You may have visited somewhere in the past where to access the local internet access point you log into the router and then a captive network portal page appears where you usually agree to have access, or enter a room number, or something similar. But what if you want to join a local Wi-Fi network but the captive portal page is not showing?
We’re going to go over some tips for you to force open a captive portal Wi-Fi login page again, so you can log in and access the internet on your computer or device.
These tips apply to virtually any device, whether it’s a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or even a Windows PC.
1: Turn Wi-Fi off and on
Sometimes, all you have to do is turn off Wi-Fi, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on and the captive portal page reappears.
After disabling and enabling Wi-Fi on your device or computer, try to join the network, then wait a moment for the captive portal page to reappear.
2: Restart the computer or device
If you’ve turned Wi-Fi off and on and tried to join the network without success, try restarting your computer or device.
You can do this by simply turning your iPhone or iPad off and on again, or restarting your Mac (or Windows PC).
3: Clear DNS cache
Open the Terminal app and type the following command, then press Enter:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
This will flush the DNS cache on the Mac.
Wait a moment, then try joining the Wi-Fi network again, and the captive portal page should appear.
4: Mac Users: Captive Portal Page Opened But Got Lost?
If you’re on a Mac and have a bunch of windows and apps open, the captive portal login page might have opened but got lost in the sea of open windows.
Switch to Mission Control to see all windows currently open on a Mac by swiping up on the trackpad with three or four fingers. This shows every window currently open on the Mac as a thumbnail, where you might be able to find the Captive Portal login page on screen.
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Did the tips above help you relaunch the captive portal page on your device? Have you found another way to connect to public Wi-Fi, coffee shop Wi-Fi, or hotel Wi-Fi? Let us know what worked for you in the comments below.
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