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Airport - Guest Network - How to apply time restrictions.

A

Alan S

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 21, 2009
81
0
California
I use the Airport Utility to limit our main home network hours to 4 AM till 10 PM at night. This works great since everyone goes to sleep when the network turns off.

HOWEVER, We also have a Guest Network enabled, and even after the main network turns off the Guest Network remains on between 10 PM and 4 AM. How do you apply a time restriction to the Guest Network too?
 
Alan S said:
I use the Airport Utility to limit our main home network hours to 4 AM till 10 PM at night. This works great since everyone goes to sleep when the network turns off.

HOWEVER, We also have a Guest Network enabled, and even after the main network turns off the Guest Network remains on between 10 PM and 4 AM. How do you apply a time restriction to the Guest Network too?
Click to expand...

I don't know how to do what you ask but just change your airport password and turn off the guest network until you need it on (you don't need it on all the time or every day do you?)...that would keep your regular network settings as you mention above being shut off at the times you wanted...
 
J&JPolangin said:
I don't know how to do what you ask but just change your airport password and turn off the guest network until you need it on (you don't need it on all the time or every day do you?)...that would keep your regular network settings as you mention above being shut off at the times you wanted...
Click to expand...

I see your point. The reason I've got the guest network enabled is for when our son's teenage friends visit the house. The can log into the guest network with their iPodTouches when they are here. I wouldn't want to give them the password for our main network.

You just cannot turn on/off the guest network every day. It would be best to apply the same time restrictions to guest network as the main network. In fact I'm surprised it isn't the default setting.
 
Why not let them onto the main network? Not much they can do with an iPod :p

But then, it seems your household is completely different to mine. For one, im the son and network keeper :p
 
MattZani said:
Why not let them onto the main network? Not much they can do with an iPod :p

But then, it seems your household is completely different to mine. For one, im the son and network keeper :p
Click to expand...

Once someone knows the SSID and key to your network it could easily get posted on Facebook or the Internet. We live on a busy street and the WiFi can reach out all the way to the road. So when ever I see someone sitting in their car in front of your house for an extended period of time, I get a bit nervous. It is a paranoid reaction, but better to be safe.

From the lack of posts here I'm surprised by how few people seem to use AirPort's Timed Access feature. I find it a great way to enforce a sleep time for myself and everyone else in the family. Our son didn't like it for the first week, but now gets to bed by 11 PM and is fully rested for school the next morning.
 
Here's an "out of the box" solution... Why not use an aquarium timer? I have my two tanks set up on a timer that turns my lights on and off at certain times. You can connect one of those to your Base Station and have it shut off altogether between 10PM and 4AM.
 
skorpien said:
Here's an "out of the box" solution... Why not use an aquarium timer? I have my two tanks set up on a timer that turns my lights on and off at certain times. You can connect one of those to your Base Station and have it shut off altogether between 10PM and 4AM.
Click to expand...

while your 'out-of-box' workaround would certainly get the job done, skorpien, it isn't exactly the most elegant solution (which reminds me... is there a graceful way to 'shutdown' the AirPort/TimeCapsule - other than unceremoniously pulling the plug?).

anyway, about the Timed Access thing, it would be better for Apple to fix what is an obvious bug or oversight in the firmware. the time restrictions should apply to both networks, either concurrently or independent of each other.

of course, there are situations when 24hr access to the public network (internet) is needed (while restricting access to the private network), so in that case, maybe a new 'checkbox' under the Guest Network tab, that toggles 'Impose Access Control Restrictions' would be a simple solution.

btw, that's a brilliant idea, Allan. i ought to setup time restrictions for my OWN internet usage, then i might get to bed on time myself!

btw, unless you've configured Access Control for 'No Access' by default, then it would be easy for anyone, your son let's say, to spoof (change) his MAC address... and bypass the time restrictions.
 
skorpien said:
Here's an "out of the box" solution... Why not use an aquarium timer?
Click to expand...

This was my solution before getting the AirPort about 6 months ago. Back then I had a NetGear wireless router and it was on a timer exactly as you described. Over time the clock drifted by about 10 minutes and when you where on the computer you would never know exactly when it would turn off.

The really nice thing about Timed Access on the AirPort is I know to within 15 seconds by looking at the Mac clock when the network will turn off. This is useful for when you are trying to get "one last POST in" before it shuts off.


The AirPort wireless router is so much better than the NetGear router.
 
techcafe said:
... the time restrictions should apply to both networks, either concurrently or independent of each other.
Click to expand...

Yes I hope they fix that in the future.


btw, that's a brilliant idea, Alan. i ought to setup time restrictions for my OWN internet usage, then i might get to bed on time myself!
Click to expand...
I'd recommend it. Lots of research is showing that getting enough sleep on a regular schedule is very important for health. And they now say that you really cannot catch up on the weekends, the brain just doesn't work like that.

I'd recommend setting it up and then committing to it for at least 20 days. After 20 days, which is the amount of time it take to develop a new habit, decide if it works for you.

btw, unless you've configured Access Control for 'No Access' by default, then it would be easy for anyone, your son let's say, to spoof (change) his MAC address... and bypass the time restrictions.
Click to expand...

Our son isn't that sophisticated with computers. He sees that is dad works in the computer industry and has decided that it just isn't cool to know about computers. It is unfortunate for him, but what can you say to a teenager.
 
Under Access Control , select Timed Access, enter the MAC Address of the device then select the desired settings.
 
That will work for normal network, but for guest access it won't, because you don't know the mac address.

I think this is a major issue with network security, there needs to be more flexibility in giving a temporary "pass" to a guest that expires in a short period of time.
 
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