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Eduroam: Connect to Our Wireless Network

by Jennifer Bivens

Last year Northwestern IT fully launched eduroam (education roaming) to the University community as the primary WiFi network. This campus wireless network is a secure federated wireless network for the international research and education community. eduroam allows Northwestern students, staff, and faculty to use NetID credentials to access wireless network services while visiting eduroam-participating institutions located throughout the world.

Connection Issues and How To Report Them

Northwestern IT has tracked common issues staff, students, and faculty have reported when attempting to connect to the eduroam wireless network.

Please try to follow the troubleshooting steps below but DO contact the Northwestern IT Service Desk at consultant@northwestern.edu or 847-491-4357 (1-HELP) if you cannot resolve your connection issues.

Troubleshooting Your eduroam Connection
  1. Review the guidance on connecting to eduroam from Northwestern IT. For example, be sure to:
    • Remove the older Northwestern networks from your device (e.g., Northwestern, Guest-Northwestern, and Device-Northwestern). You may be surprised to learn that having these other NU networks configured on a device can negatively affect an eduroam connection on campus.
    • Remember your user name is YourNetID@northwestern.edu. Previously, users joined the wireless network with only their NetID. Also, while rare, an occasional error is seen on macOS devices that can be resolved using directions in the Northwestern IT Knowledge Base. 
  2. Be sure you are using eduroam and not some other network.
  3. Try removing eduroam and re-adding it to your list of networks.
  4. Restart your laptop, tablet or smartphone.
  5. Turn WiFi functionality on your device OFF and then ON again to make sure you are connected to the closest access point. There are over 7000 wireless network access points across the two campuses!
  6. Review possible Northwestern outages or other issues via https://service-status.northwestern.edu/
  7. Consider your location and circumstance on campus. Are you able to connect everywhere else but not in one certain location? External factors are more difficult to troubleshoot. Could there be interference from newly moved furniture or newly installed equipment? Email consultant@northwestern.edu with the following information:
    • Your NetID
    • Device type and operating system version and, if applicable, wireless MAC (hardware) address—learn how to find the MAC address
    • The specific location where the network issue occurred (e.g., Norris University Center, room 327;Tech Auditorium Balcony, south side)
    • Date and time when the issue occurred 
In sum, please report your connectivity issues as soon as you are able and be as specific as you can about your location and device details.
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