Hymer C 9. Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Is anyone using this, any comments, or experiences would be grateful for your opinions thanks Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I am a BTFON. I think it is an excellent concept and found it works to a limited extent. Its fine in that it gets you free access to pucker BT Openzone hot spots such as pubs etc. Its been more difficult locating ordinary "residential" fellow Fon hotspots as these seem to be located on the map by post code rather than a true location. As the signal is weak the post code is rarely precise enough and finding them has been a pain. I believe this is a case where a sophisticated portable "WiFi finder" that identifies the SSID of spots would be valuable, but I have yet to invest in one. To be honest I find that I more often than not when trying to find the FONs BT Openzone SSID that I find some other un-encrypted one and just use that for the couple of minutes it takes to service my emails. As an aside I note that being a BT broadband customer I get also 250 minutes a month normal Openzone minutes; these can be used at BT Openzone and its partners hot spots. The interesting twist on this is that the Caravan Clubs WiFi sites are one of the partners so I ought be able to use them for free within my allowance. I have yet to try this but it works with other partners so should be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thanks for that information John, the bit about the Caravan Club is a good bit of extra information, BT have just offered a new package on my BT broadband if I take a further 12 month contract I will get it £3 a month cheaper than my present package and a few extras the fon being one of them so thought I'd see what it is about. Cheers Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Carol, Just be aware that access to BT's "partners" Hot Spots is a feature of only Openzone membership, not BTFON membership. BTFON membership gets you access to actual Openzone owned spots, whereas Openzone membership gets the partners as well. Confusing I know! With my BT renewal package 8 months or so ago pre FON I could for free have 250 minutes Openzone membership by opting in. This is additional to my now unlimited FON access. So if its a FON or Openzone spot I sign in with my normal BT identity and dont worry about time. However if its a "partner" spot then I have to sign in with my allocated Openzone identity which they sent me when opting in, and I watch the time as its limited. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobscott Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 This seems to become more confusing with each piece of information. I opted in to Bt Fon some two - three weeks ago and received an e mail to confirm this, which also stated that my Home Hub would be activated in a matter of 2-3 days. Todate my hub has not been activated so apparently my Hub is not available to anyone looking for a connection. Additionally I am informed that I have 250 minutes available but the no. of minutes that I can use is nil. I have so far tried in vain to contact BT on this subject including a plea for help on their support forum without any response. This seemed like a good idea at the time( as did terminal 5 !) but I am now becoming frustrated and confused. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Geoff, If I can clear up things by amplifying my experiences: First I need to say I opted into Openzone long before BT linked with FON and could and did use both Openzone and its partners sites using my Openzone Username and Password. At the time I joined this was a free 250 minutes/month for the contract life. As soon as I opted for FON at the launch of the service I then found that I could use specifically Openzone [as opposed to partner] hotspots with my home BT username and password. I expect I can still use my Openzone minutes at these Openzone hotspots but as these are limited I have not tried since FON came out. Further where I find a residential BT FON hotspot , like your Home Hub, this shows as simply as “BTOpenzone”. Like you my Home Hub did not “switch” to the dual roll from back in Nov 2007 until into Feb and then it required my intervention to do so. I had an early “software “ version on my Hub Manager, and it never automatically updated it so I forced it to do so manually via “Advanced”. It then noted there was an update and loaded version 6.2.6.E. Armed with the updated software it then within 48 hours did its own thing at sometime and I found that under “Services” I had BTFON and when doing a Windows “view available networks” found it was transmitting an additional BTOpenzone SSID. “Visitors” need to be within 20 metres each side of my property on the roadside to get enough signal, well I do with my laptop. Whilst I believe my FON usage is unlimited, and know my true Open zone is only 250 minutes per month, I just the same as you get this number of minutes as “Nil”. So on that I am as confused as you, however it still delivers the goods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobscott Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Ocsid Thank you for your explanation, it has made this issue clearer and I have more understanding of what should be a staightforward operation. I will just have to be patient and trust that eventually BT will activate my Hub as promised. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALAN G Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I did manage to get a reply from BT to one query. "Your account will show zero minutes until you log into a hotspot, once you have done this for the first time your account will then become active" However my Postcode icon doesn't show on the map and the taskbar icon hasn't appeared. I'm waiting for a reply on these points as I don't think I'm fully in or able to use the system. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALAN G Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I have just found my signal icon onthe map together with my postcode. It's about 300 yards from where I live and about 150 yards from the end of the group of houses that uses my postcde. The Aerial Icon sits in the middle of a crossroads on a fairly busy road. If all the other information on the map is as accurate there seems little point in trying to locate a useable signal this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 John, thanks for all the information, will see how it goes, one thing though I only use a router as we only use lap-tops so not sure about the home hub bit. Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTORHOMER Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Well I found one out in the channel I was firmly on dry land ekaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALAN G Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 There is an aerial Icon in our local cemetery. The Google satellite view isn't good enough to identify the actual grave......and I'm not going to check it out with my laptop. The Caravan Club sites that are listed as being on BT Openzone don't have BT aerial Icons and are charging, what I consider too much for the short time I need to be on the Internet. Has anyone tried FON/ Openzone at a Caravan Club site for FREE.....or rather for the inclusive price of BT Broadband? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 ALAN G - "I have just found my signal icon onthe map together with my postcode. It's about 300 yards from where I live" Same here, my signal icon is also about 300 yards from my house - maybe their map is out by 300 yards (lol) Looks like the numbers might be increasing though - between November and February in my town there were only 3 FON icons, now there are 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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