Hotspot Guide: Wi-Fi rescue for travelers
Problem: I have made over 14 apps over the last 6 years. I got my first-ever MacBook Air after graduating college and have held a developer account ever since. Whenever I have a new app idea, I always look to see if the problem I am trying to solve is both solved, and solved in a way that I like. Sometimes one is true, sometimes both are true, and I buy the app and never have to build the app in the first place! I could not find an app to help you during that point of frustration of getting onto a public network in a guided way that most people could understand. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I tried to get on Alaska’s new free Starlink Wi-Fi. I have heard great things, and expected a lot. I tried to connect and nothing. I finally figured it out. I had my VPN enabled, a custom DNS, and then Private Relay. Each time the page didn’t load, I had to guess what was wrong. So aggravating, but I was very happy I finally got on. I did not like that I had no offline resources to troubleshoot what was going on with the network. There are times when public Wi-Fi is broken, and there are times it is YOUR device. To help figure out who to point fingers at and to guide you when you are at your most vulnerable, I created Hotspot Guide on the Mac App Store. I have tested it and it helped guide me onto Lufthansa, Marriott, Hilton, Alaska, JetBlue, and United. It helped get me back online every time! The app supports most airlines with specific tips I have seen and heard. It also has an at home mode where you can see network details and surrounding networks. The app does not transmit any data off your computer. The Mac version also includes an iOS download, and vice versa. The app was built with the help of Opus, but all testing was real-world. And as mentioned, I am not new to the world of Mac/iOS apps. Hope this app can be your little insurance plan so you can get online when you don’t have the entire internet to help you get there. I will continue updating this app. It is a one-time purchase. I hope you all like it. I plan to add a small game if the internet is actually down (Please not DOOM). If you have any ideas, please tell me! I was thinking 20 questions? If they are able to get that game in a small, cheap, plastic LCD display game, I am sure I can add it while still keeping it small footprint? I have other apps coming down the pipeline in beta. Thank you to this community, I am still having so much fun solving problems. I use my apps every single day, and I hope you get some use out of them as well. Oh, and yes, I did get on starlink, about 350 Mbps! Comparison: WiFi Explorer: Scanner ($19.99): This app helps you set up your wifi network and problem solve common wifi issues and performance improvements at home. It has been around for a while and is the de facto to home network debugging. It does not help for networks that are not actually yours and does not look at your device's configuration itself. Like a good therapist, Hotspot Guide looks inward for the problem, not outward. Captive Portal (Free): I do not know the developer of this app, but they did a really good job! It finds the captive portal URL and allows you to force your browser to navigate to it. I thought this would be my answer to the problem, but it does not help you get to the captive portal if there are any configuration issues with your device. Pricing: On the Mac App Store https://apps.apple.com/app/id6766383175 (6.99) - Continuous updates, one time purchase Mac and iOS.
Collected discussion
This is awesome! I have not encountered an app that solved these issues yet and I definitely relate to them. Awesome job!
Thank you so much! New app ideas are out there still I promise!
this is very useful, will try it next time im out
Thanks for the feedback, I feel like its a way too common situation. Edit: Removed exclamation mark. I am too excited!
I travel a lot, and I'd argue captive portals have gotten less predictable over the years, not more. Between Private Relay, DNS filtering, VPNs, and browser security changes, the "connect and a login page appears" workflow breaks surprisingly often.
I am in favor of non-ISP DNS, private relay, and VPNs. I am interested in whether I should go through the steps in reverse with the user once they have successfully connected. At the same time, they probably want to stay on the planes DNS for on plane hosted flight tracking/movies.
Nice. Do u have a website with your other apps also out of interest ?
You can click on my developer account on the App Store and they are all listed there. I also have my own list at https://dangauthier.page/projects/
Thanks alot.
I’m only glad this isn’t another screen record app
I always just use QuickTime
Bought! Random hotspots not letting me do the portal I’m willing to give this a go! Thanks!
Awesome, here to help. If you had any feedback feel free to reach out via support too.
Haven't been anywhere, but seems really nice when I have poked through it. I did notice the speedtest seems pretty far off. Says I am getting 37mbps down. Fast / speedtest have me at 2.5gbps (which is accurate for the fiber I have). No biggie, but maybe some work there to get this more accurate for when you are traveling to see what the hotel wifi is. That or just have it redirect to fast.com / speedtest.net or something. You can also use fast.com's api https://github.com/branchard/fast-speedtest-api
Can you create a purchase/download option that is not through the app store please? My work laptop doesn't allow App Store downloads, but that's the laptop I travel with when I have to travel for work on long 16-hour flights. Please give users an alternative way for us to give you our money for this!
I will look into other market places like SetApp, thanks for the advice. I will start this process.
thanks! Most ideal would be just a direct download through something like Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy (I don't like SetApp's subscription model)
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Thanks! “It’s always DNS” should not have to be explained by flight attendants