BT and public WiFi

[KeithL]

[Naughty Nigel]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Some phones and other devices do seem to gravitate to certain WiFi signals for no obvious reason and it has nothing to do with BT as far as I know.

You can tell your phone to 'forget' certain networks if you want to. There is also an option on Apple devices where it will ask you to connect to a different network.

The BT WiFi is free if you subscribe to BT Internet. The idea is that all BT routers provide a DMZ WiFi signal for other subscribers to use, although you can disable it if you want.

My devices can 'see' several our neighbours' BT WiFi Plus FON signals but do not connect to them by default.

[KeithL]

Re: BT and public WiFi

I have a Nokia 635 Windows phone, Nigel. It doesn't allow such niceties as blocking specific WiFi channels. The odd thing is that it ignored the public WiFi hot spot until a few days ago, and I've had this phone for over two years. Something definitely changed. (The weather...? LOL!) It ignores other BT hubs all of which have stronger signals than the public one!

EDIT: just had a thought. up to two years ago, I was a BT customer. Perhaps it has taken this long for BT to realise that I'm no longer one of their customers....

[wornish]

Re: BT and public WiFi

...................

EDIT: just had a thought. up to two years ago, I was a BT customer. Perhaps it has taken this long for BT to realise that I'm no longer one of their customers....

Think your last paragraph gives you the answer. BT wheels grind very slowly!

[KeithL]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Think your last paragraph gives you the answer. BT wheels grind very slowly!

One might surmise that is slower than a snail on morphine.... Couldn't have something to do with why they are forever telephoning me to try to drag me back into their clutches, could it?

[Otto]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Strange. I'm on BT Broadband at home so get free BT wi-fi when I'm out and about which is very useful but sometimes when I come home my iPhone 6 first of all connects to my BT FON signal before my private wi-fi. It soon sorts itself out though. According to Apple, wi-fi signals are connected in this order: secure private network - secure public network - insecure private network - insecure public network. That all makes sense. For a period my old iPhone 4S ignored my private network and always chose FON but an update cured that. Maybe your problem is a Windows update, I don't know about Windows phones but Windows 10 updates are notorious for changing settings and/or stopping things working without notice!

[jdal]

Re: BT and public WiFi

"BT WiFi with Fon" is a public WiFi service that BT customers can use for nothing. It can be somebody's private router where they've not opted out of "BT WiFi".

The fact that Android connects to networks apparently at random is VERY VERY VERY annoying and as far as I'm concerned a bug. I've never found a way to stop it. "Forgetting" the network doesn't work. It's bloody stupid. I can be sitting in front of our router and it connects to some blokes box down the street.

[Otto]

Re: BT and public WiFi

If an iPhone discovers a network which it hasn't connected to before when known networks are absent, it will ask if you want to connect to it. If you successfully connect to it, it will remember the login details for next time. It has an option to "Forget this network" if you no longer need it. Apple has its faults for sure, but given the aggro many of my friends with Android phones have, I'll stick to iOS as (most of the time!) it's slick and intuitive.


Am I right in thinking Microsoft is dropping Windows phone development?

[KeithL]

Re: BT and public WiFi

If an iPhone discovers a network which it hasn't connected to before when known networks are absent, it will ask if you want to connect to it. If you successfully connect to it, it will remember the login details for next time. It has an option to "Forget this network" if you no longer need it. Apple has its faults for sure, but given the aggro many of my friends with Android phones have, I'll stick to iOS as (most of the time!) it's slick and intuitive.


Am I right in thinking Microsoft is dropping Windows phone development?

They already have Richard. So far as I'm aware there are no more updates, for at least a year. It's only ever updated itself once. Typical Microsoft.

I didn't realise that it could be someone's own router! But nothing surprises me. You can't control which router the Windows phone connects to, but it usually (or was usually) the strongest signal. But it works better by switching off WiFi!

[Otto]

Re: BT and public WiFi

No, you're right. On the iPhone at least, if wi-fi networks are available it will attempt to connect to them. If it cannot than it will use 4G (or whatever your data allowance uses) instead. As this is usually limited it's best to use wi-fi if available. If you're not a BT Broadband customer you can buy BT Wifi data on an ad hoc basis; however, if you're near a McDonalds, a Wetherspoon pub or a Punch Tavern, they (among others) all use Sky's free WiFi called "The Cloud". You can sign up to that for free if you don't mind the ads. They are fairly unobtrusive.

[Jim Ford]

Re: BT and public WiFi

The fact that Android connects to networks apparently at random is VERY VERY VERY annoying and as far as I'm concerned a bug. I've never found a way to stop it. "Forgetting" the network doesn't work. It's bloody stupid. I can be sitting in front of our router and it connects to some blokes box down the street.

Do you not have your router protected by a password then?

Jim

[Naughty Nigel]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Do you not have your router protected by a password then?

Jim

Yes, but the BT WiFi FON thing is on a separate DMZ circuit and uses your own BT login and password, not that of the bloke down the road.

The whole idea is that you can have access to BT WiFi wherever you are, effectively sharing routers and bandwidth with every other BT Internet subscriber in the country.

[jdal]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Do you not have your router protected by a password then?

Jim

Yes. Of course. That doesn't force the phone to connect to it, it connects to any available network apparently at random. You can't actually use that network unless you have the credentials, depending on the networks security.

[jdal]

Re: BT and public WiFi

The BT thing is interesting. As a BT customer I can use any of a giant network of BT hotspots, including some blokes router as John said, so long as I log in with my BT broadband userid/password. The downside is that MY BT router has a slice of it's bandwidth assigned for public use as well. I can opt out of all of this, which I'm thinking of doing.

[Otto]

Re: BT and public WiFi

Your own wi-fi network takes precedence over the FON slice of your bandwidth which is not included in your monthly limit (if you have one). If you opt out you won't be able to use other people's FON signals or BT WiFi. If you haven't already got it there's a BT WiFi app which logs you in automatically if it finds a BT signal. I think it's a great system and enough to keep me with BT (as well as the fiver a month discount on BT Mobile!).