This document provides information on connecting Nintendo DS to public wireless hotspots.

Nintendo has partnered with Wayport for providing hotspot access in USA and with Fatport for providing wifi hotspot access in Canada.

If you are at one of those partner hotspots (i.e. at a Wayport or a Fatport location), playing online by connecting your Nintendo DS using wireless is rather easy. You would essentially be instructing your Nintendo DS to scan for available wireless (partner) hotspot access points, and let it connect to the one it identifies as being one of the partner (at McDonald's, for example) hotspot locations.

Even if you are at a non-partner hotspot location (such as a wifi hotspot at an airport, hotel resort, corner coffee shop, book store, public library, or if you are connecting through a Metro Wireless LAN or a MAN, etc.), getting your Nintendo DS connected through a Wireless Hotspot is usually not that difficult -unless the hotspot operator has explicitly configured the Router/AP to block various ports and destinations needed for getting your gaming traffic through.

Read on for instructions on connecting Nintendo DS to a public hotspot:

• Connecting Nintendo DS to a Wayport Hotspot Location: No advance configuration is needed for connecting your Nintendo DS to the Internet using a Wayport hotspot. All you need to do is select the Online or Wi-Fi Connection option of the game you are playing, and patiently wait while your Nintendo DS gets connected online. Look into your game’s instruction manual for specific instructions. As soon as your Nintendo DS has established a connection online, you will then either be connected to the service right away, or you may be prompted to confirm (you will have to select yes on that screen) that you do approve of your Nintendo DS going online.
  
• Conneting Nintendo DS to a Fatport Hotspot Location: Connecting to a Fatport partner location is not much different than getting your Nintendo DS to connect to a Wayport hotspot location. Insert a Wi-Fi compatible game into your Nintendo DS, then go to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Setup screen and let your Nintendo DS Search for an Access Point. Wait for your Nintendo DS to discover and display the name of that Fatport hotspot location's wireless access point. Patience, Young Jedi!
  
  • If the Access Point has a blue, unlocked icon: Tap on that Access Point's name, and then on OK. Wait for your Nintendo DS to establish a connection with Fatport AP/Router. As soon as you Tap your way out to the main screen of your game, you will be ready to play online.
    
  • The Access Point has a red, locked icon: A locked red icon next to an AP's name means that the hotspot location uses WEP security on their wireless routers. Obtain the WEP key from your Fatport location operator, enter it into your Nintendo DS, save the settings, and Tap OK. Wait for your Nintendo DS to get connected online, keep tapping OK on your way back out from that screen sequence all the way to the main screen of your game, and start playing online.
    
  • No Access Point is being displayed: Your Nintendo DS is unable to locate/discover the Fatport AP/Router. Try moving your Nintendo DS closer to the Fatport wireless router, or orientating it such that it directly points to the router –thereby minimizing signal degradation/absorption due to obstructions such as walls, live plants, furniture, and other people. It could also be due to several other reasons including: the Fatport AP being setup to disable SSDI broadcast, No additional client sessions available on that Fatport AP, or it being out of order. Ask Fatport hotspot operator for assistance.
• Connecting Nintendo DS to a Non-partner Hotspot Location: As long as the non-partner public hotspot that you are connecting your Nintendo DS to is setup to allow connections from WiFi (IEEE 802.11b) clients, getting it connected to the Internet is no different than doing so using a partner (a Wayport or a Fatport) public hotspot. Ask hotspot operator for help. Be prepared to pay a one-time connection fee or an hourly/per-day usage fee. If a public hotspot requires all inbound connections to be authenticated using a browser interface, your will have to do so before you can connect through it to play online. If no browser interface is required, however, you may be able to get your Nintendo DS connected using one of your Connection (Connection 1, 2 or 3) Save Files.

As long as a public wireless hotspot has an AP/Router/Gateway that allows connections from unauthenticated WiFi compliant client devices, it should not matter whether you are connecting through a Nintendo partner hotspot or a non-partner public wireless hotspot.