Hotel Wifi

[mithion]

So I'm currently at hotel in Tahoe that has complimentary wifi. It's one of those network systems that have an open access point without any encryption, but then you must login with correct credentials once you pop a browser open. They use the software from Guest Tek, but I haven't been able to login. I can connect to the access point, and when I open a browser, I gain access to the Guest Tek webpage which asks me for my passcode and agreement to the terms of service, but the login fails without any explanation. My machine is dual booted with windows which connects without issue. Does anybody have any experience with hotel wifi networks and linux? Do they sniff for some OS string and lock out anything that isn't windows or mac? Or is there some special network configuration option I need to enable to be able to login? Currently using gnome and network-manager.

[oj]

I asked management why I could connect, see the 'company homepage' but not get beyond to the internet... I got no answers but miraculously when I tried a couple more time (rebooting) I was eventually able to use the connection.

I think if you just try a few times, maybe reboot in the midst, you'll eventually get connected.

[mithion]

I do all my work in linux and I hate windows because it's UI is too basic. I was lucky to preserve windows since I never use it but without it I'd be screwed on this trip. With that said, I haven't been able to login in Linux. I've tried a dozen times without success.

[oj]

Maybe try a different browser? You can use konqueror as a browser, and opera and chromium are in the repos. Doesn't help now, but maybe for next time...

If you're using firefox, you might need to disable add-ons. If you have restrictive permissions (cookies, scripts) you might have to temporarily relax the security in order to connect. It's possible the log in screen appears and it looks like you can type in the windows, but if the log in script in the background is blocked, you'll get no indication of why it fails.