Boingo Wireless Internet.
by jandrews on Nov.24, 2009, under Software
I am in Toronto International Airport. In the wing that contains flights heading to the US. My flight is at 6:40PM EST, and I am departing for Boston. I am writing this blog entry in Textmate a simple text editor for the Macintosh operating system OS X. Why am I mentioning this? Well you would think that with access to Wireless internet, I’d be able to just up and connect to the internet open my blogging software and go go go go go… That however is not the case.
I sit down at my gate, and find the wireless access point I need to connect too. Boingo uses special software; for unknown reasons, the allow you to log into they system. My computer is new, and this is my first trip to an airport with it so I go ahead and download the software. I don’t travel enough to warrant hthe $12/month charge, so I use Boingo’s as-you-go which is $10CAN. The problem, there doesn’t seem to be a way to charge me for the service. I’m logged in. AIM is working, but the web browser isn’t. Was I charged for the access or not? I have internet yet I don’t have internet, and I am really confused. I think maybe I am charged for internet, but something is wrong with DNS so I manually change my DNS IP to GTE’s public server. No change, so I change it back. I log out of Boingo’s application and log back in. Still nothing. I am frustrated. Maybe my account hasn’t charged a credit card, so I create a new account. Finally a connection. I send a Facebook message, browse a couple quick websites, and then suddenly. Nothing. Gone. WTF. I go through the sequence again, even going as far as rebooting my computer. Nothing.
It ends in futility, and me calling Boingo for a refund. Where does Boingo go wrong. First is this “application”. Why do I need to run their stupid little app in order to connect wirelessly. I go to coffee shop after coffee shop, just create an account, and pay for the service. When I return, I log into the account, and pay for the service. I fly Airtran, and I create an account and have internet as I fly, using the same kind of interface that the coffee shop uses. Boingo tries to make things easier with a little application, but instead they fail.
I give Boingo 0 of 5 wifi bars.
Please fix the problems so I can not be bored during a 3-4hr lay over…..
November 24th, 2009 on 8:55 pm
Sorry to hear that you experienced difficulty with the software and had trouble connecting in the Toronto Airport.
We designed the software to eliminate the tedious process of creating a new account at *every* hotspot. Although most of our customers find the software an invaluable tool for connecting quickly and easily, it is not required to access our Wi-Fi from your laptop. You may log in to your Boingo account directly from the main page of the airport’s web portal; simply go to the Roaming Login option and select Boingo.
It seems like the culprit here is an unusually spotty connection in the airport (the software isn’t likely to cause the problems you reported). We’re sorry for the inconvenience this caused you; usually, the Wi-Fi connection at Toronto Airport is strong. If you encounter connection troubles again, please give Customer Care a call (800.880.4117). We’re here 24/7 to help.
As thanks for your candid feedback, I’d like to give you a couple of Boingo access passes. Please email me at lsanyal at boingo dot com and I’ll send you the redemption codes. Enjoy your next two connects on us!
In the future, I hope you’ll give us (and the software!) another try.
Best,
Lauren Sanyal
November 30th, 2009 on 12:29 pm
Wow, that’s customer service. Or creepy. Or both. I’ve fought w/ Boingo software at a Starbucks (AT&T) hotspot a few times, but luckily there was a second option to log in via the SBUX page and not the app. The roaming charges on my trip to London, on the other hand, were a bit galling.
If you yelp they’ll give it to you for $9.95/month.
December 1st, 2009 on 2:36 pm
Gary,
Yes and yes. That is the power of twitter. Almost anytime I comment about a company’s product or service, I get a contact from them. Eye-Fi sent me a new card reader, Boloco gave me a free burrito. I don’t mind it so much. I’ll have to contact Lauren a little later about the free passes, they may come in useful at an airport that has a working Wifi system.