mobile wifi

Hi all,
Happy new year.
I have just bought a TP-LINK 3040 from Maplins £39.99 but price matched with PC World £34.99.
If you have a dongle for your mobile broadband you can turn it into a wireless hot spot using the TP-LINK.
the dongle (Vodafone K3565) has worked fine for me for a few years now, but since buying a wireless tablet I have had to tether it to my phone with a slow connection and a small data package.
you can of course add as many connections as you wish at the same time, should you need to, it is really fast in use but took me three days to configure as being an old dongle it wasn't listed (check on line before you buy), should you need the settings for the above dongle, save yourself three days of hair pulling and ask me.
A lot of the newer dongles are listed, you can also plug it into hotel (whatever they are) wired internet and turn that into WiFi and also use it as a repeater at home.
It amplifies the signal as well.it also has it's own rechargeable Battery as well all supplied in the box with all the leads you need etc.

www.tp-link.com/en/products/?categoryid=202

Just a happy customer
Pete

A good solution Pete if you already have mobile broadband.

If not then a MiFi is also a good solution IMHO

We have a Huawei e5331 from Tesco, which is effectively the self contained version of your solution.

It takes a "3" 3G PAYG SIM and can be unlocked or bought unlocked to take foreign data SIMS if required.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5331-Speed-21-1Mbps-Unlocked/dp/B00ARFVTKS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1388865164&sr=8-3&keywords=huawei

Hi meanchris,
Yes had the dongle for a few years & it works fine,£15.00 a Gb expires after 90 days if not used.
I thought about the MiFi but didn't want a rolling contract.
the TP. link seems to improve the signal strength, but time will tell although it does load pages quicker than my home broadband.
Pete

Just picking up on what meanchris said about unlocked. I have an iPad and use 3G payg sims here in UK. Can that use foreign sims for use in Europe? (I am not very Internet savvy  )

Jaytee wrote:Just picking up on what meanchris said about unlocked. I have an iPad and use 3G payg sims here in UK. Can that use foreign sims for use in Europe? (I am not very Internet savvy  )

Yes, if the device isn't locked to a specific carrier (sometimes the device is advertised as "SIM free") then you can use it with any SIM that fits, as long as the device is capable of operating on the band that the provider uses.

Our MiFi doesn't have a rolling contract BTW, although it initially comes with a "3" SIM it's a PAYG device and can be unlocked to any network quite easily.

HI BREAKALEG, I HAVE HAD THE ABOVE DONGLE A FEW YEARS THAT I USE WITH MY LAPTOP BUT HAVE NOT USED IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS AS WE SPEND THE WINTER IN SPAIN.I TRIED IT THE OTHER DAY WITH AROUND £10 CREDIT STILL ON IT BUT AND HAD A JOB TRYING TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET THE SETTING UP PROCESS APPEARS DIFFERENT FROM THE LAST TIME I USED IT, ANYWAY FINALLY CONNECTED BUT THE ONLY WEB SITE I COULD GET WAS THE VODAFONE ONE AND EACH TIME I CLICKED ONTO ANOTHER SITE IT JUST REVERTED BACK TO VODAFONE.AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE GETTING HELP FROM VODAFONE WAS HOPELESS JUST DEALING WITH ROBOTS.SO I MAY HAVE TO PAY A VISIT TO ONE OF THEIR SHOPS IN THE END (20) MILES AWAY.

Brian

Moderators note/edit:  best not to type in all capitals Brian cos on forums and in emails its considered to be shouting loud. However I do sympathise with you as the lack of interest and customer service from Vodafone has been experienced here in the past - change operators,no hassel

Hi Brian,
I had the same problem, turns out that Vodafone have changed the terms & conditions, your & my dongle now has a 30 day rolling contract where it costs you £10.00 a GB for 30 days and any credit left expires.
Angry doesn't Do my mood justice, in theory I will have gone from spending £15.00 a season to £60.00 a season, also spent £35.00 on the tp link which I shall no longer have a use for.
I have had lengthy live chats with the voda team & on two occasions a senior manager was supposed to call me, but have failed to do so, I intended to write a letter of complaint. But I doubt if it will make a difference.
Pete

Hi Pete,
Thank you for your prompt reply and explanation regarding my vodafone dongle it means I will have to have a re-think.
As for the capital lettering in my post I have since read the rules and so apologize, I have only joined today so will behave myself in the future,again thanks for the replies.

Regards Brian

No problem Brian we all have to learn   

WiFi is  a subject which needs airing, more as we learn from others.   

A couple of years ago I was fed up with the performance of the unexpiring credit Vodafone Dongle and picked up on the performance of the 3 MiFi router from Mootorhome Fun. I was hesitant at 1st as I had previously had poor 3g performance with a phone on the 3 network.   I decided to give it a go, and have never regretted it.  I put £10 on when I want it and it lasts till either the credit rund out or the 30 days.  I do not have to top it up there and then to retain number and only top up when we are away for over over 10 days.   Under 10 days I tether the tablet to the phone which is on the O2 network and my monthly data allowance can more than cope with these shorter periods.

We have members on here that have actually changed their mobile provider to 3 on the perforance of these 3 MiFi routers which will take up to 4 devices. I like to keep my options open hence 1 provider for the phone and 1 for the internet

Hi roli. I think you have flagged up the problem(annoyance?) that breakaleg and myself object to. The fact that the credit expires after 30 days whether used or not. That means if you only use it away from home maybe a week each month (30 days) it will cost £10. My T-mobile dongle, which I would not recommend, credit lasts for 180 days. I can buy a day for £2, 3 days for £4, 7 for £7 or 30 days for £15. The downside is not the access but the awful customer service from T-Mobile. I am looking for an alternative and WiFi looks like the way to go but until I can find a more flexible wifi tariff I am stuck with T-Mobile.