Which mifi?

Billieblue

Billieblue

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Decided to get a 4g mifi but there’s loads more choice than when I bought Huawei years ago. Any advice from people using one?
 
Clunegapyears said:
Ours is redundant now you can hotspot a phone.
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Very true except that when our broadband went down at home for a couple of months (don’t ask!) the best mobile signal we could get on our various mobile phone networks was 1 blob on Three. I took a risk and bought a Huawei B535 mifi and an external Poynting antenna and this gave us full strength signal on Three. Meant that we could be in contact with the outside world again until Openreach sorted out their infrastructure (even our mobiles rely on wifi calling at home). Now use this mifi in the van whenever the mobile phone signal is poor.
 
I do get frustrated with all this phone data stuff, the moment I think I've figured it out it changes.
It now seems I'm better off tying up my phone, to use my pad. It's a pain tying it up and then having to untie it again. Then what happens if you can't find any string?
 
I also have a Huawei B535 with an external Poynting antenna, I use a 3 unlimited data phone sim, I have been using the B535 at home (without the external antenna) when we have had problems with VM and regularly managed 50Mbps plus, at my MIL's I cannot get a signal on my phone which is also on 3 but get a good signal on the B535 (without an external antenna)
I would recommend it
 
I was toying with the idea of a mifi unit for when we are away. We have just had just over 4 weeks away and I’ve hotspotted my iPad to the phone with its unlimited data with no issues. However, being abroad all that time I did manage to go over the 20gb roaming limit - there’s no way to monitor useage as it still thinks I’ve got unlimited data - and because I was watching a lot of Sky Sports cricket I managed to go well over. As a consequence I have been charged an extra £4.84. I think a mifi unit and card would be rather more.

I won’t worry next time about a mifi as I know I had no need to go so far over the top with my useage. Next time I’ll limit myself to browsing the forums and the other half will have to watch what I watch instead 😉
 
I don’t want to change my phone contract as it’s more than adequate when at home. Maybe I should have said it’s for use in the van when over the channel and hoping to buy local cards. Just wondered if the more recent brands bettered Huawei.
 
We have a Huawei E5577c. We use it at home and in the van. You can see data usage on the units screen and on the app you can download. We get a pretty good 4G signal at home and it’s much cheaper than getting a landline and broadband installed.
 
Exwindsurfer said:
Terry I only get four times yours at home 😂😂😂
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I am alright Jeff, I get a lot more with Virgin :ROFLMAO:
Billieblue said:
I don’t want to change my phone contract as it’s more than adequate when at home. Maybe I should have said it’s for use in the van when over the channel and hoping to buy local cards. Just wondered if the more recent brands bettered Huawei.
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Most Mifi's are unlocked unless you buy it with a contract so they will work with local cards, I can't help with advice for better than Huawei because the three I have had were all Huawei, all I would suggest is buy one with two antennas, not just one, I had an E5577 before the B535 and it was excellent with two external antenna ports as well
 
I have an old Huawei Mi-fi.
Always worked well !
Why buy an aerial ?
If the signal is poor inside the vehicle just put the mifi on a stick (eg a selfie stick) and put that outside.
Thus the Mi-fi should get a better signal and the wi-fi from it to your phone/tablet/laptop will be fine !.

For my laptop I have a long USB Lead with a cheapo aerial.
This enable me to see many w-fi signals including "french w-fi providers" (such as orange but also another)
The signal is often good and for say £30 you get one month unlimited.
The aerial may well see several free wi-fi signals if near MacD's or a tourist office library etc
You can also buy daily or weekly passes but expensive !
Some laptops can be enabled as a hotspot if they have a "wired connection" so phone tablet will get "tinternet" via laptop
 
Tezza33 said:
I am alright Jeff, I get a lot more with Virgin :ROFLMAO:


Most Mifi's are unlocked unless you buy it with a contract so they will work with local cards, I can't help with advice for better than Huawei because the three I have had were all Huawei, all I would suggest is buy one with two antennas, not just one, I had an E5577 before the B535 and it was excellent with two external antenna ports as well
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What are the antennas? Do they come with the mifi or bought separately - not seen any while I’ve been browsing Amazon ... sorry if this sounds thick! 😂
 
We use combination of phone hot spots on 3 and a teltonika mobile router/external aerial and EE data sim...

EE seems to be able to get a signal in places where we haven't a decent signal on 3.
 
Billieblue said:
What are the antennas? Do they come with the mifi or bought separately - not seen any while I’ve been browsing Amazon ... sorry if this sounds thick! 😂
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They are bought separately, this one came out top in a review and is cheap enough, I used one of these myself and it did work in poor signal areas but I gave it away a month ago after buying a Poynting roof-mounted antenna

TS9 4G LTE Antenna, 35DBI GSM High Gain Antenna Dual Mimo Wifi Signal Booster Amplifier Modem Adapter Network Reception Long Range Antenna With TS9 Connector Cable for Mobile Hotspot(TS9): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

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Review
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I bought a mifi from Vodafone a couple of years ago for use in Europe over the summer months. It was only about £20 and it worked perfectly in France, Spain and Portugal. I just buy a data sim for the months I need it.
 
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