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Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

jahed.dev

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Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#101

Post by R0b0t1 »

aivisol wrote: post #38
zokier wrote: post #2

> I had to move away from Asus as they didn't provide a good hardware solution for 4G Surely a 4G USB dongle would work fine in a linux router such as those from Asus?

Mikrotik SXT LTE6 works for me as I am in a very remote place. RouterOS is really great piece of software, you have web based GUI, you have fully featured CLI with all things you need from router: NAT, firewall, port forward, I cannot name them all, I believe I barely use few % of what is inside. Ubiquiti UAP-AC as an AP.

I dislike the mikrotik devices because they lock the functionality of the device. I was unable to set up a pair of repeaters as anything else because of this. It was not really advertised and it's totally artificial.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#102

Post by lobocinza »

m-p-3 wrote: post #68
3np wrote: post #39

A bit of a tangent, but I recently discovered GL.iNet[0] and ordered a couple of routers and hotspots. HK vendor for network devices running forked OpenWRT with a bunch of extras and customization. I haven't had the time to dive deep enough into all of the code yet, but so far I'm very optimistic. Not perfect; some of the more interesting functionality (like site-to-site VPN) is tied to a proprietary closed SaaS with…

Oof, I was about to order a Velica ($109) and they charge $47 for shipping to Canada. No thanks.

They have a store on Aliexpress. I think shipping will be a lot cheaper there.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#103

Post by m-p-3 »

lobocinza wrote: post #102
m-p-3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oof, I was about to order a Velica ($109) and they charge $47 for shipping to Canada. No thanks.

They have a store on Aliexpress. I think shipping will be a lot cheaper there.

Good to know, I'll take a look.

EDIT: $143.00 + $25.40 shipping, yikes

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#104

Post by howdydoo »

rocqua wrote: post #95
azinman2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author touched on right of repair. I’d love to see a law requiring all devices to either be supported, or if being sunset, being required by law to provide tools/source/schematics to take over the device and extend its utility beyond the manufacturer’s willingness. Particularly a last firmware that disables anything requiring phoning home to continue to function. We saw that with OnHub recently, when after only 6…

There is a specific problem with routers and certification for radio usage. This makes right to repair harder. It's not just a legal issue. The ether is quite full and it mostly works because there are clear rules that devices must meet. With user serviceable routers, bumping up power, or moving to locally forbidden (quieter) frequencies could become lifehacks. There was already an airport whose radio saw interferenc…

My PC has a 5ghz wifi antenna, and I can install any OS I want. Why should a router be any more locked down than my PC?

The FCC takes illegal broadcasting VERY seriously and I think that should deter people from becoming criminals.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#105

Post by ignitionmonkey »

m45t3r wrote: post #94

Not trying to defend TP-Link or anything, but I recently bought a pair of mesh router from them and they work very well. BTW, this hidden network probably uses another protocol (for the OneMesh). It is the 802.11s ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11s ), that uses its own encryption method based on Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) (yeah, that is the same as WPA3, however it came before it). It shows…

Thanks for the info. That makes sense given the "11s" configuration I found for those SSIDs. The router is not in their mesh line AFAIK, though most of their home products now support OneMesh, so that line is a bit blurry.

To clarify, I like TP-Link products too. Their PowerLAN products so far have been the most reliable for me and the router's been solid too. It's just really disappointing that an almost (for me) perfect product has this very simple software flaw without any solution other than to hope the manufacturer decides to fix it at some point. I had the same issue with Asus routers, but they were smart enough to open source their software and let others fix pretty much everything for them.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#106

Post by C19is20 »

tomxor wrote: post #96

> they didn't provide a good hardware solution for 4G. That's right, my street doesn't have fibre despite being in the tech startup heart of London. So here I am with a TP-Link router. Same situation, another UK city center, without fiber, and with an incredibly noisy, effectively useless 1Mbit ADSL line. I really wanted something running an open firmware, but for LTE you really need something >= Cat10 for reliable h…

Uk: fibre?

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#107

Post by tomxor »

C19is20 wrote: post #106
tomxor wrote: post #96

> they didn't provide a good hardware solution for 4G. That's right, my street doesn't have fibre despite being in the tech startup heart of London. So here I am with a TP-Link router. Same situation, another UK city center, without fiber, and with an incredibly noisy, effectively useless 1Mbit ADSL line. I really wanted something running an open firmware, but for LTE you really need something >= Cat10 for reliable h…

Uk: fibre?

Yes

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#108

Post by TechBro8615 »

3np wrote: post #71
TechBro8615 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve got one of those, it’s pretty nice. Last I checked (multiple years ago) it phoned home to a .cn address by default. I don’t remember the details – please verify for yourself.

I will! Without the cloud stuff, the only thing I found so far was stuff like this, which I remove myself but is fully understandable - if you want to do zeroconf connectivity-checking on devices used in Mainland China you don't have much options otherwise. 8.8.8.8 certainly won't work. https://github.com/gl-inet/gli-pub/blob/326341dc5c14a256562e...

Ah yeah I think that might be what I was remembering. If 8.8.8.8 is up, will it ever check 208.67.222.222?

I didn’t realize the firmware is open source – that’s nice. Would be nicer still if you could verify the blob.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#109

Post by AtNightWeCode »

My ASUS router has enabled remote access after updates at multiple occasions. So much for ASUS.

Is there a tech brand that only sells stuff with no bs? I would gladly by a "pure" router with no branded features. Would also gladly buy a TV without any of the "smart" stuff.

Re: Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers

#110

Post by aceazzameen »

synergy20 wrote: post #41

Buy routers that can work with Openwrt, period. TP-Link actually has quite a few(not the newest models though, but the not-newest-model should work for 95% of the customers) that runs openwrt well. All my routers are running non-vendor firmware(e.g. openwrt) for the last 15 years, never had any troubles.

Yeah, this is what I recommend to anyone who knows anything about computers. It also depends on each person's needs though, since OpenWRT sometimes excludes the latest tech.

At home we connect to a TP-Link Archer C7 running OpenWRT. It's only WiFi5, but we have zero issues streaming many 5ghz devices off of it. It's even held up fine while we both work from home.

I also run a second much older TP-Link router using stock firmware on a separate subnet. I don't think OpenWRT supports that one. But only my IoT devices and smart TV connects to it because I don't trust them on my network anyways.

All that being said, I wish there was something better and easier for the tech illiterate. The state of routers/security/privacy sucks today.

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