Opinions Please. Wifi Gadget.

[Hylander]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

 

Saw this on the internet.     Anybody any opinions on this.       Is it any use?

 

https://getryoko.com/articles/internet-connection-wherever?lyl=1&l=en&c=gbp&vndr=ryomar&cmpid=5ebbaf07b4373c00014021ed&sub1={lpurl}&sub2={keyword}&sub3={matchtype}&sub4={adgroupid}&sub5={creative}&sub6={campaignid}&sub7={device}&sub8={adposition}&sub9={network}&sub10={placement}&ref_id={gclid}&subid3={campaignid}&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7qP9BRCLARIsABDaZzife1BqYPJAqixtka2eVdiVbKYxP24RQRKeDsorKR6yCm7u6qxKmhUaAtAhEALw_wcB&utm_expid=.BJblS1IZSiG813hSGwQCoQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fpickmypostcode.com%2F

[Cheesey69]

Hmm. I’d get a plan that comes with unlimited data. 
That gadget is what is in effect a personal hotspot still uses the same cell signal as your phone 

I use my phone as a hotspot and everything else connects to it

or get a pay as you go and load it up with data and hotspot it. 
look around for unlimited data plans

and that page looks like an advert not a recommended 

[JennyMorgan]

If it's that good then why the need to discount the price by 50%? First red flag.

Too good to be true reviews, second red flag.

I'll wait until Robin, London Rascal, buys and reviews the product 

[Paul]

portable wi fi or "mi fi" devices are nothing new, I'm trying to work out what if anything is different about this one. If you look beyond their own very impressive marketing then reviews are at best mixed. Reports of poor reception, high monthly charges which you are locked in to due to the pre installed non switchable sim card and there is no external antenna connection plus it is not 5g compliant. 

I don't see that it has much going for it really. 

 

[Smoggy]

No reason why it should get a better signal than a regular smartphone or tablet, it's just a 4g signal.

[MauriceMynah]

I'm far from techy minded but to me it looks like the Huawei unit I've been using for some time. Mine is on a contract but it gives me unlimited usage. There is no mention of the usage limits with this unit, but I doubt it would be high. 

[DAVIDH]

"LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is sometimes referred to as 4G LTE. It’s a standard for wireless data transmission that allows you to download your favorite music, websites, and video really fast—much faster than you could with the previous technology, 3G." (Taken from this T-Mobile page: https://www.t-mobile.com/resources/what-is-lte) It does seem to offer more than the standard signal. But as others have said, the fact that you have to use the pre-installed Sim card, suggests the usage charges (for European coverage) will be high.

[Meantime]

 

Enabling the WiFi hotspot found on most phones does the same thing. See below for an Android phone.

[Meantime]

9 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

"LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is sometimes referred to as 4G LTE. It’s a standard for wireless data transmission that allows you to download your favorite music, websites, and video really fast—much faster than you could with the previous technology, 3G." (Taken from this T-Mobile page: https://www.t-mobile.com/resources/what-is-lte) It does seem to offer more than the standard signal. But as others have said, the fact that you have to use the pre-installed Sim card, suggests the usage charges (for European coverage) will be high.

LTE has been around so long now that most people will have a phone that supports LTE and an OS that enables the phone to be used as a hotspot so there is no advantage to this device.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

My Mi-Fi with external ariel far exceeds my 4g phone so I would say a lot depends on your phone.

[Smoggy]

4 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

My Mi-Fi with external ariel far exceeds my 4g phone so I would say a lot depends on your phone.

External antenna is the key there. 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

14 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

External antenna is the key there. 

Yes I know, however it is fixed to the inside of a window with a suction pad not hoisted up high outside, worth every penny of £30.

[Regulo]

As an aside, does anyone know why I couldn't get my previous phone to be a wifi hotspot, but my present one can? Same SIM, same network (Vodafone), same plan. Both phones Android. I think the previous phone was an earlier Android version, but I'd had an even earlier version on another phone, and that was OK. Doesn't matter to me now, but I'd still like to know.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Was it turned off?

[Paladin]

18 minutes ago, Regulo said:

As an aside, does anyone know why I couldn't get my previous phone to be a wifi hotspot, but my present one can? Same SIM, same network (Vodafone), same plan. Both phones Android. I think the previous phone was an earlier Android version, but I'd had an even earlier version on another phone, and that was OK. Doesn't matter to me now, but I'd still like to know.

Not that I know much about it, but it seems that some phones have that facility built in and some don't. Perhaps your previous phone simply didn't provide that facility.

[Regulo]

Suppose that could explain it. I searched online, but apart from "rooting" the phone to change something buried away in the workings, no-one could explain it. I wasn't confident enough to try that, so used Bluetooth tethering. Bit of a faff, every time I wanted to use it, but it served it's purpose at the time.

[oldgregg]

2 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

I'm far from techy minded but to me it looks like the Huawei unit I've been using for some time. Mine is on a contract but it gives me unlimited usage. There is no mention of the usage limits with this unit, but I doubt it would be high. 

It is like the Huawei unit you've got. I've had one for years (a 3G one).

£89 for a 4G router is pretty unremarkable, particularly a no-name one.

[Hylander]

Thank you for your replies I have passed them on to my other half who is interested in this gadget. 

 

 

[Paul]

A dedicated mi fi router or portable hot spot should provide a better network signal than the hotspot facility of a mobile phone, just as a dedicated camera will take better photos than a phone camera. Like the photos though, the difference might not be sufficient for many people to notice or need to buy a dedicated unit. 

A quality mi fi router will incorporate a better data receiver than a mobile phone and be capable of faster upload and download speeds. It still needs a data signal to work, so cannot work where there is no signal but will make better use of what signal there is. 

Such devices come in two distinct types, those designed to be portable stand alone units which simply slip into your pocket and incorporate a rechargeable battery and units designed to be installed which need a constant power supply. Both need a sim to work though portable units increasingly use cloud sims. Portable units rarely have antenna sockets now either, the makers saying the internal receivers are so good they offer no benefit. I don't believe that, and tests conducted by tech mags or on youtube invariably show marked improvement on units with external antenna connections when they are fitted. 

Portable units offer wireless connection with the best offering 2.4 and 5 ghz connections whilst installation units usually offer wired ethernet ports and greater external antenna connectivity as well. 

[oldgregg]

59 minutes ago, Paul said:

Portable units rarely have antenna sockets now either, the makers saying the internal receivers are so good they offer no benefit. I don't believe that, and tests conducted by tech mags or on youtube invariably show marked improvement on units with external antenna connections when they are fitted. 

Portable units offer wireless connection with the best offering 2.4 and 5 ghz connections whilst installation units usually offer wired ethernet ports and greater external antenna connectivity as well. 

Yup. My Huawei has an external antenna socket and the difference in reception is like night and day when you're in a remote part of the Broads.

[WherryNice]

6 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Yup. My Huawei has an external antenna socket and the difference in reception is like night and day when you're in a remote part of the Broads.

My Huawei has the external socket, I find reception is generally great in most parts of the Broads except on my home mooring, I have been thinking about getting an aerial for it, do you have any recommendations? 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

10 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Yup. My Huawei has an external antenna socket and the difference in reception is like night and day when you're in a remote part of the Broads.

Mine is small enough to come with me in the van, the external anntena doesn`t need seperate power and the mi-fi can be powered by 240v or 12v. Great for when I`m parked up waiting for a customer to arrive as I can use the laptop or tablet.

[Hylander]

I have a Huawei Honor phone and it is the best thing since sliced bread as far as I am concerned.   Takes superb photos.  Does everything that these expensive phones do and sometimes better.    I have a daughter in law who of course has to have to latest phone and the most expensive and to this day I have never received a photo that I dont feel either she or I need to go to Specsavers as the photos are chronic.

 

 

[Cheesey69]

Beware that some providers don’t like hotspoting. 
if the phone is tied into one of these then you can’t. 
Back in the day T mobile wouldn’t let me on that particular plan 

[Regulo]

1 hour ago, Cheesey69 said:

Beware that some providers don’t like hotspoting. 
if the phone is tied into one of these then you can’t. 
Back in the day T mobile wouldn’t let me on that particular plan 

Now that's interesting. When I got the previous phone, Vodafone sent me a message to say something along the lines of, " now let's set your new phone up to work correctly". I followed the instructions, and that phone couldn't hotspot. When I got this new phone, Voda again sent that message, but this time I ignored it, and the phone works perfectly, and can hotspot. I wonder if the network providers can somehow lock your phone remotely to hotspotting? Or detect when you're trying to instigate it? By the way, what have the providers got against hotspotting? You're paying for the data, whatever you choose to do with it. Especially on Pay-as-You-Go.

 

2 hours ago, Hylander said:

I have a Huawei Honor phone and it is the best thing since sliced bread as far as I am concerned.   Takes superb photos.  Does everything that these expensive phones do and sometimes better. 

Ditto, Honor 7S, £69.95 in Argos.