Do you have a travel Wi-Fi access point available?
Do you have a travel Wi-Fi access point available?
You're seeking a flexible setup for using devices like Apple TV while traveling. The concept involves a travel Wi-Fi AP handling captive portal authentication, allowing all your devices to connect seamlessly through it. This would function as a double NAT, though it likely won't impact your needs since you don’t run servers or require VPNs on individual machines. You’d also want the ability to directly configure a VPN on the AP for personal devices, eliminating the need to set up VPN configurations manually on each one. Apple TV should work without issues in this arrangement. Any recommendations would be appreciated!
Staying within the country seems likely for now. Perhaps next year? There are two main concerns with using my phone as a hotspot. First, connecting it to the hotel’s Wi-Fi while it shares its LTE/5G connection isn’t possible because the device would need to switch between networks, which isn’t supported by my iPhone 13 Pro. It also needs to stay on the same network for its own data and apps. Ideally, it should use dual-band WiFi and connect directly to the hotel’s AP via 5G, then share that signal with other devices. That would work perfectly. I’m almost sure iPhones aren’t built for this. Android might be an option—there are reports of it working. I’d also consider buying a refurbished Android phone for this setup. Quick search shows it’s technically feasible on Android. Speed is another issue; LTE/5G signals inside hotels are usually weak, causing buffering problems with devices like Apple TV. AirPlay to the ATV also seems problematic after some time.
There are various travel routers available that support openWRT, enabling VPN access and other features. You'll find numerous options with different configurations. Note that the one I mentioned doesn't work at 5GHz, though many others do.
GL.iNet offers several travel routers as noted by @Takumidesh. For WiFi 5 devices choose the GL-A1300 (Slate Plus), and for WiFi 6 use the GL-AXT1800 (Slate AX). OpenVPN and WireGuard clients work with these models. To bypass captive portals, refer to their documentation at the provided link.
You can design your own travel router with a Raspberry Pi, and you can also use a 5G hat when simulating a connection. A video tutorial by Networkchuck on YouTube demonstrates installing OpenWrt and setting up a VPN, along with connecting to a Wi-Fi captive portal.
Hey everyone, I feel I have sufficient materials from the previous posts to begin. I'll refresh this thread once I pick a specific option, but the GL.iNet model with Wi-Fi 6 seems really appealing! OpenWRT firmware is available too.