Starting May 18, campus will begin phasing out manual Wi-Fi keys for the eduroam Wi-Fi network, allowing users to log in using their CalNet credentials.
The change responds to a spring 2025 technology survey noting poor Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as to feedback from the Student Technology Council and the campus community, according to an email from Associate Vice Chancellor Tracy Shinn and Dave Browne, executive director of campus IT infrastructure.
“Eduroam is the most secure and best-performing solution for Wi-Fi connectivity on campus, so we want to make it easier for people to use this service,” said Isaac Orr, campus IT’s network services senior manager, in an email.
The email said this transition is one of several projects underway within campus’s Network Access Simplification Program.
In the new process, devices will be permanently saved after the initial log-in through CalNet.
“The authentication process using a certificate ensures that you, and your device, and the Wi-Fi network are who they claim to be, ensuring a secure connection,” Orr said in the email. “No passwords are exchanged when the device connects, so there’s less concern about credentials being compromised.”
The 2025 campus Information Technology Survey revealed that 24.6% of undergraduate students, 17.1% of graduate students and 15.3% of faculty surveyed rated “Wi-Fi reliability and stability” negatively.
Outside of the survey, some campus students noted that they have been unable to access eduroam for extended periods of time, instead resorting to the Berkeley-Visitor network.
“I’ve been using Berkeley Visitor for this entire semester which has been quite inconvenient,” said campus freshman Sriya Sthanikam in a text message. “It takes more time to connect to Berkeley Visitor because you have to wait for the pop-up to show up, and then you have to confirm. I have to do this multiple times a day from all devices.”
Campus aims to reduce reliance on visitor networks by improving the eduroam network, though the Berkeley-Visitor network will remain available for visitors, Orr said.
Students and faculty have additionally expressed concerns over poor network speeds.
“Eduroam does not work well at all in my dorm building,” said campus freshman Kaelyn Jones. “Most times I have to turn off Wi-Fi if I wanna look things up on the Internet. It’s very disruptive.”
Orr stated that campus plans to optimize the eduroam network over the summer by removing lower performance channels.
Users currently connected to the eduroam network through existing Wi-Fi keys will remain connected after May 18, but the system will be retired at an undetermined date, according to Orr.