Forum Discussion
Auto Wi-Fi log in London Underground?
Quick correction to Chalkychap 's info : EAP-AKA is not needed in order to auto-connect. EAP-AKA is needed to be able to connect at all (I didn't use the word "auto" in any of my posts). If your phone can connect at all, then it must understand EAP-AKA. "Auto-connection" is orthogonal (independent) to any authentication protocol - it just depends on how your phone's operating system's programmers chose to code it.
StevenB_1465005: I know nothing about iPhones, so I cannot specifically help you. All that I can suggest is to look around the UI to see whether there is an "Auto-connect?" check-box somewhere that you have missed (this may be an option for just the THREE_WIFI network, or it may be a more-general option somewhere under "Wireless" or "Wi-Fi"). If there is no "Auto-connect?" option that you can enable and you still have to manually connect every time you arrive in a station, then I am afraid that it would seem to be a limitation of the version of your operating system (iOS) that is on your phone.
Hope this helps. Eek.
Thanks eekamouse my iPhone can connect so it must have EAP-AKA. There is an auto-connect option iPhone which I’ve had selected for a while now but still can’t auto-connect!
there’s a new version of the IOS to download and install which I will try and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks for this information eekamouse.
There doesn't seem to be mechanism in Apple's iOS operating system (for iPhone devices) for the user to choose an authentication method for the Wi-Fi network they're joining.The latest iOS (16.3.1) has an "Ask to Join Networks" option in Settings > Wi-Fi, which has three sub-categories:
- Off (If no known networks are available, you will have to manually select a network.)
- Notify (If no known networks are available, you will be notified of available networks.)
- Ask (If no known networks are available, you will be asked before joining a new network.)
For each of these, "Known networks will be joined automatically."
As suggested, might well be worth StevenB_1465005 'forgetting' the "THREE_WIFI" network on their iPhone. Thereafter, setting-up a 'new' connection at a London Underground station, before going underground.
It could all change from tomorrow though, because BAI take-over the Wi-Fi network operation from Virgin Media.
ChalkychapOn your iPhone, when you manually connect to an 802.1X Wi-Fi network such as THREE_WIFI (if you're with Smarty or Three) or "Wi-Fi Extra" (if you're with O2 or Giffgaff) for the very first time, do you get a screen asking you for any information? On Android, we must manually select the EAP method (EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA, EAP-AKA', EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, etc) and I am wondering whether you get asked a similar question on iOS.
I am intrigued about this changeover to BAI - there is nothing about it at all on the Smarty website (the instructions still only say to connect to THREE_WIFI). Do you have any details (such as which SSID to select), or is your info from the press releases?
Best wishes, Eek.
eekamouse, I'm not in London often, but whenever connecting to a Wi-Fi network for the 1st time, iOS only asks for the network p/word (if it's required).
The Mayor of London awarded BAI Communications a 20-year concession to operate an underground mobile network for 4G and 5G services. This also involves BAI running station Wi-Fi, taking over from Virgin Media, end of March/beginning of April 2023.
Virgin Media mention end of hosting TfL station Wi-Fi online at:
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/broadband/wifi-hotspots
Scroll down to "How do I connect to Virgin Media WiFi on London underground?".The TfL piece is online at https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/station-wifi, and it appears the 'old' SSID names are ongoing.
Three still say you just need to a valid Three SIM card present in your device, in order to connect automatically to the station Wi-Fi, provided:
- You have iOS 15.4, or later.
- You set the "access method" to "EAP", and the "EAP method" to "SIM", with an Android device.
If there is an auto-connect checkbox, and you have checked it /enabled it, and it still is not auto-connecting, then that is definitely a bug in your phone's operating system. I have googled for similar problems on other mobile networks/Wi-Fi services, and many O2/Giffgaff people report the same problem ("No auto-connection") with the "Wi-Fi Extra" network (this is the O2-equivalent of "THREE_WIFI"). I happen to know that "Wi-Fi Extra" also uses EAP-AKA as its authentication protocol, so my guess is that these problems are all due to buggy implementations of EAP-AKA (and possibly other EAP methods) in earlier versions of iOS.
You may want to try disabling then re-enabling the "auto-connection" checkbox - this might kick something into action.
If you can choose which EAP method to use when you first connect to THREE_WIFI (I don't use any Apple devices so I don't know), then you can also try the following: "forget" your connection to THREE_WIFI, then reconnect using EAP-SIM instead of EAP-AKA. EAP-SIM predates EAP-AKA (which means that your phone's ability to handle that earlier protocol may be better) and my initial experiments show that Three's authentication server will accept either EAP-SIM or EAP-AKA (Three's authentication server is the machine that decides whether to give you permission to join the Wi-Fi network, based on information stored inside your sim.)
Alternatively, if you can upgrade to a newer version of iOS, then that may also help.
Kind regards, Eek.
