Hotspots that were always free will remain free. Hotspots that used to cost money and that were ATT's are now free for the iPhone. Hotspots that were paid and not owned by ATT still cost money. So nothing that used to be free got more expensive, but some things that used to cost, now are free (and have been for about what, a year now?)
Right but w/ 3.0 you don't have to do that stupid text message thing (although I just used Easy Wi-Fi since I picked it up while it was free).
What exactly am I trolling- AT&T switching me off 3G to WiFi when I may not want that?
So I am on a call or website, walk into a Starbucks and get bumped over to WiFi without any signal interuption?
Yes, no signal interruption at all. Voice services still stay w/ 3G/EDGE no matter what - only difference is data transmission.
It really doesn't have anything bad about it at all. You get faster surfing speed, longer battery life and everybody else using that same tower gets better download speed from the 3G since you aren't using it. Win-win either way I think.
If you've got 3G coverage the call stays on 3G and you surf w/ WiFi. If you're on EDGE it'll stay on EDGE. Either way you get to surf really quickly while still talking on the phone and the lack of drain on your battery is noticeable (in my experience)
Sound good to me- thanks. Maybe one day AT&T will keep adding more and more WIFI over cities and that way we won't have problems staying connected like on the UES of Manhattan.
I'm new to this- why do I need WiFi when I'm paying for 3G? Does this mean it's a total WiFi package- it let's you send email messages,etc? If I'm on someone's Wifi can't they track my calls, texts, websites, etc easier than on 3G? This seems like a step backwards required only because AT&T has a subpar 3G network.
SO much for the "Fastest 3G" network that they advertise. Yeah it's fast - especially when you're on their WIFI version of it!
because it doesn't make sense to build out towers to cover every inch of ground. especially in NYC where the radio waves reflect off buildings. if you need faster data with your iphone just go to a starbucks and use the free att wifi.
if you want super secure like the federal government or HIPAA mandates, get a blackberry with no camera or wifi. just don't complain when the BES admin locks it down so you can't do anything
Sound good to me- thanks. Maybe one day AT&T will keep adding more and more WIFI over cities and that way we won't have problems staying connected like on the UES of Manhattan.
Question: Does the auto-authentication use text messaging behind the scenes or is it completely independent of SMS now?
If the latter, that is great news, since I had text messaging disabled at my request and had to have it reenabled to use the WiFi access. Now I'm hoping I can disable it again and ditch any messaging fees.
i've tried to login to the free WiFi site to no avail, save for several fluke times. it never connects. Just spinns it's wheels and tells me it could not connect. I think it's a bunch of crap, or i'm logging onto the wrong site. Every time the WiFi pops up it takes you to the same site and doesn't connect. I think it's because the iPhone doesn't multi task, so if you don't have a browser open, it won't connect. maybe?
The once or twice i've been able to access it, it's so slow that 3G looks like lightning.
Yes, if you have a legit iPhone w/ data plan on AT&T
Nope, plus why do you want the insurance. When I got my friends iPhone from best buy they said it was $15 a month!!! Over the 2 year contract (1 year if you get another iPhone) it comes out to $360!!!!!! Thats the price of a new iPhone. And in one year you can get a new iPhone for the advertised price of $199 when they come out with a new model next year.
I agree with you. Actually, I'm on the hook for the phone, but she's interested (and is willing to pay for) the insurance because she has a tendancy to break things etc. \
Indeed, that's what happened to her first cell phone.
Her present phone is on its last legs so I think we'll end up hitting the Apple store soon.
Say for example you want to use skype to save on your minutes...You would assume you could go into McDonalds or Starbucks, start up your wifi and make a call. Nope...damn att disabled that ability. And same with instant messengers. I like the phone, hate the company
Really? I'm not in the US, but thinking of getting an iPhone. Is this an AT&T thing (ie America only) or is it Apple (worldwide)? I can't understand how you are meant to use Skype if it is blocked in Wifi - or is it only McD's/Starbucks?
AT&T saw nearly 15 million users connect to its Wi-Fi network last quarter -- a 41 percent increase over the previous quarter -- thanks, in part, to the release of iPhone 3.0, which allowed auto-authentication on the wireless carrier's 20,000 hotspots.
For iPhone users alone, the number of Wi-Fi connections tripled in June following the new software release, an AT&T spokesperson told AppleInsider. In all, 49 percent of users connected who connected to the network did so via smartphones.
AT&T has handled 25.6 million Wi-Fi connections in 2009. That blows away the total number of customers in 2008, when the service was used by 20 million.
"Our Wi-Fi network is a competitive differentiator for AT&T and a major value for our customers," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We include unlimited Wi-Fi access with the majority of our broadband and smartphone plans, and our customers are clearly taking advantage of it. It?s another reason that twice as many smartphone customers choose AT&T than any other carrier."
In June, coinciding with the release of iPhone 3.0, free auto-authentication for iPhones on AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots was enabled. This after months of delays and numerous premature announcements for the service.
During the holdup, AT&T has made expansions to its Wi-Fi network, and the company plans to continue its growth. Since the start of 2009, the company's Wi-Fi network authentication capacity has quadrupled, in anticipation of the influx of iPhone users. Since July of last year, the number of Wi-Fi hotspots has expanded from 17,000 to 20,000.
iPhone owners can find AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots in cafés, bookstores, airports, hotels, and universities, or at a nearby Starbucks.
"Our customers want both speed and mobility," said Angie Wiskocil, senior vice president, AT&T Wi-Fi Services. "They love the convenience that AT&T Wi-Fi offers, and we continue to enhance our Wi-Fi network, expand our portfolio of Wi-Fi enabled devices and extend our hotspot footprint to offer the best customer experience."
Comments
You're back to your old trolling again. Stop playing dumb, you either are way dumber than you play, or you are pretending to not understand this.
What exactly am I trolling- AT&T switching me off 3G to WiFi when I may not want that?
So I am on a call or website, walk into a Starbucks and get bumped over to WiFi without any signal interuption?
Hotspots that were always free will remain free. Hotspots that used to cost money and that were ATT's are now free for the iPhone. Hotspots that were paid and not owned by ATT still cost money. So nothing that used to be free got more expensive, but some things that used to cost, now are free (and have been for about what, a year now?)
Right but w/ 3.0 you don't have to do that stupid text message thing (although I just used Easy Wi-Fi since I picked it up while it was free).
What exactly am I trolling- AT&T switching me off 3G to WiFi when I may not want that?
So I am on a call or website, walk into a Starbucks and get bumped over to WiFi without any signal interuption?
Yes, no signal interruption at all. Voice services still stay w/ 3G/EDGE no matter what - only difference is data transmission.
It really doesn't have anything bad about it at all. You get faster surfing speed, longer battery life and everybody else using that same tower gets better download speed from the 3G since you aren't using it. Win-win either way I think.
If you've got 3G coverage the call stays on 3G and you surf w/ WiFi. If you're on EDGE it'll stay on EDGE. Either way you get to surf really quickly while still talking on the phone and the lack of drain on your battery is noticeable (in my experience)
Sound good to me- thanks. Maybe one day AT&T will keep adding more and more WIFI over cities and that way we won't have problems staying connected like on the UES of Manhattan.
What exactly am I trolling- AT&T switching me off 3G to WiFi when I may not want that?
So I am on a call or website, walk into a Starbucks and get bumped over to WiFi without any signal interuption?
You will always get a signal interruption with wifi. Not wimax though. Wimax is the shnizzle my nizzle.
I'm new to this- why do I need WiFi when I'm paying for 3G? Does this mean it's a total WiFi package- it let's you send email messages,etc? If I'm on someone's Wifi can't they track my calls, texts, websites, etc easier than on 3G? This seems like a step backwards required only because AT&T has a subpar 3G network.
SO much for the "Fastest 3G" network that they advertise. Yeah it's fast - especially when you're on their WIFI version of it!
because it doesn't make sense to build out towers to cover every inch of ground. especially in NYC where the radio waves reflect off buildings. if you need faster data with your iphone just go to a starbucks and use the free att wifi.
if you want super secure like the federal government or HIPAA mandates, get a blackberry with no camera or wifi. just don't complain when the BES admin locks it down so you can't do anything
Sound good to me- thanks. Maybe one day AT&T will keep adding more and more WIFI over cities and that way we won't have problems staying connected like on the UES of Manhattan.
Actually, it's more like ANYWHERE in Manhattan.
If the latter, that is great news, since I had text messaging disabled at my request and had to have it reenabled to use the WiFi access. Now I'm hoping I can disable it again and ditch any messaging fees.
What exactly am I trolling- AT&T switching me off 3G to WiFi when I may not want that?
So I am on a call or website, walk into a Starbucks and get bumped over to WiFi without any signal interuption?
Uy. Maybe I was wrong and you really are that clueless. The wifi has nothing to do with phone calls or texts. Only Internet data.
Has anyone else had trouble getting this to work? Anyone have any tips or pointers?
Thanks!
I always end up back at the same old SMS-based login.
The once or twice i've been able to access it, it's so slow that 3G looks like lightning.
And strangely, that auto-login screen never actually works for me. It always stalls out while trying to auto login.
I always end up back at the same old SMS-based login.
I can't even get that screen! I get some annoying login screen where I have to "choose my provider".
Yes, if you have a legit iPhone w/ data plan on AT&T
Nope, plus why do you want the insurance. When I got my friends iPhone from best buy they said it was $15 a month!!! Over the 2 year contract (1 year if you get another iPhone) it comes out to $360!!!!!! Thats the price of a new iPhone. And in one year you can get a new iPhone for the advertised price of $199 when they come out with a new model next year.
I agree with you. Actually, I'm on the hook for the phone, but she's interested (and is willing to pay for) the insurance because she has a tendancy to break things etc.
Indeed, that's what happened to her first cell phone.
Her present phone is on its last legs so I think we'll end up hitting the Apple store soon.
Say for example you want to use skype to save on your minutes...You would assume you could go into McDonalds or Starbucks, start up your wifi and make a call. Nope...damn att disabled that ability. And same with instant messengers.
Really? I'm not in the US, but thinking of getting an iPhone. Is this an AT&T thing (ie America only) or is it Apple (worldwide)? I can't understand how you are meant to use Skype if it is blocked in Wifi - or is it only McD's/Starbucks?
AT&T saw nearly 15 million users connect to its Wi-Fi network last quarter -- a 41 percent increase over the previous quarter -- thanks, in part, to the release of iPhone 3.0, which allowed auto-authentication on the wireless carrier's 20,000 hotspots.
For iPhone users alone, the number of Wi-Fi connections tripled in June following the new software release, an AT&T spokesperson told AppleInsider. In all, 49 percent of users connected who connected to the network did so via smartphones.
AT&T has handled 25.6 million Wi-Fi connections in 2009. That blows away the total number of customers in 2008, when the service was used by 20 million.
"Our Wi-Fi network is a competitive differentiator for AT&T and a major value for our customers," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We include unlimited Wi-Fi access with the majority of our broadband and smartphone plans, and our customers are clearly taking advantage of it. It?s another reason that twice as many smartphone customers choose AT&T than any other carrier."
In June, coinciding with the release of iPhone 3.0, free auto-authentication for iPhones on AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots was enabled. This after months of delays and numerous premature announcements for the service.
During the holdup, AT&T has made expansions to its Wi-Fi network, and the company plans to continue its growth. Since the start of 2009, the company's Wi-Fi network authentication capacity has quadrupled, in anticipation of the influx of iPhone users. Since July of last year, the number of Wi-Fi hotspots has expanded from 17,000 to 20,000.
iPhone owners can find AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots in cafés, bookstores, airports, hotels, and universities, or at a nearby Starbucks.
"Our customers want both speed and mobility," said Angie Wiskocil, senior vice president, AT&T Wi-Fi Services. "They love the convenience that AT&T Wi-Fi offers, and we continue to enhance our Wi-Fi network, expand our portfolio of Wi-Fi enabled devices and extend our hotspot footprint to offer the best customer experience."
That's good for Apple. 3.0 is a success.
When Verizon gets the iPhone, that's when!
Lol, we're wait for that to happen.