Cheap 4g Mifi ... grab one while you can!!!

[Wildge]

Picking it up tomorrow Jock .......just wanted confirmation on the details .
Many thanks Minx for all the information.

:thumb:
Up and running ............Curry/PC staff (Chesterfield) served me quite rapidly and obliging fella double checked all the details etc.
Worst bit was the 'grilling' from EE who insisted on knowing why I wanted to cancel the contract :Angry:

Thanks once again Minx. Will follow instructions for unlocking later.

 

[Jandek]

:thumb:
Up and running ............Curry/PC staff (Chesterfield) served me quite rapidly and obliging fella double checked all the details etc.
Worst bit was the 'grilling' from EE who insisted on knowing why I wanted to cancel the contract :Angry:

Thanks once again Minx. Will follow instructions for unlocking later.

Thanks also to Minx. We picked ours up ok. Took them ages to do the credit check . Like you we cancelled straight away and the woman was very concerned why we were cancelling so soon? She said this is happening a lot. Do you think they will cotton on??

 

[Minxy]

Thanks also to Minx. We picked ours up ok. Took them ages to do the credit check . Like you we cancelled straight away and the woman was very concerned why we were cancelling so soon? She said this is happening a lot. Do you think they will cotton on??

By the time they realise what's going on all us funsters will have bought them all!!!!

 

[Minxy]

Thanks for the reply Jock, and apologies for an ambiguous post.

I actually meant to ask where I can buy 15gb of download for £8.00 per month !

Mark

You won't I'm afraid Mark ....

We only get it because we've been with '3' mobile broadband for yonks so get a 50% customer discount if we stay on the same 15gb contract! :thumb:

 

[Allanm]

Thanks Jock
I'll wait to see if I get a reply from the email or letter first before I email the CEO
Allan

As expected, nothing from customer services, so a copy, with a few additions, sent to their CEO.
I won't hold my breath……..:Mad:

Allan

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[dbailey2]

Mobile Broadband SIM

Doug, just cancel the contract as Minx has outlined and unlock the device if you wish, following the how-to guide. Then simply buy a data sim off ebay or elsewhere - see my link for a 6GB EE sim up above this post earlier in the thread for the link - and pop it in when you want to use it. Once activated, the 6GB sim remains available for 90 days or until the data is used up, whatever comes first. You can then either chuck it away and put another card in, or top up online if you don't have a second card to replace it, to hand. I always recommend buying 2 or 3 of these cards when you see a good deal - they only expire 90 days after they are activated.

Thank you Camcondor,

I collected the device from Curry's this afternoon without any issues. Installed the EE sim card when I got home and everything is working fine and super fast. I will certainly purchase a couple of the 6GB sim cards as you recommend and I will contact EE tomorrow to cancel the contract.
Thanks again for your help and a big thank you to Minx for his original recommendation and step by step guide.

 

[Stewart J]

Been following this thread with interest I own a Huwei E586 Mifi been buying my 3gb 90 sims from EBS on Ebay as have many others, been selling for £11-12 then shot up to £15 late last week today they have gone to £22 plus p &p, anyone know whats going on?

 

[Peter & Elaine]

I noticed that last week when I bought a 3 gig 90 day for 3
Last week 14 quid normal about 11 quid
I expected them to get cheaper with competition
But maybe the bubble has burst and 3 are keeping a eye on who the sell bulk to so to avoid undercutting their own shops

 

[JockandRita]

Once my EE sim packs in (having cancelled the contract now), I'll revert back to my trusty T-Mobile sim at £1 a day, or £2.50 for 5 days, or £5 for 30 days.

I had two of those sim cards, but stupidly let one lapse. I was only a day over the six months too, but they wouldn't reactivate it. :Sad:

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Encantador]

Been following this thread with interest I own a Huwei E586 Mifi been buying my 3gb 90 sims from EBS on Ebay as have many others, been selling for £11-12 then shot up to £15 late last week today they have gone to £22 plus p &p, anyone know whats going on?

Makes this one a beter deal if you need/want the 6Gb


Or this one which lasts for 12 months.

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[camcondor]

Makes this one a beter deal if you need/want the 6Gb


Or this one which lasts for 12 months.

I think the EE ones are such a good deal at the moment as they are still busy rolling out 4g and relatively speaking, there are far fewer 4g devices around than 3g. Still, I wonder what 3 is playing at, the prices of their data sims seems to have shot up astronomically to virtually the same as you pay in store, across the board Maybe they want to chase customers away to other networks?

I had a stash of EBS 3GB 3 sims for our ipads, but they are down to the last one now :Sad: Think it makes sense to keep one of those 12GB sims in the ipads now and turn off cellular data and use the mifi device with an EE sim running superfast most of the time and use the 12GB sim at other times - after all, it lasts for a year. I never bought the 12GB sims in the past, when the 3GB ones were selling for £10-12 as it didn't make sense; I guess the 12GB ones will go up soon too.......

 

[bobandjanie]

All done None of my three (that is quantity 3 not three / 3) work but all their details are in it, they appear (just a bad signal area) and my computers can connect, I got the magnifying glass out to read the password!
I asked Simon Green (on ebay) for the unlock code which worked perfectly and I know he would have cheerfully provided more assistance had I needed it as he went above and beyond the call of duty a few months ago when I was setting up my 'old' Huawei, now sold via ebay.
Mel, which post do you want me to thank you on, I could be clicking all day
Many thanks, Jane
P.S. Curry's Norwich had not had a run on these when I picked mine up on Tuesday. Secondly I cancelled the contract that evening and was told that I had obviously been mis-sold the contract and that there would be no charge, that my bank details had not been set up (the computer had crashed at the store) and I got his name and contact pin if I had any concerns.

 

[cliffanger]

Hi,

Have been following this thread with interest and even reserved the device. Have looked into the Virgin dongle thingy and it says I can have one for £24.99 and £8.17 monthly on a two month contract.

Before my reservation runs out - can anyone tell this IT dinosaur what would happen to the dongle after the two month contract is up - I don't expect it to self destruct but I don't understand what happens after the two months - does it automatically go onto a PAYG terms, or can I transfer it to a PAYG and just buy the amount of data I want? I rang them but didn't understand what they said......

Minx - help needed...!

Cheers

Geraldine

 

[Allanm]

I managed to get one from PCW at Broadstairs. Mrs A did the contract and a very pleasant Adam worked the computer and got all the details right first time!
Still waiting to hear from Mr Currys!

Allan

 

[SandJ]

Just had a thought can you set up and keep different Apn addresses? So you can put in varyious sims as needed. So if you get a better signal go abroad ect you do not need to alter all the time. Similar to your phone accessing different wifi hot spots once set up it automatically connects.

I think you get my gist?

Tia


:thumb:

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[maz]

I managed to get one from PCW at Broadstairs. Mrs A did the contract and a very pleasant Adam worked the computer and got all the details right first time!
Still waiting to hear from Mr Currys!

Allan

10/10 for perseverance in the face of idiocy! Glad there's a happy ending. :thumb:

 

[Minxy]

Hi,

Have been following this thread with interest and even reserved the device. Have looked into the Virgin dongle thingy and it says I can have one for £24.99 and £8.17 monthly on a two month contract.

Before my reservation runs out - can anyone tell this IT dinosaur what would happen to the dongle after the two month contract is up - I don't expect it to self destruct but I don't understand what happens after the two months - does it automatically go onto a PAYG terms, or can I transfer it to a PAYG and just buy the amount of data I want? I rang them but didn't understand what they said......

Minx - help needed...!

Cheers

Geraldine

The Virgin dongle is just that, it can only be used for one piece of equipment (eg ipad, computer, laptop, tablet) at a time, whereas this MIFI can have several pieces of equipment connected all at once (max of 10).

I've just had a quick shuftie at the Virgin dongle for you and it would appear that as you're an existing Virgin customer you're getting the 20% discount reducing the cost from £10.21 a month to £8.17. You have to sign up for a 2 month contract and at the end it would appear to 'stop', that's my take on it anyway, the website isn't clear so the only way would be to delve into the T&Cs for it! On their deal though you only get 1gb of data a month which, to be perfectly honest is abysmal! Also you have to buy the dongle for £24.99 which again is extortionate for a basic one, IMV. So, if you only keep the dongle for 2 months, it would cost you:

£8.17 a month x 2 months = £16.34 plus dongle at £24.99 = £41.33 which is BLOOMING EXPENSIVE!!!!

Whilst the MIFI is more expensive you get a very fast 4g unit (I assume the one from Virgin is 3g?), which also can still get 3g but is faster than a standard 3g dongle/MIFI. You can go 'down' to 3g with the MIFI but you can't go 'up' to 4g with the dongle as it doesn't appear to be capable. If you don't get on with the MIFI you can sell it and recoup what it has cost you (including the first monthly charge).

So, unfortunately I can't give you a total answer to the Virgin 'dongle' deal, only they would be able to confirm what the situation is, but personally I'd stay well clear of it.

 

[Minxy]

Thanks again for your help and a big thank you to Minx for his original recommendation and step by step guide.

Errrrr ... I'm a girlie! :lipstick:

 

[SandJ]

Just had a thought can you set up and keep different Apn addresses? So you can put in varyious sims as needed. So if you get a better signal go abroad ect you do not need to alter all the time. Similar to your phone accessing different wifi hot spots once set up it automatically connects.

I think you get my gist?

Tia


:thumb:

Any thoughts? :thumb:

 

[teddybard]

What a bloody palaver

after the nice man in Currys got it wrong once
then we tried two separate cards neither worked:Blush:

We have an excellent credit rating but


it seems EE turns down a contract application if you are a pensionista and have not used enough credit in the past

doesnt matter what the bank balance is

and we are not currently working:Angry:

more on the saga tomorrow

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[cliffanger]

The Virgin dongle is just that, it can only be used for one piece of equipment (eg ipad, computer, laptop, tablet) at a time, whereas this MIFI can have several pieces of equipment connected all at once (max of 10).

I've just had a quick shuftie at the Virgin dongle for you and it would appear that as you're an existing Virgin customer you're getting the 20% discount reducing the cost from £10.21 a month to £8.17. You have to sign up for a 2 month contract and at the end it would appear to 'stop', that's my take on it anyway, the website isn't clear so the only way would be to delve into the T&Cs for it! On their deal though you only get 1gb of data a month which, to be perfectly honest is abysmal! Also you have to buy the dongle for £24.99 which again is extortionate for a basic one, IMV. So, if you only keep the dongle for 2 months, it would cost you:

£8.17 a month x 2 months = £16.34 plus dongle at £24.99 = £41.33 which is BLOOMING EXPENSIVE!!!!

Whilst the MIFI is more expensive you get a very fast 4g unit (I assume the one from Virgin is 3g?), which also can still get 3g but is faster than a standard 3g dongle/MIFI. You can go 'down' to 3g with the MIFI but you can't go 'up' to 4g with the dongle as it doesn't appear to be capable. If you don't get on with the MIFI you can sell it and recoup what it has cost you (including the first monthly charge).

So, unfortunately I can't give you a total answer to the Virgin 'dongle' deal, only they would be able to confirm what the situation is, but personally I'd stay well clear of it.

Thanks for getting back to us Mel. I think I don't know enough about any of it to go for the MIFI so will let someone else have it! Cowardly I know but at least you have put me off of buying the Virgin one!

Cheers

Geraldine

 

[Minxy]

Just had a thought can you set up and keep different Apn addresses? So you can put in varyious sims as needed. So if you get a better signal go abroad ect you do not need to alter all the time. Similar to your phone accessing different wifi hot spots once set up it automatically connects.

I think you get my gist?

Tia

Yes, you can pre-set and store the different APN profiles for each provider in your 'My EE' page for what you will, or are likely, to use. You would only be able to use them though if you then put in the sim for that provider - it may 'auto-detect' the sim and select the correct pre-stored profile, or you may have to manually select it from the list. Saying that, it is quick to change the APN so not an issue - perhaps having a list of the ones you are likely to use would be the best idea and you can then just create an APN in 'My EE' as and when you need it?

It isn't the same as using a wifi hotspot - with that you access what is already out there (usually a 'free' or 'open' wifi signal) with your equipment's own wifi receiver and not via your MIFI.

To use the MIFI you access the internet via whatever providers' sim you have in the unit itself, it won't work without going via that sim, which obviously needs some data allowance on it ... it is not 'free'. The MIFI itself can be directly linked to your equipment (ie tethered via cable) or used as a wifi transponder/sender to create your own personal wifi network which you then connect to with your equipment wirelessly!

I think that all makes sense!

 

[Minxy]

Thanks for getting back to us Mel. I think I don't know enough about any of it to go for the MIFI so will let someone else have it! Cowardly I know but at least you have put me off of buying the Virgin one!

Cheers

Geraldine

Very wise, you really need to know what you want to do before you get anything.

What specifically were you thinking you needed one for?

 

[Allanm]

What a bloody palaver

after the nice man in Currys got it wrong once
then we tried two separate cards neither worked:Blush:

We have an excellent credit rating but


it seems EE turns down a contract application if you are a pensionista and have not used enough credit in the past

doesnt matter what the bank balance is

and we are not currently working:Angry:

more on the saga tomorrow

It may be similar to what happened to me. They tried 3 times to put it through then I was declined. According to EE, I had 3 credit checks within a short time and it flags up on their system and they then refuse to accept you.
Mrs A went in today and got the unit and agreement with no problems. We are both retired too, but have mortgage credit cards and are on the electoral roll, which is what they like to see.
Allan

 

[SandJ]

Thanks for the answer above Mel much appreciated, you state " The MIFI itself can be directly linked to your equipment (ie tethered via cable)" does that apply to an iPad as well (with no sim slot) if you attach an mini usb to the normal usb?
Tia

:thumb:

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[Allanm]

So, now I have my mifi, I need a SIM card for when I unlock it and leave EE. What type of sim do I need?
Does it have to be a specific tablet sim? 3 do an all you can eat data sim with calls and texts for £15 month( Mrs A has one in her iPhone) can I use one of those?
Any help and advice on best ( read cheapest) data plan out there would be appreciated.
Allan

 

[Peter & Elaine]

We are on top of hill at slights just outside whitby
Using mifi on EE
Getting just under 6 meg on speed test but only on 3g so I assume 4 g is not avalable in this area
Still a lot quicker than we get at home

 

[Allanm]

I managed to get one from PCW at Broadstairs. Mrs A did the contract and a very pleasant Adam worked the computer and got all the details right first time!
Still waiting to hear from Mr Currys!

Allan

Well, got a bit of a result today.
Had a phone call from someone on behalf of the CEO, very apologetic, offered me a voucher to reimburse the cost of the unit and said he would contact the store to get them to speak to EE and try and get my credit restored.
Then, a call from the store manager where I tried to buy the unit. Promised to speak to the staff involved and to EE to sort out what happened.

So, looks like I have a free MiFi unit. Just looking forward to the free 12 month sim from EE by way of an apology..

Allan

 

[teddybard]

The Saga of Curries (Part the second)

So back again to get the huwaii original sales rep
still as thick as ever but his assistant was up to speed.

Great service then but still couldn't buy one seems EE are ageist
so my third card was refused

My daughter bless her put it on her card and all went through straight away
so now we have one

Plus the contract bit in her name
[HI]which I will Cancel Tonight --With great pleasure as they are ageist[/HI]

then move across to 3G or whatevers best.

So shall be up & Running soonish.

Roger & Sheila

 

[Minxy]

So, now I have my mifi, I need a SIM card for when I unlock it and leave EE. What type of sim do I need?
Does it have to be a specific tablet sim? 3 do an all you can eat data sim with calls and texts for £15 month( Mrs A has one in her iPhone) can I use one of those?
Any help and advice on best ( read cheapest) data plan out there would be appreciated.
Allan

The MIFI only takes a standard sized sim, so don't get a Micro or 'Nano' sim as you won't be able to use it! Whether you can use a 'phone' sim in it I don't know, only the sim provider will be able to tell you that I should think but looking at the info on the '3' site it does state "SIM for use in a 3G phone.":

http://store.three.co.uk/view/searchSimOnly?tariff=3034&intid=3storephrbn1118

Some info on PAYG and monthly contract mobile broadband (only) deals here:

Link Removed

http://www.money.co.uk/broadband/mobile-broadband.htm

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