How to Deal when Public WiFi Hotspot is Not Working
Whether you’re a client of Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Optimum or other Internet provider, one of the benefits is that with most of them you can benefit from a local or even national network of free public WiFi hotspots.
The trouble is that some of these public WiFI hotspots are painfully slow or non-operational, actually getting you offline when you connect to them. You can best see that when walking down the street, streaming your favorite music with Spotify and suddenly it disconnects. Guess what – your phone just automatically connected to a rotten WiFi hotspot.
Plus – sometimes you can’t even access the public WiFi network login page, so you don’t even have access. Unless you do that manually, of course.
If you keep stumbling upon non working public WiFi hotspots, there’s a simple way to deal with public WiFi connectivity issues once and for all and never be disconnected or slowed down by them.
Quick answer
Should you have a backup 4G, 5G, Starlink, or cable internet connection?
Yes — every internet connection goes down, including Starlink, which drops for ~34 minutes a day on average. A backup connection from a different provider means one outage never takes you fully offline. The most common options are a 4G/5G cellular hotspot, a cable or DSL line, or a second satellite dish.
4G/5G cellular
Works anywhere. Just a SIM or hotspot — no installation needed.
Learn more →Cable / DSL
Best for fixed locations. Different network, so outages rarely overlap.
Learn more →Second Starlink
Adds redundancy and throughput for remote sites or heavy usage.
Learn more →Speedify bonds any two connections into one — automatic failover, more speed, no dropped calls.
Try free →Speedify
Speedify gives you faster, steadier internet by combining Wi-Fi, cellular, and Starlink
Speedify bonds Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, and Starlink into one connection at the same time, giving you more speed, automatic failover when one drops, and AES-256 encryption on every link.
Download Speedify ›More speed
Upload and download speeds combine across every active connection on your device.
Automatic failover
If a connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to another in milliseconds. Calls stay connected.
Always encrypted
Every link runs through an encrypted tunnel, including public Wi-Fi, cellular, and Starlink.
Speedify Feature · Pair & Share
Speedify Pair & Share: share cellular between your devices, both ways
Most hotspots give. Speedify's Pair & Share gives and takes. Two devices running Speedify pair up and each uses the other's cellular connection simultaneously, so you both get faster uploads, faster downloads, and a steadier connection. No extra hardware, no new data plans, no setup beyond a tap.
Learn how Speedify's Pair & Share works ›More speed
Every device you pair with adds its cellular to yours, and yours to theirs.
Stays connected
If a paired device drops out, Speedify keeps you online on the remaining links.
Always private
Every shared connection runs through AES-256 encryption. Your traffic is yours.
No new gear
Runs on devices already running Speedify, over your local network. Pair once, reconnects automatically.
Why Are Some Public WiFi Hotspots Not Working?
Sometimes the public WiFi hotspots are placed in locations that result in spotty signal strength or even dead zones – “zombie” hotspots / sticky WiFi. That’s why you may see you’re connected to the public WiFi network, but not able to access any website.
If you are on the move (on the street, bus, etc.) you could also run into problems when moving between different hotspots. If you’re connected to the public WiFi, your iPhone or Android smartphone will “navigate” from one WiFi hotspot to another (Xfinitywifi, TWCWiFi, CableWiFi, OptimumWiFi, Starbucks, McDonalds, Macy’s etc.). So, there are many chances you stumble upon a non-working WiFi hotspot.
Plus, by default, as you’re moving around, you will be “passed” around from hotspot to hotspot, like in the case of a cellular network. Unfortunately, mobile devices don’t handle WiFi handoffs smoothly and that’s one of the reasons why public WiFi hotspots keep disconnecting. Smartphones are bad at detecting poor WiFi networks, and they default to WiFi instead of LTE when it’s available. Connecting to a bad WiFi hotspot is often the same as having no Internet at all.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Public WiFi Not Working Issues
Unfortunately, the many issues with public WiFi hotspots leads most people either telling their phones to “Forget” certain WiFi networks so it won’t connect, or actually turning off their phone’s WiFi to get off the broken hotspot. But once they do this, their phone won’t join other working WiFi hotspots either, wasting valuable 4G data.
Speedify is a smart app that offers patent-pending channel bonding technology for people like you and me. It basically securely combines 2 or more Internet connections for their aggregated speed and reliability.
Here are 3 steps to fix non working public WiFi hotspot issues:
- Get Speedify on your desktop or mobile device.
- Leave all your Internet connections active. For iPhones and Android smartphones – enable both WiFi and mobile data. Don’t worry – you can set data caps from within the Speedify app, so you won’t exceed it and pay extra. For laptops – you may have an additional 4G/LTE dongle or integrated card – activate that connection as well.
- Enjoy faster, more reliable Internet. Speedify will automatically detect any new active Internet connections and toss them into the mix to create a faster and dependable Internet connection.
How Speedify Helps You to Solve Public WiFi Hotspot Connectivity
By being able to use multiple Internet connections at the same time with Speedify, your iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or laptop will avoid those nasty disconnects that show up when you get handed off from one public WiFi hotspot to another. Plus, if your device connects to a hotspot with no Internet functionality, by using the other connection, Speedify will keep you online. So, your Spotify will not stop, your Skype business call will not jitter and your video stream will still be online.
Public WiFi Security Concerns or Worried About Net Neutrality? Speedify Is on Your Side!
Speedify is more than just a powerful Internet connections manager, it is also the best and fastest bonding VPN. When you use Speedify to optimize your Xfinity hotspot experience, you are also getting fast, reliable, and secure data encryption. It also works on networks that run captive portals. You won’t need to disconnect from Speedify (and be at risk!) to log onto the network. Speedify protects you against fake routers, snooping ISPs, and other cyber threats without sacrificing the speed you demand out of your Internet connections. And that’s very important given the recent repeal of the net neutrality rules!
While other VPNs can be clunky and slow, Speedify is state-of-the-art. It is easy to use, it improves the speed and quality of your Internet connection, and it doesn’t drain your battery either.
If you are regularly using public WiFi hotspots, get started with Speedify today (no strings attached, no email sign-up necessary, no logging of data!) to make sure you are getting full access to any local or nationwide hotspot network. You deserve to access the Internet on your own terms.

Get started with Speedify today!
With Speedify you can combine Wi-Fi, 4G / 5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and other satellites into one bonded super-connection to improve livestreaming, video calling, gaming, web browsing, and everything else you do online.
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