Wi-Fi User's Guide

Finding Wi-Fi Hotspots

Making it easy to find and connect to Wi-Fi hotspots all over the world is what JiWire is all about, so naturally we have lots of advice for you on this topic! JiWire's massive directory of more than 120,000 distinct hotspots in 128 countries includes most Wi-Fi provider networks, such as Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport, iPass and many more, as well as independent sites, airports and municipal hotspots. Even better, nearly 10,000 of those hotspots are completely free of charge -- just check the "free" button in the search box to limit your results.

While the online directory always stands ready to serve you, when you are on the road and need to find the nearest hotspot, that presents a chicken-and-egg dilemma -- you can't get online to find a hotspot, without BEING at a hotspot. So we've also created an offline search solution, called Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder. Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder for Windows installs as part of the JiWire Hotspot Helper utility suite (more on that on the next page), and maintains a database of hotspots in areas you specify. You can choose any combination of locations to keep track of: everything in a particular city, a state, or an entire country. You can download the whole world, if you want. The database will even update itself periodically, so you always have an up-to-date list of public hotspots.

Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder presently runs on Windows XP and 2000. A Mac OS X version of JiWire Hotspot Helper, including Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder, is planned for later this year. We also have versions of the directory for handhelds and smartphones, and a very cool Hotspot Finder for Skype that includes interactive mapping. See the downloads page for more information.

Using Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder

After installing JiWire Hotspot Helper you'll see shortcuts to Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder on your desktop and Program menu, simply select one of those to open the utility. You'll then be presented with a search screen. You can enter as much or as little information as you like: an exact address, a zip code, a city or a state, depending on what you are looking for. You can also narrow your search by radius, service provider (AT&T, Boingo, T-Mobile, etc.) business name (such as Starbucks or McDonald's), and whether the location is free or paid.

After clicking "Find Hotspots," you'll be presented with the search results in a scrolling window, nearest first. You can see clearly which locations are free, and what providers service each hotspot, so you can make best use of any Wi-Fi subscriptions. If you happen to be online when using the Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder, you can also click "Map This" or "More Info" buttons to go to the JiWire.com site and get complete details for any hotspots, such as SSIDs, a street map, and whether food is available.

To maintain your hotspot directory and select which geographic areas you want to have available for offline viewing, click the Preferences button at the bottom of the window. This screen lets you set the update frequency, and choose any combination of country, state/territory and/or city hotspot data to download. After making your selections, click Save Preferences and Update Now. From then on, updates will be automatic, although you can also add or delete locations and update manually at any time. Database updates take place in the background, and you can keep working and even search for hotspots while an update is in progress.

The Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder can also be launched by left-clicking the JiWire icon in the Windows System Tray and choosing it from the menu. Finally, if you've installed the JiWire Toolbar for Internet Explorer or Firefox (see next page), you can search for hotspots right from the toolbar!