Can't connect to hotel Wi-Fi

Bannister1941

Hi,

Ever since yesterday afternoon, I have been unable to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
Basically, I am able to see networks without problems but when I try to connect to a specific one and enter the password, it keeps saying: “Saved / Check password and try again”.

At first, I suspected that the issue was with the network itself, maybe the password had been changed. I am not at home right now, so I am connected to the Wi-Fi network of my hotel.
But upon trying with other devices, I have confirmed that the password still worked.
I have tried multiple times on my phone and I have made sure that the password was correct every time, but I still get the same error. I have also tried rebooting the phone, forgetting the network, adding it manually, but no can do.

I haven't tried connecting to a different network yet, it's the next thing I want to test, but there are no other Wi-Fi networks nearby. I searched the forum a bit, but could not find someone with the exact same problem. I should mention that I am still able to connect to the Internet when using mobile data. It works as normal.

Finally, I have included it in the title that it might be related to the latest update, although I have no certainty.
I have updated my phone yesterday afternoon to the latest version and when I tried connecting later in the afternoon, it was not working any more. But whether the Wi-Fi worked right after the update, I am not sure because I have downloaded the update using mobile data.

Anyone ever experienced this issue before? Any recommendation of what I can try?
I will keep updating this post in the next days as I get a hold of other Wi-Fi networks.

other8026

Bannister1941 it's likely that your router has run out of IP addresses. By default, when a wifi network is saved to the phone there will be a setting to use a new MAC address every time you connect, which means a new IP address every time you connect. If all have been used up, you won't get an IP address, so your phone will say it failed to connect.

You can change the setting (from the owner profile) here: Settings > Network & internet > Internet > Saved networks > *your network's name* > Privacy. Change that setting to "use per-network randomized MAC".

Bannister1941

other8026
Wow. Spot on!
That worked right away. Thanks a lot!

I actually tried changing the MAC randomization earlier, but I did not do it from the saved networks. I did from the list of available networks, and it did not work. But doing the same things from the saved networks list solved everything!
It makes a lot of sense now. And, as I understand, it's likely that I will run into the same issue again when using public networks. But, now, I know it might be due to the MAC randomization and how to fix it next time.
Really cool that Pixel phones have this feature, by the way.

Well, thank you very much!
Have a nice day :)

[deleted]

other8026 I sometimes have a problem connecting at work using the default. I'm gonna try the per-network and see what happens. Many thanks.

other8026

Bannister1941 Really cool that Pixel phones have this feature, by the way.

The random MAC address per connection is actually a GrapheneOS feature. Sure, it causes some issues for people initially, but it's a nice feature to have for public networks.

Bannister1941 thank you very much!

No problem!

Bannister1941

It actually worked for some time, and then I got disconnected. Now, it does not work any more.
But given what you said, I suppose it can't be helped. I just need to wait until the network makes these past IP addresses of mine available again.
I am no network expert, but I guess this might be related to the DHCP lease time, maybe?

Anyway, I will try again later and make sure to use per-network MAC randomization.

other8026

Bannister1941 oh. If it's with your home network, you can try unplugging your router and then plugging back in again after a minute or two. That can reset the saved IP leases on most routers I think. If not, you might have to wait for the leases to expire or log in to the router's admin interface and delete some of the old MACs manually.

Bannister1941

other8026

The random MAC address per connection is actually a GrapheneOS feature.

Yes, but isn't that because Pixel phones have good hardware security-wise? I don't think Lineage, Calyx, or other Android ROMs have something similar.

Bannister1941

other8026
No worries. I have never run into this problem on my home network, I only have a few devices connected to my home's router. But when I am back home, I will probably switch my phone to per-network MAC since there is no reason to have a per-connection MAC randomization in my home network.
I am only experiencing issues right now because I am using my hotel's network and I suppose a lot of IP addresses are already taken, hence why I ran into this issue. I will just wait a day or two and see how it goes there.

other8026

Bannister1941 Yes, but isn't that because Pixel phones have good hardware security-wise? I don't think Lineage, Calyx, or other Android ROMs have something similar.

I don't know if hardware plays a role in whether random MACs is possible or not. I also don't know what those other Android OSes do. Maybe random MAC per network, which I gather is Android's default.

Bannister1941 I am only experiencing issues right now because I am using my hotel's network and I suppose a lot of IP addresses are already taken, hence why I ran into this issue. I will just wait a day or two and see how it goes there.

Oh, if you're at a hotel then maybe new addresses will be available within a day.

Bannister1941

Hi, coming back to this after two months.
I came back to the same hotel and got the same problem all over again. Wi-Fi works very well everywhere else, but I keep running into the same issue for this hotel. I tried switching between per-connection and per-network MAC as suggested but no success whatsoever. I have no trouble connecting from my laptop, even after forcefully forgetting the network and re-entering the password again.
Furthermore, I also tried searching for possibly unused IPs and manually entering it on my phone but no success either.

I am thinking it would be best if I had some way to get more info on what exactly is happening when I try to connect.
Is there some way I can debug this on Graphene, or do I have to Wireshark my way into this somehow?

TheGodfather

Bannister1941

If the wifi uses a portal for login, you might need new credentials, since they might be banned now. In general it is good to switch to per-network randomization in such cases to avoid getting blocked.

other8026

Bannister1941 If you've removed the network and then connected again, then the default is to use a per connection MAC address. Are you changing that back to per network?

Other than them running out of IP addresses, I can't really think of any changes to AOSP by GrapheneOS that would affect your ability to connect. Have you asked the hotel staff if others have the same issue as you? Maybe they have suggestions that have worked for other guests who use Android phones.

Also, changed the title to something I think is more accurate now that some time has passed and I think you know the password very well by now, so the issue isn't likely to be an incorrect password.