Connecting Online

SMCPS CONNECT 

Free WiFi access is now available to all students and staff in the parking lots of all St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS). Access is restricted to individuals with an official SMCPS email address.

SMCPS BYOD Network

The smcpsConnect wireless network is configured to allow connections from personal devices of both students and staff as a BYOD device. Once connected as a BYOD device you will have Internet access with the same content filtering as our regular staff and student networks. For security purposes, BYOD devices are not permitted to reach our internal servers. If the use of network printers or access to network file shares is required, an SMCPS device must be used for full access to internal resources. This network is available for any device that meets our county's minimum requirements of supporting 5 GHz wireless and WPA2-Enterprise authentication. Sometimes 5 GHz wireless is also referred to as “Dual Band Wi-Fi” or “802.11ac”. For a quick reference, all Apple phones after the iPhone 5, which came out in 2013, support 5 GHz wireless, and most other devices from about 2016 on also support it. The best method to be sure would be to run a Google search of your specific device model to see what its specifications are.

The network can be joined by selecting the “smcpsConnect” SSID and entering your SMCPS account username and password. Please reference the instructions for guidance in connecting Apple and Android devices. If your device supports 5 GHz wireless and WPA2-Enterprise authentication and you are unable to join the smcpsConnect network, please submit an IT Service Desk ticket (formerly Helpdesk) for further support.  ITS can assist in connecting devices to the BYOD network but does not provide technical support for BYOD devices.

smcpsConnect Instructions - For help logging on check out this guide.

 

Network Usage Standards

All activities performed on SMCPS devices will continue to be held to the Network Usage Standards which can be found on our website. Disregard of the SMCPS Network Standards may be subject to disciplinary actions.

St. Mary's County Broadband Info

Reliable internet is an important part of online education. This website has additional information about our county's broadband capabilities.

Need help finding additional public wifi spots? This map can help!