Public wifi hotspot problems

I’ve read the thread about flaky wifi, but I think the following may be a different issue, as this is not purely wifi connectivity:
I am using a year old MacBook Pro.
It connects fine into my own wifi, and at friends’ homes, hotels etc.
However, it is problematic when it comes to using free-to-use hotspots in public areas.
Typically I can connect right into a wifi system.
Then the procedure is to open the web browser (Safari or Firefox installed), which should be automatically directed to the organisation’s log-in, where you accept their terms and conditions, and off you go.
Sometimes for me this works fine, so if I go into a McDonalds, no problem.
But it often does not, for example I cannot hook into the Orange France Service, nor the Eurotunnnel service and others.
However, in all instances my iPhone works immediately.
Seems to me that something on the MacBook may be misconfigured, and any help to identify and rectify the problem will be much appreciated.

Nothing in your MBP is seriously miss-configured. Most times it's the service. What I do is to create a new location for every public hotspot I visit. Outline the preferences along with ISP (network names) in my Preferred networks list. If a hotspot reacts like the one's that are giving you issues I manually type the hotspots sign-in page in the url address in my browser. Once there I can bookmark that page for the next time it gets buggy.

Similar Messages

PopUp window at public wifi hotspots?

If I connect to a public wifi hotspot I get a popup window where the landing page from the operator is shown (captive portal). How can this be managed? Because the window is closed after the login there is no chance to get the session window for logout etc. from the service provider.
Thanks.

I run a number of wifi hotspots, all of which use a captive portal "Splash Page" that is branded per location.
Since the iOS6 update I have been swamped with guests and customers complaining about this www.apple.com "success" page popping up instead of the intended customers login and terms acceptance page. When cancelling it drops the wifi router connection and there is no way to connect to the intended free wifi hotspot.
The problem is in Apple's update, there currently is no way to disable this unwanted feature.
The solution is to go to your Settings>General>Cellular>Cellular Data and turn it OFF when you are at the hotspot location.
Now when you choose the hotspot's SSID and join it......you will get the sign in page from the captive portal and not the "success" page.
Be sure and turn the Cellular Data back on.....when you leave the hotspot.
Apple needs to fix this WISPr function, I am only a small provider and I am sure that worldwide there are going to be hundreds of thousands of iphone, ipad and laptop users who will no longer be able to sign on at wifi hotspots, work, universities, hospitals and hotels.
As a side note: I have an older 4S phone with iOS6 and I cannot join.....my wife has a newer 4S phone with iOS6 installed and even though both our phones are set exactly the same......she can connect without turning off her cellular data and I cannot. Curious?

Received mysteries text regarding a code send from my own Iphone after using a unprotected public Wifi-hotspot

Today I received a text from my own Iphone number displayed as +28 18 xx xx that I have not written myself. It said I now had a new code thas was xxxx without specifying what for. Just before I got that text I had used a couple of different public wifi-hotspots. Should i be worried? After i searched Google all I could find was that it was a possibility your Iphone can be hacked on Wifi and the other option was that the code I received maybe was from the Verified SecureCode by Visa & Mastercard that I did sign up for a long time ago. If that was the case someone would be trying to use my credit card. If anyone could help me to disclose why i got the text from my own Iphone I would be very grateful.

This is likely a Phishing message
The following refers to eMails but can be applied to any message you receive regarding correspondence appearing to be from Apple
Phishing & Other Suspicious Emails
Identifying fraudulent "phishing" email - Apple Support
Identifying legitimate emails from the iTunes Store - Apple Support
ÇÇÇ

Problem connecting to public wifi hotspot using ibook and airport

Hi
I have a brand new iBook G4, replacing an iBook G3. At home I use it to connect wirelessly or wired with my Netgear router. No problems.
Yesterday I tried to access a public, unsecured wifi hotspot in a local cafe. There were two other people there using the net, both using iBooks (high Mac density, it seems!).
Whatever I did, I simply couldn't connect. First, using the same Location I use at home (defined to only use Airport), I could see the named network, but when I selected it I got the 'could not connect' dialog. Retried, no luck.
I then created a new location, configured that to use Airport. Same problem.
I then created a new network name, and tried again. No luck. Using this last option, it actually asked me for a WEP password, even though the network was, in fact, unsecured, and the other users had not been asked this.
I do use WEP protection at home.
Any ideas?? I'd like to be mobile and networked, so I'd really like to fix this!

I presume that the iBook G3 worked fine at the location previously?
Some 802.11b access points require a firmware upgrade before 802.11g (Extreme) clients can connect.
Though 802.11g is backward compatible with 802.11b some older access points were developed before 802.11g and therefore are not in a position to allow the 802.11g clients to connect.
Note that you can attempt to persuade an Airport Extreme client to operate in 802.11b mode.
Hold down the control key [ctrl] when selecting the network from the menu.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107938
iFelix

Window 8 pro 64 bit wifi hotspot problem

I am use windows 8 pro 64 bit . I make WiFi hotspot on my laptop ,it successfully started and i enable internet sharing then i connect my android phone to this network, it connect successfully but nothing open in my phone ,it didn't receive any data. i use
another mobile but same problem.
then i go to network and internet sharing center in control panel and open local area connection*13 it shows as :-
IPv4 Connectivity: Internet
IPv6 Connectivity: No Internet Access
Media state: enabled
what problem? plz help needfully..............

Hi,
For reference:
steps to create hotspot connection in windows8
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-networking/steps-to-create-hotspot-connection-in-windows8/03339860-ae8c-478b-bd68-4fdc5d597d7a?msgId=3273a9f7-1438-4398-8900-c9630c93beca&page=1
Best regards
Michael Shao
TechNet Community Support

Why am I unable to connect to Public WiFi HotSpots?

My MacBook Pro (late 2010), refuses to connect to most Public WiFi networks. However, my iPhone has no issues. Typically, I will be in a coffee shop or airport lounge. I'll take out my iPhone and launch Safari. Safari will try for a second or two to connect, and then a "Login" page will pop up. Usually it is simply a request to accept the Terms & Conditions for the access provider. Tick the "I Accept" box and continue. Same location, using my MBP, I launch Safari and Safari tries to connect and does nothing. Spinning Beach Ball. I do not get the "Accept" page with the Terms & Conditions. Sounds to me like a Security or "Re direct" Issue. Any ideas why this works with the iPhone and not the MBP? This is a chronic problem for me and I'm getting tired of it. Thanks for any assistance.

Thanks for the suggestion. What you suggest is not the issue. Network Preferences says Airport is Connected and I have an IP Address. Safari picks up the redirect URL but will not display the page. Workaround is to launch another browser, (I use Firefox). Then the Login Page displays correctly. Once logged in using Firefox, I can then launch Safari and all is good. This technique works most of the time. However, there are some sites where the same problem happens with Firefox or any other browser I try. Workaround is to restart in Bootcamp (Windows 7 & IE). This is just not right! I don't seem to be getting many responses so this is likely not a wide spread issue and may perhaps be due to something peculiar to my system.

Connecting to wifi hotspots problem

Have set up my blackberry to connect to the Blackberry Internet Service through Orange in a 6 month free trial and to connect wirelessly with my home network - so far so good.
However, have tried but been unsuccessful in connecting to open wifi hotspots on Virgin Trains and Pret - both I believe are tmobile supplied.
I have my blackberry set to Hotspot browser as the Default browser config, Internet browser on Default MDS browser and Orange World on Default WAP Browser.
The blackberry has no problem finding the open wifi networks, tries to connect but always ends in failure.
Your help would be much appreciated.

u have two options
1) Go to
Menu->Tools->Settings->Connections->Access Points and delete all access points other than your home WLAN. You can always recreate your service provider access points when you need them with the Settings Wizzard.
2) While at home go
Menu -> Connectivity -> WLAN wiz and set up your wifi access point from there. (passkey and even give it a simpler name if you want) once you do that it should come up as a valid access point that you can choose from or set as the default access point.
Articles posted courtesy engadget
keep us updated about the progress.... if u like wat I have to offer then click on khudos.

Wifi Hotspot Problem

Hello, I Just bought a new 32 4th generation iPod touch, I Also have another 4th generation iPod touch with 8 GB, and i noticed that my 32GB doesn't get many Wifi Hotspots like my 8GB Does, is there something wrong in the Inside compartments or something?

Hello xKaden!
Sorry you are having those issues, See if the link below can help with your troubleshooting!
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1398?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
Good Luck,
Dustin

Public WiFI Hotspot with Terms of Service and Stats?

c1114 wrote:
Check out this company. Several years ago i set up a small switch at a garage that wanted their customers to have wifi and of course separate from their network. The actual wifi signal was provided by a Linksys wrt54g plugged into the switch.
http://www.guest-internet.com/
Hmmm I'm looking at some of those. The main drawback would be that they limit the bandwidth on most models. We have a 100 Mbps fiber line, and I would have no problem with WiFi using up to 50% of that, so we would be looking at one of the pricier models.

So two questions really.First one:I'm curious, those of you that provide wifi to either the public or employees, do you have a "terms of service / usage agreement" page that users have to agree to before they are given access? Why / why not? What are the legal implications of not having one? Let's say citizen Jim gets on my free wifi at our library and downloads a virus. Can he sue us if we don't have some kind of disclaimer and terms of use that he had to agree to?Second:Those of you that use a captive portal with usage terms and that do stat counting, what provider do you use? We're thinking about switching next year, because our current one has been very spotty. Being a public library (that means we are POOR), cost is obviously the biggest issue. We just need to be able to log how many total sessions on the wifi, length of sessions,...
This topic first appeared in the Spiceworks Community

HT3867 My iPhone won't display the login page for public wireless hotspots

My iPhone 4S does not load the login pages of public wifi hotspots. It has not always done this for I cn remember a using it afew times. Help please before I break this phone lol

One possibility is that you have specified DNS servers in your Network preferences. (Network Preferences -> Advanced -> DNS, see if anything is specified.) If so, you want to create a new network location which doesn't have any DNS servers defined. (Network Preferences -> Location -> Edit Locations.) Create a new one (click the + sign), and use that location when logging on to public WiFi hotspots.
The other (and worse) problem might be a security feature added to OS 10.7.2 and higher versions.
Apple found out that a hacker could fool you into accepting a bogus "update" via a fake Software Update pop-up. The fix was to rig the OS so that, when you connect to a wifi network, a Mac running the new and improved OS will silently "phone home" to an IP address at apple.com, and inquire about the hotspot's certificate. If it fails to get back a message declaring the hotspot's certificate to be valid, it assumes that the hotspot login popup is fake, and won't let you proceed. The permanent solution is for the hotspot's "captive portal system" to allow Macs to connect to the Apple host, so that the OS can do the verification. Most public WiFi systems have made the adjustment, but there are quite a few (including many schools) who are behind the curve. If this is your issue, tell whoever runs the network to get with the program!
While waiting for that to happen, you can always copy the login page url from a PC (or older Mac OS) that is able to access the hotspot, paste it into your address bar, and take it from there. (Truncate the url at the first question mark . . . the ? and all the junk that comes after it are likely to be specific to the machine you copied it from. You'll see a fresh bunch of junk materialize, as the site talks to your Mac.)

Mid 2013 MacBook Air Public Wifi Woes

I have a new mid-2013 11 inch MacBook Air. Whilst in general it works brilliantly, I am having great difficulties connecting to public wifi hotspots. It connects fine to my home network and to my iPhone, but refuses to work as expected when using wifi in places such as coffee shops. It seems to connect to the wifi, but shows an error message, "Alert: No Internet Connection." This happens frequently at just about every site I use and it is getting very irritating. Does anyone know (a) what I'm doing wrong, and (b) how I fix it please?

The warranty entitles you to complimentary phone support for the first 90 days of ownership.
If you bought the product in the U.S. directly from Apple (not from a reseller), you also have 14 days from the date of delivery in which to exchange or return it for a refund. In other countries, the return policy may be different. If you bought from a reseller, its return policy applies.

Iphone 5c wifi hotspot not working before ios 8 update after it.

I going through **** lot of issues, after getting an iphone(5c) a piece of ****,straight out of the box bowl full of ****.
1.Wifi Hotspot Problem
2.Overheating problem remains, no effect of ios updates.
3.Itunes ***** in india,update download fails numerous times before processing of file.

I Have a similar problem occurred on my iPhone 5 , after install iOS 8 I can hear by ear speaker but the mic didn't work also volume bottoms didon't work,
my ear speaker still new in a good condition.

TS1398 I have the ipad retina display version - I have a BIG issue with this when out and about that on about 50% of the time will it see my HTC mobile WiFi hotspot - rebooting either, or both devices doesn't cure the problem it drives me MAD!!!!

I have the ipad retina display version - I have a BIG issue with this when out and about, that only about 50% of the time will it see my HTC mobile WiFi hotspot - rebooting either, or both devices doesn't cure the problem it drives me MAD!!!!
The HTC hotspot works fine with everything else I connect to it.
Also - ipad will not connect to my HTC via bluetooth. Again, I can connect to everything else with my HTC other than my ipad.
I have to say this is my first venture into Apple products and I have always wanted to get away from my windows based laptop to get a MacBook, the problems I have had (flash player etc) & continue to have (as above) are putting me right off swapping over. I HATE technology that doesn't work and my ipad has been hard work!

I stated my ipad as being an ipad2, but I now think it is a 3??? It was new Jan this year and is the 64gb retina display version.
I really would like to get to the bottom on this problem wit mobile hotspots as it is sitting on my desk next to me now and I cannot get it to connect to my HTC mobile hotspot!!!! It might be taking a flying lesson soon at this rate!!! Grrrrrrr...........

Wifi certificate problem - free public wifi

Hi
I use a free public wifi access point at work. When I connect, there is a popup that states:
The certificate for this website is invalid. Tap accept to connect to this website anyway.
If I accept, I get redirected to https://1.1.1.1/ , where I have to tap accept to the terms and conditions.
On my macbook, I get the same error about the certificate, but I was able to install the certificate on the macbook, and I no longer have the problem.
I then tried to install the certificate on the iphone, by exporting it from keychain, and emailing it to my gmail imap account.
When I tap on the attachment, I get this error:
"Profile could not be validated. Profile is missing Version Number."
I use another university wifi access point, with which I have done the same procedure, with no issues.
Is there any way to modfiy the certificate, or to force the iphone to accept it?
Thanks

System Preferences > Network > (click Airport in the list on the left) > click Advanced > Airport tab, select "Free Public WiFi" in the list and click the - sign at the bottom.
If you're prompted to join that network in the future, click No.
"Free Public WiFi" is a computer-to-computer network that's automatically created by some Windows machines. It's a nuisance, courtesy of Bill.
http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2006/09/freepublicwif.html

I have an iPhone 4 and am in Nepal. My phone was previously able to connect to wifi, but now is unable. I have an iPad and that is able to connect just fine. This problem is with every wifi hotspot I have tried so it is the phone not the modem.

I have an iPhone 4 and am in Nepal. My phone was previously able to connect to wifi, but now is unable. I have an iPad and that is able to connect just fine. This problem is with every wifi hotspot I have tried so it is the phone not the modem.

Try Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Public wifi hotspot problems

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for