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Mobile Wifi - what to get?

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Tri2000
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Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#24848

Postby Tri2000 » January 20th, 2017, 8:31 pm

A colleague is coming to the UK from abroad and plans to spend 2 weeks travelling around. He wants internet access while on the move.

A USB dongle type thing that can plug in to his laptop and then convert 3G or 4G into internet is required. No ongoing contract and low set up costs would be good, starting with 2Gb of PAYG data and then being able to top up easily if required.

I gather that alternatives to the USB also exist where a stand alone SIM enabled box can be used as a mini router which can share the data to laptop and other nearby devices such as a phone or tablet. Any pointers on this? I expect the hardware would cost more than a USB stick device.

Anyone got any tips about how to do this, what to get etc.

quelquod
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Re: Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#24860

Postby quelquod » January 20th, 2017, 10:11 pm

Tether to his mobile maybe? Get a PAYG sim from the likes of GiffGaff (£10 for 2GB presently) and top up as required. If he needs to keep his phone number he could swap sims around as required.

Itsallaguess
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Re: Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#24888

Postby Itsallaguess » January 21st, 2017, 6:12 am

Tri2000 wrote:
A colleague is coming to the UK from abroad and plans to spend 2 weeks travelling around. He wants internet access while on the move.

A USB dongle type thing that can plug in to his laptop and then convert 3G or 4G into internet is required. No ongoing contract and low set up costs would be good, starting with 2Gb of PAYG data and then being able to top up easily if required.

I gather that alternatives to the USB also exist where a stand alone SIM enabled box can be used as a mini router which can share the data to laptop and other nearby devices such as a phone or tablet. Any pointers on this? I expect the hardware would cost more than a USB stick device.

Anyone got any tips about how to do this, what to get etc.


I'd get one of these unlocked MI-FI devices for about £30 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5330-U ... B00INXBW3U

then I'd install a 3GB / 3 Months PAYG Data Sim on the Three network, for about £9.50 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006H7BKXG/?th=1

Other levels of GB data-packages are available on the above SIM page, but given the 2-year 24GB one isn't available now (can't believe it was only £24 over Christmas...), the 3GB SIM for £9.50 seem to be a pretty good sweet-spot right now.

I've always found THREE data-coverage to be really good in the UK, but that might have been down to the areas I've travelled in, so do check on this site that there's good coverage for the areas your colleague is likely to want to visit -

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage

I've had a couple of these MI-FI devices and THREE SIM cards for years now, and they are great. They allow connection of multiple devices, which is a bonus if it's likely to be needed, and the throw-away nature of the PAYG SIM cards mean that you can leave the MI-FI devices in a drawer when the SIM cards run out and you don't need to use the MI-FI devices, and then just purchase a new SIM card when you need one, or always have a spare handy which is the way I tend to use them.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Infrasonic
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Re: Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#25001

Postby Infrasonic » January 21st, 2017, 3:27 pm

On the network coverage front, Three 4G is great in cities and on major transport routes, but starts to get a bit flaky out in the countryside / hills, which is why I also have a Vodafone 2.5G old school Nokia (which lasts a whole week on one charge...)

So if coverage is important it might be worth doing as bit of research in the specific areas where it's needed most and having a Wi-Fi hotspot plan as a backup.
For instance one place I visit weekly I get zero 3 or Vodafone coverage (very hilly), but a local cafe has a decent Wi-Fi service so I use the 'Three In Touch' app. to enable Internet + voice calls to/from the Nexus 5 mobile number.

AF62
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Re: Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#25137

Postby AF62 » January 22nd, 2017, 9:42 am

Infrasonic wrote:On the network coverage front, Three 4G is great in cities and on major transport routes, but starts to get a bit flaky out in the countryside / hills


Three have been mast sharing with EE for some time, so their coverage is not as patchy as it used to be.

Tri2000
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Re: Mobile Wifi - what to get?

#25147

Postby Tri2000 » January 22nd, 2017, 11:15 am

Thanks for the replies, I think it has given enough pointers to an acceptable solution. The Huawei MiFi box mentioned by Itsallaguess looks like the best option. This can be bought from Argos for £19.99 but is locked to EE, however these boxes appear to be very easily unlockable by entering the IMEI number into a web site. I can then find a Three 12Gb PAYG SIM for £21.99 at MyMemory which has a years duration - some SIM cards expire 1 month after first use.


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