Question about free BT Openzone WIFI on Orange, UK

[james_uk]

I have just signed up with orange and got an s4, with it come free bt openzone wifi access, the thing is i installed the orange app which is used to connect, i have tried scanning for connections and know there is one where i live as i have connected to it on my laptop when i didn't have access to my usual isp.

So phone did find the wifi connection which wasn't a suprise as i knew it was there, the problem was getting my phone and the orange app to actually connect to it, which to this day i cannot seem to get it to.

The username and pass is correct as it tells me if i put an incorrect one in, when i use the correct details i just dont get any access.

i was wondering if the orange app is really needed to connect and can i just manually add my username and password into a new connection if i set it up in wifi connections?

if not then is there any use of this feature from orange if i cannot connect? has anyone else had problems connecting via this free wifi access from orange?

thanks

james

 

[Deleted User]

I have the same thing with T mobile, works like a dream on my S3. The app does make things much quicker but you can also do it via the website

 

[tommo47]

i was wondering if the orange app is really needed to connect and can i just manually add my username and password into a new connection if i set it up in wifi connections?

if not then is there any use of this feature from orange if i cannot connect? has anyone else had problems connecting via this free wifi access from orange?

thanks

james

Hi, although I haven't used my Orange access to BT Openzone for about 12 months, I did use it extensively for the previous 12 months or so. During this time I had total failure to connect using the Orange WiFi app, so resorted to entering my user ID/password every time. Because most browsers give the option to remember login details it wasn't an issue.

I suspect the reason the Orange app failed to connect is that when landing on the Openzone page it was necessary to select Orange UK as the access provider (in a drop-down box), which took me to an Orange login page which accepted my Orange login details.

I was happy to continue logging in each time so never pursued it with Orange.

One thing to bear in mind is that BT Openzone is now known as BTWiFi along with BTWiFi-with-Fon. The free access with Orange applies only to hotspots offering the original Openzone. These are known as premium hotspots and can be found in public places like Starbucks, libraries, airports etc.

If you live within range of someone with BT Business broadband the business hubs give access to Openzone but BT Home hubs will only give access to BTWiFi-with-Fon, which will not accept the Orange login details. In both cases the broadcasting of the BTWiFi SSID has to be enabled.

Hope this helps.