Kurt,
Thanks for the confirmation by the way! (previous email)
I've gone 180 degrees on the WIFI at work issue over the last year. I
was the original "that's tough, use your data plan" guy, but as I've
dealt with problems (people getting on the WIFI access in the building
which was installed for the management to use their laptops on...."hey!
How did you get the password?" "Oh, Bob told me...") I've given up and
decided that a safe (emphasis on my data network being SAFE) WIFI
service with a fairly simple password that changed every 30 days is the
best approach.
"Bring your tablets! Connect your cell! Come one come all! Connect all
day, stay all night!"
works a lot better than fighting and searching for rogue hardware that
has been plugged in to USB ports.
So, I have a WIFI WAP for anyone to use, and it has its own router/
firewall and its own public IP. It is completely isolated and shares
nothing but the monthly invoice from the ISP for the "Internet
services." I tell people that if they use it they can go anywhere and do
anything, including get infected and hacked. Enjoy! (And I don't support
personal devices unless you're an owner or member of the board of
directors.)
Now, I no longer have to deal with "Can I connect my ______ to the
building network? Why not!?" questions from every former Best Buy
salesperson they hire. Instead, I send out regular notices that "Any
electronic device found connected by wire to anything other than an
electrical outlet can be found at my office in the box labeled trash."
It really boils down to a new attitude I'm encountering among the
20-somethings that says "I have a right to access the Internet at all
times and all places." Rather than fight it, I embrace and encourage it.
"HEY HEY HEY! Connect to WAP1 access point on your device and use the
password LETSGO! Password will be changed from time to time, so stay tuned!"
And yes, I do still have a WAP that is NOT accessible to anyone but me,
since I'm the only one with the password (which is a very long arcane
string of gibberish.) If someone (management) wants to access company
files, no problem! Bring your laptop to me and I'll key the password in
for you. (All laptops have Admin accounts so to see or remove the
password on the WAP connection requires admin privilege.)
So far management has given total buy in, which was accomplished by
throwing the security issues in their lap for a year or two until they
got tired of dealing with every i-something that got carried in the
door. They finally said "You deal with it, but don't get us in trouble."
And so it goes. :)
Mike Copeland
Kurt Wendt wrote:
I gotta say - Mike - if its people all doing personal usage - you shouldn't
have to support that since its NOT Work related. Here at my job - security is a
Huge issue - since the co. is centered around financial data. As such, we have
NO Free WiFi access. Oh well...
I WILL keep an eye on this thread - since if it sheds any light on your issue -
maybe it will help shed light on my own problem at my place.
Regards,
Kurt Wendt
Consultant
Tel. +1-212-747-9100
www.GlobeTax.com
-----Original Message-----
From: ProfoxTech [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike
Copeland
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2016 5:56 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [NF] WIFI Blues
Exactly. I've checked a few of the phones that won't route and they have a
valid IP address, they have a valid gateway value, but no DNS.
The problem I am dealing with is a couple hundred employees who have come to expect free
high-speed WIFI at work for their cell phones and tablets (personal stuff, not work
related.) And I'm astounded at how rapidly people change phones!!! I looked at one guy's
Android phone a couple weeks ago, and yesterday he shows up with an iPhone. A girl I
helped connect her Android last Friday sent me an email today "warning"
me that she is getting a new iPhone by the end of the week and she's heard that
people are having trouble getting WIFI on their iPhones.
What I've done on the Androids is remove the WIFI connection from the previous
connection (the WAP hasn't changed, but I did change the password at the
beginning of January) and then reconnect. So far I've only had one Android that
didn't work on.
There's a similar 'fix' touted for the iPhone when you google the problem, but
so far it hasn't worked once on nearly a dozen phones.
The problem is almost identical each time (the wording changes depending on
whether it's Android, iPhone, and what flavor of Android.) It prompts for
password, accepts password, indicates it is getting connection details (IP,
etc.) and then it finally finishes without further indication there's a
problem. But when you try to access the Internet, it routes through the phones
data connection (LTE4 or 3 or whatever their carrier provides) and not WIFI.
I've looked at the DHCP server and it shows the devices by MAC address, with a
valid associated IP and lease. Everything on the DHCP servers looks right.
I'm going to replace the routers and try having the router assign the DHCP
values and see how that flies. Nothing else is working.
Thanks!
Mike
Ted Roche wrote:
Yikes. That sounds like a "fun" problem. Sorry, bro.
You say it seems to be a DNS problem. Why do you think that?
There are info screens on iPhones and Androids that will show you IP
address & DNS settings, though they are often difficult to find. My
Android will happily set DNS1 & 2 to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 if you don't
specify. Do you block devices that want to use their own DNS settings?
On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 4:21 PM, Mike Copeland <[email protected]> wrote:
Anyone else having problems with WIFI WAPs starting to refuse
connections to iPhones?
I manage several building networks that have WAP devices, and I've
started getting complaints in the last couple of months about "my
cellphone won't connect." It seems that the connection happens, but the data
won't route.
From what I can tell it's a DNS issue. (The WAP is on an isolated
network with a DHCP server that provides an IP, gateway, and DNS
settings when
connected.)
I've Googled this and read for hours, and I have found some "fixs"
that didn't work when tried. Mostly it's iPhone 6's but a couple of
Android phones, too. No idea what flavor of Android.
It is happening with both Cisco WAPs (Aironets) and Netgear. And once
a device connects, it's happy happy to come and go, reconnecting as needed.
Any WIFI gurus in the crowd?
Thanks!
Mike Copeland
[excessive quoting removed by server]
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