Newby wi-fi question(s).............

[garry55]

Me again.
Having now resolved our sat nav / reversing camera dilemma (thanks to input from forum members), it's wi-fi time.
Does anyone use, or has used, this router in their motorhome?
EE 4GEE Router HH70VB
We only require a basic (unlocked) system, capable of supporting a pair of smart phones, a tablet, a lap top and a smart speaker.
We do not need to stream tv stations to our non-existent tv!

 

[Bolti]

Any reason why you do not want to hotspot from your phone?

 

[garry55]

Any reason why you do not want to hotspot from your phone?

 

[garry55]

Could you explain what that is? I know nothing about wi-fi other than I have a router under my desk for the home pc.
I was under the impression that I needed a router and an external aerial so that I would have (almost) complete wi-fi reception whilst travelling abroad?

 

[Just smiffy]

Here you go…

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[DerryW]

if you have a ssmart phone go into setting and select "Personal Hotspot. your phone will act as a router. depending on coverage you should be okay for what you're looking to do. if you want to use a laptop or ipad all you need to do is take the wifi password which you'll get from settings on the device you've chossen as your router.

Hope thats clear enough.

 

[Lenny HB]

You only need a router and an external aerial if you do a lot of traveling remote areas. We have them and find them useful but probably not of much benifit to you.

 

[Kups]

Could you explain what that is? I know nothing about wi-fi other than I have a router under my desk for the home pc.
I was under the impression that I needed a router and an external aerial so that I would have (almost) complete wi-fi reception whilst travelling abroad?

A router with a rooftop mounted aerial will improve signal strength. However it needs a sim card suitable for EU reception. As you are not using a TV, you might be as well just using your smartphones as hot spots to drive your other devices. Some research will tell you which sim card is best for your phones outside the UK but to generalise, most phone companies only allow 12 Gb data use per month per device. Check websites like Martin Lewis for best roaming deals https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/cheap-roaming-calls/

 

[garry55]

We will be travelling around France, Spain and Portugal in April and May - would a phone hotspot suffice? I read that reception in certain areas that we are hoping to visit (the Picos de Europa for example) is pretty poor?

 

[Lenny HB]

Towns in the Picos are OK but remote areas in the mountains even with an aerial you won't get a signal.

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[garry55]

Once again - many thanks for your advice
We stopped off at our local mobile phone shop and the assistant there explained everything in a manner that even us two techie numpties could understand, so that's another "how to?" crossed off our list.
Any recommendations on which SIM cards to purchase when in France / Spain / Portugal?

 

[Bolti]

How much data do you currently use? And what is the data allowance of the Sims you currently have. Also will you be subjected to roaming charges, it depends on when you took out your contract and the network you are with.

 

[garry55]

WE are both with EE and would be subject to roaming charges on our current SIM cards - we checked with our local EE branch yesterday.
Never asked the data allowance question and no idea of current data usage - is that info available on our phones?

 

[Lenny HB]

We have used Reglo (from LeClerc supermarket) in France and NoS in Portugal but I think on our next trip I'll be using a POPit sim 100gb data for £25 and can use the full allowance when roaming.

Popit Mobile Unrestricted EU Roaming

Anyone using these? Never heard of them before but their website says no restriction using all your data in the EU. so may be of interest to some. 30 day contact, 30gb for £18 or 100 GB for £25. Thinking I might give them a go? https://www.popitmobile.co.uk/

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Lenny HB]

WE are both with EE and would be subject to roaming charges on our current SIM cards - we checked with our local EE branch yesterday.
Never asked the data allowance question and no idea of current data usage - is that info available on our phones?

Fair use policy with EE is 25gb but you can often use quite a bit more.

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[Bolti]

As you do not watch TV or stream you will be hard pressed to use £100 GB in a month. I would recommend the popit mobile SIM mentioned by Lenny HB.This will save you having to get individual Sims when traveling to different countries.

 

[Kups]

Once again - many thanks for your advice
We stopped off at our local mobile phone shop and the assistant there explained everything in a manner that even us two techie numpties could understand, so that's another "how to?" crossed off our list.
Any recommendations on which SIM cards to purchase when in France / Spain / Portugal?

Have a read through this advice from the people at Motorhome WiFi. It's not fully up to date but gives you an idea of the range of deals. https://www.motorhomewifi.com/expert-advice/2022-sim-cards/

 

[Scully]

Check with EE. I think for an additional £10 you can get EU roaming added to existing contract for the time you are away, relatively cheap and keeps things simple. Not sure how it works, you might have to remember to cancel the "extra" when you get back to uk.