How much data for home mobile internet

alanwsg

GDB2222 said:

alanwsg said:

There's some very good deals for data-only SIMs on Amazon.
Although you have to pay up-front for the entire period so you need to be sure the network you choose is good for your location.

E.g. I have an unlimited data-only SIM on the '3' network, it cost £149 for just over 24 months, so around £6.20/month.

Search for 'Scancom'

That's really useful, thanks. Which router do you use?

I have an Asus RT-AX88_Pro
But the SIM goes in a separate 5G modem - A ZTE MC7010

Frozen_up_north

I have a couple of TP-Link routers that are run with SIM cards and no wired broadband. They are currently £99 from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B09X3HRBZQ/

These are only 4G, if you want 5G it can be a lot more expensive. These TP-Link routers can be remotely monitored and configured using their mobile phone app. Be prepared to turn the power off/on from time to time as they occasionally lock up. I run remote home monitoring with these and have setup a Raspberry Pi to ping Google every few minutes and if it fails to get a reply the Pi turns off the power to the router for a few seconds and tries again.

I use EE pre-paid SIMs from Scancom on Amazon, their 3 SIMs are cheaper, but around here 3 has been very unreliable.

You will really need an "unlimited" data only SIM, watching YouTube and some TV from the internet can easily eat 300 GB in a month! Most of these SIMs are in reality limited to around 500 GB per month.

Bonhomie

Frozen_up_north said:

I have a couple of TP-Link routers that are run with SIM cards and no wired broadband. They are currently £99 from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B09X3HRBZQ/

These are only 4G, if you want 5G it can be a lot more expensive. These TP-Link routers can be remotely monitored and configured using their mobile phone app. Be prepared to turn the power off/on from time to time as they occasionally lock up. I run remote home monitoring with these and have setup a Raspberry Pi to ping Google every few minutes and if it fails to get a reply the Pi turns off the power to the router for a few seconds and tries again.

I use EE pre-paid SIMs from Scancom on Amazon, their 3 SIMs are cheaper, but around here 3 has been very unreliable.

You will really need an "unlimited" data only SIM, watching YouTube and some TV from the internet can easily eat 300 GB in a month! Most of these SIMs are in reality limited to around 500 GB per month.

I haven't ever had them 'lock up'. What I did have was frequent resetting of the connection with a particular network. Solved that issue by locking on to a particular LTE band or pair of bands via the GUI, rather than leaving the router to choose automatically.
You could have used the Raspberry Pi itself as the basis of your 4G+ modem. 

Frozen_up_north

Bonhomie said:

I haven't ever had them 'lock up'. What I did have was frequent resetting of the connection with a particular network. Solved that issue by locking on to a particular LTE band or pair of bands via the GUI, rather than leaving the router to choose automatically.
You could have used the Raspberry Pi itself as the basis of your 4G+ modem. 

You are lucky. I have two and they have both needed a power cycle from time to time. TP-Link even include a setting in the modem to automatically perform a reset every day, so TP-Link themselves expect a lockup occasionally!

GDB2222

You could have used the Raspberry Pi itself as the basis of your 4G+ modem. 

Maybe, but I can't see a reasonably priced Pi HAT. By the time you have paid £80 for a 4G HAT, it's more expensive than buying a ready made router - like most Pi projects.

Grumpysally

Frozen_up_north said:

I have a couple of TP-Link routers that are run with SIM cards and no wired broadband. They are currently £99 from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B09X3HRBZQ/

These are only 4G, if you want 5G it can be a lot more expensive. These TP-Link routers can be remotely monitored and configured using their mobile phone app. Be prepared to turn the power off/on from time to time as they occasionally lock up. I run remote home monitoring with these and have setup a Raspberry Pi to ping Google every few minutes and if it fails to get a reply the Pi turns off the power to the router for a few seconds and tries again.

I use EE pre-paid SIMs from Scancom on Amazon, their 3 SIMs are cheaper, but around here 3 has been very unreliable.

You will really need an "unlimited" data only SIM, watching YouTube and some TV from the internet can easily eat 300 GB in a month! Most of these SIMs are in reality limited to around 500 GB per month.

I looked today and they are selling the white one for the same price. Is this a better model?https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B0CYVQPHGK/?th=1&psc=1

Cisco001

Grumpysally said:

Frozen_up_north said:

I have a couple of TP-Link routers that are run with SIM cards and no wired broadband. They are currently £99 from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B09X3HRBZQ/

These are only 4G, if you want 5G it can be a lot more expensive. These TP-Link routers can be remotely monitored and configured using their mobile phone app. Be prepared to turn the power off/on from time to time as they occasionally lock up. I run remote home monitoring with these and have setup a Raspberry Pi to ping Google every few minutes and if it fails to get a reply the Pi turns off the power to the router for a few seconds and tries again.

I use EE pre-paid SIMs from Scancom on Amazon, their 3 SIMs are cheaper, but around here 3 has been very unreliable.

You will really need an "unlimited" data only SIM, watching YouTube and some TV from the internet can easily eat 300 GB in a month! Most of these SIMs are in reality limited to around 500 GB per month.

I looked today and they are selling the white one for the same price. Is this a better model?https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-technology-Configuration-MR500/dp/B0CYVQPHGK/?th=1&psc=1

I can't see the point of spending £100 for CAT6 new router.
Plenty of unlock 5G router under £150 at CEX
Huawei B618 Cat11 4G router can be fount at £50 - 60 on ebay

Frozen_up_north

Cisco001 said:

I can't see the point of spending £100 for CAT6 new router.
Plenty of unlock 5G router under £150 at CEX
Huawei B618 Cat11 4G router can be fount at £50 - 60 on ebay

I'm not sure I want to buy either ZTE or Huawei second hand products. I know that TP-Link are also Chinese, but they seem to have a better reputation than ZTE and certainly Huawei.

Cisco001

Frozen_up_north said:

Cisco001 said:

I can't see the point of spending £100 for CAT6 new router.
Plenty of unlock 5G router under £150 at CEX
Huawei B618 Cat11 4G router can be fount at £50 - 60 on ebay

I'm not sure I want to buy either ZTE or Huawei second hand products. I know that TP-Link are also Chinese, but they seem to have a better reputation than ZTE and certainly Huawei.

I have other ZTE product before, Huawei user interface is better.
If you don't like Chinese product, you could google Nokia Fastmile. Used one start from £150. 

Bonhomie

GDB2222 said:

You could have used the Raspberry Pi itself as the basis of your 4G+ modem. 

Maybe, but I can't see a reasonably priced Pi HAT. By the time you have paid £80 for a 4G HAT, it's more expensive than buying a ready made router - like most Pi projects.

4G HAT? 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005699693338.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003352717104.html
https://openwrt.org/toh/raspberry_pi_foundation/raspberry_pi

5G

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005102528025.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005571981647.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006000578745.html