UF Wireless – Eduroam: Get connected and get to work!
Picture it: you’re in your office on a Zoom meeting with your colleagues and you continuously see a pop up stating your network connection is unstable. As you wonder why this could be, you become a frozen figure to the audience and the call suddenly drops. Why would this be happening on campus, especially when others are able to use the network without issue? If you regularly connect to a network named “UF Guest”, your network may remain unstable and the amount of bandwidth available on this network is limited.
Fortunately, the solution is simple. It’s time to get connected to Eduroam!
Eduroam is the wireless solution offered at UF for all faculty, staff, and students. If you fall into any of those categories, you need to be using Eduroam. As the name UFGuest implies, it is primarily reserved for visitors to campus and this is your house! Of course, it is understandable that you would choose an option with the word “UF” in the title, but don’t let that fool you. Eduroam will give you the stability and security you want when accessing the internet. Say goodbye to dropped networks and hello to automatic network access as soon as you step on campus.
Having originated in Europe, Eduroam (Educational Roaming) is utilized by thousands across the globe at multiple college campuses. This affords faculty and students seamless connectivity when travelling to other institutions. You can find where Eduroam is accessible in the US by using their locator map here: https://www.incommon.org/eduroam/eduroam-u-s-locator-map/. If you travel internationally, you can use their global map instead: https://eduroam.org/where/?location.
Network security is integral to all users, especially the UF community. Eduroam uses the highest standard for wireless security and is not just your typical hotspot. Eduroam requires the use of the 802.1x standard which provides end-to-end encryption. UF provides a certificate as your point of trust and even offers a web portal to automatically apply the correct configuration to keep you secure. If you are interested in learning more about Eduroam security, you can find it here: https://eduroam.org/eduroam-security/
Okay, now to the part you’re waiting for.
If you are using a wireless mobile device, such as a laptop computer or smartphone, please follow these steps: https://getonline.ufl.edu/. This link will take you to the Eduroam@UF Wireless Onboarding portal. You will be asked to choose the operating system of the device you want to connect. This will ensure you get the correct configuration and tailored instructions. If you are on a device that does not have a data plan, like a laptop, you will need to temporarily connect to the network “UFGetOnline”. This will open a browser directly to the portal. Once the process completes, you will be connected to Eduroam and will not need “UF Guest” or “UFGetOnline”.
If for any reason you are unable to configure Eduroam using the portal, please find additional steps outlined by the UF Helpdesk: https://helpdesk.ufl.edu/self-help/connectivity-instructions/.
Now that your finally connected to Eduroam, it’s time to get to work!