I'm using a public wireless network that requires logging in, USI Wirelss. [portal.usiwireless.com]

The issue is that I need to re-login very frequently. I haven't figured out if there is a consistent exact number of minutes or what. If I'm actively using a browser and try to load a page after my login has expired, it brings up the login page. I've had Firefox save the passoword so I just click "Sign In". But if I'm using Mail or any other app that wants to connect, there is no notification and its as if there is no network present at all.

The techs at USI Wireless know about this behavior and seem to acknowledge that it is a problem and not the ideal way for the network to function, but no solution has been forthcoming.

So, any ideas on how to stay logged in? Is there a way to have firefox log me back in without so much as a click?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2008 10:27AM by thermarest.

Sounds like they have a very short lifespan on DHCP address grants. Perhaps a background ping activity will keep your connection open ? Some kind of "heartbeat" script that you set up in that just launches network tools and pings google.com every minute or so, in the background ?

Have a gmail account? Just point your browser to the inbox. It auto refreshes every couple of minutes.

I don't think it matters if there is activity or not. The NY Times also auto-refreshes and this doesn't seem to help. I think its a certain amount of time after the last login, not after activity.