Resort Wi-Fi Issues With iPhone?

[dxwwf3]

I am at the AKL right now and the in-room wi-fi has been fairly decent speed wise most of the time on my iPhone and laptop. It's actually been faster than I was expecting based on things I've heard before. The problem I am getting is on my iPhone, I have to constantly turn off and on the wi-fi on my phone to reset the connection. I will be trying to download a podcast and all of a sudden the download will stop and will restart as soon as I switch wi-fi off and then back on on my phone. Is this typical for what others have experienced or what? It would be great to start the downloading of my podcasts when I go to bed and have them completed when I wake up, like I do at every other hotel room I've ever visited. Any ideas?

 

[EpcoTim]

If you have any previously saved wi-fi spots on your iphone you may want to delete them. If you get a weak wifi signal the iphone likes to hunt for a stronger one and will sometimes blow the current connection in the process.

 

[dxwwf3]

Is there an easy way to do that? I don't want to clear all of my wi-fi history if I can help it, but I don't know if that is the problem or not because I always seem to get full wi-fi signal even when it cuts off.

 

[EpcoTim]

If you haven't tried rebooting it do that first. I know this is a pain and its not guaranteed to work, but this was the only way I could get it to stay connected on heavily used networks, ie coffeeshops, etc. I also wouldn't trust the bars on the phone for anything. Look at what the signal strength on your laptop is, then deduct about 25% and that will give you a better idea of the connectivity strength of your iphone. Unless of course you're right next to an access point.

 

[dxwwf3]

Ok thanks I'll try that. Has anyone else had trouble downloading large files on the WDW resort wi-fi system? And no speed hasn't been a problem either.

 

[Monty]

If it only happens when you're downloading large files, it may be that they have throttling software built into their network. I don't imagine Disney wants large amounts of their freely-provided bandwidth sucked up by users.

 

[dxwwf3]

Every single hotel I've ever been to has been able to download anything on free wi-fi. Surely Disney isn't that ridiculous.

 

[dxwwf3]

When a 14 MB podcast can't be downloaded in one setting, you're offering crappy wi-fi at deluxe priced resorts. I was wondering if anyone else had similar problems or this could be an isolated incident with me.

 

[BalooChicago]

I found the wifi to be laughably bad when at WL/Boardwalk/GF in January (Staying at WL, visiting the others).

 

[bubbles1812]

Every single hotel I've ever been to has been able to download anything on free wi-fi. Surely Disney isn't that ridiculous.

Well...to be fare to Disney...they probably have a lot of users on their wi fi system at once and I'm guessing they aren't expecting a lot of guests to be downloading large files (not knocking you, just saying they probably aren't expecting guests to be downloading podcasts and the like). And to not be fare to Disney...they are cheap...so it wouldn't surprise me if they had some sort of throttling software or they just don't want to pay to put in enough wireless spots to make the service better.

 

[dxwwf3]

After testing things out today, it looks lIke my problems are iPhone/Instacast based because on my laptop, it is downloading large files with no problem. The speed isn't the best in the world, but it works and doesn't cut out. Hmmmm

 

[englanddg]

1) I guarantee that Disney throttles/regulates guest bandwidth based on network load. If they don't their network admins should be shot. Most hotels actually do that now, because there were people who were setting up illicit server farms in weekly rent hotels and mooching their bandwidth (not really a concern for Disney due to room prices, but...just an interesting tidbit)

2) I had WiFi at CB in 2010, and service quality varied, but overall it was dismally bad, so while I like that it is free, I am skeptical with respect to quality of service. Give me the good ol' days when I'd bring a router and connect it to their copper and make my own "hot spot"

3) WiFi is NEVER as reliable for packet transmission and efficiency as copper or fiber. There are just too many variables involved, including many that are difficult to plan for while also controlling cost. This means that while one person might have a "great" experience with it, another might not, depending on a large variety of things (weather, position, building construction materials, power of the WiFi card being used to connect...etc...etc...etc) There is a reason that server farms use copper/fiber instead of WiFi to connect servers to the internet.

 

[dxwwf3]

I forgot to reply back and say that On e I restarted my iPhone (as was suggested), the Wi-fi didn't have to be reset every 2 minutes. Thanks for the help.