Raspbian Server With Pirated Wifi? - Raspberry Pi Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey I'm pretty new to everything about diy web hosting but I'll explain my setup so far.
So I recently moved into a new apartment where my downstairs neighbors' ISP is xfinity so i use the free wifi that it outputs; "xfinitywifi".
On my MacBook pro(late2012 nonretina) I am connected to this wifi but internet sharing is turned on and outputs through ethernet to a dell optiplex 755 running windows 10 64bit. It also has internet sharing on so a new signal outputs through it's wireless adapter so now I have a pretty stable wifi connection that piggy backs off of my neighbors.
What I'd like to know is if there's a way to host a web server on literally any of these computers- would totally dig using my pi for this but i think that method is looking pretty bleak because i don't have another usable ethernet port or wireless adapter, so for testing I think it'll have to be connected via usb internet sharing.
Another question I have is if anyone knows a good thread for running dns off of a first gen pi b? Also maybe how that might translate to this unique setup.
I am willing to jump through any necessary hoops to make this work- please help & thank you in advance.

Related

[Q] USB tethering to a router?

What I am trying to figure out is if I can use my Droid Bionic as the internet source to my router, using the usb tether option.
I am trying to provide a stronger signal to other devices in my house, and to have a private network that will work my printer, satellte tv, etc.
Is this possible?
Not that i know of unless using the wireless tether and using your router to jump the signal.. if tour router supports it.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Wireless signal repeating is a part of the 802.11n spec. If you have a wireless-N router there should be a firmware option to enable it.
Maybe USB tethering to a PC is the solution. The steps required after that might get complex, but in short your goal is to bridge that connection to your standard ethernet adapter on the PC.
Plug the ethernet from your PC into the router. Put this in place of where your modem typically connects and you should be only a few networking tutorials away from a configuration that works.
USB tethering isn't supported on your router most likely, or any router for that matter. That's why you are going to have to put a PC running Vista+ or Ubuntu 10+ (others may work) for interfacing the connection to a standard ethernet cable.
If a repeater is all you need this won't be useful for you.
Personally, I intend to configure my network to use the 4G connection's superior upload rate, as my ISP at home provides 3Mbps upload while 4G gets 10Mbps.
Using modified firmware on the router will make many things possible. You may want to check out DD-WRT (what I'm currently using) or Tomato.
Do you want both WAN connections (ISP and 4G) to be available to your network?
Sorry if I'm confusing anyone. =)
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Just the 4g.
I currently use the wireless tether option, which provides me 4g internet access for all devices in my house, but I do not have much latitude as far as distance ( the further away the device is from the phone, quality of service declines).
I know that I can USB tether the phone using pda-connect, which works rather well. I just want to use my wireless printer without a lot hassle, and have 1 network that is complete.
Dan
USB.. Not without additional hardware people have already mentioned.
Your router can pick up the WiFi tether from you phone and use it. I have this setup at home with my LinkSys WRT54G. Its called "repeater" mode. I'm not saying it can do it with the stock firmware, but it can thanks to the DD-WRT firmware I loaded onto it. Just google DD-WRT. Many older routers can install it freely. They started charging registrations for some newer routers. That's why I bought a used WRT54G off e-bay for $20 bucks, since I didn't have a router anyways
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
I would agree with the previous setup also.
But really, there's no better router than a book and an old dusty PC.
I want to do exactly this.
Currently, I have limited functionality with an old cradlepoint router. The router works fine with PC's and mac's but not the iPad. I narrowed the problem down to the MTU setting which cannot be adjusted on the router or the iPad.
I was thinking about purchasing one of those sapido routers, but I'm not sure if it supports the bionic. The price is right though.
Any update on this thread?
Hey again gang,
So, I did it... I purchased a sapido router from amazon... this one to be exact:
http://www.amazon.com/Sapido-GR-173...OY/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1327437644&sr=8-11
I received the router yesterday and connected it to my phone and it works beautifully... better and faster than any other internet service provider we have out here (Time Warner, Local telcom, clearwire, etc...). Just to let all of you know too, I have the 901 ROM installed on my phone, so no more disconnects. I was watching veetle all night and not one hickup.
All I did to get everything to work was go into settings, Wireless & networks, Tetehring & Mobile Hotspot and check USB tethering. The router finds the connection instantly and the green light comes on indicating that we have internet!!
Ethernet and wireless work great to my desktop and laptop. I did try it out with my iPad. The connection to the iPad mostly works, but it does take forever to get some pages. To remedy this, if you do get the router, change the MTU settings from 1492 to 1400 and then everything works beautifully to an iPad.
Best of luck to all of you who decide to use your phone as the main source of internet to your home through the usage of the outstanding sapido router!
Thanks.
Howdy,
Same here. I went with the Sapido RB-1733 from Amazon. Works fine as a regular router, and I can plug my Bionic into the USB port and charge it while its using the tether option. Much better at having a full size router spreading your wifi around the house, besides wired networked stuff.
later...
Purchased gr-1733, but can not get it to work properly. Please tell me the settings you used to get this working. I am using verizon bionic with 4g.
calimansi said:
... I purchased a...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to tell everybody purchasing routers that support USB built in: your existing network equipment (router) or any old, unused PC can do this for you free.
In fact, there are so many ways to share your 4G throughout your home I won't explain them in-depth unless there are specific questions.
Routers: many routers (Linksys, Buffalo, Belkin, NetGear, ASUS, and many more) contain hardware capable of running open-source firmware. My network contains many flashed routers: Linksys E4200 v1, Linksys E2000, Buffalo WHT-HP-54G, and Belkin F7D7301 v1. These models are all compatible with modified firmware. But keep reading...
ALL YOU NEED IS A USB PORT on your router. The firmwares (assuming your router is compatible) take care of the rest. Be warned, there are ways to brick your routers if you don't read the wiki/forum threads properly. In my opinion, these are much easier to flash than phones.
The DD-WRT supported devices list will let you know if you have a box *already compatible* with DD-WRT. Otherwise, use this reference to shop around for a router with at least:
8 MB flash
1 USB port (you can expand with a powered USB hub)
Support for optware (any Broadcomm router will work!)
This isn't very easy to find but almost any Linksys router has a broadcomm, for example. I can provide reference for any of you that might have questions.
Your router needs writeable space to keep a couple kernel modules that may/may not be built in to the particular DD-WRT flavour/build. Basically, this is something dependent on a per-router basis.
If you have something listed on the supported devices list, I will be happy to provide some reference on whether or not you will be able to do this.
USING A[N OLD] COMPUTER:
Get a linux distribution of your choice (I'll provide links on request)
Enable USB tether on your phone while plugged into a high-speed port.
Configure the connection to route out of your standard Ethernet adapter.
Plug your existing router's WAN/Internet port into the linux computer's Ethernet port.
And from here you troubleshoot. And I can try to help.
I will probably write something up on how to do this on my website once I get things running. For now, I'll subscribe to the thread and take questions here. I'd also like to point out there are many other creative ways somebody can do this. Just keep asking.
Good luck keeping your battery from draining faster than it can charge; I sincerely mean that. WiFi Tether can be killer if using it as a shared connection.
fxmech said:
I want to tell everybody purchasing routers that support USB built in: your existing network equipment (router) or any old, unused PC can do this for you free.
In fact, there are so many ways to share your 4G throughout your home I won't explain them in-depth unless there are specific questions.
Routers: many routers (Linksys, Buffalo, Belkin, NetGear, ASUS, and many more) contain hardware capable of running open-source firmware. My network contains many flashed routers: Linksys E4200 v1, Linksys E2000, Buffalo WHT-HP-54G, and Belkin F7D7301 v1. These models are all compatible with modified firmware. But keep reading...
ALL YOU NEED IS A USB PORT on your router. The firmwares (assuming your router is compatible) take care of the rest. Be warned, there are ways to brick your routers if you don't read the wiki/forum threads properly. In my opinion, these are much easier to flash than phones.
The DD-WRT supported devices list will let you know if you have a box *already compatible* with DD-WRT. Otherwise, use this reference to shop around for a router with at least:
8 MB flash
1 USB port (you can expand with a powered USB hub)
Support for optware (any Broadcomm router will work!)
This isn't very easy to find but almost any Linksys router has a broadcomm, for example. I can provide reference for any of you that might have questions.
Your router needs writeable space to keep a couple kernel modules that may/may not be built in to the particular DD-WRT flavour/build. Basically, this is something dependent on a per-router basis.
If you have something listed on the supported devices list, I will be happy to provide some reference on whether or not you will be able to do this.
USING A[N OLD] COMPUTER:
Get a linux distribution of your choice (I'll provide links on request)
Enable USB tether on your phone while plugged into a high-speed port.
Configure the connection to route out of your standard Ethernet adapter.
Plug your existing router's WAN/Internet port into the linux computer's Ethernet port.
And from here you troubleshoot. And I can try to help.
I will probably write something up on how to do this on my website once I get things running. For now, I'll subscribe to the thread and take questions here. I'd also like to point out there are many other creative ways somebody can do this. Just keep asking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FXMech,
So i've had a Linksys E4200 for some time and after reading your instructions have flashed dd-wrt onto my router. There are a lot of neat features now available but i'm not sure how to get the router to use my phone at an internet source. I'm using a motorola usb data cable and have easy tether set to share my internet and when i plug it into my router i get nothing. any help with this would be appreciated.
fxmech said:
I want to tell everybody purchasing routers that support USB built in: your existing network equipment (router) or any old, unused PC can do this for you free.
In fact, there are so many ways to share your 4G throughout your home I won't explain them in-depth unless there are specific questions.
Routers: many routers (Linksys, Buffalo, Belkin, NetGear, ASUS, and many more) contain hardware capable of running open-source firmware. My network contains many flashed routers: Linksys E4200 v1, Linksys E2000, Buffalo WHT-HP-54G, and Belkin F7D7301 v1. These models are all compatible with modified firmware. But keep reading...
ALL YOU NEED IS A USB PORT on your router. The firmwares (assuming your router is compatible) take care of the rest. Be warned, there are ways to brick your routers if you don't read the wiki/forum threads properly. In my opinion, these are much easier to flash than phones.
The DD-WRT supported devices list will let you know if you have a box *already compatible* with DD-WRT. Otherwise, use this reference to shop around for a router with at least:
8 MB flash
1 USB port (you can expand with a powered USB hub)
Support for optware (any Broadcomm router will work!)
This isn't very easy to find but almost any Linksys router has a broadcomm, for example. I can provide reference for any of you that might have questions.
Your router needs writeable space to keep a couple kernel modules that may/may not be built in to the particular DD-WRT flavour/build. Basically, this is something dependent on a per-router basis.
If you have something listed on the supported devices list, I will be happy to provide some reference on whether or not you will be able to do this.
USING A[N OLD] COMPUTER:
Get a linux distribution of your choice (I'll provide links on request)
Enable USB tether on your phone while plugged into a high-speed port.
Configure the connection to route out of your standard Ethernet adapter.
Plug your existing router's WAN/Internet port into the linux computer's Ethernet port.
And from here you troubleshoot. And I can try to help.
I will probably write something up on how to do this on my website once I get things running. For now, I'll subscribe to the thread and take questions here. I'd also like to point out there are many other creative ways somebody can do this. Just keep asking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some advice on how to get Android USB tethering to work on dd-wrt would be much appreciated.
Using a Linksys E3000 - DD-WRT Build 19519 installed
JFFS2 Enabled
usbnet.ko, cdc_ether.ko and rndis_host.ko installed
Now stuck at this point.
Thanks in advance
Nice before I even read this I was doing usb teather to my computer. Then I would hook my router up to my computers ethernet port to outers internet port. I have windows 7 so I did network bridge and the router had internet. To bad you need the computer but other than that wifi on router is grwat. Lan is also great. I play xbox live from this setup.
Hehe, I was just going to find some reference on the Ubuntu equivalent of "Connection Sharing," and landed back here forgetting completely about how I've helped motivate this search result.
Here's the deal - I was wrong about a few of my previous posts, I am too lazy to retract and edit out the stupidity,
I have since discovered a fundamental flaw in my logic - "USB tether" is NOT equal to "USB modem" - don't ask me why. However, I can say I know the limitations now.
Bad news: All USB-capable routers supporting TomatoUSB ( http://tomatousb.org ) or DD-WRT ( http://dd-wrt.com/wiki [the main site is useless for regular people, stick to the wiki & forums] ) will not allow this. I have just confirmed in the DD-WRT Kong Mod build for the Linksys E4200 won't do it. To cut to the chase, this build included what I suspected to be the additional modules usually needed. Turns out, those modules are for USB modems, which is a separate type of subscription service, not to mention an additional Dongle to buy. I suppose it's useful for some.
I like to skate by on the cheap, so I won't be able to speak to these (awesome sounding) routers previous people bought. For those of us still wanting to have fancy internet sharing (non-phone-WiFi), you will have your answers revealed. Just not this post. I am not ready to tear down some of my excess equipment and get it rigged up quite yet.
I will be working with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 machines at a later date. I anticipate no problems with either, and from my estimation the gist of what's required has already been talked about in this thread.
However, as the resident dork-in-charge of my home office - my specific interest lies in "multiple WAN" on my router. There are 2 reasons to do this. Redundancy or[and?] load-balancing. My new gateway since my last posts in the topic has switched from the E4200 over to an installation of Zentyal 3.0 ( http://zentyal.org ). Zentyal 3.0 is based on Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS, so I suspect it is possible to tether.
I anticipate a lot of people might stumble here searching The Google. I figure I might as well write this out in a organized, thorough way. More to come as I make room in my brains to type out a relatively coherent tutorial for both OSes.
Sorry guys, 2 people flashed routers per my speculation. If I find any solid info in the future I'll check back.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the update!
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Looks like Android USB tethering to a router is working with the ASUS RT-N66U. I haven't bought the router yet, but I plan to soon.
See here for instructions: http://support.asus.com/Search/KDetail.aspx?SLanguage=en&no=A02827F8-3DB9-CC0E-5F67-85F7D3FB48E4&t=2

Using The Nexus S 4G As A Dedicated Router

First before people ask...no I can't get a decent ISP in my new apartment complex. They have a "deal" with some horrible small-time cable company that I've never heard of, and all the neighbors hate it. On top of that I have talked my work into paying for the account I plan on using for this since it's "required" so that I can work from home as needed.
That being said, I've done some initial speed tests at my new place and I get a consistent 11Mbps/3Mbps over Sprint's 4G/WiMAX, which is more than enough for my needs. I know that will fluctuate, but even so I'm excited about this project!
So sure I could just dump WiFi Tether on a rooted NS4G and leave it be, but I want to try taking it to the next level. What I'm thinking is a full-time router, much like a pfSense/SmoothWall/Vyatta distro, using the WiMAX (And 3G as a backup) for the WAN and the WiFi for the network connectivity. Unless I can figure out a better solution I would probably use a WRT54GL with dd-wrt to act as the wireless bridge for my wired clients.
It'll always be plugged into power, so battery isn't an issue (But a nice bonus for when the power does go out). I would like to have an always running bandwidth monitoring screen that I can just glance at. Of course there would be remote monitoring/configuration, as well as some built-in "apps".
I know this is a big task to take on, but I need something to focus on in regards to getting into the development side of things and I think this would be a great place to start. However I've got some questions that I think ya'll could help me figure out:
1 - What should I do for providing services like DHCP, DNS, Port Forwarding, NAT, etc? I know it would require some heavy lifting but I could cross-compile standard linux based apps like dhcpd right?
Or does anyone know of that perfect app that might help me get a head start? I don't mind using different apps/services and then focusing on making them all work together, but if there is a "simple" solution already that would be fine by me!
2 - Since it's not going to be a multimedia demon, is there a particular light-weight, almost console-only ROM that might serve to be the best base to build from? I would think something that is more geared towards running desktop-based applications versus the standard apps.
3 - WiMAX needs to work of course, how would that play into it?
4 - Is that anything that might allow me to plugin a standard ethernet cable? I don't think I've seen a mini-usb to ethernet yet...do they have a mini-usb to regular usb at least?
I know these are very basic questions, but I just want to get a pulse on if this is just an unobtainable idea or not. I don't think it is, it's basically a different way of getting to a MiFi. Also if anyone knows of anyone elses past attempts at this I would love to know where I can read up on it in. Thanx in advance!!!
My phone overheats if it tethers for hours upon hours. Gets kind of annoying. I suggest you buy a external charger and another battery so you don't have to play " let the battery cool down" game.
I had the same issue on my other 2 smartphones while tethering (Samsung instinct with ported 1.6. And optimus s)
I would say try finding a loophole or move. Slow internet is a whore. I use hot sport off my phone to my ps3. And I can only play from 11pm-6am lag-free.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
Are you oc'ed or something I tether my phone for hours a day and havent had it over heat except for when I was oc'ed above 1.2ghz.
There are a few issues with this.
1.Restrictive firewalling policies on the ISP side. Blocked ports/ throttling.
2.Added latency from wireless > wireless bridge. With wireless you will need to tether to a wireless bridge with ethernet ports for your computers. wrt54g and the like with dd-wrt work fine for this. A linux computer with a wireless card would also work. Tethering with USB to a linux computer that you can edit the iptables rules would be best.
3.Double NAT. This is something you must avoid to have a proper connection. With wireless your tethering program is going to use NAT, but then your bridge will probably also use NAT. This will leave you with a very convoluted connection. Tethering with USB would probably also be best here. In the past when I have used USB tethering (motor razr) the host PC gets assigned the true WAN address of the phone via a virtual adapter. Thus this would only require setting up NAT/ iptables once on the host PC.
My suggestion would be to exchange the phone/plan for a 3g/4g data card that works with GNU/Linux and setup NAT that way of course along with an ethernet switch. Good luck with it.
Jason_25 said:
There are a few issues with this.
1.Restrictive firewalling policies on the ISP side. Blocked ports/ throttling.
2.Added latency from wireless > wireless bridge. With wireless you will need to tether to a wireless bridge with ethernet ports for your computers. wrt54g and the like with dd-wrt work fine for this. A linux computer with a wireless card would also work. Tethering with USB to a linux computer that you can edit the iptables rules would be best.
3.Double NAT. This is something you must avoid to have a proper connection. With wireless your tethering program is going to use NAT, but then your bridge will probably also use NAT. This will leave you with a very convoluted connection. Tethering with USB would probably also be best here. In the past when I have used USB tethering (motor razr) the host PC gets assigned the true WAN address of the phone via a virtual adapter. Thus this would only require setting up NAT/ iptables once on the host PC.
My suggestion would be to exchange the phone/plan for a 3g/4g data card that works with GNU/Linux and setup NAT that way of course along with an ethernet switch. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But he would then be giving up unlimited data as a result of leaving the phone plans.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

possible to enable usb tethering on HP touchpad?

hi guys,
i'm on the cm9 rom now and would like to make use of the "reverse tethering" app to leech my fast desktop connection via USB, so that i can sync files faster through dropbox.
to do that, i need to have USB tethering enabled on HP touchpad. would this be possible?
anyone?
dylansmith said:
hi guys,
i'm on the cm9 rom now and would like to make use of the "reverse tethering" app to leech my fast desktop connection via USB, so that i can sync files faster through dropbox.
to do that, i need to have USB tethering enabled on HP touchpad. would this be possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your desktop is connected via Ethernet but has wireless capabilities there is an app for PC's called connectify that can make your PC a wireless hotspot .
sstar said:
If your desktop is connected via Ethernet but has wireless capabilities there is an app for PC's called connectify that can make your PC a wireless hotspot .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately, my pc does not have a wifi card
any other solution?
dylansmith said:
unfortunately, my pc does not have a wifi card
any other solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is your setup is your desktop connected by Ethernet to a wireless router, how is the tablet connected.
what is that you are trying to achieve, the more info you can give the easier it will be for me to replicate and hopefully come up with an answer.
regards
my hp touchpad can connect via wifi, but it's a lot slower than a wired connection. i want to try achieving FULL/near full speed download on my hp touchpad, by reverse tethering to the desktop's ethernet connection.
the desktop is connected to the wireless router through a powerline adapter, i.e. wired ethernet and is achieving full speed on its own.
One thing to note is that you'll not notice too big of a speed boost if you are connecting to the internet. The reason being, your ISP has a throughput speed of say 25 MBits a sec down and 5 up (In a hypothetical situation). Your wireless is usually up to 54 (on wireless G), and wired is either 10/100/1000 MBits. However, you are still throttled by your ISP, who runs at 25. So tethering via USB won't net you faster speeds to Dropbox, but it might for local network related things, like streaming from a local PC, transferring files, RDP, etc.
Just a thought to share, hopefully it helps.
Oh, and running through the power line like that is a messy way to do it. Home power is noisy and slows down your network speeds. Just sayin', I hope I don't offend.
73 de VE6AY
Sent from my HP Touchpad, running the latest CM9 nightly, from the XDA Premium App
sstar said:
If your desktop is connected via Ethernet but has wireless capabilities there is an app for PC's called connectify that can make your PC a wireless hotspot .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've always wanted to do that, thanks for telling about connectify
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda premium
bump
This is the thread that keeps coming up in google searches, and since it was never answered, figured its time for a bump.
I´m in a similar situation atm, Ive got no access to data or wifi as Im traveling abroad.
Cyber cafes abound, and id love to use this app as well, but.. i get the same error.
Im surprised as id assumed CM would have all such features builtin. No big that it doesnt, im just not sure how to add it.
Any help?
(and yes, ive tried to get the other method working, but having trouble getting adb to detect the tablet, that method works on my phone, but id prefer a method that fakes 3g, since that other method doesnt work with many apps)
The problem is the to connect anything to the TP USB connector and get it to work needs power injected into the interface (hence the need for Y cables when using an OTG cable). This ends up as so complicated, that most give up and decide to use WiFi tethering. Also, I am not sure anyone has found a way to get the necessary drivers into the kernel.

Chromecast in hotels

The main thing that I was hoping to do with Chromecast was to use it in hotels while travelling. From what I'm reading, there are 2 major problems that would make this not a good option for hotels:
1. Sounds like there's not a way currently to accommodate wi-fi hotspots that require a web page login. This is the situation you find in most hotels.
2. The DNS is hard-coded to Google's DNS servers. This means that if you're travelling away from your home country and you need to use DNS proxies to reach restricted sources, (e.g., Netflix, BBC, Spotify), you're out of luck.
Those two restrictions make the Chromecast not very useful for my purposes. Root access would have been an approach to fix item #2, but now that's gone. So, I'm wondering if anybody knows of any development that's underway to deal with these issues? I took a quick look at the Chromecast API and I didn't see any way to manage the wi-fi connection or to change the DNS settings. I'm hoping some clever developer will figure out a way to deal with this.
Interesting, I was hoping to do the same thing. Some hotels don't require login but most do now. Has anyone tested it?
You could use a laptop and a micro router. I carry a mini tplink router to hotels to use. You can put it and a laptop on that router then stream from the browser to the chromecast. Not perfect but a workaround. Not sure if there is a way to stream directly from a phone or tablet yet.
Virtual Router should work, as (I believe) it supports multicast. Unfortunately, quite a few wifi cards will crash when using it, though. I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing... but that unfortunately can't sustain a connection with the software enabled.
I've used my rooted phone as wifi hotspot/router and then connect tablet or laptop to control chromecast. Unfortunately if a phone is in hotspot mode, chromecasting on same phone won't work so need to use second device to control chromecast.
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
One advantage to using the CC is quality. The mhl adapters just don't have the quality and at a hotel with decent speed the router is not an issue. Besides you will not loose speed if you are plugging your router into the LAN.
woody1 said:
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
life is better with r00t
willverduzco said:
Virtual Router I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Riiiiiiiiight :silly:
willverduzco said:
[I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i have one of those too, and we all know exactly why you have it
http://readwrite.com/2013/08/06/chromecast-hotel-travel-wi-fi-challenges#awesm=~ofCmrzdqug8DvB
http://www.connectify.me/hotspot-chromecast-best-friend/
yeah connectify gives my really inconsistent results. so far only netflix and youtube have worked. music hasn't at all. If I could figure out the cause I'd buy the pro version while its still on sale.
At one point I was planning to get a WL-330NUL mini router. Watch video here. (Supposedly the world's smallest) Given that it's a WiFi router... I believe it could work with the chromecast dongle using a WiFi connected smartphone/tablet/laptop. Looking at the video it appears that in standalone mode it can route using Ethernet on the WAN end and using a laptop it can route using WiFi in the WAN end. In the later scenario the laptop is used to authenticate with the hotel WiFi network and the router dongle appears to act as an AP. Not 100% sure of the second scenario, but it "appears" to be so. The router can be found online for the same price you paid for your chromecast. If I get a chance, before the end of the week, I might stop by B&H Photo-Video and pick one up.
Edit:
Here is another video that shows the features a bit more clearly
I really think that the Chromecast was designed as a way to turn your TV into a "smart" TV... not so much to be a portable device for media streaming. Even bringing it between three houses is annoying as you need to go through the full setup process each time you move between wireless networks since it only stores the most recent network.
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
raptir said:
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
I use a tplink micro router. I plug into the ether net and it still requires that I log in. So I'm not sure if that will even work.
Life is better with root.
tamanaco said:
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
raptir said:
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router-laptop setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
tamanaco said:
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
raptir said:
Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Edit: Btw, I agree that having a laptop or tablet with separate HDMI port an HDMI cable is a better solution, but since this thread was about chromecast in hotels I was trying to keep the discussion relevant while exploring a "possible" solution.
tamanaco said:
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
raptir said:
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had updated my post before your reply. In essence we're in agreement about having an HDMI cable, but I believe that the possibility exist for making this work with just a smartphone with bluetooth and the chromecast dongle. My understanding is that the chromecast also has bluetooth capabilities. So a firmware update and basic browser in the chromecast can be use to authenticate with the hotel's WiFi network while the smartphone can act as a remote via Bluetooth. Just speculating here... but who knows.

WiFi Router, Media Server and Mobile Tethering

I'm not sure if i'm asking in the right place and I have taken to Google for an hour or so and read for a couple more but can't seem to find a solution, or the only solutions I can find only do a one or two things and not everything.
I have the crazy idea earlier that I could use my RaspberryPi B+ to use as a router and media server in the family car to provide in car entertainment for everyone, that's not too difficult if I follow a few tutorials (as a n00b it goes a little over my head but I'm sure I could do it.)
Then I thought what a great idea to use it as router tethered to my phone so everyone can get internet from my phone through the Pi. Now I can't seem to find out how to it, well not easily.
I was wondering if anyone knew of a good place to start looking or alternatively have any links to an image or some resources that tell me how to do such things combined in one case.
Big thanks to anyone who can help.
Regards
GiGo
Rpi has most popular Linux distributions aboard. If you want to make a router of it, search how to do it for the Linux system. For example, Rpi has a ubuntu port, search "ubuntu 3G tethering how to"
About internet sharing you can use usb tethering on your phone to connect it to pi.
Why don't you just simply use WiFi hotspot of your phone ( it eats the battery but you can buy a power bank)
Some basic Suggestions/Where to start.
So you are asking about three different things here; I hope I can help you answer all three.
1. Wifi Router.
You can follow this project from adafruit to create a wifi router.
If you are using a Pi 3, be careful of exceptions when setting up the hostapd.
Google: adafruit setting up a raspberry pi as a wifi access point
2. Media Server:
I haven't really looked into this.
My guess is that you will be using SMB (samba in linux speak.)
3. Wifi Tethering:
Again, I haven't really looked into this.
I am sure there is a little quirky with lsusb and then finding the right drivers to get things togeather.
If you have an android phone, you should be just able to enable USB tethering in settings.

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