diff --git a/backend/package.json b/backend/package.json
index fc7b1e2..0cb0b6b 100644
--- a/backend/package.json
+++ b/backend/package.json
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@
     "@types/jest": "^29.5.14",
     "eslint": "^9.19.0",
     "globals": "^15.14.0",
-    "jiti": "^2.4.2",
     "jest": "^29.7.0",
+    "jiti": "^2.4.2",
     "prettier": "3.4.2",
     "ts-jest": "^29.2.5",
     "typescript-eslint": "^8.22.0"
diff --git a/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.test.ts b/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.test.ts
index b0541b7..32c4cf9 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.test.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.test.ts
@@ -1,57 +1,97 @@
 import { isPCOnline } from "./statusCheckService";
-import net from "net";
+import { exec, ExecException } from "child_process";
 
-jest.mock("net");
+jest.mock("child_process", () => ({
+  exec: jest.fn(),
+}));
 
-describe("isPCOnline", () => {
-  const mockSocket = {
-    setTimeout: jest.fn(),
-    once: jest.fn(),
-    destroy: jest.fn(),
-    connect: jest.fn(),
+jest.mock("./statusCheckService", () => {
+  const original = jest.requireActual("./statusCheckService");
+  return {
+    ...original,
+    getLocalAddress: () => undefined,
   };
+});
+
+const mockExec = exec as jest.MockedFunction<typeof exec>;
+
+describe("isPCOnline (ARP)", () => {
+  const ip = "192.168.1.666";
+  const iface = "wlan0";
 
   beforeEach(() => {
     jest.clearAllMocks();
-    (net.Socket as unknown as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => mockSocket);
   });
 
-  it("should resolve true when connection is successful", async () => {
-    const ip = "192.168.1.1";
-    const netInterface = "eth0";
-    const port = 3389;
-
-    const promise = isPCOnline(ip, netInterface, port);
+  /**
+   * Helper to simulate exec callback for both two-arg and three-arg invocations.
+   */
+  function simulateExec(
+    err: ExecException | null,
+    stdout: string,
+    stderr: string
+  ) {
+    mockExec.mockImplementation(
+      (
+        cmd: string,
+        optionsOrCb?: unknown,
+        cb?: unknown
+      ) => {
+        // Determine which argument is the callback
+        const callback = typeof optionsOrCb === "function"
+          ? optionsOrCb as ((
+              error: ExecException | null,
+              stdout: string,
+              stderr: string
+            ) => void)
+          : cb as ((
+              error: ExecException | null,
+              stdout: string,
+              stderr: string
+            ) => void);
 
-    mockSocket.once.mock.calls[0][1](); // Simulate 'connect' event
+        // Invoke callback with simulated results
+        callback(err, stdout, stderr);
 
-    const result = await promise;
-    expect(result).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  it("should resolve false when connection times out", async () => {
-    const ip = "192.168.1.1";
-    const netInterface = "eth0";
-    const port = 3389;
+        // Return dummy ChildProcess
+        return {
+          pid: 1,
+          stdin: null,
+          stdout: null,
+          stderr: null,
+          stdio: [],
+          kill() {},
+          send() { return false; },
+          disconnect() {},
+          unref() {},
+          ref() {}
+        } as unknown as import("child_process").ChildProcess;
+      }
+    );
+  }
 
-    const promise = isPCOnline(ip, netInterface, port);
+  it("should resolve true when arping replies", async () => {
+    simulateExec(
+      null,
+      "1 packets transmitted, 1 received, 0% packet loss\nbytes from 74:56:3c:e6:f9:c2 (\"192.168.1.666\"): index=0 time=4.593 ms",
+      ""
+    );
 
-    mockSocket.once.mock.calls[1][1](); // Simulate 'timeout' event
-
-    const result = await promise;
-    expect(result).toBe(false);
+    await expect(isPCOnline(ip, iface, 3000)).resolves.toBe(true);
+    expect(mockExec).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("should resolve false when connection fails", async () => {
-    const ip = "192.168.1.1";
-    const netInterface = "eth0";
-    const port = 3389;
+  it("should resolve false when arping returns an error", async () => {
+    simulateExec(new Error("exec error"), "", "error output");
 
-    const promise = isPCOnline(ip, netInterface, port);
+    await expect(isPCOnline(ip, iface, 3000)).resolves.toBe(false);
+    expect(mockExec).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
 
-    mockSocket.once.mock.calls[2][1](new Error("Connection error")); // Simulate 'error' event
+  it("should resolve false when no ARP reply in stdout", async () => {
+    simulateExec(null, "0 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss", "");
 
-    const result = await promise;
-    expect(result).toBe(false);
+    await expect(isPCOnline(ip, iface, 3000)).resolves.toBe(false);
+    expect(mockExec).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 });
diff --git a/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.ts b/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.ts
index e69c557..f2d32e1 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/statusCheckService.ts
@@ -1,60 +1,64 @@
-import net from "net";
+import { exec } from "child_process";
 import os from "os";
-import logger from "../utils/logger"; // Import the logger
+import logger from "../utils/logger";
 
+/**
+ * Retrieves the IPv4 address of the specified network interface.
+ * @param netInterface - Name of the network interface (e.g., "wlan0").
+ * @returns The IPv4 address, or undefined if not found.
+ */
 function getLocalAddress(netInterface: string): string | undefined {
   const interfaces = os.networkInterfaces();
   const iface = interfaces[netInterface];
-
   if (!iface) {
     logger.warn(`Interface ${netInterface} not found.`);
     return undefined;
   }
-
   const addressInfo = iface.find(
     (detail) => detail.family === "IPv4" && !detail.internal
   );
   return addressInfo?.address;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Checks if a host is reachable via an ARP ping using the system 'arping' command.
+ * @param ip - The target IP address to check.
+ * @param netInterface - The network interface to use (e.g., "wlan0").
+ * @param timeout - Timeout for the ARP request in milliseconds (default: 5000).
+ * @returns Promise that resolves to true if the host replies to ARP, false otherwise.
+ */
 export function isPCOnline(
   ip: string,
   netInterface: string,
-  port = 3389,
   timeout = 5000
 ): Promise<boolean> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
-    const socket = new net.Socket();
-    socket.setTimeout(timeout);
-
-    socket.once("connect", () => {
-      logger.info(`Connection successful: ${ip}:${port}`);
-      socket.destroy();
-      resolve(true);
-    });
-
-    socket.once("timeout", () => {
-      logger.warn(`Timeout reached for ${ip}:${port}`);
-      socket.destroy();
-      resolve(false);
-    });
-
-    socket.once("error", (err) => {
-      logger.error(`Failed to connect to ${ip}:${port} - ${err.message}`);
-      socket.destroy();
-      resolve(false);
-    });
-
-    const options: net.NetConnectOpts = { port, host: ip };
-
-    logger.info(`Checking status for ${ip}:${port} on ${netInterface}`);
+    const seconds = Math.ceil(timeout / 1000);
+    let cmd = `arping -c3 -w${seconds} -I ${netInterface}`;
 
     const localAddress = getLocalAddress(netInterface);
     if (localAddress) {
-      options.localAddress = localAddress;
-      logger.info(`Using local address: ${localAddress}`);
+      cmd += ` -s ${localAddress}`;
+      logger.info(`Using source address ${localAddress} for ARP`);
     }
+    cmd += ` ${ip}`;
 
-    socket.connect(options);
+    logger.info(`Executing ARP ping: ${cmd}`);
+    exec(cmd, (err, stdout, stderr) => {
+      const output = stdout + stderr;
+      // Match common reply patterns:
+      const replyRegex = /bytes from|Unicast reply|Received \d+ response/;
+      if (!err && replyRegex.test(output)) {
+        logger.info(`Host ${ip} is online (ARP reply detected)`);
+        resolve(true);
+      } else {
+        logger.warn(
+          `Host ${ip} is offline (no ARP reply or error): ${
+            err?.message || output.trim()
+          }`
+        );
+        resolve(false);
+      }
+    });
   });
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/utils/logger.ts b/backend/src/utils/logger.ts
index b58eb1e..2de08e0 100644
--- a/backend/src/utils/logger.ts
+++ b/backend/src/utils/logger.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,13 @@ import winston from "winston";
 import DailyRotateFile from "winston-daily-rotate-file";
 import path from "path";
 
-// 🔍 Determine log level from environment
-const logLevel = process.env.LOG_LEVEL || "info";
+// 🔍 Determine log level from environment, defaulting to 'info'
+const env = process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development';
+const defaultLevel = process.env.LOG_LEVEL || 'info';
+
+// 🔍 In test environment, only log errors to reduce noise
+const consoleLevel = env === 'test' ? 'error' : defaultLevel;
+
 const logDirectory = path.join(__dirname, "../../logs");
 
 // 🔥 Log file rotation setup
@@ -13,12 +18,12 @@ const dailyRotateTransport = new DailyRotateFile({
   zippedArchive: true,
   maxSize: "10m",
   maxFiles: "14d",
-  level: logLevel, // ✅ File logs respect `LOG_LEVEL`
+  level: defaultLevel, // File logs respect LOG_LEVEL
 });
 
 // 🔥 Create Winston Logger
 const logger = winston.createLogger({
-  level: logLevel, // ✅ This controls what gets logged globally
+  level: defaultLevel, // Controls global logging threshold
   format: winston.format.combine(
     winston.format.timestamp(),
     winston.format.printf(({ timestamp, level, message }) => {
@@ -27,13 +32,14 @@ const logger = winston.createLogger({
   ),
   transports: [
     new winston.transports.Console({
-      level: logLevel, // ✅ Console logs also respect `LOG_LEVEL`
+      level: consoleLevel,        // Console respects test override
+      silent: env === 'test',     // Silence console entirely in tests
     }),
-    dailyRotateTransport, // ✅ File logs respect `LOG_LEVEL`
+    dailyRotateTransport,
   ],
 });
 
-// 🔍 Announce current log level
-logger.info(`Logger initialized with level: ${logLevel.toUpperCase()}`);
+// 🔍 Announce current log level (will only show outside test env)
+logger.info(`Logger initialized with level: ${defaultLevel.toUpperCase()} (env=${env})`);
 
 export default logger;
diff --git a/backend/tsconfig.json b/backend/tsconfig.json
index d4ea9c0..e4ee49c 100644
--- a/backend/tsconfig.json
+++ b/backend/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 {
   "compilerOptions": {
+    "esModuleInterop": true,
+    "module": "commonjs",
     "outDir": "./build", // Compiled files go here
     "rootDir": "./src", // Source files are located here
     "strict": true,
-    "module": "commonjs",
     "target": "es6",
-    "esModuleInterop": true
+    "typeRoots": ["node_modules/@types"],
+    "types": ["node", "jest"]
   },
   "include": ["src/**/*"],
   "exclude": [
-    "node_modules",
-    "**/*.test.ts",
-    "**/*.spec.ts"
+    "node_modules"
   ]
 }