using AC68 to connect to hotel wifi

[cosmoxl]

I have a situation where I'll be staying in a hotel where wifi is typically open but requires a web page login.

I'd like to use my AC68 to connect to the hotel wifi network and provide access to several of my devices all though VPN tunnel.

Is there a way to do this?

Thanks for your help.

 

[L&LD]

Makes no sense to connect your devices through VPN if the source ISP connection is 'open' as you say.

 

[cosmoxl]

Makes no sense to connect your devices through VPN if the source ISP connection is 'open' as you say.

sorry, that makes no sense. VPNs are especially useful in public wifi places such as this.

 

[martinr]

The way I do this sort of thing is as follows: my home router is also an RT-AC68U but it has an OpenVPN server running on it. On my iPhone I have the OpenVPN client app. When wishing to use a public wifi, I merely log on to that hotspot directly with my iPhone and then immediately open the OpenVPN app and log on to my OpenVPN server on my router back home and then browse knowing there's a vpn tunnel between me and my home router.

Are your requirements along these lines i.e. you want an encrypted tunnel over the open public hotel wifi so your wireless traffic can't be read?

 

[cockytrumpet]

Just finished a 4000 mile road trip with my RT-AC66U. The responses above, but in hotels with wired connections and a login page, change the MAC address on your laptop to match your router, log in, then plug in the router.

 

[cosmoxl]

I use VPN to paid VPN service 24/7 anyway, just for some measure of anonymity, bypassing georestrictions, bypassing ISP blocks, etc.

I just want to be able to keep doing that, especially on public networks like a hotel.

The other problem is that many times public wifi will allow only 1 device to use the internet per account at any given time. I figured with my router connected I could get around that problem. And then it would run VPN for us all too.

Since I have entware installed I did install elinks. With that I figure I can do the web page login from the router. Or the MAC trick will work too.

But, chances are there will be only wifi. Will the media bridge option work in this case?

 

[hardtotell]

I use VPN to paid VPN service 24/7 anyway, just for some measure of anonymity, bypassing georestrictions, bypassing ISP blocks, etc.

I just want to be able to keep doing that, especially on public networks like a hotel.

The other problem is that many times public wifi will allow only 1 device to use the internet per account at any given time. I figured with my router connected I could get around that problem. And then it would run VPN for us all too.

Since I have entware installed I did install elinks. With that I figure I can do the web page login from the router. Or the MAC trick will work too.

But, chances are there will be only wifi. Will the media bridge option work in this case?

You would need a router operating as a wireless repeater with DHCP & NAT enabled. Asus routers not support this mode. I believe DD-WRT can do it as a single router. However, you would need two Asus routers to accomplish this: First router operating in Repeater Mode to wirelessly bridge with the hotel Wi-Fi network. Second router operating in Wireless Router Mode (Default) to give you a local subnet for connecting all your portable devices over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Then connect the two routers together with an Ethernet cable.

 

[Danny Sasmita Natapradja]

I usually use tp link mr3020 in wisp mode for this situation and connect to vpn using l2tp to Ipvanish. I'd get around 16mbps due to wifi limitation. Its very small and only need mini usb for power. It cost around $20

 

[hardtotell]

Here's how to do it with DD-WRT. Maybe there way to make 'virtual interface' in Asuswrt-Merlin?
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater

 

[martinr]

Here's how to do it with DD-WRT. Maybe there way to make 'virtual interface' in Asuswrt-Merlin?
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater

By coincidence, I tried this just 2 days ago with my retired Linksys WRT54GL running DDWRT to try and extend my home wifi coverage, and I couldn't get it to work. However, I had success when I bridged using a 15m ethernet cable between the Merlin Asus primary and the DDWRT repeater.

I found - and tried - plenty of tutorials online covering setting up a wireless repeater with DDWRT, so it clearly works for some people.

 

[L&LD]

sorry, that makes no sense. VPNs are especially useful in public wifi places such as this.

If you're connecting to an open / public wifi connection, can you tell me how VPN helps you?

 

[RMerlin]

If you're connecting to an open / public wifi connection, can you tell me how VPN helps you?

It encrypts everything between his computer and the remote end of the VPN server. So, it protects against any snooping that might be done in the hotel/public hotspot he is located - everything leaving the computer is encrypted.

 

[L&LD]

I understand it is encrypted, but it is still on an open network and thus can be cracked, given enough time.

Connecting to a foreign network is like going to another country and speaking 'your' language thinking only you understand it and no one else.

 

[RMerlin]

I understand it is encrypted, but it is still on an open network and thus can be cracked, given enough time.

Cracking an AES-128-CBC OpenVPN tunnel with a decent (1024 or 2048-bit) certificate would take years, if not decades of time. So, really not something you'd have to worry about.

 

[L&LD]

The crack wouldn't have to come in from the high bit certificate. Other ways are possible.

An open network is never an option to connect to. Not even with a 'burner' phone and not even with VPN if the data you're transferring is delicate / important enough.

 

[hardtotell]

By coincidence, I tried this just 2 days ago with my retired Linksys WRT54GL running DDWRT to try and extend my home wifi coverage, and I couldn't get it to work. However, I had success when I bridged using a 15m ethernet cable between the Merlin Asus primary and the DDWRT repeater.

I found - and tried - plenty of tutorials online covering setting up a wireless repeater with DDWRT, so it clearly works for some people.

My RT-N16 is operating in DD-WRT "Repeater" mode. The WAN-side is wirelessly bridged to the hotel Wi-Fi. The LAN-side is a private local subnet to connect my portable devices. Optionally, it can be a roaming wireless repeater, where it scans for the strongest Wi-Fi signal and automatically bridges it to the WAN-side of the router.

Router Model: Asus RT-N16
Firmware: DD-WRT v24-sp2 (02/13/13) kingkong - build 20575M
CPU Model: Broadcom BCM4716 chip rev1, MIPS 74K v4.0

HOWTO: https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Asus_RT-N16

My other routers is RT-AC68U and RT-AC56U, both Asuswrt-Merlin 378.53 + Entware, both overclocked to 1200 MHz, and USB-powered fans for additional cooling.

 

[RMerlin]

The crack wouldn't have to come in from the high bit certificate. Other ways are possible.

An open network is never an option to connect to. Not even with a 'burner' phone and not even with VPN if the data you're transferring is delicate / important enough.

The Internet is an open network. You're no more at risk running the VPN from an open hotspot than you are running it from home.

 

[cosmoxl]

You would need a router operating as a wireless repeater with DHCP & NAT enabled. Asus routers not support this mode. I believe DD-WRT can do it as a single router. However, you would need two Asus routers to accomplish this: First router operating in Repeater Mode to wirelessly bridge with the hotel Wi-Fi network. Second router operating in Wireless Router Mode (Default) to give you a local subnet for connecting all your portable devices over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Then connect the two routers together with an Ethernet cable.

By coincidence, I tried this just 2 days ago with my retired Linksys WRT54GL running DDWRT to try and extend my home wifi coverage, and I couldn't get it to work. However, I had success when I bridged using a 15m ethernet cable between the Merlin Asus primary and the DDWRT repeater.

I found - and tried - plenty of tutorials online covering setting up a wireless repeater with DDWRT, so it clearly works for some people.

I have an old WRT54GL running tomato. I haven't used it in a couple years. Any chance tomato does repeater mode with DHCP and NAT? I'll have to fire it up and check it out. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[martinr]

During my trawls for information, I came across: "But what about using something other than DD-WRT? Our friends over at How-To Geek have a guide on creating a repeater with Tomato, but it’s more of a workaround as Tomato doesn’t support this functionality explicitly. ". Taken from:

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-extend-your-wi-fi-network-with-an-old-router-915783308/963787201

And delving into the How-to-Geek link they give a How-to-Geek:/

"Last year we showed you how to extend your network using DD-WRT powered routers. Since then, several readers have written in, asking how they could do the same thing with Tomato routers. Many of them said they’d switch to DD-WRT if they had to, but would prefer to keep using Tomato if possible. Although Tomato doesn’t have a perfectly analogous match to the DD-WRT repeater mode (more on this later) you can easily link two Tomato routers together with only a few minutes of configuration."


However, linking 2 Tomato routers is not what you want. Now, it's possible the features you want have been incorporated into Tomato since those articles were written - worth a trip to their forums to search/ask.

On the other hand, don't give up on DDWRT: it may well be I was doing something silly (won't be the first or last time) or there was some problem with my wireless channels. If I'd persevered it may well have worked. (In case you do look at DDWRT, the firmware on my WRT54GL is V24-sp2(08/12/10)vpn, which I believe is the right one for it; finding the correct build takes a lot longer than installing it and getting it running, and that's not exactly a piece of cake.)

Let us know how you get on if you do solve it. Good luck.

 

[cosmoxl]

During my trawls for information, I came across: "But what about using something other than DD-WRT? Our friends over at How-To Geek have a guide on creating a repeater with Tomato, but it’s more of a workaround as Tomato doesn’t support this functionality explicitly. ". Taken from:

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-extend-your-wi-fi-network-with-an-old-router-915783308/963787201

And delving into the How-to-Geek link they give a How-to-Geek:/

"Last year we showed you how to extend your network using DD-WRT powered routers. Since then, several readers have written in, asking how they could do the same thing with Tomato routers. Many of them said they’d switch to DD-WRT if they had to, but would prefer to keep using Tomato if possible. Although Tomato doesn’t have a perfectly analogous match to the DD-WRT repeater mode (more on this later) you can easily link two Tomato routers together with only a few minutes of configuration."


However, linking 2 Tomato routers is not what you want. Now, it's possible the features you want have been incorporated into Tomato since those articles were written - worth a trip to their forums to search/ask.

On the other hand, don't give up on DDWRT: it may well be I was doing something silly (won't be the first or last time) or there was some problem with my wireless channels. If I'd persevered it may well have worked. (In case you do look at DDWRT, the firmware on my WRT54GL is V24-sp2(08/12/10)vpn, which I believe is the right one for it; finding the correct build takes a lot longer than installing it and getting it running, and that's not exactly a piece of cake.)

Let us know how you get on if you do solve it. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the research. I went ahead and installed dd-wrt and the repeater mode seems to be working, DHCP and NAT included. I tested by connecting it to my home wifi network, ethernet from laptop to LAN port. So, I'm happy.