captive portal Browser Origin: On your device Last updated 15 Oct 2026

Browser: This network requires you to sign in — captive portal (hotel, airport, café Wi-Fi) blocking HTTPS sites

The Wi-Fi needs a login or acceptance page first; until you complete it, secure sites fail with certificate or connection errors.

Exact message you may see captive portalThis network requires you to sign inSign in to the networkConnect to Wi-Fi - Sign inERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID captive portal
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Seen on: Chrome Edge Windows macOS

Meaning

Captive portals intercept your traffic and redirect it to a sign-in page. HTTPS sites then show certificate warnings or ERR_ errors because the portal cannot (and should not) impersonate them. Open a plain HTTP page to trigger the portal.

Common causes

  • Public Wi-Fi requiring login, voucher or terms acceptance
  • Portal sign-in page not opened automatically
  • DNS over HTTPS or a VPN preventing the portal redirect
  • HSTS site refusing the portal's redirect
  • Session on the portal expired

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Open http://neverssl.com or http://captive.apple.com to get the sign-in page
  2. Turn off VPN / secure DNS until signed in
  3. Click the "Sign in to network" notification when it appears

Detailed fix by platform

Chrome

  1. Click "Sign in" on the notification, or open http://neverssl.com
  2. Disable "Use secure DNS" briefly in Settings → Privacy and security → Security

Windows

  1. Open the Wi-Fi flyout → the network → "Open browser to sign in"

How to diagnose

  1. Network — Public or guest Wi-Fi?
  2. Page — Does neverssl.com load a login?
  3. VPN — Active?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: On your device. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

$ is not defined — Console: Uncaught ReferenceError: $ is not defined (jQuery not loaded or loaded after your code) (Browser)$ is not defined14 UNAVAILABLE — gRPC Error: 14 UNAVAILABLE: No connection established / failed to connect to all addresses (API)14 UNAVAILABLE407 — HTTP 407 Proxy Authentication Required (HTTP)407408 — HTTP 408 Request Timeout (HTTP)408511 — HTTP 511 Network Authentication Required (HTTP)511AbortError — AbortError: The user aborted a request. / signal is aborted without reason (JavaScript)AbortErrorAw, Snap! — Chrome: Aw, Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage. Error code: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION / SIGILL / Out of Memory (Browser)Aw, Snap!DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET — Chrome: No internet — DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET (DNS probe finished, no internet) (Browser)DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO…captive p…

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