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zub3qin

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 10, 2007
1,314
2
iPhones now get free wifi in Starbucks.

iPad's run iPhone OS 3.2 i heard.


Does that mean that iPad's that are wifi only, will get free wifi as well? Do iPod touches right now?
 
iPhones now get free wifi in Starbucks.

iPad's run iPhone OS 3.2 i heard.


Does that mean that iPad's that are wifi only, will get free wifi as well? Do iPod touches right now?

Don't think so. The only reason the iPhone gets it is due to the fact AT&T provides the hotspots in Starbucks. You have the wifi version, which doesn't use AT&T's phone network... so you shouldn't receive it for free.
 
Sure...

when you buy a starbucks card and keep it loaded once a month or something you get 2 free hours a day. I can't tell you more about it - i don't go to Starbucks.

Otherwise, become an AT&T Customer with the monthly bill to enjoy that "free perk".
 
Sure...

when you buy a starbucks card and keep it loaded once a month or something you get 2 free hours a day. I can't tell you more about it - i don't go to Starbucks.

Otherwise, become an AT&T Customer with the monthly bill to enjoy that "free perk".

I am a AT&T customer since I have an iPhone....
Is that an AT&T perk now? Free wifi for any device at AT&T hotspots? Or only on your iPhone free wifi... which is useless if you have internet via edge/3G anyway on your iPhone.

I heard some are jailbreaking the iPhone to allow it to be a wifi hotspot, thus tethering......I suspect this is going to be what a lot of iPad customers are going to do. Anyone do this yet? Does it work well?
 
I am a AT&T customer since I have an iPhone....
Is that an AT&T perk now? Free wifi for any device at AT&T hotspots? Or only on your iPhone free wifi... which is useless if you have internet via edge/3G anyway on your iPhone.

I heard some are jailbreaking the iPhone to allow it to be a wifi hotspot, thus tethering......I suspect this is going to be what a lot of iPad customers are going to do. Anyone do this yet? Does it work well?

your iphone can use the hotspot for free but your iPad cannot. It's just the way it is. Not sure if even the 3G iPad can use the hotspot's in starbucks. Sure we'll find out soon.

Problem with jailbreaking is you're usually stuck being a version or several versions behind in terms of updates. jailbreaking can also open up security issues if you aren't the type to understand how to plug those little holes. It isn't for the casual user. It's for people who tinker with their phones. I'm not going to go tell every iPad user to jailbreak their iPhone so they get license agreement-breaking tethering that AT&T will happily cancel your contract for.
 
Sure...

when you buy a starbucks card and keep it loaded once a month or something you get 2 free hours a day. I can't tell you more about it - i don't go to Starbucks.

Otherwise, become an AT&T Customer with the monthly bill to enjoy that "free perk".

This is correct. If you get a SBUX card and register it on their site, you get 2 free hours of WiFi/day. I don't see anything on the site about how often you have to use it to keep this perk, but my guess is that once you register it you have that perk until you unregister the card.

https://www.starbucks.com/card/rewards
 
I am a AT&T customer since I have an iPhone....
Is that an AT&T perk now? Free wifi for any device at AT&T hotspots? Or only on your iPhone free wifi... which is useless if you have internet via edge/3G anyway on your iPhone.

I heard some are jailbreaking the iPhone to allow it to be a wifi hotspot, thus tethering......I suspect this is going to be what a lot of iPad customers are going to do. Anyone do this yet? Does it work well?

I am pretty sure that the terms of the free AT&T WiFi is limited to just your iPhone. You can read the terms on the AT&T website if you want to be sure.

Having free WiFi on an iPhone is not a useless feature. WiFi generally offers better performance than 3G... and there are several applications that will only work on WiFi. An example is Skype which is quite useful if you want to make inexpensive/free international calls.

Of course you can always JB your phone... but in my experience, it makes it less stable. I tried it once, and have no plans to do that again. My phone is a business tool, not a hobby.

/Jim
 
The iPhone gets free Wi-Fi in Starbucks (at any AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot) as a perk of the iPhone account. You will not be able to use the Wi-Fi iPad unless you use a Starbucks card and that's limited to 2 hours. I have AT&T home internet service (U-Verse) and I get unlimited use of all AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, so...I'll be able to use my iPad because of that...not just because it's an iPad. The 3G iPad has yet to be seen...it stands to reason that AT&T would allow you to use their Wi-Fi hotspots if you have the 3G activated with them, but that has not been stated yet.
 
Apple's iPad 3G page,

Take a network with you wherever you go.
iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G offers superfast data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps over 3G cellular networks around the world. It’s perfect when you’re out and about with no access to a Wi-Fi network, because you can still get a fast connection for surfing the web, sending and receiving email, or getting directions. Since iPad seamlessly switches between 3G and even faster Wi-Fi, you always get the best connection available. And with AT&T data plans, you’ll have access to over 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, and more.

As long as you have 3G iPad (with the plan activated), you'll be able to access AT&T hotspots. WiFi isn't eligible for this because you're not paying ATT for the data access. Which also means that iPad 3G has to be activated in order ot use the hotspots. You can't just use it if you never activated it.
 
If you have at&t dsl then you get all at&t hotspots free. But only with their dsl service.
 
Does anyone honestly spend more than 2 hours at starbucks at a time?

I assumed the 2hr limit was more to avoid loitering than to limit your use of wifi.
 
Get a Starbucks card. As noted earlier, you'll get 2 hours of wifi free each day.
It's quite handy. And since you log in with a username & password, you can use it with any device - iPad, laptop, iPod, etc.
 
Go to McDonald's instead.

1. Get free wifi
2. Get coffee that doesn't taste like gasoline.

Win all the way around.
 
This is correct. If you get a SBUX card and register it on their site, you get 2 free hours of WiFi/day. I don't see anything on the site about how often you have to use it to keep this perk, but my guess is that once you register it you have that perk until you unregister the card.

https://www.starbucks.com/card/rewards

You have to keep the card active, which means that you have to use it to buy something and/or load more $$ onto it every 30 days.
 
Tried this today. There is no free AT&T wifi at starbucks unless you have an active starbucks card.

I didn't have a card on me so I tethered to my jailbroken iPhone instead.
 
Tried this today. There is no free AT&T wifi at starbucks unless you have an active starbucks card.

I didn't have a card on me so I tethered to my jailbroken iPhone instead.

Hmm, did it just not work?

I'm a U-Verse (AT&T) home customer and would think I could use my iPad on Starbucks' AT&T hotspot.
 
Or you can go to Barnes and Noble and get free WiFi. In fact that is where I'm posting this from using my iPad. It's cool - people keep walking by to see what it is.
 
You could also sign up for boingo. They are only $9.99 a month for unlimited wi-fi and it works in airports, Starbucks, Mcdonalds, and all of the Wayport locations. They have quite an impressive network of hotspots, and the price is right for 10 bucks a month.
 
Go to McDonald's instead.

1. Get free wifi
2. Get coffee that doesn't taste like gasoline.

Win all the way around.

Free WIFI for sure. And coffee is much cheaper than Starbucks. Honestly, paying 4-5 bucks for a fancy coffee is so lame. Especially when the economy is going down the tubes. People had better start saving their money otherwise the proverbial *&it will hit them in the face one day soon.

But then again if you already have an iPhone, Droid, or other smartphone with 3G then you don't need WIFI.

I use my Droid tethered to my MBP wherever I am. No need to sit in Starbucks and suck down designer coffee...remember there is no such thing as a free coffee....AT&T or Starbucks will get you one way or another.
 
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