Changing Wi-Fi passwords automatically (daily)

[BurnerOne]

I use a netgear WNR614 Wi-Fi router. I was wondering if there was a way for it to automatically change its password daily. It would be helpful if it could do that from a pre defined list of passwords and then repeat when the list has reached its end. If devices can also automatically change the password it would be a blessing too. 

I use to in a restaurant to provide access to customers. So it would be awesome if the password could be automatically changed everyday.

 Anybody have any suggestions? 

[SImoHayha]

19 minutes ago, BurnerOne said:

I use a netgear WNR614 Wi-Fi router. I was wondering if there was a way for it to automatically change its password daily. It would be helpful if it could do that from a pre defined list of passwords and then repeat when the list has reached its end. If devices can also automatically change the password it would be a blessing too. 

I use to in a restaurant to provide access to customers. So it would be awesome if the password could be automatically changed everyday.

 Anybody have any suggestions? 

But why though? 

Not only does that inconvenience the customers, it's difficult to keep track of. Just leave the password the same. It's not like anyone else is going to use it without getting inside right?

[Akolyte]

I'm not sure that would be possible unfortunately, Most routers that support the kind of software needed to easily change wifi passwords automatically need to either have custom software like OpenWRT where you can install third party packages and software, or you need to buy a router or access point that supports it. 

 

My personal recommendation is to keep your router and invest in a good access point.  You can use software like http://www.hotspotsystem.com to manage your hotspot.  Now, you might be wondering about a good access point that is also inexpensive.  The site claims the software supports MikroTik routerOS.   MikroTik has very cheap prebuilt routers, and also routerboards.  But I suggest a prebuilt, they are still cheap and at their price points some ISPs even use them and according to the people i've talked to, they work great.  So definitely look into it. 

 

Hope this helps! 

[BurnerOne]

1 hour ago, Ramamataz said:

But why though? 

Not only does that inconvenience the customers, it's difficult to keep track of. Just leave the password the same. It's not like anyone else is going to use it without getting inside right?

Actually the signal actually goes for quite a bit. It covers two residential buildings. I live in bangladesh so they are apartment complexes. This makes wifi leeches a real problem.

[BurnerOne]

11 minutes ago, Mike_The_B0ss said:

I'm not sure that would be possible unfortunately, Most routers that support the kind of software needed to easily change wifi passwords automatically need to either have custom software like OpenWRT where you can install third party packages and software, or you need to buy a router or access point that supports it. 

 

My personal recommendation is to keep your router and invest in a good access point.  You can use software like http://www.hotspotsystem.com to manage your hotspot.  Now, you might be wondering about a good access point that is also inexpensive.  The site claims the software supports MikroTik routerOS.   MikroTik has very cheap prebuilt routers, and also routerboards.  But I suggest a prebuilt, they are still cheap and at their price points some ISPs even use them and according to the people i've talked to, they work great.  So definitely look into it. 

 

Hope this helps! 

Thanks.

Unfortunately Cheap Access points are hard to find here in Bangladesh. And i really cant afford to spend too much on the Wi-Fi for now. So I guess manually changing will have to do for the time being. ( Until I can buy a supporting Access Point).

If anything changes or anyone knows how to do it on my current router please do let me know.

Again Thanks and Happy New Year!

[Lurick]

Without a script on another computer that logs into the router and changes the password there really isn't much that can be done for rotating or changing passwords.

As for signal however there is usually ways to adjust the signal strength on the router, check around inside the menus and see if you can decrease the signal power.

[Falconevo]

Use a router that supports a captive portal instead.  Let them join the WiFi network but have a captive portal for usage.

 

pfSense is capable of this;

 

More info;

https://pfsense.org/

https://turbofuture.com/computers/How-to-Set-Up-a-Captive-Portal-Using-pfSense

 

Then just setup a simple cron job to reset the password on a daily basis, ideally have something on the wall inside the shop displaying the current captive portal password.

[beavo451]

9 hours ago, BurnerOne said:

Actually the signal actually goes for quite a bit. It covers two residential buildings. I live in bangladesh so they are apartment complexes. This makes wifi leeches a real problem.

Then reduce the power?

[Remix]

If you're looking for the proper setup, you'll definitely want to use a voucher-based system. It'll be simple for customers to connect, and for you to control. Many independent businesses use similar offerings here in the states, and luckily you won't have any recurring fees. I'd usually recommend overhauling your entire network, but for cost (and energy) savings, you can easily get away by not doing that. Though I will tell you what's recommended.

 

Go ahead and purchase a UniFi CloudKey. If you have an always-on computer, you can run the UniFi Controller and avoid purchasing a CloudKey... though you may want still want a CloudKey to dedicate the controller. Purchase a Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Lite, UAP-AC-LR, or UAP-AC-Pro. You may not have speeds which can saturate the speeds of 5GHz, but having it now will essentially put you at todays standards. Plus the comparison of a standard UAP to the UAP-AC-Lite is very marginal.

 

Configure a Guest Network (separate SSID) on the UniFi Controller. You can setup speed caps, etc... Make sure you've enabled Guest features, and you have Isolation enabled for the network. Within the vouchers, you can setup speed caps as well as overall usage amounts. This will prevent anyone from hogging all the bandwidth.

 

Only concern would be running out of DHCP leases. You can easily mitigate you having this problem by shortening DHCP leases, and statically assigning IPs to computers/devices you need to always have access to the internet. Many will put these closer to the default gateway, and simply make DHCP start at a higher number. Giving you accessibility to utilize those numbers.

 

If security is a concern, you can pickup a router like the EdgeRouter-X. I've installed a few of these systems (including the ER-X) at coffee shops, stores, etc... and they work like a charm. You can setup a VLAN for guests, setup firewall rules, and set overall bandwidth caps. With UniFi the limit is per user, not for the entire network. With the EdgeRouter, you can control it to the specific LAN. You could also purchase a UniFi Security Gateway if you'd prefer to stay in an entire UniFi line. Latest release of software will let you setup a firewall, and has pretty good rules by default.

 

Hope this helps.