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Campus Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Troubleshooting

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This article covers every campus network, how to connect each type of device, and how to fix the most common connection problems. Use the links below to jump to what you need.

Which network should I use?

Network Use it for Sign in with
Eduroam Student laptops, phones, and tablets. Faculty and staff personal devices. Visitors from other eduroam member institutions. Your full Arcadia email address and PortalGuard password
AU-Splash Devices that can't sign in with a username and password: game consoles, smart TVs, streaming sticks, printers, smart speakers. A WPA2 password you generate yourself (see below)
AU-Guest Campus visitors who need temporary internet access. No password. Register with an email address, renew every 12 hours.

Students, faculty, and staff should not use AU-Guest. It offers very limited connectivity and a saved AU-Guest connection can stop your device from joining Eduroam. If your device has AU-Guest saved, forget the network.

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Eduroam - laptops, phones, and tablets

Eduroam is the campus Wi-Fi for students, and for faculty and staff personal devices. It also lets you connect at any other eduroam member institution using your Arcadia credentials, and lets their visitors connect here.

You will always sign in with your full Arcadia email address, including @arcadia.edu, and your PortalGuard password. Entering just your username without the domain is the single most common reason a connection fails.

Security note: Arcadia IT will never ask for your PortalGuard password by email, phone, or text. If a Wi-Fi network other than Eduroam asks for it, do not enter it. Stop and contact the Help Desk.

Windows, Mac, iPhone, and iPad

  1. Open your device's Wi-Fi settings.
  2. Select Eduroam from the list of available networks.
  3. Enter your full Arcadia email address and your PortalGuard password.

Android and Chromebook

Android and Chromebook devices ask for more detail than other devices. Fill the fields in as follows:

  1. Open Settings and turn on Wi-Fi if it is off.
  2. Tap Eduroam in the list of available networks.
  3. Complete the fields as shown below. Enter your full Arcadia email address as the Identity, and your PortalGuard password.
Android Wi-Fi settings for Eduroam, showing the EAP method, Identity, and password fields

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AU-Splash - game consoles, streaming, and smart devices

AU-Splash is for devices that have no way to enter a username and password: gaming consoles, smart TVs, smart speakers such as Alexa and Google Home, and media devices such as Roku and Firestick.

For laptops and phones, use Eduroam instead.

Connecting is a two-part process: first you generate a WPA2 password on the registration portal, then you use that password on the device itself.

Part 1: Generate your WPA2 password

  1. Log in to PortalGuard.
  2. From the Single Sign-On portal, click the SplashAccess tile.
  3. Check the Terms and Conditions box and click Continue.
  4. You are now in the WPA2/Guest Registration Portal, where you can generate a WPA2 password and manage your guest codes.
Show screenshots of these steps
The SplashAccess tile on the PortalGuard Single Sign-On portal
The Terms and Conditions checkbox and Continue button
The WPA2 and Guest Registration Portal, showing where to generate a WPA2 password

Keep your WPA2 password to yourself. Every device that connects with it is registered to your Arcadia account, and you are responsible for activity on those devices. If you think someone else has it, return to the portal and generate a new one.

Part 2: Connect your device

  1. Disconnect from AU-Guest.
  2. On the device you want to connect, open its Wi-Fi settings and select AU-Splash.
  3. Enter the WPA2 credentials you generated in Part 1.

Repeat step 2 and 3 for each device, using the same WPA2 password. AU-Guest is only used for registration and does not give your devices internet access.

Common AU-Splash problems

You clicked "Register" by accident on the WPA2 portal

Click the back button at the bottom of the page to return to the previous screen.

You see "Please switch off private MAC addresses on your device"

Windows randomizes your device's hardware address by default. Turn it off for the AU-Splash network only:

  1. Click the Wi-Fi icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
  2. Open Properties for AU-Splash.
  3. Scroll to Random hardware addresses and set it to Off.
  4. Return to the registration page and refresh.

You can leave random hardware addresses turned on for other networks. The setting is per-network, and it protects you from being tracked on public Wi-Fi.

Windows Wi-Fi properties with the Random hardware addresses setting turned off
The private MAC address error message shown on the registration page

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AU-Guest - visitors

AU-Guest is for campus visitors. No username or password is needed.

  1. Select AU-Guest from your device's list of Wi-Fi networks.
  2. A registration page opens. Enter an email address, accept the terms, and click Continue.

Guest access expires after 12 hours, after which you register again.

The AU-Guest registration page with the email address field and Continue button

AU-Guest is an open network, which means traffic on it is not encrypted the way it is on Eduroam. Avoid banking, shopping, or signing in to sensitive accounts while connected, and check for the padlock in your browser's address bar.

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Wired (Ethernet) connections

Ethernet ports in residence hall rooms and offices are inactive until they are turned on. If you want to use a wired connection, submit an activation request and include your building, room number, and the port number printed on the wall plate.

Request an Ethernet port activation

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Troubleshooting

Start here: five quick checks

  1. Check you're on the right network. See Which network should I use? Connecting to the wrong one is the most common cause of trouble.
  2. Check your username format. Eduroam needs your full Arcadia email address, not just your username.
  3. Forget the network and reconnect. Saved passwords go stale after a password change. See below.
  4. Try another network. If your device also fails on a home network or a phone hotspot, the problem is the device, not campus Wi-Fi.
  5. Restart the device. It resolves more problems than you would expect.

Forget a network and reconnect

Open the section for your device.

Windows
  1. Click the network icon in the system tray and choose Network & Internet settings.
  2. Go to Wi-Fi > Manage known networks.
  3. Select the network and click Forget.
macOS
  1. Open System Settings > Wi-Fi.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Find the network in the list, click the … button beside it, and choose Remove From List.
iPhone and iPad
  1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the information icon beside the network name.
  3. Tap Forget This Network. If that option is missing, go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, select the network's profile, and delete it.
Android
  1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
  2. Press and hold the network name, then choose Forget.
Game consoles

Consoles handle saved networks differently from computers, and the steps change with system updates. Use the manufacturer's current instructions: Xbox · PlayStation · Nintendo Switch.

Remember that consoles belong on AU-Splash, not Eduroam.

Mac-specific fixes

Open the section that matches what you're seeing.

Pages load slowly, especially in Safari

iCloud Private Relay is not supported on Eduroam. Turn it off for Eduroam only:

  1. Open System Settings > Network.
  2. Click Wi-Fi, then Details next to Eduroam.
  3. Turn Limit IP address tracking off.

This setting is per-network, so Private Relay keeps working everywhere else. Apple's support page has version-specific instructions.

Eduroam rejects your password after you've visited another campus

Old eduroam credentials from another institution can be stored in Keychain Access:

  1. Open Keychain Access (Applications > Utilities).
  2. Type eduroam in the search box in the top-right corner.
  3. Delete only the entries the search returns.
  4. Close Keychain Access and reconnect to Eduroam with your Arcadia email and PortalGuard password.

Search first rather than scrolling the full list — Keychain also holds your saved website and app passwords, and deleting the wrong entry means losing them.

"The identity of the authentication server could not be established"

Bring this one to the Help Desk. The fix involves deleting a system-level network configuration file, which clears the saved settings for every secured network on the Mac and requires an administrator password. A technician can do it safely in a few minutes.

Still failing after all of the above

Eduroam uses your PortalGuard password, so resetting it can clear up a stuck connection. Reset your PortalGuard password, then forget and rejoin Eduroam on each device.

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Still need help?

Taylor Hall Help Desk — Taylor Hall, Room 100
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
215-517-2898 · helpdesk@arcadia.edu
Email us or stop by during open hours, no appointment needed.

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