My google home mini won’t connect to the portal internet even though I’ve connected via MAC address

[Kaib]

Hi, I’ve moved into university accommodation and to connect to the internet you have to login via a portal. I have added my google homes MAC address to the internet yet I still can’t set my google home up as it says there’s no internet. 

thank you in advance for your assistance. 
sincerely, Kai. 

[MplsCustomer]

@Kaib 

What do you mean you "added your Google Home's MAC address to the internet"?

In order to get devices like a Google Home Mini to work in a university environment that is using a Captive Portal for Wi-Fi access, you'll need permission from your university's network administrator and will probably need to provide them with your MAC address, and even then it may not work; see this related thread:

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Home-Automation/Nest-mini-WiFi-connection-issue/m-p/361974

[Kaib]

I accessed the portal and you can add devices that way using the MAC address. Rather than typing in the username and password. So now it says on the portal that my google home is connected but it’s still not working and I can’t set it up.

[MplsCustomer]

@Kaib 

You could try talking to your university's network administrator. On the other thread on this topic, the Google Nest Community Specialist said there was no guarantee that providing the MAC address would get a Google Nest speaker working on a network with a Captive Portal.

[Dan_A]

Hi Kaib,

MplsCustomer is correct. It may or may not work depending on your school's admin security settings. We do not recommend connecting your Nest speaker to Wi-Fi where all others are connected. 

You can try to connect your Nest speaker to another phone’s hotspot:

• In order to complete the setup for their speaker or display with the use of a mobile hotspot, you need to have 2 devices. One to behave as the router (one with the hotspot enabled) and the other as the setup device. This is because most devices don't allow both Wi-Fi and mobile hotspot to work at the same time, so a second mobile device is needed to set up the speaker or display.
• It is possible that hotspots or networks created via phone, tablet, or computer may work, but these methods aren't officially supported on Google Nest and Home devices.
• A hotspot's availability can vary based on multiple factors such as the distance between the hotspot device from a carrier's tower, interference, or your data plan.
• Some carriers may have additional charges when you use the mobile Wi-Fi hotspots.

Let us know if we can help you with anything. Otherwise, we'll be closing the thread after 24 hours.

Regards,

Dan