MacBook Pro does not load captive login page on public Wifi sites

So, I found a solution for this problem. Worked for me at least.

Go to Terminal and run the address resolution protocol after connecting to the public WiFi.

% arp -a

You'll get a list of IPs on the network. Try putting those in the Safari address bar, preferably one with smaller numbers in the third and/or fourth field.

The first one worked for me in my case, have tried this at two airports (SJC & DFW) and worked both times.

? (10.46.0.1) at c4:b2:39:5b:18:8d on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.13.91) at 8:66:98:e7:d6:54 on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.13.119) at 68:fc:ca:cc:e3:d2 on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.14.147) at 98:59:7a:86:7a:9a on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.18.163) at (incomplete) on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.25.26) at (incomplete) on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
? (10.46.26.227) at (incomplete) on en0 ifscope [ethernet]

Some other awnsers suggested to put 1.1.1.1 in address bar and that's not always working because the IP of the login webpage might be different and proper redirects aren't set up for the network.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

I have been having this problem on and off for so long. I finally found a solution! Assuming you have successfully gained wifi access on your phone….

1- connect to wifi on phone

2- now on your phone go to: settings > WiFi > click on the “i” for additional info

3- scroll down to “IP address number” and simply copy and paste into MacBook safari.

this brings you to that splash page where you can choose to accept and agree, thereby gaining WiFi access!

No Proxies, VPN or third-party anti-Virus.

in general the DNS addresses should NOT be the same as your Router address.

You should have an independent outside Domain Name Server, such as the one provided by your ISP, or an open public DNS service. Your Router only knows a handful of recent numbers, and if you don't provide a distinct DNS server address, it won't be able to find much, if anything.

what WiFi status is showing in system preferences > network?

it should respond to 1.1.1.1 in the way I described.

try also:

http://1.1.1.1

if using Chrome, they anything else.

based on that subset mask, the IP address issued are fine. It looks confusing because they are issuing a LOT of local IP addresses. The router has issued a valid IP address to you, and appears to have offered you a connection.

Do you have any Proxies active? have you installed any VPN software? do you have a third-party anti-Virus running? any of those can much up making the initial connection.c

It's an slightly oddly configured network though...usually the router would use the first available IP address of 10.4.48.1, not the last usable one at 10.4.63.254. And the addresses previously posted are from the next adjacent /20 block, with a different router. It's not technically wrong...but it is weird.

The DNS are ATT and then Google - again, not wrong, but usually network operators use either ISP DNS, or public DNS, not a mix...

I suppose anyone at CLT could try putting the airport address itself into their browser - https://www.cltairport.com/ - always possible that will bypass DNS lookup if the network operators have cltairport.com set as a search domain for the local resolver by DHCP...

Removing DNS addresses worked in 2023 and still working in 2024. Thanks.

You have to make a successful connection to a local WiFi Network ROUTER first, then you can talk about how to get access to the Internet.

If you don't have a valid local IP address, or have a self-assigned IP address from the Range 169.254.xxx.yyy. you have not yet connected to a Network ROUTER.

Crosscheck the router ip and DNS ip are same?!

that should fix it.

This didn't work; I just get told repeatedly that I have no internet (which is the same message I get regardless of domain, numeric or otherwise). I've also tried deleting the DNS servers, but if I select them and hit the minus button, nothing happens. Is there any other way to reset this?

I don't understand what the fix was here. I still can't seem to get it to work. It just shouldn't be this difficult or abstract. It should be figured out and made repeatable to all users and all devices. It shouldn't be tricky or difficult like this.

RonLater wrote:

I don't understand what the fix was here. I still can't seem to get it to work. It just shouldn't be this difficult or abstract. It should be figured out and made repeatable to all users and all devices. It shouldn't be tricky or difficult like this.

thanks for your vent. This stuff is complex, and when it does NOT work, it can be frustrating.

if you could supply some Hard information indicating exactly what state your network is in, readers can make some suggestions.

do you have an IP address, indicating you are connected to a router?

do you have error messages? what error messages, exactly?

• location: CLT Charlotte, NC airport
• MacBook pro 2021, OS : Sonoma 14.1
• iPhone 13 mini, iOS: 17.5.1
• Status: connected (with a green dot), Unsecured Network (with a yellow triangle exclamation point)
• IP address: 10.4.66.221
• Router: 10.4.79.254
• DNS Servers: 12.127.16.67, 12.127.16.68, 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 (I am unable to delete any of these)
• I tried the two suggested website addresses. “You are not connected to the internet “

I travel through this airport 2-3 times a month and have never had any difficulty join the CLT free WiFi. Recently, I’m not able to join with my phone or my laptop.

Ideas? I’ll be headed back through here in two days.

thanks

misty