How to Use Spectrum Wi-Fi Hotspots

Spectrum Wi-Fi hotspots are found in major cities all over the United States. Whether you’re located in Minneapolis or Los Angeles, you’ve probably come across Spectrum Wi-Fi.

You might have wondered, “What even is Spectrum Wi-Fi, and can I connect to it?” There’s good news. There are roughly 530,000 Spectrum Wi-Fi hotspots located in public parks and major cities all across the United States. If you use Spectrum Mobile, you can access any of these hotspots.

Connecting to these hotspots is fast and easy. Simply follow the steps below.

If you use Spectrum Mobile and want to easily connect to any of the hotspots, simply download the Spectrum Mobile Account app. This app will allow your device to connect automatically whenever there’s a Spectrum hotspot within reach.

First, open the app and go to settings. Select the Connections tab and then choose Wi-Fi. You should see another screen with a Wi-Fi Settings Menu. It really sounds more complicated than it is. Once you select Advanced, you can turn on Spectrum Mobile Wi-Fi auto-connect. Now you’re finished. You can sit back and enjoy running into Wi-Fi hotspots all over the country while streaming Netflix in a park outside.

Spectrum Mobile allows up to five connections on the same account, so you go through the same process on all your devices and connect to Spectrum Wi-Fi automatically.

If downloading an app on your device sounds like too much of a hassle (and let’s be honest, takes up wayyy too much storage), you may want to connect to the network manually. Here’s what you can do:

1. Go to the Wi-Fi settings on your device.
2. Select one of Spectrum’s networks. It most likely will say “Spectrum," "Spectrum Mobile,” or “Spectrum Free Trial.” “Boingo” and “AlticeWiFi” are also common names for it.
3. Select the network, and sign in using your Spectrum Mobile username and password.
4. Accept Spectrum’s terms and conditions by selecting Sign In.
5. Select Continue to start using Spectrum Wi-Fi.

While the Spectrum Mobile Account app allows up to five devices, you can sign in with up to 15 total devices on your Spectrum account. If you have a choice between different Spectrum networks, try connecting to “Spectrum Mobile WiFi”—it usually has the fastest internet speed.

Because you need to have a Spectrum Mobile account in order to use Spectrum Wi-Fi hotspots, Spectrum has a slightly higher security level than other public Wi-Fi networks. That being said, common Wi-Fi hotspots in parks, cities, and other recreational areas are never 100% secure.

If you’re a Spectrum Mobile customer, try connecting to the “SpectrumWiFi Plus” network. This Wi-Fi hotspot has extra encryption for added security. You’ll need to create a Spectrum Wi-Fi profile in order to connect to this network.

First, download the My Spectrum mobile app and sign in with your Spectrum account information. Go to Account and simply choose Select Wi-Fi Profile. Once this profile is installed, your device will automatically connect to the most secured network (rather than the one you happen to choose).

While choosing the most secure Spectrum Wi-Fi hotspot will definitely help keep your information more secure, it’s not the only thing you can do. Investing in a reliable virtual private network (VPN) is one of the best ways to secure your data when using public Wi-Fi (or any network, for that matter).

There are a lot of great VPNs out there that will prevent hackers from stealing your data. We’ve tested dozens of VPNs on the market, and if security is your main concern, then these VPNs have the best security protocol and the highest encryption software:

• Best VPN Services for Online Privacy

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