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iPhone won't connect to captive portals

I have an iPhone XS running iOS 12.2. The iPhone is not able to use any wifi networks that use a captive portal. The captive portal dialog never appears. I have tried with several different captive portal networks.


The phone connects and uses wifi networks that do not use a captive portal.


The phone connects to the network (has an ip address from the DHCP server) but never displays the captive portal window. I have tried using safari and entering www.apple.com, captive.apple.com and other urls. Safari always reports that it is not connected to the internet.


In my current hotel I tried connecting to the router IP address and I see an Apache 2 Test page. I do not see the captive portal dialog. I am unable to browse any other urls. My wife's iPhone SE connects to the network and displays the captive portal without any issues.


I tried resetting my network settings. I am not using a VPN.


Any other ideas on what could be happening?

iPhone XS

Posted on Apr 26, 2019 4:34 AM

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6 replies

Apr 26, 2019 3:48 PM in response to SiHancox

Good suggestion.


I tried turning off my content blocker and then deleted the application completely. I restarted the phone and was able to get the captive portal window to appear once and connect.


Then my iPhone dropped the wifi connection and went back to it's previous state. It is connected to the wifi network in Settings, but Safari doesn't connect to any urls.

May 12, 2019 11:06 PM in response to john3322

You made this remark previously "It is connected to the wifi network in Settings, but Safari doesn't connect to any urls" which can be a common network issue and the usual fix is "Reset Network Settings" from Settings>General>Reset and/or Reboot the Router.


Obviously you can't do the second if it's not yours but the first might be worth a try. I take it this loss of internet while having a wireless connection doesn't happen on your home network or cellular because if it does then the issue might not just be about Captive Portals but more to do with a wider network problem.


If you are having any other network issues I would jump straight in and do a "Restore as New" via iTunes, it's a bit of a pain but considering the time spent so far might be the quickest way in trying to fix this problem. Don't use a BackUp, for the time being anyhow, and just see how a "clean" device performs, if all ok you could then consider returning your previous SetUp by using a BackUp but you also run the risk of reintroducing the problem.


A clean device might not be all that of an issue nowadays because of iCloud and syncing services, once signed in with your Apple ID you may find most of the important stuff syncs back (as long as it's on your other devices to do so) and all you will have left is to download a few apps and setup a few wireless and bluetooth connections.

iPhone won't connect to captive portals

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