Mobile wifi
We are off to Spain soon and are considering investing in mobile WiFi so we can get on the internet. Does anybody know if these gadgets are OK please.
Comments
-
Yes, many of us use them, and I have had satisfactory reception everywhere in Spain.
'Three' network is popular because they do 12GB and 24GB PAYG Sims which last for 12 /24 months from first use.(cheaper on Amazon/Ebay, and just throw away when used up rather than buying top-up) Most people now use a MiFi device as they can then connect multiple devices via WiFi, although old-fashioned dongles do still work .....IF you can connect them to your device. (All the UK networks have offerings of some kind).
Some people rely on tethering to their mobile, but whether this is permitted abroad varies widely depending on network and tariff.
In fact, during last winter in Spain I hardly used my device because nearly all the campsites had good free WiFi. (Even those that charged usually had free Wifi somewhere such as the bar which I could usually connect to from the 'van using a booster antenna/adapter)
0 -
We started looking into mobile WiFi until someone told us about 'tethering' our mobile phone to a laptop and using our data allowance. Neither of our phone contracts (one with Tesco, the other with TalkMobile) give us a huge amount of data and each is the cheapest contract available, so we tried it with trepidation. We were both able to 'tether' (apparently since the roaming charges have been removed you are able to do this) and to use our laptops. We both have Android (but very basic) smartphones - one Samsung, the other Huawei.
We both were able to receive and reply to emails every day, use Facebook moderately to keep in touch with friends and family, contribute the odd post to various forums, look at local events websites, and use our bank accounts when needed. We both waited for our bills thinking they would be a fortune as we'd been away five and a half weeks with no other internet access. Mine was just £8.40 for the month - just 41 pence more than I usually pay. OH hasn't yet received his full bill - but his previous one hadn't gone up from his normal allowance at all.I don't know what mobile you have already, but if you have a modest or a decent data allowance then try tethering Of course this does depend on what you want to use mobile data for - if you want to stream and download lots of things it may not be the answer.
I can pass on the instructions on 'tethering' which I received - simple and absolutely no problems doing it. I'm no tecchie but it wasn't difficult at all.
0 -
If you can read this then our Huawei Mifi is working just fine in Spain.
0 -
In my opinion tethering to your phone is simple and, if you have a reasonable data allowance, it goes quite a long way. I don’t see the point of buying a mifi unit and then a second lot of data if your phone will do the job.
0 -
TW you are quite correct if your phone is on a contact but as we use the phone very little we have opted for PAYG .
We bought the MIFI over a year ago so in our case we are definitely "quids in"
1 -
You’re right and I was on P&G when I investigated mifi. P&G on my network does not permit tethering so I found it simpler and cost effective to swap to a contract with a more data and tether the Pad plus OH's Pad. It gives me more freedom for only a couple of quid a month more than I paid for P&G.
0 -
The unlocked Huawei is the one I would have bought if I’d gone down that route. 👍🏻
0 -
For me the biggest advantage of tethering was that I could use my laptop without any problems - and type on a 'proper' keyboard rather than on the keypad of a mobile. For my £7.99 contract with TalkMobile I was able to do almost everything that I wanted, with the exception of contributing to these sort of forums quite as much as usual - but that was because we were busy walking, socialising, and spending time being 'in France'. I think that adding up the cost of a 'MiFi' set up, or any other, would more than likely cost me more than my 41p extra per month!
0 -
Val
Just out of interest are you using 3G or 4G with your tethered laptop?
David
0 -
David - how would I know that? I have no idea what sort of signal we receive. We don't do anything with our mobiles other than switch them on and use them with whatever signal we have. We just 'tethered' them using the USB lead, and got on with it. It was slow compared to our normal internet at home, but not so slow that we couldn't use it.
We're back in the UK now.
0 -
Doesn’t your phone tell you, Val? Mine shows 4G, 3G or GPRS in the display window.
0 -
Val
As you have Android Smart phones you should you should be able to go into setting/mobile data/network mode and it should show you there what your phone is set on mine is set on2G/3G/4G auto but I can change it to 3G only or 2G/3G auto. On some networks you have to ask to go onto 4G.
David
0 -
I'm a tetherer....but my old 2nd hand iPhone 4S 'only' supports 3G
however, this has always more than adequate for our needs and the data allowance supports two iPads,,
Val, to 'tether' a phone to your laptop, it's not necessary to have it physically connected by a cable (although this is perfectly fine) as you can also use wifi or Bluetooth to connect.
this means that the phone could be used for a call elsewhere in the van and, as long as you were still in range, you could continue using the laptop at the same time
0 -
Because site wifi can be either poor or expensive or both we are using a Huawei Mifi from EE. We are currently in Spain but it was equally useful on the club sites in UK on our way to Spain.
0 -
I recall not recommending but describing my findings from my research into mifi and concluding the unlocked Huawei with the 3 Network sim would likely be best but then going on to say that in the end I decided against and stuck with my phone.
Therefore, it can’t be me you’re referring to, David, unless you only read half my post and got the wrong end of the stick.
0 -
I'm interested in the various costs of alternative options to 'tethering' because to be honest we were staggered how much we could use our phones 'on internet' without any additional charges. As I said my contract costs me £7.99 per month and my OH's is about £10.00. The first week I used my phone on internet very sparingly so my bill didn't change, for the next four weeks we used it almost as much as we do the internet at home, and my additional fee was just 41p. I'm sure these dongles, and MiFi's and whatever must cost more than that!
0 -
Val
The reason I was trying to establish whether you were using 3G or 4G is that my experience of using a laptop tethered to by Android phone varied greatly between the two. When I used 3G a fairly small data allowance would last a surprising amount of time but it was the complete opposite when I started to use 4G when in one evening session of a bit of web surfing and looking at forums I used virtually all of my monthly allowance. However when I tried tethering my iPad the data usage was much smaller. 4G has many advantages but the combination of phone and Windows laptop did not seem to work very well in terms of data use. I will have to try it using 3G.
However I would agree with you that if the phone works well being tethered to whatever device you are using I don't see the need for other means of getting data. I know your situation is different but you can always get a temporary increase in data allowance to cover a holiday period.
David
0 -
As a low level mobile phone user I have a PAYG GiffGaff SIM. I can buy a "goodybag" with 4GB of data (plus unlimited calls and texts should I decide I need them) for £12 (3GB would be £10). This is valid for a month and I'm sure will meet our data needs for 3 weeks in France.
My phone is an oldish Motorola Razr which works on 3G+ (HSDPA). I can use the phone as a wifi hotspot and this seems to work very well with my laptop.
1 -
Yes, it appears that many of us are realising that using our mobile phone when on site - both in UK and abroad - is cost effective even if tethering a laptop. If just checking emails, posting on Facebook, etc, little data allowance is used. It it only if downloading movies, etc that tends to use up data allowances which lets face it is not what we tend to want. This was my exact point in a previous post, and confirms my opinion that providing site wide WiFi access on club sites is a waste of money.
0 -
I did read that some of these flexible cards sim cards that last for a year have to be set up in the UK before you leave. Might be an idea to check.
David
0 -
I asked that question in a 'Three' shop a couple of years ago. They said that they weren't sure, but to be safe activate the sim in the UK. At the time there was also a lot of talk about only being able to use a 'Three' sim abroad for 1 or 2 months, so I activated a couple of sms in UK ......and ending up wasting a fair bit of time/data!
This year I only activated a sim when I| needed it in Spain .....no problem at all. (Kjell has also reported no problem activating). Furthermore my sim remained active for 3 months .....whether this is due to deliberate policy change, or random chance is anyone's guess with 'Three'
0
