eir_WiFi SSID on F2000

We were having a problem with the 2.4 GHz WiFi on an F2000 earlier and my housemate rang Eir. It wasn't transmitting at all, only the 5 GHz was working, despite both being enabled.

They updated the firmware on the modem to V100R001C59B030 (was previously 023) and the 2.4 is now working. Since then, the modem is also transmitting an eir_WiFi SSID. It's definitely coming from our F2000 because the MAC is only one digit off the regular 2.4 and the signal strength and channel are identical. Uses WPA2 Enterprise rather than WPA2-PSK.

Is this a Wi-Free style thing? Anyone else noticed this?

ED E

Its a competitor to "WiFree" from VM.

eir WiFi is a service that allows eir customers to access the internet over WiFi at other eir Fibre
customers’ homes, using a portion of their Fibre broadband capacity, using a second Service Set
Identifier (SSID) .


Additional T’s&C’s for Pilot
The eir WiFi Service (“the Service”) will be available on a pilot basis in the eir 045 exchange area
which predominantly covers the geographical areas of County Kildare and West Wicklow to of
County Kildare. The quality and availability of the Services may be affected by factors which could
cause radio interference, such as physical obstructions and atmospheric conditions and by technical
faults in the Network, including in other telecommunications networks through which the Services
may be relayed or other matters beyond our control. The Pilot will commence on the 4th October
2016. The full commercial launch of this product offering is dependent on the results of the pilot.
While the pilot is proceeding Customers will be asked for their views on the nature and quality of the
Service.

beardedmaster

I'm in the 051 area and I'm getting it too. Is there any way to get rid of it? I was very confused when it appeared last night after 12!

Nowso

its in the new firmware . it transmits on the same frequency if you have a set channel for wifi

ring Customer care to get it off

beardedmaster

Thanks for your superquick response!

I am currently setting up the repeaters in my house to have the same SSID and password as the main router, with the repeaters having DHCP turned off. I must have activated it when I downloaded the new firmware.. I had originally thought that I had done something bizarrely wrong!

kevinbad2010

Seemed to have some problems with my Internet connect and did see Eir_Wifi a few times pop up while trying to sort it out.

Firmware version is this (V100R001C59B035) atm

Nowso

what are the differences with version 35 as against 23/30

The only difference I know (other than the community WiFi) is that IPv6 is enabled by default in 030. So you'll automatically get full dual stack IPv4/IPv6. You can get it in 023 too but you need to enable it yourself.

ED E

Karsini wrote: »

The only difference I know (other than the community WiFi) is that IPv6 is enabled by default in 030. So you'll automatically get full dual stack IPv4/IPv6. You can get it in 023 too but you need to enable it yourself.

Wait. What? Eir doing something better than VM? What alternate reality is this?


(assuming you dont mean just lanside, F1000 had that)

ED E

ED E wrote: »

Wait. What? Eir doing something better than VM? What alternate reality is this?


(assuming you dont mean just lanside, F1000 had that)

Nope, it's true! At the moment I have the following. My laptop also shows IPs in the 2001:bb6 range when I run ipconfig.

jd

ED E wrote: »

Wait. What? Eir doing something better than VM? What alternate reality is this?


(assuming you dont mean just lanside, F1000 had that)

Dual stack has been available since September 2015 for NGA customers, F2000s would have had to be manually reconfigured by the user. Enabled by default in later firmware.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

lads i'm convinced this new eir_WiFi 'broke' my sister's internet connection!

she complained about 2 days ago that her internet wasn't working and i headed down and noticed the new 'Eir_Wifi' SSID *with a password*. I assumed this was a neighbour's WiFi as I setup the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz with no Wifi password.

The old 2.4Ghz with no network security wouldn't connect anymore no matter what I did. 5Ghz worked like normal which wasn't good enough as old kids tablets and Chromecast wouldn't use 5Ghz. I changed all the channels and still nothing.

Finally today I found this thread and just added a WPA2 password to the 2.4Ghz/5Ghz and it works again!

So eircom just decide to add a new eir_WiFi SSID with a password even if the normal WiFi is password free, breaking working Internet connections!

luk397

Nowso wrote: »

its in the new firmware . it transmits on the same frequency if you have a set channel for wifi

ring Customer care to get it off

Are you speaking from experience? (ie did that work for you) . Or are you assuming that'll do the job because eir support don't seem to even know about this new eir_WiFi when I've talked to them.

Nowso

luk397 wrote: »

Are you speaking from experience? (ie did that work for you) . Or are you assuming that'll do the job because eir support don't seem to even know about this new eir_WiFi when I've talked to them.

lad i rang said it was just guest wifi and wouldnt effect my usage

he turned off the feature

luk397

Nowso wrote: »

lad i rang said it was just guest wifi and wouldnt effect my usage

he turned off the feature

And did that help your connection? Woman i talked to earlier today said the same thing and turned it off but atm the eir_WiFi SSID is still appearing and my connection is no better

Nowso

luk397 wrote: »

And did that help your connection? Woman i talked to earlier today said the same thing and turned it off but atm the eir_WiFi SSID is still appearing and my connection is no better

it made wifi better as its not clashing on the same wifi channel

pg17

This is what I know

Up to Wednesday March 22, I had 2 guest SSIDs which eir provided as standard on the F1000 and F2000 routers. I use these guest SSIDs to allow visitors access the internet without being able to access my LAN.

On Wednesday, eir updated the F2000 firmware and in the process they removed the 2 guest SSIDs and added a new SSID eir_WiFi which has a completely different function to the earlier two. eir did not communicate the change before or after the update. The first I knew was when my devices failed to connect to the removed SSIDs.

Last night, I used the eir Chat and the agent told me that I could phone eir Support who would be able to reinstate the missing SSIDs.

Today, I worked with 3 support agents, they restored earlier versions of firmware but could not reinstate the missing SSIDs. Neither can I add them manually because the web interface used to configure them has been removed. The agents agreed that the whole update process had been very badly handled and that they were not aware that functions would be removed.

The new eir_WiFi is designed to allow eir broadband customers to access eir broadband through any eFibre router in any other eir customer premises giving eir hundreds of thousands of WiFi hotspots.

The function is described in the associated T&Cs https://www.eirmobile.ie/opencms/export/sites/default/.content/pdf/terms/eir_wifi_terms_and_conditions.pdf

eir WiFi is a service that allows eir customers to access the internet over WiFi at other eir Fibre customers’ homes, using a portion of their Fibre broadband capacity, using a second Service Set Identifier (SSID) .

Host Customer:
- All eir Fibre modems will be “eir WiFi enabled” from 4 th October 2016.
- Host Customers will not be responsible for usage of the Service made by Guest Customers while the Guest Customers are connected to the Host Customer’s eir Fibre modem.
- Availability and security of hosts’ existing eir Fibre service will not be affected. As a host you will not have access to or visibility of the internet traffic of guests connecting to your modem and guests will not have access to or visibility of your internet traffic.
- A maximum of 20 guest devices can connect to a host device.
- Customer who do not wish to act as a host and have eir WiFi enabled on their modem can opt out of this service via My eir portal.
- Customers who do not wish to act as host for the purposes of the Guest WiFi Service, can avail of the eir WiFi in other eir households where the eir WiFi service is active.
- These terms and conditions are in addition to the eir Broadband Terms and Conditions and to eir’s General Terms and Conditions on www.eir.ie

Guest Customer
- eir WiFi is a free Wi-Fi service applicable to all compatible eir customers
- Customers can connect as a Guest to the internet seamlessly to other Host eir Fibre modems when within WiFi reach of that modem
- Customer can register for and avail of the eir WiFi service via the My eir portal
- A maximum of 5 devices can use a single one eir WiFi user name and password to access the internet simultaneously via one or more Host customers modem
- 3MB Download and 1MB upload bandwidth is available for Guest users. This is the total aggregate allocation of upload and download broadband width across all guest customers i.e. not per Guest

I am told that from Monday March 27, there will be a function on the My eir web page to allow customers disable the eir_WiFi on their own router.

Unfortunately, I don’t expect that eir will reinstate the guest WiFi function which I have had on my F1000 and F2000 routers for the past 3 years and which was removed without warning this week. It appears I will need to install a new access point (AP) to provide the guest function and that this will not separate guests from my LAN.

Does anybody know anything further ?

raytaxi

Rang Eir was told the eir_wifi was part of new firmware and never offered to switch it off, was trying to get my guest network back. Was basically told to get new modem and bridge eir one as even if went back to older firmware it would just update it again. So no point in doing that.

Bg55

This a new channel setup by eir to allow 3rd party access to the internet via your modem without your permission.
It reserves 3 M of your download capacity.
You need to log on to my eir to disable it.
Basically eir ripping of their customers

raytaxi

Have logged into my eir, but can't see anyway to disable this.

Bg55

When eir upgraded your modem recently they added the eir_Wifi facility.
But did not allow user access to disable it.
Nice of them.
From the info I can get it appears that the guest facility is not supported in the latest modem
Upgrade.

Kilmolin

You can disable the guest facility on your router by logging in to your personal page on the My Eir portal.

Also, it seems you cannot use your own eir_wifi guest facility on a device you have already logged in to your main SSID. Your router keeps a register of the devices logged on, using the MAC address, and denies access to your own eir_wifi.
Why would you want to use your own eir_wifi, given that its much lower bandwidth?
Well, friends may have used your main SSID in the past and you might prefer to switch them to the guest eir_wifi now. It may not work.
I will try deleting the MAC address of a home device from my router and test that.

It seems you can disable your own guest access and still retain host access. That may have a perverse outcome; if a lot of eir customers shut down host access but keep guest access, there may be few hot spots available to use. I would expect guest access for any user to be conditional on allowing host access.

Kilmolin

Update: I was given the explanation above by Eir technical support when I could not log in to my own guest eir_wifi. However I was primarily using a Windows 7 laptop to test this and I have just read, on the Eir FAQ:

"Can I connect to eir WiFi with my laptop or PC?

No, laptops and PCs are not compatible with eir WiFi service."

Its really disappointing that:
1. The support technician did not mention this; he knew I was using Windows 7
2. All laptops and desktops cannot use the service

Of course this information undermines both the tests I did and the explanation for the outcome. I did some testing on both Android and Kindle and both failed to login to my local eir_wifi; however Android at least asked for credentials which Windows 7 did not.
Furthermore, where does this leave Windows 10 on a mobile device? Or Linux?
I will try to get more information from Eir.

Packet

Kilmolin wrote: »

"Can I connect to eir WiFi with my laptop or PC?

No, laptops and PCs are not compatible with eir WiFi service."

I've connected out of the box regular macOS to it.

In principle Windows 10 should work with it but not out of the box. I didn't get it to work with it yet.

platinums

I noticed the router being really crappy lately, ive turned off the Eir_Wifi now so Ill see how it goes.

Internet was dropping and the admin page would not 10 minutes after a restart.
Seems to be better already.

Sly one eir.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

just got a new f2000 to replace my 5 year old f1000 and seeing this eir_wifi SSID now. i can't believe there's not more people giving out about this when you can't disable it from YOUR OWN router! i can't disable it from my eir either, i just see a 'You are not eligible to be eir WiFi Host.' message.

tsue921i8wljb3

georgiecasey wrote: »

just got a new f2000 to replace my 5 year old f1000 and seeing this eir_wifi SSID now. i can't believe there's not more people giving out about this when you can't disable it from YOUR OWN router! i can't disable it from my eir either, i just see a 'You are not eligible to be eir WiFi Host.' message.

In My Eir under the eirWiFi section you have to choose your account number using the blue down arrow under Phone number. You should then see a slider to disable the service.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

can't see that on my end.

anyway, it got turned off when i rang, so it's gone. i just can't believe eircom have this feature that you can't turn off on your own hardware in your house, it's a bit disconcerting.

i need to get a new IP to hide myself from google every now and then, so i set a MAC filter to block phones and the like on the old f1000 modem, get a new IP address and log into my VM. i presume with this wifi sharing, anybody passing with their phone connected to my eir_wifi can access the internet with my new IP and their GPS enabled, outing me!

tsue921i8wljb3

georgiecasey wrote: »

can't see that on my end.

anyway, it got turned off when i rang, so it's gone. i just can't believe eircom have this feature that you can't turn off on your own hardware in your house, it's a bit disconcerting.

i need to get a new IP to hide myself from google every now and then, so i set a MAC filter to block phones and the like on the old f1000 modem, get a new IP address and log into my VM. i presume with this wifi sharing, anybody passing with their phone connected to my eir_wifi can access the internet with my new IP and their GPS enabled, outing me!

Yeah that is different to mine. I was able to disable it without calling them.

I would be surprised if the eirWiFi was using the homeowner's public IP as there could be potential legal implications but I have never used the service so can't be sure.

Nowso

sometimes if you reset or restart it can switch back on

if you go in and turn it on on myeir and leave it a few minutes and then turn it back off on my eir

IdHidden

The option to disable the eir-wifi is gone from myEir. Does anyone know how to disable it?

Nowso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121242468#Comment_121242468

try reboot the Modem if not ring eir and they will do it