macOS X Catalina (10.15) fails to connect to eduroam

A knowledge base article about macOS X Catalina (10.15) fails to connect to eduroam provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal

Introduction

Apple computers running macOS X Catalina (10.15) may fail to connect to the eduroam wireless network after May 30, 2020, with the error "The identity of the authentication server could not be established."

The identity of authentication server could not be established

Most macOS X computers would have prompted users to accept a new certificate. If the computer has an eduroam configuration assistant profile installed, it will override the certificates in the user keychain and prevent the certificate from being updated.

If your computer is managed as part of the Berkeley Desktop service, you can go to the Self Service portal and uninstall the profile (if installed). If your computer is self-managed, you can follow the directions below to see if you have the profile and how to remove it.

Instructions

The user can check to see if a profile has been installed by following these steps:

  1. Open System Preferences (click on the Apple logo in the top left window and then select System Preferences)
  2. In the search box, type Profile
  3. If you do not see a preference option for Profiles, then there are none installed

If the profiles option does exist they should select that option and review which profiles have been installed (see image).  Any labeled eduroam should be deleted.

eduroam profile in System Settings Profile option

The next time the computer attempts to connect to eduroam, the user will be prompted to accept the updated certificate and will then be able to connect.