I'm running the Boingo app on my phone, along with Fi. When I stop somewhere there's a Boingo hotspot, I will get a pop up message on the phone telling me there's a hotspot there, and to Tap to Login.

So there's a hotspot at McDonald's, and if I go through the drive through, the app will see it. If I don't touch my phone until I get home, I still have the message telling me there's a hotspot, but by then I'm out of range. It can be confusing but works OK if you are staying put in the area of the hotspot and notice when the notification first appears.