Inquiry about Wi-Fi availability at campgrounds
Inquiry about Wi-Fi availability at campgrounds
I'm setting up in a remote area with no cellular coverage. The campground offers Wi-Fi managed by a local ISP that bills per device. For the past year, I've used an Ubiquiti Loco M2 to connect to their network and distribute it to the site. This method is working well. Recently, the ISP noticed our activity and has blocked us. It seems they're targeting devices without wireless MAC addresses—possibly phones or laptops. The outdoor Wi-Fi quality is poor, especially with weak signals from mobile antennas. I'm exploring switching the Loco M2 into router mode and cloning a phone's MAC address to avoid detection. This should mask our presence as a router user. A small municipal ISP likely isn't monitoring traffic deeply, so it might help. Disconnecting at the end of my stay could also reduce visibility, though it would add complexity with multiple NAT layers.
Does the router support NAT? If yes, the ISP will treat it as a single MAC address for all connected devices. It’s much easier to work with the ISP in this scenario. There are several signs of this configuration, and using services like Starlink can simplify things further.
The router handled NAT, and we've already talked to the ISP about it. They just explained what they could do, which turned out to be a standard limitation. I’ve considered Starlink, but with poor tree coverage you can’t get reliable satellite service, so it probably won’t work for us.
The top choice might be a travel router, though it doesn’t fully conceal traffic. Using a VPN would better mask activity, but you’re unsure if the setup is correct. How do they verify client identities? Is authentication relying mainly on MAC addresses?
It seems the service is MAC-based and requires payment through a captive portal upon first login. There’s no clear way to transfer access without contacting them directly. The M2 model supports routing, but that doesn’t necessarily solve the issue. A VPN might be worth considering, especially since you have a gigabit connection at home.
I'll attempt router mode with MAC cloning to test what it does. They seem not planning this deeply. Appreciate the help.