[Miscellaneous] Wi-Fi Connectivity and User-Agent Strings
Have you ever wondered why you can't connect to a Wi-Fi provider when you're on the road?
Well, it would appear as though the routers that some providers use deny connection requests for unknown User-Agent strings. For example, I'm currently in Kelowna for the Developer Night in Canada (DNIC) user group tour and I'm trying to connect to the local wireless network. If I use IE 7.0 and its default User-Agent string (i.e. Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Win32)), I receive no response from the provider on the initial request to connect. However, if I modify the User-Agent string to mimic the one used by IE 6.0, it works. Go figure.
Now, why would a provider want to deny connection requests for unknown User-Agent strings? I can't say. Most folks know that there's no standard around the User-Agent string and it can be easily modified on the client. If you know why this is the case, please leave me a comment to let me know.
