here Well K should pay for WiFi and "let' you use it. When he speaks at your door save the footage from the doorbell. That way you will have 'proof' of his harassment.
    via No-BSing-Here
  • 17
    cobra93360 Why not just turn off the SSID? That way he can't see it. If he asks what happened, tell him it costs money.
    via cobra93360
  • 18
    EvilEnte83 Hide your wifi and tell him that you don't have it anymore, because it was to expensive
    via EvilEnte83
  • 19
    Old-guy64 1. Inform your landlord. 2. Change the name of your WiFi to something that sounds like anything/anyone but you.
    via Old-guy64
  • 20
    3. Next time he comes asking tell him that because of your student loan debt, you chose to give up your WiFi and the bill. Just using 5G on your phone when you absolutely need it.
    via Old-guy64
  • 21
    SecretOscarOG 1st change the wifi name to something mildly insulting to him 2nd ask him for his wifi password. Since its neighborly to share he should therefore be willing to share. Yes I know he doesnt have wifi, asking embarrasses him.
    via SecretOscarOG
  • 22
    3rd tell the landlord every single time he knocks. You know the phrase the squeaky wheel gets the greese? Squeak louder than him. If you make enough fuss the landlord will tell him to stop
    via SecretOscarOG
  • 23
    spaced2259 Report his a to the rental management for harassment Or create a guest account. Set the speed as low as possible and create a 200 character super secure password (of coarse mispell it each time you give it to him)
    via spaced2259

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neighbors neighborhood drama neighborhood-drama community drama bad neighbors wifi karen neighbor story karen
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