After you've got your computer online, it's time for the fun stuff. Connecting an entertainment device (smart TV, console, streaming device, etc.) to Emerson's network is a bit different from connecting your computer, but fear not—the instructions below will get you up and running in no time!
Note About ELA
If you are connecting a device in ELA, simply request the wireless information from the front desk or orientation materials at ELA.
Connecting via Wi-Fi
We recommend you bring 5 GHz Wi-Fi capable devices for use in dense urban areas (like Emerson's residence halls), as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi devices tend to encounter too much interference for a reliable connection.
Emerson's Wi-Fi uses a strong, enterprise-based security protocol called WPA2-Enterprise (and WPA3-Enterprise on the 6GHz band), which computers and smartphones support, but many other devices do not.
NOTE: If your device can connect to Eduroam and supports using your Emerson username and password, you don't need to use these instructions! See our typical Wi-Fi connection instructions. These instructions are for devices such as the Nintendo Switch, Roku TV, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X.
To connect these other devices, you will register them for the Emerson Devices network:
- Find your device's Wi-Fi hardware/MAC address using the instructions below. NOTE: For some devices, you can't see the Wi-Fi MAC address until you've connected to a network. In these rare cases, connect temporarily to a network such as a hotspot or the cell plan from your iPhone, simply to collect the MAC address and proceed with the instructions.
- Go to the ClearPass/Guest web page to register your device:
- Log in with your Emerson credentials. For username, type it as firstname.lastname or firstname_lastname, NOT with the @emerson.edu. It will not work if you include the @emerson.edu.
- Use colons or dashes as separators when you enter the MAC address, e.g., 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e, or 00-1a-2b-3c-4d-5e.
- Select the type of your device: Device-Student or Device-Staff for most, or Game-Device for game machines.
- This registration generates a password that your device will use to connect.
- (Registration is not needed for any device that can connect to eduroam!)
- In your device's network settings, connect to Emerson Devices
- Enter the device's specific password, generated when the device was registered.
- You can check your device's password by logging into https://clearpass.emerson.edu/guest .
- EVERY DEVICE must be registered to join Emerson Devices. The passwords only work for the registered devices to which they are assigned.
- If desired, you can change all your registered devices to use the same password by selecting the devices in clearpass.emerson.edu/guest, and clicking "Edit".
- Device passwords must be at least 8 characters long.
- Do not re-use your @emerson.edu or any other personal password for your Emerson Devices. The Emerson Devices password list is visible to IT staff.
- Devices that have been offline for 6 months will be de-registered. If the device returns to campus, it will need to be registered again.
Almost every every kind of device can join the Emerson Devices network, however, you need to register its MAC address, get its password, and then setup the device so it knows what network to join.
Even though your device connects via Emerson Devices, rather than eduroam, it still joins our internal Student or Staff network, depending on your role at Emerson. Thus, your computer can be on eduroam and still connect to your devices on Emerson Devices, because they connect to the same networks. There is usually no need to put your phone or computer on to Emerson Devices, even if you want to stream video to your device.
Stay Secure!
We recommend setting up any security options your device may offer. Your device is joining the same network as everyone else in the dorm.
Finding the MAC Address
Here is how to find the MAC address on the more common devices at Emerson. If your device isn't listed here, look through its menu for Settings or Information, and try Google! There, you will usually find a Network Information or Network Setup section where the MAC address will be listed. You can also contact the Help Desk and we'll help!
Please consult these instructions from Nintendo to locate the MAC Address for your device
1. Go to the main menu on your Apple TV device, and select Settings
2. Select About from the menu for the network information.
3. The MAC Address will be listed as either Wireless ID or Ethernet ID. If you are connecting via wireless, note the MAC address for Wireless ID, and if you are connecting via Ethernet, use Ethernet ID.
1. From the Home screen, press Menu.
2. Select Settings.
3. The Wi-Fi MAC Address is located toward the bottom of the screen in the Device Info section.
The MAC address is also on the Connect to your network page during setup by scrolling to the right.
If the above is not available, go to Settings> MyFireTV > About to locate the MAC address.
The MAC address is shown at the very bottom of the list of WiFi networks. Scroll all the way down to the end of the list to find your Show's MAC.
NOTE: There is a bug in the display of MAC addresses, so leading zeros are not shown. The MAC must have two digits, 0-9 and a-f, beween each pair of colons. If your device has only a single digit, add a zero before it when you register the MAC. For example, the MAC display may start with "d4:91:f:", but the actual MAC is "d4:91:0f:"
2. Scroll down and select Settings.
3. Scroll down and click Network.
4. Select About
5. Locate the Wireless MAC address.
Note: Roku players (Express, Premiere, Stick+, Ultra, etc.) may also have their WiFi MAC address printed on the physical device as well.
2. Select System Information.
3. Your MAC address will be displayed on screen.
1. Select the Gear icon in the upper right corner.
2. Select System then Console Information.
3. Your wired and wireless MAC address are listed at the bottom. Use the wired MAC address if you are connecting via Ethernet, and the Wireless MAC address if connecting via Wi-Fi.
Important: For the Playstation 5, for maximum stability, please make sure to go to Network > Settings > Setup Internet Connection, hover over your current network, then press the Options button and choose Advance Settings > Wi-Fi Frequency Bands. Switch the option from "Automatic" to "5 GHz."
1. Go to My Xbox in the Xbox dashboard and select Settings.
2. In the Settings pane, select Network.
3. Select Advanced Settings from the Network Settings tab.
4. The Wired and Wireless MAC address will be displayed to the right of your screen.
1. On the Xbox controller, press the Xbox button.
2. From the Profile & System menu, select Settings.
3. From the General section, select Network Settings.
4. Select Advanced Settings.
5. On the IP Settings menu, the wireless and wired MAC address will be listed.
In the event that you need to connect your phone to Emerson Devices to set up another device, be aware that many phones and comptuers by default use different MACs for different networks, called "MAC Randomization" or "Private Wi-Fi Address". Thus, if you register the MAC that your phone or computer uses to connect to eduroam, it will not work to join Emerson Devices, as the phone or computer will use a different MAC.
To work around this, before you register the phone or computer, try to connect it to Emerson Devices, so that it will create a MAC for that network. Then check the info for the Emerson Devices network to find the MAC which corresponds with this network, and finally, register this MAC, get a password, and connect to Emerson Devices.
NOTE: In most cases, there is no need to connect your phone or computer to Emerson Devices, even if you have a printer or media device that you want to use with the computer or phone. Once a registered device joins Emerson Devices, it connects via the same Staff or Student network as your computer or phone joins via eduroam. Despite having different network names, on the back-end, Emerson Devices and eduroam put things on the same networks.
Devices that require "setup apps" on your phone
Many devices display a list of network names and prompt you for a password when you select a network. In these simple cases, just select "Emerson Devices" for the network and then enter the password from your clearpass/guest registration for the specific device.
However, some devices use a phone app for the network settings, rather than allowing you to specify the network name directly. That is, the device's app on your phone will detect that your phone is connected to eduroam, so it will attempt to have the device join eduroam, and the device will fail.
Google Home is a good example of this.
As a workaround, you will need to register your phone and connect it temporarily to Emerson Devices and then run the setup app. This is an instance where you must edit your phone and device at clearpass/guest to set their passwords to match. (By default, clearpass creates a random password for each registered device. But if your device will use the phone to determine the network password, then you need to make sure that they both use the same password.) Once the device setup is complete, you can change your phone back to eduroam--internally, it will be on the same network as your device.
NOTE: Many phones randomize their MAC addresses, and use different MACs on different wifi networks, also known as "Private Wi-Fi Address". You need to register the MAC that you device will actually use for Emerson Devices. So, before you register a MAC and get a password, try to connect to Emerson Devices, and then check the info for Emerson Devices to see what MAC your phone will use on this network, and register that specific MAC. If your phone is randomizing its MAC, then registering the MAC it uses for eduroam will not work to connect it to Emerson Devices.
You may also need to edit all your Emerson Devices to have identical passwords if you have an app that controls several different devices. Usually, the app will only specify one password for all of the devices, as a typical home network uses only a single password for every connection. You can make Emerson Devices work this way by editing your device passwords (again, note that the Emerson Device passwords work only for their specific registered MAC. Unregistered devices will fail to connect, even if they use the same password as a registered device).
Some other networked devices may have network or connectivity requirements that prevent them from working in Emerson residence halls. For example, some home devices require a wired-Ethernet device on the same network segment as the wireless devices, which is not possible on the campus network. Emerson IT will not be able to help configure such devices.
In addition, students may not set up local-area networks or otherwise run private networks within the Emerson domain, as described in our Electronic Resources Acceptable Use Policy.
Connecting with Ethernet
Some devices like the Playstation, Xbox, Apple TV, and Roku have Ethernet ports, so you can connect that way if you like. Wii consoles also support Ethernet using a USB adapter. Once you're plugged in, do the following:
- Find your device's Ethernet hardware/MAC address using the instructions above.
- Go to the ClearPass/Guest web page to register your device:
- Log in with your Emerson credentials, without the @emerson.edu
- Use dashes or colons as separators when you enter the MAC address, e.g., 00-1a-2b-3c-4d-5e.
- Select the type of your device: Device-Student, Device-Staff, or Game-Device.
- ClearPass handles both wired and wireless registrations. Be sure to register the proper MAC.
- Refresh your device's network connection. Some devices may refresh themselves automatically, but often you will need to initiate the refresh in one of the following ways:
- Unplug the Ethernet cable, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in.
- Restart the device.
- Run the network connection troubleshooter (such as the Test Xbox Live Connection tool on Xbox).