Computer Talk

Thanks so much for the tip. I added it to the location list.

It seems like most Jack Wi-Fi locations are found south of Oxnard. That make sense with JBOX HQ'ed in San Diego and Ripple in El Segundo.

Yes, Knowzy broke the story about free Jack in the Box Wi-Fi just before Valentine's Day this year. To date, Jack in the Box has only issued one public statement about it.

It may be too early for a full promotion blitz but you would think they would at least mention it somewhere on their web site, perhaps with a list of locations. Knowzy is currently the top result on Google for terms like "Jack in the Box Wi-Fi." The Jack in the Box web site doesn't even appear in the top 100 results.

I think I'll follow up with the companies again on the 6 month anniversary of the story. Maybe they'll be more willing to talk this time. All three companies (Jack in the Box, Ripple and Sputnik) declined to comment before I published the story.

Once again, thanks for sharing your find. Knowzy's readers thank you too!

It's hard to deny that McDonald's paid Internet access stands out more each day in contrast to other free Wi-Fi locations. Even Starbucks is free these days as long as you make one purchase per month.

While you can find free Wi-Fi all over the place, McDonald's is still the only coast-to-coast fast food chain (officially) offering Wi-Fi. As long as Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy's and other national fast food chains aren't serving up Wi-Fi, McDonald's isn't under serious pressure to go free.

Sure, you can lurk in the parking lot outside a free hotspot location. But there are several problems with that:

• Illegal "Borrowing" Wi-Fi from someone else without permission is a misdemeanor and people have been prosecuted for it. While I don't want to use Knowzy to condone illegal activity, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done this myself. This week.
• Poor signal When the Wi-Fi signal must travel through the store's wall and then through your engine block, the connection is often unreliable.
• Wrath of the barista Coffee shops are often sensitive to people mooching off their free Wi-Fi. They are very social and outgoing group who have no qualms about calling BS when they see it. If you're a laptop screen is above your steering wheel, don't be surprised if one of them goes out to your car.
• Uncomfortable I don't know about you, but when I sit down for some Wi-Fi, it's usually a half hour minimum. If my laptop is on my passenger seat, my neck gets sore from looking right. If I rest it on my steering wheel, my arms are cramped and I sometimes accidentally blow my horn.

I would gladly pay $2.95 to avoid the issues above (though I don't need to since I get McDonald's Wi-Fi free with my AT&T account).

In my own town, I know all the local restaurants with free Wi-Fi and I usually visit them over McDonald's. I suspect anyone averse to paying for Wi-Fi can develop a similar "home town advantage" and support those shops offering a valuable service for free.

The Moose strikes again! Thanks for the location and for going above and beyond by getting the info on the franchisee.

It looks like I have some homework to do: Herrick Foods owns seven JITB's. With your tip, that makes two out of seven locations known to feature free Wi-Fi (not to mention the Qdoba). What do you want to bet that the other five are serving up Wi-Fi as well?

As I told you privately last time, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) hotspot locations are a part of the Jack Wi-Fi story that needs expanding upon.

When you look at the Wi-Fi location list, you'll see "1" footnotes next to a number restaurants. These are franchise stores that set up their own wireless access point, independent of the corporate initiative.

Some of these franchises got the free Wi-Fi idea years before their corporate antenna ball-headed masters. The Azusa, CA franchise has been listed in the Wi-Fi FreeSpot directory since 2005, according to the Internet Archive.

The Camarillo location (and probably the rest of Herricks Food's locations) appear to have been professionally installed, unlike many independent coffee shops and other DIY hotspots. I say this because you mentioned SonicWALL, which is enterprise grade equipment starting at $250 and climbing as high as $7,200 on Amazon. This is not the kind of wireless gear a consumer would normally encounter!

As always, much gratitude for sharing your insights. Thanks to you, the list has one more location today and up to five more once I get in touch with the Herricks'.

Connecting to McDonald's Wi-Fi on an iPod

This is what you see on an iPod Touch when connecting to McDonald's Wi-Fi. An iPhone connects automatically for free.

I agree that it charging for Wi-Fi at a restaurant is an outdated model. It's straight out of 2003 when McDonald's first began offering Wi-Fi. With AT&T recently purchasing Wayport (McDonald's Wi-Fi provider) for $275 million, it seems unlikely that McDonald's Wi-Fi is going free any time soon.

Since you mention having trouble, I tried out my 1st generation iPod Touch (SW Version 1.1.5) at McDonald's. I was able to pay for a session and log on. However, I encountered two warnings about an invalid SSL security certificate.

This is strange because I don't get the same errors when I log in on my laptop. I suspect this older iPod doesn't have an updated list of Certificate Authorities (CA).

I'm curious what types of problems you encountered.

Free Panera Bread Wi-Fi

Panera Bread is proud of their Wi-Fi network and for good reason. With over 1,250 hotspots, Panera is the largest free Wi-Fi network of any food or coffee chain by most accounts.

Some accuse Panera of showing their pride inappropriately by sockpuppeting in Internet discussions of fast food Wi-Fi.

I have yet to step foot in a Panera Bread shop but that's going to change soon: They just opened a store about 20 miles from my house.

From what I understand, they have restrictive Wi-Fi time limits during peak hours: After 10 to 15 minutes of Wi-Fi, you're cut off. There's one case where it may be advantageous to pay for Wi-Fi: Your $2.95 at McDonald's guarantees you a 2 hour session.

I personally would not be satisfied with a 15 minute session. When I sit down for some Wi-Fi, I usually stick around for a half hour or longer. Then again, you'd never catch me at a restaurant during a rush. I get there before 11:30 or after 1:30. I can't stand to wait in line or getting stuck at a tiny table!

Not all McDonald’s use the same Wi-Fi system. The McDonald's you went to may work differently.

First, check the name of the wireless network you connected to. Was it called Wayport_Access?

If there's no Wayport_Access network at your McDonald's, the franchise owner put up his own Wi-Fi network. You'll have to ask a cashier how to access it.

If it is an oddball Wi-Fi network, please let me know where it is. McDonald's restaurant finder can help you find it. I want to create a list of these non-standard locations and how to log on to them. If you could help, that would be great.

Glad to hear from you again, Mr. Moose and thanks for the report. Yes, Jack in the Box's free Wi-Fi experiment is over and my very outdated article should reflect that. I will fix it within a week. Update: Still talking to Jack. I'm hoping to update the article in the first week of February.

Of course, the locations that we’re not part of the experiment are still offering free Wi-Fi. I intend to continue listing those and any other Jack in the Box stores with Wi-Fi.

I sincerely hope that Jack in the Box isn’t abandoning plans to offer free Wi-Fi. And you're right, those computerized cashier machines offer a great opportunity for it.

With McDonald’s Wi-Fi going free last Friday, that's one competitive advantage Jack doesn't have.

Free Wi-Fi is indeed a great thing. It looks like we have the introduction of McCafe to thank for freeing up the Wi-Fi at McDonald's.

I think they feared Starbuck's free-with-strings-attached Wi-Fi would limit their ability attract the coffee crowd. So McDonald's one-upped them by offering truly free Wi-Fi- no loyalty cards, no codes on receipts. Just connect and go.

Of course, you could end up spending $3 less on McDonald's coffee- the former cost of the Wi-Fi. But customer perception is everything and they don't want people saying, "Dude, don't go there, they charge for Wi-Fi!"

I have frequently heard, with great longing, that rest stops in the mid-west and east coast are elaborate and often feature Wi-Fi. That's great that it's even free in New York.

Out here in California, home of the Silicon Valley, our rest stops are more like state parks: Toilet stalls, an information kiosk, maybe a vista point if there's something worth looking at. You won't find restaurants, commerce and you certainly won't find Wi-Fi, free or otherwise.

So, it could be worse than paying a few bucks for Wi-Fi in an Ohio rest stop. You could be in (cue ominous music) a wireless dead zone.

I've got that blank stare from clueless McCashiers many times. "Wi-Fi. You know, wireless Internet? Your Internet service. Aw forget it!"

It doesn't help matters if English isn't their first language.

I agree, the managers should at least be aware that they have Wi-Fi and provide you with a number to call if you're having trouble.

Since we can't count on that, at least I can give you the number to call: 1-877-MCD-WIFI (1-877-623-9434).

As you suggest, if the Internet is truly down, they probably won't be able to help you before you leave. But at least they'll be aware of the problem.

By the way, I've seen the McDonald's Wi-Fi Welcome page take as long as a minute to show up, so be sure to practice patience if it doesn't come up right away.