MacBook – Amazon FireTV without WiFi, MacBook Pro Internet sharing

macbook proNetworktelevisionwifi

I've been struggling for a while on this, strange set of circumstances.
I have a Amazon FireTV box that I cannot connect as university wireless does not support it.

I'm looking for a way to set up Internet from my MacBook pro (the uni WiFi won't allow Internet sharing however – and no Ethernet in my room!).
The only way i've found is to share my iPhone's 4G but I don't want to do that because of data usage.

Any way I can fix this?

I have an iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro, HDMI cables, USB cables but not WiFi that I'm allowed to share!

Anything I can buy to make this work?

Best Answer

Short answer: Not without getting you in hot water with your school/university.

Technically speaking, you could have a setup that consisted of:

a WiFi router with a network specifically for your dorm room
Ethernet from router to MacBook
MacBook connected to Uni WiFi
Internet sharing routed from Ethernet on MacBook to MacBook WiFi

Would that work? Yes, your Amazon FireTV would connect to your dorm room WiFi that you create and traffic would be routed through Ethernet, through your Mac, to the Uni WiFi and out to the University's network.

Should you do this?

Absolutley not.

They can detect your WiFi network
The "enterprise grade" networking gear can detect that you are sharing the network connection
The traffic shaper firewall/appliance they are probably using will detect your (prohibited) network traffic

The key here to remember is:

Their network = their rules.

You can/will be discovered and your university "career" (IMO) isn't worth the risk.

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MacOS – My MacBook Pro loses its connection to the WiFi router

Mac Wireless & Airport Connection Problem Troubleshooting: The Basics * Turn Airport on & off – You can do this via the Airport menu bar or from the Network Preferences. This is the first thing you should try when troubleshooting Mac wireless problems.

Reset your router – This is the second thing you should try doing. You can fix a surprising amount of wireless problems just by resetting the airport/router. All you need to do is turn the thing off for a few seconds and turn it back on.
Reset your Cable/DSL modem – You’ll usually want to reset this in combination with your wireless router. Reset this first so the DHCP information will be pulled to the wireless router properly.
Change Wireless Channels – sometimes your router’s wireless broadcast channel will interfere with a neighbors, be sure you have your router set to a unique channel. Even if it’s a weak signal there can still be interference.
Make sure Wireless/Airport card software & firmware is up to date – This is usually done just by going to the Software Update menu, if there are any updates available for your Mac or Airport, install them.

Mac Wireless Troubleshooting: Intermediate * Change wireless security protocol – You shouldn’t be using WEP anyway for security reasons, but sometimes changing from WEP to WPA/WPA2 or WPA to WPA2 can resolve wireless connection difficulties.

Make sure router firmware is up to date – Check your router manufacturers website for firmware updates, if there are any available, install them.
Delete and recreate connection – Try deleting and recreating/reestablishing the wireless connection, sometimes a setting can be corrupted and this may fix it.
Create a new Network Location – Similar to the above suggestion, try creating a new and different wireless network location to see if it resolves the connection problems.
Change DHCP auto settings to manual – sometimes there is a problem with the DHCP server, and if you manually set an IP address on the network you can be fine. Remember to set the IP to a high number so it wouldn’t interfere with other DHCP machines. As long as you have the subnet mask, router, and DNS settings configured manually as well, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Disable “Wireless G/N/B only” mode – Sometimes a setting is selected that only broadcasts your wireless signal in Wireless B, G, or N mode (depending on the routers abilities). If this is set, try disabling it.
Flush the DNS cache – Launch the Terminal and enter the following command onto one full line within the Terminal:
```
dscacheutil -flushcache
```

Mac Wireless Connection Problem Troubleshooting: Advanced * Zap the PRAM – Reboot your Mac and hold Command+Option+P+R during restart until you hear another chime, let the Mac boot as usual.

Delete Wireless Config files – Delete com.apple.internetconfigpriv.plist and com.apple.internetconfig.plist files from ~/Library/Preferences and reboot
Trash your home directories SystemConfiguration – Remove all files within ~/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ and then reboot your Mac.
Reset your Mac’s System Management Controller (SMC) – For MacBook and MacBook Pro’s: Shutdown the MacBook/Pro, remove the battery, disconnect the power, hold the Power Key for 15 seconds. Replace the battery, reconnect power, and zap the PRAM and wait for 2 chimes before letting the keys go. Let boot as usual.

source: osxdaily.com http://osxdaily.com/2009/12/22/mac-wireless-problems-guide-to-troubleshooting-airport-wireless-problems-on-your-mac/

MacBook – Is it recommended to use Mac wifi sharing for long periods of time

The Internet Sharing "hotspot" feature does work well for this. However, it is WEP only and you are stuck with the default IP address range unless you do some hacking. I use an Airport Express and I find it's very convenient, supports "more" secure connections(WPA), and is configurable. It's also always available, never goes to sleep and never drains a battery. It can become a pain always having to have your MBP available for your iOS devices.

Being in an University environment, I would want to use something a little more secure then WEP.

Also, you can adjusts the signal strength on the AE. Turn it down if you'd like it to just cover your room. Turn it up if there is a lot of other WIFI going on. I'm not sure what kind of range you'll get on the MBP and how many connections it will handle well.

The MBP will work in a pinch. I'd get a dedicated device to save yourself time, and hassle.

Best Answer

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