Help! Need Dongle for use in UK while on holiday

leezuk1

No idea about these things as never needed one before. In Cornwall in cottage for a week - no wifi - reception very poor but need to access internet. Is a dongle what I need? In which case what do I need to look for? I am with Orange/Giff gaff for phone and Virgin for Internet - or can I go to any provider? Best prices for low/short term usage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Inner_Zone

leezuk1 wrote: »

No idea about these things as never needed one before. In Cornwall in cottage for a week - no wifi - reception very poor but need to access internet. Is a dongle what I need? In which case what do I need to look for? I am with Orange/Giff gaff for phone and Virgin for Internet - or can I go to any provider? Best prices for low/short term usage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

You say reception is poor. What reception, mobile phone, TV etc.?

You say you are with Orange / GiffGaff, do you have two mobiles or do you mean O2 as GiffGaff are an O2 network?

Have you checked the postcode on the mobile networks website to see if any coverage in the location you are staying in?

Are there any local McDonalds, pubs etc with free Wi-Fi hotspots?

leezuk1

Thx for reply.

Reception for mobile is poor - previously used orange - comes and goes and T-Mobile had no reception at all (didn't have giffgaff last year so not sure if it works). No point checking on postcode as the providers all say they have reception but the reality is they haven't (been there before).

No shops etc nearby - hence the problem.

I have 2 phones - orange pay monthly account and giffgaff on separate phone.

Anything else that would help?

Inner_Zone

leezuk1 wrote: »

No point checking on postcode as the providers all say they have reception but the reality is they haven't (been there before).

Well Orange and T-Mobile now share so if coverage is poor on one then the other will be the same. So that leaves 02, Vodafone or dare I say 3, argh said it. But if you say there no coverage then mobile broadband won't work, if its poor it will work but slowly at GPRS speeds (less than dial up).

stilltheone

Phone models? You are not checking for reception', you are searching for UMTS masts. Look here Report back with details of the closest GSM and UMTS masts. You'll need to click on the blue balloons after entering the postcode.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Things may have changed since you were last there...? Also we live in a stone built cottage and there's almost no 3G reception at all downstairs, however upstairs I get 5.4Mbps down 1.5Mbps up with 47% signal strength. The signal just can't get through the walls. Wondering if your destination cottage might be similar and you might get a signal in the garden.

That's on Three and I have found their coverage maps to be truthful, it's probably the strongest network for mobile broadband. Likewise O2 is pants here and their website says "Not recommended for this location". Albeit, it is usable. Just. The signal wanders in and out, but it would just about suffice for email with the dongle in exactly the right position - takes some work though and still patchy.

Worst case scenario is that one of them will work, but you'll have to drive e.g. up to the top of a nearby hill. You could look at the topography of the area on Google Maps and then extract the postcode and put that postcode into the coverage map checkers. Another thing you could try is www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk, the interface is dismal, but you may find where the most local cells are.

The other thing to check is if the cottage has ADSL broadband anyway (which you probably have done..). Some do, all included, though the Cornwall area is particularly problematic for that.

leezuk1

stilltheone wrote: »

Phone models? You are not checking for reception', you are searching for UMTS masts. Look here Report back with details of the closest GSM and UMTS masts. You'll need to click on the blue balloons after entering the postcode.

Ok - as I thought only Orange around! Nothing else even remotely close!

Name of OperatorOrangeOperator Site Ref.COR0059Station TypeMacrocellHeight of Antenna14 MetresFrequency Range1800 MHzTransmitter Power28.5 dBWMaximum licensed power32 dBWType of TransmissionGSM

leezuk1

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Things may have changed since you were last there...? Also we live in a stone built cottage and there's almost no 3G reception at all downstairs, however upstairs I get 5.4Mbps down 1.5Mbps up with 47% signal strength. The signal just can't get through the walls. Wondering if your destination cottage might be similar and you might get a signal in the garden.

That's on Three and I have found their coverage maps to be truthful, it's probably the strongest network for mobile broadband. Likewise O2 is pants here and their website says "Not recommended for this location". Albeit, it is usable. Just. The signal wanders in and out, but it would just about suffice for email with the dongle in exactly the right position - takes some work though and still patchy.

Worst case scenario is that one of them will work, but you'll have to drive e.g. up to the top of a nearby hill. You could look at the topography of the area on Google Maps and then extract the postcode and put that postcode into the coverage map checkers. Another thing you could try is www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk, the interface is dismal, but you may find where the most local cells are.

The other thing to check is if the cottage has ADSL broadband anyway (which you probably have done..). Some do, all included, though the Cornwall area is particularly problematic for that.

They used to have broadband but have now removed it - and yes I have many a time stood at the end of the garden - but even there the signal comes and goes. I guess my answer is that I need to get something with Orange - are there different options with dongles and am I best to buy from orange shop or elsewhere?

WestonDave

Might be worth checking out a mobile wifi device rather than a straight plug in dongle. In effect it does the same job, but for example the 3 "mifi" device I have creates a wifi hotspot connected to the mobile network. Because they are larger, they have better scope for reception than a tiny dongle, and because you don't have to plug it directly into your computer, it means you can put it anywhere that you can get reception even if that is on top of the wardrobe. Your laptop then connects to it in the same way as it does to your wireless router at home. The downside is that they are more pricey to buy - £70 ish compared to around £25 for a typical dongle. Mine came with 3 months/10GB data on it so you shouldn't need to pay for more data for this trip. (The other plus is that because it creates a wifi hotspot, if you have something like an ipod touch that works via wifi, you can use that, whereas an ipod can't connect via a normal dongle)

Most of the networks do these "mifi" devices - the deals on them vary - 3 was the best for us as we use it randomly for a few days and then don't need it for ages, so the ability to pay £2 for a day (once the initial period is up) is better than having to pay for a month's connection which expires.

leezuk1

Thanks - will investigate the options suggested WestonDave.

stilltheone

WestonDave wrote: »

Might be worth checking out a mobile wifi device rather than a straight plug in dongle. In effect it does the same job, but for example the 3 "mifi" device I have creates a wifi hotspot connected to the mobile network. Because they are larger, they have better scope for reception than a tiny dongle, and because you don't have to plug it directly into your computer, it means you can put it anywhere that you can get reception even if that is on top of the wardrobe. Your laptop then connects to it in the same way as it does to your wireless router at home. The downside is that they are more pricey to buy - £70 ish compared to around £25 for a typical dongle. Mine came with 3 months/10GB data on it so you shouldn't need to pay for more data for this trip. (The other plus is that because it creates a wifi hotspot, if you have something like an ipod touch that works via wifi, you can use that, whereas an ipod can't connect via a normal dongle)

Most of the networks do these "mifi" devices - the deals on them vary - 3 was the best for us as we use it randomly for a few days and then don't need it for ages, so the ability to pay £2 for a day (once the initial period is up) is better than having to pay for a month's connection which expires.

If there is no 3G signal in the area, it doesn't matter if it's a dongle or a MiFi. It would just be a horrendous waste of time and money. A unlocked USB modem cost £14. An unlocked MIFI maybe £70.