Travel Technology - Hacking the Hotel Cable Modem

I ran across a new twist in in-room internet service tonight.

I checked into the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square this evening, which apparently has cable modem (vs. most hotels' wireless or DSL modem) service in most rooms.

I plugged Ol' Linky, my Linksys WTR54GS wireless travel router into the wall, and plugged the patch cable from the cable modem into the WAN port on the router.

Connected to ol' Linky with my laptop, and attempted to sign on through the hotel's authorization system.

No go. The message read something like: "A network problem has prevented a connection to the internet. Technical support may help."

So I plugged into the cable modem directly using my ethernet port. Hmm. I got the authorization screen, and connected fine.

Plugged Ol' Linky back in and tried again.

Nope.

I called the front desk, and the engineering representative they sent up claimed that the only way I could use the free internet service was via directly plugging my laptop into the cable modem. Alternately, I could go down to the lounge and use the wireless access there.

I expressed my displeasure at being forced to make a choice between sitting on a bar stool in my room (not a great work area design in this particular RI), or sitting in a public lounge to take care of business. He asked if there was anything else he could do to help, and I told him that I doubted it . . .

I'm pretty stubborn, so I continued to fool around with my WTR54GS. And I found the solution :)

I plugged my laptop back in and authenticated. I then reconfigured the WAN port on my router for the same MAC address as my laptop's ethernet port. I disconnected the cable from my laptop and plugged it into my cable modem.

And I'm in ^

Posted in the hope that this will help at least one other traveler frustrated by fascist hotel internet service :D

:eek:

OK all you hotel people, KEEP WALKING! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

:eek:

OK all you hotel people, KEEP WALKING! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

I think that would have gone over their head, anyway. :D

Good tip!

Hope you've got some kind of client authentication set up on that router...the hotel would probably not like it too much if random passers-by could use their Internet access through you...

All I can think of is that they are blacklisting MAC's normally associated with routers to keep people from setting up wireless that goes outside the hotel.

Are you saying that you don't have to go through these same steps to connect your Linksys router to DSL boxes in hotel rooms?

Those 25' patch cables aren't that expensive :)

I've been doing this for years w/ a d-link wireless travel router. The service thinks your router is the laptop, and works just fine. My wireless is encrypted-albeit very lightly. After all, I've either paid for the access thru my room charge, or thru a seperate billing.

Are you saying that you don't have to go through these same steps to connect your Linksys router to DSL boxes in hotel rooms?Not always -- it depends on the billing software used by the hotel. I've never had to clone the MAC address, but sometimes I've had to initiate the transaction with the laptop hardwired and then connect the Linksys (or other wireless router -- I used to use a dLink). The Linksys (and dLink) have a "pass through" mode in which it just acts as a switch, rather than a router, and should permit activating an account without the hardwire step.

I remember the first time I had that "clone MAC" lightbulb go off....

Made me fell smart before I tried to explain *why* it worked. :-)

You will all be AMAZED at the time you save each and every time you check into a hotel if you get an EVDO wireless card. The cost is relatively minor if you pay for hotel internet more than ~6 times per month and it eliminates the need to figure out how to connect to each hotel's network.

Of course this only works in the USA, for the moment :(

I think Europe has EDGE but that is much slower and possibly more expensive.

You will all be AMAZED at the time you save each and every time you check into a hotel if you get an EVDO wireless card. The cost is relatively minor if you pay for hotel internet more than ~6 times per month and it eliminates the need to figure out how to connect to each hotel's network.

Of course this only works in the USA, for the moment :(

I think Europe has EDGE but that is much slower and possibly more expensive.

I have a tetherable 3g PDA and agree with you generally. There are, however, some exceptions. First, VOIP over these systems is still iffy both in terms of performance and what your carrier will do if you are caught. Second, hotel internet is still significantly cheaper than data roaming. The best data roaming rate I can find now that Wind shut down their offer is about US$5 a meg.

You can get 100 megs to use in many countries from Vodafone, Swisscom, and Cingular for around US$150. That is a steep monthly commitment and 100 megs isn't that much, particularly if Microsoft decides to push out a service patch on you.

Most of Europe does have 3g now. It is either HSDPA or at least UMTs. In many countries, TMobile has a package available on their prepaids called Walk-n-Web which is roughly 1GBP per day for unlimited (subject to a puke test) internet. When I am in the UK, I always buy this instead of hotel internet. I use the SIM in my PDA for e-mail during the day and tether it to my hotel as needed. It is my understanding that Walk-N-Web is now avaiable in Germany, Austria, and is coming to the Netherlands. Anyone with better knowledge, please check in here. Unfortunately, the UAE is still very high. $90 US will get you 100 megs with the state run phone company. If you are an American or a Brit, it is actually a better deal to buy the roaming package from Cingular or Vodafone.

In Europe the carriers have spent 6 fortunes for 3g licenses and people aren't using them significantly. There will be more promos coming soon.

Incidentally, if you buy a new Sony or Dell laptop, both Cingular and one EVDO provider (Verizon?) are offering a PAYG plan for $8 a day if you go with a bundled card with your notebook.

Stu

You will all be AMAZED at the time you save each and every time you check into a hotel if you get an EVDO wireless card. The cost is relatively minor if you pay for hotel internet more than ~6 times per month and it eliminates the need to figure out how to connect to each hotel's network.


I agree, except when you are in a 1X zone (like I am right now in Fresno) :( . Pretty much stuck using the hotel's system, versus surfing at about 110K.

On average though, I've been getting about 600K, in Rev. A areas. Plus another benefit of my Sprint EVDO card is greater security confidence.

I think Europe has EDGE but that is much slower and possibly more expensive.

Uh yeah.

Europe has had 3G access for years longer than the US. European networks are lightyears ahead of the US in terms of coverage and broadband speeds, not to mention the equipment they offer.

I vote we break off this thread from Myfrogger's EDGE comment and relabel it: "wireless data in Europe."

Very glad to hear prepaid wireless data is available in Europe and I'm sure others will be too.

I was thinking of buying an unlocked Sierra Wireless 860 aircard off of ebay. Will that give me any advantage over my aircard 775 in Europe? Scottc?

Jim

Hope you've got some kind of client authentication set up on that router...the hotel would probably not like it too much if random passers-by could use their Internet access through you...

You really think they'll notice?

Hope you've got some kind of client authentication set up on that router...the hotel would probably not like it too much if random passers-by could use their Internet access through you...

WPA-PSK with a fairly long and cryptic PSK :)

You really think they'll notice?Of course they won't notice. They have no clue how any of this stuff works.

Sounds like you just have to log on with your computer, plug the Router in, and clone the PC Mac Address to the Router, that should trick it just enough.

Not always -- it depends on the billing software used by the hotel. I've never had to clone the MAC address, but sometimes I've had to initiate the transaction with the laptop hardwired and then connect the Linksys (or other wireless router -- I used to use a dLink). The Linksys (and dLink) have a "pass through" mode in which it just acts as a switch, rather than a router, and should permit activating an account without the hardwire step.

The Linksys has a bridge mode? I'll have to go through the admin screens again; I didn't see it last night.

Sounds like you just have to log on with your computer, plug the Router in, and clone the PC Mac Address to the Router, that should trick it just enough.

That's what I get for making my original post so long . . . no one actually reads it :(

;)

That's what I get for making my original post so long . . . no one actually reads it :(

;)

:) :) :)

should have a title of: HOW TO HACK THE . . . .

You will all be AMAZED at the time you save each and every time you check into a hotel if you get an EVDO wireless card. The cost is relatively minor if you pay for hotel internet more than ~6 times per month and it eliminates the need to figure out how to connect to each hotel's network.

Of course this only works in the USA, for the moment :(

I think Europe has EDGE but that is much slower and possibly more expensive.

Time, money and aggravation... but only if you're in an area where EvDO works as opposed to 1xRTT.

Time: for the reasons you mention.

Money: for the reasons you mention (plus use in the charge-for airline clubs like Crown Room and Admiral's Club, as well as those airports where concourse use is charge for by the day).

Aggravation: some of the hotel systems block VPN and SSH connections (which also does in Webmail). I've recently been in a Towne Place Suites where this was the case, with no option for a public IP. Spent an hour plus on the phone with tech support and no resolution. That pushed me over the edge to an EvDO card.

So far, so good. I've got -49dBm of signal in the hotel (helps to be right behind the Sprint store), and -59 to -65 in the office I'm working in. But I stayed in a hotel in a rural area this weekend where 1xRTT was the choice - and the hotel free service was the only way to go.

You really think they'll notice?

Well, probably not. But if I were implementing such a system, I'd have it detect open access points automatically. Maybe I'm overestimating their IT staff...

Those 25' patch cables aren't that expensive :)

Hahaha I used to travel with one all the time :p I hate being tethered to the desk. The itty bitty LinkSys works well for me now.

Although I see it mentioned...the simplest way for this is to simply set your router to a different MAC. You can chose one close to your laptop's (change just a couple of HEX values, but not the first three pairs) and you will be fine for these issues.

While you *could* in theory get into a situation where someone else is in the hotel with that bogus MAC address, it's a pretty unlikely happening. Even if you travel with co-workers who have similar laptops purchased at the same time.

Steve

Although I see it mentioned...the simplest way for this is to simply set your router to a different MAC. You can chose one close to your laptop's (change just a couple of HEX values, but not the first three pairs) and you will be fine for these issues.

While you *could* in theory get into a situation where someone else is in the hotel with that bogus MAC address, it's a pretty unlikely happening. Even if you travel with co-workers who have similar laptops purchased at the same time.

Steve

So you're implying that hotels keep a list of MAC vendor prefixes that correspond to routers for the purpose of blocking them? That is pretty interesting. I thought Linksys also made NICs...what would prevent them from using the same prefix for both NICs and routers?

The Linksys has a bridge mode? I'll have to go through the admin screens again; I didn't see it last night.
I'm pretty sure that it does, though I'd have to take a look at it to confirm.

Well, probably not. But if I were implementing such a system, I'd have it detect open access points automatically. Maybe I'm overestimating their IT staff...

I think you're -way- overestimating the state of their IT department.

Most hotels these days do good to get you checked in to the room you reserved and point the way to the elevator.

Those 25' patch cables aren't that expensive :)

No, but they take more room to pack than a travel router.

I think you're -way- overestimating the state of their IT department.

Most hotels these days do good to get you checked in to the room you reserved and point the way to the elevator.

I'd envisioned that a turnkey system like iBahn, Innflux, etc. would have all this stuff included, analogously to OnCommand for television. But yeah, I am always a little surprised when the Internet access actually even works as advertised...

By the way, charging for Internet is, to me, like charging for basic cable TV. Even at a five-star property where presumably the cost would be trivial relative to that of the room, I'd imagine most guests would be insulted by that sort of nickel-and-diming. Can't fathom why people aren't insulted by charges for Internet access, like it was some ridiculous extravagant thing.

By the way, charging for Internet is, to me, like charging for basic cable TV. Even at a five-star property where presumably the cost would be trivial relative to that of the room, I'd imagine most guests would be insulted by that sort of nickel-and-diming. Can't fathom why people aren't insulted by charges for Internet access, like it was some ridiculous extravagant thing.

Agree with you there. It seems to be the highest-priced hotels that charge for Internet, while in the low- to mid-range properties, it's usually free.

The five-stars are just reluctant to give up any revenue stream, just like the ridiculous prices for long-distance telephone calls. But I can't remember the last time I even used a hotel phone, since cellular came along.

MAC cloning simply makes your router appear to be your notebook from a network standpoint. No issues and the hotel's network won't ever know the difference as the MAC is all it has to go on. You don't need to bridge, you can use the router as a router... I've had to do this once to get my router working and never turned MAC cloning off... haven't had an issue since.

As for the 25' long Ethernet cable... that makes it a wee bit tough to use the notebook and WiFi SIP phone at the same time. ;)

MAC cloning simply makes your router appear to be your notebook from a network standpoint. No issues and the hotel's network won't ever know the difference as the MAC is all it has to go on. You don't need to bridge, you can use the router as a router... I've had to do this once to get my router working and never turned MAC cloning off... haven't had an issue since.

As for the 25' long Ethernet cable... that makes it a wee bit tough to use the notebook and WiFi SIP phone at the same time. ;)

Oddly, simply cloning and plugging the ethernet connection into the router didn't work; I still needed to authenticate (agree to their TOS) from a wired connection, then introduce my router. I think they were referencing the CGI REMOTE_ADDR variable, which returned an IP different from the one associated with the router's WAN IP address.

Concourse communication, a hotspot provider in many airports, states that it employs rogue access point detection technology.

http://www.concoursecommunications.com/srv_infrastructure.html

I assume that similar uses of this corporate technology will start appearing in many hotels that believe that we are cheating them out of a second $10 a day or more for not paying a separate connection fee for our laptops.

Concourse communication, a hotspot provider in many airports, states that it employs rogue access point detection technology.

http://www.concoursecommunications.com/srv_infrastructure.html

I assume that similar uses of this corporate technology will start appearing in many hotels that believe that we are cheating them out of a second $10 a day or more for not paying a separate connection fee for our laptops.

Do you know if they've ever caught anyone doing this in an airport?

I'm just not convinced hotels will get too excited about this--it may be lots of work for little return--but I could be wrong.

Do you know if they've ever caught anyone doing this in an airport?

I'm just not convinced hotels will get too excited about this--it may be lots of work for little return--but I could be wrong.

I don't know about an airport. If the would shut down all the phishers with their peer to peer "Free Wireless Internet Connections" running at every airport, I would reluctantly be in favor of it.