Rice University KB

Other Devices

For devices that do not support 802.1X authentication to connect to WPA2-Enterprise networks, such as game consoles or smart TVs, register your device at the Game Registration Portal.

For more detailed instructions for finding the wired MAC address (needed for registering your device), follow the directions in this KB article.

Wireless Network

Rice has five different networks that each have their own purpose.

Rice Owls is meant for all Rice students and faculty. To connect, you only need to enter your NetID and NetID password when prompted. For more detailed instructions, view the KB article for your respective device/operating system.

Rice Owls 5GHz is effectively the same as the Rice Owls network. The only difference is that this network operates on the 5Ghz WiFi band (instead of 2.4GHz), meaning that you should get faster speeds and a more stable connection when using Rice Owls 5GHz on a modern device capable of connecting to a 5GHz wireless network. Devices able to use Rice Owls 5GHz will say they support 802.11n and/or 802.11ac.

Eduroam is the network that exists at universities around the world. Eduroam exists so that students and faculty around the world have the freedom to travel to different universities and be able to easily connect to fast, secure WiFi. Eduroam uses the same bandwidth as Rice Owls, so there’s no benefit to using Eduroam while on Rice campus. If you travel to a different university and wish to use Eduroam, you can connect by entering your username: <YourNetID>@rice.edu and password: <YourNetIDPassword>.

Rice Visitor is meant for people who are visiting Rice and want to access to WiFi. It will require you accept the agreement each time you connect and has a much smaller bandwidth than the other networks (~4x slower than Rice Owls). As a Rice student of faculty, it is NOT RECOMMENDED to use Rice Visitor.

Rice IoT is an experimental network currently being tested for connecting wireless devices that are neither capable of using 802.1X authentication (for connecting to Rice Owls) nor opening an internet browser (for connecting to Rice Visitor). If you wish to connect a device, like Kindle or an Echo, to the internet, you can try connecting to Rice IoT, but we can’t make any promises.

If you have a device that is not capable of connecting to Rice Owls, Rice Visitor, or Rice IoT and does not have an ethernet port, we recommend purchasing a USB-Ethernet adapter and following the instruction for registering the MAC address of the adapter with the Game Registration Portal.

How to Report Network Problems

If you are having a problem with either the wired or wireless network, please reach to OIT so we can help you resolve the problem. In order to resolve the problem quickly and effectively, please send an email to helpdesk@rice.edu and include the following info:

• The specific type of device
• Ex. Apple iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy S7, Dell XPS 13, Macbook Pro, Kindle Fire, Xbox One S, etc.
• The operating system and version
• Ex. Android 8.0 Oreo, iOS 11.1, MacOS 10.13.1 High Sierra, Windows 10, etc.
• The MAC address of the device you are using to connect
• Note: devices with WiFi and ethernet will have a wireless MAC address and a wired MAC address. Make sure you are including the one that corresponds to the method of connecting with which you are having a problem.
• Which network you are having trouble with
• Rice Owls Wired, Rice Owls Wireless, Rice Visitor, Eduroam, etc.
• Where you are trying to connect
• In your room (include building and room number), in Fondren, in your college commons, all of the above
• When the problem is happening
• Is this a one-time event? Has it occurred before? How many times before? How long has it been happening? 

Including all of this information will not only help us help you faster, it will help us gather information about the Rice networks for making long-term improvements that help everyone!