Mobile Wifi - Huawei advice please (1 Viewer)

[csx355]

Hi all - pretty sure that I am going to get a Huaweiweyhuwawah doobrey so that we can keep in touch when we want to get away from it all.

Settled on the Hwweyhowayhooey brand but cant really decide between the 5577 or the 5770. As far as I can tell the 5577 has the option of a mobile Aerial (not sure why I need a mermaid along for the ride) and the 5770 wont take an aerial but has more 'frequency' option?? This could mean improved coverage without an Aerial.

Any real life experience would be helpful.

 

[Robin McHood]

These are the people to advise you, we've got one of their external 4G roof antennas along with a Netgear mifi. Works really well

https://www.motorhomewifi.com/

 

[csx355]

Many thanks - just realized that I posted this in the wrong category - whoops!

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[treetops1]

I have an Huawei and use 3 most of the time ,mine works great .the only problem i have had is the first time i used it in France ,I rang 3 before going and was told by the 3 advisor that all was ok i and was set up to go .When i got to France nothing worked ,luckily my son rang me a week later from Angola and went online and told me my Huawei had not being set up by 3 for France .I gave my son the code for the Huawei and he set it upon his laptop and sent the info to my Huawei and it has worked brilliant ever since.The only advice i would give if going into Europe is is to ring your provider and double check you have being set up to use .

 

[csx355]

Thanks Tree - I was planning on getting an unlocked model rather than one tied to my (EE) phone network and buying a SIM locally as needed. My dilemma was the model numbers seem to bear little relation to the release date of the product. i.e. newer models like the 300Mbps 5785 replaces the 5786?

 

[treetops1]

Hi csx my Huawei is my own unlocked model but £13 for 20 gig a month with 3 is a good deal on 12 month contract lol. DATA ONLY

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[Riverbankannie]

I've used mine all round France without an aerial but sometimes I had to put unit resting on the blind in the roof light. But it mostly only picked up a 3 g signal. Maybe an aerial would have enabled a 4 g signal.
However when the 12 months sim ran out, I didn't buy another and just used the data on my phone and made phone a mobile hotspot for our tablets.
If you can find a good deal on data, using your phone saves having yet another device to turn on, boot up and keep charged up.

 

[Clarky]

If you are intending to "get away from it all" it implies that you might be out in the wilds a bit.
Out in the wilds is where the mobile signal strength is often weak so a mi-fi that can take an external antenna would be a good choice.
We use a window antenna which is black and about 6" square which attaches to the side window with suckers. It is left attached and plugged into the mi-fi all the time and has worked very well everywhere in France, even high in the hills.

Richard.

 

[csx355]

Excellent - you can tell I'm new to this Mobile Interweb Mullarky. I'll check out my options with my phone crowd and check 3 out as well.

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[DBK]

Go for the 5577. You can use it without an aerial and it will work fine where there is a good signal. However, you will find you can't get a usable signal in some locations and that's where an external antenna is needed. I use a Netgear Aircard which should cost around £40. You don't have to have an external antenna and putting the MiFi up high or even on the roof will help - but with an antenna, and the best are mimo types with two leads, you will always get better reception.
I am going to fit an antenna on the roof soon for even better reception in marginal areas - but they aren't cheap so a bit of tooth sucking and loin girding needed before I take the plunge.

 

[Clarky]

I've used mine all round France without an aerial but sometimes I had to put unit resting on the blind in the roof light. But it mostly only picked up a 3 g signal. Maybe an aerial would have enabled a 4 g signal.
However when the 12 months sim ran out, I didn't buy another and just used the data on my phone and made phone a mobile hotspot for our tablets.
If you can find a good deal on data, using your phone saves having yet another device to turn on, boot up and keep charged up.

Using a 3 sim I have only ever got a 3g signal in France.
Whenever I have tried to change the service provider to a 4g setting it tells me that it is 'not available'.
No problem in the UK though.

Richard.

 

[barsteward]

and just to throw a spanner in the works, this looks a real bargain I've been ummin and arrrrin for a couple of weeks almost half the price of any other supplier.

http://www.tabletphonecase.com/netgear-aircard-790s-router-3g-4g-lte-mobile-hotspot?___store=uk

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[Minxy]

Worth having a read of this thread:

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/midi-wifi-internet-in-the-hymer.162738/#post-2547903

With link in my post (#7) to a good way to get a new one cheaply!

 

[klaatu]

We’re using a Huawei with a Netgear aerial all over Northern and Central France with a UK EE sim and a French RegloMobile sim, and most of the time we’ve been able to get a decent 4G signal. The aerial makes a small but useful difference.

 

[Happy1]

Got the 4g roof antenna and Huawei router with mimo so i can work a bit whilst touring, all from motorhome WiFi.com - friendly bunch!
Serious bit of kit can even connect with cat5, bought an O2 data sim and got a mobile mini Huawei in the deal, 12g a month for £11(includes£2 for the mini Huawei)
Vans in storage for the week so can't quote model numbers.
Works well in UK, testing abroad next week

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[Stewart J]

Presently in Spain have been using a Huawei mifi unit for the last 11 weeks. Mine is the model with aerial connections though I have not used one and not found any real problems getting a reasonable 3G signal, never managed a 4. Also worth noting is if you go for a contract be it 15, 20 or 40gb per month (mine is 15gb) this is only allowed in the U.K., 3 and others have a fair usage policy when abroad which limits you to 12gb, go over as I inadventantly did and you pay a hefty price for the additional data. Also if you are using Apple devices switch off cloud sharing auto updates etc or your data allowance will disappear very quickly. Would also suggest you download the free HUAWEI app to monitor your usage and receive notifications once you use 75% and it has some interesting other uses.

 

[Gellyneck]

Yes it does.

 

[csx355]

Fantastic - thanks all.

I think that I am going to go with a model that gives me the option to use an aerial and try it without first - appreciate all the input. I think 3 have some pretty good deals still, 15GB for £20 at the moment with just a 1 month contract.

Always good to have real (virtual) world advice.

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[Gellyneck]

Fantastic - thanks all.

I think that I am going to go with a model that gives me the option to use an aerial and try it without first - appreciate all the input. I think 3 have some pretty good deals still, 15GB for £20 at the moment with just a 1 month contract.

Always good to have real (virtual) world advice.

Could be worth a look at!
Broken Link Removed
It's the unit I've got.

 

[Robin McHood]

P

Fantastic - thanks all.

I think that I am going to go with a model that gives me the option to use an aerial and try it without first - appreciate all the input. I think 3 have some pretty good deals still, 15GB for £20 at the moment with just a 1 month contract.

Always good to have real (virtual) world advice.

probably a good way to go re the mifi. A lot depends on your mh construction. If its the sandwich type with inner aluminium layer, this acts as quite a signal blocker, hence reason i went for the external aerial generally makes a difference of 2 or 3 bars on the signal strength. Where we are at the mo. Inside van without aerial signal 0 to 1, with aerial 3 to 4. Personally wouldnt touch 3's contract with all hassle I've had from them. Now use the 3, 12GB sim 12mth valid, throw away and get another when data runs out.

 

[Emmit]

Just remember, those of you who buy the 24Gb Sim from Three, that you will still be subject to their 'Cut Off' principles ie They will switch it off if you use it too much abroad for a protracted period.

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[Stewart]

I have the Huawei with the two aerial connectors and the motorhomewifi external roof aerial. I have a three contract £13 for 20gb and I have used it for a year across just about the whole of Europe. There has only been one day in that time that I could not get a signal and that was in northern France. As sod's law dictates, I was trying to book a ferry back to The U.K. on that one day. A I am sure you are aware, Three specifies that I can only use 12gb of the 20 when I am away from the U.K.. I have never tried exceeding the limit.

 

[Stewart]

If you log into your Three account and look at the "telephone number" of your data card, one of the menus on the home page will tell you how much data you have used. This is very accurate because it is Three information

 

[Stewart]

It's at www.three.co.uk, then log in using the data telephone number, then data allowances - check your data allowance.

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[Khizzie]

I use my mifi with 3 data card all over Britain and France without an external aerial with no problems ...

 

[Shrimp]

We use a MiFi with an ariel on the roof, it's only 3G but seems to work well, we've used it all round France & UK, it has a 3 sim in it.
We never used to bother with an ariel but it does help a bit and more so when all the blinds in the MH are shut!