Phone hot-spot v mifi (1 Viewer)

[ericonabike]

Currently using a Firestick with my mobile, which until recently had, unlimited data in EU thanks to a Virgin plan. This has now been transferred to O2, with only 25gb in EU. So, research suggests using a 200gb sim from Rwg at £20 a month, with u limited EU use, would be a, better option. But then I started looking into mifi...
Would I get greatly improved reception? Or is the benefit mostly about running multiple devices, which I don't need?

 

[Lenny HB]

Depends on the sim/network, generally the Mifi works better than than a phone but eairler in the year I had Rwg sim in my Mifi speed was appalling 6 to mb/s I did once get 20 mb/s put the sim in my and I was getting between 35 to 95mb/s

Tried my Plusnet sim which is also on EE in the Mifi got the same results, never had that problem before.

 

[DABurleigh]

I find a cheap 4G mifi handy, as in dodgy signal areas I just pop it in a ziplock bag and gaffa tape it to the tip of a 9m telescopic roach pole. That helps the signal enormously and you can still use your phone .

It helps even more if you have gradually shifted over to streaming TV rather than satellite, as you need to maintain a decent bandwidth.

Dave

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[ericonabike]

Ta both. Realise I am at the bottom of the learning curve - if I put the sim in a mifi, can I still use my phone as normal, without a sim, for making and receiving calls?

 

[Figaro]

Ta both. Realise I am at the bottom of the learning curve - if I put the sim in a mifi, can I still use my phone as normal, without a sim, for making and receiving calls?

No, your phone needs a sim in it to make calls
Most use a separate sim for the mifi
That added advantage is you don't have to hotspot your phone. Mine gets quite hot and battery depleats quickly when on hotspot

 

[Figaro]

Ta both. Realise I am at the bottom of the learning curve - if I put the sim in a mifi, can I still use my phone as normal, without a sim, for making and receiving calls?

No, your phone needs a sim in it to make calls
Most use a separate sim for the mifi
That added advantage is you don't have to hotspot your phone. Mine gets quite hot and battery depleats quickly when on hotspot

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Pausim]

I find my phone hotspot often works better if I prop the phone upright in a window. I guess insured a metal box is not an ideal environment for radio signals.

Shutting the blinds which all have reflective metal linings often makes matters worse. I have a small stand alone DAB radio by my bed and this always works better with the blind open. Somewhat more puzzling is why rugby on the tv is adversely affected by shutting the blind next to the tv, the aerial is external and amplified. However over the last couple of days it has become clear that shutting this particular blind leads to picture break up which is not acceptable during rugby matches.

 

[Phill D]

I have gone from mifi to phone tethering have found it easier to use and monitor the signal.

 

[ericonabike]

OK. I have a plan, which I would be very grateful if you were collectively able to review it!.

For the last two years, or so I have had a free Virgin sim, thanks to their Ultimate, Oomph package, with unlimited data. This allowed me to use my Firestick abroad to my heart's content . Virgin have now pulled out of mobiles and transferred me to O2, at a cost of £25 a month, and eu usage us restricted to 25gb. I regularly exceed that when abroad.

So - suppose I buy a Huawei 5577 mifi, at around £60, and a rwg 200gb sim at £20 a month. I could then downrate my phone sim, as I rarely use more than 5gb when not in motorhime. So monthly cost likely to be around the same.

Would I still be able to get I player etc when abroad without the hassle of a VPN, as I do now? And in general, are there any other pitfalls I've not thought of? TIA..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Phill D]

I use the Rwg 200 go sim in my iPad and I am currently in France using it to full effect on my firestick. I player etc etc.
No issues

Wife is currently catching up on eastenders

 

[ericonabike]

Happy wife, happy life

 

[ericonabike]

So, just ordered the mifi plus rwg sim. When received, will test in the van and if all well, change my O2 contract for one with minimal giga doobries. Happy streaming, home and away, hopefully! Many thanks for your assistance folks

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[68c]

Supposedly using an external antenna with your mifi can help. I think they are called.'mimo' or something like that. Newer Hauwei mifi have two sockets to accept the double cable from the antenna. Sorry, I am not an expert.

 

[Elsie2010]

Ta both. Realise I am at the bottom of the learning curve - if I put the sim in a mifi, can I still use my phone as normal, without a sim, for making and receiving calls?

You could do WiFi calling without sim, you can use the mifi as your WiFi for your phone as well and do it that way....you'll be able to use WhatsApp for messages too but not SMS or phone calls unless WiFi calling or WhatsApp phone or video call

 

[Elsie2010]

Supposedly using an external antenna with your mifi can help. I think they are called.'mimo' or something like that. Newer Hauwei mifi have two sockets to accept the double cable from the antenna. Sorry, I am not an expert.

We had a max view installed after failing with mifi due to having a pvc. Only got to use it on 2 trips so unable to say for sure, but it seemed to improve the WiFi more than the mifi but I don't think anythings perfect unless you go down the star link route
Depends greatly on location and carrier, most sites we used seemed to be in those black holes

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}