Internet sharing

[Mikey_mike20]

Hi folks, so we are taking to the seas in December,  P&O iona to canary islands.    Internet is an eye watering 240 pp for the 2 weeks.   Maybe one for the techs but can I use a WiFi portable router or hotspot to share out with other family members?

[1stFamilyCruise25]

I have some sofware installed on my laptop called Connectify which allowed me to share the flight wifi with my family when we were on a BA flight. I'm hoping that'll work on a cruise as well. Failing that I've read about the iNet GL300N which seems to work and its only £30

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

You can use it across multiple devices but not at the same time - you have to log out of one device before you can use another.

[Mikey_mike20]

Many thanks,  any tech folk able to chip in to if a router will work with MAC addres amended to a phone (ie WISP)? so we can use multiple devices 

[FangedRose]

2 hours ago, Mikey_mike20 said:

Many thanks,  any tech folk able to chip in to if a router will work with MAC addres amended to a phone (ie WISP)? so we can use multiple devices 

The WiFi struggles with one device at a time. Very doubtful it will cope with two or more.

[david63]

I have used a mobile router on several P&O ships pre Skylink - not sure if that will make any differnce. Obviously all users/devices need to be in range of the router.

[9265359]

12 hours ago, 1stFamilyCruise25 said:

Failing that I've read about the iNet GL300N which seems to work and its only £30

 

Its actually a GL.iNet 300N and I have used one for several years (the GL-AR300M), as well as the more powerful GL-AR750S (the tiny 300M is when I travel with hand luggage and the larger 750S when not).

 

They will do exactly what you want, but make sure you know how to use it, and set it up in preparation *before* you want to use it in anger because although it is straightforward to use, it isn't simple if you are not used to 'spoofing' MAC addresses.

 

The 300N is only 2.4GHz WiFi, but that is fine for sharing amongst devices (the more expensive versions also use 5GHz but that is unnecessary for this purpose).

 

These 300s are also perfectly happy to run off a small rechargeable power-pack for hours and hours, so you don't have to be tethered to a plug socket.

 

The main difference between the cheap 300N and the more expensive versions is if you use them with the built in VPN client (handy if you want to overcome geo-blocking with a Fire Stick), when it isn't quick with the OpenVPN protocol, but that can be overcome by using the WireGuard protocol which it also supports - they work really nicely with PiVPN run on a cheap Raspberry Pi plugged in to your router at home.

[9265359]

And just to add, any travel router can only share what bandwidth is available. If the WiFi the router is connected to is the equivalent of 'two tin cans and bit of string' then the connection it will be sharing will be each device getting 1/2, or 1/3, or 1/4 of 'two tin cans and bit of string',

 

I have no idea what the bandwidth is of the WiFi connection onboard, as I rely on roaming on land (or when close enough to the coast onboard).

[DS_Dean]

Now that it's StarLink there is plenty of speed!

[david63]

2 hours ago, DS_Dean said:

Now that it's StarLink there is plenty of speed!

Only if it is not restricted - which it is

[DS_Dean]

Yes it's annoying there are some really weird restrictions. They should publish a list if they are going to block normal websites. 

[Snow Hill]

2 hours ago, DS_Dean said:

Yes it's annoying there are some really weird restrictions. They should publish a list if they are going to block normal websites. 

I think is throttling of speed rather than blocking websites, although it is likely they would block adult and gambling sites. 

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

I think is throttling of speed rather than blocking websites, although it is likely they would block adult and gambling sites. 

Since I dont believe the basic package allows video streaming, then I imagine that sites with streaming like YouTube are likely to be blocked.

[Snow Hill]

16 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Since I dont believe the basic package allows video streaming, then I imagine that sites with streaming like YouTube are likely to be blocked.

That is indicated on the P&O website that the essentials packages excludes videos, which would stop YouTube and other similar sites. 
 

I also note that VPNs may not work, as maybe caught by the proxy avoidance blocking also listed on website. I use a VPN on my phone, laptop and tablet when connecting to a public network as its is the recommended for security reasons. 
 

In all the cruises I have done I have only once purchased an internet package, usually I will wait until near land or ashore before I go online. Most cruises we chose have very few sea days so not an issue, we don’t see the need for streaming either, if we want to watch a film we will have already downloaded it to the tablet. 

[9265359]

8 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

I use a VPN on my phone, laptop and tablet when connecting to a public network as its is the recommended for security reasons. 

 

It is recommended by the VPN companies selling their services, but now with HTTPS such services are pretty pointless for security (other than to obfuscate your IP address which is pretty irrelevant unless you are doing something you shouldn't be). 

 

Now if you were using a split VPN back to a PiHole whilst using your phone, laptop and tablet on mobile phone or public WiFi networks, then I would agree there was some reason to do so.

[Advanced Diver]

It helps to prevent a man in the middle attack which Https won't necessarily stop (only takes a spoofed certificate). Https is not new, by any means.

[9265359]

13 hours ago, Advanced Diver said:

It helps to prevent a man in the middle attack which Https won't necessarily stop (only takes a spoofed certificate). Https is not new, by any means.

 

If someone has managed to that, then your device is already compromised anyway and a VPN isn't going to solve that problem.