Connecting Entertainment Devices to the Network (Boston)

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

Emerson's Wi-Fi uses a strong, enterprise-based security protocol called WPA2-Enterprise, which computers and smartphones support, but many other devices do not (e.g., Smart TVs, AppleTV, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox, Playstation, Wii, DS, and older Amazon Kindle e-readers). To connect these devices, you will register them on the Emerson Guest network:

1. Find your device's Wi-Fi hardware/MAC address using the instructions below.
2. Go to this ClearPass web page to register your device:
   • Log in with your Emerson credentials. For username, type it as firstname.lastname or firstname_lastname, NOT firstname_lastname@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: Gaming, Media-Player, Other, or Printer.
   • This one-time registration bypasses the 24-hour policy on Emerson Guest.
3. In your device's network settings, connect to Emerson Guest
4. If your device was already connected to Emerson Guest before you registered it, reboot your device, and then reconnect it to Emerson Guest. This should force it to reconnect as a registered device.

Even though your device joined our network via Emerson Guest, the registration means that it will be internally assigned to our Student or Staff networks, depending on your role. To connect your computer to this device, your computer must also be on our secure internal network. Do not join your computer to Emerson Guest in an attempt to find your device; keep your computer on Eduroam.

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:

1. Find your device's Ethernet hardware/MAC address using the instructions below.
2. Go to this ClearPass web page to register your device:
   • Log in with your Emerson credentials
   • 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: Gaming, Media-Player, Other, or Printer.
   • ClearPass handles both wired and wireless registrations. Be sure to register the proper MAC.
3. 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).

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. 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!