Programme Information

A 24-hour help desk service is available to provide you assistance in using GovWiFi or information about the Programme. Please call the hotline at (852) 186 111 or email to enquiry@help.wifi.gov.hk or fax to (852) 2652 6111

Alternatively, you may look up the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provided below. These FAQs may address your needs immediately.

FAQs

• What is the Government Wi-Fi Programme?
  
• The Government Wi-Fi (GovWiFi) Programme is an initiative to provide free wireless Internet access to the public in government premises with high public patronage. These premises include public libraries, public enquiry service centres, sports centres, cultural and recreational centres, cooked food markets and cooked food centres, job centres, community halls, large parks and Government joint-user buildings.
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• Where is GovWiFi service available?
  GovWiFi service is available at selected government premises and the signage is posted in these premises. You may also use our GovWiFi Locator to find out the location of the rolled-out premises or get the lists of launched sites and sites to be implemented at GovWiFi Premises and GovWiFi Locator.
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• Are the Wi-Fi services provided in the public housing estates part of the Government Wi-Fi Programme?
  The free Wi-Fi services provided in the public housing estates are not provided by the GovWiFi Programme. They are provided by other commercial service provider for public rental housing tenants.
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• Do I need registration to use GovWiFi?
• No, registration is not required.
• Are there any control on usage time and bandwidth in using GovWiFi?
• To ensure reasonable performance and fair use by all users, there are bandwidth control and time control for each connection. In general, the bandwidth allocated to each user is about 1Mbps downlink and 512Kbps uplink. The actual performance would depend on the number of concurrent users and the signal strength of the spot the user is located. There is connection time limit set for the service and user will be disconnected if his/her connection time reaches the limit. However, user can reconnect to the GovWiFi service if spare connections are available. Moreover, user will be disconnected from the service if there is a prolonged idle time of about 15 minutes.
• What do I need in order to use the GovWiFi service?
• To connect to the GovWiFi, you just need a Wi-Fi device that is compatible to IEEE 802.11 b/g standards. For details of setup procedure, please refer to the Usage Guide.
• How can I avoid falling into the trap of using other commercial wireless services unintentionally?
• To avoid dispute on connection service charges, you should be aware of the data services you are using and the characteristics of your mobile devices. If you want to avoid connecting to chargeable GPRS, 3G, 3.5G or Wi-Fi services unintentionally, you should turn off the Internet access feature of GPRS, 3G, 3.5G and Wi-Fi, as well as disable the feature of automatic connection to these networks, if possible. Also, the signal strength of GovWiFi in the location may vary at different spots. Some less powerful mobile devices may have a weak connection at some spots. Please move to areas with stronger Wi-Fi signal in order to have a stable Wi-Fi connection.
• Why can’t I access to the Internet after I have connected to the network?
• Please check that your wireless adaptor is configured to obtain a dynamic IP address, and the proxy setting in your Internet browser is off. Please also ensure that you have accepted the "Conditions of Use and Disclaimers" before accessing the Internet, logging in instant messaging services (such as MSN) or logging in VPN, etc. For proxy-based browsers, e.g. Opera Mini, users may be required to accept the "Conditions of Use and Disclaimers" using another browser first.
• Is content filtering mechanism implemented for the GovWiF service?
• Yes, we have requested our service provider to implement content filtering service in order to prevent users from entering into porn and obscene web sites when using GovWiF service.
• Can data be intercepted through the airwaves?
• Data that travels over airwaves is vulnerable to data interception, theft or modification. For better protection, please use the encrypted channel (freegovwifi-e). For critical transactions like e-banking and accessing corporate network data, please use secure communication methods, like VPN, SSL and SSH.
• Why the signal strength is weak?
• The signal strength depends on a lot of factors, such as your position in the location, your mobile device and the orientation of your devices. Some less powerful mobile devices may have a weak connection at some spots. Please move to areas with stronger Wi-Fi signal in order to have a stable Wi-Fi connection. Please remember to disconnect and reconnect the service after you have moved to use the nearest access point.
• Do I need an e-Certificate in order to use the encrypted channel (freegovwifi-e)?
• You do not need an e-Certificate in order to use the encrypted channel. However, your mobile device will need to be installed with the root certificate of “Thawte Premium Server CA” which is usually pre-installed in most devices. If your device is not installed with this root certificate, you can download it from http://www.thawte.com/roots/ (filename: "ThawtePremiumServerCA.cer" under the folder of "Thawte Server Roots" inside the downloaded zip file) if your device supports installing root certificates. To check whether your device supports installing root certificates, please consult your supplier.
• I am prompted to enter username/password when I connect to the encrypted channel. Do I need to apply for a user account?
• You do not need to apply for a user account. A common account with username “govwifi” and password “govwifi” is used for logging in the encrypted channel of the service.
• I have already configured my mobile device with the encrypted channel. Why is my mobile device still connected to the unencrypted channel (freegovwifi) instead of the encrypted channel (freegovwifi-e) ?
• If your mobile device supports setting priority for different Wi-Fi channels, you may set the GovWiFi encrypted channel (freegovwifi-e) to the highest priority, so that when you arrive at GovWiFi location the device will connect to the encrypted channel automatically.