Wireless Router Blocked at Work?

[rustys209]

Here's the situation: I work at an airport in a large metal hangar, and my cell phone service provider has terrible coverage here. I set up WiFi calling so that I can use my phone while sitting in my office, but the wireless network my office provides is very slow and doesn't have enough bandwidth for everyone using it (1.2 mbps download on average). So when I first started, I brought my old $20 router to work, plugged it into a ethernet port, and had my own network for about 1 month. Then, it stopped working; I could see the network on my phone and laptop, but couldn't connect. Every time I tapped to connect, it would connect for 1-2 seconds, ask for the password, and immediately disconnect and switch back to the company's network. I tried "Forgetting" the company network, updating the latest firmware on the router, and even disabling the WP2 password, but nothing worked.

So, I went and bought this TP-LINK router, and am having the exact same problem. I've tried auto-channel, I've tried selecting specific channels, but no luck. Every time I tap to connect to my network (which is visible and sitting next to me), it tries for 1-3 seconds to connect and immediately disconnects, even with the password disabled. I'm wondering what changed at my office to cause this? I've switched ethernet ports so I don't think IT is blocking a specific port (I can plug my laptop directly into the router and it works), so I'm wondering if there's some signal interference or if IT can block my signal???

 

[degrub]

Here's the situation: I work at an airport in a large metal hangar, and my cell phone service provider has terrible coverage here. I set up WiFi calling so that I can use my phone while sitting in my office, but the wireless network my office provides is very slow and doesn't have enough bandwidth for everyone using it (1.2 mbps download on average). So when I first started, I brought my old $20 router to work, plugged it into a ethernet port, and had my own network for about 1 month. Then, it stopped working; I could see the network on my phone and laptop, but couldn't connect. Every time I tapped to connect, it would connect for 1-2 seconds, ask for the password, and immediately disconnect and switch back to the company's network. I tried "Forgetting" the company network, updating the latest firmware on the router, and even disabling the WP2 password, but nothing worked.

So, I went and bought this TP-LINK router, and am having the exact same problem. I've tried auto-channel, I've tried selecting specific channels, but no luck. Every time I tap to connect to my network (which is visible and sitting next to me), it tries for 1-3 seconds to connect and immediately disconnects, even with the password disabled. I'm wondering what changed at my office to cause this? I've switched ethernet ports so I don't think IT is blocking a specific port (I can plug my laptop directly into the router and it works), so I'm wondering if there's some signal interference or if IT can block my signal???

Welcome to "rogue device detection" and network security. Did you think that the company would not protect their network from someone borrowing bandwidth with an unauthorized device ? You are lucky they have not tried to figure out who it is and fire them.

 

[hyelton]

Welcome to "rogue device detection" and network security. Did you think that the company would not protect their network from someone borrowing bandwidth with an unauthorized device ? You are lucky they have not tried to figure out who it is and fire them.

Re read the OPs post.. it's the wifi signal not having an unauthorised device.



OP - did you try and set it on a channel that has the least amount of wifi networks? You can check that if you have an android by using the app wifi analyser. Never use "auto" for channel selection.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sfx2000]

Re read the OPs post.. it's the wifi signal not having an unauthorised device.

Managed WiFi networks can find rouge AP's, and force disassociation commands...

Marriott got into trouble with this very feature a couple of years ago in their hotel/convention centers by forcing every convention booth to use Marriott's WiFi (at significant cost)...

In OP's case - a rouge AP is a big deal at an airport - as one starts to get into both TSA and the airport's IT staff attention.

Running a rogue AP in an enterprise environment can be a career limiting move...

 

[MichaelCG]

Managed WiFi networks can find rouge AP's, and force disassociation commands...
....
In OP's case - a rouge AP is a big deal at an airport - as one starts to get into both TSA and the airport's IT staff attention.

Running a rouge AP in an enterprise environment can be a career limiting move...

It can be somewhat entertaining watching users trying to figure out what is going on when this happens. Usually made for interesting help desk calls and very uncomfortable return calls from Security. Most users just don't know the amount of risk they bring to the company when they do it....some do and don't care...most of that second group don't tend to stick around much longer.

Marriott got into trouble with this very feature a couple of years ago in their hotel/convention centers by forcing every convention booth to use Marriott's WiFi (at significant cost)...

I believe the lawsuit that came out of this made it clear you can't block WiFi for profit purposes, but it wasn't clear still if an Enterprise is allowed to block rogue WiFi within their environment for security purposes. However a true rogue WiFi that is actually connected to the Enterprise network....that is always a bad, very bad thing and should be blocked, hunted, and removed ASAP.

 

[System Error Message]

what you should do is tell your company about cell reception issues in the area, ask them to provide an alternative method of communication or even wifi themselves. This is a lot better than you adding your own wifi router. Cell companies are coming out with their own boosters that they plan to place at peoples homes so talk to your company about having something like this as cell phones are important if you are expecting urgent calls and emergencies. If it is just for idle chatter that isnt going to help as they expect you to do your job rather than socialising online.

The other thing as well is did you perform any NAT?

Exposed ethernet port is the same as a non password wifi.

 

[sfx2000]

I believe the lawsuit that came out of this made it clear you can't block WiFi for profit purposes, but it wasn't clear still if an Enterprise is allowed to block rogue WiFi within their environment for security purposes. However a true rogue WiFi that is actually connected to the Enterprise network....that is always a bad, very bad thing and should be blocked, hunted, and removed ASAP.

I was just pointing out that Marriott was using a feature/tool that detected AP's inside their footprint...

As for the enterprise - it's the enterprise's network, and they can enforce any policy they choose to implement, as the network is provided for the needs of the business, not the users...

As @System Error Message points out above - best course of action is to work with the IT staff directly.