How to Get Free Wifi Anywhere?
Everyone with a phone or computer has at one point or another looked for how to get free wifi. You may not always find it when you look for it and that’s because you are searching in the wrong place and through the wrong means. While searching for how to get free wifi, don’t forget to be vigilant and observe safety measures as unsecured public Wi-Fi connections are the goldmine for hackers.
How to Get Free Wifi?
The following steps will help you achieve success as you search for how to get free wifi:
Locate A Place with A Public Wi-Fi Hotspot
If you are in search of how to get free Wifi, you should first consider well-known public places like the library, restaurants, retail shops, museums, supermarkets, or coffee shops that offer free Wi-Fi service.
Some cities also offer free internet throughout their towns and in tourist attraction sites. Cities such as New York, Barcelona, and Paris offer free internet and it’ll be beneficial to you if you do proper research before traveling so you can benefit from this if it’s important to you. below are some places where you are most likely to get free Wi-Fi:
- Trains and Buses: these means of public transport often offer free internet services but with preset data limits so you won’t use up too much bandwidth and slow others down.
- The Gym: many gyms have cafes where you can have your favorite drink and enjoy free internet connection. This is particularly useful to you if you spend a lot of time in the gym.
- Public Libraries: visitors to public libraries often enjoy free internet services. Some have special workstations where you can use your laptop comfortably.
- Universities and Colleges: universities usually have free Wi-Fi and one of the places you can connect to the internet easily. If it’s password-protected, you can ask a student nicely and chances are they will share it with you.
Turn Your Phone Into A Wi-Fi Hotspot
This is particularly useful to you if you are in a location with no cafes or places you can get a free internet connection. It allows you to connect your laptop to your phone and access the internet from there. Check if your mobile phones have a 3G or 4G connection and if you are lucky, you will find either or both of these. This method may not be sufficient to allow HD streaming, but it will be enough to do research and send emails.
For Android
- Go to settings
- Tap on wireless and networks
- Select the tethering and portable hotspot option
- Select portable Wi-Fi hotspot
- Choose a strong password and slide the bar to turn the hotspot on
For IOS
- Open settings
- Select personal hotspot
- Choose a strong password and put the slider on to allow others to join
- Use Wi-Fi apps
Several apps can help you find free Wi-Fi. A few recommended ones are below:
Wi-Fi Map
Wi-Fi map is a name that will always pop up when it comes to free Wi-Fi apps. One of its greatest features is that it has a map with over 100 million Wi-Fi hotspot locations, and connection credentials. It provides you with the passwords for Wi-Fi connection even when you don’t have an internet connection. You get map navigation to the locations, and it’s available on both android and iOS.
Customer Review
“Really good product, I have been using it for about 3 years. I recommend it to everyone. Many times it turned out to find hotspots in a foreign country and constantly helps out in difficult situations” Dmitry Vlasyuk
Instabridge
Instabridge is another Wi-Fi app that gives you a map with over a million free public Wi-Fi locations. You get the connection credentials and also an auto-connect feature, so whenever you are close to a Wi-Fi network on the map, your device will connect automatically. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices and supports WEP, WPA, WPA2, and also WPA3.
Customer Review
Not bad, give me connection when I need it, WiFi ok but still work. It’s a fun app I like. By Jaelynn. S
Swift Wi-Fi
Swift Wi-Fi is useful if you are looking for free Wi-Fi locations on your android device. It goes beyond just providing you with a list of Wi-Fi hotspots as it also protects you from the insecure ones. You can check the connection speed, and also set the Wi-Fi to go on and off when you want. your friends can also benefit from it as it allows you to share your hotspot.
Customer Review
I really like knowing how fast my internet is even though it’s my cellular data or my wifi system. It’s very helpful considering that I’m paying a premium for faster internet access. If I’m not receiving that then I’m going to have that fixed one way or another. Thanks to this app. Lily Lyons
Free Wi-Fi App
The free Wi-Fi app is another way to get free Wi-Fi on your phone. It gives you over 120 million hotspots in 150 countries worldwide. It’s easy to use and has a feature for users to leave reviews. So users can know which locations have hotspots with good speed and strong signal strength. Its downside is that it’s for android users only.
These free Wi-Fi apps provide you with access to a free internet connection in your location. Don’t expect the best results every time as the signal strengths may not be as you expect, and also the owner may change the password randomly.
Customer Review
I decided to cut the cord and get all the data, but in doing so lost the free public Wi-Fi from my former ISP. This app helps to bridge the gap and in fact, has many of the exact same hotspots. Plenty of other apps can do this so you’re mostly choosing based on an interface. It’s clean, intuitive, and gets the job done. The main thing I don’t like, though, is its “shotgun” approach to connecting. Seems like it’d drain a lot of battery. You can turn it off of course, so meh. Reginald Barclay
Use A Portable Router
A portable router is like your home router, but it uses 3G or 4G rather than a cable. They are not that expensive and are portable. You will get better performances from the not-so-cheap ones as they may be slow and only support several simultaneous connections.
It’s safer to have your router than connecting to public hotspots as the battery is long-lasting, and the risk of unexpected network loss is low.
Find Hidden Networks
Sometimes you may choose to hide your Wi-Fi name so it doesn’t appear when available networks are searched. This may be the reason you are not seeing any available networks as it may be hidden. So try finding it and connecting to it. Use apps like Kismet, NetSpot, or NetStumbler to get a free Wi-Fi network and analytics irrespective of your location.
Connect To Your Neighbor
You can also get free WiFi from your neighbor after getting their permission. This is fairly common among friendly neighbors, so if you are not friendly or close to your neighbors, think again.
Connect To Municipal Wireless Network
In some areas, you can have access to free municipal wireless networks from the comfort of your home. The network comes from government offices and businesses and helps those who can’t afford to pay for their WiFi to stay connected to the internet. Being free and shared by a large number of people, it’s not as reliable and fast as paid WiFi.
The Dangers of Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is like a minefield for hackers to get their victims. Even legitimate providers use public Wi-Fi as a means to take advantage of users. Some of the risks associated with the use of public Wi-Fi include:
Fake Public Hotspots
You may feel you are connected to a legitimate hotspot when in fact you are connected to a fake hotspot created by a hacker for malicious reasons. This way, whatever data you share would be stolen, and malware can be installed on your device too.
Hack Threats
When you connect to public Wi-Fi, your devices are at risk as they are less secure at this point. Hackers may also be connected to the same network, waiting for a victim. If you would be using your phone as a hotspot, make sure you choose a strong password otherwise a hacker could join the network and gain access to your data.
Vulnerable Wi-Fi Apps
Wi-Fi apps could also lead you to your cyberattack as they also list those networks that are created by hackers for their malicious reasons. So before you join a network, it’s best to check it out for reviews from past users.
Most Wi-Fi apps run in the background and scan for nearby Wi-Fi join requests and use them to create Wi-Fi heat maps of public and private Wi-Fi networks. An attacker can use these maps to find your location and cause harm to you.
So don’t trust a Wi-Fi app, and put off the auto connect feature as it could automatically connect you to a malicious network.
Privacy
With public Wi-Fi, your privacy could be very well violated. The location that is providing you with the free internet service could be tracking your internet activity and then using this data to send you targeted ads.
Some Wi-Fi apps also collect a lot more information from you than they need such as your login details, location, IP address, device ID, SSID (Wi-Fi network name), and also time. They could share this with third parties so you should take time to study their privacy policy before you use them.
Securing Your Free Public Wi-Fi Connection
When you connect to free Wi-Fi, you are taking a huge risk as anyone who can intercept your connection can steal your details. You risk-sharing details like your login credentials, emails, banking information, and others with hackers when you are on an unsecured network. There are ways you can still use public Wi-Fi and stay protected and they include:
Use a VPN
A Virtual Private Network is the best way to protect your device and data when connecting to a public Wi-Fi. All connections to VPN networks are encrypted as your traffic goes through a secure tunnel that has been created to keep hackers and other eavesdroppers away. It keeps you anonymous by hiding your real IP address so hackers will find it difficult to identify you, and websites won’t be able to track you.
LimeVPN and some others will also provide you with extra features like no logs policy, anti-DNS leak, and multiple IP locations for convenience.
Turn Off Public Network Sharing
When you connect to a new network, there is always a pop-up that asks if you should trust the network and share your information with it. Don’t say yes as it puts you at risk. This can be likened to leaving your front door open at all times. Attackers will have easy access and steal your information without stress.
Enable Your Firewall
Firewalls block annoying pop-ups and notifications and are the reason why most people disable it. If you must connect to public Wi-Fi, you must enable it first. Most apps on your device will have to ask for permission before they run and this will provide you with a whole lot of security.
Conclusion
Knowing how to get free wifi and connecting is very common and everyone is doing it. It’s very convenient and free. Weighing the pros and cons of connecting to public Wi-Fi you will see that you have a lot more to lose if anything goes wrong. that mustn’t be the case as you can protect yourself even when connected to public Wi-Fi.
There are different ways to stay protected but the use of a premium VPN is the best as it not only keeps your connection secure, but it also keeps you anonymous. LimeVPN is highly recommended because of its services, and so you can be sure of absolute privacy and protection.
There are also a lot of ways you can get free Wi-Fi no matter your location and with this guide, you will be able to stay connected no matter where you are.
