I had a strange experience this past week. I was staying in a cabin in the mountains where we had no cell phone service, but the office had WiFi available. When I tried to check email and check a couple of news pages, however, I was unable to get a connection. I had WiFi enabled, I had connected to their server, and the notification bar showed a good signal. I was also able, the next day, to connect with my laptop.

It wasn’t a disaster, since the town nearby did have cell service and since I had my laptop, but I am puzzled as to why I couldn’t connect. We are going to the Canadian Rockies in the spring. I won’t have the laptop with me, and I don’t want to use the cell service if I can avoid roaming charges. I had assumed that I could use WiFi to get email and text copies of voice mail, but now I am wondering if I need a backup plan.

I have no problems with WiFi at home, so I wouldn't think it is a hardware problem.

Can anyone explain why I had the problem -- and more importantly, how to solve it?