The SecureW2 JoinNow Program is a very powerful tool to help us automate the configuration needed to set up your device on to the Wi-Fi. However, due to device manufacturer restrictions, some Operating Systems require you to utilize the native and "default" browser to correctly work. Here are device specific instructions to set your Operating System to use the default browser. After you have on-boarded, you can revert this change to your preference.

To change the default browser for Windows machines

1. Navigate to Settings > Apps > Default Apps. 
2. Scroll down the list of apps and click the one for Web browser. 
3. Choose from among Firefox, Chrome, or another program that's already installed or that you can download from the Microsoft Store.

To change the default browser for iOS and iPadOS devices

1. Go to Settings and scroll down until you find the Safari browser app. 
2. Tap the app, then tap Default Browser App. 
3. Make sure it is selected correctly. A check-mark appears to confirm it's the default.

To change the default browser for macOS devices

1. From the Apple menu in the corner of your screen, choose System Settings (Sometimes Called System Preferences).
2. Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar (Or in older versions the General Tab).
3. Scroll down on the right and choose the Safari web browser from the “Default web browser” menu.

To change the default browser for Android devices

1. On your Android device, open Settings.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Under “General,” tap Default apps or Choose default apps.
4. Tap Browser app.
5. Select Chrome as the default browser you want to use.

When you have completed setting up the default browsers, you can go back to the IllinoisNet Setup URL at: https://go.illinois.edu/wifisetup

• In rare occasions, after a phone, tablet, or computer performs a software update, the Wi-Fi has issues connecting or staying connected. In the past, this has occurred, and the only solution is to remove the Wi-Fi profile and perform the steps to re-join it to the Wi-Fi.
• Did you just recently change your password? Did you make sure that you updated the new password on all your devices? In some cases, you will need to remove the old Wi-Fi profile and rebuild it from start. In rare occasions we also have seen that some keyboard layouts do not properly input characters with what you may think. Make sure the keyboard layout is set to English and that you do not have any special character plug-ins enabled on your device.
• If you are connected to the Wi-Fi but cannot connect to a specific website or load an app, check to make sure you do not have any VPN software running. If you do, turn it off and try again.
• We do not perform any blocking of ports or websites while on the Wi-Fi, be sure to check the host firewall of the site you are trying to connect to.
• Still having issues? Please don't hesitate to contact our Technology Services Help Desk.

A MAC address (or Media Access Control) is, in short, a unique identifier to your computer, phone or tablet. Its job is to make sure that you have a unique presence on the network which allows you to be online. It has 12 characters of values between A-F and 0-9. 

In some cases, devices are not developed to be able to join IllinoisNet. This is because most devices are consumer-level and are not designed to have the encryption requirement that our Enterprise level Wi-Fi Network (IllinoisNet) has. However, we do have a mechanism to be able to still join those devices to the network. Some of these devices are Amazons’, Nintendo's’, XBOXs’, etc. To connect these devices, we need to pre-authorize them on our Device Registration Page. To uniquely identify those devices, we have you fill in the MAC address of the device which then "registers" that device.

***Please remember that we need the Wi-Fi MAC address NOT the wired MAC address. Some devices have both***

Finding the MAC address can sometimes be difficult. In some cases, it is published on the outside of the box the unit was purchased in. In others, it is in the APP when you try to set it up initially. If you are still unable to find it, try a simple Google Search, such as: "How do I find my MAC address on Windows 10" or "How do I find my MAC address on Amazon Alexa".

Still having issues finding your MAC address? Please don't hesitate to contact the Technology Services Help Desk.

When registering a device on the device registration portal, that device is valid in the system for one year (365 days). If a device needs to be active for more than one year, toward the expiration of that device, you will need to extend the expiration of that device, which can be done for another year. Instructions on how do to that are as follow:

1. Navigate to the Device Registration Page
2. Login with your NETID and password. (or with your departmental label if you have one)
3. Once you login, on the left-hand navigation bar click on "Manage Devices"
4. Click on the device that you wish to extend the expiration on
5. Once you click on it, you will see a small secondary bar show up below, an option to "edit" will appear, click it
6. You will now be presented with options to edit your device, one of these options will be to edit Airgroup settings, and another one will be set, or extend the Account Expiration values.
7. Make the appropriate changes, save them, and logout

Airgroup is a type of service used in our Wi-Fi environment that allows two of your devices to be able to see each other. For instance, if I have an IPAD, and wish to "cast" to an AppleTV, we will need to make sure that we have "AirGroup" ENABLED for the AppleTV, in the device registration portal. Why the AppleTV only? The reason for this is because the AppleTV is "serving" the content. The AppleTV will send out a message looking for your IPAD, and your IPAD will respond. By enabling "AirGroup" we allow this message to propagate through the Wi-Fi environment, and find your IPAD, so that you can then cast your IPADs screen. The same concept applies to Chromecasts, Android and Amazon Devices. Just remember to enable "Airgroup" only on the device that is presenting.

To enable Aigroup, please visit the device registration page, find your device in the "Manage Device" list, edit it, and enable "Airgroup". When you enable AirGroup on this page, you will get secondary text box pop-up. This will allow you to specify with whom you wish to allow this device to be "discoverable". With so many users on campus, we don't want everyone's device to be visible to everyone. By default, the device is only visible to YOUR NETID. Adding additional NETIDs will make those devices discoverable to those individuals as well.

If you are an IT professional and logged in with your departmental label, you can leave this field blank. This will then allow anyone in the same building as this device to "discover" it. This is intended for use cases such as conference rooms or collaboration spaces.

If you have a new device that is not properly being discovered don't hesitate to drop us a note or ticket at consult@illinois.edu.

Please be advised devices registered on the Device Registration Portal, located here, will expire. You will receive an email notifying you of this expiration 1 Month, 2 weeks and 1 day before the expiration date. You can update your expiration time by editing the device and changing the expiration date