Will ooma work in hotel

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grasshopper
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Will ooma work in hotel

Post by grasshopper » Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:56 am

I will be staying in a hotel for three months and I was wondering if my ooma will work or will I have a problem with the hotels internet password? I sure would like to use it and save myself a lot of money.
Thanks,
Grasshopper

Groundhound
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by Groundhound » Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:01 am

Hard to say. The hotel may just allow ports normally associated with web browsing & email. You'll probably not be able to find out if it will work until you try.

doug
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by doug » Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:31 am

grasshopper wrote:I will be staying in a hotel for three months and I was wondering if my ooma will work or will I have a problem with the hotels internet password? I sure would like to use it and save myself a lot of money.
It will most likely work, with a few caveats:

- At most hotels, no internet connections can be made until you use a browser and try to access any web page. It will then redirect that page request to a hotel terms & conditions page, where you have to accept the T&C and possibly agree to room charges or provide a credit card. After that, typically most ports are available.
- You may have to repeat that process daily, because most hotel authorizations run noon to noon.
- If the hotel only has wireless and not a wired ethernet jack, you will need an access point configured in "
client mode". Not all AP's can do that, and some which can will only do it when both sides are the same brand. Some can regardless of the brand of the WiFi hotspot. An example is the SMC WEB-N. It can connect to their network via WiFi, then turn around and provide a few switch ports on the back for wired connections.
- Anytime you move the Telo or hub to a different location, be sure you update the E911 address. You can do this from the ooma lounge under Account -> Service address.

I think hotel authorizations work off the MAC address of the device connecting. So I don't think you can hook up a laptop, accept the T&C, then put the Telo/hub between the wall and the laptop as the hotel will see a different MAC address and want to present the T&C page again. If you hook the Telo/hub directly to the wall, I would not expect the phone to work until you can accept the T&C using a web browser. Hopefully it will still pass through the web traffic, allowing you to use a laptop behind the Telo/hub to accept the hotel T&C. I have not tried that, so YMMV.

In other words, I can not definitively if it will work. But I am pretty sure at a minimum you will also need a laptop so you can accept the hotel T&C. Then the phone should continue to work -- at least until the next noon -- even if you disconnect the laptop. I would suggest you check if the hotel has wired network ports or only WiFi available. If only WiFi, consider something like the SMC WEB-N or similar.

Doug

grasshopper
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by grasshopper » Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:40 am

Doug wrote:
“Hopefully it will still pass through the web traffic, allowing you to use a laptop behind the Telo/hub to accept the hotel T&C. I have not tried that, so YMMV.”

So, if the ooma hub can pass the web traffic through, then it’s just a matter of accepting the T&C page with my laptop and I’m in high cotton? Maybe I can find a local hotel where I can test this theory out? ……… Thank you for your input, we’ll see how things go.

Grasshopper

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bw1
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by bw1 » Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:45 am

grasshopper wrote:Doug wrote:
“Hopefully it will still pass through the web traffic, allowing you to use a laptop behind the Telo/hub to accept the hotel T&C. I have not tried that, so YMMV.”

So, if the ooma hub can pass the web traffic through, then it’s just a matter of accepting the T&C page with my laptop and I’m in high cotton? Maybe I can find a local hotel where I can test this theory out? ……… Thank you for your input, we’ll see how things go.

Grasshopper
I wouldn't bother to find a local hotel to test it out. Every hotel is likely to be different.

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caseybea
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by caseybea » Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:19 pm

Every hotel is indeed going to be different. For example, I use VPN software to connect to stuff where I work. Essentially, VPN traffic is a special combination of protocols and ports. Sometimes it works, sometimes those ports are blocked. It all depends on how restrictive the hotel's tech guys or tech company is at setting it up.

Also, not every hotel has hardwired network connections - some offer "wireless only".
Ooma Hub customer since January 2010
Telo2 upgrade (hub retired) October 2016
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Groundhound
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by Groundhound » Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:33 pm

caseybea wrote:Every hotel is indeed going to be different. For example, I use VPN software to connect to stuff where I work. Essentially, VPN traffic is a special combination of protocols and ports. Sometimes it works, sometimes those ports are blocked. It all depends on how restrictive the hotel's tech guys or tech company is at setting it up.

Also, not every hotel has hardwired network connections - some offer "wireless only".
Very true about VPN, though most hotels these days are aware of this and configure their Internet access so business travelers are not blocked. Ooma uses VPN for the Hub and Telo to communicate with their servers.

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Davesworld
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Re: Will ooma work in hotel

Post by Davesworld » Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:15 pm

Groundhound wrote:
caseybea wrote:Every hotel is indeed going to be different. For example, I use VPN software to connect to stuff where I work. Essentially, VPN traffic is a special combination of protocols and ports. Sometimes it works, sometimes those ports are blocked. It all depends on how restrictive the hotel's tech guys or tech company is at setting it up.

Also, not every hotel has hardwired network connections - some offer "wireless only".
Very true about VPN, though most hotels these days are aware of this and configure their Internet access so business travelers are not blocked. Ooma uses VPN for the Hub and Telo to communicate with their servers.
Yeah, the actual bulk is carried by a random port between 10000 and 20000. I doubt anyone blocks ports up in the stratosphere. In my router/firewall I am able to ssh into it and run iftop and see all the info. The only variable is the port that is chosen between 10k and 20k from one call to the next.

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