Where to get free Wi-Fi in Singapore?

You're outside and you want to surf the Internet but don't have a data phone plan. What should you do?

Head to the nearest fast food outlet or library. Most of these places are hotspots for Singapore's free public Wi-Fi service Wireless@SG.

Surfing speeds on the service will be more than doubled to 5Mbps by year-end, Dr Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State for Communications and Information, said on Monday (April 11) in Parliament.

The number of Wireless@SG hot spots will also be doubled to 20,000 by 2018

Read our guide below to find out more places where you can get free Wi-Fi.

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There are at least 33 stations with free Wi-Fi. By 2020, all train stations and bus interchanges will have access to free Wi-Fi.

Click the map below to find out which stations currently have free Wi-Fi.

There are around 118 McDonald's outlets with free Wi-Fi. Some of these operate round-the-clock.

In addition, most of the outlets of these brands provide free Wi-Fi: Starbucks, KFC, Burger King and Pizza Hut.

Click below to find out where the outlets are located.

 

Most museums under the National Heritage Board have free Wi-Fi. You may, however, have to pay for admission tickets.

Those with Wi-Fi include the Singapore Arts Museum, Malay Heritage Centre, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Philatelic Museum, Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Peranakan Museum and Asian Civilisations Museum.

Quite a few malls provide free Wi-Fi though the service may be limited to certain areas of the mall.

Those with Wi-Fi include NEX Mall, City Square Mall, Suntec City Mall, White Sands Mall, Tampines 1, Alexandra Retail Centre, City Plaza, North Point, Harbourfront Centre, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Robertson Walk, Vivo City, Valley Point, The CentrePoint, Aperial Mall and Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium.

Very few attractions offer free Wi-Fi.

Those with Wi-Fi include Gardens By The Bay, iExperience @ Esplanade Xchange, Science Centre, Mount Faber, parts of Sentosa and Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Ferry terminals also have Wi-Fi: Changi Point Ferry Terminal, Marina South Pier Ferry Terminal and West Coast Ferry Terminal.

Undoubtedly one of the best places to access free Wi-Fi. Libraries are quiet and have plenty of seats so you can hunker down and not be disturbed.

Click here to get a full list of libraries in Singapore.

It's no surprise that few retail outlets offer free Wi-Fi. But if you happen to be at Muji, Swatch, LG Electronics or Snip Avenue, be sure to make full use of it.

Community Clubs offer courses and programmes, organise bazaars and parties and rent out facilities like basketball and badminton courts. They also offer free Wi-Fi.

Click here to get a full list of community centres.

You wouldn't visit a hospital just to access free Wi-Fi, but if you are there visiting someone, this knowledge may come in handy.

You can access Wi-Fi at Alexandra Hospital, Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's

Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National University Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Bright Vision Hospital.

There's also Wi-Fi at the Singapore Sports Medicine Centre, National Heart Centre Singapore, National Cancer Centre, National Dental Centre, Singapore National Eye Centre, Health Promotion Board, Bestway House, Academia, Jurong Medical Centre, National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore, Singhealth Polyclinic and St Luke's Elder Care.

Last but not least, Changi Airport.

Singaporeans go there to shop, study, eat, watch aeroplanes take-off and while away the time.

They also go there to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi, available at Terminal 1, 2 and 3.

 

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Most free Wi-Fi services are under Wireless@SG which may be provided by M1, StarHub, Singtel or Y5Zone, though some cafes and restaurants may provide their own free Wi-Fi service. Here are some ways to connect to Wireless@SG:

Method 1

Download the Wireless@SG app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

If you have a Singapore SIM card, you will be directed to install a profile. If you don't, you will have to set up an account.

Use the Hotspot locator to find the nearest free Wi-Fi area.

You will be able to connect to any Wireless@SG hotspot without needing to re-login.

Method 2

Connect to the Wireless@SG network.

A web login portal will launch. Use it to sign up for an account.

A password will be sent to you via SMS.

Method 3

Visit your mobile operator's website and complete an online registration form.

A password will be sent to you via SMS