Help with mobile broadband please

yebaws

Our landline broadband is pretty awful, and it's becoming more of an issue with indeffinate home schooling. We do get a good 4G signal from EE network, so I've been looking at using mobile broadband full time and dumping the landline. Already have a mobile router with EE PAYG data SIM to use as a backup when our landline broadband goes down, which it frequently does. PAYG gets a bit pricey if using any significant amounts of data, so I've been looking at contracts.

EE offer 50GB per month for £45 on a pay monthly contract with a data sim only deal. Not cheap as I'd guess we'd be using more like 100GB per month. But go over to look at their phone sim only deals and you can get 200GB for £23 per month. Online chat guy from EE tells me that a phone sim will work in my mobile router in the same way that my current PAYG data sim works (ie allowing the connection to be shared by multiple devices) but that it won't work as well because the plan is "not designed to be used like that".

I don't understand the logic of these tarriffs Surely data is data so far as EE are concerned?

Don't really trust anything that EE are telling me and would appreciate some help  from anybody with some understanding of this, or has gone down the same route themselves.

Thank you

Carrot007

All they means is by using it in that manor your would be breaking the terms of the contract and be liable for more charges.(should they notice).

Sounds expensive anyway, signal any good from other operators. Three always seem to have the best deals on such things when I look.

yebaws

Carrot007 said:

All they means is by using it in that manor your would be breaking the terms of the contract and be liable for more charges.(should they notice).

Sounds expensive anyway, signal any good from other operators. Three always seem to have the best deals on such things when I look.

Have been through small print and can't see anything that says that you can only use it in a phone. But I think they can find out how you are using it. I know that when I've tried setting up hotspots with sims that don't allow it, it doesn't work. Only good signal from EE and others piggybacking EE don't offer much of any use

Grumpy_chap

In a roundabout way, there is another thread that is almost really asking the same questions.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6227065/alexa-with-4g-instead-of-wifi#latest

I once had an EE 4GEE device and found it suited what I wanted at the time.  There is also a link in the attached thread to a site offering data packages - I stress I have no experience of whether the company linked are good or bad.

If you are considering tariffs at £45 per month and already have the device, the network I am with is offering an unlimited data tariff at £28.  That is a piggy-back on O2, so may not suit if you have the best signal from EE, but it may be worth shopping around.

yebaws

Not really considering £45 per month, but would take £23 per month for 200GB. Has to be EE network unfortunately.

So simple question really (apologies for the horrendously long link)

https://shop.ee.co.uk/sim-only/pay-monthly-phones?d=v2&r=r3&WT.MC_ID=ON_MEC_S_700000000044195_EE+_+PPC-BRAND+_+DG-MOB+_+ESS+_+CON+_+PAYM+_+MAN+_+SIMO+_+SIM+_+All+_Com_p2032224354&WT.srch=1&s_kwcid=AL!932!3!484349008019!b!!g!!+sim +ee&mchannel=ppc&ds_rl=1238712&ds_rl=1255520&logo=TUR1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoab_BRCxARIsANMx4S4RC3GXZJCLWt7AtYvF6dY8w5IftD0o_5iv1zHXXWa4iblKslurJ50aApw6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#

will the 200GB sim deal at the top of this page work in my mobile router and allow it to do what it does now with it's PAYG data sim?

Grumpy_chap

This link gives all the other networks that piggy-back EE
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/networks-using-ee-coverage#:~:text=Mobile Networks Using Coverage From EE & Cheaper EE Piggyback SIMs&text=Mobile networks like ASDA Mobile,, O2, Three and Vodafone.

I suspect the 200GB deal will do as you wish for, assuming your router is 5G (or the SIM is back-compatible).  That said, if you ask EE, they'll probably say no because more than a jobs-worth to actually find out.  I am afraid I can't really say because I don't have EE (very poor coverage where I live - it has to be O2).

yebaws

Grumpy_chap said:

This link gives all the other networks that piggy-back EE
https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/networks-using-ee-coverage#:~:text=Mobile Networks Using Coverage From EE & Cheaper EE Piggyback SIMs&text=Mobile networks like ASDA Mobile,, O2, Three and Vodafone.

I suspect the 200GB deal will do as you wish for, assuming your router is 5G (or the SIM is back-compatible).  That said, if you ask EE, they'll probably say no because more than a jobs-worth to actually find out.  I am afraid I can't really say because I don't have EE (very poor coverage where I live - it has to be O2).

Thanks for that. Had already checked piggys-backs, but nothing better than EE itself. Will give them a call tomorrow and see what they say. Best result would be to hear from somebody who has done what I want to do as EE are looking for a 24month contract for this. Must be a cooling off period cancellation period but I don't think I can see that info until after I have entered details for a credit check.

yebaws

An answer here from EE:

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/4GEE-WiFi/Can-you-put-a-phone-unlimited-data-phone-sim-into-a-4G-Router/td-p/835814

but a little suspicious that the OP comes back to say that he's getting a slower speed with the router - possibly it's being throttled when not in a phone?

fastvelz

I was advised by an EE operative to get an unlimited phone sim instead of a 4GEE data sim. Works perfectly well. Last week we received a letter from EE that 600gb per month is now deemed the maximum personal use (from 1TB), after which they start throttling the bandwidth..... We'll see.

jsmith9

I am not sure exactly what you are asking but I can tell you that I have not had a landline for about 7 years now - all my internet is done by using my mobile phone as a hotspot

you can get for example unlimited data, calls and text on three advanced plan for £20 a month. ee probably have similar mobile phone SIM only plans - simply use your phone as the router

It has been a while now but I do remember seeing somewhere that if you buy a phone SIM and try and put it into your EE router it simply won't work it would detect that it is not a phone - this may be incorrect now of course

If you have any specific questions I would be happy to try and help