MIFI advice please

Clive_Woody · 20 February 2019 at 2:05PM

We are going on holiday in the UK in April and have been told that the hotel we are staying in does not have WIFI in the rooms. The hotel looks great and the room we have booked works perfectly for our family so don't want to change hotel.

With two kids who will go into complete meltdown without WIFI access in the mornings/evenings I have been looking at MIFI options, which could also come in handy as I do a fair bit of international travel for work.

After a bit of looking around I like the sound of the Huawei E5573Cs-322, which sounds cheap and cheerful but gets decent review. Any thoughts on this or other recommendations?

I don't want to sign up to a 12mnth contract so ideally want a data SIM on a 30 day contract with a big chunk of data. Probably at least 40gb as there will be Amazon Prime, YouTube and a selection of other data demands over the 5 days we are away.

Any recommendations, ideas or guidance would be very much appreciated :money:

Cisco001 · 20 February 2019 at 4:12PM

activate before you go
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Data-Pay-You/dp/B075CP9S7P/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550675320&sr=8-3-fkmr2&keywords=40gb+data+sim

And this, don't forget to cross check the spec when you receive it.
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smongen150mifi3&categoryName=mobile-broadband&superCatName=phones&title=generic-150mbps-4g-portable-mifi-hotspot-3

If you have a spare 4G phone, you can actually tethering off the phone instead of spend extra £13.50 for mifi.

Clive_Woody · 21 February 2019 at 12:35PM

Cisco001 wrote: »

activate before you go
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Data-Pay-You/dp/B075CP9S7P/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550675320&sr=8-3-fkmr2&keywords=40gb+data+sim

And this, don't forget to cross check the spec when you receive it.
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smongen150mifi3&categoryName=mobile-broadband&superCatName=phones&title=generic-150mbps-4g-portable-mifi-hotspot-3

If you have a spare 4G phone, you can actually tethering off the phone instead of spend extra £13.50 for mifi.

Thanks, some of the comments on Amazon suggest that the 3 SIM can't be used for MIFI. Do you need specific SIM cards for MIFI data?

[Deleted User] · 21 February 2019 at 12:55PM

Those comments are either old or incorrect.

Since April 2018, all 3 SIM cards can be used in any device (phone or mifi)
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/08/ofcom-uk-drops-net-neutrality-probe-of-three-uk-and-vodafone.html

Cisco001 · 21 February 2019 at 12:57PM

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Thanks, some of the comments on Amazon suggest that the 3 SIM can't be used for MIFI. Do you need specific SIM cards for MIFI data?

You can put three mobile sim in mifi and use data.
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/08/ofcom-uk-drops-net-neutrality-probe-of-three-uk-and-vodafone.html

By reading the review, there are people complaining the package is not preload, which this will be down to the seller.

If you are only go for a week, you may just order it 10 days before you go. Then activate it to check if the pre-load package there. If not, you still have time to sort it out.

Clive_Woody · 21 February 2019 at 3:25PM

Thanks guys, much appreciated

Clive_Woody · 21 February 2019 at 3:55PM

Looking a bit more, it looks like Vodafone do a 50GB SIM for £30 on a 30 day contract. It might be worth me paying more for that extra data as I'm sure the kids will manage to get through it.

I assume I can just cancel any auto-renewal once it's activated to stop me being charged for a second month. Can I then "reactivate" it later in the year for another month as I've got a long drive down to Cornwall so having WIFI in the car might be a blessing?

Cisco001 · 21 February 2019 at 9:49PM

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Looking a bit more, it looks like Vodafone do a 50GB SIM for £30 on a 30 day contract. It might be worth me paying more for that extra data as I'm sure the kids will manage to get through it.

I assume I can just cancel any auto-renewal once it's activated to stop me being charged for a second month. Can I then "reactivate" it later in the year for another month as I've got a long drive down to Cornwall so having WIFI in the car might be a blessing?

Three all you can eat data for £25.

matelodave · 21 February 2019 at 11:50PM

Make sure that your chosen supplier has service where you are intending to go. Forking out for a SIM and then finding that it doesn't work where you are staying could be a bit annoying.

We were away last week and there wasn't any network availability for Three and a couple of weeks ago we had a similar problem somewhere else with Vodafone.

EE is absolute rubbish where I live and Vodafone is a bit iffy thats why we use Three.

Where my mate lives there is no service at all on any of the providers unless he walks half a mile across the fields

Clive_Woody · 22 February 2019 at 12:53AM

Cisco001 wrote: »

Three all you can eat data for £25.

That's only with a 12 month contract as far as I can tell. It's £32 for a 30 day SIM...unless I'm missing something.

I've checked coverage for Folkestone in Kent as best I can using the Vodafone and 3 websites but I appreciate this could be a bit hit and miss. Unfortunately I don't think there's any way of knowing for sure until I get to my room. I was under the impression that Vodafone generally had better coverage than 3...but I happy to be corrected

Cisco001 · 22 February 2019 at 11:22AM

Clive_Woody wrote: »

That's only with a 12 month contract as far as I can tell. It's £32 for a 30 day SIM...unless I'm missing something.

Go back to amazon link above.
Click AYCE for £24.99

Or £24 from mymemory
https://www.mymemory.co.uk/3-payg-4g-trio-sim-pack-aio35-3000-minutes-3000-texts-unlimited-ayce-data.html

MIFI advice please

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