Starbucks wifi – how does it work? Updated
Our old post highlighted the easiest ways to get some cheap Starbucks access. But since June of 2010, it’s free, baby!
Don’t neglect to check out these other freebies while you’re there:
- Free access to subscription editions of The Wall Street Journal,New York Times, USA Today, The Economist, and ESPN Insider.
- Free access to everything from Nick Jr. and Marvel Digital Comics to upcoming titles from Bookish and documentaries from Snag Films.
- Free iPhone [sorry Android!] apps, iTunes downloads and books [read more via their blog].
And don’t forget to put $5 on a Starbucks card to get a free drink card in the mail and on your birthday [more bday freebies here].
I’m at Starbucks enough [sadly] to be asked how to connect to wifi almost every time. And more than one person has asked if it’s expensive, or gets frustrated by the process of signup! Here, hopefully, a guide to make it easier [and to make it a bit cheaper]. Obviously, print it out before you head out!
First off, there are 2 options for wifi at Starbucks: AT&T and T-Mobile.
FREE: If you have AT&T wireless or DSL service at home, you can use your email login and password to use it for free ‚Äîno purchase required! Your guilt in using valuable Starbucks real estate might prevent this, but I’ll leave that to you.
Cheapo: You can…
- purchase a card from Starbucks,
- put $5 on it [that can be used on anything there],
- register the card [you will need to scratch off the silver strip on the back for the numbers],
- and then sign on to the service. I also find this link useful when looking for a connection point. This card is good for the next month, and then you’d need to put another $5 on it to continue using wifi.
Others can use 2 hours for $3.99, and option I haven’t used as $5/mo is far more useful and a better deal [plus, that $5 can go toward a product and not just internet service].
Keep in mind that with both of these, the 2 hr warning is basically a warning ‚ they aren’t [so far, thankfully!] cutting you off just yet.
Free: For T-Mobile customers, you can use the wifi for free here. This seems to only work on my phone ‚Äî does anyone have other experiences? It thus far hasn’t transferred to my laptop, but you can always tether your phone to your laptop for a connection. For Mac tethering, and PC tethering.
