Wifi wonky in South Korea (ATT American iPhone 5s)

[sdge007]

The title kind of says it all...

I have come to South Korea with my iPhone 5s (I got an iPhone specifically because I will travel a lot and it's a "World Phone") and I went to SKT, the biggest telecom provider here, and bought a wifi plan so I can use their wifi anywhere it is available, which is pretty much everywhere.

I can join about 40% of their wifi hotspots, and when I can join, usually the connection is quite slow. The 60% of the time I can't join it just hangs for 10 seconds, and then tells me I can't connect to that spot.

Oddly enough this also happens when I use other open wifi hotpots. There are many "iptime" (it's apparently some dirt cheap router and if people don't set it up, it just displays itself as iptime) as well as anygate, and I can join like 80% of them.

All of my Korean friends with my exact same phone, on the exact same network NEVER have these problems.... what gives?

Any ideas? Even my Macbook Air sometimes has problems connecting to open wifi hotspots here... it's such a weird mystery to me, and I don't even know where to start

I'm thinking of doing a real complete wipe to the iphone and starting from scratch.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I don't know. Try using it via VPN.

 

[sdge007]

I don't know. Try using it via VPN.

I don't quite understand..... isn't VPN (and I'm not sure about this) a way to use an internet connection to tunnel through another computer (usually at your place of work) so that you seem as though you are in your business?

I can't connect to a wifi hotspot, thus I couldn't VPN through another server.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Yes, and since you couldn't connect normally, I suggested you attempt to connect via VPN. For example, i can initiate a VPN connection via my cellular network and then switch over to Wi-Fi. I was trying to see if doing something similar would allow you to connect somehow. Yes, I know it's a long shot, but hey, nothing else was working...