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AT&T takes free iPhone WiFi offer off the table

Categories: Apple, AT&T, Rumors,
By: , IntoMobile
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7:15 PM

free AT&T WiFi HotSpot for iPhone usersOops. 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 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]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...

  • KevinCamera

    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!

  • Invisible Mang

    a couple jag-offs ruined for everybody.

    I didn’t even get to try it.

  • Shadow

    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.

  • Will Park

    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.