trickydicky Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 hi,we have a laptop with wireless broadband, which i would like to use in france and spain. i have been told some camp sites offer wi fi connection (some even FREE).i am not very good with computer technicalities to be honest. i can e mail, go on forums and play games, that is about my limit. am i right in thinking that i will be able to use my laptop and go on the internet where wi fi is advertised. also, how much does it cost.i have been led to believe that it can be extremely expensive abroad, and when it says "free", does it really mean totally free. any advice on this subject would be very welcome thank you. happy new year everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Some sites are totally free. You will have to pay at others, typically one euro for 15 minutes but this will vary from site to site. You may find that you cannot access wifi from all pitches on a particular site, probably best to enquire when you check in and ask for a pitch where reception is OK. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 You can also acces wifi for fee at (or outside) most Mcdonalds. In the UK it is just a case of clicking on the wifi button in your task bar and clicking connect but in some other countries you need to get a password.e.g. in Germany when you connect and open explorer you will get a page which asks you for your mobile number - they then text you a password. In Portugal you have to enter mcdonalds@ptwifi.com in the user space and mcdonalds in the p/w space. on the login screen. I haven't tried the French ones yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 In the past we have had to pay something like 6 Euros for 1 hour which is not bad at all. Some campsites we have found the signal has been no good and it was a waste but who's moaning not us . We have also had it where the WiFi is only in the bar not being drinkers this does not appeal to us never mind. The last holiday i was just sittin in the camper and the campsite did not offer WiFi at all . I got out the computer to load up the days piccys and whilst i was on there I was justhaving a hunt and up popped quite a few non secure sites . Who am I to argue I only wanted to post my piccys from Holland :D So I borrowed it for a while naughty girl :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatterdog Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 when you boot up your comp and try the internet you will get a screen come up it will list some secure and some open sites within range. If the wifi is free on a site you just click on the sites wifi access platform, and use as normal. If you have to pay for access you will be given an access code from the site when you purchase your time, when you click on the sites wifi platform a box will come up and you type the access code into it and then you surf in your normal way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doonhamer Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Wifi is free at McDonalds in France, just search for free wireless networks and click on. To get a reasonable signal in the van you need to park fairly close and to the front of the restaurant, sometimes not too easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doonhamer Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 In Portugal free internet access can be found at municipal establishments such as librarys and tourist offices but beware sometimes the speed isn't much better than carrier pigeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 We found, 2 years ago, that there were plenty of places in Portugal for free wifi but last year PT seem to have sewn 'em up and they had become pay sites in places like tourist offices etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 In France I found "free" , well unsecured wifi hot spots out side many hotels! Fortunately I have a micro computer so I could service the emails and make my Skype calls discretely with all but the well informed thinking I am using a "mobile". Naughty but that does not seem to stop it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 We were complete novices having never used wifi (or whiffy as the french call it)except in our lounge. We tried McD's in France but found it impossible to get on. Then we found a free cafe where for the price of a coffee access was possible but you need to know what icon's to be clicking on and the answers given above don't help a novice I know!! Find a Brit who's using wifi and ask them to show you how it works, well it did for us. I've paid 10E a month for access in Spain on a site. There are some internet sites that give details of hotspots and its surprising where they are, ie in Spain loads of Cepsa stations are hotspots and there are many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky Posted December 27, 2008 Author Share Posted December 27, 2008 thanks for all your replies.you're right starvin,i am a fully fledged novice and a lot of terms used mean nothing to me.i will take my laptop and hope someone will be able to help me if i can't connect. so,ami right in thinking there will be NO hugh bill waiting for me from my isp when i get home for any internet connections made using wi fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 trickydicky - 2008-12-27 2:10 PM . so,ami right in thinking there will be NO hugh bill waiting for me from my isp when i get home for any internet connections made using wi fi. Yes you are right you should not have any bill from your "isp", simply because your not using them but using the WiFi's providers isp. Looking into your emails, receiving and sending is in my experience a completely free service that your isp gives you, providing they allow "webmail". Webmail is account access via the web. Note some don't do this and only service emails when you access via your isp. Some let you read but not send. If in doubt, go to a library or friend and see if you can access your email from their machine. If you cant access yours, or only read then take out one of the many free webmail accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkmoy Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 I found that on a lot of sites in Spain, even though in a good reception area, I couldn't get an internet connection. This seemed to apply to sites where I was 'piggybacking' onto the site connection. Those sites which offered a connection via a commercial provider worked fine. Having said that, some people managed a connection so I suspect settings were involved but I wasn't able to find out exactly what and I tried most things. Good luck with it anyway (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 To send and receive e-mails with wi-fi, once you have access to the web you need to go to your ISP's website and then look for a clickable option that says "Webmail"nor just "Mail". Click on this and you should then get a log-on screen which will ask for your e-mail username and password. These are the ones you wil have entered when you set up your account in MS Mail or MS Outlook Express. Accesing your e-mails via wi-fi is called webmail and you do not use your MS software. This means that you do not have a record of e-mails sent. Also, once you have read an e-mail, if you then delete it you will have no record of it. It is best not to delete the ones you want to keep (you will probably have plenty of space given to you by you ISP). You will then find that the next time you pick up your e-mails at home, these will download. You can try out your ISP's webmail service from your own home, you don't need to go to a friend. Open up your web browser and go to your ISP's website, as indicated above. Let us know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porky Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Does anyone have any experience with BT openzone in Europe? Porky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porky Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 I meant to add BT FON as well. Porky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Brian stated "You can try out your ISP's webmail service from your own home, you don't need to go to a friend. Open up your web browser and go to your ISP's website, as indicated above. Let us know how you get on." Whilst this is true its not a fool proof test of the facilities your ISP might give and so why I recommended going to a different computer. The ISP can see that your using your own broadband and indeed computer so might not treat you with the security caution it would if not recognising the broadband provider and computer you are accessing it from. So to be sure it works also try using a totally different setup, eg friend or library. The several webmails I use also allow me to "save" a copy of what I send, but some need to be told to do so first. Trying to find FONs both here and in France is best described as "difficult" as the domestic modem's range is so limited. The reality is when looking I am 20 times more likely to find a "friendly" unsecured WiFi signal than I am the target FON. In France a higher proportion of the domestic systems are secure relative to the UK, thus I have been using signals outside Hotels. I have not successfully found a single French FON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 If the Internet is a priority take a look at the Alden Netmaster 90. Sat receiver and Internet, Excellent bit of kit. Works perfect, locates satellite in seconds and its never dropped out during use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.