Travelling with AirPort Express Base Station for iPad

[Tobster3]

Hi,

I do a lot of travelling with my company, typically staying in hotels where the company will pay for Internet access in the hotel room or Internet access is free with the room rate.

To enable me to use my iPad in the various different countries I have thought about purchasing the AirPort Express Base Station (See Link below) so I can set up a Wireless network in the hotel as it looks pretty portable.

Is anyone using this item already who could give me any pros, cons or any feedback at all considering what I intend to use it for.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MB321B/A/AirPort-Express-AirTunes?fnode=MTY1NDA0Mg&mco=MTA4NTc4MTE

Thanks

 

[patp]

great unit aand it will deliver as promised. just set it up once using your laptop or desktop and then its set. take it from hotel to hotel. plug into the wired internet and you're all set.

 

[Hydrocity]

I have one, works great. Just one question tho:

I am going on a mini vacation in a week. Im not sure if the hotel internet is free. If it isnt, can I plug in this device and get free wifi?

 

[Clix Pix]

An airport express works great for this -- last weekend a friend and I had our two iPads in a hotel room that provided only a wired connection. No problem, I simply plugged the hotel's ethernet cable into my airport express and we were good to go wirelessly.....worked a treat!

 

[Caraj]

An airport express works great for this -- last weekend a friend and I had our two iPads in a hotel room that provided only a wired connection. No problem, I simply plugged the hotel's ethernet cable into my airport express and we were good to go wirelessly.....worked a treat!

In some hotels there is a portal that requires you to login and enter your room number and your name before you get Internet access. How do you guys get past that?

 

[robby818]

In some hotels there is a portal that requires you to login and enter your room number and your name before you get Internet access. How do you guys get past that?

My understanding is that you need to do some setup before you go on your trip. Using airport config utility on your computer, you put the airport express into bridged mode. In bridged mode, the AE just passes whatever is being sent through the ethernet cable. You will be able to log in to the hotel's login page assuming it is not some poorly written page that requires IE or whatever. You may also want to activate MAC filtering before you leave home.

I would take a memory stick with a copy of the windows version of the airport config utility in case you need to make changes while on the road.

 

[spammerhamster]

In some hotels there is a portal that requires you to login and enter your room number and your name before you get Internet access. How do you guys get past that?

if it's set in bridge mode, the airport express is nothing more than a virtual cable
When you open safari (or whatever browser) on your ipad, you'd presented with the loginsplashscreen.

 

[Clix Pix]

Rather than Bridge Mode, I set my Airport Express up as a new network, and yes, I did it at home before leaving for the trip, as there is no way you can do it with the iPad; setup requires Airport Utility on a Mac (not sure if an AE works with Windows or not).

This was the first time I've traveled with an Airport Express, so was happy that it was easy as it was. I simply plugged in the hotel's ethernet cable, waited a few moments for the light on the AE to go from amber to green, then fired up my iPad, went to Settings and WiFi, highlighted the appropriate network (I had named mine "Travel") and was good to go. Then I clicked on a website in my bookmarks. It was at that point that I needed to log in at the hotel's site, as their splash screen came up rather than the site I had selected, but it simply required an agreement to abide by their rules. Once I'd clicked "yes," I was on the internet, no problems.

My friend did not even have to log in to the hotel's page at all, but was all set once she had typed in the password to access my network. We were both able to browse the internet all we wanted, do our email and whatever else, too. It was especially convenient having the wireless setup anyway, as the hotel had placed their wired data point and attached ethernet cable in a really awkward place so that using a notebook would have been a bit of a pain. With wireless we could each sit wherever in the room was most convenient and comfortable for us.

If for some reason this setup had not worked, I would have still been OK, as I've got the 3G iPad, but my friend's iPad is the WiFi-only one. That was the primary reason I decided to experiment with the AE, set it up and take it along on this trip. Neither of us brought along a laptop this trip, although we both do have them. Without a laptop there would be no way to make adjustments in the settings on the AE, as nothing can be plugged in to the iPad.

 

[Caraj]

OK all good information, thanks all.
Im off to go get my Airport base station now from best buy
I also have the 3g Ipads but I subscribe to the $15.00 plan and try to preserve that for when there is really no wifi anywhere

 

[robby818]

My friend did not even have to log in to the hotel's page at all, but was all set once she had typed in the password to access my network. We were both able to browse the internet all we wanted, do our email and whatever else, too. It was especially convenient having the wireless setup anyway, as the hotel had placed their wired data point and attached ethernet cable in a really awkward place so that using a notebook would have been a bit of a pain. With wireless we could each sit wherever in the room was most convenient and comfortable for us.

Not all hotel ethernet connections will allow you to share the wi-fi connection in this manner. Some block this from occurring because they do not want you sharing the connection $$. It is too bad there is no way to configure the express from the ipad, there are times when you need to make changes while on the road without the laptop.

 

[Caraj]

Not all hotel ethernet connections will allow you to share the wi-fi connection in this manner. Some block this from occurring because they do not want you sharing the connection $$. It is too bad there is no way to configure the express from the ipad, there are times when you need to make changes while on the road without the laptop.

Im thinking most hotels have PC stations to borrow/rent so I guess in a pinch maybe you can use that to reconfigure the airport.

 

[spammerhamster]

Im thinking most hotels have PC stations to borrow/rent so I guess in a pinch maybe you can use that to reconfigure the airport.

You can't install anything on them though. Also, the configure port to the ae will be blocked anyway

Best would be to have an airport express tool app.... Where can we bug apple for it?

 

[jimboutilier]

Not all hotel ethernet connections will allow you to share the wi-fi connection in this manner. Some block this from occurring because they do not want you sharing the connection $$. It is too bad there is no way to configure the express from the ipad, there are times when you need to make changes while on the road without the laptop.

I travel most weeks so stay in a lot of hotels. I use an iPad (and Macbook) and an Airport Express. Bridge mode has always worked although sometimes you are restricted to a single computer connection. No issues with hotel login pages. In access point mode I've had trouble in a number of hotels so I just keep the Airport in Bridge mode now.

 

[sportster]

I too have considered getting one.

Looking to use it when traveling, and would it be possible to set it up as type of wireless card for a computer with only a either net plug?

 

[Tobster3]

I appreciate all the replies and Information. It sounds like a good idea to purchase one when travelling a lot.