Connecting to network from a distance & sharing it w/hou

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naturevalley
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Joined: 19 Mar 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:48    Post subject: Connecting to network from a distance & sharing it w/hou Reply with quote
I need to get internet access at a location with no service. 200-300 meters away, there is an xfinitywifi AP. It's in a neighborhood, so I assume it's someone's Comcast router.

I have Comcast at home, so I can log in with a single device when I'm close to this AP. However, I want to pick it up from afar and share it with ~10 other devices. Unfortunately, those devices can't get the signal currently, and I believe there's not only a 5 device limit per xfinitywifi AP, but also a 2 hour session limit.

I think I've gotten some of the pieces of a solution filled in, but before I pick up any hardware, can someone please correct me where I'm wrong and/or help fill in some gaps?

It looks to me like – because of the distance – I need to get a decent directional antenna or two and then an appropriate router. Because they're in stock at the local Fry's, I was going to grab these for my test and then get better/different hardware if need be once I figure out if this actually works:


A la this post (http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=175024&sid=1f2af7ba262fa48c58e27dbfae6eb01e), it looks like I can do what I need and won't have to deal with the 5 device limit since my router would be a single client connecting to the xfinitywifi signal, correct? What I don't understand (and maybe it's just because I haven't tried) is, do I need to spoof my router's MAC address and connect to an xfinitywifi AP prior to getting the router to connect? If not, how do I get around the initial login window when connecting the router for the first time?

Also, do I need to set up wifi as wan or anything like that? It's been +10 years since I did any messing with routers, so I'm sadly now out of my depth in this area.

Lastly, since there's a 2 hour session limit, I believe I can have the router's connection reset or something like that every 119 minutes (or less), and then, because xfinitywifi does not require you to re-login once it recognizes your MAC address, I would be able to essentially keep my connection up. However, I do a lot of work voice and video calls online, so is this resetting going to cause a problem for that somehow?

From looking around online, it looks like people do this often enough. Unfortunately, I'm just out of my depth as I mentioned, so any direction I can get prior to picking up some hardware and fumbling my way through a set up will really help.
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Murrkf
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Joined: 22 Sep 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:30    Post subject: Reply with quote
Look into ubiquiti devices. Search for and read the catfish thread. It is linked in the peacock annncement. That login will likely be a problem. Routers can't do HTML.
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naturevalley
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 19 Mar 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 15:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
Murrkf wrote:
Look into ubiquiti devices. Search for and read the catfish thread. It is linked in the peacock annncement. That login will likely be a problem. Routers can't do HTML.


Thank you. Looks like I'll be okay on the antenna front. I went through the whole catfish thread and feel confident the distance and signal strength shouldn't be an issue.

Regarding the login, with more looking, it appears I can spoof my router's MAC address on my laptop, connect to the xfinitywifi, and login. Then, when I ask the router to connect to the xfinitywifi signal, the MAC address will be recognized and automatically logged in. From what I can tell, recognizing the MAC address is how devices get automatically logged in when in range of xfinitywifi, and Comcast's own FAQs state you only have to log in once from a device, so I think I'm in the clear there.

Also, it's looking like the 2 hour time limit might be a non-issue. I can't actually find any information that says that this session time limit applies to people with xfinitywifi accounts. It looks like only trial users are limited to 2 hours.

Thank you again. If there's anything of note after trying this out, I'll update.
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