IME most of the business class hotels in Shanghai still charge for in-room internet, billing by the minute capping at 60 RMB a day. Sometimes Internet is bundled with the room rate, but you have to be careful of the phrasing - "Internet available" isn't the same as "Internet included". If you are in a room with access to the business center or an executive lounge you can usually get some free time each day on a computer, though you will have to wait your turn.
If you have a WiFi card in your laptop you will probably be able to find a signal with minimal effort. You might want to invest in a cheap WiFi scanner gizmo.
If you travel to Shenzhen you will find almost all the hotels have free in-room Internet.

The two lounges closest to Gate 21 at PVG (when you go down the stairs/escalator there to the boarding/deboarding level) had free internet access starting c. three weeks ago; It didn't have the same in the weeks/months before that. I don't know how far this new signal reaches elsewhere but I was glad to find the free access there. It was strong and fast enough that I had no issues even with bandwidth chomping services.

Think it was the "Business lounge" down the stairs in/near gate 18. Didn't know there were/are other lounges that I could have access to. Will see if I can access one of those next time around ^

Without a lounge pass for the one closest to the escalators for Gate 21, you won't be allowed into it. (This particular lounge I use for SK and LH flights.) However, hanging outside the lounge should work for a brief moment. And there's also some kind of transit room a bit past Gate 21 (when going back toward the lower gate numbers) on that lower level; that room seems to be uncontrolled (for the most part) and may receive that signal too.

Having made a lot of use of internet cafes in Shanghai I'll add my $.02 here:

I can't comment on how many disappeared in the crackdown, every one I knew the location of survived.

The cafe I use charges between 2 and 4 RMB per hour depending on the time of day and what machines you use. The lower quality ones are 2 in the morning, 3 otherwise and the better ones are a RMB more.

Connecting your own laptop to the equipment is definitely illegal--you don't have the monitoring software on your machine.

However, even post crackdown I routinely used my laptop at the local cafe. I needed to throw files back and forth with home, there was no other way to do it (and I much preferred it anyway--their systems were so riddled with garbage that the mean time to crash was maybe 90 minutes. Not to mention the ad zapper that decided the moderator tools menu of a board I help moderate was an ad.) They understood the problem and permitted it. Even the cops understood--I saw an argument between a couple of cops and the clerk once. While I couldn't understand a word it was obvious what the issue was--and it obviously ended up with the clerk convincing them that I was harmless.

The cafe is now under new ownership, better machines and the good ones have a USB extension cable dangling on the desk--you can plug your flash drive in. Connecting my own is now not permitted but the way the billing system now works they couldn't handle it very well anyway. You buy a prepaid card and use it to log into the machine--when you leave they credit back whatever's left on it. I believe you can also just log off and take your card and bring it back next time but I do not know for sure. (The old place you simply got a number card when you entered and when you left you turned it in and paid for however long you had had it.)

Sorry for the late reply to your question, but it was the Renaissance.

As to Shanghai, we did find the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf had free wifi and great coffee. Try their breakfast specials with free coffee refills and toast, quasi eggs benedict etc. I liked the sausages a lot. But suspect they are not kosher per the Coffee Bean in the US.

By the way, there is a lovely expats party/brunch at the Coffee Bean in Xintiendi shopping center (center is well worth a visit-nice use of old buildings and new construction-and try the Crystal Jade dim sum place--excellent) near French quarter. Free except for the coffee (ask for your ten per cent expat party discount) from aroound 11am to 3pm on Sundays. Very pleasant and sociable group.