Can't connect

[Sarah LeViness]

Let me try this again. I was called a leech before. I am homeless because I lost my job of four years. Sometimes I stay at my uncles. His neighbor has an open wifi. I use it for my kids to watch netflix on the PlayStation because we are all stuck in one room when we stay here with nothing to do.

One day my phone disconnected from the wifi. When I try to connect, it does. But a few seconds later it disconnects again. My PlayStation on the other hand stays connected which I'm grateful for. But how can I fix my phone so it will stay connected?

I have already tried restarting my phone several times. I have tried turning wifi on and off. I had a friend who told me something to try... turn wifi off, turn airplane mode on, turn wifi back on, then turn airplane mode back off. That did not work either.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central, and sorry to hear about the poor treatment in the past. In your situation, it may require the owner of the wi-fi router to reboot or reset it (see this guide: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...roubleshooting-wi-fi-connection-problems.html).

What you're doing is not quite on the up-and-up, assuming the owner of the wi-fi network is unaware of your activity--this is why most people recommend securing home wi-fi networks, because if they remain open, then anyone could tap into the network, and the real problems occur when somebody who is up to no good decides to start hacking away. Obviously, that's not what you're doing, but keep in mind that jumping onto someone's wi-fi network could also slow that network down for the owner, especially if you're doing a lot of video streaming.

Have you considered knocking on your neighbor's door, introducing yourself nicely, explaining your situation, and asking if it's ok for you to use their network when you're there? Let them know it's primarily for your kids. See if there's something you can offer, like baking some cookies or something. You'd be surprised at how nice some people can be. If the owner agrees, then you might be able to request him to reboot the router to see if that helps with the connection.