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Tethering Smartphone to Laptop for Home Internet instead of ADSL Broadband?

Space_Cat
Posts: 22 Forumite

Hi, first post!!! 🙂
I live alone and have Plusnet ADSL home internet for £18.99/mth (with a £75 cash back card) and a Lebara 3Gb SIM for £5/mth.
As I live alone I was thinking of ditching both the Plusnet and Lebara and instead buying a 12mth SIM unlimited data and tethering my laptop to the phone for web browsing, Netflix, YouTube, etc.
ADSL I get between 4-5mb/s and on the THREE network indoors at home I get about 15mb/s.
The THREE SIM is not only cheaper than the Plusnet + Lebara, but it's a faster internet connection than ADSL.
What do you think? Am I missing something? Are there any downsides?
I realise that if I exit the Plusnet contract early there would be penalty fees.
But ignoring that how reliable is TETHERING for HOME INTERNET?
This the deal I'm thinking of going with
Cos I'm a newbie it won't allow me to post links, gawd knows why 🙄.
dub u dub u dub u dot fonehouse.co.uk/basket?source=mse&awc=6224_1625658647_6ec5bc373633d6ef2e15782441b63aa5&utm_source=Money+Saving+Expert&utm_medium=AWIN&utm_campaign=moneysavingexpert
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Many posts on this subject on the forum ,Worth trying while you are still in PN contract . in case not suitable and to avoid reconnection charges .Your link is just returning >>>https://www.fonehouse.co.uk/Newbies and links is due to spammers .Would you qualify for BT low cost ??
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I've been tethering for the past few days. It has proved tedious to re-establish the link after a period of disuse, (wired connection seems to persist better), and occasionally the data speed slows for some reason. So as said above, worth trialling it before comitting.0
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i have done this with three for many years with no.problems. If you are worried, try it for a month before ditching your landline.
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Thanks folks, much appreciated 👍
I think I might get a THREE mobile PAYG SIM and load it with £5 or £10. I know it will eat through the balance quickly but might give me an idea whether it will work 24/7.
JJ - yes I think I might qualify for BT low cost as my household income is less than £16k. I currently qualify and receive the Warm Home Energy discount so hopefully I might qualify for the BT BB, I shall look into it. Thanks for the link 👍
This option sounds like it might be better than tethering.
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just check payg allows tethering0
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Using the sim in a mi-fi unit or 4g router will mean everything else stays connected if your laptop is off0
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It will save you money but it depends on how congested the Three mast is where you are. In many areas mobile internet including three slows to a crawl at peak hours. The mast will boot you off after so long too. Too many users at once. Try it and see but don't expect a great connection all the time. Your ping and latency will be much higher than on home BB
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I was in the EE shop last week buying a new iPhone and iPad. Salesman told me to get a monthly sim for both devices. I said I'd be cheaper with one sim and tethering. He said tethering uses TWICE the data. So I bought two monthly sims. Was I conned?0
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tethering uses twice the data? not sure what this means but downloading eg a web page uses the same amount of data on tethering as it does on a land line or mobile data direct.
you were conned1
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