Going overseas.will wifi automatically work?

Leaving NYC, going to London...can I take my laptop w/o issues?

[Hubie]

Leaving NYC going to London for a week. Have a tiny laptop I'd love to take over there, pop it open, and have my wifi work as it doesnt here in the USA.

Any roadblocks to this? If so, I might be better off using internet cafe's in the UK and not risk even transporting my laptop.

First time going overseas in the last decade so I really have no clue...

[vincevincevince]

You will need to find a hotspot first - they cover most of the nicer areas of London. Be prepared to pay by credit card for access.

Try near public libraries and universities as they frequently have open internet access. Some food retailers and cafes have free wifi.

If all else fails, sitting outside a residential tower-block should give you a good dozen or more sources to check for connectivity. That, however, isn't generally considered the done thing in Britain.

[Hubie]

any compatability problems or are today's computers (mine's a year old dell) ready to go in USA or London (or anywhere).

[pmkpmk]

They have different wall outlets in the UK. Also the voltage is 230V. Make sure you have an adaptor and - if necessary - a transformer to convert to 110V. Most modern laptops do well with both - 230V and 110V. Olders might have issues there.

If you need to hook up your laptop to a phone, be aware that a different type of jack is used in the UK. Most modern hotels will have the so-called "western jacks" for their phones. But only last week I visited a more rural part of the UK (Northamptonshire) and they had the UK-type of phone jacks.

As far as WiFi is concerned, the transmission frequencies and protocols are standardized. So problems you might run into is coverage/accessibility of WiFi and mechanical problems like the ones described above.

[vincevincevince]

Good point about the power. I'd check what's written on your power transformer next to input. If it accepts both 110 and 240V then you should be able to just use a plug conversion.

As far as WiFi is concerned, the transmission frequencies and protocols are standardized.

Not quite true - the US does not use wifi channels 12 and 13 and your hardware may be physically prevented from doing so. That may limit your choice of hotspot. We also limit the power to 100mW - so you may be (illegally) getting better performance than the rest of us whilst you're here!

Every phone store and junk store stocks 'modem cables' which have a standard UK phone jack on one end and an 'American' phone connection at the other.

[pmkpmk]

Thanks for the WiFi info - that's news to me.

Every phone store and junk store stocks 'modem cables' which have a standard UK phone jack on one end and an 'American' phone connection at the other.

You would assume that a high-priced business hotel would have those available for overseas travelers, would you? Well, the one I was in last week hadn't. They hadn't even HEARD of other phone jacks and kept insisting that I should "simply plug (my laptop) in". They were so convinced of it, that I became unsure and actually tried it, expecting maybe some kind of convertible phone jack. But of course it did NOT work...