Traveling with Chromecast

[orlanka]

TL/DR, sorry in advance...

I posted this on G+ as well as I can't be the only one who will do this and the responses I have received so far don't sound promising:

I stay at a lot of hotels, I'm at one now actually. I can connect to their wifi, however, when I open a new browser it loads a new page prompting me to enter their passcode and accept their TOS. No prob, my phone, tablet, laptop all connect. The problem is, Chromecast can't, it doesn't open a new browser so there's no place to enter the code and check the TOS box.

Any ideas on how to get this to work? I tried using my Nexus as a hotspot but no luck there either (maybe that's a different thread).

Here are the responses I have received so far..

Can you connect your laptop to a Ethernet cable? If you can you should be able to create a software bridge between the Ethernet port and the WiFi

I have no idea how to do this but I will look for steps tonight when I am back at the hotel. Does anyone think this would resolve it?

From Google support:

Chromecast is small and compact, perfect to bring on your next trip within the US. Setup is similar to the process you went through at home, with a few caveats:

- The hotel needs to have 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi network
- The username and password must be public
- If the hotel router/network has AP or client isolation enabled, you will not be able to set up your Chromecast device. This setting needs to be disabled on the router in order to set up Chromecast properly

Unfortunately, these networks usually have AP/client isolation in which Chromecast will not be possible as you will need to disable the AP/client isolation on the router.

This is all Greek to me but it doesn't sound good.

Thanks to anyone with ideas!

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Unless you travel with a bridge, it sounds like Chromecast won't work at hotels (or coffee shops ) that redirect you to a sign-in page first.

 

[88 FLUX]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Most hotels utilize layer 2 isolation on their WiFi networks (which is what Google is referring to). To put this into simple terms, it means that while each device is connected to the same WiFi network, each device operates independently of each other and cannot communicate with other devices that are also connected. This is done for security so that one guest cannot browse the WiFi network and begin establishing connections to any other random guest's laptop (for example) which may have publicly shared files/folders. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to have them turn that off so it's not even worth asking. I had originally hoped that Chromecast would be capable of WiFi Direct which would be perfect for traveling but it clearly is not. But at $35, I am still very happy with it. Unfortunately though, it is not going to be practical for your particular needs. This product was really designed to be used on your own WiFi network, not public ones.

 

[orlanka]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Appreciate the info. I'm still happy with my purchase (the Netflix deal helps) and once I'm settled in at home again, it will be great to have along with my Google TV.

 

[Devlyn16]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

If it is a case of the CC not being able to independently accept the Wi-Fi terms and conditions, I wonder if first spoofing the Mac address of the CC on another device and accepting the terms would work?

 

[orlanka]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

If it is a case of the CC not being able to independently accept the Wi-Fi terms and conditions, I wonder if first spoofing the Mac address of the CC on another device and accepting the terms would work?

If I can figure out what I am doing, I will give it a shot. Thanks for the idea.

 

[clankfu]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Most hotels utilize layer 2 isolation on their WiFi networks (which is what Google is referring to). To put this into simple terms, it means that while each device is connected to the same WiFi network, each device operates independently of each other and cannot communicate with other devices that are also connected. This is done for security so that one guest cannot browse the WiFi network and begin establishing connections to any other random guest's laptop (for example) which may have publicly shared files/folders. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to have them turn that off so it's not even worth asking. I had originally hoped that Chromecast would be capable of WiFi Direct which would be perfect for traveling but it clearly is not. But at $35, I am still very happy with it. Unfortunately though, it is not going to be practical for your particular needs. This product was really designed to be used on your own WiFi network, not public ones.

I'm wondering if the Chromecast can be hacked so that the casting can be done via an ad-hoc connection rather than through a network. On the initial setup between your device and the Chromecast, there is a temporary ad-hoc connection created so I'm thinking the capability is there but just needs to be unlocked.

 

[88 FLUX]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

I'm wondering if the Chromecast can be hacked so that the casting can be done via an ad-hoc connection rather than through a network. On the initial setup between your device and the Chromecast, there is a temporary ad-hoc connection created so I'm thinking the capability is there but just needs to be unlocked.

Over the weekend, I reconfigured one of my WiFi networks and factory reset my Chromecast while re-setting up some devices. And upon that process, I thought the same thing as you. It appears to be there. Maybe they'll enable "travel mode" in a future update?

 

[clankfu]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Over the weekend, I reconfigured one of my WiFi networks and factory reset my Chromecast while re-setting up some devices. And upon that process, I thought the same thing as you. It appears to be there. Maybe they'll enable "travel mode" in a future update?

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a developer getting to it first.

 

[anon263317]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

I travel quite a bit as well, but haven't considered bringing my Chromecast with. My experience with hotel networks has been iffy at best because they're typically crowded and unless you're on top of the router, your signal is shoddy as well.

That being said, I would be curious to find out if you could bring a wireless router with you, hard connect it to the ethernet port in the room then connect your computer and chromecast through that access point. A couple immediate benefits that I could see:
1) Hard wired router should equal better bandwidth.
2) Personal wifi router means only one time setup for the Chromecast on that router
3) if you connect with your pc (or other browser inclusive device) through the router, i would think it would open up the channel between your router and the hotel network and give you free reign so to speak with every device connected to the router.

Keep in mind, this is all theoretical, but wifi routers are also relatively inexpensive, so it's a fairly low barrier to entry.
Either way, if you decide to give this route(r) a shot, let us know if it was successful or not.
Good luck!

 

[Dan29466]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

On any hotel network where you can see your Chromecast, I will be able to see your computer and do all sorts of naughty things to it, and I will be able to access your Chromcast and cast all sorts of naughty things to it. You don't want that. Probably.

You need one of these ZuniConnect Travel IV
When you get to the hotel:
1) Plug in an ethernet cable from your computer to the ZuniConnect
2) Your computer treats the ZuniConnect as another wifi adaptor. Use it to connect to the hotel's wifi and go through their username/password/hitOK login procedure.
3) You can now unplug your computer from the ZuniConnect and the ZuniConnect will function as a wifi router which you can connect to with your phone, tablet, Chromecast, whatever. The ZuniConnect will use the hotel's wifi to give you internet access.

Done. You now have your own, private wifi network that uses the hotel network for internet access. This is also really useful when you find a hotel that charges $10/night/device. Connect with the ZuniConnect and the hotel only charges you once even though you have laptop, phone, and tablet all connected.

Dan

 

[hobbes80]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

What I'd love to see to solve this problem is a Desktop-Chrome extension that would pass the hotel's wireless information and login-session information via USB to the Chromecast... Essentially tap a "Pass wireless session credentials" button from the browser corner and it would send cookies, wireless network, etc... over to Chromecast.

That'd be an awesome feature for a lot of reasons. Not just hotels, but using this as a way to bring Chromecast with you as your personal projector to business meetings. Any meeting with a VTC television is immediately your wireless projector. Hot.

 

[Mikey47]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

On any hotel network where you can see your Chromecast, I will be able to see your computer and do all sorts of naughty things to it, and I will be able to access your Chromcast and cast all sorts of naughty things to it. You don't want that. Probably.

You need one of these ZuniConnect Travel IV
When you get to the hotel:
1) Plug in an ethernet cable from your computer to the ZuniConnect
2) Your computer treats the ZuniConnect as another wifi adaptor. Use it to connect to the hotel's wifi and go through their username/password/hitOK login procedure.
3) You can now unplug your computer from the ZuniConnect and the ZuniConnect will function as a wifi router which you can connect to with your phone, tablet, Chromecast, whatever. The ZuniConnect will use the hotel's wifi to give you internet access.

Done. You now have your own, private wifi network that uses the hotel network for internet access. This is also really useful when you find a hotel that charges $10/night/device. Connect with the ZuniConnect and the hotel only charges you once even though you have laptop, phone, and tablet all connected.

Dan

Sounds good as long as it doesn't violate the terms of service you are agreeing to when you connect. My guess is that you are though...

 

[uiuc_josh]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Not to resurrect the dead, but you could also do this with virtual router or connectify or the like, implementing a virtual AP using a single physical WiFi adaptor on your win7+ laptop. It would effectively share the device (at a performance penalty) for both hotel WiFi client and WAP for the data shared network.

Here's my issue: I want to be able to do this with only an android device when I travel, since I have no need for a personal laptop for work travel. Does anyone know if Android virtualizes its network interface and if any software projects attempt to do this?
That would really be the best CC travel use case--only phone or tablet and CC required, and it uses the hotel WiFi for data, for those of us that travel to 4g dead spots. (I see a lot of 1x on my phone when I'm traveling for work. So much for Netflix. Plus VZ data plans suck it sideways.)

Anybody seen a project like this or knows if its not possible?

 

[Groundhound]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Here's my issue: I want to be able to do this with only an android device when I travel, since I have no need for a personal laptop for work travel. Does anyone know if Android virtualizes its network interface and if any software projects attempt to do this?
That would really be the best CC travel use case--only phone or tablet and CC required, and it uses the hotel WiFi for data, for those of us that travel to 4g dead spots. (I see a lot of 1x on my phone when I'm traveling for work. So much for Netflix. Plus VZ data plans suck it sideways.)

Anybody seen a project like this or knows if its not possible?

I think your best choice is one of the tiny travel routers that support WISP mode so you could create your own private wifi network from a hotel's wifi or ethernet internet access. Some of these routers are not much bigger or costlier than the chromecast itself and would create a private wifi network in your hotel room that your chromecast and your phone/tablet would both be on as clients.

 

[WestOkid]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

I have a Windows 8 laptop. Created a virtual router from the command line. Connected to laptop to hotel wifi, connected Chromecast to the virtual router. All seemed perfect except chromecast would not stream anything. It starts and then says make sure you have Internet connection. Has anyone actually used Chromecast on hotel wifi?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Poprocket]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Getting my CC tomorrow with plans to take it on the road as well. The Nexus 4 & 7 have the ability to be setup as WiFi hotspots. Has anyone tried this approach to get the CC to connect in a hotel?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[WestOkid]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Getting my CC tomorrow with plans to take it on the road as well. The Nexus 4 & 7 have the ability to be setup as WiFi hotspots. Has anyone tried this approach to get the CC to connect in a hotel?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

If you are saying you will use all three devices together then yes It would work. One device would become the hot-spot and connect the the CC and the other device to that hot-spot. This the only way because the device controlling the CC must be connected to the same Wi-Fi. That excludes the hot-spot device as it is connected to 3g/4g and doesn't connect to itself.

My problem with this setup is it is only reasonable with unlimited data.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[dsmith597]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

I'm at a Homewood Suites and called the help line, asking for the MAC address on my new Chromecast was a breeze and they gladly set it up.

Now that it's setup and whitelisted, none of my devices can see it.

So while they whitelisted the MAC address, I'm still stuck because they block my laptop/phone from talking to my CC?

-Dave

 

[paulmike3]

Re: Traveling with ChromeCast

Getting my CC tomorrow with plans to take it on the road as well. The Nexus 4 & 7 have the ability to be setup as WiFi hotspots. Has anyone tried this approach to get the CC to connect in a hotel?

I setup a wifi hotspot on my phone and used my tablet to setup the CC. As long as you have a strong cell signal in the room, it works like a charm. As others mentioned, you should probably only do this if you have unlimited data. I burned about 4GB watching a couple hours of Netflix last month (unlimited VZW LTE FTW).