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essensys Platform - Network management - Wi-Fi Overview
essensys Platform - Network management - Wi-Fi Overview

How do I decide which Wi-Fi Network suits the connecting device? | Wi-Fi Secure, Wi-Fi Guest, Wi-Fi Device, and Wi-Fi MAC | Concept

Stuart avatar
Written by Stuart
Updated over a week ago

There are typically 3 Wi-Fi networks at your location, these are:

Name

Typical SSID

WiFi Secure

Either WiFi Device or WiFi MAC

WiFi Guest

Wi-Fi Secure

The Wi-Fi Secure network is used by individual occupier users or operator team members when connecting their private Wi-Fi enabled devices to the network at a site. This solution uses a single SSID across a single location, which users connect to securely using their personal user name and password.

Important: Occupier users can sign in to the Wi-Fi Secure network at any sites where Wi-Fi is powered by essensys, but they will be added to the shared network if this site is not their Wi-Fi homesite. If the user wants to connect to the Secure network at this site (for security and performance reasons), you can edit their user details and update their Wi-Fi homesite. This update will prompt a new Wi-Fi account invitation email.

Information: To see which users are connecting to the Wi-Fi Secure network and with how many devices, view the reports on the Operations pages.

Creating a Wi-Fi Secure account

Username-based access to Wi-Fi Secure is granted to occupier users and operator team members when they are created in the essensys Platform:

  • To grant a new occupier user access to the Wi-Fi Secure network, create a user in the Occupiers > <occupier name> > Users page, selecting the Create a Wi-Fi account option. See Create users.

  • To grant a new operator user access to the Wi-Fi Secure network, create a team member in the Account > Team members page, selecting the Create a Wi-Fi account option.

By default, up to three concurrent Wi-Fi devices may be connected to Wi-Fi Secure using an essensys username and password, although the maximum number of concurrent devices is configurable.

Connecting to the Wi-Fi Secure network

To connect one of your private devices to the Wi-Fi Secure network, see Connect to Wi-Fi Secure.

Wi-Fi Device

The Wi-Fi Device network (which may broadcast the SSIDs WiFi Device or WiFi MAC) is used for Wi-Fi enabled devices that are shared by the occupier users or operator team members at a site. Important: Private devices, such as laptops, must use Wi-Fi Secure.

The Wi-Fi devices (that cannot connect to Wi-Fi Secure) might include:

  • Wi-Fi Printers.

  • Personal assistants, such as Amazon Alexa.

  • Streaming media adapters, such as Google Chromecast.

  • Audio and Visual Equipment, such as a Wi-Fi enabled sound bar.

Note: The WiFi MAC network does not require that you enter a password to connect. In this case, the MAC address is effectively the password.

Adding and connecting a device to the Wi-Fi devices network

To set up these devices on the essensys Platform:

  • To connect an operator Wi-Fi device, create the device in the Account > Wi-Fi devices page, and then connect the device to the WiFi Device or WiFi MAC network.

  • To connect an occupier Wi-Fi device, create the device in the Occupiers > Wi-Fi devices page, and then connect the device to the WiFi Device or WiFi MAC network.

  • To connect a communal Wi-Fi device, contact us.

For more information, see Add and connect Wi-Fi devices.

Wi-Fi Guest

Wi-Fi Guest is a customizable guest network that you can use in your Meeting Rooms or provide to your Guests to connect their devices during a site visit.

Depending on your setup, it may require a password or may be an open network that requires a sign in on a Guest Wi-Fi Splash Page before you can access the internet.

Tip: You can customize your Guest Wi-Fi Splash Page in the Branding pages.

If you would like the password or name of the Guest Wi-Fi network to be changed, raise a support case for this request on the essensys Platform.

The typical site setup:

  • Sets the default timeout for the Wi-Fi Guest network to 480 minutes.

  • Sets the idle timeout for Wi-Fi Guest to 17 minutes (apx).

Devices will need to reconnect after this time. If you would like this modified, raise a support case for this request on the essensys Platform.

To raise a support case, see contact us.

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