Android Window - Sign in to Wi-Fi network, known issue

Owned by Support
Last updated: Oct 10, 2016
2 min read

What is Sign in to Wi-Fi network window?

Sign in to Wi-Fi network is a system window in Android. When this feature is enabled on the device and the user is connected to Wi-Fi  a notification will appear prompting the user to complete the connection in order to gain Internet access. Please note that some manufacturers may not support this function. If the user interacts with the notification trigger, the window Sign in to Wi-Fi network will pop up and SOCIFI Captive Portal will appear.

If you leave a comment at https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=173980&thanks=173980&ts=1432021488 to the Android developers team, it may help to solve this issue sooner.


Current issue

Some users are currently experiencing problems when they connect via SOCIFI Captive Portal and the Sign in to Wi-Fi network window is automatically closed. Which means:

  • No advertisers web page is displayed
  • No custom success page is displayed

Solution

Until this issue is resolved we put in place a solution (presented below) with step-by-step instructions to connect to the internet. 

How to set and adjust this behaviour you can find at Android Splash Page Workaround Switcher

Video examples to compare functionality between Android and iOS

According to our experience with Android and Captive Portal behavior, it has been working as expected until the Android 4.x version. 
Below, you can find the comparison between correct behavior on iOS and incorrect behavior on Android.  

Video examples:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B16wHRja8doNT3o2UkxERnI2N2c&usp=sharing&tid=0B16wHRja8doNT2FRdG01TUQwcUU 

 iOS behaviour (CaptivePortal-on-iOS9.mp4) 

  1. Unauthenticated user selects WiFi Network
  2. Captive Network Assistant (iOS system app) popup is shown
  3. Captive Portal is opened in Captive Network Assistant
  4. User is authenticated after clicking on “Connect and visit” button, internet access is granted
  5. Captive Network Assistant window dismissed after gaining internet access
  6. User is redirected to the requested URL from Captive Portal
  7. Requested page is opened in a regular browser (Safari)   

Android OS behaviour (CaptivePortal-on-Android5.1.1.mp4) 

  1. Unauthenticated user selects WiFi Network
  2. "Sign-in to network" (Android system app) popup is shown
  3. Captive Portal is opened in "Sign-in to network" app
  4. User is authenticated after clicking on “Connect and visit” button, internet access is granted
  5. "Sign-in to network" window dismissed after gaining internet access
  6. User is authenticated and should be redirected to the requested URL from Captive Portal
  7. Requested page should be opened in a regular browser. This step is missing.

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