Vista & wireless internet connection in hotels

laptop: Toshiba Satellite
OS: Vista Home premium

We continue to have weird problems using the free wireless connections at hotels...has anyone else experienced this?

100% of libraries, coffee shops, friend's homes, etc. we always can make a connection.

80% of the hotels we have gone to over the past 2 years, we turn on laptop, use "connect to" and it finds the hotels wireless and we connect...no problem.

The other 20% of the time (only in hotels) we either can't connect at all or usually it's only a "local connection" - which is worthless and doesn't allow internet access.

Any ideas? This has me stumped. I'll turn the wireless connection on / off, restart the pc / disconnect the connection and reconnect / have the pc reacquire IP address, etc. NOTHING.

 

Hi pegg, all the places you mention it works ok except the library are likely very small locations with not too many people hogging the bandwidth, and the library probably has plenty of bandwidth to go round, however Hotel wireless is probably quite busy and as it's a business they will try to make/save money by not having as much bandwidth as they should.

Q

 

Thanks - I wanted to make sure it wasn't something I was doing wrong.

We take the laptop down to the lobby and it still doesn't work...that's when I really wonder.

 

No, i think your doing ok tbh, wireless is fickle at the best of times, so only havng a problem 20% of the time only when in hotels i pretty kosha.

Q