Airpass – Easily overcome WiFi time limits

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

How the Tool Works and Technical Nuances

  • Core idea: change the Wi‑Fi interface’s MAC address so a captive portal or hotspot treats the device as “new” and re‑grants a free time allotment.
  • On macOS this boils down to a single shell line: disassociate from Wi‑Fi, then ifconfig ... ether <random-mac>. Several commenters share aliases and scripts; Linux equivalents use ip link or tools like macchanger.
  • Discussion on valid MACs:
    • “Local” vs globally assigned MACs via the local bit per RFC 7042.
    • Need to avoid multicast addresses by clearing the lowest bit of the first octet.
  • Apple’s airport CLI is deprecated; newer versions push wdutil or networksetup. Interface name (en0/en1) varies by machine.

Built‑in OS Features and Limitations

  • Modern OSes already support MAC randomization:
    • Android: randomized per‑SSID by default; developer option for per‑connection “non‑persistent” randomization.
    • iOS/macOS: per‑network private addresses plus newer “rotating” options; forgetting a network triggers a new MAC, but on new systems only once per 24h (per linked docs).
    • Windows: “Random hardware address” toggle.
  • For many public hotspots, this trick is ineffective because access is tied to SMS codes, vouchers, IDs, or logins rather than just MAC.

Electron vs Native App Debate

  • Large subthread criticizes using Electron for a Mac‑only menu bar utility whose core logic is ~200 bytes:
    • 47MB app seen as emblematic of modern bloat; various analogies compare business logic vs packaging weight.
    • Concerns about CPU/RAM use, battery, aggregate impact, and security/maintenance surface.
  • Defenders argue:
    • Electron is what many developers know; fastest way to ship a free, niche tool.
    • Disk is cheap and 47MB is insignificant for most users; human/dev time is the scarce resource.
  • Alternatives proposed: Swift/Cocoa/SwiftUI, AppleScript/JXA, Xbar/Alfred/Raycast/Shortcuts plugins, Tauri, Qt, even simple shell wrappers or existing tools like LinkLiar.

Ethics, Legality, and “Hacker Ethos”

  • Some commenters call this unethical “theft of service” and worry about a norm of taking more than offered.
  • Others frame it as classic hacker tinkering (akin to old phone‑phreaking or dorm bandwidth hacks), but acknowledge terms like “unauthorized access” and “circumvention” may apply legally.
  • Anecdotes include dorm networks, airports, and airlines with free 20–60 minute Wi‑Fi windows, as well as more aggressive MAC hijacking that degrades other users’ connections.