topic Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi in Other Devices

smart watch connection to O2 wifi

cam2424fg — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:37:31 GMT

Hi there,
I can connect my Android phone to O2 wifi (in Sainsbury's) and sign in to O2,
but when I connect to it with my Android smartwatch it immediately says "cannot sign in to this network". Does anybody know what the difference is ?
A setting ? It's a Samsung Galaxy watch 6
Thanks, Cameron

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

MI5 — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:42:59 GMT

@cam2424fg

The watch is only capable of connecting to your phone, not any other external data connections.

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

madasaf1sh — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:43:45 GMT

@cam2424fg

Because the watch wont authenticate via the method required by the o2 wifi network, so your watch cant sign in to the network.

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

cam2424fg — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 14:38:57 GMT

Thank you madasaf1sh that's good to know.
My watch connects to other wifi networks using WPA/WPA2.
Do you know what O2 wifi requires instead ?

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

madasaf1sh — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 15:10:27 GMT

@cam2424fg

It doesnt use WPA/WPA2, it uses the sim card to authenticate, which Smart Watches dont have the ability to use as the functionality from memory is not built in..

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

cam2424fg — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 18:53:46 GMT

why would O2 wifi require a SIM to authenticate when the reason that O2 provides public wifi
is for devices not to need to use a SIM ?

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

madasaf1sh — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 19:40:00 GMT

Because you are an o2 customer and it simplifies the authentication journey for o2 customers... If you arent an o2 customer then it pops up with a login page that asks for personal data, which you cant fill in from your watch...

The reason retailers and other venues provide o2 wifi is to provide a Value added service, and from the data I have seen on the place I work's deployment is no one connects from anything but mobile phones, and also its a way to collect customer data, and flow through the store...

If you work at Sainsburys then you shouldnt be using o2 wifi, but the colleague wifi...

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

cam2424fg — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:52:36 GMT

Thanks again madasaf1sh, great explaination.

So my watch (which isn't an O2 customer since it hasn't got a SIM) connects to the O2 wifi which tries to open a login pop-up on my watch which it can't do, then either my watch or O2 realises it has failed and gives the message "cannot sign in to this network".
It would be nice if O2 used a different way to authenticate instead of a pop-up, though I can't think what. Perhaps a watch app which syncs with O2 account data on the phone..?

Re: smart watch connection to O2 wifi

madasaf1sh — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:56:47 GMT

To be fair that is how a lot of hotspots work, and it hasnt changed in over 10 years or so... and it seems to work for 99% of users..

I did it in Lidl the other day, the phone came up with a POP up, to sign after it had connected to the network, and we do the same in my workplace with guest wifi..

I think the use case is so niche it wont happen @cam2424fg