A knowledge base article about eduroam FAQ (Wi-Fi for the Campus Community) provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal
eduroam is a Wi-Fi network based on international collaboration. A user with an eduroam account can visit any participating educational or research institution around the world that also provides the eduroam Wi-Fi service and connect without any other requirements.
UC Berkeley uses eduroam as its primary Wi-Fi network, which means users are given access to everything the same as if you were plugged into a physical port. Additionally, eduroam reaches areas of Campus where no physical connectivity is possible.
eduroam is our primary Wi-Fi network. It is an enterprise network and requires a username and password to join. The Berkeley-IoT network provides the same network access as eduroam, our primary Wi-Fi network, to devices that do not support username and password-based Wi-Fi networks. Additionally, users of Berkeley-IoT can't use that device at other institutes as they could if it were configured to use eduroam. A detailed description of the UC Berkeley Wi-Fi networks and their users can be found on the Technology Wi-Fi information page.
Berkeley-IoT is available to everyone who uses eduroam: Faculty, staff, students, associates, and special purpose accounts (SPA)
Yes, all devices using a user's eduroam account, or registered using that eduroam account for Berkeley-IoT can discover each other within their area. See Wi-Fi Device Discovery on eduroam and Berkeley-IoT for more information.
Your eduroam username and password are shared across all devices that connect to eduroam using your username. If you change your eduroam password, all devices that use that password will disconnect from eduroam within the following hour. When your device is disconnected, enter your new eduroam password when prompted, and you will reconnect. You can also proactively update devices by forgetting the eduroam network, and then connecting again with the new eduroam password.
Any devices connecting to eduroam using the passwordless system will continue to work; they do not use passwords.
Just like with Berkeley-IoT, if your department, team, or lab has shared devices, you can use a SPA, or Special Purpose Account, to manage access. This allows devices to connect without having to be tied to a specific individual. In many cases, we suggest the use of Berkeley-IoT instead of eduroam for shared resources like printers and lab equipment, but if your device supports eduroam you are welcome to use it. Learn more about SPA accounts on the CalNet website: calnet.berkeley.edu.
Similar to the wired networks a VPN like GlobalProtect is required in addition to the network connection. Devices requiring access to, or transmission of, P3 and P4 data must use the bSecure Remote Access Service (GlobalProtect) in addition to eduroam to ensure compliance with data protection requirements.
If you've changed your CalNet username, the Wi-Fi system will view you as a new user. Because your old CalNet username is no longer active, that name and password will no longer work for connecting to eduroam. To reconnect to Wi-Fi, you should use the new passwordless system, or log into the GetOnline website and set a password for your new username.
Yes, you can register your wireless MAC address in SocReg in the same way you register your wired MAC for dynamic DNS on the wired networks. Once your wireless MAC is registered and you select the dynamic DNS option, it will start to work when your device connects (after a 20 to 30 minute wait for the change to register on the network).
Please note that the dynamic DNS entry is for your MAC address on that specific device and not associated with your eduroam account. This means if the device switches between eduroam and Berkeley-IoT it will still use the same DNS entry; also if a different user logs into eduroam it will continue to use the same DNS entry.
No. The eduroam Wi-Fi services use many networks spread across all of the wireless infrastructure. A fixed DHCP address depends on your device being connected to the same network all of the time. With wireless, your device can be assigned to a new network with every connection. Even if your device stays at the same location, its network can change if it disconnects or roams between different access points.
UC Berkeley uses modern wireless access points installed in a pattern to support the population density and use of the different Campus locations. There are multiple generations of access points, but all support 802.11ac or faster. Individual speeds can vary as it is highly dependent on the computer being used, the operating system and Wi-Fi drivers, and how busy it is (the number of applications running on it such as antivirus, web browsers, document editors). Two computers of the same make and model will see different speed test results if one is only running a standard web browser and another has antivirus, antispyware, word processing apps running, and an ad blocker in the browser.