Buying a mifi device, what to look for

christinem
christinem Forumite Posts: 13
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edited 9 August at 1:38PM in Techie Stuff
Hi, I am looking to buy a mifi device to use at home. Have had one in the house before, it was a bit slow but acceptable. All I know was it was a Huwei with a 3 sim card. 
I'm looking to get a new solution for a few months until the house can be sold, may need it in a rented house in future but maybe not if it is a house share.
So, a 3 contract is a possibility (£29 up front then £25 pm for rolling 1 month), but buying a device and getting a sim only contract is probably cheaper. But what to look for? My brain is already hurting! Any help would be appreciated.

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  • fordyms
    fordyms Forumite Posts: 20
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    edited 9 August at 3:10PM
    Amazon: 4G router tp-link or something similar (£60-£80) & a 1 month rolling unlimited sim from Smarty (Three), Lebara or Asda (Vodaphone) etc... depending which operators signal is best where you are.  Three broadband 5G router is up and down where I am and 4G is garbage and obviously it's a 24 month contract.
  • Newcad
    Newcad Forumite Posts: 489
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    Do you already have data included in your mobile phone plan?
    If so then turn on the phones mobile hotspot and use that. (or tether the phone to the computer with a USB cable),
    I used to connect my laptop to my phones wifi hotspot or USB like that for 6 months when I had no landline broadband in a rental.

  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Forumite Posts: 3,937
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    Do you have a spare phone? stick the sim card in and turn on hotspot.

    If you really want a mifi, CEX sell 300Mbps mifi unlock for £35.
    I believe 300Mbps is CAT 6
  • PHK
    PHK Forumite Posts: 785
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    I would say a 4G router is better than a mifi for several reasons:

    Better aerials so stronger signal
    Wider range in the house
    Mains poweredso no problems with battery life
    Can connect more devices than a mifi
    Has actual network ports for wired devices




  • Bonhomie
    Bonhomie Forumite Posts: 171
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    edited 10 August at 11:32AM
    Cisco001 said:
    Do you have a spare phone? stick the sim card in and turn on hotspot.

    If you really want a mifi, CEX sell 300Mbps mifi unlock for £35.
    I believe 300Mbps is CAT 6
    Obviously not the one in the picture, as that is CAT. 3 
    100 Mbps Down
    50 Mbps Up
    LTE-FDD 800/1800/2600MHz
    ZTE MF90+ Perhaps five years old.

    But if you go by the one reviewed, it is the Huawei E5783B 4G Plus https://capestone.com/en/product/huawei-e5783-230a/ which is a CAT. 7 device.
  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Forumite Posts: 3,937
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    Bonhomie said:
    Cisco001 said:
    Do you have a spare phone? stick the sim card in and turn on hotspot.

    If you really want a mifi, CEX sell 300Mbps mifi unlock for £35.
    I believe 300Mbps is CAT 6
    Obviously not the one in the picture, as that is CAT. 3 
    100 Mbps Down
    50 Mbps Up
    LTE-FDD 800/1800/2600MHz
    ZTE MF90+ Perhaps five years old.

    But if you go by the one reviewed, it is the Huawei E5783B 4G Plus https://capestone.com/en/product/huawei-e5783-230a/ which is a CAT. 7 device.
    CEX use same picture for all generic mifi.
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