setting up laptop in Europe

[cornishgail]

As a complete technophobe I have bought myself a wi-fi laptop to hopefully use in our campervan when we do France/Portugal and Spain in may/june.
Now what do I do to make it work there---what bits of equipment do I need?
The aim is to use it in the van as we tend to avoid towns [Mc Donalds]
I,m connected to a BT hub at home so can I use BT fon abroad?
So many questions--so little knowledge!!!
Is it really worth the effort--and money to even try?
Would appreciate any information but please make it easy to understand as my early school years were with wooden lidded desks with inkpots!!

 

[kelly 58]

We use our laptop in europe usually by stopping at McD's and using their wi-fi from the car park or by going to the local tourism office there are a lot of McD's on the outskirts of most towns in the Centre Commercial Ikea also have free wi-fi I have McD's as a PIO on my tomtom and as we avoid toll roads its surprising how many McD's you pass en-route . We are with BT / fon but have never used it as we have not to date been able to find a pick up connection . Do not go and buy a wi-fi payg dongle because in Europe the cost is unreal compared to the UK.

 

[oTTo]

. Do not go and buy a wi-fi payg dongle because in Europe the cost is unreal compared to the UK.

Let me ask the reversed question please:
What would you recommend to a German in visiting GB ?

Thanks in advance

oTTo

 

[maingate]

Let me ask the reversed question please:
What would you recommend to a German in visiting GB ?

Thanks in advance

oTTo

Hi Otto,

Do a search on here as there have been plenty of threads on this subject. You can decide which one is best for you.

Vodaphone is a popular choice in the UK. Be aware that any top up on pay as you go is only valid for 30 days. If you have a dongle then you probably only need to buy a sim card unless you can access free wifi.

 

[Canalsman]

As a complete technophobe I have bought myself a wi-fi laptop to hopefully use in our campervan when we do France/Portugal and Spain in may/june.
Now what do I do to make it work there---what bits of equipment do I need?
The aim is to use it in the van as we tend to avoid towns [Mc Donalds]
I,m connected to a BT hub at home so can I use BT fon abroad?
So many questions--so little knowledge!!!
Is it really worth the effort--and money to even try?
Would appreciate any information but please make it easy to understand as my early school years were with wooden lidded desks with inkpots!!

Hi Gail

If the laptop has wi-fi built in you don't need any additional equipment. The kit ***** has referred to extends the distance over which you can use wi-fi.

You may find there's an on-off switch for the wi-fi. That's there so you can switch it off when not required thereby extending the time you can run the laptop off its battery.

Make sure it's ON when you want to connect.

If it's a Windows laptop you might wish to download and install software to detect wi-fi 'hotspots' (e.g. McDonalds) that offer open access - no password required to connect.

I suggest you drive to your nearest McDonalds and try it ...

Kelly 58 mentions dongles - these don't use wi-fi, they use mobile phone networks for data transmission and reception.

Regards

Chris