4g mi-fi with mains power

born2bongo

I'm looking for a solution that gets occasional internet for a holiday home in France.

The constraints are:
- Must be Orange FR as they are the only strong signal in the area
- Must be mains powered as visitors can't be expected to manage battery life

The orange part is fine. They have a SIM that will let me pay as I go but they only offer a battery powered 'Airbox' at 150mps.

I need to put the SIM into either a piece of mains powered kit or into a mobile dongle that can be plugged into a mains powered router. I'm really struggling to put the package together, in English let alone French. Does anyone have any suggestions

Thanks in advance

dauphin

As far as I can see, the Airbox is mains powered. The batteries are rechargeable and provide up to 6 hours backup. Look at the "fiche Technique" on the Orange Fr website and you will see "Chargeur Secteur" is included. Alternatively something like a TP-Link M7300, but it's the same idea - rechargeable batteries with a mains charger. Just keep it plugged in.
Or am I missing something?

mgfvvc

A cheap option is the TP link MR3420. There are lots of other options which can be found by Googling "4G router".

born2bongo

No you are right about the air box but my OH is hung up on batteries being charged off the mains

DCFC79

born2bongo wrote: »

No you are right about the air box but my OH is hung up on batteries being charged off the mains

Use it for 4 hours or until it needs charging then plug it in to charge whilst in use.

born2bongo

We were hoping to leave it plugged in and locked away so it didn't go missing when we were letting it and OH doesn't want to leave a battery on charge constantly. Personally I think that, since the electricity is switched off when the house is empty it's not such an issue. I suppose the thing to do is to investigate the cost of replacement batteries

Nodding_Donkey

The problem with anything battery powered is although it will run down and turn off if the mains are off will it turn back on when the mains comes on without needing a physical button press?

I would have thought the best, albeit not the cheapest, solution would be a proper 4G router linked to an external aerial.

dauphin

I don't really understand the issue about leaving a device with rechargeable batteries plugged in. That is how it's intended to work. It's just the same as portable telephone handsets, for example.
But if this is non-negotiable, how about the TPLink TL-MR6400, which seems to use a 230v > 12v power supply.
Have you considered whether shutting the router away somewhere is going to affect the 4G signal?

S0litaire

How much you willing to pay?

You can get wireless routers that have a 3G/4G capability.

The TP-Link as suggested or for a few £'s more something like the Huawei B315

Some of the cheap end MiFi's don't like being used a lot while charging. (heat build up can be an issue, lowering battery life).

A mains powered "router" would be a better best (with a cheap battery as backup if the power is dodgy in the area!)

born2bongo

TP-Link looked ideal but the one we discussed in Curry's needs a dongle to take the SIM card. I can't find a dongle anywhere on the Orange FR website. A couple of years ago they had the Cl! 3G option but I can't find that or its equivalent now.
We are on the ferry tonight so if we want something that we can use this trip and leave behind for our guests it will have to come from one of the French outlets.
Another challenge for my intermediate level French :-D
Thanks for all the suggestions

knightstyle

Why not a normal phone/internet connection via the landline?
Orange do a no contract deal, normal setup and 50€ to disconnect, or a set up you can turn on and off as many times as you like in a year but you still need to pay the landline fee every month.
Some friends also have satellite internet but I don't know much about this.
Out of interest tourist offices usually have computers and wi-fi free to use.