Fon

[andy63]

Soungs great Martin. So if its that easy to share why do people not just share their password with close friends. That would save them buying a box too.

The secure Wi fi hot spot that Martin refers to is only accessible when you are in range of your fon router.ie in your house...
When you are using fon away from home it's different log in details you have to use for the shared fon network...
Hope you understand what I'm on about but you will when you get your fonera and plug it in.
Tried to explain that in my post #22 earlier..
Andy

 

[TheBig1]

Welcome comments. I will persevere and go walkabouts tonight. However I find that the Fon map shows 3 transmitting within 100yds but none in reality switched on. Thereby hangs the question, is the Fon map just an advertising hook to pull you in, a genuine but misguided piece if wishful thinking, or a good concept that doesn't work in practice?
More investigation required....

i dont think its a marketing trick or a con, more a case of many users not understanding the concept in which the fon idea works. have spoken to a few people signed up with fon and couldnt understand that for it to work, both they and other users really need to keep the fon router at home switched on and broadcasting for others to use all the time.

the idea is very basic.....you share part of your own broadband package and rely on others being fair and doing the same. taking off the aerial or switching it off is cheating the system and trying to get something for nothing

 

[mid4did]

I've had a fonera box for a few years,hardly ever turn it on,in fact its been off since i've been away.I have no trouble whatsoever logging onto and using a fon connection in the uk or france.

 

[TheBig1]

I've had a fonera box for a few years,hardly ever turn it on,in fact its been off since i've been away.I have no trouble whatsoever logging onto and using a fon connection in the uk or france.

and there is proof of why the fon map doesnt always work in some areas. people making use of the system without being fair and switching their own box on

 

[Lenny HB]

I've had a fonera box for a few years,hardly ever turn it on,in fact its been off since i've been away.I have no trouble whatsoever logging onto and using a fon connection in the uk or france.

You are not playing the game or fore filling your part of the contract that you signed up to when you agreed to their terms & conditions. If every one behaved like that there wouldn't be a Fon network.

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[barsteward]

I am defiantly no expert, and its a long time ago but

I can't remember exactly when but long before BT bought into FON possibly about 15 years ago. FON was nothing more than a group of enthusiasts sharing their internet with others.There was a nominal fee (I think I paid about £10) for a piece of firmware that you could flash a Cisco router with. This gave the "sharing" part of the router which effectively gives the router two different ip addresses and subnet masks, which is I suspect the reason you cant log onto FON on your own network.
As some have already said, if you don't leave your router on then the whole system falls down. Personally I cant understand why you would want to turn it off. The only extra its costing is a miniscule amount of electricity. Your already paying for the Broadband regardless of whether you use it or not.

PS
I would however turn mine off if I were away for an extended period, before any one jumps on me about the fire risk.

 

[mid4did]

there is nothing in my fon book of rules to say I should have my fon box on all the time,fair play doesn't come into it.I don't know how Bt-fon works.
I live in a cul-de-sac my house is at the beginning of a turning circle.the end of my garden 60 foot away backs onto a river then a one way street with double yellow lines.In all the time my fon box has been online the only person other than me who has connected is a family member parked in my drive way.I would welcome anyone buying fon time from my box ,that would give me some credit but that never happened in all the time it was continuously on.When I'm away from the house for any length of time all unnecessary electrics are switched off.
I never use the map of fon connections only finding a connection by chance,if I don't find one then c'est la vie.

 

[irnbru]

there is nothing in my fon book of rules to say I should have my fon box on all the time,fair play doesn't come into it.I don't know how Bt-fon works.
I live in a cul-de-sac my house is at the beginning of a turning circle.the end of my garden 60 foot away backs onto a river then a one way street with double yellow lines.In all the time my fon box has been online the only person other than me who has connected is a family member parked in my drive way.I would welcome anyone buying fon time from my box ,that would give me some credit but that never happened in all the time it was continuously on.When I'm away from the house for any length of time all unnecessary electrics are switched off.
I never use the map of fon connections only finding a connection by chance,if I don't find one then c'est la vie.

What does it matter where you live? I think you are missing the point here that others have mentioned.
For all you know you COULD potentially be the one person with Fon that someone needs to log onto. Remember equipment like iboost means people dont have to be sitting outside your home.

This was one of the Qs I asked earlier. If we all did what you are admitting to then there would be no network. Fair play to you for being honest enough though.

 

[Lenny HB]

For all you know you COULD potentially be the one person with Fon that someone needs to log onto. Remember equipment like iboost means people dont have to be sitting outside your home.

With my aerial I can pick up wifi signals up to 2 miles.

 

[andy63]

Don't understand how leftlegger can log on....
You can log on to fon Web site and check if your router is active... If I can do it that easily I would have thought the system would be aware if you and therefore your associated log in details were active...If not you couldn't log in
I leave mine on oll the time... on now and I've been away for 2 wks
Andy

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[irnbru]

Tut

I leave mine on oll the time... on now and I've been away for 2 wks

Tut tut Andy. You being an ex fire marshall should know better!

 

[andy63]

Tut

Tut tut Andy. You being an ex fire marshall should know better!

Haha.. knew I'd get that..do you switch everything off every time you leave the house..
If you go abroad and plan to use fon ,your router should be active..
Andy

 

[Doctor Dave]

We have bt and when you log into wifi at home there is always a fon connection in the list, you can connect to it but it just sits there and does nothing, you can't use it, admitted it does work out and about in uk, but not on your own router don't know why , anyone I've asked about it gets the same.
"

I have just logged into FON at home - that provided by my BT router, with no problem. So if I have used my monthly allowance (which I never have so far) then I assume I could use FON for the remainder of the month. The only difference to using my normal router WiFi connection is that the speed was about one third of that I normally get. To log in I just had to put in my BT email address and password.

In the past, when out and about on our narrowboat for 4 months at a time, our home router was turned off and I was still able to use FON at a few places - not so many accessible from the canal system.

Dave

 

[chaser]

I have just logged into FON at home - that provided by my BT router, with no problem. So if I have used my monthly allowance (which I never have so far) then I assume I could use FON for the remainder of the month. The only difference to using my normal router WiFi connection is that the speed was about one third of that I normally get. To log in I just had to put in my BT email address and password.

In the past, when out and about on our narrowboat for 4 months at a time, our home router was turned off and I was still able to use FON at a few places - not so many accessible from the canal system.

Dave

That is probably what is happening to me , connecting but a third of what I useualy get will work out at nothing anyway

 

[andy63]

I have just logged into FON at home - that provided by my BT router, with no problem. So if I have used my monthly allowance (which I never have so far) then I assume I could use FON for the remainder of the month. The only difference to using my normal router WiFi connection is that the speed was about one third of that I normally get. To log in I just had to put in my BT email address and password.

In the past, when out and about on our narrowboat for 4 months at a time, our home router was turned off and I was still able to use FON at a few places - not so many accessible from the canal system.

Dave

Hi dave..I thought that any use of the fon connection either by you are someone using your connection came out of Your allowance.. With possibly a facility for you to limit the external use by others using your connection.
But I also thought your router had to be active even if you were away from home in order for you to log on,and it appears that is not always the case judging by other posts on this thread...
I'll keep watching...seems there is a bit for me still to grasp
Ta Andy

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[chaser]

My router is never switched off and I am on unlimited broadband.

 

[Doctor Dave]

Hi dave..I thought that any use of the fon connection either by you are someone using your connection came out of Your allowance.. With possibly a facility for you to limit the external use by others using your connection.
But I also thought your router had to be active even if you were away from home in order for you to log on,and it appears that is not always the case judging by other posts on this thread...
I'll keep watching...seems there is a bit for me still to grasp
Ta Andy

Andy, this link https://www.bt.com/static/wa/wifi/pages/info.html will give you a lot of info about FON.

Dave

 

[andy63]

Andy, this link https://www.bt.com/static/wa/wifi/pages/info.html will give you a lot of info about FON.

Dave

Thanks dave..I'll have a read.
Andy

 

[irnbru]

@andy63 good it will save me the bother. ..joking!

 

[Flamenca]

I am slightly confused Will someone please clarify the Fon arrangement for me. From what I have gleened if you have BT broadband with Fon activated it should be possible to connect to all Fon wifi connections throughout Europe using your BT login and any wifi enabled device. However, if you purchase a Fonera box you can connect to all Fon wifi connections without needing an account with BT or any other European service provider. Is this correct?

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[chaser]

I am slightly confused Will someone please clarify the Fon arrangement for me. From what I have gleened if you have BT broadband with Fon activated it should be possible to connect to all Fon wifi connections throughout Europe using your BT login and any wifi enabled device. However, if you purchase a Fonera box you can connect to all Fon wifi connections without needing an account with BT or any other European service provider. Is this correct?

Correct

 

[Flamenca]

Thanks for the clarification @chaser

 

[irnbru]

Can you move the Fon yo a different landline or do you have to register it to a specific landline number and keep it there?

 

[Lenny HB]

Just needs to be connected to the internet, when you register it just done by the serial number of the Fon router.

 

[Montybe]

OK, I have been doing some practical research, wandering about and doing some tests.
Firstly I have found that using a WiFi booster, such as MotorhomeWiFi's iBoost does not necessarily locate and lock on to Fon hotspots in anything like the range that it is capable of. I put this down to the Fon routers in my test area being extremely low powered. There is nothing wrong with Addie's excellent booster (best thing since sliced bread...)
Secondly, being very low powered you need to be right on top of the address where the Fon router is located, that is, I find, almost at their front door looking in their window.
So to locate a Fon router you need to either know where they are or get to their location by some other means. So I have found that with a 3G phone connection I can use the Fon Map App, which gives me a chart of the Fon hot spots, and will give me directions if necessary.
Thirdly I find approx 50% of Fon hotspots are turned off.
Fourthly, I do not like the idea of lurking about outside somebody's house using their router and doing my internet stuff in the dark and cold and rain, especially since a 3G connection will get you better internet connectivity than most domestic Fon hotspots.
Fifthly, the better Fon hotspots are therefore in commercial establishments, eg restaurants, pubs, bars where you can go and sit and have some refreshment whilst surfing.
Sixthly, why bother. Most domestic supermarkets have free wifi, McDonalds and many other establishments provide an excellent service quite suitable for a traveller clearing out emails or route-mapping. And don't forget you can download the "FreeWiFi" App that shows you all the free locations near your location....I even today logged into Barclays Bank free WiFi and it worked well.
So for the UK I won't bother with Fon. It is puny, unreliable, inconsistent and hardly worth the bother. Instead just go to a McDonalds or Sainsbury's or Tesco or Waitrose etc.
I will not be travelling abroad again until next year when I will review things. I conclude that for Euro39 a Fonera might be a useful back up tool to have onboard for that occasion when you can use it....but only after I have checked out the alternatives that will come on line by then....

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[OldAgeTravellers]

Hi all, I use fon a great deal, I live in France and use the SFR fon network all the time.
So a few answers that I have worked out.
I use my Brothers SFR sign in when in France and my sons BT sign in when in the UK mainly because it seems more stable that way. My brother has his second router disabled because he is mean but the fon sign in still works. So, if you are an SFR or BT customer the router does not get checked by fon but if you have a fon box it does. I presume this is a contractual thing by SFR and BT and so fon puts up with it so as to greatly enlarge their network, but fon says with their box, if you are not supplying the service then you can't use it.
If you have a SFR or BT box it totally separates the network and the fon system does not use your data allowance if you have one. If you have a fon box it again separates others from your network but does use your data.
@Montybe if you use an iBoost it's IP address cannot be 192.168.1.x or 192.168.2.x because SFR use the former and BT the latter it is best to set it to be totally different say 10.0.10.1. If addresses clash then you will not get the sign in page. I presume the same with the fon box but I don't know what IP they use.
I use a similar device to the iBoost and regularly sit 500 meters from the source, which when I am connected the SFR app on my Android phone shows the source on a google map. I have never looked at their coverage map, perhaps I should. I just scan the network wherever I am and more times than not in the UK or France I am lucky even when I can't see a house. In Spain and Italy I have never found any, perhaps I should look at the map.
If you are not a BT or SFR customer then £30 is nothing for what you can get back. I would certainly buy one but it is not possible to get broadband where I live so it would be no use. I justify using my Brothers sign in because he is a hermit and never will use it. Perhaps a convenient justification but hey-Ho.
All in all I think that Fon now they have big partners is great. But if my current project of converting my satellite dish to satellite internet (another thread) works out I will have broadband speeds at home and when travelling in the Motorhome albeit with limited data so still not suitable to use a fon box.
Hope this ramble helps.
Steve

 

[deanroofing]

I am slightly confused Will someone please clarify the Fon arrangement for me. From what I have gleened if you have BT broadband with Fon activated it should be possible to connect to all Fon wifi connections throughout Europe using your BT login and any wifi enabled device. However, if you purchase a Fonera box you can connect to all Fon wifi connections without needing an account with BT or any other European service provider. Is this correct?

That's how it seems to work as long as your sharing your wi if you can connect to other Fon connections, download the Fon app and type in where your going and you'll see all the Fon available in that area, but you can't always connect, depends on signal strength and where your sited.

 

[EssexBoy]

if you use an iBoost it's IP address cannot be 192.168.1.x or 192.168.2.x because SFR use the former and BT the latter it is best to set it to be totally different say 10.0.10.1.

Just for completeness, I use a 10.x.x.x address on my router but still got a clash in France on one occasion in the summer. Once I realised & changed to another 10.x.x.x address I got connected OK.
I guess I'm saying be aware, and don't give up if you don't get a connection first time.

 

[Big Nick]

I bought a Fon box as several times when I've searched for wifi it's come up with a Fon connection

As there's no ongoing payments/subs to pay then to me it's worth £33 for unlimited access forever

 

[irnbru]

If you have a fon box it again separates others from your network but does use your data.

Does Fon only allow you to use a certain amount of data? I thought you could just log onto a fon hotspot and use what you liked.

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