OIT is moving to a new Wi-Fi standard on January 4, 2023, to provide a better experience when connecting to eduroam, the secure Wi-Fi network at UT. With these changes, eduroam will make connections to Cynap via Wi-Fi more stable and provide six times the Wi-Fi capacity of the ut-open network.

What do you need to do?

Connect to eduroam. If you see eduroam on your laptop, phone, or mobile devices, sign in with your UT email address to get connected. Visit the OIT Knowledge base for instructions.

What if you can’t see eduroam?

Older devices that are incapable of faster connections on eduroam will have access to the ut-open network. Remember, ut-open is a non-secure network, similar to what you might connect to at a restaurant or other public Wi-Fi.

Most newer equipment won’t be affected by this change, including the iPhone 5 or newer, Galaxy Note 4 or newer, and Galaxy S2 or newer.

Technical Details

Currently, eduroam supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies; older computers and smart devices may use the lower frequency. This change disables the ability to connect to eduroam for devices that solely use 2.4 GHz. Eduroam will be limited to 5 GHz connections. This will ensure that connections are faster and more stable. Most newer equipment has a high-capacity radio and won’t be affected by this change, including the iPhone 5 or newer, Galaxy Note 4 or newer, and Galaxy S2 or newer.

Buildings Converted to 5GHz

Alumni Memorial Building, Ayres Hall, Carrick Hall (North and South), Clarence Brown Theater, Communications Building, Conference Center Building, Dabney-Buehler Hall, Early Learning Centers, Fred D. Brown Jr. Residence Hall, Greve Hall, Haslam Business Building, Hodges Library, Hopecote, Howrd H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, Humanities and Social Sciences Building, John d. Tickle Engineering Building, Min H Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mossman Building, Nielsen Physics Building, Rocky Top Dining, Steam Plant, Stokely Management Center, Strong Hall, Student Recreational and Fitness Center (TRECS), Student Services Building, Student Union, Temple Hall