Wifi repeater question

[WotEver]

Hi guys,

Although not strictly boat related this could have relevance in certain marinas. We occasionally holiday in a place that has both poor wifi within the building plus a maximum of 3 connected devices. With two phones, two tablets and a pc this latter is a pain. Obviously we don't use them all at the same time but it's necessary to log out a device before logging in the next one, which I'd like to try to avoid.

We have to log in with username and password and the lease regularly expires, requiring a fresh login.

So... would any of the cheap wifi repeaters perform the tasks of both boosting the signal plus only appearing as a single device to the master router? How would it log in? Or do we need something different?

Thanks,

Tony

[mross]

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot-x/dp/B00I00J8DW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492871826&sr=8-5&keywords=hootoo

Amazing for the price.  I stick it in the window and we use three devices on one log in.  It is a wifi repeater/router.

[WotEver]

6 minutes ago, mross said:

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot-x/dp/B00I00J8DW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492871826&sr=8-5&keywords=hootoo

Amazing for the price.  I stick it in the window and we use three devices on one log in.  It is a wifi repeater/router.

Thanks. I've looked at a couple of reviews and it appears great.

To use it, is it right that you log onto the device and then via that connection you log the device into the network? 

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, mross said:

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot-x/dp/B00I00J8DW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492871826&sr=8-5&keywords=hootoo

Amazing for the price.  I stick it in the window and we use three devices on one log in.  It is a wifi repeater/router.

Would this box of tricks allow the range of a mifi device to be extended down the entire length of the boat?

[mross]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

Thanks. I've looked at a couple of reviews and it appears great.

To use it, is it right that you log onto the device and then via that connection you log the device into the network? 

 

yes

[mross]

39 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Would this box of tricks allow the range of a mifi device to be extended down the entire length of the boat?

I can't be certain.  I get good coverage on my 60 foot NB but you may get a different experience.  But for £20 why not give it a try?  It's also great in any hotel that gives you an ethernet connection as you can use it to create a wifi hotspot.

[rusty69]

Just now, mross said:

I can't be certain.  I get good coverage on my 60 foot NB but you may get a different experience.  But for £20 why not give it a try?  It's also great in any hotel that gives you an ethernet connection as you can use it to create a wifi hotspot.

ok, thanks. I take it you must have an ethernet connection (not Wifi) to set it up.

[mross]

4 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

ok, thanks. I take it you must have an ethernet connection (not Wifi) to set it up.

no, you do not need an ethernet connection.

[Dave Payne]

You cant boost a crap signal, well you can but it will still be crap.

The repeater will pick up the signal just the same as the device, so if it drops out the repeater will also struggle, therefore not giving/giving a slow internet connection to the devices.

 

If that makes sense!

 

[WotEver]

2 hours ago, Dave Payne said:

You cant boost a crap signal, well you can but it will still be crap.

The repeater will pick up the signal just the same as the device, so if it drops out the repeater will also struggle, therefore not giving/giving a slow internet connection to the devices.

 

If that makes sense!

 

Makes perfect sense but not relevant for my case. Repeater near the patio doors will have good reception which it can then broadcast into the apartment itself. 

On 22/04/2017 at 15:39, mross said:

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot-x/dp/B00I00J8DW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492871826&sr=8-5&keywords=hootoo

Amazing for the price.  I stick it in the window and we use three devices on one log in.  It is a wifi repeater/router.

Cheers - bought. I'll let you know how we get on in a few weeks. 

[WotEver]

Well Mr Oss, thank you very much

it works a treat at home and I can't see any reason why it won't do what I want when we go away. I'll let you know for sure. 

Cheers, Tony

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Well Mr Oss, thank you very much

it works a treat at home and I can't see any reason why it won't do what I want when we go away. I'll let you know for sure. 

Cheers, Tony

Suppose I should get a hootoo too (or an owl) 

The wifi signal down one end of our boat is non existent, with no option of moving the mifi. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by rusty69

[WotEver]

28 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Suppose I should get a hootoo too (or an owl) 

The wifi signal down one end of our boat is non existent, with no option of moving the mifi. 

It does exactly what it says on the tin. 1st time you switch it on it takes you through a wizard. I found the written instructions far less clear than intuition though. 

If you download the app it also allows you to access a USB stick from your phone which is a cool added bonus. 

[rusty69]

Still confused. Com. 

Although the portable hootoo looks good, I may be better served by:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00VBAE5Y0?psc=1

All I really need is to repeat a wifi signal down the boat at reasonable speed for videos from a battery operated unit. 

Is this it? 

Advice gratefully received 

[WotEver]

49 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Still confused. Com. 

Although the portable hootoo looks good, I may be better served by:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00VBAE5Y0?psc=1

All I really need is to repeat a wifi signal down the boat at reasonable speed for videos from a battery operated unit. 

Is this it? 

Advice gratefully received 

As far as I can tell from a quick glance the only difference between the two is that Mross's one is less than half the price and powered from USB and the one you've linked to has its own battery (which will need recharging from USB). They both rebroadcast wifi or act as a hotspot plus have a USB port. 

Edited April 25, 2017 by WotEver

[rusty69]

5 minutes ago, WotEver said:

As far as I can tell from a quick glance the only difference between the two is that Mross's one is less than half the price and powered from USB and the one you've linked to has its own battery (which will need recharging from USB). They both rebroadcast wifi or act as a hotspot plus have a USB port. 

Thankyou. 

[RichM]

On 4/22/2017 at 14:37, WotEver said:

Hi guys,

Although not strictly boat related this could have relevance in certain marinas. We occasionally holiday in a place that has both poor wifi within the building plus a maximum of 3 connected devices. With two phones, two tablets and a pc this latter is a pain. Obviously we don't use them all at the same time but it's necessary to log out a device before logging in the next one, which I'd like to try to avoid.

We have to log in with username and password and the lease regularly expires, requiring a fresh login.

So... would any of the cheap wifi repeaters perform the tasks of both boosting the signal plus only appearing as a single device to the master router? How would it log in? Or do we need something different?

Thanks,

Tony

I use a TP-Link Nano Travel Router which although reported to be faster, it's similar to what mross suggested. As the name suggests, it is also a router but can easily be set to repeater-only mode and it does a reasonable job of that. It extends wifi coverage about 30ft which isn't amazing but reasonable given its simplicity and physical size. For me I found it to be good value for money though TP-Link tend to focus more on the budget end of the market. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Support-Hotspot-Extender-TL-WR802N/dp/B00TQEX8BO

If you use a username & password to authenticate with the public WiFI network iin question, it's likely you will still be limited to the same number of active sessions. 

[WotEver]

5 minutes ago, RichM said:

I use a TP-Link Nano Travel Router...

Thanks Rich. Yes, it appears to be very similar to Mross's HooToo with the exception that it doesn't have a USB port for a portable drive unless you buy the self-powered version. 

As for speed, I only really want it for browsing, email and Spotify so either should be fine. 

I'm intruiged about the device limit - won't the access point see the HooToo as just a single device?

[RichM]

8 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Thanks Rich. Yes, it appears to be very similar to Mross's HooToo with the exception that it doesn't have a USB port for a portable drive unless you buy the self-powered version. 

As for speed, I only really want it for browsing, email and Spotify so either should be fine. 

I'm intruiged about the device limit - won't the access point see the HooToo as just a single device?

In theory no, but I haven't tested it as I've not had a limited number of sessions. - Repeaters don't usually have DHCP configured on them, as DHCP will be configured on the gateway device (CPE router or firewall appliance) that the access point connects to. With this in mind, they will know how many IP addresses they are leasing to you and can limit the number of sessions based on that. 

RichM

[WotEver]

3 minutes ago, RichM said:

In theory no, but I haven't tested it as I've not had a limited number of sessions. - Repeaters don't usually have DHCP configured on them, as DHCP will be configured on the gateway device (CPE router or firewall appliance) that the access point connects to. With this in mind, they will know how many IP addresses they are leasing to you and can limit the number of sessions based on that. 

RichM

The HooToo does have DHCP and creates its own SSID, so as I see it the public router will only issue a single IP for the router, then the router can issue up to 8 of its own (according to the documentation). 

[RichM]

33 minutes ago, WotEver said:

The HooToo does have DHCP and creates its own SSID, so as I see it the public router will only issue a single IP for the router, then the router can issue up to 8 of its own (according to the documentation). 

In that case the HooToo would be better in your scenario. - I use my TP-Link Nano "Router" only to repeat my "MiFI" 4G/LTE connection. Public wifi networks are great if they're reliable/fast but there's many which depend on slow broadband circuits which can easily become congested or overutilised. I used one recently where I frequently got 1mbps down!

[mross]

I use the DHCP on my Hootoo and use three or four devices on one access code in the marina.

[sirweste]

For anyone with an iPhone (or old one kicking about) that's willing to play. I used hotspot tethering on my Jailbroken iPhone to redistribute wifi signal to other devices. Me and the lass were traveling recently and a few hotels would only allow one device connected to wifi per room. I also use it at times when I need to use it as an poor wifi extender - at my parents for example it sits at the foot of the stairs (which is where the BT router would be if there was a power outlet)