# Anyone use Boingo wifi?



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm going to be traveling next week, and will spend several nights in a business motel.  I've learned the hotel is part of the Boingo wireless network--So subscribers to Boingo can freely use the hotel wifi instead of paying the night surcharge (which is generally pretty steep in business hotels, $10 to $15/night).  This makes the under $10 subscription fee for Boingo sound really attractive!

Does anyone have any experience with being a member of Boingo?  Do I understand that I can "turn the membership on and off" at will?  Any comments on the reliability of the service?  Experience using it with an iPad?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

The user reviews for Boingo on CNET and on the iTunes Boingo app are horrible, but they do seem to mostly focus on Boingo making it difficult to turn off the service.  Any experiences here, either with the service not working "as advertised" or with turning off the service?  It does appear that the iPad counts as a phone in Boingo's eyes, which makes the plan cheaper.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I used Boingo for a while.  You have to be careful; some areas, maybe most, can be "premium" areas and there is a very pricey surcharge for using the wireless in those locations.  There's a popup telling you that you're in a premium area but not what the premium is.  The last time I used Boingo was at the airport in DC; found out it was a premium area too.  In fact, most places I used it seemed to be premium areas.

The VirginAtlantic MiFi is going to pay for itself in a year by me not having to pay the Boingo monthly charges and premiums the times I used it.

Betsy


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I used Boingo for a while. You have to be careful; some areas, maybe most, can be "premium" areas and there is a very pricey surcharge for using the wireless in those locations. There's a popup telling you that you're in a premium area but not what the premium is. The last time I used Boingo was at the airport in DC; found out it was a premium area too.
> 
> Betsy


Thanks, Betsy. When you chose to unsubscribe from Boingo, was it a difficult process?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't recall it being particularly difficult...

Betsy


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> The VirginAtlantic MiFi is going to pay for itself in a year by me not having to pay the Boingo monthly charges and premiums the times I used it.


Boingo must've been steep! The equivalent Sprint devices and plans I've seen are pricey. Boingo (which would be much less flexible) is $7.95/month for "mobile devices" which includes iPads and smart phones. Of course, that doesn't include if I slide into a premium area. According to Boingo's website, my hotel is not a premium area. I'm thinking that if I like this, I might actually keep it all the time, for $8/month. If the premium sites aren't so stealthy I get caught up in them often.


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## Baochi (Aug 15, 2010)

Hi there,

If you're looking to connect on your iPad, then you have two options: Boingo Mobile for $7.95 per month (you can connect up to two mobile devices) or Boingo Wi-Fi Credits, which allows you to purchase hourly Wi-Fi credits at $1.99/hour. There is no such thing as premium locations for these two plans -- you can connect globally.

Here's a directory of all our hotspots: http://boingo.jiwire.com/.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Best,
Baochi Nguyen
[email protected]
Boingo Wireless


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Boingo must've been steep! The equivalent Sprint devices and plans I've seen are pricey. Boingo (which would be much less flexible) is $7.95/month for "mobile devices" which includes iPads and smart phones. Of course, that doesn't include if I slide into a premium area. According to Boingo's website, my hotel is not a premium area. I'm thinking that if I like this, I might actually keep it all the time, for $8/month. If the premium sites aren't so stealthy I get caught up in them often.


The VirginAtlantic MiFi is cheaper than the Sprint, as far as I could tell (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,28938.0.html) but also I was using a netbook when I was using Boingo. It sounds like the Boingo plans for the iPad are more reasonable than the plan I used for the netbook, especially if there are no premium hotspots. At $8 a month, it would take me about a year and a half to pay for the MiFi device itself, setting aside the fee.

Betsy


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