topic Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?! in My Router

Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 23:41:56 GMT

We have a hub two..

YouTube on the TV went dead and suddenly my phone wanted me to sign into our own WiFi - like you do when connecting to public WiFi in a shop.

We've never had this happen before so there is an update that has been pushed..

It stopped the TV working and knocked out two IP cameras.

Can someone explain why they choose to attack or network please?

I've logged into the router many times via my phone but I've never been asked to sign into it like I were in a shop or cafe.. these screenshots once I clicked the sign in option were worrying too..

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

PhilipHeyes — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:24:01 GMT

From the Plusnet Members Center, check if there has been a glitch with the account payment process.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:42:12 GMT

@7up

There is no conspiracy theory here, the Hub two recently received an firmware update (0.11.01.11071-PN) which required https.

This link https://www.plus.net/help/hubgui/hub-warning/ provides the details.

Has the service restored?

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Townman — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 07:24:48 GMT

For clarity this is not being required to sign into the WiFi. If it were, you’d not see this screen, as you’d not be able to access the router at all.

This is symptomatic of the broadband connection being down - what colour is the light on the router?

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 07:53:23 GMT

@Townman

Right to some, wrong to many WiFi has become the new default term for the internet. I can only assume it's because many home users just use WiFi, I'm in that list of users managing my Wired network from a Wireless laptop.

Problem is using the wrong term causes problems those offering support. using the wrong term could result in the wrong advice being offered resulting in wasted time. We already know that 😐

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Townman — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:36:12 GMT

@Dan_the_Van

Hi Dan,

I agree completely - clarifying the articulation of problems helps all round...

Those experiencing the issue - right terms garners the right support
Those trying to help - right terms avoids investigating along the worng path
...and those who come along with similar issues seeking to capitalise on published learned knowledge find the appropriate content

Maybe one of the mods might modify the title to read "Just been asked to sign into our own router?!" which would be a clearer pointer for others?

@Mav / @Baldrick1 ?

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:20:56 GMT

@Townman wrote:

For clarity this is not being required to sign into the WiFi. If it were, you’d not see this screen, as you’d not be able to access the router at all.

This is symptomatic of the broadband connection being down - what colour is the light on the router?

Righty..

When you connect to a public hotspot in a shop for example, you will often see a prompt from Android asking you to sign into that WiFi. You click it and you get taken onto a html page provided by the router where you click a button to agree to its terms..

Lady night I had that same android prompt asking me to sign in to connect to the internet on our own WiFi - you don't have to believe me but if you choose not to then please stop detailing the thread. This is second after the YouTube app on the TV stopped working and both IP cameras dropped off the network. My phone obviously could do nothing..

I clicked on the android sign in notification and was presented with the first screenshot above telling me I had to use HTTPS to sign into the routers control panel. I was not trying to sign into the routers CP, android told me I had to sign in to use our own WiFi..

When clicked I got the second screen that you see in the screenshot but that opened in my browser instead of the android system.

Today my rear IP camera is pretty much dead. It barely does anything now - won't go left or right, won't go up or down and won't even tell me what network I'm on. See the screenshot from the app (and yes it's been rebooted before you tell me it's a symptom of the sky being red).

@bobpullen What's happened to our router?

When I got the android prompt last night it complained about the security certificate too so I've also got that:

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Townman — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:02:50 GMT

@7up

To be precise, in neither situation are you signing into the WiFi - you have passed that point, you are connected to the SSID (the WiFi) either by already having the passphrase or there being no passphrase on the (public) SSID. The WiFi connects you to the router only - anything after that is connection to something else.

The sign in being experienced in both reported scenarios is to the uplink service from the router to the internet, which is not the WiFi. WiFi is what connects a device to the local router ... and no further.

In the case of the Plusnet Hubs this experience occurs when there is no internet (uplink) connection. Again, what colour are the lights on the router? What service are you using, FTTC / SoGEA / FTTP. These are important to offering the righ guidance.

The Hub Two has had https:// SSL security added by the last firmware update, even though that is not really required, but just because some EU dictator said it had to happen. SSL security certificates need to be signed by one means or another to be accepted automatically, which in this scenario gives rise to challenging logistics. Browsers then get overly cautious if they think there is an issue with the signature. In this specific scenario you should just ignore the suggested security concern and continue to the router's web page. From there you can log into the router as normal and check the connection details.

The status of the router lights will also hint at what is wrong, though that needs the context of your broadband product service. Either the router has no line sync (points to a service fault) or it does have sync, but the connection credentials are wrong.

Connection credentials can become wrong arising from...

The router having been reset and unable to pick up the automatic account configuration
The account's password having been changed and for some unidentified reason, that password change not being received by the router

You need to push on pass the panic causing (not a) "security risk" warnings, access the router and find out what is happening from the administration panel. From there, we can help you get the uplink working from the router which you are already accessing successfully from a logged in WiFi (SSID) connection.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Baldrick1 — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:25:47 GMT

@7up

Are you back on line now? To add to the previous posts, you were being asked to log in to your router, not connect to WiFi. Consequently, after ignoring the irrelevant security warning, the router was asking for you to enter the Admin password, not the wireless one, as entered in shops, cafes etc.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:30:02 GMT

@7up

Three of your screen shots has this; suggesting a WiFi connection but with no internet

would be a connection with internet

The hub two is redirecting your browser to connect to your Hub Two on 192.168.1.254. You would see the same security warnings if you were connected via a LAN port. So not a WiFi issue

Edit: someone has come up with the bright idea of appending the image name next to the image.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:56:30 GMT

@Townman wrote:

@7up

To be precise, in neither situation are you signing into the WiFi - you have passed that point, you are connected to the SSID (the WiFi) either by already having the passphrase or there being no passphrase on the (public) SSID. The WiFi connects you to the router only - anything after that is connection to something else.

The sign in being experienced in both reported scenarios is to the uplink service from the router to the internet, which is not the WiFi. WiFi is what connects a device to the local router ... and no further.

I am aware of how it all works @Townman - I've written my own DNS and DHCP servers.. but my point is, the router shouldn't be asking us to sign into our own wifi just because the connection has been lost - it needs to just crack on with trying to sort it rather than leave me wondering if the network has been hacked somehow.

Anyway i don't suppose plusnet are going to do much..

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 18:27:17 GMT

@7up

Have you checked the event log for the time of the issue?

I'm not convinced it is asking you to sign back on to your wifi network as the phone status indicates that there is an connection to your hub, just no internet connection.

Anyway you know best!

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:08:15 GMT

No I didn't check the log - nor the colour of the router as it's a bit difficult to access (especially at that time of night without waking the house).

Having found a public EE network in the neighbourhood, this is what I'm on about (Replace the EE name with the name of our plusnet router):

So, the router loses connection to the web, the wifi devices all have their passwords set (including my phone obviously) and then this android prompt comes up demanding that I "Sign in to a WiFi network" on the large notification or on the smaller on/off button "Sign in required"

Why should I need to do this? - The router needs to regain it's connection, not ask me to sign in.

@bobpullen I know you guys work hard on these firmware updates but this is a feature that caused a lot of alarm and confusion. Why are we asked to sign in to use our own wifi? - This is a bit bonkers. It would instead help if any http access request was given a http reply from the router with a message from the router saying that the connection is down.

As I said earlier, it left one of my IP cameras in a bit of a mess. It did eventually come back online but it left me wondering for a while if it was bricked..

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 21:07:08 GMT

@Baldrick1 wrote:

@7up

Are you back on line now? To add to the previous posts, you were being asked to log in to your router, not connect to WiFi. Consequently, after ignoring the irrelevant security warning, the router was asking for you to enter the Admin password, not the wireless one, as entered in shops, cafes etc.

Yes the outage only lasted for a few minutes last night but it was being asked to sign in that really startled me - as if I needed permission to use our own wifi... I just hope this won't be a regular occurence (see the screenshot above and replace EE with Plusnet-XXXXXX to get an idea of what I'm on about).

The router didn't actually ask me to enter a password when i clicked on it.. Neither do public WiFi hotspots in shops, they typically just give you a button to press to agree to their terms.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 21:10:01 GMT

@Dan_the_Van wrote:

@7up

Three of your screen shots has this;  suggesting a WiFi connection but with no internet

would be a connection with internet



The hub two is redirecting your browser to connect to your Hub Two on 192.168.1.254. You would see the same security warnings if you were connected via a LAN port. So not a WiFi issue

Edit: someone has come up with the bright idea of appending the image name next to the image.

Indeed.. but that's irrelevant because this was the most important one:

Look two posts up.. you'll see why this little icon was displayed when you look at my EE screenshots. Replace EE with Plusnet-XXXXXX and you'll start to understand what I'm actually getting at - which so far, I don't think any of you have actually grasped..

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Townman — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 07:12:48 GMT

“No I didn't check the log - nor the colour of the router”

Potentially the most important diagnostic actions you could take … but instead you continue to focus on “logging into WiFi” when in fact, you are already logged onto WiFi (the SSID).

The logon you are encountering is to the router when there is no up link.

The enforcement of https:// (and the consequential security certificate debacle with browsers) arises from EU device security regulations. In context it is utter nonsense… like much of the EU regulations.

The “at that time of night” (not specified) could potentially be consequential to BTOR network maintenance if after midnight.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:05:38 GMT

@7up

It is clear to me what you think has happened, I have had reread of the first post.

You had an outage of some sort

The outage resulted in a message "Sign in to PLUSNET-38C3CQ" with a Secure Connection Required message when attempting to connect to the hub

So at this point you have a WiFi connection to the Hub as you would not have seen the Secure Connection Required message.

or the next screen "Your connection is not private" this message appeared as you were being redirected to the Hub Home page to allow access the Hub management screen.

So this is the usual what happens when the internet connection drops, just the Hub needs a https connection now.

"Can someone explain why they choose to attack our network please?"

This is where the event log is very important to be viewed rather than jumping to a factless conclusion.

You then got bogged down with certificates and you having to sign on to the WiFi when the first screen posted was not that request.

The subject of certificates has been covered with the link I provided post #33 and in post #7

Did other devices on your network recovery without the need of any intervention after the outage?

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

7up — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:12:20 GMT

@Dan_the_Van wrote:

@7up

It is clear to me what you think has happened, I have had reread of the first post.

You had an outage of some sort

The outage resulted in a message "Sign in to PLUSNET-38C3CQ" with a Secure Connection Required message when attempting to connect to the hub

So at this point you have a WiFi connection to the Hub as you would not have seen the Secure Connection Required message.

I'm not particularly bothered by the connection not secure thing..

What bothers me is the potential that I may have to click that [-Censored-] android "Sign in to Wifi" thing every time my phone loses it's wifi connection to it. EG if i come home from work, am I going to have to "Sign in" via the android prompt again? Am I going to have to do that every single day when the router loses the wifi connection between itself and my phone?

What happens to devices that don't support that captive "Sign in" like my ip cameras or the telly? - one of those cameras was still messed up yesterday morning and required a reboot. As I couldn't get logged into it I was unable to stop the SD card in it and those things don't like sudden power loss.

What needs to happen in this thread is people who were not there, telling me what happened and how I'm wrong on this, that, x, y, z.

I was there, I saw what happened and I did describe it. I never said there was no wifi connection, I said I was asked to sign into it which has then been disputed multiple times 🙄

And yes, plusnet have chosen to cause some sort of attack. When you are forced to "Sign in" to your own wifi, that is a form of denial of service. Then I'm greeted with an alarming message that it's unsecure. No email has come to us regarding this that I know of..

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Avoidance of swear filter edited as per Forum rules.

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

pvmb — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:21 GMT

@7up

"What bothers me is the potential that I may have to click that effing android "Sign in to Wifi" thing every time my phone loses it's wifi connection to it."

You shouldn't have to - provided your phone retains the correct Wi-Fi credentials. It's only if you need to log on to the router Hub Manager itself, using the Hub Management Admin password (not Wi-Fi password). Now, even if only to see its status; previously only for router 'Advanced settings'.

"What happens to devices that don't support that captive "Sign in" like my ip cameras or the telly?"

Such devices don't need to log on to the Hub Manager, only to the router's Wi-Fi signal. Hub management is carried out by the human user.

"I never said there was no wifi connection, I said I was asked to sign into it which has then been disputed multiple times 🙄"

But, from the OP, you were being asked to sign in - over an existing Wi-Fi connection - to the Plusnet Hub 2 Manager.

"Plusnet Hub Two Manager"
"Access to the Hub Manager now requires a secure HHTPS connection"

This has been so since the last Hub 2 firmware update in June 2026.

Firmware version: v0.11.01.11071-PN
Firmware updated: 10-Jun-2026

It was widely discussed on the forum at the time: https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/Plusnet-Hub-2-new-firmware-forcing-https/td-p/2048097

Re: Just been asked to sign into our own WiFi?!

Dan_the_Van — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:13:40 GMT

@7up

Is this not down to the handset not the Hub? The Hub would only reject a WiFi connection if the network password is wrong

On your handset in Settings check in 'Network details' for PLUSNET-38C3CQ check 'Auto-connected' is selected.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Avoidance of swear filter edited as per Forum rules.