Problem Connecting Kindle Touch to WiFi Hotspot

[bonacker]

Using a Kindle Touch with 5.6.1 firmware, I am unable to connect to a free WiFi hotspot where other people are not having problems.

I was able to connect a few weeks ago at this hotspot, but for the past two weeks, the Kindle fails to connect. I have no trouble at other hotspots (like ATT-Starbucks). At this Hotspot, Safeway, one is first re-directed to a sign-in page (captive portal) where one only needs to tap "login" which acknowledges acceptance of the terms of service.

After I tap login, I get a message that the SSL certificate is invalid (or some term like that, I don't rememeber exactly). There is some problem with the SSL connection that other people are not having.

I am wondering if there is an SSL certificate for this hotspot that has been stored on the Kindle from an earlier session that is causing the problem. If so, does anyone know where these are stored? Is it in the "browser" folder? I have been reluctant to delete the two files that are in subfolders of "browser," because I don't want to lose the bookmarks. Where are browser bookmarks stored?

The two files within the "browser" hive of subfolders are file__0.localstorage and ApplicationCache.db.

If this is not a problem with a stored SSL certificate, has anyone else had this problem and found a solution? TIA.

[susan_cassidy]

Make sure that the time on your Kindle is correct. It should be, if you have been connecting to wifi all along.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

Make sure that the time on your Kindle is correct. It should be, if you have been connecting to wifi all along.

That will also cause issues with https: connections, which seems the problem the OP is having.

[bonacker]

Originally Posted by tomsem

That will also cause issues with https: connections, which seems the problem the OP is having.

That's a good possible explanation. I have seen secure connections fail on desktop computers, because the date was incorrectly set, but I don't think it's the cause of the problem here.

For one thing, The Kindle doesn't know the date. It only knows the time of day. I don't think the wrong time will cause https problems. In any event, the time is correctly set, and I am able to connect to all other https sites except the one in question. However the Safeway hotspot is the only one I've used that forces me to its own webpage to click a disclaimer of liability before accessing the internet. I don't know if there would be similar problems at other hotspots with "captive portals."

My hunch is that a previously downloaded SSL certificate for the problematic site looks invalid to the Kindle. That's why I asked if anyone knows where SSL certificates are stored, so I could delete it.

I have deleted 2 files in the browser folder, but I haven't been back to Safeway yet to see if that fixes the issue. Thanks for trying to help.

[eschwartz]

Have you tried alternative browsers like Skipstone and Midori (requires jailbreak)?


(Also how did you get fw 5.6.1 on the Kindle Touch? )

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bonacker

For one thing, The Kindle doesn't know the date. It only knows the time of day.

I'm afraid you're wrong about that; the Kindle most assuredly knows the date. It has to know it in order for the "Most Recent" sort order on the home screen to work.

What the Kindle doesn't do is offer a GUI interface to set the date; it will be set correctly whenever the Kindle syncs to Amazon's servers.