How to Get a WiFi Login Page to Open when Using a VPN

A WiFi login page, also known as captive portal, is something all of us come across in our everyday lives. Most of the time the WiFi login page pops up, you log onto the network and that’s it. However, sometimes the page just doesn’t show up. If you are having such issues we highly recommend taking a look at our cheat sheet here.

Some of you are more cautious about logging on to unknown networks – this article is for you! If you value your online privacy and don’t want to risk your personal information and sensitive data being stolen, you are using a VPN. Sadly, VPNs and WiFi login pages don’t play nice together because of the way they work. Whenever you have to login to the network, you have to disconnect from the VPN.

But this inconvenience that exposes you to online risks can now be eliminated if you use Speedify bonding VPN. Read below to see why.

The issue here is that once you connect to a VPN server, local redirects (such as the ones usually made by captive portals) are not allowed. So, the only solution is to disconnect the VPN and use the provided Internet as is. Very unsafe! 

Sometimes you’ll get lucky and you will be able to connect to the VPN after you log in. But in most situations, VPNs cannot be used on hotspots behind a WiFi login page.

It all comes down to the very basics of how a VPN works: creating an encrypted tunnel between you and the VPN server. Any traffic outside of that tunnel is not allowed. 

Now, we all know how captive portals work: they usually redirect you to a webpage so you can log in or accept the terms and conditions of usage. The network setup has specific rules about IP address ranges that are acceptable to log in. These are assigned by the hotspot / router you’re connecting to, but since you are using a VPN to mask your IP address, the login page will see the VPN server’s IP address and not the one assigned by the hotspot/ router. Therefore, you won’t be able to connect to the WiFi network while keeping your VPN on.

Unless… you are using Speedify as your VPN.

When you join a WiFi hotspot with a login page Speedify will:

1. Show you a notification asking you if you want to login.
2. Keep you connected over cellular data – your other ongoing online activities (like Skype / Slack calls, streaming, gaming) will continue to work via the cellular connection, protected by Speedify so you don’t have to worry about dropped calls or streams.
3. If you click the notification (or the message in the app) prompting you to connect to the WiFi hotspot, Speedify will pop up the login screen in a window.
4. Once you login successfully, Speedify will immediately start using the WiFi connection.

Speedify uses channel bonding technology in order to bond multiple Internet connections at once. In the example above, it uses both WiFi and cellular connections on your smartphone or laptop. So, when the WiFi login page comes into play, Speedify is able to seamlessly transfer traffic over to the other connection(s) until you successfully authenticate on the new network. 

Now you can finally connect to any hotspot and not worry about your data and privacy.