Setting up private local network through device that gets internet from public wifi

[Jadams265]

I travel a lot in an RV. I don't have a permanent internet connection wherever I go, usually a public wifi at whatever campground I'm at. I have several devices I like to use but I don't want them to be open to the public wifi network. I've had people sending pictures from their phone to my Xbox while I'm using it and I want to be more secure and control my devices.

I have a basic knowledge of networking. I have been able to use my laptop to connect to a public wifi, then share the connection through Windows to the LAN ethernet port. I then connect that to my old Netgear DGND3700v2 DSL model with it's DHCP function turned off. This has worked for several months now, and I'm able to connect to my router's modem and lan ports with my devices. But certain games on the xbox don't work because I can't forward ports or control static IP's and such. I feel there should be a much easier way to do this. 

I've looked into the repeater functions of my router but I don't think that's the way I need to go. I don't have acces to the campsites' routers to set them up as bases. I need something that will simply pull link from an existing wifi, then route that connection privately to my local network.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Jadams265 · Accepted solution]

This worked perfectly. I bought a Netgear AC1200 and easily connected it to the local public wifi. I then wired it to the gray cable/fiber LAN port on the Netgear router and after resetting the router ran smart setup on it and it handily setup itself with a new local network on a seperate ip range. Now all of my devices independently connect through wifi or LAN to my router and use the internet through the extender without anyone outside getting in and I don't need my aging laptop on all the time to do it.

[TheEther]

What you are looking for is a travel router.  

Netgear has the PR2000.  Unfortunately, it doesn't support port forwarding.  It does support uPnP, which the XBox could use to dynamically set up port forwarding.  But I've read in the past that XBox has some problems with uPnP.  You should do your own research and see if they still exist.

An alternative is to put the XBox in the DMZ, but this will expose it to the Internet.  If you really want to configure your own port forwarding rules, then you'll have to look at other brands of travel routers.

[Jadams265]

That's exactly the kind of thing I need except the specs are pretty low end. If it was beefier that's likely the answer. Thanks.

Would an Extender be the answer? I was looking over an N600 Netgear extender earlier and if it does it's own NAT it might be what I need.

[TheEther]

An extender does not have any NAT or firewall capabilities.  You could wire up an extender to a traditional wireless router for a 2 piece solution. It would be a little clunky and not all that compact, but since this is for an RV, maybe space isn't such a premium.  You could put together a pretty awesome kit.

If that doesn't fly, then look at the other major brands.  A few of them even sell 802.11ac travel routers.

[Jadams265]

Thanks so much pairing an extender with my router sounds like the way to go since I'm not always on the road, perfect

[Jadams265 · Accepted solution]

This worked perfectly. I bought a Netgear AC1200 and easily connected it to the local public wifi. I then wired it to the gray cable/fiber LAN port on the Netgear router and after resetting the router ran smart setup on it and it handily setup itself with a new local network on a seperate ip range. Now all of my devices independently connect through wifi or LAN to my router and use the internet through the extender without anyone outside getting in and I don't need my aging laptop on all the time to do it.