Unlimited Skyping @ home for free!
5 08 2005
Love to use Skype, but find that you are constantly adding funds to your account? Trying to figure out why you are using skype instead of Vonage? Well let me tell you how to use Skype for $7.95/month….wait…NOT EVEN….IT’S FREE!!!!
HOW?!?! Well, you need to only buy one piece of equiptment. A Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G Router. It can be found on Amazon for $142, and around $116 on eBay.
Next you have to configure it with the Boingo firmware. That’s it. When you setup your Boingo account you are now an authorized reseller of Boingo wireless with a master account that entitles you to use ANY other Boingo hotspot (including your own).
Maybe a little backstory first. Boingo is a wireless hot spot provider, sort of like T-Mobile hotspots in Starbucks. The cost is $21.95 a month for unlimted access or $7.95 a month for Skype only access on ANY of these Boingo hotspots.
You can buy the Linksys WRV54G router and setup a Boingo hotspot in your business, home, office etc. You can make money from having a Boingo hotspot as well. You get $1.00 if they use your hotspot on a monthly plan, and $4.00 if they are using a day pass. You earn $20.0 for each new customer that signs up for monthly service, and pays for 60 days.
Well included with owning a Boingo hotspot, as previously mentioned, you get a free account. They certainly aren’t going to make you pay for your own hotspot. Since this membership includes unlimited Skyping, you can now call ANYONE you want ANYTIME for FREE thru Skype.
That’s it…buy the router, set it up with Boingo, start Skyping unlimited. It’s that easy, and the only costs is the router, and heck…you might even make a few bucks from those pesky friends who come over and use your wifi all the time.
Looks like this story made it bigtime: Gizmodo - Stealing Skype - A How-To
UPDATE from comments: Daniel writes, “During the router setup you are given the opportunity to add the MAC Address of your own wireless gear to the Access Point’s list of “allowed” MAC Addresses. At no point do you get the option ability to create a regular account. According to the Boingo support guy I spoke with this morning (Bill) at one point about six months ago they may have been giving away three months of network-wide access to new HotSpot admins, but not any more.”
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You can get 120 free SkypeOut minutes if you buy the new Linux Made Easy book by Rickford Grant, based on Xandros 3. Buy the book for one of your newbie friends & keep the SkypeOut coupon for yourself, if you want.
Why not just use voipbusters and get free voip calls to non voip phones out of the box without doing all this buy this to get free that stuff?
http://www.voipbuster.com/en/index.html
Hmmm, but with boingo can you call cellphones for free too? voipbuster is only free for landline phones in my area.
So I’m a bit confused, does this Skype account give you unlimited calls to landlines and cellphones? Or is this just Skype internet telephony (i.e computer to computer) which is free anyways? I’m obviously missing something…
Go Tupac.
I’m afraid you are wrong on this. Becoming a Boingo member only allows you to _use_ skype so your skype-enabled laptop/pda/wififone can actually connect to skype’s network.
You still need funds on your skype account to make skype-out calls.
thanks for the info. my friend is a WiFi hotspot administrator, and he’s been debating on the switch to Boingo… he’s getting a link!!
盜用Skype Out ？！ 非常屌，而且就本身而言這是合法的。根據國外網站的說明，你必須再美國買一台Linksys WRV54G然後再安裝特殊的Boingo韌體，然後就可以打免費的了。 http://www.nickstarr.com/2005/08/05/unlimited-skyping-home-for-free/ [NickStarr]
This hack involves the use onf Boingo Bireless firmware on a WRV54G Linksys Router. Sounds too complicated… Not really! Mind you that this hack is for WRV54G and NOT WRT54G! Click here for link.
cell phone calls are free with voipBuster too. Didnt kno abt this tho. Thanx Nuno for the tip.
How do you request the free master account that lets you use Boingo at other locations? The guy at Boingo I spoke to said that operating a hotspot doesn’t give you an account to use anywhere else. If you have a promo-code or a link with info from Boingo, I’d appreciate it - I’d go buy the router right now.
- Rob
So is it the concensus of opinion that this post is completely wrong, that you don’t get free Skype calling and that you can’t use other Boingo hotspots for free?
When I called Boingo they advised that they give you a full account, otherwise how would you get on your own wifi? They said that because it is a full account, you can use it at any Boingo hotspot.
hmmmmm.. thanks Nick. Did you call them recently? I’m about this close to buying one. If not, I guess I can return the router.
- Rob
This deal doesn’t exist.
During the router setup you are given the opportunity to add the MAC Address of your own wireless gear to the Access Point’s list of “allowed” MAC Addresses. At no point do you get the option ability to create a regular account. According to the Boingo support guy I spoke with this morning (Bill) at one point about six months ago they may have been giving away three months of network-wide access to new HotSpot admins, but not any more. Additionally, there is a one-time per admin account ten dollar “sign-up fee” to Boingo-enable your access point, so unless you already have the hardware and/or have enough potential customers in your area it’s not worthwhile.
:/ Nick - have you tried this yourself?
Skype Chatter
For a great set of pictures created by Skype users see the Skype blog. While some want it on the moon others want it cheaper. Nick Starr on gaming the system to get Skype at hot spots even cheaper. It will require an investment. “Love to use Skype, bu…
use Skype for free (??). I don’t have this router nor am I particularly excited about becoming a Boingo access point, so maybe it’s not for me. But maybe it’s for you,(Konstantinos Nikolaos A. of Athens, Greece) and that’s why it’s here. dr. chuck Unlimited Skyping @ home for FREE! [NickStarr] 10:03:28 PM Wednesday, August 3, 2005
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