I really hate these random MAC addresses as a parent with teens. It’s almost impossible to filter internet content. I had to give them their own SSID so I could block shit. Also I don’t do allow lists because I have too many smart devices I add and remove and it’s a pain to always remember to allow a new device.
Why do you feel the need to filter the Internet of teenagers? In a few years they’ll be driving if they’re not already and a few years after that voting.
Lack of self control and maturity, once they can be trusted to not be sucked into watching videos for 8 hours straight or when they are 18 they can make their own choice. Tech addiction is a real issue for kids.
I was a teen in the early 2010s. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but the people I know that I grew up with (myself included) that are doing the best with their careers, did the best in college, and were least subject to peer pressure/had good impulse control had parents that did not censor their access to the Internet and instead had conversations about time management and gave them room to fuck up in high school.
I went to a community college during high school per my parents pressure and promptly fucked up one class having to drop it and having my parents pay $600 instead of tanking my GPA.
BUT, I never dropped a single class at university and graduated magna cum laude. I had the room to fail when it didn’t matter as much.
I don’t want to be a backseat parent, but as someone that grew up in this mess myself and saw a lot of people hit the pavement, please consider giving them more freedom as they get older so they can fail while you’re still there to catch them. You don’t need a firewall to stop someone from watching videos all day … just check in and see what they’ve been into all day; encourage them to create stuff not just consume it.
I was also very isolated in high school, depressed and hiding it, and the folks I met playing video games on the Internet honestly were a huge factor in my continued existence. Some are still very good friends well over a decade later.
Perhaps a different perspective, perhaps not. Do what’s right for your kids, but every time I hear about parents policing their teens Internet usage I get concerned because of my own lived experiences. Have a nice day.
So then take away the whole phone, not just the wifi.
No landline in the house they need access to phone for emergency
I would definitely urge you to consider what @Dark_Arc is saying. I was one of the kids they’re talking about, whose parents micromanaged all internet access and didn’t end up doing well. Obviously you know what’s best for your family, but as a product of that environment, it hindered me more than helped. I would hate for you to be doing all the work you’re doing trying to keep them off of what you deem inappropriate, too, when it doesn’t really help in the long run.
Just something to consider.
Oh I am well aware of what to do and not to do. But when my son is in the bathroom for 2 hours at a time wacking it I have to do something. Other people need the bathroom. 😂
Can’t you set their phones to not change MAC address on the home wifi? I know it’s a setting on Android (I have it turned off at home for myself)
Yep - same here. I use MAC auth on all of my SSIDs, as well as PEAP auth for the “user” SSID. The kids’ phones get dropped into a dedicated VLAN, so knowing their MAC addresses is key to that.
Yes, every time they change phones, they have to ask me to add it to the wireless for them, but I have my RADIUS database in Postgres - I can easily use Adminer to add/change/delete the relevant table entry with the correct MAC address.
They mean the iPhone’s MAC address, right?
For Android it’s the default from V10 (if I’m not mistaken)!
It is, it works in two ways depending on the network type and Android version.
By default it creates a random MAC for each network that doesn’t change until a factory reset, even if you forget and connect again. This is on all devices.
Android 12 and up will change the MAC every so often on open networks without a captive portal, or if the network or an app specifies to do so. It it does this in between connections so won’t interrupt what you’re currently doing.
iOS functions like the first one currently, except I think deleting and adding will create a new one. It sounds like they are moving towards the second, but maybe with less logic?
If the default now is not private, and the rotating is opt in, isn’t it worse out of the box?
I liked that the default of private could still work with captive portals.
Wifi Address…
AAAAAAAAAHHHHH
How would one do that on Linux?
Little bit old: https://fedoramagazine.org/randomize-mac-address-nm/ https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MAC_address_spoofing
On grapheneos that’s default for a long time.
When reading the article today it says
With iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple has replaced the Private Wi-Fi Address option for Wi-Fi networks with a new Rotate Wi-Fi Address option that’s aimed at better minimizing tracking.
