# HELP! The 3g on my Kindle Touch works but it won't let me browse the internet.



## Ryan Patrick (Sep 24, 2011)

So I just got a Kindle Touch (yay me!) and everything is working great. I can order books and everything using the 3g but every time I try to go on a website it says I have to connect to Wi-Fi in order to go to the website.

Is this just how the Kindle Touch is or do I have something funky going on with the settings or maybe the Kindle itself? 

Just talked to my dad and he has an older model Kindle with 3g and he can go on the internet just fine with just the 3g.

Anything helps. Thank you.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

You're not imagining it. There's been a change. The older models did allow 3G Internet surfing. On the Touch, you can use the 3G to access the Kindle store, but not for surfing the web. You can only do that using Wi-Fi.


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## Ryan Patrick (Sep 24, 2011)

What! That's so dumb. I mean I probably would have never surfed the web on my Kindle but still. I don't know why they would limit the function of the machine.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Ryan Patrick said:


> What! That's so dumb. I mean I probably would have never surfed the web on my Kindle but still. I don't know why they would limit the function of the machine.


Because they have to pay for it. It may be free 3G for you but it's not free for Amazon. Someone has to pay for the data transfer. Every time you use 3G, even just to use the Kindle store or download books, Amazon are paying AT&T for it. In the past, when ereaders and Kindle's weren't as popular, Amazon could afford to cover internet browsing on 3G too. But now clearly there are too many users and Amazon can't continue to take the hit. Be grateful the 3G access you do have is free at all - most 3G devices require the user pay for it, like the iPad or smartphones.


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

Ryan Patrick said:


> I don't know why they would limit the function of the machine.


On the Kindle keyboard models, web page navigation using the 5-way controller is slow and clunky, so not many people use it regularly for surfing the web. But the Kindle Touch's screen makes navigation much easier, so more people would use the Touch 3G for general web browsing if it were available. That would cost Amazon a lot of money in 3G fees.


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## Ryan Patrick (Sep 24, 2011)

Yeah that makes sense. I just wish I would have known that before I bought it. I may have just gone with the Wi-Fi only one. I dunno, either way I'm still really happy with what I got.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Ryan Patrick said:


> Yeah that makes sense. I just wish I would have known that before I bought it. I may have just gone with the Wi-Fi only one. I dunno, either way I'm still really happy with what I got.


Well, if you bought it within 30 days, you can return it to Amazon and get the wi-fi only instead. 3G is now only really useful for people who don't have a wi-fi connection at home.


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