on Due to an oversight on my part, I have unfortunately taken Pestalozzistr. 63 partially offline. I apologize for this. I will take care of getting you back online today.
Update: Pestalozzistr. is back online.
on On Sunday, November 2, 2025, starting at 4:00 PM, we will replace your network hardware with new equipment. This upgrade will provide you with Gigabit synchronous connectivity directly to your room.
The hardware replacement is expected to take approximately 1.5 hours, from 4:20 PM to 5:50 PM.
Update: We finished our work. If something is not working or you, contact us!
on Unfortunately, a switch serving 24 rooms (rooms 101–125, pest63) has failed.
We are using this incident as an opportunity to upgrade your building to our new hardware, which will result in a brief outage for everyone living there.
However, this will not happen until tomorrow (October 14, 2025) at the earliest. As soon as we have a precise time for the hardware replacement, we will update this post.
Update 14/10/2025 7:50 am: This afternoon a quick fix will be done. In the next few days, we will upgrade to the latest MikroTik switches, so you will then have gigabit.
Update 14/10/2025 1:40 pm: Rooms are online again. Upgrade to gigabit will be probably on Sunday.
Update 21/10/2025 8:15 AM: Reboot of the building
Update 21/10/2025 22:54 PM.: Unfortunately, the quick fix broke down at around 8:00 a.m. today. In the evening, I set off to make sure that rooms 101-125 were back online. However, when I unplugged and plugged the master switch back in, it broke, which means that the whole house is now offline. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to fix it tonight, but I’ll take care of it tomorrow right after work. I’ll replace the hardware as mentioned above, and then the building should run smoothly for a good few years. So if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be back online tomorrow evening.
Update 22/10/2025, 9:41 PM.: I have replaced all switches, and the internet should be back up and running throughout Pestalozzistr. 63. While I am still making some best practice changes, there may still be brief outages. Thanks to the switch to new hardware, this dorm now has gigabit internet, which is 10 times faster—however, most of you are using old routers that can only handle 100 Mbit/s, so most of you won’t benefit from this.
on A switch that is serving 24 rooms died today.
Instead of replacing the switch we will upgrade the house to gigabit.
We will be there tonight.
Update
9:30 PM – We are done and everything should be working normally again. If there are any issues still, let us know via the contact form.
on On March 21, 2025, we will finally install our new MikroTik Cloud Core Router – CCR2216.
All important devices in our network have names. Our new core switch from MikroTik is called “Corey McRotik.”
As the central core switch, it connects all our network segments.
Many people don’t realize that we run a real, independent network.
All student dormitories in Geislingen an der Steige, Hohenheim, Nürtingen, Reutlingen, Albstadt, and Sigmaringen are connected to us in Tübingen and meet here at Fichtenweg 5.
(This is also why we cannot simply add dormitories that are connected via DSL, like those in Rottenburg, to our network.)
During the upgrade, all dormitories will go offline one or multiple times for a short period, depending on how we need to switch the fiber optic connections.
We chose Friday during the semester break to minimize disruptions for students and avoid interfering with the Studierendenwerk.
Our homepage is no longer hosted on a server at Fichtenweg—it is now hosted externally.
The main reason for this change was a series of power outages in our server room, which not only took all dormitories offline but also made our homepage unavailable.
We don’t expect frequent power outages, but with this change, we can provide more reliable updates in case of problems.
No need to worry, no emails, and please do not report the planned outage on Friday at 6:00 PM—we are aware of it.
We will be in the server room, literally holding cables in our hands.
We will update this message once we are finished.
If you still have problems after restarting at least one router, please contact us immediately via the contact form.
We will stay on-site for a few more hours to fix configuration issues or, if necessary, undo changes to keep the internet downtime as short as possible.
If you are interested in large networks, feel free to contact us (contact form: Mitmachen).
No prior knowledge is needed!
This year, we will replace switches in over 100 buildings—it’s manual work, so every helping hand is welcome.
If technology is not your strength, but you still want to help, we would really appreciate it.
As you can see from this not-so-perfect text, we could also use someone who can write better texts, design announcements, or simply organize tasks.
Right now, we are mainly active in Tübingen, but we already have one person in Hohenheim who recently joined to help on-site.
We really appreciate people outside of Tübingen because you can reach locations faster.
For example, you could help someone in a dorm with router issues, check if a construction crew accidentally cut a fiber optic cable, or look in the basement to see if a power outage is causing a network problem. All of this is much more difficult for our volunteer team in Netz-AK to handle from Tübingen.
6:16 pm update: after 4 minutes of downtime we finished. If anything is different for you, contact us!
on First of all, it’s great that you’re here – welcome to the dormitory and our volunteer-managed network!
If you are new to the dormitory, you probably want to meet people. So, it’s a good idea to talk to your neighbours if you have a question.
They can answer questions about housing, shopping, or sports facilities and we can only help you with the access to the internet.
The internet in the dormitory is fast, and you don’t have to pay extra for it. (If someone has slow internet, it’s usually because they have a bad router.)
To go online via Wi-Fi, you need your own router. Almost everyone has one or shares Wi-Fi with the neighboring room.
If you already have a router, make sure to read our tutorial on Wi-Fi in the dorm room.
If you don’t have a router and want to buy one, I have written a blog post explaining how I would do it if I were in your situation.
If you ever have a problem or need help, don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form.
Please always use this form so that we have all the information we need to help you quickly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, as a working group, we can only help you in German or English. Please use the language you are more comfortable with.
We understand that you might want to practice your German, but it is easier for us to help you in English if your English is better.
When you write to us, please don’t use AI.
Based on what and how you write, we can understand what you mean and how much you already know.
A “perfect” AI-generated message suggests to us that you know a lot – and you will then receive a response at that level.
If you want help from a human, write the message yourself!
Have fun and enjoy your time in the dormitory!
Your Netz-AK (short for Netzwerk Arbeitskreis = Network Work-group)
on 
The Christmas season – for many, a time of reflection and peace. But for us at Netz-AK, it stays busy! Even during the festive season, we’re here for you. Whether it’s sudden technical issues or those little things you’ve always wanted to configure properly – we’ve got your back!
Of course, there are limits: if solving a problem requires “paid staff,” many of them are rightly on holiday now.
Why? It’s simple: volunteers rock!
A big thank you to everyone who helps us keep going. A special shout-out to the caretakers, Carmen Braun, Mrs. Horrer and Mrs. Hein.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a great start to the new year!
Your Netz-AK Team
on One of four switches in the house stopped working.
First report from the house at 11:02 AM.
2:10 PM: Quick fix on site, now only 12 rooms are offline.
… Get replacement from Tübingen …
4:50 PM: Back in Tübingen, you are online.
on In the house at Pestalozzistraße 65, it looks like a device died.
The following rooms are probably affected: 222, 223, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322.
If we have access to the tech cabinets and the locks haven’t been changed again, we can probably install new hardware in the evening and get you back online.
Please contact us as soon as possible if you notice any problems.
Update 3:20 pm: Now all the house is offline.
Update 4:26 pm: got an report that 63 is down.
Update 8:05 pm: last tests, but you all should be online and the number 65 upgraded to gigabit speed.
on First of all, it’s great that you’re here – welcome to the dorm and our volunteer-managed network.
If you’re new to the dorm, you’ll probably want to meet people. A good reason to start a conversation could be because you have a question – whether it’s about living, where to shop, or, likely why you’ve landed on this page, about accessing the internet from the dorm.
There’s internet in the dorm; it’s fast, and you don’t have to pay anything extra for it.
You can only get online in the rooms wirelessly through WiFi if you get yourself a WiFi router, which is what most people do. If you already own a router, make sure to read our guide on Wireless internet in your room. If you don’t have a router and are looking to buy one, I’ve just finished a blog post describing what I would do if I were faced with this task.
If you ever run into a problem or need help, don’t hesitate to write to us via the contact form. Please always use this form so we have all the information we need to help you quickly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, we can only help in German and English as a group, but in all communication, we advise you to use the language you speak best and not to use automatic translators. The quality of your German or English shows us what you might mean if you’re not well-versed in technology. If you send us a technically perfect text using AI, you will get a response that matches the level of your request, and it could unnecessarily complicate things if you’re not an expert.
Have fun and a pleasant time in the dorm!
Your Netz-AK (short for Netzwerk Arbeitskreis = Network Work-group)