WI-FI in Canada

[Kayteg1]

Planning to drive to Alaska in just few days and I know that my cellphone will become a brick in Canada, but how is WI-FI ?
Will my Sprint Mia-Fi work? If not, will other places like Starbucks or McD have free WI-FI?

[Kayteg1]

Lwiddis wrote:
Have you consulted with Sprint?

So far I reactivated old model and that is turning out huge hassle with Sprint. I have modem I was using with Sprint, but sold by a charity, it had no Sprint account. :h
So I went to local service location and young guy establish new account, what took him about 40 minutes with all those credit checks, but did not give me any printout and only some hand-written notes what is PIN and number.
Turned out the PIN is not a PIN, but security answer. He did not put my billing ZIP, but the old one I had on my DL. :S
Took me 3 hr on the net trying to log with different options and finally it come that he had to key wrong SS number and no call to Sprint can correct that. Now I have to go back to Sprint office and spend another 1 hr or more to correct it.
When I will check with Sprint option for Canada, I am not really interested in spending extra money for the few days I'll drive in Canada. If I can use public WI-FI once a day, that is all I need, so thanks for the answers. Now being in Canada in the past, I don't expect McD every 20 miles, but anybody can tell me what to expect on Vancouver- Alaska route? :@

[PartyOf_Five]

Great info thanks

[blofgren]

DrewE wrote:
Tim Horton's generally has free Wi-Fi as well, and they seem to be most everywhere.

But be aware you’ll become hooked on the coffee! :B

[DrewE]

Tim Horton's generally has free Wi-Fi as well, and they seem to be most everywhere.

[pianotuna]

McDonalds has free wifi in Canada. So does Starbucks.

Your Sprint device will only work if you have a plan that allows it to connect to the cell phone suppliers in Canada.

Have a wonderful trip!

[Lwiddis]

Have you consulted with Sprint?

[MDKMDK]

Starbucks, McDonald's, and many of the big box stores like Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Staples (may) offer free wifi in Canada. Welcome centers and other "touristy" places may also offer it. No guarantees.

If you're driving via Hwy 97 (AlCan/Alaska Highway) there aren't many cell towers out there once you get past Dawson Creek, except in the towns and cities. The main cell tower coverage up there is by Bell Mobility, so if you have a US service provider that has a reciprocal agreement with Bell Mobility Canada, your phone may work in a "roaming" sense, but as there aren't many towers, cell service may be spotty/unreliable. Alternately, you could purchase a cheap prepaid Bell-based SIM card, add some funds, and get coverage that way.
3 years ago we found out the hard way that Rogers based cell service is pretty much shut out along Hwy 97.
When you hit the Alaska border, then your own cell tower infrastructure will take over, and you'll probably have better coverage.