How to Get Free WiFi from Your City or Town?

By: Arpan Mondal on 01:43

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Free citywide and municipal WiFi is growing faster than ever with new downtown hotspots popping up every day. While these networks provide a great public service, coverage typically extends only a limited distance beyond Main Street. Learn how to find and connect to your local free WiFi networks.

Around Town

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   Know which businesses always have free WiFi. As free internet becomes more and more par for the course, businesses are hard-pressed to offer their clients (or passersby...) free, unlimited WiFi.

   • Obviously, Starbucks, McDonald's, and Panera (to name just three) offer free public WiFi. But maybe you're cappuccino-ed out?
     • Truck stops, car washes, and auto shops offer WiFi to waiting clients.
     • Libraries, city halls, and even parks are starting to offer free WiFi now. It all encourages local citizens to get more involved.
     • Plenty of hotel chains are now starting to jump on the bandwagon. Do a minute of research to find hours of gold.
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   Use a hotspot database. So maybe you're not near a Mickey D's (...where could that be?) or you're just sick of the smell of coffee in the morning. You can still find hotspots using sites like WeFi.^[1] They currently have a running list of over 165 million hotspots.

   • Still not near a hotspot, huh? Doesn't mean you can't find free, hidden networks. Depending on your setup, you could use NetStumbler, iStumble, JiWire, Hotspot Haven, or WiFinder.^[2] Plenty of apps abound to get you out of this pickle.
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   Sign up for loyalty programs and use coupons. This one involves a little bit of forward-thinking. But if you know you'll be on the alert in the not-so-distant future, load up and sign up now.

   • Many hotel chains have loyalty programs that will offer you free WiFi if you join. You don't even have to book a room!
   • Websites like RetailMeNot^[3] also offer WiFi coupons from your favorite hotel chains. And a whole bunch more nifty things.
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   Get into MAC spoofing. This one requires a bit of ingenuity and amorality, but it will get you to your end goal. Justifies the means, right? If your WiFi area has a time limit that you are running up to, consider MAC address spoofing.

   • Download an app like MAC Makeup^[4] to get the process rolling. Even changing one number should be sufficient. You can either just extend your time a bit or hack into someone else's MAC address that has paid for the WiFi already. It's not the most honest of solutions, of course. But it'll do.

At Home

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   Tether your phone. If you have a smartphone, you could always tether your connection to your computer. It will drain your phone of battery and data, but it will definitely do the trick.

   • It'll probably be slower than your regular WiFi connection, too. But it works pretty much anywhere and doesn't involve any shady tactics.
   • iPhone users will have to jailbreak first.^[5]
     • FoxFi or Easy Tether are options for Android users who aren't on a shared data plan. These are two of the most popular free third-party tethering apps.^[6]
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   Get WiFi from your cable company. If you have internet through your cable provider, you may have access to all their hotspots and not even know it. That could mean thousands and thousands and thousands of hotspots. Check their website for more information.

   • Bright House Networks, Cox, Optimum, Time Warner, and Xfinity have all teamed up to create the CableWiFi project. They let each other's customers use their hot spots for free. That's over 100,000 hot spots at your disposal if you use any of these cable companies. It's high time to make the switch, huh?^[6]
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   Hack away. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures. If you're in an internet emergency, this may be one of those times. Note: this method does not come recommended.

   • You'll need a live CD and know how to crack WEA and WPA password codes, so it may be a bit more time consuming than rewarding. Apart from it also being heavily frowned upon, to say the least. But it is an option.

With a Cantenna

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   Find out if your city has a public WiFi network. Check Wi-FiHotSpotList.com to see if your area makes the list. They're becoming more and more common.
   
   

   
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   Download a free WiFi finder program. Listed in the steps above, WiFi finder programs find even hidden networks. There is an app for virtually every set up. NetStumbler.com works for Windows.
   
   

   
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   Make or buy an inexpensive directional wireless booster cantenna and connect it to your computer's WiFi card, PCMCIA card, or your access point.
   
   

   

   • A cantenna is literally made from a can. If you're interested in this but don't want a tin can hanging off your laptop, buying one may be your best route.
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   Scan the horizon with your cantenna. Use your WiFi finding program and look for the free network you found in the directory. It is best to point the cantenna out a high window with a clear line of sight to the public network
   
   

   
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   Connect and set up your antenna in the position that gives you the best signal strength. This may take a bit of meandering, but your efforts will pay off shortly.