TFL Underground doesn't connect using AKA on OnePlus phone

[cgreenhalgh]

I'm trying to connect my OnePlus 8 Pro phone to the TFL Underground WiFi. It used to work logging in via the Virgin media WiFi account. It then also intermittently worked when using AKA connection, whilst the Virgin SSID was still visible, but in the past couple of months since that was removed it no longer works. 

I set the connection method to AKA SIM as per the help page, but it instantly says "failed to connect". This applies to any station, tried several times, including resetting my phone. Screenshots attached.

https://ibb.co/Qb6FxSP

https://ibb.co/tK2Fd5Q

https://ibb.co/gwFdYd6

Many thanks for help. 

[Lucarr]

I'm having the exact same issue with my Oppo Find X5.

It used to work without problems with my previous phone, Samsung S8 with the same SIM of course.

I tried most of the combinations (setting "no certificate" if there was the option) without luck.

It stopped working some time after Virgin removed their WiFi in the underground.

[PeteG]

Hi, cgreenhalgh. 

Ah, that sounds like a frustrating issue to be running into. We're not aware of any issues with the WiFi service currently, it should be working normally. It might sound like a silly suggestion, but have you tried restarting the phone then setting up the connection to see if it makes any difference? 

Do you have any other phones you'd be able to take along with you next time in order to test out the WiFi connection? 

Pete.

[cgreenhalgh]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately restarting the phone makes no difference, it's the same fault everyday when I travel on the tube and phone has frequently been flight-moded or restarted in-between.

I may have another phone in a drawer somewhere, but obviously it's not ideal to need to make a visit down to a tube station with a spare phone and swap SIM card between devices etc whilst there

[PeteG]

That's disappointing to hear. 

I've seen a few different examples of this type of issue pop up in recent weeks and months, but it's been difficult to identify a specific cause due to customers being unable to test. 

What kind of phone is your old phone? Which software version is it on? 

Pete.

[cgreenhalgh]

Thanks for continued replies,

My old phone is a Samsung Galaxy S9, was last updated back in 2021 so whatever Android was on then. Never tried that with AKA

Current phone is a OnePlus 8 Pro, running OxygenOS (Android 13). From my googling looks like a lot of the issues are on OnePlus/Oppo type phones, I wonder if they handle SIM card authentication a bit differently.

[SoSayWeAll]

According to the device support page here, on Android you nowadays need to use EAS method "SIM". Trying this setting I can confirm it works on my old Huawei P20 on Android 12. (I did have to remove / "forget" the Wifi access point from my list of saved networks and recreate it using this setting)

On iPhone it just seems to connect to the Wifi by itself, which surprised me!

[PeteG]

I've seen a few reports online in relation to OnePlus phones, and have had a few customers mention it to me as well, so it's a possibility I've considered. 

Unfortunately, there's limited examples to go on. Most people that inform us about it either don't come back to us, or are unable to test it out. If you could test that out on your Galaxy the next time you're in the area of an access point and come back here with an update, it would be quite helpful. 

I've also seen some devices that have a "SIM" option in the same list as the AKA option, and some devices that don't even have an AKA option. It would be worth trying the SIM option instead of AKA to see if that makes a difference. 

Pete.

[cgreenhalgh]

Hi Pete or other 3 staff,

Just thought I'd update this issue. Whilst waiting for a delayed tube, I spent some time playing with all the WiFi connection options. I tried using PEAP AKA and SIM, tried the option just called SIM, tried security methods called TLS and TTLS and PWD, most of which require you to select a security certificate, or "none". Unfortunately I can't give a specific order in which I tried this, but I believe after trying to connect to TLS rather than an instant rejection I then got a delay followed by "password incorrect". After that I then tried changing the security method back to SIM, and it then connected!

After a few weeks, today it stopped connecting to Three again. Once again I tried the process of attempting SIM or AKA which gave an instant rejection, trying other methods and ticking "none" for certificate, and then trying SIM again which has them worked (currently sending this from underground). Only extra step both times was a pop up saying "Three WiFi has no security certificate, are you happy to connect without" or words to that effect. So a consistent, albeit uncertain, fix here!

[JonathanB]

Hi @cgreenhalgh,

Thanks so much for sharing this, I'll pass this feedback on and hopefully it'll help us figure out the root cause and solution for this.

Thanks,
JonathanB