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ausgumbie's avatar
ausgumbie
Aspirant
Nov 10, 2015

Can WPS be disabled on AC790s hotspot?

Hi All

 

I'm a raw newbie, and the odds are this thread is in the wrong place, and apologise if so.

 

I've already posted something similar on Telstra's CrowdSupport forum, but suspect only by casting my net much wider am I going to get a specifically useful answer.

 

We have a BigPond Wi-Fi 4G Advanced II AirCard 790S.

 

I suspect (though I have no proof) that a recent visitor of ours may have added a device to our wifi hotspot via WPS (probably pairing).

 

I may just be being paranoid. But, I have these questions:

 

(1): Is there any way I can discover if a device has been connected to the hotspot by WPS?

 

(2): Can WPS be disabled on the AC790s? I can't see any way to do this, although a respondent on the Telstra CrowdSupport site said it could be done under the AC790s's Settings.

 

(3): Could "returning to factory settings" remove any WPS connection/s?

 

Cheers

 

ausgumbie

8 Replies

    1. It doesn't look like the 790S keeps logs of activity, but you can see the connected devices by going to Home > Wi-Fi > Devices on the Aircard. You can also see the list of connected devices by logging into the Aircard. According to the manual, you can reach the Aircard by entering http://m.home or the Aircard's IP address (default is 192.168.1.1 unless you changed it) into a browser. If the suspected device is currently connected, you will see it.
    2. I didn't see any way to disable WPS in the manual. You may have to poke around yourself. I would look under Home > Wi-Fi > WPS. If WPS cannot be disabled, then you may have to physically secure the Aircard from prying hands.
    3. Returning the unit to factory settings will disconnect all devices, including ones that joined using WPS. What you really need to do is change the Wi-Fi password. Once someone successfully uses WPS to connect, they will have the Wi-Fi password.
    • ausgumbie's avatar
      ausgumbie
      Aspirant

      Thanks,

       

      When we got the hotspot originally, the hotspot's name (I gather the Main name) was displayed on the "top" screen with a numerical password eight digits long.

       

      We then changed that password to a personalised one and, (ironically, so visitors couldn't see it) hid the hotspot name and password on the screen that everyone sees.

       

      If a factory reset is done, will the original screen (with visible factory password) be restored? If not, I have to hope the factory pw is one I see I wrote down. Otherwise, we're in strife I think.

       

      Cheers

       

      ausgumbie

      • ausgumbie's avatar
        ausgumbie
        Aspirant

        Quick addition

        A factory reset was done (without problems), and the factory password  was there. Presumably any WPS connections went then.

        We then changed both WiFi Name and Password.

        One final question. To the best of anyone's knowledge/experience, do devices which have been connected by WPS always show up in the "number of devices" or (in the case of the "home" browser pages) appear named on the Overview page when they access the hotspot? Or can they be cloaked in any way? Again, that's a personal knowledge and experience question - I bet the manual says nothing about it.

         

        And, if anyone DOES know how to disable WPS on the AC790s, great!!!!!!!

        Many thanks

        ausgumbie