Guest access needed An SSid kicking

Many of you have been asking for a “guest network” on HomePass. A fair ask? Absolutely. You’ve been patient — thank you. A reasonable expectation for this might be: give me a second SSID so I can name it, maybe password protect it, maybe not, and give it to my guests so they can do whatever on the Internet.

Here’s the thing: that’s what practically every traditional home router or whole-home WiFi system does. And that’s not good enough.

Guest access needs to be secure and give you more control, it must not drag down your WiFi performance, and it should be simple and fun to use. Guest access needs to be reinvented.

Meet Control™

Power is nothing without control

Control uses a single network name to grant access to the Internet and home devices for your guests. A unique password can be assigned to each guest, and access can be issued and revoked with customizable time limits.

In a nutshell, you now have complete control over who has access to your WiFi and how long they stay online. Separate guest networks or multiple SSIDs (network names) are a thing of the past. Changing the mumbo-jumbo password after your visitors leave is out — when was the last time you changed your guest network password?

There are three categories of people that you can allow onto your network with Control, and you can create many unique passwords for each of them:

• Home passwords are typically used for you, your family, and trusted devices that you want to give full access. Devices connected using a Home password can directly communicate with all other home devices as well as access the Internet.
• Guests passwords are commonly used for distant relatives, friends, and other visitors that need Internet access and may need to connect directly to some of your home devices. Give them access to your WiFi and the ability to stream that song to your Sonos.
• Internet Only passwords restrict devices to your public Internet connection, with no ability to directly communicate with any other device on your network.

Beacons are good for ships, not for whole-home WiFi

Each SSID in a WiFi system broadcasts its own set of “beacons.” These beacons reduce the time available for useful application data, particularly in mesh networks. Add interference from neighbors, and altogether beacons can choke as much as ½ of the WiFi capacity in traditional mesh systems.

Since Plume WiFi doesn’t rely on multiple SSIDs or parallel networks, your WiFi performance is not affected by Control. Guest networking without compromise.

Make sharing into a moment, not a chore

Until now, sharing your home WiFi with visitors has been pretty clumsy. You either gave them your private password and exposed yourself to future unwanted intrusion, or you had to set up parallel networks.

The latest update to the HomePass App for iOS and Android enables Control, giving you an intuitive way to create and share unique passwords for each of your guests with just a tap.

The next time your best friend visits, would you rather give her a password like “1Mpo55ibLyH4rd” or use the name of a summer radio hit that she’s been listening to for six months straight?

If you’d like to learn more about how this approach improves security, check out this blog post that delves into the details.