Can't Get On WiFi While Traveling? Try This Fix.

You know the drill…..you are traveling for that photo trip and are either in an airport or checked into a hotel…..you look at your phone or other mobile device and it shows that you have a Wi-Fi connection but you just can’t get onto the internet. It is frustrating as can be, especially if you are relying on internet access to research places to photograph or need to answer an important email. Sure there is a cellular connection. Maybe. 3G. 1X. Maybe nothing at all. Why, why, why?

I’m certainly not a techie but, on the other hand, I feel fairly facile with technology and yet the problem behind the above scenario had always eluded me. Until now that is. And if this is a problem that you too have had, well, you can thank me later :)

OK then, here is the root of the problem. It occurs when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network that you need to log into in order to use. Exactly the kind they usually have in airports and hotels. The problem is that most websites, for security reasons, now use SSL and thus your mobile device is looking for only https connections in order to remain secure. But, depending on how the Wi-Fi network is structured, the log in page (which you must access to actually get onto the network) may not be in SSL format. Thus it becomes a frustrating situation where you see the internet indicator but you can’t browse because you can’t actually log in.

But there is a fix. Go to your browser and in the address bar type in neverssl.com and hit enter. This forces the Wi-Fi log in page to open and allows you to log in and accept the network’s terms of service so you can get online. Problem solved. But, once you are actually on-line after logging in, do close the browser page so that you now go back to the SSL only mode .

Perhaps you knew this trick already? I just thought it was useful enough to share it in a post, as I hadn’t heard of it until recently and it sure comes in handy when you’re away on a trip.

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