<p>Our daughter will be attending in the fall, and we’ve begun thinking about some of the little details. Details like whether her mobile data plan will be sufficient or whether we’ll have to up the data cap (I would have laughed at this type of minutiae too, until I figured out how all of these small things add up to be quite a big chunk of change 
Anyway, my question is whether the dorms all have wireless (I’m assuming the academic areas do) and whether the wireless in these places is accessible by personal devices (mobile phones in particular). The thought being that if she’s on wireless most of the time on campus, there’s no need to pay AT&T the equivalent of a second mortgage.
Any other thoughts or related questions are welcome too - we’re flying blind here so we can use all the help we can get.
Thanks.</p>
<p>The entire campus (ok like 98% of it) is covered by the university WiFi…there are a few dead spots. My son has AT&T iPhone and he hardly uses any cell data while on campus. His iPad does not have cellular and he has no issues using it anywhere on campus. </p>
<p>On thing to consider and remember…is that the WiFi can get bogged down while in the dorms during the evening (when all of the students are hard at work streaming videos…err I mean studying)…Have your daughter use the wired Ethernet in the room for her computer and she will get much better response times…as far as the wireless devices like phones & tablets, then the WiFi is fine the room</p>
<p>My son is also on AT&T and has the smallest data plan. He did discover that he can receive SMS text messages over Wi-fi, but either his specific phone or AT&T requires he connect to the AT&T network to receive MMS text messages (with attached pictures). He’ll occasionally connect to the network to see if he has any waiting messages and then switch right back to wi-fi. He’s still never even come close to his data limit.</p>
<p>There were some issues with new routers reaching distant dorm rooms early in the school year in RIdgecrest South. It took several calls to tech services to get the issue resolved – got painfully close to data limits until we understood that Facetime on Ipad was reverting to data when kicked off WiFi. Best to monitor the plan as your student settles in to make sure all is well. No issues since.</p>
<p>For the most part, UA has a very reliable WiFi network. Occasionally the network will be shut down for maintenance, but that is almost always at times when few students would normally access the internet, such as during school breaks and 5-6 am Sunday morning.</p>
<p>This thread will make my husband very happy! Wifi and data usage are his department within our family and he has already asked about this!</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies. It makes sense, but it’s also good to hear from folks who know for sure.</p>