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Sharing internet with a travel router

Grimix

By Grimix,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Grimix

Grimix

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13 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

i'm looking for a battery powered portable router.

i upgrade to unlimited basic wifi and connect the router to ship wifi. I put the router in my pocket.

my phone logs into the router.

any of my friends around me also can log on to the router.

 

does such a battery powered portable router exist?

 

Personally I don't know of a battery powered one, but the one I have is powered by a USB plug. You could probably just run it off a battery you would normally use to charge a phone on the go (not wireless obviously) I haven't checked the current draw of the route so am unsure how long it would last... The router itself would fit in a pocket, about 2.5"x2.5"x1"

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fstuff1

fstuff1

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, UKstages said:

this is good!

easy to hide.

 

the second rule of the "sharing internet with a travel router" club is that there is no router.

well done.

Hide?

It's not like alcohol... lol.

 

pocket size for ease to carry.

i guess i'll resort to buying the OPs travel router and carrying a small battery back as well and hold them together with a rubber band

Edited by fstuff1
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fstuff1

fstuff1

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7 hours ago, Grimix said:

Personally I don't know of a battery powered one, but the one I have is powered by a USB plug. You could probably just run it off a battery you would normally use to charge a phone on the go (not wireless obviously) I haven't checked the current draw of the route so am unsure how long it would last... The router itself would fit in a pocket, about 2.5"x2.5"x1"

 

hm.. i played around with using my phone as a internet hotspot but when i turn on hotspot, wifi turns off.

Google says that's because hotspot and wifi uses the same antennae. you can only use one at a time.

but some expensive phones (ie: samsung, pixel) can hotspot while on wifi.

 

Looking around other settings on my phone, i can share internet via bluetooth while on wifi!

Got it to work with my laptop. it wasn't easy or intuitive.

It's easier to connect your laptop to wifi then hotspot your laptop. my laptop has a hotspot button and i can hotspot while on wifi.

 

but carrying your laptop around just as a hotspot is cumbersome.

so now to find another phone to test bluetooth hotspot from my main phone

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cruiser2015 Holiday Sharing Rare

cruiser2015

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21 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

hm.. i played around with using my phone as a internet hotspot but when i turn on hotspot, wifi turns off.

Google says that's because hotspot and wifi uses the same antennae. you can only use one at a time.

but some expensive phones (ie: samsung, pixel) can hotspot while on wifi.

 

Looking around other settings on my phone, i can share internet via bluetooth while on wifi!

Got it to work with my laptop. it wasn't easy or intuitive.

It's easier to connect your laptop to wifi then hotspot your laptop. my laptop has a hotspot button and i can hotspot while on wifi.

 

but carrying your laptop around just as a hotspot is cumbersome.

so now to find another phone to test bluetooth hotspot from my main phone

All of these connections are making me dizzy.

 

The router connect to the ship.

Your phone connects to the router.

Laptop connects to the router.

Done. One connection per device.

What's with hotspots, WiFi, blue tooth?

 

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fstuff1

fstuff1

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2 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

All of these connections are making me dizzy.

 

The router connect to the ship.

Your phone connects to the router.

Laptop connects to the router.

Done. One connection per device.

What's with hotspots, WiFi, blue tooth?

 

good for you

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Pub

Pub

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I'm sold.  Amazon just delivered, and it works like a champ at home.  Will try it on my premium service next week.

 

I really need it for 2FA on work things, where I'm connecting a computer, but need my phone to receive a push notification!

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penlanspice

penlanspice

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Half of the time people would be better off not sharing information on these sites they just get abuse and criticism. 

If people don't like it don't do it.

 

Cruise lines charge a shocking price for internet, if it was a reasonable price I'm sure many would pay it, so ideas like these help people out.

 

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Grimix

Grimix

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On 11/14/2023 at 7:24 PM, Pub said:

I'm sold.  Amazon just delivered, and it works like a champ at home.  Will try it on my premium service next week.

Once on the ship configure it with the same SSID and password as your home network and your devices should log onto it without you have to reconfigure them! (I've used it in hotels to get Alexa speakers to work as they can be a pain to reconfigure the network on...)

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Pub

Pub

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2 hours ago, Grimix said:

Once on the ship configure it with the same SSID and password as your home network and your devices should log onto it without you have to reconfigure them! (I've used it in hotels to get Alexa speakers to work as they can be a pain to reconfigure the network on...)

 

That's my plan.

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K_S

K_S

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On 11/26/2023 at 1:12 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Just to be clear, somebody with an iPhone can just make it a hotspot and avoid all of this, right?

 

You certainly could.  The idea is the same.  Having a small travel router is more convenient as you would simply plug it in, a quick webpage visit to enter your ship login credentials, and leave/forget it on a counter plugged in.

 

Using your phone hotspot requires you to turn the hotspot on each time you want to use it.  Therefore you would also need to remember to turn the hotspot off when out of the room or not using it.  Likewise it will drain your battery quickly. 

 

I have used the travel router solution for years when I traveled professionally.  For me, it's more of a safety issue.  I would work on my computer in the hotel room to finish up paperwork.  The router is a firewall and blocks other people from reaching individual devices (ie., blocks them from hacking or browsing your public ports or folders) while logged into the public wifi.

 

Being able to use multiple devices in your room with the same login is a secondary benefit in my opinion.  Primary is data safety honestly.  Just remember, this is not (different from) a VPN tunnel.  The network admin will still be able to see what sites you are visiting and potentially intercept information you send or view.

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rbarr65

rbarr65

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How does this work with the onboard network?  For example, can I still use my onboard app to view the scheduled activities for the day while connected and can I still get messages through the apps messaging features?  Meaning the chat feature on Carnival and the included messaging on the Royal Caribbean app?  Also, will these work individually for everyone connected?  Will I get any chat messages for me while other continue to get their specific messages while connected to one of these routers?

Edited by rbarr65
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ChiefMateJRK

ChiefMateJRK

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On 11/29/2023 at 9:48 AM, K_S said:

Just remember, this is not (different from) a VPN tunnel.  The network admin will still be able to see what sites you are visiting and potentially intercept information you send or view.

What if I use VPN on my devices?  (I do when accessing important websites)

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cruiser2015 Holiday Sharing Rare

cruiser2015

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1 hour ago, rbarr65 said:

How does this work with the onboard network?  For example, can I still use my onboard app to view the scheduled activities for the day while connected and can I still get messages through the apps messaging features?  Meaning the chat feature on Carnival and the included messaging on the Royal Caribbean app?  Also, will these work individually for everyone connected?  Will I get any chat messages for me while other continue to get their specific messages while connected to one of these routers?

Each connected party has there own pipeline into the system. It should operate the same for all as if just one person was connected directly.

I doubt that you meant to, but you just asked if features from Carnival & Royal apps work on NCL. Not relevant as you are working with different software. But the Norwegian app should be fine.

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