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A Microsoft Copilot-generated image using a whimsical, cartoonish art style. An anthromorphized Ralphie, CU Boulder's mascot, is holding a tablet showing the CU logo, the words "CU Secure" and a "Downloading..." progress bar. The background includes an image of the Flatirons and a building with CU Boulder-style architecture. The building's facade includes a yellow "This building now has CU Secure Wi-Fi" banner on it, and depictions of the real-life project posters are included on the doors.

New Wi-Fi Coming Soon to Early-Access Buildings

Submitted by crei1741
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As a critical step toward upgrading our campus wireless networks to make them more secure and less susceptible to registration issues, OIT will begin testing two new Wi-Fi networks, CU Secure and CU Guest, in a handful of early-access buildings later this month.

Participating buildings include the Roser ATLAS Center, Wolf Law and Koelbel. For the full list, including go-live dates, see the project webpage.

The UCB Wireless and UCB Guest networks will remain available in all other buildings through late December, when they'll be fully retired and replaced by CU Secure and CU Guest. Wired networks and eduroam won't be affected by any of these changes.

Benefits of CU Secure Wi-Fi

The network that's replacing UCB Wireless, CU Secure, was designed to eliminate two major issues with our current networks:

  • Frequent registrations – CU Secure uses certificate-based authentication, making it immune to device settings like Apple's Private Wi-Fi Address, which causes dropped campus Wi-Fi connections by repeatedly prompting users to log in.
  • Lack of encryption – Unlike UCB Wireless, CU Secure uses enterprise-grade, end-to-end encryption to protect your data.

This is an exciting change, but it may cause frustration for users who don't preinstall the CU Secure certificate on their personal and non-Secure Computing devices.

What you need to do

There's no downside to registering your devices in advance, so we encourage you to take a few minutes to do so now.

University-purchased computers

If your computer was purchased through the university, check to see if it's enrolled in Secure Computing. If it is, then it already has the CU Secure certificate installed; you don't need to take any action for that device.

If your computer isn't enrolled in Secure Computing yet, follow the personal device process below to register it.

Personal laptops, smartphones and tablets

If you typically connect a personal device to UCB Wireless or UCB Guest when on campus, you'll need to install the CU Secure certificate/app to allow that device to connect to CU Secure.

For step-by-step instructions, see our web tutorials (Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad) or YouTube videos (Windows, Mac).

Once the certificate/app is installed, your device will automatically connect to CU Secure for two years before prompting you to log in or re-register.

Specialty Wi-Fi devices

Business-critical consumer Wi-Fi devices (e.g., Wi-Fi scanners, temperature sensors) that currently connect to UCB Wireless will have their records moved to the new networks and should connect either automatically or after a reboot or reset.

If you brought a personal consumer Wi-Fi device to campus (e.g., gaming console, smart TV, smart speaker), you can self-register it on CU Guest through the Specialty Wi-Fi Devices Portal.

Get Support

Learn more about these changes by visiting the project page and the CU Secure Wi-Fi and CU Guest Wi-Fi webpages.

For technical support, contact your IT support technician, Buff Techs or the IT Service Center (303-735-4357 or oithelp@colorado.edu).