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Wi-Fi

Hotel Wi-Fi won't connect

Nearly always the sign-in page failing to appear rather than the Wi-Fi itself. Force the portal open, and if that fails the usual culprit is your own privacy settings blocking it.

  1. Understand what's actually happening

    Hotel networks use a captive portal — you join the Wi-Fi, but nothing works until you accept terms or enter a room number on a sign-in page.

    So "connected, no internet" is the normal, expected state until you've been through the portal. The problem is almost never the Wi-Fi. It's that the sign-in page didn't show up.

  2. Force the sign-in page to appear

    If it doesn't pop up by itself:

    1. Open a browser and go to a plain http:// address — http://neverssl.com exists precisely for this. An https:// address will fail instead of redirecting.
    2. On iPhone, tap the network name in Wi-Fi settings; the portal often reopens.
    3. Toggle Wi-Fi off and on to re-trigger the redirect.

    Don't type a search term into the address bar — that goes to an encrypted search engine and won't redirect.

  3. Turn off private Wi-Fi address, just for this network

    This one blocks a lot of people and the cause is never obvious.

    Phones now randomise their Wi-Fi hardware address for privacy. Hotel systems tie your session to that address, so when it changes you get logged out repeatedly or can never register at all.

    • iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → (i) next to the network → turn Private Wi-Fi Address off.
    • Android: long-press the network → Privacy → Use device MAC.

    Just for the hotel network. Leave it on everywhere else.

  4. Try a different DNS, or rather don't

    If you've set a custom DNS such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8, or you use a privacy DNS profile, the captive portal often can't hijack your traffic to show you the sign-in page.

    Set DNS back to automatic for this network, sign in, and then put it back if you want. Same for private relay and VPN — turn them off until you're through the portal, then switch them back on.

  5. Check you're on the right network

    Hotels often broadcast several similar names — a guest network, a conference network, a staff one, plus whatever the café downstairs runs.

    Ask reception for the exact network name and password. Joining Hotel-WiFi when guests belong on Hotel-Guest produces exactly this symptom, and you can stare at it for a long time.

  6. Ask for a device limit reset

    Many hotels cap you at one or two devices per room. Phone, laptop, tablet and watch will quietly exhaust that.

    Reception can usually clear your registered devices or raise the limit. It's a routine request — they get it constantly.

    If the Wi-Fi is simply bad, your phone's hotspot is often faster than a hotel network at 8pm when everyone is streaming.

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