Solved. Travel router WTR54GS sharing one wireless hotspot connection with multiple devices

Question

Hi, Passing on info I've learned.
The manual for the WTR54GS mentions being able to "...use multiple devices on a single hotspot account in a coffee shop or airport lounge...". See my original posting, "How to set up a wireless private bubble at paid hotspot? WTR54GS?", which ended in a dead end. I subsequently had a Linksys live chat session and the representative provided the solution. Perhaps worthy to be included in the Wireless FAQ?
Situation: you have access to a paid hotspot (hotel room, meeting room, etc.) and you want to share the connection with several devices, also wirelessly.
Solution: the WTR54GS can accept an incoming Internet connection wirelessely and re-broadcast that connection to form your own private bubble or network. (Note the WTR54GS can also accept an incoming Internet connection via Ethernet cable).
Linksys Live Chat pointed me to these web pages.
Go to the Linksys Easy Answers page: For a schematic of the concept of "associating the travel router to a hotspot (wirelessly)" search for Easy Answer ID# 4831
URL for above is http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4831&p_created=1167963305&p_sid=GmLnq3Zi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NjImcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0xNzIxLDE3MjMmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0yLjE3MjMmcF9zY2ZfbGFuZz0xJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9V1RSNTRHUw**&p_li=&p_topview=1
There is a "configuration simulator" that shows the options for selecting a wired or wireless incoming Internet Type.
http://linksys.com/ui/files/WTR54GS/1.0_15/Setup-Wireless.htm
The hotspot has to be "open", that is transmitting an SSID and with no WEP or WPA key. It may have a log-in page accessible via a web browser, this is okay as this will be passed onto the connected device.
My personal application is to be able to connect a PDA that has a 801.2b wifi to a 801.2g wireless network. I haven't tried it but if this works, it will extend the useful life of my PDA in a "g" environment. Will report back once I find a "g" only environment. Comments?
-Tony
Dang, the long URL is making for a really wide message. Is there a fix?
Message Edited by tony_vancouver on 02-28-2008 02:08 PM
Message Edited by tony_vancouver on 02-28-2008 02:12 PM

Answer 1

There are two conditions which must be met in order to use your WTR54GS to "extend" an incoming, wireless internet connection:
The incoming connection must be unsecured.  You have already covered this point;
The security settings on your WTR54GS can only be set to "WEP," or to "Disabled."  If you choose "WEP," then you can use either a 40/64-bit, or a 128-bit key.
If those two conditions have been met, then it works fine -- says the guy who is sharing one paid internet conneciton in his hotel amongst three devices, and with co-workers in nearby rooms.