Stay private on hotel Wi-Fi
Most websites use HTTPS now, so a stranger in the lobby can't simply read your passwords. The real risks are quieter: fake hotspots, open networks that expose your lookups and app traffic, and a hotel network that can see every site you visit. PremierVPN puts all of it inside an encrypted tunnel, and gets through networks that try to block VPNs.
From $4.99/month · 30-day money-back guarantee
- Windows
- macOS
- iPhone & iPad
- Android
- Linux
- Fire TV
Example
- Hotel login pageDoneroom number and surname accepted
- WireGuard®Blockedhotel firewall drops UDP
- AmneziaWGBlockedno reply
- VLESS · REALITYConnectedport 443, like any secure website
- Protocol
- REALITY
- Port
- 443 / TCP
- Remembered
- This Wi-Fi
What can go wrong on hotel Wi-Fi
The same applies at airports, cafés, trains and conference venues: networks run by people you don't know, shared with people you don't know.
Fake hotspots
Anyone can set up a network called "Hotel Guest" or "Lobby Free Wi-Fi". If you join it, all your traffic passes through their equipment, and they can send you to fake login pages.
Your DNS lookups
Many hotel networks are open, or share one password with every guest. On those, every site name your device looks up can be seen by the network and often by others nearby.
Unencrypted app traffic
Browsers use HTTPS, but not every app does. Older apps, some email set-ups and background services can still send data that anyone on the network can read.
The hotel sees where you go
The hotel, or the Wi-Fi company it uses, can see and log which sites and services you connect to, even when the content is encrypted.
Login pages
Captive portals ask for your room number, email or a social login before you get online. Some collect more than they need, and a fake one is an easy way to fish for card details.
Blocked or slowed VPNs
Some hotel networks block VPN ports or UDP traffic, or slow down video and calls. A VPN that only has one protocol may not connect at all.
What HTTPS already does. The padlock in your browser means the page and anything you type into it are encrypted between you and that website, so other guests can't read your passwords or card number. What it doesn't hide is which sites you visit, your DNS lookups, or traffic from apps that don't use it. That's the gap a VPN closes.
One encrypted connection, whatever the network
When you connect, everything your device sends is encrypted before it leaves, and travels to our server inside the tunnel. The hotel network, and anyone else on it, sees a single encrypted connection. Websites see our server's IP address instead of the hotel's.
On most networks the apps connect with WireGuard®, a modern protocol that encrypts with ChaCha20-Poly1305. It's fast and handles the hotel Wi-Fi dropping out or switching between access points.
When a network blocks normal VPN connections, the apps can switch to VLESS, which runs on port 443 and is built to look like ordinary HTTPS. How REALITY works →
What's on your side
- Kill switch
- Blocks internet traffic if the VPN drops, so nothing goes out over the hotel network unprotected.
- DNS
- DNS leak protection keeps every lookup inside the tunnel.
- Auto-connect
- On Android and Linux, the app connects by itself when you join Wi-Fi you don't trust.
- Auto mode
- On iPhone and iPad, tries WireGuard®, then AmneziaWG, REALITY, xHTTP, CDN and Stealth relay, keeps the first that works and remembers it for that Wi-Fi.
- VLESS
- REALITY, xHTTP and CDN for networks that only let web traffic through. In the Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, Android and Linux apps.
On iPhone and iPad the kill switch works with WireGuard, AmneziaWG and Stealth relay. iOS doesn't allow it with REALITY, xHTTP or CDN.
One subscription, all your devices
Laptop, phone, tablet and the TV stick in your bag. Install them all before you leave.
Using hotel Wi-Fi safely
Set up before you travel
Install the app on every device you're taking, sign in and connect once at home. Hotel networks, and some countries, make app stores and our website hard to reach.
Check the network name
Ask reception for the exact Wi-Fi name and password. Be wary of lookalike names and open networks with generic names like "Free Wi-Fi".
Log in first, then connect
The VPN can't connect until you've completed the hotel's login page. Open a browser, sign in, then turn the VPN on straight away.
Keep it on automatically
On Android and Linux, mark the hotel Wi-Fi as untrusted so the app connects whenever you join it. Turn on the kill switch.
If it won't connect, switch
If WireGuard® is blocked, try AmneziaWG, then VLESS. On iPhone and iPad, Auto mode does this. On Windows, turn on Bypass.
Turn off sharing
A VPN encrypts your traffic but doesn't hide your device from others on the same network. Turn off file sharing and set AirDrop to contacts only.
Going somewhere that blocks VPNs?
Some countries block VPNs on every network, not just in hotels. These guides cover what works there.
Hotel Wi-Fi and VPNs
Is hotel Wi-Fi safe to use?
Do I still need a VPN if websites use HTTPS?
Why won't my VPN connect on hotel Wi-Fi?
What if the hotel blocks VPNs?
Will a VPN slow down hotel Wi-Fi?
Does one subscription cover my laptop and phone?
Does it work on airport, café and train Wi-Fi too?
Set it up at home, use it everywhere
Install PremierVPN on your laptop and phone before you go, and every hotel, airport and café network is covered. From $4.99/month.
- No activity logs
- Independent
- 30-day money-back
- Cancel anytime