802.1x and the iPhone

[BlackJack]

Hey guys,

I have had my iPhone since Friday and so far I am loving it. I have only run into a few glitches so far. The main one being that I am unable to connect to my WiFi at work.

After talking with the IT guys they told me that 802.1x support is required to connect to our wireless net work and apparently the iPhone dosen't support this. Is this true or are we just missing it?

If it is true, is 802.1x something that could potentially added as an update in the future or would it require a whole new phone?

Thanks for the help.

-BlackJack

[alb0zf1n3st]

I think the phone supports that.. you can connect to networks that are .b .n .g

[BitBass]

As far as I can tell the iPhone does not support 802.1x. Yeah, it's a software thing so it's possible they'll add it later. One can only hope.

[pb30]

I'm guessing you/them meant 802.11x which covers wireless internet. 802.1 isnt really a technology at all. The iPhone does support 802.11x (Wifi)

[BitBass]

I'm guessing you/them meant 802.11x which covers wireless internet. 802.1 isnt really a technology at all. The iPhone does support 802.11x (Wifi)

802.1x is absolutely a technology. I don't mean the x as in (a,b,c), I mean it between w and y. It's a standard for authenticating users at a port level. 802.1x has been more typically used for wired port authentication in corporations but it's become somewhat common for very strong wireless authentication. It also allows you to lock a user out of wireless access without having to re-distribute a new WEP/WPA key.

In case it's not obvious I install this stuff for a living. :laugh2:

[BlackJack]

Yes Bitbass that sounds like what the IT guys were telling me. Now I am pretty sure at this point that the iPhone does not support it (therefore no WiFi for me @ work) but, what I want to know is if 802.1x support is something that could be added to the iPhone via a software update or would it require new hardware.

I would hate to find out I will not be able to access the WiFi at work unless I purchase the iPhone 2.0 or whatever. I work on a large college campus and am pretty frequently not at my desk. Since the WiFi covers the entire campus it would be nice to know I might eventually be able to use it with my current phone.

BTW, I finally got my iPhone to sync with my outlook calendar, Yay! That was really the last little glitch I was having beside the 802.1x thing which really isn't a glitch.

[BitBass]

It's likely that they 'could' add support for 802.1x in the future. I believe it's all done in software. The bigger question is if they 'will' do it. I would guess it's a non-trivial exercise to add this code, although it is supported in OS X already. I'm hoping for it too but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I'd personally prefer to have ActiveSync first.

[zandrik]

Yes Bitbass that sounds like what the IT guys were telling me. Now I am pretty sure at this point that the iPhone does not support it (therefore no WiFi for me @ work) but, what I want to know is if 802.1x support is something that could be added to the iPhone via a software update or would it require new hardware.

I would hate to find out I will not be able to access the WiFi at work unless I purchase the iPhone 2.0 or whatever. I work on a large college campus and am pretty frequently not at my desk. Since the WiFi covers the entire campus it would be nice to know I might eventually be able to use it with my current phone.

BTW, I finally got my iPhone to sync with my outlook calendar, Yay! That was really the last little glitch I was having beside the 802.1x thing which really isn't a glitch.


I have plans to get the iPhone in November when my current Verizon contract is up. I use exchange server currently with my Moto Q. I am currious how did you get your exchange calendar to sync. Are you using IMAP?

Thanks in advance.

[engineerx]

Here is a link to a petition site. This petition is to Mac asking for 802.1X support for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Sign the petition!

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/iphonewf/petition.html