Double NAT in a hotel room - missing the point here

What exactly is the problem here that NAT mode doesn't work for Airport Express but does for what looks like 4 other routers I have tried so far in the same hotel room connection?

Don't have an answer for you because I have never experienced the type of problems that you have encountered. Have you considered that your Express may not be performing correctly?

I've had no problems configuring the Express with the Double NAT ( I click "ignore" to the message and the light turns to green) when I want mutliple wireless devices to connect to the AirPort Express in my hotel room. Internet, email, etc all work just fine on all devices.

Maybe once or twice a year, I do run into a hotel network that just won't accept the connection of the Express when it is performing DHCP and NAT....nothing connects to the Internet.

In those cases, I change the Express to Bridge Mode and try to only use my laptop for wireless. If I do need wireless for the iPhone, the hotel will almost always waive the extra charge for the second connection.

Have you considered that Double NAT may not be the correct setting? Try "Bridge Mode". You need to get your hotel's DHCP settings (IP address and dns servers) from the hotel's router, not your own.

--Sam

You need to get your hotel's DHCP settings (IP address and dns servers) from the hotel's router

No you don't, if the hotel charges for each separate device....some do, or try to.....or the sign on for each device makes you go through the "agreement" for every device that you want to use.

When you use Bridge, you will see other users on the hotel network under the Shared heading in the Finder on your Mac. And those other users can "see" you and your devices as well. Not exactly a secure setup if you care about privacy.

Give me Double NAT every time. The hotel router only "sees" one device this way.....your AirPort....and your own devices are always on a different private subnet......so you won't "see" all the devices from other users on the hotel network....and they will not "see" you. The bottom line.....Double NAT is a much more secure way to connect to the hotel network.

I just have to say that being connected to the Internet and not is the option here. I would expect double NAT to only block some services, but speaking as a techie here but not a networking specialist, it may block proxy servers, in which case the login won't appear.

If you are really concerned about privacy, do two things:

1. call the tech support number. they loosely administer the network, and will they tell you if they have VLANed (basically the same as having a separate guest network) for each connection or not. I won't advise you to do that as you can adjust your mac so it doesn't share anything, in fact that's how it is by default. But most hotels use this VLAN technology as it comes in most switches that are past the most basic models.

2. Use VPN. That is a much more secure, although more expensive option that you should use if traveling frequently so I hear.

3. Hotels have an incentive to respect user's privacy. If you are file sharing in your hotel room you shouldn't though for many legal and other reasons like hogging network bandwidth, which brings me to my last point. Although extremely rare, using your airport express could break their network. There are travel routers available also*.