[SOLVED] To connect a device to my internet, I have to give my landlord a device's MAC address so they can add it to the network. Can I get around this?

[00000AMillion]

Hey guys.

My internet is included in my monthly rent, so I don't actually pay a specific company for a connection/modem/etc. I have my own router that is plugged into the Ethernet port in my wall. If I want to use a device on my WiFi or Ethernet, I have to call my landlord and give them the MAC address of the device, and then I can use it.

Obviously, this is a pain in the ass. Is there a way for me to get around this?

 

[ss202sl]

Ask your landlord

 

[bill001g]

You have it configured incorrectly if the landlord can even see mac addresses of your devices when you have a router in the path.

All traffic should appear as if it comes from the wan port of the router. All traffic should appear as if it comes from that mac and ip. That is the reason you use a router. On actual internet connection it allows you to only use 1 IP address.

I would recheck and make sure you are using the router as a router and not a AP.

 

[00000AMillion]

You have it configured incorrectly if the landlord can even see mac addresses of your devices when you have a router in the path.

All traffic should appear as if it comes from the wan port of the router. All traffic should appear as if it comes from that mac and ip. That is the reason you use a router. On actual internet connection it allows you to only use 1 IP address.

I would recheck and make sure you are using the router as a router and not a AP.

I don't have it configured incorrectly in the sense that I made a mistake setting it up. This process is what the apartment management tells every tenant to do when they move in.

However, I'll still try the AP suggestion. How would I check that?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

get a router and don't use it as an access point. I don't think you understood bill001g's post. Then give the landlord the MAC of your router. then you can connect all your devices to YOUR router, not the landlord's

 

[00000AMillion]

get a router and don't use it as an access point. I don't think you understood bill001g's post. Then give the landlord the MAC of your router. then you can connect all your devices to YOUR router, not the landlord's

The router I have is my own Linksys router that I bought, but I had to give it to management so they could do something with it (can't remember) before getting it back. I can't actually log in to my router settings to do anything on that end, either.

Presumably, they already have the MAC address of my router, which is how they connected it to the building's network.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

reset your router to standard. you should not have given them anything. i would not live with a network nazi. they probably configured it for an AP, and they locked you out! that would really chap my caboose

 

[00000AMillion]

reset your router to standard. you should not have given them anything. i would not live with a network nazi. they probably configured it for an AP, and they locked you out! that would really chap my caboose

Gotcha, so I reset it to factory settings, then give my landlord the router's MAC address, and then I'll be good?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I would just reset it and see if it works first. don't tell them anything. if they already have it's mac you should be good. I would mark bill's response as the answer if it were me. He posted it first.

I would never let them mod the settings and lock me out. that is ridiculous.

 

[00000AMillion]

I would just reset it and see if it works first. don't tell them anything. if they already have it's mac you should be good. I would mark bill's response as the answer if it were me. He posted it first.

I would never let them mod the settings and lock me out. that is ridiculous.

Thanks a bunch! I'll switch best answer to Bill's.

 

[00000AMillion]

I would just reset it and see if it works first. don't tell them anything. if they already have it's mac you should be good. I would mark bill's response as the answer if it were me. He posted it first.

I would never let them mod the settings and lock me out. that is ridiculous.

Well, unfortunately that didn't work. I reset the router and my devices that are already "approved" were automatically able to get back on the networkk - no WiFi password change required. I tried connecting unapproved devices and they as usual they couldn't connect. Not sure where to go now.

 

[bill001g]

What you are reporting can not work the way you say it does something must be wrong.

When you run a router it makes all the device on the lan side invisible to the network. The internet would not work if this did not work this way.

Since you did not have to change the wifi password this likely means you are not connecting to your router you are connecting to the landlords router. You need to change things so you can connect to your router. You need to change the SSID to something different than the landlord so you can force your devices to connect to your router rather than the landlords. You should also use a different password.

 

[00000AMillion]

What you are reporting can not work the way you say it does something must be wrong.

When you run a router it makes all the device on the lan side invisible to the network. The internet would not work if this did not work this way.

Since you did not have to change the wifi password this likely means you are not connecting to your router you are connecting to the landlords router. You need to change things so you can connect to your router. You need to change the SSID to something different than the landlord so you can force your devices to connect to your router rather than the landlords. You should also use a different password.

How would I be connecting to my landlord's router? The router I have in my apartment was one I bought personally. Also, I can't go to "192.168.1.1" and log in to my router's settings, either. The default "admin" username and password don't work, so I assume my landlord has changed that. This is all so confusing, sorry!

 

[Deleted member 14196]

if you reset your router you should be able to connect to and administer it. from there you can change your SSID and other settings. you need to spend some time reading the router owners manual for all the things you can change.

Your router is probably configured as an ACCESS POINT or AP to the Landlord's router. Doing a FULL reset to defaults on your router should set it back to it's original state. the fact that you did not have to change passwords means that did not happen.

 

[00000AMillion]

if you reset your router you should be able to connect to and administer it. from there you can change your SSID and other settings. you need to spend some time reading the router owners manual for all the things you can change.

Your router is probably configured as an ACCESS POINT or AP to the Landlord's router. Doing a FULL reset to defaults on your router should set it back to it's original state. the fact that you did not have to change passwords means that did not happen.

Ok thanks. I followed the instructions on an official Linksys web page but I guess those weren't for a full reset. I'll try that and report back.