I’ve had mobile broadband dongles/mifi devices for some time, and currently primarily use an old EE device.
Problem is I’m paying monthly for a hefty quota on 2 plans, it’s not cheap, but I only consume large amounts of data sporadically when on holiday in the UK.
I’m wondering if anyone has experience of using a good mi-fi type device with a PAYG SIM that I could load up with data that lasts for more than 30-90 days, preferably 12 months, but could also be topped up fairly cheaply at those peak data usage times.
My experience with tethering is that only a small amount of the available 4G bandwidth is available to tethered devices. That was using an iPhone on the 3 network, perhaps others are more flexible. Also, I had to leave my phone on a windowsill, which was not ideal.
Some friends who have just retired and use a motor home have tried various devices. They recommend three mobile 24GB data sim or a rather controversial huawei gizmo. From the river: Huawei E5330 Black 3G, (Genuine UK Stock) - with 6GB EE Data Sim Card Gaming https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ZOOK5RA/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_gw84DbND1G3QB
Unfortunately that wouldn’t work for a specific use I have in mind - I have an original Amazon Echo Show at another property that I use just to ‘drop in’ to see that things look ok - it was running on a Sky phone/broadband connection I’m planning to ditch as it’s barely used apart from this and I don’t need a landline there.
I’ve just left one of the EE mifi boxes there hooked up to a USB charging plug - works better than the Sky service but I’m paying through the nose for a 32GB plan when I may only use a couple of GB a month, if that.
When I take that mi-fi box on holiday we can get through 32GB in a matter of days, hence a secondary top up plan.
I’d prefer to just maybe load up 12GB of data on a SIM that lasts for 12 months, and top up the data as and when needed for that location, maybe purchasing an unlocked mi-fi box/router for this usage.
Yes, many providers limit the amount that can be shared by tethering, but for my particular usage it wouldn’t work as the phone would be elsewhere anyway!
Thanks - that’s exactly the sort of thing I’m after, ideally unlocked with a SIM where the data quota does not expire over after 30/90 days. I have an older version of that Huawei device from 3, it’s probably locked to 3 but may be worth digging out to see if it’ll still work via a USB charger as battery life was short.
I’ve used such devices (currently EE) many times whilst in fairly remote holiday cottages with dire ADSL speeds - walking around the property running speedtests, rotating/inverting/balancing the device on something for best signal is a regular set up chore!
There’s a log cabin we stay at in a wood near a golf course with an outside balcony - I’ve found sticking the mi-fi box outside on the balcony table in a ‘waterproof’ plastic take-away carton attached to a USB power charger works admirably and I can get 10-20 Mbps reliably but maybe only 1 Mbps from the internal ADSL connection. With multiple phones/tablets and normally an AppleTV in tow it really makes a difference though I’ve always been impressed how Netflix handles low bandwidth connections.
I have the same requirements and find the 3 sim mentioned above works well. I use the 2 years/24 gig version, this seems to only be available from Amazon.
Rather stupidly before I cottoned on to Amazon’s regular discounting of Echo device I bought a second pair of 1st gen Echo Shows - we really ought to set one up for the mother-in-law but she doesn’t have broadband, so yet another reason I could do with a portable mifi type device with a long lasting data SIM that won’t break the bank with low data usage.
Some LTE modems allow you to connect a larger external antenna. I you have a Cat16 modem device (up to 300Mbit) it really increase the chances of over 150Mbit.
I prefer the Teletonika modem devices/routers Many models accept 2 SIMs.