Connecting to a Wifi service following removal

Flash525 · 15-06-2016, 08:41

Quick query here, hopefully one that'll pay off.

In short, a certain location that I frequent has apparently wiped their wifi servers of any foreign objects, and has stopped people from accessing their wifi network with their phones. Before such a date, access was freely avaliable providing you had the wifi password (which I did).

I've been told by a reliable source that this only applies to existing phones, so if someone new came in, or if someone purchased a new phone, they would easily be able to connect.

I'm not going to pretend how this works, but is there a way for me/us to (I suppose) reset our phones so that they would appear new to this wifi connection? Without actually resetting our phones (and thus losing lots of data).

interactiv-uk · 15-06-2016, 09:00

If they've just removed existing connections you should be able to reconnect with the password as normal.

If however they have blocked all previous MAC addresses then you have no chance as your device is effectively banned from the network. That would explain why new devices are fine as they were never "blacklisted".

Could be wrong but it sounds lie this may be the case.

Flash525 · 15-06-2016, 09:05

Nah, you're not wrong, it sounds like that's what has happened. Was just wondering whether there was a way around it was all, but I fear not.

Synthetic42 · 15-06-2016, 09:08

If you have a rooted Android phone you could try changing the MAC of your phone, I'm sure that'd be frowned upon though

Flash525 · 15-06-2016, 09:42

I've got an iPhone.

nigelbb · 15-06-2016, 10:44

It would be a truly bizarre & stupid method of locking down access to your WiFi network to block access from known MAC addresses but keep the same password.

binary · 15-06-2016, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigelbb

It would be a truly bizarre & stupid method of locking down access to your WiFi network to block access from known MAC addresses but keep the same password.

If this is what is happening, there could be some insane legacy reason - such as the WiFi owner wanting to provide access to some devices that already have the password, and are considered too much hassle (for whatever reason) to change - e.g. devices used by a supplier who is occasionally on site. If so, that'd still be kinda bonkers though!

15-06-2016, 08:41	#1
Flash525 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gloucestershire, England Posts: 4,840	Connecting to a Wifi service following removal Quick query here, hopefully one that'll pay off. In short, a certain location that I frequent has apparently wiped their wifi servers of any foreign objects, and has stopped people from accessing their wifi network with their phones. Before such a date, access was freely avaliable providing you had the wifi password (which I did). I've been told by a reliable source that this only applies to existing phones, so if someone new came in, or if someone purchased a new phone, they would easily be able to connect. I'm not going to pretend how this works, but is there a way for me/us to (I suppose) reset our phones so that they would appear new to this wifi connection? Without actually resetting our phones (and thus losing lots of data).

15-06-2016, 09:00	#2
interactiv-uk Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 587	If they've just removed existing connections you should be able to reconnect with the password as normal. If however they have blocked all previous MAC addresses then you have no chance as your device is effectively banned from the network. That would explain why new devices are fine as they were never "blacklisted". Could be wrong but it sounds lie this may be the case.

15-06-2016, 09:05	#3
Flash525 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gloucestershire, England Posts: 4,840	Nah, you're not wrong, it sounds like that's what has happened. Was just wondering whether there was a way around it was all, but I fear not.

15-06-2016, 09:08	#4
Synthetic42 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Newcastle Posts: 1,510	If you have a rooted Android phone you could try changing the MAC of your phone, I'm sure that'd be frowned upon though

15-06-2016, 09:42	#5
Flash525 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gloucestershire, England Posts: 4,840	I've got an iPhone.

15-06-2016, 10:44	#6
nigelbb Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 834	It would be a truly bizarre & stupid method of locking down access to your WiFi network to block access from known MAC addresses but keep the same password.

15-06-2016, 11:03	#7
binary Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 636	Quote: Originally Posted by nigelbb It would be a truly bizarre & stupid method of locking down access to your WiFi network to block access from known MAC addresses but keep the same password. If this is what is happening, there could be some insane legacy reason - such as the WiFi owner wanting to provide access to some devices that already have the password, and are considered too much hassle (for whatever reason) to change - e.g. devices used by a supplier who is occasionally on site. If so, that'd still be kinda bonkers though!

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Connecting to a Wifi service following removal