Open Radar

 
Summary:

The attempts of iOS to detect and present captive portal web pages when logging into a WLAN don't work with some internet access portals (for example Swisscom ADSGgo). This can be extremely annoying, as it completely prevents internet access with iOS devices despite fully functional infrastructure.

Conclusion: This high-level intervention into low-level TCP/WLAN connectivity makes sense as a default, but should have a switch in the network settings details (along with the controls for static IP, proxies etc.) TO COMPLETELY DISABLE iOS TO ATTEMPT TO "UNDERSTAND" ANYTHING BEYOND TCP/IP WHILE CONNECTING TO NETWORKS.

Steps to Reproduce:

Try to connect to the internet on a Swisscom ADSLgo WLAN router (extremely popular pay per use ADSL offer from Swiss national provider Swisscom.com)

Expected Results:

Connection to internet

Actual Results:

NO WAY to get a connection, iOS closes WLAN connection before captive portal can show it's start/stop control panel window.

Regression:

Has worked in iOS5 and below.

Notes:

While it would also be nice to have better compatibility of iOS6 with various portals like Swisscom's, the KEY POINT is that such intrusive functionality should always have a WAY AROUND. Getting excluded from internet access by "smart" cross network layer "magic" messing with my connection is highly unnerving.