Hot Spot Wireless Access on Mac Side Only

D

driver49

Member
Here's an interesting complication of using a computer that is simultaneously running two OSs.

I'm sitting in a Starbucks, which as I'm sure you all know has this onerous paid-for T-Mobile Hot Spot WiFi set up. When I open the computer, I have to log into T-Mobile, identify myself, shell out some dollars, and then it opens the wireless conduit to my computer and I can browse the web -- on the Mac side. So far so good.

But I get my e-mail on the Windows side. And even though the host OS is connected to the Hot Spot, the Guest OS is not. And even though I went through the usual drill -- opened Internet Explorer, which usually brings up the T-Mobile sign up page -- I can't get there from here. Sign in page did not come up in browser.

So, another interesting dilemma posed by the dual boot reality. Anybody know how I can beat that one?

Thanks,

--PS
 
Actually, I made the change to "bridge network" earlier in the day. So by the time I got to SBUX, I was was already in "bridge network" configuration.

I'd love to hear some other suggestions, though I don't know when I'll be in Starbucks again. Maybe sooner instead of later if I get some things to try...

Thanks,

--PS
 
I saw this:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070729195359524

I'm having the same problem but not at Starbucks (a local coffee shop) and I'm researching possible options right now. I'll update probably in a few minutes or so what works for me ... if I get anything working. I want to get this resolved because I think I'll run into this more and more as more places buckle down on their internet connections.

Basically the wifi hotspots are using your mac addresses (mac does not mean the OS in this situation) to identify your computer I think.
 
Oooook ... I switched my virtual machine to "shared networking" instead of bridged. For those who are looking for a solution here's step my step how to change this: Open parallels desktop, don't open your OS just yet, and go to the menu at the top> Edit > Virtual Machine > Network adapter > under Network Adapter Options I have both items under Device Status checked, and for Emulation I had the radio button "Shared Networking" filled in.

If that doesn't work for your specific case and you want to try using the same mac address for both your macOSX and parallels, the mac address can be changed under the "advanced" Network Adapter screen (follow the above directions for the location of that in parallels.)
 
I can't remember now if I was on "shared" networking or "bridge" when I tried to get online at Starbucks last week. I think it was probably bridged, which I had configured in order to find the other computers in my home. So next time I'm in a Starbucks -- could actually be tomorrow -- I'll try switching to "shared" before I try logging on. It's a simple enough thing to do.

Thanks, HFD, for picking up this thread and offering a solution.

--PS
 
HFD, I'm at a Starbucks now... closed Parallels DT, changed networking from "Bridge" to "Shared," restarted Parallels/Windows, and now I have T-mobile network access from both Mac and Windows desktops. So that appears to be the solution... Thanks.
 
Some wi-fi hotspots will provide you with only one IP so bridged networking won't work in those cases as each OS has to have its own IP.
 
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