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Students connecting to CU Secure Wi-Fi

Switch to new Wi-Fi happening Dec. 17–19

Submitted by stauffeg
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The switch to CU Secure and CU Guest Wi-Fi will be completed in the remaining campus buildings December 17–19. During the switchover to the new Wi-Fi, most buildings will experience a 30-minute to one-hour interruption of Wi-Fi services. The campus wired network will not be affected by the switchover. The progress of the Wi-Fi switchover will be tracked on the OIT Service Alerts page.

To use the new CU Secure network that is replacing UCB Wireless, all students, faculty and staff will need to register their devices in advance so they can connect. Computers enrolled in the campus's Secure Computing program are already registered for CU Secure and do not need to be updated to use CU Secure. Check if your computer is enrolled in the Secure Computing program.

Register now!

If you have not done so already, you should register your laptops, smartphones and tablets on CU Secure by installing the required CU Secure certificate. Like UCB Wireless, CU Secure is designed for all CU Boulder affiliates with an active IdentiKey but will only require you to log in every two years. Like UCB Guest, CU Guest is designed for those who visit our campus, will require daily logins and only provide basic web and email access.

Register now

CU Secure improvements

CU Secure was designed with the following improvements in mind:

  • Less frequent registrations – CU Secure uses certificate-based authentication, so you will only need to register every two years. It is also 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.
  • Strong encryption – Unlike UCB Wireless, CU Secure uses enterprise-grade, end-to-end encryption to protect your data.
  • Self-management of devices - Unlike UCB Wireless, CU Secure will allow you the ability to self-manage gaming consoles and smart devices so you can connect them to CU Guest. See more information under the "Connecting business-critical, gaming and smart devices" heading.

These features will make using the new networks a better experience, but the changeover could make connecting difficult for users who don't preinstall the CU Secure certificate on personal and non-Secure Computing devices before buildings shift to the new networks.

Connecting business-critical, gaming and smart 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 must self-register it through the Specialty Wi-Fi Devices Portal. To reach the portal, make sure to use a non-guest CU Boulder internet connection, like UCB Wireless, CU Secure, eduroam or the campus VPN.

Questions or Concerns?

The Vice Chancellor of Information Technology, Marin Stanek, PhD, has responded to community concerns about privacy on the new Wi-Fi in this news article, "New CU Secure Wi-Fi: What you need to know." See also our wireless internet FAQs and CU Secure Wi-Fi FAQs.

More information and 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, please contact your IT support technician, Buff Techs or the IT Service Center at 303-735-4357 or oithelp@colorado.edu.