Get Connected FAQ

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a physical identifier unique to every network enabled device, much like a serial number, which helps you communicate on a network.

Most devices have multiple MAC addresses, one for Wireless connections, one for Ethernet connections, and potentially one for Bluetooth connections. We are interested in the Wireless and Ethernet MAC addresses, and please make sure you get the one relevant for how you are trying to connect. Please be aware that all devices have a MAC address, and it is not in reference to a Macintosh computer.

To find your MAC address on a Windows 10 machine, please refer to this article from Laptop Mag.

To find your MAC address on an Apple OS X device, please refer to this article from Laptop Mag.

If your device is not Windows 10 or OS X, you can google the phrase "find MAC address <your type of device>", and there will be step by step guides available for most things out there.

The following articles reference IPv4 and IPv6. We are interested in IPv4 and are not currently using IPv6 addresses for user connections.

For Windows DNS and DHCP, see the following article from Microsoft.

For Mac DNS, see the following article from Apple: Where this says "+" to add, just keep clicking "-" until it auto-populates.

For Mac DHCP, see the following article from Apple.

For other devices, please google "how do I change dns/dhcp on <your device type>"

No, we are not storing your password. Our system queries campus's main NetID database over a secure connection to verify whether or not the password you entered matches the one on file. At no point do we see or store your password.

You can reset your NetID password using Identity Manager.

Use this "Device Registration" link then log in with your NetID and password. From there, you can click "Manage Devices" to view your devices as well as delete or edit a device.

Please visit the ResNet contact page for support request contact options via email, phone as well as the support request form.
ResNet Service Centers are currently closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most devices are supported on ResNet. If you are experiencing connectivity issue with a device please contact ResNet support.

Certain "Smart Home" devices may not work or have limited functionality. 

"Casting" devices, like Chromecast and Airplay, will not function correctly.

A number of devices are confirmed to not work on the network.  These include but are not limited to:

• Sonos
• Chromecast
• Google Home/Nest Products
• Apple HomePod line
• Apple HomeKit devices
• Philips Hue
• Most "Smart Lights"
• Most "Smart Plugs"
• Most monitoring cameras/baby monitors
  • The only camera tested and verified to work is the Wyze v2.  Updated models may work, but this has not been confirmed.

The current limit is 15 devices, which you can manage from the device registration page. Further devices can be added upon request and with proper justification.

UCSB Wireless Web has a 7-day authentication period when logging in via browser redirect. Manually registered devices, and devices connected to eduroam, will not experience this.

Manual registrations apply only to the UCSB Wireless Web and the UCSB wired network.

Option 1: Have them register for a guest account by following the guide at the top of this page.

Option 2: Please follow the manual registration steps under "Connecting to UCSB Wireless Web from a device without a browser" for each device that you would like to provide access. Please be aware that if they have connected to UCSB Wireless Web before you registered their device, they may need to disconnect for ~20 minutes so that they are cleared out of the system and given a new authentication.

A lot of devices now have some odd "standby" behavior, even when turned "off".  This can cause problems during the initial registration process.  Please unplug your device from wall power for 1 hour then attempt to connect again and you should be good to go.  If you are not, it is possible you've registered the wrong MAC address.  Double check that you have the correct one and have not registered the "bluetooth" MAC address by mistake.

With the release of iOS 14, Apple enabled "MAC address randomization." When enabled (it's enabled by default) this feature randomly changes the MAC address of an Apple device on networks to which it connects every 24 hours. This means that after a short time your Apple device will not have the same MAC address that it was originally registered under.
In order to resolve the issue one can disable this feature by following a guide posted on Apple's Support site.
Android also uses MAC randomization in the latest update but retains the same MAC address on a per-network basis.

Because of the size of ResNet, and the necessity of subnets, network printers do not work properly on ResNet.

ResNet does not recommend the use of networked printers.  Such devices are generally designed to be used by anyone on the network, which in our case potentially means everyone else throughout ResNet. Properly configuring a network printer can be difficult and at times even impossible to secure adequately. Failure to properly configure your printer may result in symptoms ranging from inability to connect to random people printing random things at random times.

We strongly recommend using a USB cable, and will not offer support for networked printers.

We also have over a dozen communal printing locations which you can print to by visiting gauchoprint.ucsb.edu

During Fall 2024, all wireless networks will be migrating to private IP addresses.  The ResNet wired network will remain on public IP space.  If you'd like a public IP, you will need to connect to the wired network, which you can find guides for above.  The vast majority of use cases will not notice a difference between private and public IP addresses.