Wireless Internet Reviews
AT&T Wi-Fi Connect Hotspot Service
Overview
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AT&T Mobility is headquartered in Atlanta Georgia. They have the largest wireless subscriber bases in the United States serving over 70 million subscribers.
AT&T Mobility counts for over a third of all of AT&T business. They offer a full range of wireless voice and data services on it’s national network including high-speed wireless internet access and WiFi hotspots. They also offer incomparable international coverage to their subscribers through their global network of partners.
Pros: AT&T Wi-Fi Connect service is available in all 50 states with over 71,000 Wi-Fi hotspots available worldwide. The service is available in many locations including the popular restaurant chains Starbucks and McDonalds Existing subscribers to AT&T high speed internet services also can enjoy free access to over 17,000 AT&T Wi-FI hotspots.
Cons: Subscribers are limited to 150 uses per month which might be restrictive if you are traveling and can only work in short sessions. Signing into a AT&T hotspot on a per session basis can be very costly.
Detailed Provider Information
Plans: There is only one Wi-Fi plan available to new AT&T customers called the AT&T Wi-Fi Premier. It is available for $19.99 per month and includes unlimited access to all AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots, Starbucks locations and all partner hotspots in the U.S. and internationally. If you are an existing AT&T high speed customer you may already qualify for the free AT&T Wi-Fi Basic package which does not cover the partner hotspots. If you need access to partner hotspots existing customers pay $9.99 per month for the AT&T Wi-Fi premier service. You can also sign in to any AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot and be charged on a per session basis. Prices and the length of session vary by each location so you can expect to pay anywhere between $3.99 – $7.99 per session.
Customer Service: Customer service for AT&T Wi-Fi Connect is available via a toll free number, email or at any AT&T retail location.
Credit Check: Yes
Contract: To qualify for AT&T Wi-Fi Premier service you must sign up for a one year contract.
Payment Options: Payments can be made online through the AT&T website, by telephone via a toll free number, by auto-payment which automatically charges your credit card, at any AT&T retail location or by postal mail.
Bandwidth Restrictions: Although the AT&T Wi-Fi Premier service claims unlimited access, AT&T limits your usage to 150 uses per month. Network speeds can vary from hotspot to hotspot.
Activation Fee: There is no activation fee for signing up for AT&T Wi-Fi service.
Cancellation Fee: Early cancellation is subject to a $20 fee.
Roaming Charges: There are no roaming charges associated with AT&T Wi-Fi plans.
Coverage Map: Click to see a map of AT&T Wi-Fi Connect Coverage
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
AT & T Wi Fi with or without the Premier Service is horrible. The last 2 nights I’ve tried to use it for business from McDonalds restaurants in Maryland and was told the server was down. When I complained to AT&T the first night all I got was a tech who could only tell me that he would report the trouble. The next night I had a customer service agent come clean and tell me that since AT&T bought the Wayport Network they have had many outages around the country and am working on them one by one. The service is horrible and not worth the 19.99 I pay a month for the Premium package, nevermind getting it for free. Steve Jobs should re examine why he does business with AT&T.
There is no coverage in most parts of Georgia and what parts there are is at a McDonalds. To the west, there is nothing. Don’t expect Tech support to help out any because they are clueless.
The worst internet ever, period. you get an internet failure message every two minutes. A definite DO NOT BUY
At&T service is horrible. I’mvery dissatisfied. If I had time I would’ve changed services immediately. Everytime I need something from them they act like it would be an issue or I’mjust an inconvenience, including getting their service set up. The tech they sent to set up was not only an hour late but had told me I was not paying him to do certain installation work and he shouldn’t have to do it. But my internet never works! Thank God I have a smart phone through a different phone service or I would be a constant frustrated individual.
Internet is way over priced for what you get 256ms ping on a server 50 miles away 0.22mbs download 0
.33mbs upload save you money use your phone if you can. The service will be better.
Had this been the UK, AT&T would certainly be up on charges for misleading the consumer. The TV ads are great, but grossly untrue. Yes there may be 70,000 hotspots around the country but what good are they if you can’t use them for basic stuff.
With 70 ms ping, 0.87 mbs download and .10 mbs upload you might as well use you iPhone. The real bad thing about it is that the situation has been the same for nearly 2 years. come on AT&T get with the program.
AT&T has the worst customer service ever. I spent 1.5 hours on the phone last week trying to figure out why they say I owe $40 when they just charged my credit card. I found out that they never cancled my previous accout when I moved. The first three people I talked to said they were putting me on hold but they were just sticking me back in the que so that somebody else would have to help me. The 4th and 5th person I talked to told me two completely different things about how they were going to solve my problem. The 5th person said what the 4th person had told me was immpossible to do. The 6th person I talked to said that her supervisor would call me back but never did. AT&T is absolutely terrible.
I am in a remote rural area where there is no access to High Speed Internet service. A letter from AT&T received three years ago admits their knowledge that the phone lines here “do not meet the minimum requirement for basic data transmission.” Since I operated a small business, the dial up service I was using was simply too inefficient. In the Spring of 2011, I spoke with an AT&T representative who convinced me that the WiFi device would be the best alternative since I could not use DSL due to the age of the phone lines here. I received the device in June, and for the six months I have been using it, there have been nothing but problems associated with frequent disconnects. The device has been replaced three times after my making countless calls complaining about this issue. Each time it seemed that I spoke with a Technical Support person who was giving me a different story about the same problem I was having. While some of the Tech people seemed competent, most were not.
I had one who did not even know what the WiFi device was. Another tried to blame the wireless connection problems on the Cisco remote device that I was directed to buy after I received the first WiFi. He told me that
AT&T had compatible remote devices, which was not true. He was wanting me to send my remote device in for testing, which I refused to do. The problem was not with the remote device but with their equipment on the tower.
While I starting with the service in June, it was revealed that the tower(s) were really not going to be at full capacity for the WiFi until September 2nd. Until that time, the service when it was working came on instantly as if it were DSL. After a while there was some lag in connecting. But most of all, there was inconsistent connecting after 7 a.m. I needed to use the Internet. Following September 2nd, the service was running to expectation. In the meantime, I had reported these connection problems, and was credited on my bill. Then in October, I started experiencing frequent disconnects. I called in to report them every time it happened to have a record of these problems. Each time I reported this, we went through a procedure of “resetting the device” and on several occasions re-entering the SSID number and IP address on my computer.
In mid October, after continually complaining about the same problem, a replacement WiFi was sent without the battery and SIM card. That one would not connect to the Internet at all. That was when I called and the Tech Support person faulted the external device and told me that AT&T had compatible devices. I called again the following day and spoke with another person who gave me a phone number to call Cisco. That was for large business accounts. I finally got the right number, and it was determined that the remote was not at fault.
I called AT&T again, and was told about a non-wireless device called “Elevate.” I was willing to try it, and when being transferred to a supervisor who was to have processed an order for the upgrade, he ended up ordering another WiFi replacement. All of this “process” of calls and going through their procedures resulted in a total of five hours only to end up with sending a replacement, which could have been done in less than five minutes.
After instating the second replacement WiFi, I still had the disconnect issues. Finally on December 7th it was determined that the battery was faulty, and a replacement would be sent. By the 17th I had not received the battery, and it turned out that it wasn’t ordered until the day before, the 16th. During that conversation, it was determined that the SIM card also needed to be replaced. A few days later the battery arrived. The replacement SIM card arrived the following day, but it was the wrong one. I called AT&T to report that the SIM card received was too small for the WiFi. They put in an order for a new 3GB SIM card to be available in my nearest AT&T outlet store–21 miles away. I went to that outlet a week ago Friday. It was very busy, and I waited patiently for 45 minutes before I was helped. Once we got going, the card was installed. We even tested my phone there. As a side note, I had to have my AT&T cell phone replaced at that same outlet due to frequent “NO NETWORK CONNECTION” warnings.
Now with a completely new device, I was still experiencing the same problems. A new WiFi device was receive a week ago. I called once more to report the disconnects. This time a User Agreement came up on the screen, blocking access to the Internet. I called AT&T to ask why I was seeing this. The tech said, “You have to click on the Use Agreement to activate the device.” But it had already been activated since the account was established six months ago, as I explained to the Tech. But I clicked on the agreement, and I was still blocked. After going thorough the entire procedure to re-establish the connection, I was sent an Email with links to download software.
This software ended up taking up too much disc space, and I had to remove it. I called again, and the technician denied that the previous call I described had happened since there was no record of the call. Yet I had received the Email described. I reported the same problem, and by direction of a supervisor, I was told that the problem was with my computer and that I needed to contact IBM for the solution. I told them that I would not do that because that was not the source of the problem and that IBM would not be able to solve the problem that was clearly the responsibility of AT&T. This response is typical of the very thing that puts the consumer on the defensive when in fact AT&T has the full knowledge that there are flaws in the WiFi device, It that were not the case, they would not have a large staff of Tech Support people there. I know that I was not alone in this since I could hear other tech support personnel talking in the background.
This is what we have with the “new AT&T.” Misrepresentation, inefficiency, and low quality products. As I stated to one of their representatives, this is what you get for having your devices made in China. And with the growing number of disgruntled customers, I am baffled in understanding their business model that does not support the concept of service reliability.
AT&T internet sucks. Never buy it. Every 1 minute it breaks and you have to reconnect. NEVER BUY AT&T EVER!
I live in a resort in North eastern PA. You would think that internet would not be a issue in 2012. guess what, it is.I have called and complained numerous times. And they told they are working on the issue. This is a load of crap. I would cancel my subscription,but this is the only internet that is being offered in the area. My advice stay away and find another provider. Just the simple things you wish you could enjoy after a day after work like,shopping online,watching a movie,current events,playing video games on the net. is such a hassle. And with no near solution in sight to remedy this att issue for their customers. Stay away you been warned.Urrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!!