There are a variety of reasons why students, faculty, or staff may experience wireless connection issues on campus. Issues such as not being able to connect to MU Wi-Fi, limited or no connectivity, intermittent connectivity, slow performance, or weak signals could be avoided by using a wired Ethernet connection. Wired connections are faster, more secure and dependable. However, because most people today prefer the convenience of wireless, here are some suggestions from MU Information Technology team to help with everyday use of Marshall’s wireless networks.
Make sure you have chosen to connect to one of the following networks:
MU Wi-Fi – MU students, faculty and staff
MU_Guest – MU guests
MU HRL – gaming consoles, AppleTV, Amazon Echo, etc.
eduroam – non-MU students, faculty and staff visiting from other eduroam campuses
This is a more common problem than you might think. The “MU_Guest” Wi-Fi network is a quick and convenient Wi-Fi solution for daily visitors to the University who are looking to perform simple online tasks like web browsing and email. But it’s not intended for use with higher-bandwidth tasks, including browsing online videos.
Quick Fix
Log-in to the “MU Wi-Fi” network using your user MUNet Username and Password. As the official Wi-Fi network of Marshall University, MU Wi-Fi is the fastest—and most secure—Wi-Fi network available at the University.
Quick Fix
If your mobile device isn’t connecting to the Wi-Fi network or is connecting slowly, try turning Wi-Fi off and back on again to re-calibrate the connection. You can also turn airplane mode on, then off again to accomplish the same task.
Quick Fix
Turn your device’s Wi-Fi off and then on again to connect with the closest Wi-Fi hot spot. (Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest ones.)
MUIT will renew the certificate used to verify the authenticity of the wireless authentication servers.
When you connect to one of our wireless networks after the certificate is renewed, you may be asked to verify and accept the new certificate.
Quick Fix
The process for verifying and accepting the new certificate varies by device and the operating system installed on the device.
Below are the instructions to accept the new certificate for the most common devices and operating systems.
You may also need to “forget” your network settings for MU Wi-Fi or Eduroam and reconnect.
iOS (Apple iPhone and iPad) To accept the new certificate touch the button labeled “Accept Certificate or “Trust” in the upper right hand corner of the screen. You may be asked to verify your MUNet credentials upon doing so.
Android (various phones and tablets) When you attempt to connect to eduroam after the certificate is renewed your device might not connect.
If that happens, navigate to the device’s wireless settings screen and make sure it is set to the following:
mac OS When trying to connect to MU Wi-Fi after the certificate was updated users will be presented with the following prompt:
Click continue.
NOTE: You may be asked to enter your username and password you use to login to your mac OS device.
Microsoft Windows When you attempt to connect to MU Wi-Fi after the certificate is renewed you might see the following screen on your device:
Select Connect and when prompted, enter sign-in with the MUNet@marshall.edu format and your MUNet password and select OK.
Quick Fix
Check to be sure you’re running the latest software on your device. If you don’t know how, the IT Service Desk is happy to walk you through the process so you can do it for yourself in the future.
The use of wireless printers can interfere with and/or slow the wireless connection of users in close proximity. Personal Wi-Fi access points or routers, which are not allowed on the university Wi-Fi network, can also interfere with others’ ability to connect via wireless.
Quick Fix
Try turning wireless printers off to reduce Wi-Fi congestion and noise. You may need to request that your neighbors do the same, at least until you can diagnose the problem. If you continue to have trouble connecting to the University’s wireless network, contact the IT Service Desk. Report the issue to the IT Service Desk, itservicedesk@marshall.edu, 304-696-3200. When you do, our network engineers are alerted and will work to diagnose and fix your Wi-Fi connectivity problems.
You may not realize it, but your computer may have a mechanical switch to turn Wi-Fi on and off. You may have unknowingly bumped the switch or accidentally turned off Wi-Fi via another keyboard method.
Quick Fix
Not even rebooting your computer will fix the problem if you’ve accidentally shut off your Wi-Fi access. So be sure to double check that your Wi-Fi is indeed on.
It can happen anytime, but it’s an especially common problem early in the school year: Users change their MUNet password but still have an old one saved as part of the Wi-Fi log-in credentials. What can make this issue difficult to identify is the fact that your device may not alert you to the fact that your incorrect password is the problem.
Quick Fix
Re-enter your latest password as part of the Wi-Fi log-on process to ensure it’s accurate. You may need to “Forget this network” first and then reselect it from available networks.
Remember You’re Using a Shared Medium
Wi-Fi connections by definition are slower than wired connections. Remember, wireless is a shared medium. Wi-Fi can lose 5-10 Mbs of speed due to such things as the position of the internal antenna on a laptop, the manufacturer of the device, and/or the drivers of the internal wireless card. Manufacturers are always submitting driver updates to improve hardware performance. Even though everything you read will tell you the 802.11n Wi-Fi protocol is the fastest connection, these reports omit the fact that Wi-Fi connection speeds are easily and often degraded by many factors.
The time of day could be a factor in slow or sluggish performance. Access to a website that works great at 8 a.m. but seems slow at 10 p.m. does not necessarily mean the campus network speed is slow. It has to do with the fact that students tend to use the network more at night compared to other times of the day. We are aware that some residential halls have peak hours and we are continuously working to improve connectivity.
Be Specific When Reporting Problems to the IT Service Desk
MUIT support staff needs as much information as possible to accurately diagnose wireless issues and offer solutions. Please note: social media platforms like Twitter are not the official way to report an issue. When reporting network problems to the IT Service Desk, please provide the following information:
- The type of connection you are making to the network (wired Ethernet? Wi-Fi via MU Wi-Fi? MU_Guest? MU HRL? Eduroam?)
- Time of day
- Location of where you are trying to connect from (name of campus building/floor or room number or residence hall and room number)
- What type of device are you on (Cell Phone, Laptop, PC, Mac), Brand and Model Number)
As always, if you need Technical Assistance: Please contact the MUIT Service Desk in person in Drinko Library – 1st Floor, via chat at www.marshall.edu/it, or phone 304-696-3200. You can also submit a ticket on the “My Support” tab of MyMU.