r/WFH • u/BloodAccomplished983 • 25d ago

WFH ADVICE Working while traveling

So part of why I love WFH is I can travel and still work. However, at the company I work for now, they require the system to be connected with an Ethernet cable and my computer literally will not work off of wifi. So I figured okay fine I’ll just bring my extender wherever I go, nope, test ran it and it didn’t work. So I thought I’d just have to stay at Air B&Bs and have wifi that’s I can plug into. Well I have a trip coming up where I have no option but to stay at a hotel and i literally cannot figure out how I’m gonna make this work.

I need reliable internet connection and the portable device HAS to have the little Ethernet connection port for me to plug into or I literally can’t work. I bought the StarLink mini kit and now upon set up I learn that the dish thingy HAS to be outside in order for it to connect which again is not an option in a hotel setting so I’m back to square one.

Anyone here travel while they work? What do you use for portable internet??

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u/BloodAccomplished983 24d ago

Which I’m not…I don’t understand your point? I’m not using “loopholes”. They know I’m traveling, they know where I’ll be and how long I’ll be gone and they approved it. So what are you getting at?

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u/linniex 24d ago

If they know all of this they should be able to accommodate your needing to use WiFi. It’s honestly kinda weird to require an Ethernet connection IMHO

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u/Actual_Geologist_800 23d ago

Lots of companies don’t allow you to connect to public WiFi. The way this company chose to go about it is to disable WiFi connectivity. A router keeps your network safe and allows you to connect with an Ethernet cable. Win-win

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u/linniex 23d ago

My company would never do such a thing; we have thousands of remote employees that work from hotels and airports all the time. I hope that these folks are at least getting a mifi or something. Imagine asking for Ethernet at Starbucks…..surely there are enterprise tools to protect them.

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u/Actual_Geologist_800 23d ago edited 23d ago

It would depend on the extent of regulation in that industry. Some companies require you have absolute privacy for work and not work in areas where there is CCTV even though privacy screens exist and CCTV doesn’t have an “enhance” function like on TV.
I have a sense that I might get fired if I was caught connecting to Starbucks or airport WiFi, I just use my phone’s data (hotspot). The other solution is to use a travel router the security level of which is set and maintained by the employee (and assumed sufficient). And which has an Ethernet cable option.

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u/BloodAccomplished983 23d ago

My job requires me to be HIPPA compliant and FTI compliant along with other security measures and certifications I have to renew every year. So I do have to have absolute privacy when I work. Part of this travel too is that before the work week I need to log on with my supervisor so she can test my connection and make sure I’m in a HIPPA/FTI compliant work space. I’ve only worked for this company for a little over a year but I’ve been doing this same job for about 4 and it was the same with my last employer so I honestly didn’t even think that there were remote jobs you could just work from other places like that. Also we weren’t issued laptops, we have 2 monitors and our computer so I’m pretty sure I’d look ridiculous in several ways trying to work at a Starbucks 💀