Connect BlackBerry Bold to University WiFi
 

Hello,

I am trying to connect my BlackBerry Bold to my University's WiFi network.

I have visited the Hotspot Login page within Browser Bookmarks. However, when my BlackBerry displays the WiFi login page (e.g. like logging into Starbuck's HotSpot or a free Airport HotSpot) the BlackBerry does not display the "Accept" button on the WiFi login page and therefore I cannot connect to the wireless network. The BlackBerry displays the WiFi login page BUT it does not display the "Accept" button, it just shows a grey block that I cannot click.

Is there a way I can display the WiFi login page differently so that the BlackBerry will show the "Accept" button? I tested the WiFi login page on my laptop and the "Accept" displays correctly.

I have tried different BlackBerry Browser display modes, e.g. BlackBerry, Internet Explorer and Firefox within the BlackBerry Browser setting but this has not worked.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
treaders

Do you have Javascript enabled in the browser? Try that first, then you could try a different emulation mode. If that doesn't work, try contacting the IT department and see if they'll add a static registration for your wireless MAC address. We're running a Cisco NAC appliance here and, although our authentication page "kinda" works on the Blackberry, I've added a few devices manually.

Thanks for the advice. I checked the following:

1. I do not have Java Script enabled. I also tried with Java Script enabled. No luck. What programming language is used to create the "Accept" button? It is a grey, "push" type button (I click on the button when using my notebook and the Accept button "pushes" in).

2. I tried the BlackBerry, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox emulation modes (are these the emulation modes you are referring to?) but this did not work.

Pretty certain my university is also running Cisco for the authentication page. I'll have to check with the university's IT department as you suggest to see what they can do.

Cheers,
treaders

I had to download my university's security certificate before I was able to connect.

(Through my laptop that already obtained the certificate through
wireless connection)

hunberry

Can you explain how you download and transfer a security certificate to your BlackBerry?

I guess I must have security certificates installed on my university issued laptop because my laptop can connect to the security/password protected university WiFi network.

Any advice, directions you can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks,
treaders

I worked out how to install the Security Certificate Sync portion of BlackBerry Desktop Manager (using Custom install) but I am unsure which security certificate I should be looking for on my university issued laptop so I can access my university security/password protected WiFi network.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
treaders

Check this link out using your BlackBerry browser:

Rice University | Wireless Access Page

See the grey block?

That grey block appears as the "Accept" button when you use Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox on your notebook/desktop. BlackBerry's browser appears incapable of displaying the "Accept" button correctly and therefore it is not possible to connect to the wireless network.

Any ideas welcome.

IT Help Desk: 713.348.HELP(4357)

Been there, done that. The IT Help Desk cannot work it out either.

Bearing in mind RIMs browser is still not quite comparable to a desktop (or iPhone Safari for that matter), it could be barfing on the following Javascript.

getHtmlForButton("Submit","Accept","buttonStretch" ,"submitAction()");

At a rough guess maybe the browser cant quite stretch to injecting the resulting HTML into the page.

The inserted code should look like this....

input name="Submit" value="Accept" class="buttonStretch" onclick="submitAction()" type="button"

You'll have to ask your web guys to modify the page, unless you know someone that can spoof it somehow.

Thank you for that information. I'll pass it along.

The IT department at my university developed a test version of their wireless login page that did not include JavaScript and this time I was able to login into the wireless network, e.g. the "Accept" button displayed correctly.

However, I had a similar problem logging into a hotel wireless network over the weekend. This time the login page did not load properly (the login page loaded the "name" field only and not the "room number" field). So, I was unable to use the wireless network (provided by GlobalSuites Wireless).

It appears the BlackBerry Bold browser definitely has limitations when it comes to logging into the wireless networks.

Open networks are fine, it's just some wireless networks that require you to enter a username and password (or similar) before access to the wireless network is granted.

I'm haveing the same problem with my 8120. I can access the login page but it won't let me type in the access codes. Is this a BB software issue?

Tried a different browser? Opera mini?

Yes, Opera Mini will load the login page correctly but it will not activate the WiFi connection on a BlackBerry for some reason.

It appears that the BlackBerry browser must be initially used to activate the WiFi connection (using the HotSpot Login bookmark that is contained in the BlackBerry browser bookmarks by default).

Opera Mini can then be used from that point on to make use of the WiFi data connection.

Any update on this topic? Recently purchased a Bold 9000 and having the exact same problem on my school wifi access page.

It seems like a java issue. When I disable java in the browser the "accept" button completely disappears instead of being partially visible.

Is there a way to update the Blackberry java software?

There's a hotel I have to stay in a lot for work and their wifi has a similar page. The entry boxes show up but the button almost never shows up in the first load.

There's no reliable way of getting it to show the button so I try many things, of which one will eventually work. They are - trying to go to another website like gmail or another bookmark, refreshing the page, going to the address of the login page itself (from what it shows on a PC), closing and reopening the browser.