Mifi ? (1 Viewer)

May 7, 2011
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HI , Iam soon going on travels dorset, cornwall, bristol, so thinking of getting a Mifi on 3 ,Pay as you go ,wondered if any body else has any experience of this type of wireless wifi gadget. Supposed to be ideal so as not looking for hotspots . would have my own !
Terry :RollEyes:
 

Jim

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Jul 19, 2007
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Great bit of kit, its nice for everyone in the van to have a connection on their laptops or smartphones. No wires. You can sit outside your van too, the range is very good. I thouroughly reccomend it, I'm using one right now:Smile:
 

GJH

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Got one last week. Only used it at home so far but it seems pretty good and looking forward to using it in the van

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lunarman

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I have one and agree with what has been said.

However do you have a smart phone with a data allowance. If so check whether the phone itself will work as a portable WiFi hotspot. If it does then you can use this for connection to the net from your laptop and save the expense of a MiFi.

Lunarman
 

lunarman

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Cant say whether its the best deal but it suits me:
three deal
Using phone now as hotspot here in Carmarthen.

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hilldweller

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so thinking of getting a Mifi
Terry :RollEyes:

One downside is battery power. I've seen 5 hours mentioned, so sooner or later it goes flat on you, everything battery powered is out to get you.

Plug in dongle powered by computer.

So to me it looks like, single user think dongle, multi user MiFi.
 

GJH

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One downside is battery power. I've seen 5 hours mentioned, so sooner or later it goes flat on you, everything battery powered is out to get you.

Plug in dongle powered by computer.

So to me it looks like, single user think dongle, multi user MiFi.

Well put Brian. MiFi certainly isn't worth it if only one device is in use at a time.
 

Sundowners

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One downside is battery power. I've seen 5 hours mentioned, so sooner or later it goes flat on you, everything battery powered is out to get you.

Plug in dongle powered by computer.

So to me it looks like, single user think dongle, multi user MiFi.


I would think that a dongle plugged into the lap-top would run the lap-top's battery down quicker ??????? so it would need charging sooner ??
We just run mi-fi and laptop off an inverter (don't have a 12 volt charger for laptop) Also have them charging whenever we run the genny
Nigel & Pamala
BTW---we get on very well with the mi-fi
 

callumwa

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Jan 16, 2011
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I have a 3 MiFi which is unlocked, so I can swop sim cards. Sometimes the signal on 3 is not so good so I put in my Vodafone sim, and vice versa. I also swop and use local sims when abroad.

Also when the signal is weak you can position the MiFi high up in the van (eg in the overcab bed by the window) to improve signal reception. Easier to do as it is not connected to your laptop. You could of course just use a usb extension cable but it is tidier without wires.

It is handy, particularly if more than one user is connecting. If you were just connecting one laptop it would probably be cheaper just to buy a 5 metre USB extension cable so you can position your dongle around the van.

I get up to 5 or 6 hours use from the MiFi battery. :thumb:
 

dazzer

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I use the wifi hotspot that is built into my Android phone (i can also get the same thing with my Samsung Galaxy Tablet which is unlocked to any network and has a great battery life of about 6-7 hours). Ive had 4 devices running off the Galaxy and it was not to bad. Its on the 3 network all you can eat data package at £10 per month. :thumb:

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hilldweller

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I would think that a dongle plugged into the lap-top would run the lap-top's battery down quicker ??????? so it would need charging sooner ??

Oh yes but you can see the laptop charge.

I'm good at losing things, so between losing it and it going flat a MiFi might not be best for me.
 

lunarman

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Only Three offer MiFi at the moment so the only alternative to their deals is to buy an unlocked device on eBay to use with a SIM you already have.

Not correct it is offered by vodafone under a different name

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I think this is because 3 own the MiFi name in the uk

Lunarman

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Bryan

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Jul 19, 2007
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I've got a mifi, had it for a couple of years.

Great bit of kit, Suzy and I can use it at the same time so we don't need a dongle each.

I use it with a three sim which cost £8-ish and gives me 3gb over 3 months :thumb:
 

GJH

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Not correct it is offered by vodafone under a different name

Link Removed

I think this is because 3 own the MiFi name in the uk

Lunarman

Somebody mentioned those a few weeks ago. It's a slightly different device as you have to have a Vodafone dongle (or an unlocked dongle with Vodafone SIM) to plug into it to make it work. Basically it adds the WiFi hotspot bit to an existing dongle, unlike the MiFi device which is an all-in-one.
 

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