I have noticed that some mobile devices on my network are connecting to the internet and then sharing it with others by enabling the hotspot feature on their devices.
Could you please advise how I can prevent this type of internet sharing through hotspots?
Unless you have direct device specific control, you won’t be able to. But unless something has changed with mobile devices I think you may be confused as to what is happening or I don’t understand what you’re asking.
For example, If an iPhone hooks up to your Wifi, they won’t be able to use the hotspot to share that Wifi. It uses the same antenna, so only 1 of the services work at the same time. This feature is for sharing LTE/5G etc. with the phones WiFi chip.
Hi Hossain,
The client is hook up on Wi-Fi and sharing the internet via using hotspot on his device, if this is the situation then below option you can try.
TTL is parameter you can explore to restrict the traffic. When a mobile phone shares its internet via a hotspot, it typically NATs (Network Address Translation) the traffic, and the TTL value for packets originating from devices connected to the hotspot is reduced by 1 compared to the phone’s own traffic.
Identify the TTL Pattern
Most devices set a default TTL value for their packets:
Windows: 128
Linux/Unix: 64
macOS: 64
Mobile devices (iOS/Android): Typically 64
Devices behind a hotspot often have a TTL that is one less than the original device (e.g., 63 if the original TTL is 64).
Implement TTL Filtering
Configure your router or firewall to drop packets with a TTL value that doesn’t match the expected value for devices on your network.