MBA will not redirect to wi-fi login screen

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Level 2

234 points

MBA will not redirect to wi-fi login screen

I posted this in the Safari group, but then remembered I also had this trouble with Firefox, and even when I fired up Fusion, and Internet Explorer. So it must be an MBA problem, not a browser problem.

I stayed at a new hotel recently. The hotel had wireless internet access, whereby I had to enter a user name and password. Normally when I open my browser or a new page within, the request is redirected to the login screen of the internet provider, I enter said name and password, and I'm connected to the internet. Safari (and Firefox) would not execute the redirect. I could not get to the login page. I could see the address of the page flash briefly in the address bar, but Safari would then just declare it could not connect to the internet, no internet access available. When I went to the Internet system preferences and chose TCP/IP, I could see that the Airport had a valid IP address. And, I could easily connect with my iPhone. But Safari would not get me to that login page.

After an hour and a half, including 30 minutes spent on the phone with the internet providers' tech support, I gave up and went to bed. I need to find the solution to this problem before I go back to that hotel. Thanks.

MacBook Air iMac Mini iPhone3G 80GB iPod Nano, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Oct 23, 2008 10:40 AM

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Answer 1

Soft Reset

Level 4

1,790 points

Oct 23, 2008 8:16 PM in response to James Bailey

I've stayed at numerous hotels that use a "portal" page for WiFi (free & pay for) via my MacBook Air and they've all worked great. So it's certainly not a machine model compatibility issue, perhaps access point?

Have you tried creating a new, test user? What about taking the launch page URL and setting it as your home page? The fact that two browsers and IE via Internet Explorer, would indicate that it probably wasn't software related. Any sort of custom DNS information required (I stayed at Sheraton that once required a custom DNS and static IP). Are we certain that the network at that home was online and had other guests who accessed it?

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Answer 2

James Bailey Author

Level 2

234 points

Oct 23, 2008 11:57 PM in response to Soft Reset

The hotel had no other complaints about the internet service. The next day the co-worker I was traveling with said he had no trouble either. The tech support person seemed very knowledgable and had not been stumped by this problem before. And, my iPhone connected immediately, in the same manner I expected my MBA to connect.

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Answer 3

Soft Reset

Level 4

1,790 points

Oct 24, 2008 3:18 AM in response to James Bailey

What if you take the MacBook Air to a Starbucks or another venue that has a portal-based authentication website. It might involve some cost(s) but it seems incredibly odd that the lack of connectivity is hardware specific.

And creating a new user? Was that attempted? The virtual machine is sharing your WiFi connection, so it's possible that whatever was preventing the OS X side of things from connecting (software, plugin, configuration, proxy, firewall, etc.) would also carry over to affect VMWare as well.

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Answer 4

James Bailey Author

Level 2

234 points

Oct 28, 2008 7:24 PM in response to Soft Reset

I've since logged on to other sites that use the same type of redirect, with no problem. So I am going to assume the Omni in Indianapolis was an anomaly, and just don't go there anymore...or at least take my Airport Express next time. Thanks.

Jim

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Answer 5

Jane Knox

Level 3

691 points

Oct 28, 2008 7:56 PM in response to James Bailey

I've had this problem occasionally while traveling with my Apple laptops. (Titanium G4 and a MacBook Pro).

The only thing I have found that works is:

1.) Turn off the Airport
2.) Reset Safari - clearing Cache and Cookies and History
3.) Reboot
4.) Turn on the Airport.
5.) Start Safari keeping your fingers crossed.

I was in Albuquerque at brand name hotel last month and even that didn't work. Of course, my iPhone wouldn't connect there either so I am kinda sorta certain that the hotel's sub-contracted internet provider was the problem. In that case, try:

5a.) Open System Preferences -> Network and use the Assist Me -> Assistant to create a new location, connect to the wireless network, then launch Safari, fingers crossed.

Hope that helps. (jk)

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