Where to find free wi-fi in London

am looking for free wifi hotspots in SE London Forest Hill, Brockey area...anyone got any suggestions?

are there any free wifi hotspots in se london ie forest hill brockley way?

When I do on-line banking, that's through websites that have extra layers of security. (Matching pictures or clicking on a missing letter in a secret word.) As far as I know, St Pancras hasn't compromised my bank account (if I've done any banking from there). On 11 January St Pancras's Security Certificate expired and my laptop didn't want to use St Pancras's wi-fi for several days. (I guess it's up to date now.) I found another totaly free hot spot last week. It's at the Victoria Coach Station. (Some of the buses advertise free wi-fi but I haven't been on one of those yet.) (I'm now using a friend's internet connection in Wales.)

The list, and many of the comments, dont make clear that there is are 2 kinds of "free" wifi: password-secured, and totally unsecured. There's a big difference. If you buy something using totally unsecured free wifi, your password and financial info could be available to people preying on unsecured wifi users. The kind of wifi at St Pancras is totally unsecured- which is fine for general net surfing. But you definitely dont want to do internet banking while using that. And I personally wouldnt do any password-protected site, like email. The other kind-- like in public libraries, or anywhere where you're required to "sign in" (either with a password you make up, or with a password the cafe staff will give you on a piece of paper), is the password protected free wifi. This is more suitable for email, facebook, etc. But even these places suggest that you dont use it for internet banking or for making any purchases. It's irresponsible for Timeout not to note the difference between "free" wifi, and which kind is best for what kind of surfing.

@Nigel from New Zealand: If you only want the WiFi then I can see that you are going to buy something just to ensure you are a customer, so in that sense it wouldn't be free, but I go in Wetherspoons anyway and I don't pay any more for using the WiFi, so for me it is free. A lot of tourists go to McDog because it is cheap and you know roughly what you are going to get there (and some people actually like their stuff), so it helps with holiday budgets and once you are in there you can log on to The Cloud for nothing. Students use McDog for the same reason and because of that there are some which look like internet cafes at times. If you are going in there for the food then it doesn't cost any extra for the WiFi. In St Pancras International station you just log on. No need to buy anything, so that one really is free. Phill.

Hi Phil, Sure, you have to be there to access wi-fi. The point I was trying to make was that the establishments that supply "free" wi-fi expect me to spend money at them. That's especially clear if I need to ask for a password. On my way here from New Zealand I found free wi-fi at Perth Airport in Western Australia, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, and at a hostel in Goreme, Turkey. Before I left New Zealand I had heard that by December free wi-fi was going to be available on part of Wellington city's harbour waterfront. And while I was in Midland, a city on the north side of Perth, I saw a notice that free wi-fi was available in the CBD. You could say that all the airports and cities expect people to spend money in them, so there's no such thing as a truly 'free wi-fi connection', but what I'm interested in finding is wi-fi with no explicit strings attached, which I expected when I read "...as well as some free wifi hotspots". Cheers, Nigel

@Nigel from New Zealand: Not sure exactly what your point is here. If you are a customer in a lot of places in London (e.g. McDog, Wetherspoon, Taylor Walker or Fuller's pubs, etc.) then you don't pay for using the WiFi there. I mentioned St Pancras International Station because you just have to be there to use it. When you go to those places the WiFi hotspot will just show up. In McDog or Wetherspoon (and Taylor Walker pubs I think) look for The Cloud. In St Pancras Station it is their own branded supply. In Fuller's pubs, ask behind the bar (you need a password for theirs). Hope this helps. Phil.

"Time Out crosses London to find the pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants that offer free wifi, as well as some free wifi hotspots" Okay, you've listed some pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants that offer free wifi but where are the free wifi hotspots?? Are you claiming credit for the mentions of St Pancras International Station and Westfield Shopping Centre in White City?

Your list does not include the fact that there is free wi-fi in Memorial Park, and the Grassroots Community Resource Centre in the Park 500 metres or so from West Ham underground station. The Park also has a spur onto the Greenway which leads to the Olympic Park

Thank you guys! This was really helpful!!