Hardware needed to connect to local hotspots

Aug 11, 2018
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Hi all,

I live in a complex with tons of shops as well as the free "community room" wifi from the building. All of this is a bit out of range, even though I'm right across the street from stores and restaurants. The building's free wifi is across a few floors and walls.

Obviously, I don't have access to any routers, and I don't have access to the roof or the building's exterior to put up any exterior bridges (whatever these may be) or high gain antennas. Ages ago I used a range extender to tap into apartment complex's wifi. I tried my old range extender but it doesn't seem to work anymore. Would a new range extender, maybe something like this one, work? https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-N300-Range-Extender-EX2700/dp/B00L0YLRUW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1533998448&sr=8-3&keywords=wireless+extender

Maybe with a homemade antenna like some decorative wire thingy hanging on a wall, with a wire running from that to the antenna connector on the extender? Would that work with wifi connections that require web page sign-ins where you go to a web site and have to click "agree" before connecting?
 
Solution
If design of microwave antenna were as simple as hooking wire to a chunk of metal the cell companies could save huge money by hiring interior decorators rather than a someone with a RF engineering degree.

Almost all the stuff you find about home made antennas is a bunch of garbage by people with no background. They just claim things work good for them so it must be a fact.

This is one of those why bother when you can get something that is designed by a professional that has been scientifically tested to work. You can get directional bridge equipment for $50 so it just is not worth messing with and just getting something that works.

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
If you have a window pointed at one of the public hotspots you could put a directional WIFI bridge in the window. Since the device would be in bridge mode, all it would do is convert the WIFI to ethernet. You would (should) be able to click on the "agree". If you have to have WIFI in your apartment, you would have to convert the ethernet back to WIFI with an access point.
 
Aug 11, 2018
2
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10


So directional bridge pointed to the window, then a router connected to the bridge by ethernet cable? What's the advantage of this vs. something like this ( https://www.amazon.com/Pulatree-Decorative-Photograph-PhotoWall-x17-7inch/dp/B0758FGYWK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534005686&sr=8-3&keywords=decorative+wire+wall ) used as an antenna with a range extender?
 
If design of microwave antenna were as simple as hooking wire to a chunk of metal the cell companies could save huge money by hiring interior decorators rather than a someone with a RF engineering degree.

Almost all the stuff you find about home made antennas is a bunch of garbage by people with no background. They just claim things work good for them so it must be a fact.

This is one of those why bother when you can get something that is designed by a professional that has been scientifically tested to work. You can get directional bridge equipment for $50 so it just is not worth messing with and just getting something that works.
 
Solution