Passpoint Fails to Authenticate While Guest Wi-Fi Works Fine (Firewall Blocking RADIUS)

What's happening

Your guest Wi-Fi network works normally, but devices can't authenticate to the Passpoint network at the same location — often with no obvious error beyond a failed or repeated connection attempt.

Why this happens

This points to your firewall blocking RADIUS traffic specifically for the Passpoint SSID's authentication path. This is especially likely if your RADIUS configuration uses non-standard ports rather than the defaults — some firewalls only have default rules for standard RADIUS ports (1812/1813) and will silently block traffic on other ports unless a rule is explicitly added.

Since guest Wi-Fi typically doesn't rely on RADIUS in the same way, it isn't affected by this kind of block — which is why guest Wi-Fi working normally doesn't rule out a RADIUS/firewall issue with Passpoint.

Troubleshooting steps (for your network/IT team)

1. Confirm the exact RADIUS ports (auth and accounting) your Passpoint configuration is using — check your controller's RADIUS server settings rather than assuming defaults.
2. Review your firewall rules for those specific ports, both standard (1812/1813) and any non-standard ports in use. Confirm outbound traffic on those ports is explicitly allowed from your access points/controller to the RADIUS server.
3. If using a firewall platform with granular application/service-based rules (rather than simple port rules), double-check that RADIUS traffic isn't being caught by a more general "deny" rule that takes precedence.

4. After updating firewall rules, test authentication live on a device to confirm the fix.

    

If the issue continues

If your firewall rules for the correct RADIUS ports look correct and Passpoint still fails to authenticate, contact support with:

• Your firewall platform
• The RADIUS ports currently configured
• Confirmation of what you've already checked

Our team can help confirm whether requests are reaching our RADIUS servers at all, which helps narrow down whether the block is on your firewall or elsewhere.