Get the Most Out of Wireless in Housing

Wireless Network

If you’re on campus in University Housing there are steps you can take to improve your access to the Internet.

Instructions on connecting your wireless and wired devices in the residence halls are available at getconnected.uga.edu.

Don’t use personal wireless routers, hotspots or other banned devices

For the best wireless performance, don’t use banned devices, including, but not limited to:

Personal wireless routers
Wireless switches or hubs
Cell phone mobile hotspots
Wireless printers
Smart home devices

These devices can cause significant interference with UGA’s wireless networks and diminish wireless performance for you and your neighbors.

If you are found to be using any of the above devices in University Housing, you will be asked to remove it from UGA’s network.

Disable the network created by a wireless printer

You may not be aware that a wireless printer can act as a wireless router and or access point and may interfere with UGA’s wireless network. To avoid this, you can:

Disable your printer’s “Direct Print” feature. Instead, connect your printer to your computer via a USB cable. You will need to visit the manufacturer’s support page for your printer to get instructions on how to disable direct print.
Use one of the more than 40 print kiosks on campus, instead of a wireless printer.
Limit the use of other devices that interfere with the wireless network

Cordless phones, microwaves, game console controllers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices (such as keyboards, mice and headsets) may interfere with UGA’s wireless network. When these devices are in use, be aware of potential interference.

Smart home devices such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and Hue lightbulbs are unable to connect to campus wireless networks.

When possible, use a wired connection with your device

To ensure a continuous connection to the Internet, especially when working on class-related studies, use an Ethernet cable to connect your laptop to the network. Ethernet cables are typically less than $10 at major retailers.

All rooms in undergraduate residence halls have a port on the wall to plug in your cable for Internet access. You can also connect your game console, printer and TV to the wired Ethernet wall jack in your room.

You can find detailed instructions in our Wired Connections guides on the EITS Help Desk Knowledge Base.

Contact the EITS Help Desk

By calling the EITS Help Desk (706-542-3106) about any issues with the PAWS-Secure wireless network, you help us identify potential problem areas for our technical teams to address.