Hotspot usage
Hotspot operation
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How do I put credit on my HOTSPLOTS account as a user?
You can put money on your HOTSPLOTS account in one of the following ways:
1. Sofortüberweisung
(Immediately available, minimum of EUR 2.00)
If you have a bank account in one of the following countries, you can use the service of “sofortüberweisung” to initiate a bank transfer from your bank account to us:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, UK, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
The money will be immediately available in your HOTSPLOTS account. You will not need to wait until the bank has transferred the money to ours.
2. Credit cards
(Immediately available, minimum of EUR 5.00)
With your Visa, MasterCard or American Express you can put money on your HOTSPLOTS account and use it right away.
3. Direct debit
(only available in Germany) (Immediately available, minimum of EUR 5.00)
For “verified customers” (e.g. hotspot operators) we offer the direct debit option. You tell us your account information and we charge the desired amount conveniently via direct debit. You automatically become a verified customer if you put credit on your account via a money transfer, thereby allowing us to verify your bank account information. We have to take this precaution to protect us and the hotspot operators from people who provide false account information. Please note that the direct debit option is only available in Germany.
4. PayPal
(Mostly available in less than 1 hour, minimum of EUR 6.00)
If you already have a PayPal account, this is the easiest way to put credit on your hotsplots account.
- Enter the desired amount and hit the PayPal button.
- We will then redirect you to PayPal, where you can quickly and safely put the desired amount on your HOTSPLOTS account.
Sometimes PayPal does not process the order immediately but keeps the money for a couple of days until some kind of inspection is finished. For regular users we recommend to use Money Transfer or Direct debit.
5. Money transfer
(Takes a few days to process, minimum of EUR 5.00)
If you choose the money transfer option, we provide you with a code that you write on your transfer order. As soon as we receive the money your HOTSPLOTS account will be credited with the respective amount. Unfortunately a money transfer takes a few days to process, meaning you can’t use your credit right away. Once we have received one successful money order you will become a “verified customer”, allowing you to choose the instantly-processable direct debit option next time.
How do I connect to a hotspot?
- The internet surfer chooses the hotspot Wi-Fi. In Windows you can use the function “Choose a wireless network”.
A quick start guide for Android and iOS can be downloaded here. - Initially access to the internet is denied. After trying to connect to a website for the first time, the surfer is redirected to the HOTSPLOTS server. This connection is always secured by SSL-encryption. All information about the user is stored only on the servers of HOTSPLOTS.
- The login depends on the location owners choice:
- Direct login: The user accepts the terms and logins with a single click.
- User login: The user authenticates himself to the HOTSPLOTS server with his username and password. If successful he is authorized for internet access. It the hotspot isn’t free of charge the user has to pay in some money to his user account before that. The billing works on a prepaid basis. Many hotspots can be used for free.
- Ticket login: At many hotspots you can get so called Location Tickets. These tickets provide a username and password, so no registration at our website is necessary.
- Every few minutes and at the end of the session the hotspot sends information about traffic and duration time to the HOTSPLOTS server. This data is used to calculate the session’s costs, which are then withdrawn from the user account.
How do I order the FlexiFlat?
You do not need to order the FlexiFlat. When you start using hotspots with FlexiFlat you pay the normal price per minute oder GB until you reach the FlexiFlat-Limit of EUR 14.95. After that you can continue to use the hotspots for free until the end of the current calendar month (i.e. January, February etc.).
This is valid at all FlexiFlat locations. Where you can use the FlexiFlat can be seen in advance at our map. Additionally it is written in the tariff information in the login screen of all these hotspots. When you have used a hotspot with this option the FlexiFlat will be at least valid until the end of the calendar month.
How can I log out?
You will automatically be logged out if you are disconnected from a hotspot for longer than 10 minutes, for example if you leave the reception area or switch off your laptop.
However the most exact and safest way is to actively logout on our server via http://logout.hotsplots.de
This page shows not only the logout button but also information about the status of the current user session, i.e. remaining time and data volume.
How long does bank transfer take?
Bank transfers in EUR between two banks in the EU may take up to three working days between debit of the customer’s account to the credit on the user’s HOTSPLOTS account. The HOTSPLOTS account will be credited in the morning between 08:00 am and 12:30 pm..
If the transfer is submitted to the bank in writing, the time until crediting may be extended by one day. Banks and HOTSPLOTS only book on working days from Monday to Friday.
What do I need to consider when using direct debit?
The comfortable direct debit is offered to registered customers who have charged their HOTSPLOTS account at least once by bank transfer.
For payments of prepaid money we offer bank transfer for customers in the EU with EUR bank accounts. For contracts of hotspot operators it might be possible with bank accounts in other currencies, i. e. GBP bank accounts in the UK. Please contact our accounting department for assistance in such a case.
If the direct debit fails, e. g. because of wrong bank data or a lack of credit balance, HOTSPLOTS has to pay a fee for the return debit note. Hence HOTSPLOTS charges the amount of this external costs per return debit note.
What information is stored at hotspot usage?
With every login or logout at a hotspot, time, name of the hotspot, MAC address of the hotspot router and client computer, public IP address of the hotspot, local IP address of the client, transfered amount of data and depending on the type of authorization username, ticket number or MAC address are stored.
HOTSPLOTS does not record content or visited URLs. These data are protected by the secrecy of telecommunications in German law.
During a session stored data are updated every ten minutes. The interim information of finished sessions is deleted daily.
After logout data that is not needed for billing purposes is temporarily stored for technical maintenance and support. In an effort to reach an optimum between privacy protection and quality of service we go clearly below the legal limit of seven days. At the moment we delete these data after three days.
All data that is needed for billing purposes is deleted monthly if it is older than five months and the bill is paid without objection.
Until these data are deleted the hotspot operator can view some usage data of his hotspots in the customer area. He has access to the data of his own sessions or those of the location tickets he created. Data of other sessions is shown anonymised, i.e. without username or even real name.
You find further information in the data protection policy of our website..
Is the hotspot encrypted securely?
Usually, the SSID of our Hotspots are not encrypted, so every user can connect to the WiFi network easily. A client needs to authenticate with us, before he is able to use the internet connection.
Important aspects of the security while installing a WiFi hotspot are the protection of locally installed devices from access out of the hotspot and also preventing hotspot users from accessing other hotspot users — this is done via a netwide client-isolation. The neccessary settings are activated as standard on our configured hotspot gateways.
Alternatively a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used to secure traffic via client and internet.
If you choose to setup your hotspot router on your own, please read the routers manual, which we provide here.
How can I delete my account?
If you want to delete your user account, you usually do not have to cancel it separately. Please log in to the Customer login. You simply click in the customer site the menu item “account” on “edit account” and at the bottom of the page on the link “delete account” and then confirm.
Your account will be immediately deactivated after pressing the confirmation button “Yes, delete account”. Please consider, that remaining balance you might have on your account, will be lost.
In case you have running contract, such as HOTSPLOTS FreeRate or Postpaid, probably because you are not just a user but a hotspot operator, please read the according answer in the FAQ for hotspot operators.
How do I find the MAC address of my device (Android, iOS)?
You can find the MAC address in the settings of your mobile device. You can download a short instruction for various Android and iOS versions here: Quick Guide MAC address