Motorhome wifi (1 Viewer)

[Petehvan]

The latest Huawei mifi has a socket to attach an antenna to boost the single, 3 operate a fair usage policy when abroad. If you are pay as you go it is 12gig if you are under contact it is 13, which can soon go if you watch much internet TV. They also restrict your trip to 2 months, but I have found if you keap within your usage limit they do not pick up that you are abroad

 

[DaveandJen]

So let me get this right before i buy, i am going to buy the above recommended router, the 12 GB sim card on 3, but i can still use my giffgaff sim card in my phone ?....thank you..

Yes that is correct. The mobile router as recommended fitted with the 3 SIM card will produce a local wi-fi hot spot that you will be asked to provide a password that only you will know to stop other people connecting onto it and using up your data allowance. You just share your password with the other people in your van who want to get connected. I think up to six people can connect at the same time. You don’t need to be an IT expert to set up the recommended mobile router its more or less plug and play other than having to input a password once when setting up and your computer or mobile device can remember it so quick to connect in the future.

 

[PeteH]

I have more than one providers data cards. This means I have more choice in areas where reception is iffy . Giffgaff works well. But 3 is another choice as well as EE. I can tether to all of them with a Motorola phone and serve 2 iPads and a laptop.

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[autorouter]

How does your WiFi antena improve a signal where there is none,

Imagine a bare light bulb shining in the dark. Then imagine a curved reflector behind it to shape a beam in one direction. The light is bright inside the beam, but dark outside it. So it has improved the brightness, but only in one direction.

That's more or less how a directional wifi aerial works. If the wifi works at the reception office, but is too weak to use at your pitch, then a directional wifi booster will pull in the wifi signal to make it usable.

Usually the wifi setup includes not just an aerial but a wireless router as well, so you can connect a number of laptops, tablets etc to the same wifi connection.

Briefly, the router sets up its own local wifi network, where you can set the password to let users connect. It accesses the internet by the aerial and the camp site wifi system.

In contrast, a mifi also contains a router that sets up its own local wifi network, where you can set the password to let users connect. But it accesses the internet by the mobile phone network, not the camp site wifi system. So you can use it when wild camping, provided there is a mobile phone signal.

Actually, for most mifi devices, you can connect an external aerial that is better than the tiny inbuilt one, to pull in a signal from a distant phone mast when the signal is weak.

 

[DBK]

It provides a local WiFi network for the devices to connect to.

The internet connection is still mobile internet. It does NOT provide a proper broadband connection. It never has and it never will.

No mobile internet connection anywhere will ever have as much stable bandwidth or stable speed as a proper broadband connection.

That sort of mobile data connection has its uses but it should not be suggested as a viable replacement for a true wireless broadband connection because it quite simply isn't.

As to the suggestion that a mobile internet connection is in anyway secure that's just laughable. Open WiFi networks might not be either but suggesting mobile internet connection are any better is misleading in the extreme. I'd hate for anyone who doesn't know any better to accept such poor advice and think they're safe.

I've got to take issue with some of your statements above. My MiFi using an external antenna on the MH parked on my drive gets a consistently faster connection than my BT landline provided internet, especially the upload speed. The "ping" is much poorer but as I'm not playing games this doesn't seem to be an issue.

A 4G connection is encrypted so should be secure unless someone like GCHQ is trying to attack you. The WiFi connection is less secure of course especially if folk use the default passwords but your home WiFi can be intercepted too so I'm not sure the WiFi in the MH is any worse. However, where possible I do my internet banking while I'm away using my phone connecting directly with the provider and not through the mifi.

 

[Geo]

Imagine a bare light bulb shining in the dark. Then imagine a curved reflector behind it to shape a beam in one direction. The light is bright inside the beam, but dark outside it. So it has improved the brightness, but only in one direction.

That's more or less how a directional wifi aerial works. If the wifi works at the reception office, but is too weak to use at your pitch, then a directional wifi booster will pull in the wifi signal to make it usable.

Usually the wifi setup includes not just an aerial but a wireless router as well, so you can connect a number of laptops, tablets etc to the same wifi connection.

Briefly, the router sets up its own local wifi network, where you can set the password to let users connect. It accesses the internet by the aerial and the camp site wifi system.

In contrast, a mifi also contains a router that sets up its own local wifi network, where you can set the password to let users connect. But it accesses the internet by the mobile phone network, not the camp site wifi system. So you can use it when wild camping, provided there is a mobile phone signal.

Actually, for most mifi devices, you can connect an external aerial that is better than the tiny inbuilt one, to pull in a signal from a distant phone mast when the signal is weak.

My question was based on there being NO bulb so how good is your reflector now?

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[2657]

I've got to take issue with some of your statements above. My MiFi using an external antenna on the MH parked on my drive gets a consistently faster connection than my BT landline provided internet, especially the upload speed. The "ping" is much poorer but as I'm not playing games this doesn't seem to be an issue.

A 4G connection is encrypted so should be secure unless someone like GCHQ is trying to attack you. The WiFi connection is less secure of course especially if folk use the default passwords but your home WiFi can be intercepted too so I'm not sure the WiFi in the MH is any worse. However, where possible I do my internet banking while I'm away using my phone connecting directly with the provider and not through the mifi.

I was thinking exactly the same apart from the security of the mifi link, I would have thought that this link is as secure as any router connection, connection can only be made using the wifi code inside the lid of the device, the default password is only to connect to the device website once a secure connection has been made.

My BIL lives out in the sticks N of Inverness and has a BT landline, the internet speed is slow because of the distance involved, no fibre optic up there, my connection via Vodafone was much faster even using the phone as a mifi hotspot.

 

[2657]

My question was based on there being NO bulb so how good is your reflector now?

Simple answer is that it won't improve a non existent signal but to carry on the analogy when do we know there is no light, is it ever completely dark, our eyes are not perfect.

I have been in places with no phone signal, no signal on the mifi unit but a useable signal when used with an antennae(aerial).

 

[Chrisy]

On a French site in September no usable mobile signal not even with mifi . Site WiFi pretty abysmal on phones. Iboost saved the day and for some members of the family the holiday. Perfect reception while all around us were moaning!

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[rosalan]

Huawei seems very popular but we use a 'TP-Link' which we bought in Spain and can honestly say we have never failed to get a signal. "3" has seemingly cornered the market with their 12gb data sim but I think the price may be going up a bit.