UNC doesn't like when you are running a router on campus because they're (understandbly) afraid of congestion, so they figured out a way of preventing routers from working. Of course, I wanted to set up my own router so that my and my roommate's WiFi could be stronger in our dorm (Morrison, 8th floor supersuite at the time), so spent some time experimenting to figure out a way around their block.

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Connecting through the router wirelessly, and wired didn't allow any internet access. 

sharing my mac's internet allowed other people to use that connection, and successfully connect to the internet. 

Made this the mac address of the router: 00:1b:21:14:c9:0e

(it's an intel machine's mac address and it worked so they must be blocking based on broad mac address categories). Had to register that mac address with them, though. Let's try registering a slightly different one to see if it'll work again. Maybe try this: http://www.miniwebtool.com/mac-address-generator/ using the prefix 00:1b

I had some "ethernet e3" adapter thing in my network list (may have been for pdanet connections), and it seemed as though when the wifi dropped, it turned on, so perhaps that was the problem? I deleted it. 

I tried a PPoE connection setup on the router because it asked for a username and password, I entered in my oynen credentials. Seemed to really not like that setup. 

Also tried PPTP client connection. Pages just wouldn't load. Required a server IP and also username and pass. 

Finally, tried a L2TP client, required a server, username, and password. 

Changed the router's mac address to a variant of the original, starting with the prefix "00:1B", using the tool listed above, and then registered it with dchp: 00:1B:02:CA:32:7A. <-- This Mac address worked. This "93:01:D5:45:D5:A5" did not. 

Hunch: Based on this passage, I bet they whitelist all of the Mac address types for major routers, (that is, everything that has certain prefixes). "This will ensure that the routers true MAC address will be seen by the NAC system, which should then be automatically ignored, meaning that everything should start working fine." -doc: https://help.unc.edu/help/resnet-nac-and-your-personal-wireless-router/


This offers good reading: http://help.unc.edu/help/resnet-personal-wireless-router-configuration/

Current attempt to get direct ethernet working: whitelisted my ethernet mac address. Seemed to work

Current attempt to get router working: changed the mac address to something with same prefix. Stopped working after a few days. 

Current attempt to get router working: changed mac address of router to be mac address of my mac's ethernet port. Seemed to work very well. 

Attempt to get UNC-Secure, TJAP, etc from not dropping connection: https://it.uoregon.edu/osx-wifi-fixes Didn't work

Next attempt to get TJAP from not dropping connection: http://www.werockyourweb.com/your-wireless-connection-dropping


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Apple's Wireless Diagnostics Suggestions: 

Try getting a 5GHz router (less interference from "other appliances and wireless devices"). 

Choose an "automatic" network channel on the router. 

Restarting router apparently allows it to choose the best channel. 

"Certain appliances such as microwaves, cordless phones, or audio/video equipment can cause wireless interference in the 2.4GHz band." and that could result in poor or unreliable wi-fi connection.