Falcon 4g combo for 5wks in Spain?? (3 Viewers)

[RayD]

Hi, we have in the past used our phones mobile hotspot to get internet for our 2 ipads while travelling abroad. This year, however we are not touring, as such, but staying on 1 site for 5 weeks. In order to watch UK tv and stream, Nowtv, Netflix, etc. we are considering buying the above unit with a 150gb Data sim card.

Is this the best option?

 

[Jabstatt]

Thirty Gig a week might be ok but not excessive.
Have you looked at Lobster?

Great English speaking service

Makes a huge difference

Tony

 

[Stonemags76]

An hour of Tv is about 1 GB, so take that into your calculations. IQ mobile do 100gb for £25 [40% cashback if go through top cashback - making it £11]. You can buy another 100gb whenever you like. You do have to buy a sim to start with at £20, but then that lasts a year, & you top it up as above.

 

[RayD]

An hour of Tv is about 1 GB, so take that into your calculations. IQ mobile do 100gb for £25 [40% cashback if go through top cashback - making it £11]. You can buy another 100gb whenever you like. You do have to buy a sim to start with at £20, but then that lasts a year, & you top it up as above.

Thanks for answer.

First question is, is this Falcon 4g Combo worth buying over mobile hotspotting?

 

[Stonemags76]

Not sure. We have a TP link mifi - about £60 I think. It gives good signal for the most part, & makes it easier to get cheap sims, as our phones have limited eu data. I sometimes stick it in the sky light if the signal is poor, but can always watch Tv these days!

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[Jim]

If you end up buying one, use this code MHF-30, its a larger discount than what they have advertised here.

 

[Wh05apk]

Tesco are currently allowing full roaming with no fair use, so they seem good for Sims?

 

[OxfordMorgan]

Thanks for answer.

First question is, is this Falcon 4g Combo worth buying over mobile hotspotting?

Honestly, I'd say probably not. Its older technology (Category 4) and looks very expensive for what it is.
You would be much better off with a more recent 'Portable Router' or MiFi.
ZTE, Netgear, Huawei are all good brands and try and get a newer technology - certainly 5G so look for CAT18 or 20 or 22 - you might seem them advertised as 1.2Gbps or 2Gbps etc.
Currently a ZTE U50 for less than the Falcon and will be much better

 

[RayD]

Honestly, I'd say probably not. Its older technology (Category 4) and looks very expensive for what it is.
You would be much better off with a more recent 'Portable Router' or MiFi.
ZTE, Netgear, Huawei are all good brands and try and get a newer technology - certainly 5G so look for CAT18 or 20 or 22 - you might seem them advertised as 1.2Gbps or 2Gbps etc.
Currently a ZTE U50 for less than the Falcon and will be much better

Is a ZTE U50 portable or does it require fixing to the roof and hole drilled?

 

[OxfordMorgan]

Is a ZTE U50 portable or does it require fixing to the roof and hole drilled?

Portable - You can get others that are permanently fixed and some also have external aerials you can connect to.
It's all about how much you want to spend really.
A quick google will show cheaper options as well.
Go for a reputable brand with a modern 5G modem and you'll be fine

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[Minxy]

Trouble with the 5g ones is they are very expensive and there's still patchy coverage at present. I'd go for a good 4g one at present, loads on eBay 'new' so no need to pay a silly amount either, then when 5g prices come down change to one if necessary but not likely to be needed for a long time.

 

[OxfordMorgan]

Trouble with the 5g ones is they are very expensive and there's still patchy coverage at present. I'd go for a good 4g one at present, loads on eBay 'new' so no need to pay a silly amount either, then when 5g prices come down change to one if necessary but not likely to be needed for a long time.

The 5G one I recommended is cheaper than the 4G Falcon the OP suggested.

I actually find that 5G signal is available in a lot of places, far more than I would have thought, both here and in Europe. But its not just the 5G signal; the better (newer) modems will be better at dealing with 4G signal as well, so faster speeds all round.

If you want to go cheap then there are plenty around; the cheap ebay ones will be older CAT4 or CAT12, so much slower than Hotspotting from a phone which the OP does currently, so probably not worth wasting money on. With a 5G MiFi you will have a much longer lifespan.

Not all MiFi's are created equal and you really do get what you pay for, so make sure you check out what it can handle (CAT4, CAT12, CAT22) - Unless you are going to go 5G, it probably isnt worth the hassle of a MiFi, just continue to use Hotspot.

 

[BrianJane]

Ive heard good things about the MU5001. Can get them for 140 squids on ebay. Almost ready to pounce on one. Got the antenna on roof from previous owner of my van but he used a CAT 4 mifi which is rubbish

 

[OxfordMorgan]

Ive heard good things about the MU5001. Can get them for 140 squids on ebay. Almost ready to pounce on one. Got the antenna on roof from previous owner of my van but he used a CAT 4 mifi which is rubbish

Buy It! They are an amazing bit of kit.
I used to use one and recently 'upgraded' to a Teltonika as I needed Ethernet ports and a few other nerdy features - Considering the Teltonika is 3x the price its mobile performance is not quite as good as the ZTE

 

[Carpmart]

Trouble with the 5g ones is they are very expensive and there's still patchy coverage at present. I'd go for a good 4g one at present, loads on eBay 'new' so no need to pay a silly amount either, then when 5g prices come down change to one if necessary but not likely to be needed for a long time.

It’s amazing the difference a few months has made in terms of 5G coverage around rural France. I’m genuinely impressed (all subjective) by the scope of 5G roll out in only a few months since I was last in some of these areas! (We go back to the same spots for fishing!)

IMHO, get a 5G MiFi not a 4G only one!

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[BrianJane]

It’s amazing the difference a few months has made in terms of 5G coverage around rural France. I’m genuinely impressed (all subjective) by the scope of 5G roll out in only a few months since I was last in some of these areas! (We go back to the same spots for fishing!)

IMHO, get a 5G MiFi not a 4G only one!

I doubt it is nowhere as good as your starlink, but the price must be miniscule in comparison.

 

[Gellyneck]

Ive heard good things about the MU5001. Can get them for 140 squids on ebay. Almost ready to pounce on one. Got the antenna on roof from previous owner of my van but he used a CAT 4 mifi which is rubbish

Us and Manic along with others have got this one but JockandRita returned theirs as external aerial connectors only support 5g.

They've only got "as new" ones left now.

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[Carpmart]

I doubt it is nowhere as good as your starlink, but the price must be miniscule in comparison.

I’m observing from a phone… we do indeed do all heavy lift data with Starlink!

 

[Minxy]

The 5G one I recommended is cheaper than the 4G Falcon the OP suggested.

I actually find that 5G signal is available in a lot of places, far more than I would have thought, both here and in Europe. But its not just the 5G signal; the better (newer) modems will be better at dealing with 4G signal as well, so faster speeds all round.

If you want to go cheap then there are plenty around; the cheap ebay ones will be older CAT4 or CAT12, so much slower than Hotspotting from a phone which the OP does currently, so probably not worth wasting money on. With a 5G MiFi you will have a much longer lifespan.

Not all MiFi's are created equal and you really do get what you pay for, so make sure you check out what it can handle (CAT4, CAT12, CAT22) - Unless you are going to go 5G, it probably isnt worth the hassle of a MiFi, just continue to use Hotspot.

I've been reading up about MIFIs/routers recently as we could have done with one when in Scotland as we found many times that we were in bad signal areas (Vodafone) and a MIFI would likely have got a better signal than our phones especially if hoisted up high in a 'Tupperware box' as Jim and co once did at a MH show many years ago. There is a lot to learn about the various offerings nowadays and a lot of difference between them, although there are still some chancers on Ebay who are trying to get good money for 3G only ones!

I've just picked up a ZTE MF286R at a local car boot sale which is CAT 12 so I'm going to see how well that works before going the whole hog, we don't stream etc so don't need a super-duper one.

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[StillGoing]

It’s amazing the difference a few months has made in terms of 5G coverage around rural France. I’m genuinely impressed (all subjective) by the scope of 5G roll out in only a few months since I was last in some of these areas! (We go back to the same spots for fishing!)

IMHO, get a 5G MiFi not a 4G only one!

I’ve been impressed with the 5G coverage in Spain and Portugal even in remote areas. They make the UK seem like a third world country for mobile.

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[Gellyneck]

I've been reading up about MIFIs/routers recently as we could have done with one when in Scotland as we found many times that we were in bad signal areas (Vodafone) and a MIFI would likely have got a better signal than our phones especially if hoisted up high in a 'Tupperware box' as Jim and co once did at a MH show many years ago. There is a lot to learn about the various offerings nowadays and a lot of difference between them, although there are still some chancers on Ebay who are trying to get good money for 3G only ones!

I've just picked up a ZTE MF286R at a local car boot sale which is CAT 12 so I'm going to see how well that works before going the whole hog, we don't stream etc so don't need a super-duper one.

Three 4G Hub (ZTE MF286D) Review: 4G Broadband With Unlimited Data

Three's new 4G Hub is available from £24/month (£12/month for 6 months). Find out more & read our review of the ZTE MF286D.

kenstechtips.com

That's why we've both got dual sim phones covering all 4 main providers.
Having said that even our CAT4 Huawei used to pull in enough signal to browse/email.
Now upgraded to a CAT20 MU5001 though.

 

[Barti Ddu]

Trouble with the 5g ones is they are very expensive and there's still patchy coverage at present. I'd go for a good 4g one at present, loads on eBay 'new' so no need to pay a silly amount either, then when 5g prices come down change to one if necessary but not likely to be needed for a long time.

5g may still be a bit patchy in the UK outside cities - although getting better - but across Europe 5g has now become the norm. We've had near continuous 5g across Norway and Sweden for the last 12 weeks, in some really remote areas.

I'm accessing 5g now, as you can see, from a remote little island on the west coast of Sweden.

5g is still reasonably future proof.

Buying a 4g mifi today is buying yesterday's technology.

 

[Minxy]

That's why we've both got dual sim phones covering all 4 main providers.
Having said that even our CAT4 Huawei used to pull in enough signal to browse/email.
Now upgraded to a CAT20 MU5001 though.

We've got dual sim phones, in Scotland we had Vodafone, Talk Home Mobile (EE), and Three, the signal for all of them was poor or non-existent (emergency only) because we were in remote/low population areas, whether a MIFI will help I don't know but we'll try the one I've just bought before splashing the cash.