Network Registration Guide
Every device that uses Luther's network or internet connection needs to complete a short registration process—That process will vary depending on who you are and what kind of device you’re using.
New fall 2025: Connecting to the internet at Luther College is easier and simpler this year: One wireless network with one password, and one-step registration for wireless and wired devices. Learn how to connect below.
Wireless: You’ll need a special password to connect to the “Luther College” wireless network—your Norse Key password won’t work. Find your password at wifi.luther.edu. All your devices will use the same password.
Wired: To connect to our wired network, visit wired.luther.edu. You’ll enter your device’s MAC address, which is unique to each device. It will be letters and numbers in pairs, something like “8A:33:1B:00:FF:1F”. Sometimes it’s called other things, like the “physical” or “hardware” address, and you’ll usually find it in the network settings.
Note: Wired connections aren’t available in Miller, Dieseth, College Apartments, or college houses.
Luther College Guest isn’t the right network for you: you won’t be able to print, some content is blocked, and you’ll get cut off every 12 hours. If you have to use it, choose to “forget” it in your wifi settings when you’re done, or it’ll cause problems if it your device ever decides to reconnect.
Workstations: Your workstation should always use the “LC-Luther-Workstation” wireless network or the wired connection in your office. Mac users may need to enter their Norse Key credentials and accept a certificate the very first time they connect and anytime they change their Norse Key password
Personal devices: You’ll need a special password to connect to the “Luther College” wireless network—your Norse Key password won’t work. Find your password at wifi.luther.edu. All your devices will use the same password.
Luther College Guest isn’t the right network for you. Many of the services you use for work are blocked on this network. If you have to use it, choose to “forget” it in your wifi settings when you’re done, or it’ll cause problems if your device ever decides to reconnect.
Luther College Guest is our wireless network for visitors. Simply connect and you should encounter a pop-up window—Read and accept.
FAQ
We combined the “LC-Personal*” networks because one network is less confusing for you and lets us provide a more streamlined, consistent experience. The new “Luther College” network is just “LC-Personal-Other” with a new name and some other usability improvements. We renamed the LCGuest network to match because it makes it more obvious which network students and employees should use.
Yes, the old “Luther College” network was actually just what your device chose to call LC-Personal-Primary after you’d registered, and not everyone saw it listed that way—It was a quirk specific to some devices. That inconsistency was part of the reason why we chose to simplify—it didn’t make your actual network connection worse, but it added confusion.
The guest network has always had a 12 hour limit, but we disabled it last year because of the significant network issues on the LC-Personal* networks at the beginning of the year. Many students chose to continue using the guest network after those problems were resolved, and we didn’t want to subject them to a second inconvenience in the middle of the academic year by re-enabling the time limit. The limit exists, in part, to encourage students and employees to use our other networks, where we can protect them better and restrict access less.
Networks are complicated things, technology advances, threats become more sophisticated, and the variety and quantity of devices grows every year. We try to provide a network service that balances ease of use, quality of connection, and accessibility for all devices, while still protecting you and the college as much as possible. It seems to happen all at once, at the beginning of every year, because we try not to make major changes during the school year, when coursework would be disrupted if something went wrong.
It would be simpler! We used to have a network like that, but many devices would simply fail to connect after you changed your password, and never re-prompt for the new Norse Key password. It caused locked accounts and lots of other problems, and that behavior is inherent to modern wireless standards. The fact that the “Luther College” network uses a different password isn’t an oversight, it’s the whole point.
Troubleshooting
Enter your Norse Key and make sure you’re only using your username, not your full email (someone01 vs someone01@luther.edu). If you’re asked repeatedly or asked to choose a certificate, contact the Technology Help Desk.
Technology Help Desk
Preus Library
Main Level
700 College Dr
Decorah, IA 52101
Summer Hours
May 23 – September 2
M-Th: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
F: 8:00 am – 2:30 pm
Sa-Su: Closed
Closed Holidays: May 26, June 19, and July 4
helpdesk@luther.eduPhone: 563-387-1000