Come avere Internet free your Android through hotspot
The first method I want to tell you about to be able to have free Internet on Android is to take advantage of public hotspots distributed in large and small cities. These public hotspots are nothing more than Internet access points offered by public institutions (such as parks, libraries, squares, public buildings) or by private entities (such as bars, restaurants or hairdressers) to offer greater service to customer. Accessing these hotspots is completely legal and free.
Public hotspots usually do not have an access password, but it may happen that those made available by private entities require one. In any case, look around and look for the sign indicating that the area has free Wi-Fi access; on it you will find the password or instructions to obtain it. You can also request it from the staff, if it is a private entity or if you are inside a public building.
Websites with the map of public hotspots
If you plan to travel to a specific area of a city and want to know in advance where to find public hotspots free to log in with your Android device, you can consult the list of websites showing maps with their location.
- Wifimaps was born mainly as an app for mobile devices, but you can consult its interactive map via its website. There is no location search bar, but you can move freely on the map to view the place where you can see the availability of hotspot. By clicking on the blue icons that identify an available hotspot, you will be able to view the name of the Wi-Fi network and possibly also the comments added by users. These comments may describe your user experience or may contain the hotspot login password.
- FON is a company that offers the possibility of viewing, through an interactive map, the entire network of its hotspot networks. To be able to access it, you need to be part of the project or have a pass from a specific telecommunication company. In the city, for example, Vodafone offers Vodafone Wi-Fi Community, the pass for free access to FON networks around the world at no additional cost.
- Wiman is a website that has a very large community. Through this service free you will be able to view a detailed map of all public hotspots also made available by the community members themselves. What you will need to do is simply enter the name of the city in the search bar and press Submit on the keyboard. A detailed map will show you all the hotspots shared with the Wiman community.
- City Wi-Fi hotspotsit is another service that allows the identification of public hotspots available, however, only in the cittàn territory. This service aggregates hotspots by location and then displays a list of individual access points. By clicking on one of them, you can also view other additional information, such as coverage and the type of protocol used.
In addition to the sites I have just recommended, you can also go to the institutional website of your city and check if public hotspots are active, made available for free. Usually the service is managed and cared for, so that the list of the locations of the public hotspots of the Municipality can always be updated. You can find the pages dedicated to this public service by accessing your favorite search engine and typing a wording of the type [common name] Wi-Fi hostspot or [common name] Free Wi-Fi. I propose below as an example a list of websites of some big cities that show the location of public hotspots:
- Rome
- Torino
- Milan
- Bologna
- Venezia
- Cagliari
App with the map of public hotspots
In addition to the websites that can be consulted to view the location of public hotspots, there are also apps used for the same purpose. I will list below some apps for Android devices that can help you find access points free to the Internet. Please note that these apps may require an active internet connection to view the hotspot database. Others, on the other hand, download the database on your smartphone, so that you can consult it even in offline mode.
- WiFi Map (Android) - Thanks to the large online community that helps enrich the database of this app free, it is possible to find public and free access points, in addition to those made available by the users themselves. Through a dedicated section, it is possible to download the entire database for each single city, so that it can be consulted in complete tranquility even without an internet connection.
- Wifimaps (Android) - I have already told you about this service before, due to the possibility of using its website to consult public hotspots. Through the app free, in fact, you will be able to consult the position of each hotspot directly on your device and, if necessary, by tapping on a marker near you, calculate the path between you and the selected access point. A version is also available paid of the app with some additional features, such as comments and passwords for some networks. You can find this paid version on the PlayStore.
- Instabridge (Android) - As with the other apps I told you about, Instabridge also allows you to view free the huge database of hotspots available around the world. It is also possible to download the database of the individual regions of the world. Simply enter the app settings, select the item Offline Regions and then download the databases of the areas of the world that interest you. Then, through the different colors of the hotspots indicated on the map, you can understand if the hotspot works often or not.
- Facebook (Android) is the famous app free of the Social Network. For the uninitiated, within the Facebook app it is possible to view the nearby public Wi-Fi networks. Did not you know? I'll immediately explain how to find the built-in functionality. Tap on the symbol of menu ☰, located at the top right and scroll through the list until you find the section App. Tap on the wording a little further down Show all and, from the list, select the item Find Wi-Fi. There you will find a list of places near you (I advise you to activate geolocation). From this screen, tap the button at the top Map, to view the map of the location of the hotspots closest to you. The flaw of this Facebook feature is that it requires an active internet connection in order to access the hotspot database.
- Avast Wi-Fi Finder (Android) is an application developed by Avast, famous antivirus protection software. This application, completely free, will allow you to access a database, even offline, of hotspots available all over the world.
How to create a private hotspot
Another method that allows you to have free Internet on your Android device is to ask your friend to share their internet connection with you via a private hotspot.
To perform this procedure on another Android device, access the Settings (icon with an ingranaggio) on your friend's device. Tap on Rete and Internet and then tap on Hotpost and tethering. Then move the lever from OFF a ON (from left to right) next to the item Wi-Fi Hotspot.
If your friend, on the other hand, has a device with iOS, go to the Home Screen of his iPhone / iPad and tap on the app Settings (icon with an ingranaggio). Fai tap su Personal hotspot to access the network share. At the entry Personal hotspot, move the lever from left to right, in order to activate the hotspot.
If you want to get more details or if you have problems configuring a hotspot on your friend's device, you can follow the detailed procedure I wrote in my guide entitled "how to share the data connection".
How to access hotspots from Android
After you have found a way to connect to the internet for free, whether through a public or private hotspot, you will now need to connect to it. You don't know how to do it, do you? There's no problem. Read on below to connect to a Wi-Fi network quickly and easily. I will show you the procedure below using an Android device with version 8 (Oreo).
Access the Settings (icon with l'ingranaggio) of your device and select the item Rete and Internet. Now tap on the item Wi-Fi and move the lever from OFF a ON. You will then see, after a few seconds, all the networks available around you. Then select the network that has the same name as the hotspot you prefer. If the Wi-Fi network does not require a password, then you will log in automatically; otherwise enter the access key to it to connect.
If you want to learn more, I refer you to my guide in which I explain how to connect to WiFi.
Other methods to have free Internet on Android through a telephone operator
An alternative solution to public hotspots is that offered by some telecommunications companies. Some of them indeed offer in the way free, together with the subscription of a subscription, a pass to access the many hotspots managed by them.
An example is Fastweb, which through the service WOW FI, offers all its fixed and mobile telephony customers a free pass to access all Fastweb hotspots. If you are interested in the subject, I invite you to read my guide in which I explain in more detail how WOW FI works. You can also consult my guide dedicated to Fastweb offers.
Another operator engaged in the dissemination of hotspots free for its customers is Vodafone. As I mentioned earlier, Vodafone offers its customers, who own a contract Vodafone House us 2 Station e Revolution, a pass called Vodafone Wi-Fi Community. With this pass, you will be able to access Vodafone and FON hotspots, available all over the world. If you want more information on the subject, you can reach the dedicated section on the Vodafone website. If you are interested in Vodafone offers, you can consult this guide of mine dedicated to Vodafone Casa offers.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for a way to have unlimited internet on your mobile device, you can subscribe to a subscription which, having consumed all the megabytes of your tariff plan, will allow you to continue browsing unlimitedly and at no additional cost, even if with reduced speed.
An example is wind which allows you to browse even if you have consumed all the traffic of the tariff plan. However, the maximum speed will be set to a maximum of 128 kbps. If you are interested in a Wind SIM you can view my guide dedicated to Wind offers.
What I have mentioned to you are just a few examples of how you can get free Internet on Android. In general, I recommend that you also browse on Sos Rates, to keep an eye on the offers of all telephone operators, both fixed and mobile, so that you can compare all their offers. You can view the section dedicated to ADSL, or the section dedicated to mobile rates or the section for Internet-only rates for smartphones and tablets.
How to get free internet on Android
