Samba Mobile Broadband - Is it Really Free?

Kernel_Sanders

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

The SIM card costs £5 (includes £5 calling credit) and mine arrived the following day. Any calls outside your allowance are just 6p/minute. If you port your existing phone number to OVIVO they will add another £5 to your calling credit.

How do they collect any usage outside of your allowance? I've seen no mention of them having access to your bank a/c via DD. Also, does this credit last indefinitely (if used at least every 180 days?)

Uplink

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

How do they collect any usage outside of your allowance? I've seen no mention of them having access to your bank a/c via DD.

They block your account if you go over your allowance. You can unblock it by watching ads to "repay" your "debt". If you go deep into debt, you have to watch a lot of ads to get back in the black. But if that's just your "thanks for all the fish" gift to them, they can't really collect, can they? I sort of think they already "collected" when they sold you the SIM for real money, so if you think of breaking the bank and getting a new SIM, think that it costs money. Haven't seen anywhere that they could deny you a new account.

fuzzgun19

fuzzgun19 wrote: »

Just signed up for this.

How much data would I use, say if I was on the internet for 3 hours, how many MB would that be?

Nookster wrote: »

Totally depends on where you go and what you do, browsing this webpage wouldn't use much, but watching Top Gear on BBC iPlayer in HD would last about 5 seconds with 3.5MB that one ad gives you.

Ok, it would be just general web page browsing (ebay, checking emails etc) - would that use alot?

Is there a limit to how many ads you can watch per day?

mp3pek

Somebody mentioned watching several adverts at once. This is quite easy. I'm using firefox on my home PC connecting via my home broadband. Just open up the earn credit page then start an ad running. Then right click on earn credit and select open in new tab. You can do this several times so you have lots of tabs open. Start a different ad running in each window. After a few minutes, check all the tabs and you will see you have earned credit from each ad. Simples.

The really clever bit is earning credit when you have run out of ads to watch. First of all, log out of your Samba page and then click earn credit. As you are logged out, it doesn't know who you are so it brings up ads. Do the right click trick and open multiple tabs and start a different ad in each tab. After a few minutes you will see that the ads have all finished and there will be a message saying 'You are not logged in, click here to earn credit from this add'. Click one of these and log in as normal and you will get the credit for that ad. Then just go along the other tabs and press the log in button, you won't have to log in as you did that on the first tab. May be cheating but I've been 'watching' ads for about a week now and I've got 1.6GB of credit.

Have fun

fuzzgun19

Thanks for the tip mp3pek, I'd run out of ads, and this seems to be working.

Kernel_Sanders

fuzzgun19 wrote: »

Ok, it would be just general web page browsing (ebay, checking emails etc) - would that use alot

There are several free meters you can download; just search for "download meters" or try this http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/how-to-track-your-broadband-data-usage-on-pc-or-mac-50006192/

motiv4

What if you got 2 or 3 OVIVO sims.. thats 3 GB on monthly data for 15 quid one off... you can switch sims as one dongle runs out..

andyt8

DrPaul wrote: »

Just fire off the ad in a tab in Chrome, then go back to whatever you were doing.

Then just switch back to that tab whenever you feel like it and fire off another ad, then look away - simples!

I just need to be connected on the few occasions I'm away, such as a visit to my parents who don't do the internet, so it's only email and web browsing that I really need. IMHO you've got to be mad to watch videos over 3G.

I have just bought a Samba SIM using the money saving coupon from last weeks newsletter. Like you I watched some ads and also switched tabs to get on with something else. Seems fine for occasional use when away which is what I intend to use it for..

Point to note: if you watch the ads using your Samba dongle+sim then actually watching the ad won't cost you data allowance. HOWEVER click through at the end of the ad for more info etc and that EATS you data up. I did that first night and all my credit had gone by the time the Samba system finds out how much data you have used. Three network take a while to send the usage data over to Samba is why they say there is a delay and its not real time like the credits are.

Bealer

andyt8 wrote: »

I have just bought a Samba SIM using the money saving coupon from last weeks newsletter. Like you I watched some ads and also switched tabs to get on with something else. Seems fine for occasional use when away which is what I intend to use it for..

Point to note: if you watch the ads using your Samba dongle+sim then actually watching the ad won't cost you data allowance. HOWEVER click through at the end of the ad for more info etc and that EATS you data up. I did that first night and all my credit had gone by the time the Samba system finds out how much data you have used. Three network take a while to send the usage data over to Samba is why they say there is a delay and its not real time like the credits are.

How did you purchase a SIM with moneysaving coupons from newsletter? Which coupons?

Bealer

Can anyone confirm that the SIM really works by putting it in a smartphone and tether the internet connection? Wouldnt that work just like a dongle?