Samba Mobile Broadband - Is it Really Free?

Blue_Max

diamonds wrote: »

E3131

2100MHz/900MHz 3/4G (Voda/o2 support old 900mhz 2G as it moved to 3G)
21.6Mbps Download
5.76Mbps Upload
Micro SD support - upto 32GB.
Huawei HiLink - no software to install, all done via browser.

Got my E3131 this morning, unlocked it and it is working :-)
I downloaded Product Description pdf for E3131 from Huawie website. A pic in there show HiLink printed on the casing.
But the E3131 I got from Currys, don't have HiLink printed on its casing.
Checked the Device Information in the browser and HiLink is not mentioned there either.
Could not find 4G mentioned anywhere either.
The ones Currys is selling at a discounted price are slightly out of date?!

elektra

Doc_N wrote: »

Isn't the Ovivo (www.ovivo.com) offer a lot less trouble?

100 mins, 100 texts and 300mb data per month free (phones)

and/or

500mb data per month (tablets)

No adverts to watch, and a £10 one-off payment which you get back as a credit. From personal experience it works very well - piggbacks on Vodafone.

I think you meant www.ovivomobile.com

Foxmulder

I saw this network on the MSE email that you get on a Wednesday, and at the time you could get a micro sim for iPad for £1! Paid for it (what's a quid?!), and thought I'd give it a go. Since I received it, I've been more than happy - it's top notch!

When I'm at home we don't get a good enough signal for any network really, or not enough for decent 3G, which is fine because we use the wifi off of our home Internet. However, the moment I leave the house I get excellent signal and the coverage on the way to work is super good. Watching ads to top up the balance is a doddle - I use my wifi at home to rack up the credit. At present I've 122MB in credit, which is perfectly fine for surfing the net or looking up something specific on either eBay, amazon or firebox.

yes, there does seem to be the same adverts circulating on their site at the mo, but I'm sure, as someone else has said on here, that this will increase if more people show an interest. I told a woman I work with about it and she wants to use it in her iPad too, so I emailed her the link. Word of mouth and all that.

Bang on!

Doc_N

elektra wrote: »

I think you meant www.ovivomobile.com

I did indeed - thanks for the correction. I've amended the original post.

diamonds

Blue_Max wrote: »

Got my E3131 this morning, unlocked it and it is working :-)
I downloaded Product Description pdf for E3131 from Huawie website. A pic in there show HiLink printed on the casing.
But the E3131 I got from Currys, don't have HiLink printed on its casing.
Checked the Device Information in the browser and HiLink is not mentioned there either.
Could not find 4G mentioned anywhere either.
The ones Currys is selling at a discounted price are slightly out of date?!

HiLink means not installing anything or settings - plug in & connect to internet.

Ali_Baba

Doc_N wrote: »

Isn't the Ovivo offer a lot less trouble?

100 mins, 100 texts and 300mb data per month free (phones)

and/or

500mb data per month (tablets)

No adverts to watch, and a £10 one-off payment which you get back as a credit. From personal experience it works very well - piggbacks on Vodafone.

This does seem like a far better option. I've got 1.5 GB on my Samba battery, which is great but I'm unlikely to use it up anytime soon and watching the adverts every day is getting a bit tedious. I am tempted to buy an Ovivo sim for my tablet and try them out. Does anyone know which mobile network they are piggybacking on?

EDIT - answering my own question here: Vodafone

redux

diamonds wrote: »

2100mhz* 3G only

7.2 up 5.76 down

Bit basic when 3 supports 21mbps, 3 must be providing them cheap for resale - does the job on 3G but 4G speeds are out the window. Defo better with a Currys E3131, a Samba sim & £1 unlock for £15.99.

E3131

2100MHz/900MHz 3/4G (Voda/o2 support old 900mhz 2G as it moved to 3G)
21.6Mbps Download
5.76Mbps Upload
Micro SD support - upto 32GB.
Huawei HiLink - no software to install, all done via browser.

*All networks in UK support 2100Mhz 3G, problem is its penetration around/into buildings - the lower the mhz the better.

Voda & o2 900Mhz 3G provide best coverage, and the worst prices even though they both have main 2100Mhz 3G aswell.

I would also highlight that it has a socket for use of an external antenna if needed, which is why I've just bought one after reading one of your posts the other day

That doesn't matter to some people, but in plenty of locations an external antenna may help make quite a big difference.

Blue_Max

redux wrote: »

I would also highlight that it has a socket for use of an external antenna if needed, which is why I've just bought one after reading one of your posts the other day

That doesn't matter to some people, but in plenty of locations an external antenna may help make quite a big difference.

Few days ago, I got a Huawei E3131 from Currys for £9.99
That hasn't got a socket for external antenna.
May be it is not the latest 'HiLink' model :-(
Couple of years ago, when I was abroad, I had a USB dongle for BB.
I used a USB extention cable and stuck the dongle to the top of the window glass with BluTac. Data tranfer rate improved significantly.

redux

Blue_Max wrote: »

Few days ago, I got a Huawei E3131 from Currys for £9.99
That hasn't got a socket for external antenna.

Look closer. That's the one I bought, and it has

http://www.huaweidevice.com.eg/Product-Description/Data-cards-E3131.php

look under the nearly square grey cover on the side, just next to the fingernail slot for opening the cover to put in the SIM

Blue_Max

redux wrote: »

Look closer. That's the one I bought, and it has
http://www.huaweidevice.com.eg/Product-Description/Data-cards-E3131.php
look under the nearly square grey cover on the side, just next to the fingernail slot for opening the cover to put in the SIM

yes there is a tiny co-axial type connector there.
There is a mention of 'External antenna interface' on page 7 of the Huawei E3131 HSPA Product Description.pdf at their site and E3131 Introduction.pdf (the link above). But nothing more.
Thanks for pointing it out. Would be handy one day.