South West Trains : WIFI

[borischelski]

I travel on South West Trains and get frustrated that, unlike other WIFI systems ,that after first registering / logging in , on subsequent journeys am not recognised and able to log in automatically. Ie I have to log in every every day.

Is there a way of adjusting my settings to save having to do this so my phone logs in automatically ?

 

[HarleyDavidson]

If you have a 4G/3G tariff, use that it's better & faster than the SWT Wi-Fi!

 

[The Ham]

If you use a web browser to try and connect when you haven't signed in then you can save the log in details.

 

[borischelski]

Many thanks for your response.

I am already using 4g. It's not the speed but rather the hassle of having to log in twice a day.

In contrast , on the underground my phone automatically logs into wifi as soon as I walk into the station.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Dear The Ham

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry for the dumb question but as an iPhone user how do I save the password ?

 

[HowardGWR]

You've just reminded me - respond to SW franchise that we need wifi on the 159s.

Or is this a given from DfT?

 

[TEW]

SWT say WiFi is planned to be fitted on all fleets, that's a project in the current franchises. 159s will probably be last due to the technical challenges of fitting it on them though.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

I tried it last week and found it to be very slow, does it's performance vary from unit to unit?

 

[TEW]

It varies depending on how many people are using it. Sometimes I have trouble connecting too. On the whole it seems fairly decent to me, especially as it's free.

 

[randompixel]

When it works it is pretty good. Generally a more consistent signal than my phone, although it still seems to go dead coming into Clapham Junction.

Had a fair few times of it not dishing out IP addresses though.

 

[Paul180]

I have't used it for a while but I found when my train was splitting or joining it would cutout and I would have to log back on I have since giving up on it and just use my phone and tablet and carry a booster battery pack with me if I need to.

 

[swt_passenger]

You've just reminded me - respond to SW franchise that we need wifi on the 159s.

Or is this a given from DfT?

DfT announced in 2015 that free wifi was to be requirement of all train fleets by some date or other, and the Southwestern consultation already states that the new franchise will require it by 2018 at the latest.

But this is academic as I thought the consultation closed last week?

 

[HowardGWR]

DfT announced in 2015 that free wifi was to be requirement of all train fleets by some date or other, and the Southwestern consultation already states that the new franchise will require it by 2018 at the latest.

But this is academic as I thought the consultation closed last week?

All our discussions are that SWT_passenger, but, as I have to spend 2 and 1/2 hours on a 159 shortly, while it calls at every farmyard between Axminster and Clapham Junction, I do have a personal interest in whiling away the time, hopefully usefully.

I was very encouraged by the Transport Focus South West input to the consultation (called 'The Other Half'). Very poignant that title.

 

[antharro]

SWT WiFi is a bit hit and miss depending on where you are.

North of Basingstoke is pretty much OK but south can be seriously patchy - there's a big dead spot between Basingstoke and Winchester, then between Winchester and Southampton Airport Parkway. Through Southampton is usually ok but once you're past Ashurst New Forest it's dead to Brockenhurst, ok at the station then dead to New Milton, ok at the station then dead to Christchurch where it starts to pick up again through Bournemouth and Poole. I don't usually go further than that so I can't comment but I can't imagine it's too good until you get towards Weymouth.

This is the problem with having WiFi that uses the mobile networks - wherever they have a deadspot, so does the WiFi. Not that there's much other option though!

 

[swt_passenger]

All our discussions are that SWT_passenger, but, as I have to spend 2 and 1/2 hours on a 159 shortly, while it calls at every farmyard between Axminster and Clapham Junction, I do have a personal interest in whiling away the time, hopefully usefully.

Sorry if that came across wrong, I don't disagree with wifi for 158s/9s, but was just trying to point out you had apparently missed the chance to reply about it to the consultation.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

Tried using it the other evening at Aldershot during a layover and it was slow, so I just switched off the wifi and used my 4G connection instead and that was blisteringly fast.