Free FON wifi router (+ free access at fonspots worldwide)

badboylee16

Basically it a scam thy saying if you want it you have buy a access point later to share it otherwise they will do something but they cant do nout, basically if u get it use secure for personal use and then they cant do anything because you purchased it under the pretences that it was a free wireless router nothing about sharing or extras.

monsieur_epargnant

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it a scam as their website is quite clear about the purpose of their service. Maybe if you thought you were getting a free adsl/router because of a link via this forum then you should maybe look into the things your signing up for a little more clearly.

This company FON has been funded by Skype and Google as noted in this BBC article with a nice $20 Million last year. They won't be too keen on basing their business plan on 'scamming' people.

Also note that when you get the Fonera that they say if you can't use it just pass it on to someone that could use it and enjoy sharing their connection. To me that seems pretty fair as it hasn't commited us to any kind of contract we wish we hadn't signed up to. Shame you aren't happy with it. Can I have yours?




To address your issue about the router they are assuming you have one already but if you need one they also sell them. The fonera is just a device to open your broadband up to the benefits of wifi without having to buy a new router. They're also testing software to do the same with internal wifi like on a Macbook. They can't be too keen on keeping people buying their routers I feel by trying out these services too.

nick88

monsieur_epargnant wrote:

This little social router uses dd-wrt (Google it) but a version that is closed for FON use only. If you were to be able to flash it with a full wrt version you could then and only then use it as wireless bridge. They are yet to be able to do this with the latest firmware on the Fonera.

Note that this was only on the original Linksys reflashed models, with their "advanced" firmware, which gave you more control over your router. The new La Fonera is now based on the Open WRT framework. With the old Linksys routers, you were able to download your own firmware - effectively giving you a router for €5.

The Linksys also only had one SSID, meaning that there was no secure wifi for your own use...

Saeed

Just ordered one too. There is no "catch" per se except that you will hopefully share your internet and therefore generate money for FON when people access the internet via your device. But if you share your intenet access for free you will be able to access other peoples WiFi for free which is how it should be :T

marleyboy wrote:

do they send a confirmation email to let you know its being posted? also, whats the catch?

WhichWayNow

It's only a matter of time until the firmware is cracked, that's when I'll be using mine.

vinylmusic

nick88 wrote:

FON is the largest WiFi community in the world. Our members share their wireless Internet access at home and, in return, enjoy free WiFi wherever they find another Fonero’s Access Point. (You also get an encrypted access point for your personal use)

http://www.fon.com/1yearold/

"Get a FREE La Fonera WiFi router in celebration of our first birthday

- Order a FREE La Fonera WiFi router with no taxes and FREE shipping
- Join the Community and start using FONspots for FREE around the world
- FREE membership in the FON Community
- FONspots for FREE around the world
- This is a limited time offer - only 10,000 La Foneras are available (there's less for the UK though)

Get WiFi everywhere - FON gives you FREE internet access wherever you see a FONspot. There´s over 70,000 of them world wide already!

There are no downloads, no contract and no hassle. So what are you waiting for? Join FON!. Connect La Fonera or share it with someone else. That´s all!"

I just wasted a lot of time filling out forms that just return error messages.
I thought I'd finally cracked it and it came back with username and email address already in use even though I hadnt finished filling in my details.
I tried entering my email and password and it stated i would receive an email
waited and waited but no email
Now I'm completely stuck and fed up with it

Dan:)_7

i still havent had mine delivered i really need one of these, gonna take it into work and then my customers can have FREE wi-fi

pgibb6617

Mine arrived on Friday. Had forgot about it. Haven't set it up yet but will keep you informed when I do.

lewt

thats good to know tat they do come,

Saeed

for people who have already got theirs, how long do they usually take to arrive?