why is library wifi keeps redirecting me

December 29, 2008 12:55 AM

free library wifi keeps redirecting me to: http://the url i want + :65002/www.the_library's_website.com. librarians don't understand why, and don't know how to help. can you?

I live near a great library, (http://www.slv.vic.gov.au)
and i like to go there and work.

The library has free wifi and I have successfully used it once before for about half an hour and then it started doing something strange
which it has since done every time i visit the library.

i can access the library's website : http://www.slv.vic.gov.au

but if i try and access anything outside the library eg:

http://www.theage.com.au

i get redirected to the non existant url

http://www.theage.com.au:65002/www.slv.vic.gov.au


always that format:

the url i want + :65002/www.slv.vic.gov.au

I can't access the wifi login page either by the url or by the ip address
and it certainly isn't directing me there when I first connect, as the system is supposed to do.

other people seem to be accessing the net just fine, including people on the similar model macbooks

(
MacBook3,1
OSX 10.5.6
2.2 Ghz intel core duo 2
4 GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM
)

the library staff don't know what's going on and i don't have access to the library IT staff.

some of the staff thought it reminded them of something they had heard about laptops being 'quarantined' if they were running software that 'advertised itself to the network' but couldn't remember much else.

there's nothing of any use on the library wifi troubleshooting page:

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/using/wireless/troubleshooting.html

so i'd be grateful for any suggestions.

cheers

mathew

posted by compound eye to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Sounds like some sort of captive-portal thingum that isn't working right. Does the library have a page that you have to sign in on before you can use the network (like lots of for-pay wifi services do)? It could be trying to direct you bak to that page for some reason.

Macs do make network advertisements (bonjour/rendezvous/dns-sd), which might be the thing that the librarian was remembering, but unless all macs are unable to use the library's network, this seems unlikely to be the problem.

Check your network settings— does the wireless interface report itself as having a self-assigned ip address or did it get one from DHCP?
posted by hattifattener at 1:09 AM on December 29, 2008

Response by poster: it does have a log in page
but it won't let me load that page:
slvwifi.slv.vic.gov.au/login.pl (I don't think you can't access it from outside the library network so the link won't work for you either)
if i try, nothing loads

it is supposed to redirect you there when you first connect but this is not happening

i think i get a server dhcp assigned ip address (i'll check when back there tomorrow)
and am definitely able to access the library's website, which i assume is on the local network
posted by compound eye at 1:21 AM on December 29, 2008

You have to agree to their conditions to use their wifi. See Step 4? It's trying to direct you to that page, only the method isn't working - at a guess, you're using OpenDNS or your computer is caching DNS entries. When it works, it's a quick, convenient way of pointing you to that page. If it redirects you to another page, you could bookmark that & use that later.

You might ask a librarian to demonstrate how it works, & get the page to bookmark. If that doesn't work, wireless is offered in conjunction with RMIT University, & their IT department might help.

On preview: try http://slvwifi.slv.vic.gov.au:65002/login.pl

Oh, & make sure you're using the SLV network, not RMIT or Optus.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:34 AM on December 29, 2008