SFO Clubhouse WiFi sucks?

Ok, I've tried four trips through now. The SFO Clubhouse WiFi sucks, at least for Apple products, right?

Not just Apple, I was there last week with laptop (Windows) and iPad, neither held a good connection, yes the SFO Clubhouse WiFi does indeed suck!

[buns]

I would dare to suggest that all Clubhouses suffer from the same affliction v(

On my last visit to the JFK Clubhouse as you needed to re-enter the complex log in every time (noy an easy task from a mobile device), Mrs Buns & I resorted to using our virgin Mifi

buns

The JFK clubhouse when I was there in Aug had to be rebooted for the WIFI to work.

Jurgen

[honey lamb]

When I was there in July I couldn't connect to the SFO Clubhouse wi-fi but as I had been connected to the SFO wi-fi earlier in my trip while waiting for my Virgin America flight, my macBook picked up the SFO signal and I used that without any interference.

When I was there in July I couldn't connect to the SFO Clubhouse wi-fi but as I had been connected to the SFO wi-fi earlier in my trip while waiting for my Virgin America flight, my macBook picked up the SFO signal and I used that without any interference.

As HL notes there is now free WiFi at SFO - appropriately named "SFO-WiFi" - and sponsored by American Express. I was in T2 at SFO today waiting for my VX flight and I was pleasantly surprised to find it after all these years. As you can get that in the VS SFO Clubhouse, the need to use the terrible VS WiFi has become a thing of the past. I can't wait for JFK to follow suit now.

On my last visit to the JFK Clubhouse as you needed to re-enter the complex log in every time (noy an easy task from a mobile device),

Same for me in April and this month -- really annoying. Don't know why they can't sort this out. Happened at LHR too.

[Darren Wheeler]

Bandwidth hogs streaming HD movies.

This is interesting to hear because I have never got it to work in any of the CH I have been to (SFO, HKG, JFK and even LHR).
Sure they give you all the password etc but it never works (and I have heard others moaning about it.

A solution is to use the free airport wifi at SFO and HKG and subscribe to boingo or skype and pay to use it. I have foudn that just paying up is a lot more rewarding that spending an hour trying to log on, being unsuccessful and then having no time left anyway.

[mitchja]

The free WiFi at HKG is absolutely dire. Dial-up would have been quicker when I was there the other week waiting to check-in for a VS flight.

SYD was also the same, including the ANZ lounge WiFi. I really was glad to get my home Sky broadband back once I got home!!!

I guess the problems are all down to bandwidth and the sheer numbers of pax now using it at airports.

I've found the LHR CH WiFi OK but it can be patchy, almost non-existent in some places especially in the seating area behind the bar.

Rather than start a new topic I'll continue this one.

I spent a couple of hours in the Newark clubhouse last night and yet again the Wi-Fi was not working - not even a little bit. v(

I asked the ladies on the reception desk who said OK, there is a problem and went to do something - reboot the router I presume - but still nothing. Just an irritating "Limited or no connectivity message" from Microsoft. Eventually the VSEWR network disappeared for a while, then returned but still did not work..

I find it hard to understand in this connected day and age that Virgin have so much trouble with this in their lounges. I generally find Heathrow Clubhouse Wi-Fi OK (although others do not), but JFK is very poor and SFO reportedly the same. And with EWR being worse than useless, it makes a benefit into an irritant. I spoke to a couple of fellow travellers who were having the same problem, so I assume everyone in the clubhouse was similarly frustrated.

I'm not sure this is because of HD movie streaming or other resource hoggers. Routers these days are intelligent enough to be able to be configured to throttle back a very heavy connection. ISPs do it all the time. I expect they have old kit, badly configured and worst of all no one seems to care.

The nonsense is that they are probably paying an IT company (T-mobile?) to provide the Wi-Fi, who would sort it out in an instant if they knew there was a problem.
I wrote to Virgin via the feedback/comments thing on the website a year or so ago and got a big fat no response, so I'm inclined to try again. How hard can it be?

It is not just VS that have issues

Last year at the LH lounge at BOS their wifi was dire and it was much easier to log onto the Massport free wifi that the LH system.

[honey lamb]

I had the same problem at EWR last year although the PCs available for use were working. It's frustrating when you can't use your own laptop

ive seen the wifi get a lot worse since more and more people are flying with iPads downloading movies and such right before there take off. hogs! I talked to wait staff who told me they are getting 3 new routers next week, we'll see what happens.

[honey lamb]

I talked to wait staff who told me they are getting 3 new routers next week, we'll see what happens.

Hi Frank and welcome to V-Flyer

Thanks for that bit of information. Let's hope the WiFi improves after that.

When I was there in the summer, Fergus who is one of the IT bods in VS was on my flight and he had suffered from the poor WiFi there so maybe that had something to do with it. Certainly I had never known it that bad before

I seem to recall the SFO wifi login page having a 2004 copyright on it.

Time for new equipment; even this hotel in Fitzrovia has fast 802.11n access points.

Reviving this old thread to report that everything is working swimmingly this trip. I've been on ith my iPad continuously since walking in and haven't dropped or seen slow performance.