We traveled from London to Paris on the Eurostar recently and it was highly advertised that we would have free WiFi. But we were unable to connect. We saw other passengers using services (presumably on WiFi) but couldn’t figure out what our problem was . We’re not the most tech savvy people, but we are familiar with the basic settings (airplane mode, WiFi, roaming, etc). We will be taking the Thalys this week and their website also states that free WiFi is included. I need to work on a project enroute, so I would really need Internet access. Does anyone know what the secret is?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5456 posts
Wifi on Eurostar is on the new and refurbished trains only - you may have been on an old unrefurbished one and the other people using 4g rather than wifi. Mobile coverage in the south tunnel is provided by French mobile companies, and in the north tunnel by UK ones.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
In case you don't see instructions inside the train, https://www.thalys.com/fr/en/services/on-board/internet-wifi-on-thalys describes the procedure as simple:
Go to the website www.thalysnet.com and simply click on the button "Connect to the WiFi". You do not need to log in or create a user account.
The WiFi service is subject to availability, depending on the technical conditions on the day. Any losses of connection you may experience are related to the presence of concrete-lined tunnels and hilly terrain within our network.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
This is why having a smart phone with mobile data and a WiFi hot spot was so essential to me last year training from Slovenia through Italy to Paris!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
I have never found the train wifi to be very reliable. If you can get connect, it tends to be slow and frequently loses connection. You need to bring your own hot spot.
Posted by
New York, NY
4071 posts
We will be taking the Thalys this week and their website also states
that free WiFi is included.
Please share your experience traveling on Thalys. Were you able to pick your own seats? I'll be taking it in a few months and will need to sit facing forward. Thalys doesn't allow you to select the direction of your seats. I'm curious if your train is crowded or light too. Thanks. I hope the wifi works out for you.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Continental -- The reason you cannot select your seat direction is because the cars are designed to run equally well in either directions so there is no way of knowing which car is running in which direction. And sometimes the direction the train is running will be reversed depending on the train stations. The only way to insure a seat facing forward is to select two seats facing each other so one is always forward and one is always backwards.
Posted by
Chicago
8165 posts
The secret is to somehow buy your own wifi and do not depend on the train to work on a project.
Or use the hotel wifi the night before for the 3 hours you will not have it on the train
Posted by
New York, NY
4071 posts
The only way to insure a seat facing forward is to select two seats
facing each other so one is always forward and one is always
backwards.
Frank, thank you. Which seat selection option in the train reservation can I find the the choice of two seats facing each other? The choices they give are "kiosk" and "family".
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Train wi-fi can be very unreliable. They usually don't provide enough bandwidth for all the people wanting to use it, and the connection itself can not work outside urban areas.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
I used the Thalys Wi-Fi from Rotterdam to Brussels last year, and it worked perfectly the whole way.