1. wxgirl's Avatar
    I just bought a playbook last week and it's been absolutely awesome, I can't put it down. I have been having trouble getting it to connect to public wifi spots, however. Has there been a fix for this issue?
    03-06-12 09:31 AM
  2. FF22's Avatar
    What kind of issues have you had? McDonalds, starbucks, other? Do you get the log on screens?
    03-06-12 09:55 AM
  3. JamesDax3's Avatar
    I just bought a playbook last week and it's been absolutely awesome, I can't put it down. I have been having trouble getting it to connect to public wifi spots, however. Has there been a fix for this issue?
    You need to be more specific as to what trouble you're having. I haven't had any issues connecting to public WiFi so it's not an issue with the Playbook so there's nothing to fix.
    03-06-12 09:57 AM
  4. kbz1960's Avatar
    It has been said there is a bug so you have to turn bluetooth off, connect to hotspot and then you can turn bt back on.
    The_Adventist likes this.
    03-06-12 10:01 AM
  5. PatrickMJS's Avatar
    OP:. You only need to turn off bluetooth if your PlayBook is bridged to a BB phone. If not bridged, then just login to public wifi as normal. The Starbucks and McD's wifi are usually very good. My PB never has problems connecting to them... unless it is bridged to my phone, then he's, turn off BT and it works just fine.
    crackberryjill likes this.
    03-06-12 10:23 AM
  6. joelled's Avatar
    I am also having issues connecting to public wifis. Its been happening since I got my pb in december. What would happen is that though it will detect the networks, once you try to connect to them, it attempts to associate with the network then says "Connection timeout". The internet at my apartment complex is a "public wifi" and prior to os 2 I could around 75 percent of the time, connect to it if i hard reset my pb around 4 times in a row. However since os2, I have NEVER been able to connect. It niether connects to airport wif networks or mcdonalds, so I had to get a mobile hotspot plan for my sprint 9930 which especially sucks since the 3g speeds were Im are extraodinarily slow. If you guys know of a solution to this, please let me know as well
    03-06-12 10:35 AM
  7. rkonert's Avatar
    I have had a few issues connecting to public hotspots even with turning bt off. At McDonalds I keep having to make it connect because it times out, I go back into connection settings, open the connection and hit save and connect. Sometimes it works right away, other times it can take for or five tries. I also find opening the browser immediately helps for some reason.
    03-06-12 10:54 AM
  8. robsteve's Avatar
    so I had to get a mobile hotspot plan for my sprint 9930 which especially sucks since the 3g speeds were Im are extraodinarily slow. If you guys know of a solution to this, please let me know as well
    Just in case you haven't tired it yet, if you can get your 9930 onto the wifi hotspot and bridge to the PlayBook, the Playbook will use the wifi connection of the 9930 via bridge if the 9930 has a wifi connection.

    This same trick can work in weak signal areas. Put you phone in a spot with good signal and then bridge the Playbook to it to get the wifi. It will work 50-100 feet away.
    03-06-12 11:10 AM
  9. rkennedy01's Avatar
    If you have wifi sharing enabled, make sure you've also assigned a password. Otherwise, the PB will refuse to connect - it'll see the SSIDs, etc., and even allow you to select one and attempt the connection. But the PB will refuse to transfer any data and the wifi bars will remain grayed-out.

    Note: It's a security feature, one that's poorly documented I'm afraid...

    RCK
    The_Adventist and cletis like this.
    03-06-12 11:26 AM
  10. kbz1960's Avatar
    I am also having issues connecting to public wifis. Its been happening since I got my pb in december. What would happen is that though it will detect the networks, once you try to connect to them, it attempts to associate with the network then says "Connection timeout". The internet at my apartment complex is a "public wifi" and prior to os 2 I could around 75 percent of the time, connect to it if i hard reset my pb around 4 times in a row. However since os2, I have NEVER been able to connect. It niether connects to airport wif networks or mcdonalds, so I had to get a mobile hotspot plan for my sprint 9930 which especially sucks since the 3g speeds were Im are extraodinarily slow. If you guys know of a solution to this, please let me know as well
    What is the difference if your 3G sucks where you are? Bridge is only slightly slower than a 3G hotspot.

    Have you deleted the wifi profiles and then tried connecting once again?
    03-06-12 11:26 AM
  11. kbz1960's Avatar
    If you have wifi sharing enabled, make sure you've also assigned a password. Otherwise, the PB will refuse to connect - it'll see the SSIDs, etc., and even allow you to select one and attempt the connection. But the PB will refuse to transfer any data and the wifi bars will remain grayed-out.

    Note: It's a security feature, one that's poorly documented I'm afraid...

    RCK
    Is this only for public wifi? I have it enabled and no password but connect fine at home. I haven't had the need for a hotspot yet since the update.
    03-06-12 11:31 AM
  12. joelled's Avatar
    What is the difference if your 3G sucks where you are? Bridge is only slightly slower than a 3G hotspot.

    Have you deleted the wifi profiles and then tried connecting once again?

    Using the internet through bridge is not functional for me becuase my 3g coverage is so slow. So i had to get mobile hotspot as to at least make it useable, but I still cannot watch videos or stream anything.

    Ive deleted all the wifi profiles, done two security wipes and tried every other thing that the Playbook Tech Support has suggested but it doesnt seem to work
    03-06-12 11:54 AM
  13. joelled's Avatar
    Just in case you haven't tired it yet, if you can get your 9930 onto the wifi hotspot and bridge to the PlayBook, the Playbook will use the wifi connection of the 9930 via bridge if the 9930 has a wifi connection.

    This same trick can work in weak signal areas. Put you phone in a spot with good signal and then bridge the Playbook to it to get the wifi. It will work 50-100 feet away.
    I've never tried this before, i will give it a go when i get home. Would I have to turn off my sprint coverage in order for it to choose to go via my wifi hotspot instead of 3g? or does it do it automatically?
    03-06-12 11:56 AM
  14. alnamvet68's Avatar
    I had this problem initially when I got my first PlayBook...I was at Starbucks, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I couldn't connect to wi-fi like I did at McDonalds earlier. Then a kind lady saw my frustration, and pointed out to me a small check box in the lower left corner of the wi-fi setup at Starbucks that I had to check agreeing to the TOS. I've always been a dummy, but not this dumb.
    03-06-12 12:01 PM
  15. pcwilliams's Avatar
    this may be known already, but....some public wifi's are open, but require you to accept the terms in the browser before connecting. so you may have to open up the browser before using other internet enabled apps.
    tdleon likes this.
    03-06-12 12:01 PM
  16. kbz1960's Avatar
    Using the internet through bridge is not functional for me becuase my 3g coverage is so slow. So i had to get mobile hotspot as to at least make it useable, but I still cannot watch videos or stream anything.

    Ive deleted all the wifi profiles, done two security wipes and tried every other thing that the Playbook Tech Support has suggested but it doesnt seem to work
    I guess I'm missing something. Hotspot on your phone? Still using the same crappy signal. Hotspot as in a myfi or whatever still running off of the same crappy signal?
    03-06-12 12:02 PM
  17. joelled's Avatar
    I guess I'm missing something. Hotspot on your phone? Still using the same crappy signal. Hotspot as in a myfi or whatever still running off of the same crappy signal?
    mobile hotspot on my phone... i did look into the myfi thingy from sprint as well and they told me it would be equally slow because of where I live. Plus I would have to get another 2yr contract which I dont want.
    03-06-12 12:20 PM
  18. The_Adventist's Avatar
    Using the internet through bridge is not functional for me becuase my 3g coverage is so slow. So i had to get mobile hotspot as to at least make it useable, but I still cannot watch videos or stream anything.
    I wouldn't want to stream much through your phone unless you have an unlimited plan. Streaming videos will eat up your data pretty fast.
    03-06-12 12:26 PM
  19. kbz1960's Avatar
    mobile hotspot on my phone... i did look into the myfi thingy from sprint as well and they told me it would be equally slow because of where I live. Plus I would have to get another 2yr contract which I dont want.
    Humm well you still using the same crappy signal then. I've noticed my phones hotspot is barely faster than bridge.

    Do you find it much faster?
    03-06-12 12:48 PM
  20. rkennedy01's Avatar
    Is this only for public wifi? I have it enabled and no password but connect fine at home. I haven't had the need for a hotspot yet since the update.
    Yes, it's specific to open (i.e. Unsecured) networks. If there is no encryption, then the PB will refuse to work. I learned this the hard way when I updated to the beta and suddenly couldn't connect at Home Depot, etc. Almost dumped my PB, but then someone on the forum here pointed me to the setting.

    RCK
    kbz1960 and joelled like this.
    03-06-12 01:08 PM
  21. robsteve's Avatar
    I've never tried this before, i will give it a go when i get home. Would I have to turn off my sprint coverage in order for it to choose to go via my wifi hotspot instead of 3g? or does it do it automatically?
    It will automatically use the wifi if the phone is on wifi. I am not sure if it is using BIS or just the wifi, but to be sure, make sure the BlackBerry dots show by the wifi signal strength meter on the 9930.
    joelled likes this.
    03-06-12 02:35 PM
  22. wxgirl's Avatar
    Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It is a "connection timed out" issue, experienced at my local pub. My connection to wifi at home is fine.
    03-06-12 06:41 PM
  23. alnamvet68's Avatar
    Never drink and PlayBook at the same time.
    03-06-12 06:43 PM
  24. kbz1960's Avatar
    I stopped at McDonalds on my way home and connected fine after turning bluetooth off. Seems to go back to bridge though when I turned bt back on.
    03-06-12 06:44 PM
  25. joelled's Avatar
    It will automatically use the wifi if the phone is on wifi. I am not sure if it is using BIS or just the wifi, but to be sure, make sure the BlackBerry dots show by the wifi signal strength meter on the 9930.
    Thank you for your advice! Ive been using the open wifi at my apartments through bridge and now the internet speeds on my pb is much faster! Thank you again! Only sad thing is that it seems not to be fast enough to stream video from the internet
    03-07-12 07:38 AM
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