Oh, WiFionice… In theory, it’s so simple: you board a Deutsche Bahn ICE, switch on the WLAN of your mobile phone or laptop, connect to the internal network of the ICE and you can start surfing the web immediately. But in reality, unfortunately, things sometimes look a little different. And we’re not talking about possible “dead spots” within the train or malfunctioning routers here. It’s about the connection between the device and the ICE train WiFi Network. “WIFIonICE connected, no internet connection” – so what now, you are connected but have no internet? Here’s the explanation, so that you too can surf the internet during your ICE train journey without any problems, the next time. In the meantime, check out all my train travel-related blog posts, hacks and reviews.
How to connect to the internet / WLAN hotspot on the ICE train
First, of course, you need a WLAN-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Now go to the settings (often marked with the symbol of a cogwheel) and switch on the WLAN-function of your device, if not already activated. All WLAN networks in your vicinity are now displayed. Often you will find a wide variety, of personal hotspots by fellow travellers, the free Starbucks wifi from a nearby coffee shop, and hopefully, the ICE WiFi Network called WIFIonICE.
To connect to the WIFIonICE network of the ICE train, select it or choose “connect”. Your device will now connect to the WLAN of the ICE operated by the national rail operator Deutsche Bahn. If everything goes well, a pop-up window will open on your device within seconds to confirm the terms of use. This is important because if you do not confirm and accept them, you will not be able to connect to the internet.
Easily connect to WiFionice on your train journey
Sometimes it can happen that this window does not automatically pop up or that you have closed it by mistake. But how do you now get back to the page to connect to the Internet?
Open any internet browser of your choice (e.g. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera,…) and either the window will open automatically, again, which sometimes happens, or not. In the latter case, type the following into the browser line at the top: wifionice.de (or alternatively 1.1.1.1 ) and open the website. Now you are redirected to the following page https://www.bahn.de/p/view/service/zug/railnet_ice_bahnhof.shtml, and this is the ICE WLAN welcome page you were looking for. Now tick the box and confirm the terms of use, and you will have access to the Internet onboard the Deutsche Bahn ICE train.
You might also be interested in what you can eat on board your ICE Train by Deutsche Bahn if WifionICE is working or not, so click on the picture below for more.
