AT&T takes free iPhone WiFi offer off the table
By Will Park on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7:15 PM PST In AT&T, Apple, Rumors, Services
Oops. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to spread the word on how to get free AT&T WiFi HotSpot access on your laptop. Just the other day I mentioned that AT&T (NYSE: T) is offering all iPhone users unlimited use of their AT&T WiFi HotSpots at Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles locations in the US – along with instructions on how to trick the hotspot into thinking your laptop is an iPhone. But, today we’re hearing that AT&T has taken the offer off the table.
Reports indicate that iPhone users are no longer able to access the AT&T WiFi HotSpot for free through their iPhone. It’s not clear if AT&T mistakenly launched the service before it was ready for prime-time (which is possible, given the lack of an official announcement from AT&T), or if the “user-agent spoofing” method to get free WiFi HotSpot access on your laptop caused AT&T to freak-out and pull the plug. The service was clearly intentional, so it’s not like AT&T just messed up by allowing iPhone users to get free WiFi for a day.
Here’s to hoping that AT&T irons out the bugs (if any) or closes the “user-agent spoofing” loophole and launches the free service soon.
[Via: MacRumors]
Thanks for nothing. It was nice to get the FREE Wi-Fi @ Micky D’s Yesterday. I was looking forward to use the Starbucks next to my office to get a little FREE Hot-Spot with my $2.00 coffee ( cheaper than the “DD” across the street ). I figured ATT was looking at the Huge Edge loads and figured why not offer some free wi-fi to take the EDGE off!
a couple jag-offs ruined for everybody.
I didn’t even get to try it.
Thanks to the author for their hand in aiding people to circumvent what would have been a great system. Its reckless writing like this that destroys good things for the rest of us.
The service will likely be re-launched as an official offering from AT&T, relax. Unfortunately, the agent-spoofing loophole will likely be closed.
iPhone users will still get free WiFi in the near future, sit tight.