Applies to: Sophos Home on macOS 12 Monterey and lower
Please Note: This problem does not affect macOS 13 Ventura.
Overview
This article addresses an issue where macOS 12 and lower users may be unable to sign in to public or guest Wi-Fi Hotspots using a captive portal (such as those in hotels or cafes) while using the Sophos Home software.
Trying to log into a guest Wi-Fi may not display the login portal properly, preventing access. The message "A problem occurred. The web page couldn't be loaded." will appear.
What is happening?:
Apple appears to have released an update that changed this behavior slightly. This results in a race condition which can result in the Sophos endpoint not excluding the required process.
We are currently working on a solution for this issue.
Workaround Instructions:
Option 1: Use Apple's hotspot detection website
This should allow you to connect to the portal.
Option 2. Access the login via page via Safari, by using terminal
- Open Finder. Search for and launch Terminal
- Type the following command: open -a "Safari" http://google.com
- This will launch Safari and should display the Wi-Fi login page.
Option 3. Temporarily disable web protection
You can temporarily disable web protection by accessing your Sophos Home dashboard and toggling "Web Protection" off from the Protections and Web tab for the affected device. You can do this by accessing the Sophos Home dashboard from your mobile device/phone. Please see the following page for more information on the steps to disable it:
Note: Once you connect to the public Wi-Fi, you should be able to turn web protection back on, and it is recommended to do so.