Home Depot blocks NES

Combo of bad reception inside a metal structure and Websense content filtering on the in-store WiFi, I'll bet you couldnt get to PornHub or a pro-drug use site either

Companies use the web filtering programs because they dont want whatever controversial content you decide to view / download cached on their servers, making them liable. They offer free WiFi because consumers appreciate it and it is good for business because they will gather data on how their customers use it, but they dont want to carry too much risk and filter anything that couldnt be shown over broadcast tv during family hours

Nothing to see, move along
There is no liability it's all feel good bullshit, so they can say they offer wifi while not offering it, lol.

Also whatluck isn't a birdbrain, he knows what these people are doing and I'd bet anything he's investigated this....
 
All this excitement I miss by just paying for my own internet access.

What's that saying...Their store, their rules.
Kind of a problem if they're jamming... come to think of it my cell reception is usually terrible at HD even outside the stores..
 
Although I am sure someone will point out that if I really had any back bone, I would live in the woods and build the dwelling out of branches I chop off using a stone that has an edge,and tied together using tree roots. Which, by the way, I think is great. But I would never see my wife again if I did that.

Looks like you chose the wrong woman. Mine is more of a primitivist savage than I am, which is actually pretty cool. She supports the buy cheap land and then build shit on it principle.
 
I read the OP as the wifi blocked site. Many places do that.
Go in any metal framed building and phone signal is hit or miss depending on location.


He was pretty clear that the signal seemed to be gone until all the way at the end of the lot. Inside the building I could see, but once outside if the signal is still gone it sounds suspicious.
 
He was pretty clear that the signal seemed to be gone until all the way at the end of the lot. Inside the building I could see, but once outside if the signal is still gone it sounds suspicious.

Not really. It depends on your location. Sometimes, even that varies. Sometimes, I have to go out on my back step to get a signal.
 
News flash - Gillette Stadium, Robert Kraft, also block Northeastshooters on their wifi



Screenshot_2018-09-15-19-16-36.jpg
 
He was pretty clear that the signal seemed to be gone until all the way at the end of the lot. Inside the building I could see, but once outside if the signal is still gone it sounds suspicious.
There's no way any chain store in the USA is going to risk fines and federal prosecution by operating an active cell jammer. Too little benefit, too easy to get caught.
 
There's no way any chain store in the USA is going to risk fines and federal prosecution by operating an active cell jammer. Too little benefit, too easy to get caught.

Lol people have done dumber things and not gotten caught. I can think of a method off the top of my head which would let them claim plausible deniability... "oh we have 4g repeaters in the stores because some have bad reception, i guess some were not working properly" blah blah... worst case they get a NAL and get their pee pee slapped for 10k, which for hd is nothing.
 
News flash - Gillette Stadium, Robert Kraft, also block Northeastshooters on their wifi
lol most content firewalls don't dump that way, but it could be half broken. Content firewalls are just to make the wifi trash so nobody uses it, lol. I bet they block porn, too....
 
who has time to paroose nes at home depot? the big issues is hunting for someone who works there that isn't in aisle 52 when you're in 6.
 
A number of years ago the Showcase Cinema in Randolph had a sign that said that they blocked (jammed) all cell/pager signals in the theater . . . and they did! Eventually the sign was removed and so was the jammer. No idea if they were caught and fined, but they certainly didn't hide the fact.

Cell service is very different from WiFi. Jamming cell service is illegal, blocking WiFi AFAIK is not illegal.

Buildings made of concrete or metal (frequently roofs) block signals naturally and make cell calls difficult. I've been in some parts of some big box stores where cell service was non-existent, whereas other parts of the store it worked. Nothing illegal here.

Companies are free to block whatever they don't want used on their WiFi servers. We can like or dislike the results but nothing illegal here either.
 
Perhaps Marriott International thought the $600,000 fine they paid for WiFi jamming their conference facilities was worth it, but I doubt any of the businesses who've paid +$100K for active cell phone jamming feel the same.

Did you read post #5 ?
Still doubtful. Not only does the FCC have a hard on for operators of active radio jammers, these cases are basically free to the FCC; it's usually Verizon or AT&T who does all the legwork to prove active jamming and triangulate the signal.

worst case they get a NAL and get their pee pee slapped for 10k, which for hd is nothing.
$10K is pretty low for a willful violation. If the FCC feels like making an example of them, they'll go for the max of $16K.... per day, per transmitter, retroactively.
 
In my case the offender may have been able to mitigate some of the exposure to FCC fines by arguing that the signal was not jammed, just limited, an impressive legal and technical hijinks for sure, but this was not enough to get the case dismissed in civil court.
 
Cell service is very different from WiFi. Jamming cell service is illegal, blocking WiFi AFAIK is not illegal.

This all depends on what you do and how you do it.
A building with a metal structure that effectively blocks RF signals, would affect wifi and cell to varying degrees. This kind of passive block is legal and happens all the time, both intentionally and just as a result of construction methods.

RF jamming transmits a strong signal containing noise, it is tuned for the band they want to disrupt and can easily be wifi or cell. This is absolutely illegal. It's also pretty easy to find simply because a jamming signal is still a signal and can be tracked just as any other signal can. In fact, the stronger the jamming signal the easier to locate.

Now devices that hijack cell communication are a little different, They impersonate a cell tower so the cell phone registers with them, because they offer the better signal. At this point they can be legitimate cell relays (smart type) and essentially act as a proxy to establish your connection to a cell tower. Used like this, with no attempt to interfere or monitor the communications, they are legal and easy to get. But this same device could simply be used to register your phone and not pass on the connection. Now it's illegal. This would also be much easier to explain as faulty or misconfigured equipment.

The last type is a cell repeater, really just an rf repeater on cell frequencies. To get these to work, and they can be legal, is a pain because both antennas are using the same rf band. For example the phone side antenna would be inside the steel building at one end, and the tower side (uplink) would be outside the building as far away as possible. Turn up the power, inject some noise, and now if just an RF jammer.

Because all these use a signal, to disrupt a site the device would need to be in a fixed location, and this makes it easy to locate. Report it to the FCC and they may get around to tracking the interference. Tell all the local Hams and they might just turn it into a game and find the source. Then you can give details to the FCC and they are a lot more likely to do something. Or, once you know who is responsible for the rf source, and you can show damages, get a lawyer.
 
He was pretty clear that the signal seemed to be gone until all the way at the end of the lot. Inside the building I could see, but once outside if the signal is still gone it sounds suspicious.
I have friends who have LTE at the back of their property, on the highway. Just 100 yards away at the front of their house, it's either 1x or no signal.

I'm amazed at the number of people in this thread who conflate wifi and cell service, or just simply don't know the difference.
 
I have friends who have LTE at the back of their property, on the highway. Just 100 yards away at the front of their house, it's either 1x or no signal.

I'm amazed at the number of people in this thread who conflate wifi and cell service, or just simply don't know the difference.

Mine comes in goes sometimes depending on room you are in on the same side of the house. Sometimes I just turn off the wifi to see if it is poor wifi, and sometimes that works. Other times, it doesn't. I just think it is crappy phones.
 
I've never liked HD. I shop there when I need something quick but I never ask for advice from any employee. They all think they know more than you, kinda like tech support 15 years ago.
 
It appears data and voice use different frequencies.
I've never liked HD. I shop there when I need something quick but I never ask for advice from any employee. They all think they know more than you, kinda like tech support 15 years ago.

I once got some great auto repair advice in the hardware section at Lowe's from a retired mechanic. Go figure [laugh]
 
I've never liked HD. I shop there when I need something quick but I never ask for advice from any employee. They all think they know more than you, kinda like tech support 15 years ago.

They've been essentially (but not totally) Dead To Me ever since I found out that the ones in southern California have day laborer lounges with free coffee for the crimaliens out front who need a break from soliciting landscapers curbside.

(Sole definite exception: I bought a 3-pack of plug-compatible replacement Kidde smoke/NO detectors for the original three in our house, because I'd finally had an assload of the original smoke detectors triggering on misty mornings at 3AM during the change of seasons. Owe's didn't stock them).

Not that Owe's is much better in my eyes:
Back in the day, the in-store hanging signage in Owe's TV commercials was all English-only;
at a time when the actual stores (even in Nashua) already had Spanish subtext on 100% of the signs.
 
HD bans dogs too. Lowe’s welcomes all dogs. That’s all I need to know about Home Depot.
 
Back
Top Bottom