vwssl
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Q: Force wifi to specific BBSID. (force 5ghz)

Hello,

I've been trying to find a solution for last two days about a problem I found using Yosemite on my Macbook Air.

I'm sometimes in conferences where there are a lot of people connected to the same router (which is probably the closest determined by every OS) and this router has the same name where ever you go in the building, so anywhere you go you get instant connected to it. Problem is that in conference rooms everyone seems to be connected to the same router which becomes really slow.

 

There I decided to think: What if I force my mac to connect to another router (others are not that far) maybe I will get a better connection and will not get my VPN disconnected every 5 minutes.

 

So I did search over the internet and first found the following commands:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport --associate=XXX --bssid=YYY

xxx= SSID/network name    yyy= BSSID

The problem is that this command won't work on OS X versions before OS X 10.6, I get an error like (invalid command --associate)... (alright......)

 

So I found another guy who talked about forcing to connect to a specific canal using this command (let's start some annoying fixing ok..):

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Resources/airport --channel=num

num= the canal number (ex: 6,  12, 1)

I did try that last one, without any success.

 

I'm currently at home, my ISP is Orange and we get a router that supports 2.4 and 5ghz at the same time on different canals but both use the same SSID/network name. When I get close to my router and restart wifi my mac will connect to 5ghz, but when I will go farer and get a -70 RSSI (or more) it will automatically connect to 2.4ghz.


Some people said that they contacted Apple support and this one said that there was no way to connect to connect to the BSSID you want, this is like that.

Can someone confirm?

 

 

 

 

What came in my mind is: Am I safe?

What annoys me on my macbook is that when I open it, it wakes up and immediately connect to Wifi routers I previously logged on, but ONLY using SSID (network name)!!!

(ex: I can connect to McDonalds public wifi hotspot from one place, if I go to another McDonald it will automatically connect to that one!)

So immediately you think: What if a hacker creates a fake wifi hotspot with name "Company XXX Wifi", my macbook will probably get connected to it (my company has no wifi password) and what if that hacker is rooting this hotspot to the real company one which gets internet/intranet, I will open safari and browse personal informations without even knowing I'm on the fake hotspot! and all my data will go clearly through the hacker)

 

I can understand it is easier to make it work this way, but what about enterprises?

Is there is a way first, to disable that insecure "auto-connect to known SSID" feature but BSSID instead? (even if it is spoof-able but it makes a layer of protection against hackers kiddies)

Or even to have to choose to connect back or not when you open your computer from sleep?

 

And of course: How the **** do you select a specific network that has the same name?!

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Jan 18, 2015 7:12 AM

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vwssl

Q: Force wifi to specific BBSID. (force 5ghz)

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Jan 18, 2015 7:18 AM in response to vwssl
    Level 4 (1,087 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 18, 2015 7:18 AM in response to vwssl

    You will find your answer to that question here

  • by vwssl,

    vwssl vwssl Jan 18, 2015 1:10 PM in response to Leopardus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 18, 2015 1:10 PM in response to Leopardus

    Unfortunately this doesn't answer my question at all, since it is way more complex.

  • by vwssl,

    vwssl vwssl Jan 27, 2015 8:12 AM in response to vwssl
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 8:12 AM in response to vwssl

    BUMP!

  • by Greg Holden,

    Greg Holden Greg Holden Oct 8, 2015 7:53 AM in response to vwssl
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 8, 2015 7:53 AM in response to vwssl

    Bump.

     

    I'm floating in a sea of xfinitywifi hotspots but it seems the one I'm sitting closest to has the lousiest Internet speeds. In the rare situations my mac does connect to a different AP I get really great speeds (for what I need).

     

    So yeah... a solution would be nice.

  • by benmorrow,

    benmorrow benmorrow Aug 30, 2016 5:09 PM in response to Greg Holden
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 30, 2016 5:09 PM in response to Greg Holden

    I have the same problem as Greg Holden. I would like to either:

    1. block access points by BSSID, or
    2. connect to a specific access point by BSSID

    That way I would be empowered to choose the best xfinitiwifi hotspot. As it stands, the one closest to me has no internet connection at all, but OS X keeps connecting to it anyway.

  • by benmorrow,

    benmorrow benmorrow Aug 30, 2016 5:13 PM in response to Leopardus
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 30, 2016 5:13 PM in response to Leopardus

    @Leopardus There is no particular article at this link. The page is a hub for About.com. Your reply is not helpful.

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Aug 31, 2016 1:10 AM in response to benmorrow
    Level 4 (1,087 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 31, 2016 1:10 AM in response to benmorrow

    You will find your answer to that question here . If you scroll down on that page, you will find an article how to connect to networks, Use Multiple Network Locations with your Mac, the principle that I use to connect in a big building with one of our deployments to connect to specific networks.

     

    When used correctly, it will connect to the specific network every time, even with stronger signals present.

     

    Ideally, one should start an own threat with your own problem.

     

    HTH

     

    Leo

  • by benmorrow,

    benmorrow benmorrow Sep 1, 2016 10:02 AM in response to Leopardus
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 1, 2016 10:02 AM in response to Leopardus

    Hi Leo, unfortunately, that doesn't resolve the problem we're facing. For vwssl, Greg, and myself, we're all facing the same concern: all the access points have the same SSID name. They run in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz so there isn't a way to differentiate speed by SSID name. In addition each access point has its own performance limitations based on the number of active connections and the download speed of the cable connection. In my case, its even more drastic because access point nearest to me broadcasts its SSID but the internet connection doesn't work at all.  We want to connect to a different access point by BSSID (MAC address) but can't figure out how to do that. Your link about locations seems like it would be good if you need to connect to a different SSID name. That doesn't work for us because all the access points have the same SSID. If I'm missing something from the link, please let me know.