I barely got my iphone on sunday & i really dont understand Wi-Fi or Edge

Question

I do not understand how that works, and what's the difference between Edge & Wi-Fi and also how i can connect to Wi-Fi because i am really lost ;o( lol

Answer 1

Will try to keep this in simple terms.
Edge is just a fancy name AT&T has for it's service.
If you are using your phone and see the E next to your signal strength, you are on Edge. This means you can email, browse the web, send SMS etc.
Pretty much just means your phone will work.
WiFi is a term from the computer world mainly. For many homes that have internet access, people have bought Wireless Routers to plug into their cable/dsl modems that will broadcast a wireless signal (WIFI) so other computers with a wireless card can connect to their home network and browse the web all sharing the same connection. Laptops with WiFi cards in them can also go to places like Panera Bread, Starbucks, bookstores, etc that offer free WiFi (those places setup a wireless router(s) just like people at their homes did) but they expose them publicly to anybody within range (usually within the store or just outside is the range).
Your iPhone has a WiFi card in it. So if you have setup a wireless network at home, you can jump on it and thus browse the web and send emails (and shop on iTunes) from your phone at Broadband speeds (which is faster than using Edge).
If you have never setup a wireless network at home, then really all you can do is use free spots (or friends homes that set one up).
WiFi simply means you are jumping onto a wireless network that is nearby (not everywhere) to gain broadband speeds to using internet related features of your phone. And WiFi is only available where you find a WiFi hotspot or set one up yourself.
Edge is the AT&T network that lets you make calls as well as all the other internet related features (just slower). And Edge is available anywhere in the AT&T coverage.
Message was edited by: DaVBMan