public wifi

[mdfire]

I'm having problems connecting to the internet via the WiFi on the train. Sometimes it works others I can connect and sign in to the network in IE but the adaptor says no internet access. Had to disable and enable WiFi adaptor several times. Galaxy S3 connects first time

 

[leeshor]

Using the S II as a comparison wasn't fair. It can do everything well, except maybe cook.

 

[mdfire]

ok, but why the inconsistency with surface? Don't get me wrong I haven't looked at s3 or ipad since I got surface, I love it

 

[J515OP]

As you may have read in the other threads there are some wifi issues with the Surface. These should be fixed in an update as they appear to be software issues.

 

[Twisticles]

It's not just me then

I tried in vane to log on to our local public wifi offering with no joy. It connected to the router, but "limited" connectivity. Didn't get that popup for my login details.
I was able to browse to the supplier's website and log in there, but that didn't close the loop of full connectivity and allow me to surf any other sites. </sigh>

 

[mdfire]

It's not just me then

I tried in vane to log on to our local public wifi offering with no joy. It connected to the router, but "limited" connectivity. Didn't get that popup for my login details.
I was able to browse to the supplier's website and log in there, but that didn't close the loop of full connectivity and allow me to surf any other sites. </sigh>

I got only be disabling and enabling the wifi. Had to do it a few times though but as said above its only a software issue so we can expect and update

 

[TWH]

I know that there has been a fix for the wifi issues in theory, but I'm getting a really annoying problem with public wifi at the hotel I'm staying in. When you connect, it takes you to a login page where you input the login given at check-in. This then connects and warns that if you close the page that it will disconnect you. I've left the page open, but found I kept on getting disconnected so I then tried keeping IE docked on the side of whatever app I'm actually using and this seems to work which implies there is a problem with how Windows RT deals with IE when it's in the background. This is also a problem win my WP8 device, however on my ipad or my wife's iPhone there is no such problem - if safari is just sitting in the background with the login page then the connection remains open.

This is really frustrating and I wondered if anyone else had come across this. I appreciate that it may be a rare case of a public wifi that requires the login page to remain open, but it's still annoying that the issue seems to be specific to Windows RT / WP8 OS. The other issue with this is that when I try to connect to the vpn service I use when on public wifi, the connection drops after 20 seconds or so (again must be related to the issues of how Windows is handling the connection as whenI use the vpn pn my wife's iphone it stays connected with no problem.

Does anyone have any idea if this is something that might be solved with some connection settings, something to help keep it alive?

 

[ArnoldC]

I used my Surface in the same scenario as you described, but in a hotel. I didn't have the problem, but have you tried Desktop IE instead?

 

[originalstarlite]

I know that this is a bit off topic, but aren't you a bit apprehensive of using public Wi-Fi? The Surface is naked out there with no real masking, like Norton Hotspot, and all of your MS data is susceptible? That is why I never bother.

 

[Arun01]

Wow these sound the TF201 problems i had all over again. I think i will hold off on buying the surface until this is adressed. Is it the magnesium backing they used in building the device that's preventing it from connecting ???

 

[J515OP]

Have you tried using the desktop IE instead of the Modern IE? Originally posted in the other thread but moved here to keep it all under one thread. I see Arnold answered the same so I'll expand a little.

I haven't tested for it for sure but Modern UI apps seem to be very aggressive about conserving battery. So in the case of the IE app it may shut down if back-grounded for a certain period of time. On the other hand desktop apps seem to run just like their PC counterparts with virtually no mobile control on efficiency. You can open as much as you want (multiple office apps and browser tabs) and you will bog down the system. So you need to manage apps manually more like a traditional PC. That being the case there is a good chance that if you use the desktop IE it will not close the connection out in the back ground.

 

[J515OP]

Wow these sound the TF201 problems i had all over again. I think i will hold off on buying the surface until this is adressed. Is it the magnesium backing they used in building the device that's preventing it from connecting ???

No, there doesn't appear to be a design fault. Many people have no problems at all with wifi. The majority that do can usually resolve it at the router or in their settings. There is a small group left that may have software issues (perhaps a corrupted updated for example) or possibly a hardware fault. Overall there appears to be no major issue with Surface RT wifi.