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User profile for user: lenmw80
lenmw80 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Macbook Pro Won’t Open Wi-Fi Login Page for Hotel, Airport, or Hotspot

Apple has since closed two related threads so I am starting them up again here, since it is clearly still a KNOWN ongoing issue, several years later, from this 2017 thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8211695


and this 2013 thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4953160


I'm still experiencing this known issue from Apple on my 2016 Macbook Pro as of August 2019.


My hotel's WiFi Login page will not come up on my Macbook Pro 2016 Touch Bar with Retina Display. I am typing this from my iPhone 8 which connected to the same network and had no problem pulling up the login page / popup. My iPhone 6, wife's iPhone 8, wife's iPad Mini, wife's Windows 10 Professional PC, all hotel PC's, hotel IT staff's Samsung Phone all, work, PERFECTLY, without any if's and's or but's. The hotel wifi login screen pops up immediately, every time, as soon as they select the local WiFi network from the list of available networks.


Only my 2016 Macbook Pro Retina Display with Touch Bar fails to do the simple task of connecting to this Wifi Network, as the wifi login screen CANNOT BE REACHED and does not appear no matter what voodoo I have tried from Apple Discussion Threads and now an hour long call with Apple Support.


I followed every single remedy on the previous thread, including


  1. go to captive.apple.com
  2. go to apple.com
  3. connect to network then open Safari (instead of Chrome)
  4. connect to network then open FireFox (instead of Chrome or Safari)
  5. connect directly to the router at http://192.168.1.1
  6. Edit DNS Servers / Create a New "Location" with no pre-determined DNS settings
  7. Run Network Diagnostics (formerly "Assist Me") in Network Preferences
  8. connect directly to my own know IP Address from my iPhone 8 (connected to the same hotel network)
  9. Changed Advanced DNS settings and input GoogleDNS (8.8.8.8) or OpenDNS as the DNS server


On the phone WITH APPLE SUPPORT today I also tried:

10. Check for Popup Blockers (none installed on Chrome, none turned on in Safari)

11. Boot in Safe Mode

12. Run Malware Bytes and Check for Malware (no malware found)

13. Create a New Mac User (login page for hotel's wifi network WILL, NOT, COME, UP)


I've basically spent the last 2 days here at this hotel, searching, trying, doing anything I can to get this Macbook Pro 2016, supposed to be the greatest computer in the world, and far superior to PC's (or so I thought), to do the simple task of connecting to this WiFi network that every other device known to man can easily, quickly, connect to including Apple's own iPhone 8, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, Windows PC, Samsung Phone, etc... ad nauseam.


The support rep, who was kind and did her best, literally opened the hour long conversation with "yeah, this is a known issue when trying to connect to open networks, and it's a security feature of Macs". (Since freaking 2013??)


Ok, sure, security sounds great, but I explained to her that I have a VPN on my Mac for just such occasions. That I should be able to connect to any network I choose, then protect myself via logging in to a VPN from there. And that it's not as if Portal / Login page based WiFi networks are some one-off random thing. This is basically the same system used by every major hotel brand (Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc...) Most of them are "unsecured" and you have to be able to get to the login screen or page (either via a Popup that happens automatically, or accessing it through a browser tab or screen).


This is baffling, and worst of all, infuriating, as well as clearly a known issue that Apple refuses to acknowledge or do anything about with the Macbook (since 2013, and likely earlier...)


Now I'm stuck in the same place for 8 more days with a Macbook that won't connect to the internet, while children and senior citizens alike with their dated PC connections mock me (at least that's what it feels like).


I realize that it could very well be something with this particular hotel's network setup, and that clearly whoever set it up never tested connecting on a Mac. I can acknowledge that happily. But the fact remains, throw out any other technical variable, browser setting, DNS setting, security setting that you want, when every other available device known to man has no problem at all connecting to this same network and opening up the login screen to connect to the network (iPhone 8, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, Windows PC, Samsung Phone), this is ridiculous and a serious flaw that no Macbook user should ever have to suffer. When 13 "known fixes" from Apple's own support staff and discussion threads still won't fix it, then it's time to start looking at the hardware and the manufacturer.

Posted on Aug 25, 2019 6:07 AM

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User profile for user: lenmw80
lenmw80 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Posted on Aug 25, 2019 7:10 AM

1.1.1.1 did not work in Safari, FireFox, or Chrome, and as already stated in the original post, trying to access the hotel's router directly (via 192.168.1.1 and several other direct IP address number combinations) does not work...



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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
127,567 points

Aug 25, 2019 8:04 AM in response to lenmw80

What I expected to happen was the login screen for the hotel to appear. If this did not happen, you do not have the ability to even attempt to connect to the internet in your current configuration.


Based on that, I suspect the VPN software you added has already interposed itself, and is precluding your making an "ordinary" connection to anything else. You need that ordinary connection attempt to trigger the login page. Using a Numerical IP address bypasses the step of DNS lookup (which may be blocked by the hotel), and usually produces the login page.

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User profile for user: lenmw80
lenmw80 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Aug 27, 2019 6:33 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

"A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet."


***Keyword of how that works is "over the Internet. I.E. you must first be connected TO THE INTERNET before you can access a VPN, which is the exact steps I take when using the VPN. The VPN software is not even opened or enabled yet. The steps are, first, connect to the internet (which is exactly what I cannot do, and the whole point of this discussion thread, because the login screen for the hotel STILL will not appear), only once connected to the internet can you then connect to a VPN (a remote server located somewhere else that you must access via the internet), not the other way around.


I do have the ability to connect to the internet in my current configuration. I was actually able to connect to a different nearby connection, and have connected to dozens of different wifi networks with no problem whatsoever before this post and this particular WiFi Network setup. My configuration works with probably over 100 different wifi networks with no problem over the past few years, including several hotels with login screens, starbucks, google fiber or hotspots, airport hotspots, AT&T hotspots, you name it. I can even connect to the Mobile Hotspot from my iPhone 6 (which is using a local SIM card), no problem. But I only have limited data available for this purpose. This is the first WiFi network that has ever not worked, and still won't work.


I appreciate you trying to help, but you've basically only suggested more of the same 13 things I've already tried, then made a pretty big leap (and in my opinion, false assumption about my VPN which isn't even connected to the internet yet).


Oh, and to add insult to injury? I was even able to connect my Kindle to this WiFi network, no problem. Login screen popped up no problem. So the tally stands:


iPhone 8, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, Windows PC, Samsung Phone, Amazon Kindle


all work perfectly and get the login screen every time.


Macbook Pro 2016 with Touch Bar? Still can't do it, and it has absolutely nothing to do with my configuration or VPN (which is not and cannot be connected to until I am actually connected to the internet first). I still suspect it's something to do with this individual network or the ISP they use, but it's still ridiculously pathetic that 6 other devices can all connect to this network, but my Macbook Pro can't.


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Macbook Pro Won’t Open Wi-Fi Login Page for Hotel, Airport, or Hotspot

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