Quite often in hotel rooms you can only find Ethernet. But what am I supposed to do with iPhone and iPad then? So, I bought this tiny little device some time ago:

Palm-Size Portable Mini Travel 2 in 1 Wireless N 802.11n/g WLAN Network Router / Client Adapter

This is called WA-6220.

The official website says:

WA-6220-V1 WLAN 11n Router is designed for people on the go, user can carry it travelling around and work at anywhere. It is compliant with 802.11n specifications, up to 300Mbps data rate, provides multi-functional capabilities, particularly the high performance throughput and high-quality security. Incorporating fast Ethernet ports and is compatible to other wireless (802.11a/b/g/ n) networking device, it enables your whole network sharing a high-speed cable or DSL. Its high performance is ideal for media-centric applications like streaming video, gaming and Voice over IP technology.

• Provides wireless speed up to 300Mbps data rate.
• Supports WEB based management and configuration.
• Supports UPnP, IGMP Snooping & Proxy.
• Supports Dynamic DNS, NTP client service.
• Supports Log table and remote Log service.
• Supports Setup Wizard mode.
• Supports Wireless schedule.
• Compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Specifications.
• Supports multiple AP, provides maximum 5 groups of SSID.
• Supports IEEE 802.3x full duplex flow control on 10/100M Ethernet interface.
• Supports bridging, routing and WISP functions between wireless and wired Ethernet interfaces.
• Supports IEEE 802.1x, 64-bit and 128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 encryption/decryption and WPA with Radius.
• Supports DHCP server to provide clients auto IP addresses assignment and static DHCP functions.
• Supports DHCP client, static IP, PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP of WAN Interface.
• Supports firewall security with port filtering, IP filtering, MAC filtering, port forwarding, URL Filtering and DMZ hosting functions.
• Supports AP mode, Client mode, WDS, AP+WDS and Universal Repeater.
• Supports QoS which controls the bandwidth by IP or MAC address.
• Supports Denial-of-Service.
• Supports WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup).
• Supports WAPI (Wireless Authentication Privacy Infrastructure).
• Supports Green Ethernet, IEEE802.3az draft2.0, EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet).

It is the matchbox in size.

And can be powered from USB (I connected it directly to the laptop).

Front.

The mode switch and reset button.

The quick user guide.

Unfortunately, I haven’t met a hotel with properly installed WiFi coverage. Many can put a cable, but proper WiFi coverage with decent speed – no one. But this device makes you an ad-hoc instant router in minutes with no pain whatsoever.

P.S. By the way, a question – is WiFi hardware (chipset) in laptops, for instance, and regular WiFi access points different in any way? If the connection is duplex, it shouldn’t be. So, how to turn a laptop into a proper WiFi access point then? I tried things like Connectify on Windows 7, but it didn’t really work properly. And what should I also do on Linux and OSX?