Remote accsess

Gene Duprey

I am at a hotel that has WiFi with a password, but when I go to log in it never comes up with the log in screen but shows the WiFi is connected, but when I continue it does not see the radio and kind of locks up. How do I get it to see the log in screen?

Mike-VA3MW

Hi Gene

I assume you mean your Maestro?  

What I have done, if it is a Maestro, is to call the IT phone number that you have in your hotel room and ask them to allow your 'device' to have access.  They will ask for the MAC address of the Maestro.  You want to tell them that your 'device' is not able to see the "Hotel Login" screen. 

Look in Advanced Network settings from the main menu when you start your Maestro and you will see both the Wifi Mac address and the Wired Mac address.  

You will want to give them the WiFi one.  That should allow you access.

Mike

John - K3MA

I have found that many hotels and their IT support now refuse to make a change to bypass the logon security page.  It would seem that Flex would have provided the flexibility on the Maestro directly but have not.  To get around the issue I log in with my laptop or cell phone and then I clone the mac address to a travel router.  The hotel then thinks the travel router is my laptop/cell phone and I connect as many devices as I need to the travel router.  This is the model I purchased several years ago.  

This router is made for this situation so the user interface is easy to navigate even if you are not network fluent.  There are many others to select and I post this one only for information.

John K3MA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJ4S9JK/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Steven WA8Y

Because connecting to the IT guy is not always possible.  Simply enable your phone's WiFi hotspot setting (Android>Settings/Connections/Mobile Hotspot and Tethering/Mobile Hotspot/on Maestro-WiFi enter password given on phone screen) . That's it.  The Maestro can easily connected to your phone. 

Oh, first connect your phone to hotel's WiFi, that way you aren't wasting your data plan.

Ted VE3TRQ

It was my understanding that most phones disable their WiFi client capabilities when acting as a hotspot. Essentially,the phone's WiFi ability to connect to an access point is disabled when it becomes an access point / hotspot - it routes between WiFi and cell network. Are there phones that will maintain both client and access point simultaneously? Sure would be convenient!

Mike-VA3MW

The 'other way' I deal with hotel WiFi is to have my laptop connected to the Hotel WiFi and then have my Maestro LAN cabled to the Laptop either via the LAN connection on the laptop or via a LAN / USB dongle.  

Then, I turn on ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the Windows Laptop so that the LAN data flows from the Maestro through the laptop and onto the hotel Wifi.  I find this works well also.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/internet-connection-sharing-...

I am not sure if MAC has a similar solution or not.

Mike 

Ted VE3TRQ

Macs do have Internet sharing built in, but of course most MacBooks do not have Ethernet ports, so one would need to add either a USB, Thunderbolt or Bluetooth interface device to make this work.

Mark G Thomas

Another option is to temporarily change the WiFi MAC address on a laptop to match your Maestro (with the Maestro off), so you can authenticate with a web browser on the laptop while faking your Maestro MAC address, then shutdown the laptop and fire up the Maestro. I use a Macintosh, but it looks like there are several relatively simple ways to do it with Windows.

Mark Thomas KC3DRE

Gene Duprey

My phones hotspot is too slow, only 600kbps, and drops out.

Gene Duprey

Thanks Mike, this solved the problem. Gene, K1GD

Gene Duprey

Best Western It guy was very helpful and we goth it running.

Gene, K1GD

Bob - W7KWS -

I've tested dozens of phones (l'm a retired cell phone designer). I've never run across one that will create a WiFi to WiFi hotspot. It's cell to WiFi only in my experience.

Robert Kearbey

Mine does it all the time. Flex maestro. Latency is no problem

Robert Kearbey

Mine does it all the time. Flex maestro. Latency is no problem.. am I missing something ? I just use cell phone personal hotspot. I learned the hard way the “ unlimited” cell phone there is actually a limit of 20,000 k. We are right now remote in Reno. I left it connected to personal hotspot when I wasn’t using radio. Came here on Xmas day. Hit the limit this morning. Will turn hotspot off when not using radio. 

Bob - W7KWS -

You are describing cell data to Wi-Fi hotspot. The issue above relates to repeating hotel Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi hotspot. No phones that I've tested will do this. However, since my previous post I've found that my Microsoft Surface Go will do this. Maybe other Windows 10 laptops will do the same. I think it will largely depend on the abilities of the included modem chip set.

Ted VE3TRQ

The better travel routers (GL-iNet for example) will allow you to connect (tether) a cell phone, then repeat that with a WiFi connection. I can use WiFi or USB to connect to the phone's cell network. And of course by changing the config, I can repeat any WiFi Internet connection - hotel, MacD's, Starbucks, whatever. Just can't do phone and free WiFi simultaneously.

My 2 cents.

Andrew VK5CV

My Surface Pro has done this since new.

Robert Kearbey

What hotel were you able to do that.? I have to use my personal hotspot on cell phone. Just got a travel router I’m looking forward to trying when we go back to Reno Peppermill. Glad you got it to work. 

Robert Kearbey

Mistake. Limit 20 g