Sonos at University

Hello, John, and welcome.

BTHomeHub5 - disabled WIFI both frequencies; ethernet wired to access point. Play 1 and laptop ethernet wired to BTHH5. Will laptop be able to control Play1?
John
If I'm understanding this correctly, there will be one centralised router, which then feeds a cable to his room. He then feeds his own access point off this, then wires his laptop back to the Home Hub 5...? This being the case, it still depends on a lot of things. We don't know how that BTHH5 has been configured, if there is any additional security in place, what kind of access point you are referring to, whether or not this AP has been configured, etc. The best thing to do is wait until he gets there and find out exactly what the situation is. It's mostly guessing until then.

Thanks.

I understand he will have one ethernet access point in his room and WiFi, both of which are fed from the college router. BTHH5 is a redundant BT router from home on which I was going to disable both WiFi channels; plug it into the room's ethernet point and then plug his PC (with Sonos App) and a Play unit into the router. The only security for BTHH5 applies to the (disabled) WiFi and when it has been used as a router at home, ethernet wired components work without any security. I suppose the question is what security process will be needed to access the college's internet via the PC and once having done this, will the PC with Sonoa Controller be able to talk to the Play unit?

How about just using the BTHH5 as a WiFi network without internet access. The Sonos app won't be able to stream any content that requires an internet connection but anything from a connected wireless device will play through it fine. Obviously a mobile device with a large or unlimited data plan would be needed for lots of streaming but anything stored locally on the device can be used. Not sure if this would suit, but it's an option.

How about just using the BTHH5 as a WiFi network without internet access. The Sonos app won't be able to stream any content that requires an internet connection but anything from a connected wireless device will play through it fine. Obviously a mobile device with a large or unlimited data plan would be needed for lots of streaming but anything stored locally on the device can be used. Not sure if this would suit, but it's an option.

Actually just reading back my comment, I doubt you'd be able to stream from your mobile, as obviously it'll need to be connected to the same network as the speaker, thus being Wifi and not 3G/4G.

Going to depend on the college network. Many school networks when you plug in Ethernet require a login before you get access (much like at a hotel when you connect to internet). The way to bypass this is get a travel router. With a travel router the travel router will allow you to input your credentials for login via the login page and the router will remember that and reconnect automatically meaning the school line just acts as a permanent access to internet and the travel router acts like your home router.

Thanks.. what is, and where does one buy a "travel router"?

http://nerdtechy.com/best-portable-mini-travel-wifi-router-2016

Thanks... surely the BTHH5 will do the same job, just bulkier. The reason I posted that the WiFi of BTHH5 was disabled was to comply with what may be college's regulations of no separate networks. If this is not the case, surely I can re-enable the wiFi signals of the BTHH5 and operate as you suggest with a travel router.

Difference being will the bthh5 pass the login screen along and then login network if college has a login splash page.

Thanks.

I understand he will have one ethernet access point in his room and WiFi, both of which are fed from the college router. BTHH5 is a redundant BT router from home on which I was going to disable both WiFi channels; plug it into the room's ethernet point and then plug his PC (with Sonos App) and a Play unit into the router. The only security for BTHH5 applies to the (disabled) WiFi and when it has been used as a router at home, ethernet wired components work without any security. I suppose the question is what security process will be needed to access the college's internet via the PC and once having done this, will the PC with Sonoa Controller be able to talk to the Play unit?

It seems you are complicating things. If there is a WAN port in the dorm room (access to internet) you can connect a Boost via Ethernet to the it and create a Sonos Mesh for the Play 1. The WiFi is already there (compliments of University) so connect the PC or any other wireless device (i.e. IOS or Tablet Device with Sonos App) to it. The only password required is for the University WiFi.

The only reason for my suggestions not to work would be if the university is running a separate network for wired access vs WiFi. Am I missing something?