What is happening?
In January, Information Technology will be retiring the BOWDOIN-LEGACY wireless implementation in favor of a newer, more secure way to connect consumer-level devices and devices that don't support WPA2-Enterprise, to the wireless network. This includes gaming consoles, most streaming media players, some smart speakers, and others. The new wireless network is named BOWDOIN-PSK and registration to use the network will be self-service rather than requiring the Service Desk to add the device on your behalf. For information on how to register your device, see the "Related Articles" section on this page.
Why is this happening?
The BOWDOIN-LEGACY wireless network uses insecure methods to connect devices to the Bowdoin network and also does not safely transmit traffic over the network. This change will protect the traffic and give clients a friendly, self-service experience.
What does it mean for me?
All devices that are currently connected to the Legacy Wireless will need to be re-registered to the new network. Once instructions on how to register a device for the new network are finalized, they will be added to the "Related Articles" section on the right.
As a part of this change, only devices supporting modern encryption will be allowed to connect to the network (eg. WEP-only devices will no longer connect).