For devices that cannot connect to Eduroam because they do not support username and password authentication, there are 3 options
- Connect to the wired network with an ethernet cable (recommended for games consoles and some gaming platforms e.g. Steam and Discord)
- Connect to the Hidden Network (for smart TVs, Amazon Echo, Amazon Firesticks etc)
- Use Bluetooth. You cannot connect devices to each other via the hidden network, so for example a printer would need to connect to your laptop via bluetooth or USB even if it has wireless capabilities.
This is a hidden SSID where you need to register your devices before attempting to connect:
- Go to https://macauth.uopnet.plymouth.ac.uk/
- Login with your University credentials
- Enter the details of the device you wish to connect
- You need the MAC (Media Access Control) address of your device. Search 'find mac address' and add the name of the device type ie, Windows, iPhone, Android etc, it is usually six sets of two digits or characters, separated by colons e.g. 00:00:5e:00:53:af.)
- Once a correct MAC address has been registered this will be added to the authentication database within an hour, normally around 15minutes
- In your Internet or Network Settings select 'Other' or 'Add Network' (exact wording may vary across devices).
- The SSID name is 'hallsPlymouth' Note that 'P' is a capital letter
- The Security type will be 'None'
Troubleshooting
If gaming online you cannot host your own server.
Some devices don’t like connecting to hidden networks or networks without a PSK (Pre Shared Key, or some sort of security protocol such as WPA2). It may be necessary to look at individual device manuals to work out if it is possible and how. Android devices often need to be configured to let it know that the network is hidden, even though it’s been added manually.
