MI-Fi (WiFi) and Turkey

worried_jim

I go to Turkey every summer and stay in a house in the middle of nowhere with no internet. Unfortunately I can end ip feeling very cut off and miss the simple things such as Radio 4 in the morning.

I will have with me one iphone 4s and an ipad air. I want to get a mi-fi device and then get a local data sim when I arrive (the village has a Vodaphone/Turcell store)

Has anyone done this before? Should I buy a mi-fi here in the Uk like this one-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-M5350-Hotspot-Unlocked-Internal/dp/B00B7TGVP6/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1465744454&sr=1-4&keywords=mifi

and then just take it into the store and get them to set it up? Or will I have to buy a device in Turkey?

Its a simple thing but being connected would really help me to enjoy my holiday and I would be able to use messenger etc to call taxis etc.

Any advice or tips would be greatly apprecaited! Jim.

mchale

Used 1 of these in Portugal similar to what you want to do, was very impressed was able to stream tv radio no probs at all:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-E5330-Genuine-Stock-Mobile/dp/B00KR51QCO/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1465754019&sr=1-2&keywords=mifi+huawei

bear in mind you could use your phone as a hotspot as well, have tried in this country and speeds were not bad.

worried_jim

I have no data on my phone outside the UK and it would be expensive to add in Turkey through my provider.

I just want to make sure that any mi fi device I get in the UK will also work on the Turkish cell system as I know there can be variances between different countries.

mchale

I meant use a local sim in your phone, saves buying a mifi

balletshoes

in Turkey you have you pay a fee of around 100TL to register your UK mobile phone (which obviously needs to be unlocked before you leave the UK) before you can then put any Turkish sim in it.

there is some up-to-date info here though, which suggests that the grace period before you must register your non-Turkish device is now 120 days, so if you're staying in Turkey for less than 4 months, you should be okay -

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Turkey

labp04

The major providers (Turkcell, Turk Telekom, Vodafone etc) all sell reasonably priced mi-fi devices. We happen to have one from Turkcell which works well even in "the middle of nowhere" with 15gig of data costing 75tl this year.

worried_jim

labp04 wrote: »

The major providers (Turkcell, Turk Telekom, Vodafone etc) all sell reasonably priced mi-fi devices. We happen to have one from Turkcell which works well even in "the middle of nowhere" with 15gig of data costing 75tl this year.

Did that include the device as well for 75TL? If so I shall simply buy one there. 15gb will be enough for two weeks and I can reuse the device next year.

labp04

'afraid not ie the device has to be bought separately. Mine was not locked when I bought it last year also for 75tl and it works perfectly well both here and around Europe with other providers SIM cards. No idea about this year's costs but can't imagine them having gone up too much if at all. I did notice adverts for 4.5g in quite a few providers Windows

worried_jim

labp04 wrote: »

'afraid not ie the device has to be bought separately. Mine was not locked when I bought it last year also for 75tl and it works perfectly well both here and around Europe with other providers SIM cards. No idea about this year's costs but can't imagine them having gone up too much if at all. I did notice adverts for 4.5g in quite a few providers Windows

Final question- which device have you got, Ebay has loads but I know that some have different frequencies for different countries. Thanks for you help!

labp04

It's Turk Cell's own brand which are sold in their own shops and not in the many "phone shops" you'll be aware of