PAYG Dongle

securityguy

One thing to be careful of with second-hand dongles is that driver support can be tricky for Macs. For example, I had a Huawei USB 3G dongle which worked OK on the then-current release, but didn't work when I upgraded OSX. I bodged it into life, but it was never reliable.

If you can get one for sensible money, the MiFi-type dongles, which use wireless Ethernet, are better, because they'll work pretty much forever. They also will provide a little base station for your iPad and so on if you need it.

Another possibility for the OP is that if you have a reasonably modern Smartphone, you can "tether" it and ether use it via USB or via WiFi from other devices. Your operator might let you use you normal data allowance or might want to charge you a tenner, but either way it's probably cheaper than buying some new.

In Cornwall, however, check you have 3G coverage. It's better than it was, but there are still plenty of places that it's not available.

NiftyDigits

Buzby wrote: »

I purchased mine for £12. The cheapest new was £49. To get any hope of Cashback options, you are agreeing to a minimum term commitment, which is the LAST thing the OP needs.

Your statement is quite wrong.

Three Mobile Broadband offers & cashback £12.50 for Pay As You Go.

OneYorkshireLass

Thanks all, I've decided on the dongle from Currys with the t-mobile pay per day plan. I've checked 3G coverage and it's available in the village I'm staying in ... luckily, as two miles down the road there's no coverage at all.

Stooby2

Before you go buying something - have you got a smartphone and does it allow wireless tethering / hotspot? If it does and you have a reasonable monthly data allowance (say 500mb) you can use that instead.

OneYorkshireLass

I don't have a smartphone, but thanks for the suggestion anyway

NiftyDigits

OneYorkshireLass wrote: »

Thanks all, I've decided on the dongle from Currys with the t-mobile pay per day plan. I've checked 3G coverage and it's available in the village I'm staying in ... luckily, as two miles down the road there's no coverage at all.

It's not necessarily the cheapest option for you at possibly £25(to include £15 for a month of usage and £10 for the modem).
It is actually cheaper to go for a thirty day SIM only contract(to marry with the £9.99 modem) for £7.50 per month. You can either cancel the contract straight away and let it run only for the first month or give notice later to cancel it, so it closes by the second month. So £15 for two months. But this way you can also claim £10 in Cashback. £10 for SIM Only and Nano SIM 30 day contracts.
In essence, you can get you Internet for free and get a £2.50 rebate on your modem cost. So £7.50 in total for modem and Internet for the month.(Though with this option you need to be careful not to go over your designated data limit, as it doesn't work in the same way as their PAYG option. So perhaps better to go for the £10 2GB option or the £15 5GB option and to cancel immediately). With the cashback, you are paying £15 for the modem and 5GB of data.

NiftyDigits

The modem is also available at Argos at the same price.

Im_just_careful

Rather than a dongle, a MiFi type device is worth looking at.

T-Mobile call them a "Wireless Pointer" and you will have much less messing about with that than a dongle.

You can also put it in a location with good reception and use the WiFi at a more convenient location.

NiftyDigits

Im_just_careful wrote: »

Rather than a dongle, a MiFi type device is worth looking at.

T-Mobile call them a "Wireless Pointer" and you will have much less messing about with that than a dongle.

You can also put it in a location with good reception and use the WiFi at a more convenient location.

Already covered since post #8. The Wireless Pointer is old technology. Ever slower than the USB modem recommended here. Plus it will cost the OP perhaps £35 to £55 for a few weeks of usage. Hardly money saving.