Wifi or Myfi or hifi or skyfly!? (1 Viewer)

[OddSocks]

/or....




Hello everyone. I'm looking for a personal recommendation on wifi across Europe. I have seen the odd thread on here, and read all about various suppliers, but all the marketing stuff is the same, the only real way to know is to try it and see. So I though I would ask everyone here who may have tried the various suppliers what they think of them.

My plan is to head over to France in 4 to 6 weeks, drive doen to Spain, and then possibly in and out of Portugal. Just those three countries for now, and we have full wifi here in the UK from out mobile phones.

So what do you recommend? Not too worried about suppliers or which gizmo to get, just need to have internet access which is reliable and fast. 4G would be my preference!!! LOL

Thanks for any help you can give!

:thumb:

 

[Wildman]

Sims in FRance are expencive compared to the UK at the moment and roaming rates are extortionate. However that is set to change next year when roaming rates will be abolished. In the mean time wifi from libraries, McDonalds, supermarkets etc are your best bet. Otherwise a local sim in a Mifi will serve you both at the same time.

 

[funflair]

What sort of monthly download do you expect and do you need to be on everyday.

I use i-boost from motorhome Wi-Fi but can not always find a signal so then my backup is the Toggle SIM card in my I-phone, I don't need a large data allowance (or large screen) so the toggle is best for me at £0.15 per Mb and when used with opera mini browser compressing data it is good.

If you wanted more data and everyday use you might be better off with something like a Europa sim in an I-pad or Mi-Fi device, but my understanding of these is that you pay for a full days allowance as soon as you start using any data.

As has been suggested talk to Adam at motorhome Wi-Fi.

Martin

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[ukbill]

you want a mifi and try to get the europasim if adam at motorhomewifi aint got any left then go direct to the german dealer i spoke to him at Peterborough and they was expecting new sims when they got back from the show
when are you travelling we are away through at least 5 countries end of may so will be testing the europasim then and will send a report on here for all to check

http://www.motorhomewifi.com/

Broken Link Removed

 

[peterc10]

Used a EuropaSim that I bought direct from Germany (motorhome wifi did not have any). 3 Euros per day for 500Gb per day, but you only get charged for the days that you use it. I put it in my old Android phone and used that as a wifi hotspot. Worked well in France and Spain for me. Went on line about once every other day, but sometimes used site's wifi if free or cheap instead.

 

[callumwa]

I use my Europasim in my Huawei MiFi.

Last trip used it in Crete, Malta, France, Spain and Portugal, Belgium, as said €3 a day, only on the days you actually use it. 500mb fast daily data allowance, after that it slows to 32 mbps but at no extra cost or charges on the same day.

I did not use it in Italy, as my UK "3" contract gives me free roaming there, and in Holland I use a "Bliep" sim which has the same allowances as Europasim, but for just €0.50 per day.

I had 8 devices tethered to my Huawei Mifi (let friends access it as well) at one point, and it still was working very well.
:thumb:

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[John & Joan]

For Spain I recommend a Carrefour SIM. Data only was 1 euro per day for 100mb at 3G speed then it drops to 120mb but doesn't cut you off.

They also do a phone card but I don't have details.

I got mine from a Carrefour store in Torevieja. The same deal is not available in France.

 

[Addie]

So what do you recommend? Not too worried about suppliers or which gizmo to get, just need to have internet access which is reliable and fast. 4G would be my preference!!! LOL

Thanks for any help you can give!

:thumb:

The ultimate relaibility is going to be Satalite Internet - but unless you have a spare £3500 for a kit, we'll park that one for a moment.

The next best thing for reliable internet is a 3/4G device as a but this will always cost you on the days you use it. The great thing about the EuropaSIM is because its a roaming SIM card you can use any available mobile operator (not just the default one that comes up) and so for the device not to work you have to be somewhere that no operator has any coverage. You also don't have the 'hassle' of obtaining a local SIM - but if you can get one and are in a country for 3-4 weeks and want daily access this might work out cheaper.

The EuropaSIM is best used in a MiFi device, since you can fix the APN - using it tethered can result in additional charges as the APN can wander from the prefixed one.

However you also mention you want fast internet which implies that you want to download a lot of content. 3/4G is not best suited for these - even with the generous 500Mb/day allowance for 3 euro (£2.50)/day if your watching video or downloading content you will hit this a lot sooner.

So, you might benefit from a WiFi booster to maximise your availability of FON while in France - since when you can connect via FON you can use 'as much as you like' but speeds are dictated by many factors and so it can't always be thought of as fast. If you consider both, each time you are able to use WiFi you are 'saving' £2.50/day that you would have paid via EuropaSIM.

Broken Link Removed

you want a mifi and try to get the europasim if adam at motorhomewifi aint got any left then go direct to the german dealer i spoke to him at Peterborough and they was expecting new sims when they got back from the show
when are you travelling we are away through at least 5 countries end of may so will be testing the europasim then and will send a report on here for all to check

http://www.motorhomewifi.com/

Broken Link Removed

We now have EuropaSIM back in stock (and EuropaSIM.com are out of stock! oh so I expect that we'll sell through these quite quick as we always get a lot of EU sales when the main website is down.

Hope that helps.

Adam

 

[OddSocks]

The ultimate relaibility is going to be Satalite Internet - but unless you have a spare £3500 for a kit, we'll park that one for a moment.

The next best thing for reliable internet is a 3/4G device as a but this will always cost you on the days you use it. The great thing about the EuropaSIM is because its a roaming SIM card you can use any available mobile operator (not just the default one that comes up) and so for the device not to work you have to be somewhere that no operator has any coverage. You also don't have the 'hassle' of obtaining a local SIM - but if you can get one and are in a country for 3-4 weeks and want daily access this might work out cheaper.

The EuropaSIM is best used in a MiFi device, since you can fix the APN - using it tethered can result in additional charges as the APN can wander from the prefixed one.

However you also mention you want fast internet which implies that you want to download a lot of content. 3/4G is not best suited for these - even with the generous 500Mb/day allowance for 3 euro (£2.50)/day if your watching video or downloading content you will hit this a lot sooner.

So, you might benefit from a WiFi booster to maximise your availability of FON while in France - since when you can connect via FON you can use 'as much as you like' but speeds are dictated by many factors and so it can't always be thought of as fast. If you consider both, each time you are able to use WiFi you are 'saving' £2.50/day that you would have paid via EuropaSIM.

Broken Link Removed



We now have EuropaSIM back in stock (and EuropaSIM.com are out of stock! oh so I expect that we'll sell through these quite quick as we always get a lot of EU sales when the main website is down.

Hope that helps.

Adam

Thanks everyone for all your excellent advice!

Adam - how do I go about placing an order. Do I just do it all through your web site?

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[Addie]

Thanks everyone for all your excellent advice!

Adam - how do I go about placing an order. Do I just do it all through your web site?

Hi Oddsocks,

You can order via the website if you know what you want or if you want to chat through the options before hand, give us a call on Tuesday (or PM / e-mail me with your number) and we'll recommend you a few things to think about.

All the best,

Adam

 

[peterc10]

The EuropaSIM is best used in a MiFi device, since you can fix the APN - using it tethered can result in additional charges as the APN can wander from the prefixed one.

I didn't have that problem with my old phone running on Android 2.1. But I understand that is a problem for newer versions of Android which do not allow you to fix the APN.

 

[Reallyretired]

I see the standard size Europasim is out of stock on both sites

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[Addie]

I see the standard size Europasim is out of stock on both sites

We have some back in stock now - I've just cancelled a fraudulent order for 5 SIM's.

Adam

 

[bob]

wifi

we saw a couple of vans while in spain last winter using a free standing sat wi fi system called tooway does anybody have any info on this bit of kit

 

[OddSocks]

I am beginning to wonder if this is such a good idea.

My wife has a brand new 4g smart phone which has 4G capabilities, and fro £20 Vodafone will unlock it for us.

In France I can purchase a pre paid SIM from bouyguestelecom.fr for €10 which gives us 200Mg data valid 30 days. Even if I purchase 3 or 4 of these I am still making a big saving compared to the outlay for the 4G Netgear plus areal plus Europa sim. In Spain Orange do a 1Gb data package on pre pay for €12 valid for 30 days.

At these prices it would take a very long time before the £250 plus Netgear se-tup pays for itself.

Which, as a lifelong techie is a bit sad, as I always want the latest gizmo, and was looking forward to having some new tech to play with!

But I can't justify the price at the moment.
http://bouyguestelecom.fr/

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[Addie]

I am beginning to wonder if this is such a good idea.

My wife has a brand new 4g smart phone which has 4G capabilities, and fro £20 Vodafone will unlock it for us.

In France I can purchase a pre paid SIM from bouyguestelecom.fr for €10 which gives us 200Mg data valid 30 days. Even if I purchase 3 or 4 of these I am still making a big saving compared to the outlay for the 4G Netgear plus areal plus Europa sim. In Spain Orange do a 1Gb data package on pre pay for €12 valid for 30 days.

At these prices it would take a very long time before the £250 plus Netgear se-tup pays for itself.

Which, as a lifelong techie is a bit sad, as I always want the latest gizmo, and was looking forward to having some new tech to play with!

But I can't justify the price at the moment.
http://bouyguestelecom.fr/

Hi Oddsocks,

A local SIM card will always work out cheaper if you can obtain one, I think everyone has a different story of how easy or hard this may be - which all depends on who you get in the phone shop on the day and your grasp of French.

You wouldn't 'need' the 4G Netgear or the Antenna - the Huawei E5332 and EuropaSIM is our most popular package at £89.99. Extra speed of the Aircard (4G) just means you will use your data allowance faster and its going to be a little while yet before you would benefit from 4G while roaming anyway.

I wouldn't however call 200Mb of data 'fast and reliable' which was your original brief , perhaps consider using Opera as your web browser to compress web pages (www.opera.com)

Its not about making a sale for us, it matters more that you get the right equipment for you (even if that means you don't buy anything) and that it meets your needs and expectations.

If we can help - you know where we are.

All the best,

Adam

 

[Reallyretired]

we saw a couple of vans while in spain last winter using a free standing sat wi fi system called tooway does anybody have any info on this bit of kit

Haven't heard of this one, but from the photo it seems unusual as it runs on gas