Rural MFA Difficulties

I am currently visiting family in the rural US. I am used to fast fiber speeds in Japan, and this trip is a good reminder that much of the world experiences the internet differently. The connection speed is slow, but I am happy to see that my lightweight website still loads relatively quickly. There was some time without internet when a connection was cut. The most significant difficulties have arisen from multi-factor authentication (MFA), however.

The location where I am staying does not have mobile/cellular phone coverage. I have never purchased a data plan when visiting because I am unable to use it, aside from when I travel to a city. On this trip, I was unable to get a Wi-Fi connection either, however.

I was able to get an internet connection on my laptop by connecting to a switch via Ethernet, but my phone and tablet stayed offline. I was unable to check email because I needed to authenticate using either my phone or tablet, which were both offline. I decided to purchase a small OpenWRT device in order to create my own Wi-Fi hotspot. I found a suitable device on Amazon, but I was unable to login and order it without MFA. I was eventually able to order it using a family member’s account, however, and I can now use my phone and tablet without issues.

When traveling in the future, I think that I will always bring such an OpenWRT device with me, so that I can connect my devices via Wi-Fi even when I only have access to a wired network.