internet dongle

[formula400]

Right the wife goes away with her job every few months for a 2/3 weeks at a time, and a lot of the time the wifi they have is shite, so we want a 1 month contract to have a internet dongle.

it will be used 4 times a year for 2/3 times

Vodafone pay monthly Mifi MBB 4G - 1 Months is £10 upfront then £15 for 4gb, its a rolling contract from carphone wear house, they have told me after the month is up to call and cancel it, but they can't tell me how to reactive it for another months use down the line, seems a waste having to buy a new dongle every time.

and from what I have read this is better than tethering??? or am I wrong???


cheers

[weeksy]

Why not just use the phone ? Unless doing downloads/TV/media streaming i don't see a need for it. Phones with a decent data package just make sense and is effortless to do.

[v8-powered]

Why not just use the phone ? Unless doing downloads/TV/media streaming i don't see a need for it. Phones with a decent data package just make sense and is effortless to do.

Exactly that, just tether to mobile. My lad used to tether his gaming PC at home to his phone as the connection was faster than their BB.

[Rockburner]

IIRC with tethering it can 'tie up' the connection so the phone itself can't use the internet? (or something) - it might depend on the phone.


It might be worth buying the hardware separately (the 4G unit*) and then buying a payg data only sim so you just need to top it up occasionally rather than having a rolling contract.

I used one of these for internet when I was travelling - worked very well:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011YM0OXU/ ... USCI8Q&me=
Especially with the extra antenna:
https://www.motorhomewifi.com/product/4 ... t-antenna/

[Rockburner]

ok - why are the amazon links not working???

ok - weird - adding the "url" tags worked, but the forum software didn't like the url by itself for amazon (but handled the other link fine - odd).

[Mussels]

I'm not sure a dongle is any better than tethering with wifi, it depends on a few variables.
How fast a connection does she need? (I don't need the answer but you should consider it when deciding what to buy, but likely she'll have reception issues anyway).
Does she always go to the same place? If so work out which mobile providers have a good reception there, last time I looked they have all muddied the reports so you don't know if their good score is for 2, 3 or 4g.
I'd go for a proper PAYG company as it is much easier just to buy a package as and when it is needed without faffing around cancelling subscriptions or getting unexpected bills.

[the_priest]

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8892849 ... ot:1:324:1

Comes loaded with 15GB data. You can top it up when you like. Works well and provides good connection and speeds. used for 12thC Church that has no internets for Zoom PCC Meetings, done two 1 1/2 hour meetings and still have 13gb to go. Seems to be good value for money and dead simple to use.

[formula400]

She will use it when at Windsor or up in Scotland.

I’ve never tethered anything before, will the Dongle work as well as or better than a phone??? Again it’s all quite new to me.

She just wants basic browsing. Any films or stuff like that we download her before hand.

[Mussels]

How well a dongle or tethered by wifi works depends on the connection speed. Slow USB will be very slow and tethering to a really old phone will be slow.
I'd go the wifi tethering route (you can tether by USB as well which makes it the same as a dongle) as I already own the hardware (my phone). The only time I wouldn't use my phone is if I need a data only package due to the way price plans are worked out, even then I'd probaby get something that connects with wifi as I could put that next to the window of the hotel room for a better phone signal.

[Rockburner]

She will use it when at Windsor or up in Scotland.

I’ve never tethered anything before, will the Dongle work as well as or better than a phone??? Again it’s all quite new to me.

She just wants basic browsing. Any films or stuff like that we download her before hand.

These 'dongles'* are basically just the digital connection parts of a phone. Or, to put it another way: a phone with the screen, mic, speaker and buttons removed.



* "Dongle" these days refers to 2 different things. The older meaning is a thing that is stuck into the back/side of a computer (it dangles) to allow connectivity or for some other function (you can think of a USB memory stick as a memory 'dongle'). But the name has been used for these 3/4G connection devices (like the things the priest and I posted) as well, which is somewhat confusing, as they ONLY work via wireless connections (wifi to connect to your laptop/tablet, and 3/4G mobile to connect to the mobile service provider who then allows access to the internet network).

[formula400]

Ok, so let’s say the signal on her phone is rubbish, will the dongle with 4gb data be the same??

[Zimbo]

If it's on the same network, yes.
Personally I'd buy the hardware outright and a cheap 1 month sim - Smarty works well for me, 3 network, 30GB for £10 or £20 for unlimited, start or stop the contract as you want to, 1 month rolling contract.

[asmethurst99]

Our internet at home was up the pictures early last year and we just tethered to my iPhone as EE had given me free data - a desktop and a laptop were fine - bloke in the phone shop said that just using a phone with a payg sim for data in a phone can sometimes be problematic ( I think he meant using an old smart phone just as a hotspot) so we used my iPhone instead .
I don't know what he was talking about either

[Noggin]

Tethering a phone depends on the provider/contract doesn't it? Some don't like it or have limits (possibly most would be big enough for what formula400 describes as usage, but I don't know)

If you go for a 'dongle' thingy - find out what providers work in the area. Giffgaff have a good deal and not particularly expensive - and you doon' thave to top up every month

[Rockburner]

Ok, so let’s say the signal on her phone is rubbish, will the dongle with 4gb data be the same??

Yes - because it's trying to use the same signal.

if there's SOME signal, an antenna can improve reception.

[formula400]

What’s the best option of the signal is rubbish?

[Mussels]

Something that can be put in the best position to get good reception, in the past I have run them up flagpoles. That means either WiFi or a long usb cable.

[Kneerly Down]

I used a Draytek Vigor 2860ln, similar to this:

to get internet in order to stream my son's wedding this September.
It got a much higher speed than any of the phones on the same networks, and also got internet on networks that other phones, and the networks themselves, said 'no signal'.
Didn't help that the church was in the worst location for internet in the whole village.

I tried normal dongles and a cheap mifi but none of them gave confidence of actually streaming the event...which was crucial given the 20-person limit in the church.

Thankfully everything worked (OBS, Droidcam, FB Live, bluetooth keyboard, etc).
Seeing your son getting married makes the heart beat a bit faster.
Having to 'direct' the footage (music, cameras, mics, pre-recorded video, etc) to a livestream using highland internet almost killed me!

The Draytek is a very solid bit of kit but pricey. I'd take mobile phone tethering over most dongles and cheap mifis.
At home we use a 80GB GiffGaff SIM for £13 for the month (eBay seller - different SIM each month) for Zoom calls as it's better than both our fixed broadband links.

[formula400]

Ok, cheers guys, I’ll get her tethering and see how that goes