Connecting to the internet can be crucial to staying informed and conducting personal business during the current health crisis.

With schools conducting classes online the ability to connect is essential to students. The following are are places people may connect to the internet for free.

All of the Sno-Isle libraries allow for free public internet access in their parking lots. The libraries in Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Freeland, and Langley are accessible 24-7. Each library has the same name for its network: sno-isle public. There is no encryption setting, user names, or passwords required to connect to a library wifi network.

According to Sno-Isle Library Assistant Director of Communications Jim Hills, library staff have noticed people in their cars in the library parking lots with laptops and personal devices.

Schools also have open wifi available in their parking lots. Students and families may have to sign an intent form and agree to terms of service. The school wifi have filters to block certain websites.

According to Conor Laffey, Oak Harbor School District spokesman, the following OHSD schools have the best signal strength from their parking lots: Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor Elementary, and Crescent Harbor Elementary.

Students whose classes are using Google Classroom are able to download documents when connected, use them while offline and then upload the documents when they reconnect to an access point.