Lync with Wifi possible?
 

Just had a bad experience on another carrier after paying $$$$ for inflight Wifi: Microsoft Lync connection was not possible.

Flying IAH-EWR next Monday and would really like to join a call through Lync. Does that work on United's Wifi? I dont really need to speak a lot, but listening would be goo.

Thanks for any inputs - just wondering if I better re-schedule my flight.

Even if you can United wifi is unreliable and thats is the plane even has it. Id say reschedule

Is that some sort of VOIP service? I sincerely hope that UA will block all such services so that people aren't making inflight cell phone calls. One of the most annoying on-board behaviors I can think of.

Several carriers, including DL, have already announced this will not be allowed.

Yes, it is. And it's one of the more bandwidth-intensive ones, so I support your comments.

Don't know for 100% sure, but most, if not all carriers in the US, block access to VOIP services on wifi like Skype, etc. I suspect UA would do the same, and that Lync would fall under the VOIP connection that would get blocked, at least for that service of Lync.

Regardless of that, I don't know if UA wifi, and even a more proven service like GoGo, would even be fast/stable enough to keep a connection for something like this that would take lots of bandwith. Plus, with the UA fleet not all wifi equipped yet, your aircraft may or may not even offer the service. You won't know until a few days before, and even then, it can change up until the last minute.

In short, don't expect to be able to make that call. And all this isn't even taking into account the annoyance to other passengers of someone being on a call in flight.

I have only successfully used Lync voice once on a United flight.

It has failed on other attempts -- but I'm not clear if this is because they started blocking it or if there was insufficient bandwidth.

But to the other comments -- United WiFi is so unreliable (you might think you have it until you take off only to discover that it never actually connects to the satellite) that I would never depend on it for a critical call.

I do generally agree with the need to limit the people to have voice calls on planes, but as someone who spends the majority of his life on conference calls (primarily listening), it would be nice to be able to dial-in and *listen only* -- while recognizing the impossibility of actually making that possible and enforcing that.

Man, I continue to be amazed at Microsoft's inability to develop appealing names for its products. I googled this and received a bunch of IT gobbledygook that seems to translate roughly to "like Google Voice, but elevendy times as expensive because we've labeled it a 'solution'." :rolleyes:

I think Lync is basically a corporate version of the old messenger that works for internal connections. I know the company I used to work at used it - we could use it for IM, to send/receive files, screen share, online meetings, etc.

I'm not sure I agree with the above re: blocking of voice. Our company uses WebEx, and it works perfectly fine on p.s. planes. I don't speak, just listen - and it's fine.

OTOH, gogo on US Airways yesterday cut out so much I had to drop the call - good thing Lync still works for text chatting.

I have used both Lync and FaceTime for calls (speaking & listening) as well as video and have about a 60-70% success rate (mostly on 74s to/from SYD and FRA). Listening in on conference calls with little or no speaking via Lync usually works pretty well.

I know UA blocks Skype, but I think most other services work. I don't recall if I set-up a VPN connection first or not.

Thanks for your feedback. I would only be a listener, as other people might be asleep during that time. I will try to re-schedule my flight.

Thanks UA community for your help!

United doesn't seem to block the Skype app on Android because that is what douche the next to me is using to chit chat all the way to EWR from IAH on the "beta" 737 $1 / hour wifi.

Flight attendants don't seem to care either.

Finally the flight attendents said something! Good ^

Finally the flight attendants said something! Good ^

Ugh. More than all the ops and service issues, if UA policy allows this and others don't, I will seriously consider taking at least my personal travel elsewhere.

Even if it's not blocked, I think a policy needs to be created and enforced to not allow phone calls. Its bad enough to hear one person's conversation, but I can't imagine hearing 4-5 people having various conversations at the same time, and then mix in whichever conversation annoys you most (self-important business exec, teenage girl, etc.).