iPhones interfere with U. wireless network

The problems stem from the use of certain applications installed on the devices that can cause them to malfunction on the network, the website said, adding that those applications occupy more than one Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client at the same time.

“I have an iPhone, and I’ve had it since it first came out in June 2007. About six months ago, applications were released for the iPhone, and I’ve been told by OIT several times that several of these cause issues with the network,” said Doug Eshleman ’10, who is also an associate editor for news for The Daily Princetonian. “I’ve had issues since the fall, mainly because some of the applications use the network in ways OIT doesn’t like.”

The applications that have been causing problems most often are ones which use the WiFi network on campus to connect wirelessly to computers or applications that connect and disconnect to the network briefly and repetitively, Eshleman added.

“This is pretty much banned by [OIT] because it affects the network settings they’ve configured. It creates traffic they don’t want to deal with because it creates a network between your phone and the computer,” he said, adding that he regularly receives e-mails from OIT saying that his applications are problematic and that he has to try to figure out which ones are causing the network issues.

“I was kicked off the Princeton network only on my computer and not my iPhone,” Alex Krupp ’10 said in an e-mail. She added that the process of reconnecting her computer to the network “was a huge pain,” but she noted that “OIT was extremely helpful.”

The OIT website reported that there is “a large increase in the number of these incidents [involving iPhones and iPod touch devices] since September 2008.”

These malfunctioning devices, according to the OIT website, are most often detected as “interfering with service to others.” Once this interference is discovered, the website noted, OIT will then “mark the device ineligible for OIT Mobile [Internet Protocol] Service.” OIT will then only remove these blocks when the problematic application is determined and removed.

The problem is not unique to Princeton, however. “[OIT] explained that it was an Apple problem that is happening not only on the Princeton campus, but also on college campuses across the country,” Krupp said.

One of the common applications causing problems in Princeton is called “Remote,” and it is made by Apple to facilitate the wireless control of iTunes on the computer, Eshleman said. There are also issues with syncing iPhones and iPod touch devices when the wireless capability in the portable devices is activated, apparently because the network interprets the syncing connection as a type of private wireless network, he added, noting that OIT has a list of problem applications but that not all of the problem applications are known.

“It’s going to be a continuous problem because there are more and more applications available from Apple, and OIT is not in the capacity to check which ones cause the problems with the network,” Eshleman said.