How to share wifi from wifi (without Ethernet)

If hotel rooms are supposed to become my home away from home then there is one thing that I absolutely hate: the unfriendly wifi.

  1. I dislike paying extra for wifi
  2. I dislike having to log on with superlong codes each time I need to use wifi
  3. I dislike having to buy wifi for each of my devices separately!

The first two are unfortunately not going to go away until hotels come to their senses but the third can be resolved by without relying on the hotels.

This is a guide to creating your own wifi in a room where the only Internet connection is wifi (i.e. no Ethernet). You will need laptop, wireless router, Ethernet cable. I have done this with my Apple equipment. I am sure you can do this in other connections but I have not tried it. I have not done this all too often and remembering these settings are the reason I wrote this guide.

Begin by Logging into the wifi with your laptop.

Go to sharing (Settings->sharing->Internet Sharing) Select from wifi share via Ethernet and turn it on. When troubleshooting turning sharing on/off again has sometimes resolved the problem.

Connect your Wireless router to the computer. I use the new small Airport Express its lightweight for travel. Connect you Ethernet cable from the laptop to the Ethernet WAN port.

Then its time to set up the Wifi

Go to the Airport Utility (Applications -> Utilities -> Airport Utility)

Base Station: pick a name and password for the base station. This is not the wifi net or password but the way to log into the base station to make changes if need be.

Network: You are creating a wireless network. Pick name for that wifi and password. Chose Bridge mode.

Note some situations may not like you doing all this so picking a wifi name that screams out whom you are may be unwise. Obviously be wise about passwords as well.

Internet Connection: This is the hotel wifi that you logged into in the beginning of this guide.

The update and you are away. You should now log all your devices onto the wifi you have created and they are all sharing the internet connection that you are paying for.

Basil Fawlty now has a small hotel in Lund

Basil Fawlty is alive and well and running a small hotel in Lund. After arriving in Lund I walked to the hotel and attempted to check in to the hotel. This is not my first time staying at a hotel and I knew that I may not be given a room as I was early but I hoped to at least be able to leave my luggage somewhere.

After waiting for some time a man appeared in the reception stared angrily at me and almost shouted out: “We are fully booked!” Somewhat taken aback I attempted to explain that I had a room booked but he interrupted me and said, in an irritated voice, that I could not have the room as it needed to be cleaned first. Eventually he cooled down enough to let me leave my bag.

Being told of when attempting to check in was a bit of a novelty but I thought it would be a one-off event. How wrong!

Attempting to check out in the morning was another interesting experience. Basil was struggling with his computer. His level of frustration was rising and I half expected him to start ranting and hitting the machine. I stood in front of the reception desk patiently and quietly, as I was not in a hurry I made no attempt to rush him. All of a sudden he jerks his head up, looks at me and snaps: I cannot help you.

Being forewarned by earlier experiences I was not to shocked. I simply explained that the bill for the room was to be sent to those who booked it, I had no extras and I just wanted to leave the key. He huffed and puffed and attempted to demand proof that I was not to pay for my room myself – this was apparently not something they usually did.

Despite not being able to prove that I should not pay for the room myself he eventually let me leave. Later this evening I am going to pick up my bag… I am kind of looking forward to this…