Tech This Out: Hands-on with new Laurier wi-fi hotspot

Are you sick and tired of having to complete a long list of steps to connect to Laurier Wireless? Frustrated with not being able to use Laurier Wireless for your mobile devices like an iPod Touch or cell phone with Wi-Fi? Laurier listened and the new “Laurier Wi-Fi” is born.

Simply select to connect to “laurierwifi” and point your web browser to a website and you will be prompted to enter your login and password, the same login and password as your school email, and voilà, you’re on Facebook!

The downside to Laurier Wi-Fi is that it runs on the same network as the previous Laurier Wireless we’ve come to know and love, therefore don’t be surprised if you experience the same connection drop outs and lack of internet connection on the network. But now at least you will be able to connect to it!

The Verdict

My experiences with Laurier Wi-Fi has been hit and miss. Sometimes it refuses to connect but, when it does connect, I love the convenience of being able get on the internet on my iPhone with a simple login prompt screen.

Basically any Wi-Fi enabled device will be able to connect to the Laurier Wi-Fi, without the need of preinstalled software or complicated network configurations. At the time of publication, I am not able to connect to Laurier Wi-Fi in the Concourse but keep in mind this is a newly created wireless access option and may not be as stable as it should be later, when it’s out of its test phase.

Overall, laurierwifi is a step in the right direction, though there are still other network issues, such as stability, that need to be improved.