The network of public WiFi access points is becoming increasingly dense. Travelers in particular like to take advantage of this option. Unfortunately, there’s often a problem: while the connection is established smoothly and the signal strength is more than sufficient, there is still no access to the internet. Unfortunately, there’s no one-hundred-percent solution, but I’d like to share some tips.
Login Page Not Displayed
Many hotspots display a login page when making contact to provide usage instructions or even prompt you to create an account. In some areas (especially in our over-regulated country), this is even legally mandatory due to the infamous provider liability law (Störerhaftung), which still hasn’t completely disappeared.
The most common problem is that this page is blocked due to individual browser configuration. Several points can be checked if you encounter this problem.
Installed Add-ons
The following add-ons can lead to blocking of the login page (non-exhaustive list):
- NoScript
- RequestPolicy
- Adblock
- uBlock
- uMatrix
- https anywhere
- and similar
If you use one or more of these add-ons (which I definitely recommend), you should temporarily disable them in case of problems and then restart your browser.
HTTPS
The first page you open when launching your browser might establish a secured https connection. The login page wants to forcibly redirect us so that we acknowledge it. This is not permitted with a secured connection. In this case, it can help to access a page that you know can only be accessed unsecured, i.e., via http.
Cookies
Should be enabled when establishing the connection. You can also do this temporarily and change it back after the connection is established.
Direct Access
If the page still doesn’t appear, in some places it can be accessed directly by simply entering “login” in the browser’s address bar.
On the other hand, it’s sometimes also possible to enter the IP address of the gateway through which you are connected. This can be done on the command line under Linux with “ifconfig” or “ipconfig” under Windows. Look for the IP address for the “default gateway” in the output and try entering it into your browser’s address bar.
Second Browser
Does all this sound very complicated? If you use add-ons, restrictive settings, and filters for your security, you can also install a second “virgin” browser, which is only used in specific situations like the one described here for logging in, or for example for payment transactions, which often also require a lot of cross-scripting functionalities. In this case, you would fire up the second browser every time you want to connect via public WiFi. Once the connection is established and the login page is overcome, you can continue as usual with your “secure” browser.
Good luck and safe travels on the data highway!