When connecting to eduroam for the first time, or when the university's security certificate is updated, your device may prompt you to accept or "trust" a new certificate.
Before accepting a certificate prompt, you can ensure you are connecting to the legitimate Wake Forest University network by comparing the certificate's fingerprint (or thumbprint) on your screen against the official server fingerprints below:
Eduroam Wireless Certificate Thumbprint:
- SHA-256: B9 28 DA D7 AD D4 F4 FD 6D 3E EE 7A 60 0B 1A 6B AF E5 8F 61 07 D3 A7 A2 5D 17 00 BC 17 21 73 C0
- SHA-1: CB 8E 30 1B 02 54 77 F4 E8 74 E4 0A C4 FA 3C 68 06 D4 0E F4
Why am I being prompted to trust a certificate?
Trusting a security certificate is like verifying an official ID card for the network. You should only be prompted to trust a certificate when connecting a device to eduroam for the first time (or after you have forgotten the network) or if there has been a certificate update. Security certificates expire over time and must be renewed. When a renewal occurs, your device may temporarily disconnect or prompt you to verify the new connection. By verifying the thumbprint as shown above, you can confidently accept the updated certificate and maintain a seamless, secure connection to campus Wi-Fi.
Windows instructions
When the certificate updates, a pop-up notification may appear near your taskbar stating: "Continue connecting? If you expect to find eduroam in this location, go ahead and connect."
- Click Connect to accept the new certificate.
- Click Show certificate details within that prompt.
- Compare the Server thumbprint shown with the official WFU thumbprints above.
- If it matches, click Connect to safely accept the certificate.
- If prompted, enter your full WFU email address (e.g., [email protected]) and password.
Mac instructions
Select eduroam from your Wi-Fi menu.
- A dialog box titled "Verify Certificate" will appear.
- Click Continue to trust the new certificate.
- Click Show Certificate and scroll to the bottom of the details window to find the SHA-256 and SHA-1 fingerprints.
- Compare these with the official WFU thumbprints above.
- If they match, click Continue to trust the certificate.
- macOS may require you to enter your local Mac login password (or use Touch ID) to authorize changes to your certificate trust settings.
iPhone (iOS) instructions
Select eduroam from your Wi-Fi menu.
- A Certificate screen will appear. Tap More Details to view the Fingerprints section at the bottom.
- Compare the fingerprints with the official WFU thumbprints above.
- If they match, tap back to the main Certificate screen and tap Trust in the top right corner.
- If prompted, re-enter your full WFU email address and password.
Android instructions
Note:
Settings menu names may vary slightly depending on your phone's manufacturer, such as Samsung or Google Pixel.
(Note: Modern Android devices verify security automatically via domain settings rather than showing a manual fingerprint prompt).
- Go to Settings > Network & internet > Internet (or Connections > Wi-Fi) and tap eduroam.
- To ensure a secure connection to the official WFU network, verify your configuration matches these settings exactly:
- EAP method: PEAP
- Phase 2 Authentication: MSCHAPV2
- CA certificate: Use system certificates (Note: If you have an older Android version, you may select "Trust On First Use" and verify the fingerprint manually if prompted)
- Domain: wfunetwork.wfu.edu
- Identity: Your full WFU email address (e.g., [email protected])
- Anonymous identity: Leave blank
- Password: Your WFU password
- Tap Connect.
What to expect during a certificate renewal
When Information Systems updates the eduroam certificate, your device may temporarily disconnect or prompt you to verify the new connection. This is expected and safe behavior on the WFU network. To resume browsing, you simply need to accept or "trust" the new certificate.
Troubleshooting: connection issues?
If your device fails to prompt you for the new certificate, or if you lose connection to eduroam entirely, the easiest fix is to forget the network and reconnect from scratch. This forces your device to look for the brand-new certificate.
How to forget eduroam on Windows
- Click the Wi-Fi icon in the bottom right corner of your taskbar.
- Click the > arrow next to the Wi-Fi toggle to manage Wi-Fi connections.
- Right-click eduroam and select Forget.
- Select eduroam from the list again, click Connect, and log in using your full WFU email and password.
How to forget eduroam on Mac
- Click the Apple menu in the top left corner and open System Settings.
- Click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
- Scroll down and click the Advanced... button (or click the three dots ... next to eduroam if visible).
- Find eduroam in your known networks list, click the ... icon next to it, and select Remove From List (or Forget This Network).
- Turn your Wi-Fi off and back on, select eduroam from your Wi-Fi menu, and log back in.
- When logging in, you should be prompted to trust the new certificate.
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