Short answer: the login page loops because the phone is proving connectivity over the travel eSIM while joined to the hotel network, or because a VPN, iCloud Private Relay or a private DNS resolver is blocking the redirect. Turn off mobile data switching, disable the VPN and private relay, forget the network, then open a plain HTTP page such as http://captive.apple.com to force the portal to appear. Log in, and only then switch the tunnel and relay back on.
What a captive portal actually does
A hotel network does not hand out internet access immediately. It answers every request with a redirect to a login page, and it blocks everything else until you authenticate. Your phone detects that state by fetching a small known URL and checking whether it gets the expected answer. When it gets a redirect instead, it opens the portal sheet.
Two things break that handshake in practice: the probe never reaches the portal because another connection answers first, or the redirect is filtered before the page can load. Both look identical from the outside: the login page reappears every time you close it.
The five-minute fix, in order
- Stop the phone from using mobile data for the probe. If your travel eSIM is the default data line, switch mobile data off entirely while you log in. This is the single most effective step and the one almost everyone skips.
- Turn the VPN off. Disable auto-connect and any always-on profile. A tunnel that is up before authentication sends the portal traffic somewhere that cannot complete the login.
- Turn off iCloud Private Relay and private DNS. On iOS this lives under Wi-Fi settings and under the Private Relay switch in the Apple account settings; on Android, reset Private DNS to automatic.
- Forget the network and rejoin. This clears the half-finished session the portal still has on file.
- Open a plain HTTP page.
http://captive.apple.com,http://neverssl.comorhttp://example.comall force a redirect without an HTTPS error page getting in the way. Type the address; do not rely on a saved bookmark. - Complete the login in the portal sheet. If the form rejects the room number or surname, try a different browser or disable content blockers for that page.
Once you are online, re-enable the VPN and Private Relay. Re-check the tunnel on a fresh network, because some portals reset DNS and routing when the session is renewed.
Why travellers hit this more often than office users
A phone with an active travel eSIM always has a working data path. Modern operating systems prefer whichever connection can prove reachability, and a portal-backed Wi-Fi network cannot prove it until you log in. The result is a loop where the OS keeps the portal helper on screen while the login request egresses over cellular and never completes at the hotel.
The same mechanism explains a second symptom: the phone reports “no internet connection” over Wi-Fi even after you authenticate. The OS is still checking the probe URL, which the portal walled garden blocks for a few minutes. Reopening a plain HTTP page clears the cached negative result.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Login page reappears on every close | Mobile data winning the probe | Disable mobile data during login |
| Portal page never loads | VPN or private DNS blocking the redirect | Disable tunnel and custom DNS |
| Login accepted, no internet | Stale portal session | Forget network, rejoin, reopen HTTP page |
| Portal asks again after 10 minutes | Session timeout or device limit | Re-authenticate; ask reception about device caps |
| One device works, another loops | Per-device or per-MAC allowance | Ask for a second voucher or tether from the working device |
When the portal is simply broken
Some venues run outdated portal appliances that fail on current browsers, block the login form behind a third-party script, or expire the voucher before checkout. If two devices and two browsers fail, stop debugging your phone. Tether from the travel eSIM, use a different network, or ask reception for the direct portal address instead of the splash URL. Front desk staff usually have a working link that the QR code on the wall does not.
Sizing the plan for tethering is the other half of the problem. If you expect to work around hotel Wi-Fi regularly, look at the data in the data calculator before you buy, and check throughput with the three-test method.
Checklist for the next hotel
- Disable Private Relay and any custom DNS before you enter the lobby.
- Keep the VPN off until the portal page has loaded successfully.
- Save the portal URL in a note after the first successful login.
- Test upload speed once, not just download; portal-authenticated Wi-Fi often throttles upstream.
If the tunnel is what breaks, the fixes overlap with our field test of VPN speed and with why a VPN feels slow.
Frequently asked questions
Does the VPN cause the captive portal loop?
Often, yes. A tunnel that is already up sends the portal redirect and the login POST through the VPN, so the hotel server never sees the request it expects. Disable the VPN until authentication completes.
Why does the portal page keep coming back after a few minutes?
Most portals run a session timer or a device-count limit. Expired sessions and a phone that reconnects on a new private address both look like a new device to the appliance.
Should I turn the travel eSIM off while on hotel Wi-Fi?
Turn mobile data off during login, not the eSIM itself. You still want the line active to receive verification codes on your home number, and you may need to tether later.
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