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University Computing Service

Wireless networking

eduroam for Cambridge users

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How to set up and use eduroam both in Cambridge and elsewhere

eduroam will provide you with wireless Internet access. When you are in Cambridge you can choose to connect to either eduroam or Lapwing. A list of institutions with Computing Service provided wireless access points is available. Note that not all have eduroam access available at present.

When you are away from Cambridge, and at a site that also participates in eduroam, you will be able to connect to their eduroam service using your Cambridge eduroam credentials. This means you will be able to access most of the services you use when you are connected to the CUDN. For some local services you will need to use your Raven password as your computer will not be using a Cambridge address. If you also have a VPDN account you can use that to let your computer appear as if it were on the CUDN.

Most sites participating in eduroam use the eduroam network name. If you go to a site that does not, you should follow local instructions to connect to the correct service.

Note that when you use eduroam at another organisation you are bound by our AUP (ISSS rules and guidelines), the JANET AUP and the AUP of the organisation you are visiting. Breach of AUP could result in disciplinary procedures.

Before you leave Cambridge

  • Check whether the institution you are visiting participates in eduroam.
  • Make sure you have configured, and checked, your system. Configuration notes are currently available for a number of platforms (see below).

JANET(UK) has signed up to a new TERENA contract for server certificates. This means that the Comodo AddTrust External CA Root certificate is currently needed for the eduroam service but will likely to be needed for other services (e.g. Hermes, Raven) in the future.

Configuration notes for various platforms and devices

Note that it is not possible to connect to Lapwing or eduroam using most Amazon Kindles. We have been told that the android eduroam settings work on a Kindle Fire.

Generic instructions

A set of generic instructions is available. This may help users with devices not listed below.

Windows

MacOS

The new certificate provider (see above) needs to be added to the 802.1X profile. This may require you to remove the current profile and then create the profile again; see Removal of 802.1X profiles on OS X

If you are having problems, for example eduroam access is still not working after following the instructions for your version of Mac OS, see the FAQ What do I do if I'm having problems connecting to eduroam from my Mac?

Linux - Ubuntu

Mobile Devices

Some phones (including Nokia and Sony Ericsson) do not have the Comodo AddTrust External CA Root certificate in their list of Certification Authorities. We have provided instructions for converting the root CA for use on mobile devices.