Wi-Fi upgrade for guest and device service coming in July 2024
From: The Division of IT
Exciting changes are coming to Virginia Tech’s Wi-Fi services this summer! The Division of IT is simplifying access to the university’s Wi-Fi service for visitors and for connecting secondary internet-capable devices used by students and employees. The new service, called VT Open WiFi, is replacing the legacy VirginiaTech SSID (service set identifier). Beginning July 8, VT Open WiFi will be available to all Virginia Tech locations.
By removing the need for user credentials, VT Open WiFi will simplify visitor access to the internet from mobile devices. It will also be available for Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff to connect SmartTVs, gaming systems, streaming media devices, smart speakers, and other ‘Internet of Things’ devices without needing to register these devices ahead of time. Simply connect to ‘VT Open WiFi’ and have instant access to the Internet.
VT Open WiFi will have certain restrictions. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to use eduroam for their academic, research, and administrative needs.
- To mitigate risks from less-secure traffic, VT Open WiFi is isolated from the other campus networks and treated as a non-VT network. Because of this, certain VT services and applications may not be accessible from VT Open WiFi. Users should not use VT Open WiFi for official academic or university activities, but instead connect to eduroam for those uses. If your device is not capable of connecting to eduroam and you need it to be recognized, you can register your device here.
- VT Open WiFi is provided as an amenity and convenience for guests and for the Virginia Tech community to easily connect devices to the internet.
- Using VT Open WiFi implies awareness of Virginia Tech’s Acceptable Use Policy.
- VT Open WiFi is subject to all applicable federal, state, and university restrictions and policies, including not being able to access TikTok or other ByteDance applications.
Eduroam will continue to serve as the primary Wi-Fi network for Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff, and other sponsored users of Virginia Tech services. Devices capable of connecting to eduroam should continue to do so. Using eduroam ensures that members of the university community have access to all academic and administrative services, in addition to seamless roaming at other eduroam locations. Additional information on connecting your devices to eduroam is available here.
The legacy guest Wi-Fi service (VirginiaTech) will be decommissioned on July 19, so please make arrangements to connect any devices that currently use VirginiaTech to VT Open WiFi between July 8 and July 19. Devices that are already registered for VirginiaTech through the previous process are automatically registered for use on VT Open WiFi.
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact 4Help IT Support online at 4help.vt.edu, or by phone 540-231-4357.