Which Mobile (Sim Use) Router for Watching TV?

HollyandCo

Hi

This is an extension to a previous question, but I thought it is best to start a new thread.

So, I have actually decided to ditch my Broadband ISP provider.  I live in a village near the sea and we just don't get decent coverage.  My TV comes through the Broadband and it often buffers.  My wifi on my laptop and my phone often drops.  I'm fed up of paying for a service which is so poor.

Because of my previous thread, I now know that, because I can get a good 4G signal outdoors (zero 5G!), I can have an external antenna fitted and also buy a decent router and place a sim in to get the data.

So, generally, I only watch around an hour of TV a day, but I am sure there will be many occassions this will differ.  I only watch catch up TV, I guess this is called 'streaming?'.

I also have a couple of Alexa's, some light bulbs that are turned off and on via Alexa.  My music comes from Spotify and is played in different rooms via Sonos.   And, I have security cameras on the wifi too.

Please can I have advice on a good Router to suit my needs?  I would imagine, if my son came to visit, he might hook up a playstation.

Also, is there some kind of sim that provides faster speed or is the speed down to the Router/Antenna only?

Thanks in advance.

david29dpo

Have you checked the 4/5g speeds in your area?
Can you get fibre in your area?

la531983

Relying on a 4G signal to power broadband for the whole of the house, including streaming, isnt something I would be doing, I know this is a money saving site but have you looked into Starlink? It isnt cheap but if you are in a rural area with poor broadband it will solve your issues.

alanwsg

la531983 said:

Relying on a 4G signal to power broadband for the whole of the house, including streaming, isnt something I would be doing, 

Well, it's something that I, and many others, do.

I use a Scancom EE unlimited SIM (Search Amazon) in a MC7010C modem.
No 5G signal where I am, but I get around 250Mb down / 70Mb upload speeds on 4G.

Sim was £220 for 18 months, so about £12.20/month.

As you need to commit to a big outlay in advance, it's very important to check signal in your area before forking out. You can get a monthly unlimited SIM from 1pMobile (on EE) for £12.50 for the first month.

Scancom also do '3' unlimited SIMs, which are even cheaper but no good for me, no signal here.

flaneurs_lobster

There's Three outdoor/indoor solution

https://www.three.co.uk/broadband/home-broadband/5g-outdoor-hub

But you would have to be getting (at least) a decent 4G signal at the location where you'd put the receiver.

Again, seems to have a 30-day suck'n'see offer but I'd double check. Do you have a Three store you can visit?

I'd echo @la531983, mobile broadband is rarely as consistent or resilient or fast as a conventional setup, I'd be very surprised if online gaming performance was acceptable (too much latency, not enough bandwidth).

Vitor

- Please can I have advice on a good Router to suit my needs?  -

Your previous thread discussed routers which use SIM cards for WAN - Mobile/Portable Wifi Product Recommendation — MoneySavingExpert Forum

As more SIM card providers are seeing people use them as broadband replacements, they're sneaking in 'reasonable use' clauses into their Unlimited offering; O2 says if you exceed 650GB/month twice in a 6 month period it will 'review' your account. 

- I can have an external antenna fitted - 

If you need an external aerial to get a strong GSM signal for the indoor SIM card, like a Poynting XPOL-2-5G Antenna : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo I'd certainly be looking at Starlink for an all-in-one solution.

HollyandCo

la531983 said:

Relying on a 4G signal to power broadband for the whole of the house, including streaming, isnt something I would be doing, I know this is a money saving site but have you looked into Starlink? It isnt cheap but if you are in a rural area with poor broadband it will solve your issues.

The research has been done and I'm certain, giving my circumstances, my location and coverage, this would work for me.

I just need help on choosing the right router.

HollyandCo

Vitor said:

- Please can I have advice on a good Router to suit my needs?  -

Your previous thread discussed routers which use SIM cards for WAN - Mobile/Portable Wifi Product Recommendation — MoneySavingExpert Forum

As more SIM card providers are seeing people use them as broadband replacements, they're sneaking in 'reasonable use' clauses into their Unlimited offering; O2 says if you exceed 650GB/month twice in a 6 month period it will 'review' your account. 

- I can have an external antenna fitted - 

If you need an external aerial to get a strong GSM signal for the indoor SIM card, like a Poynting XPOL-2-5G Antenna : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo I'd certainly be looking at Starlink for an all-in-one solution.

Thanks, I noted your comment about fair usage previously.  I would never get anywhere near 650gb in any month.

I do get good coverage for 4g, outside my house.  Indoors is a problem and seems to be something to do with having thick walls!

HollyandCo

flaneurs_lobster said:

There's Three outdoor/indoor solution

https://www.three.co.uk/broadband/home-broadband/5g-outdoor-hub

But you would have to be getting (at least) a decent 4G signal at the location where you'd put the receiver.

Again, seems to have a 30-day suck'n'see offer but I'd double check. Do you have a Three store you can visit?

I'd echo @la531983, mobile broadband is rarely as consistent or resilient or fast as a conventional setup, I'd be very surprised if online gaming performance was acceptable (too much latency, not enough bandwidth).

Trust me, I am supposed to have fibre to my house!  Coverage is very poor.  Great 4g signal outside my house though, but its not great when I move vroom to room.

Frozen_up_north

We have a couple of properties and have fairly good EE 5G signals at both. We use TP-Link NX200 routers with a Scancom EE SIM card, no physical line. At least with the NX200, you can check fairly easily how much data you use. You can text balance to 150 (with EE) from the router and receive a text with the amount of data used.

One property is not used much and has a 50 GB/month SIM and the main residence has an "unlimited" one. Cost for the 50 GB one was around £6.30 per month (pay up front a lump sum, throw the SIM when it stops working), the unlimited was about £14 per month. Both from Scancom via Amazon.

We have also used TP-Link AC1200 4G+ routers in the past, which are a bit cheaper (and slightly slower).

These links should work
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-Connections-Archer-NX200/dp/B0D33SC5HJ
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-technology-Configuration-Archer-MR600/dp/B083KDK9JC

flaneurs_lobster

HollyandCo said:

Trust me, I am supposed to have fibre to my house!  Coverage is very poor.  Great 4g signal outside my house though, but its not great when I move vroom to room.

Not a question of trust, do you have a Full Fibre (FTTP) service or is it some other copper-delivered service (FTTC or other).

If you are not sure then dig out a bill and quote what it says you are paying for.