Is MiFi the way to go?

[Gerryco1]

Hi folks. I’m sure this has been covered repeatedly but I am failing to make a decision about mobile data!
The two of us want to stream video onto my iPad whilst away in France. Using my phone paired to my iPad is slow and only works for me.
1- Am I correct in thinking that a MiFi box and a SIM card is the way to go?
2-should the SIM card be purchased abroad? Or the UK ( data can now be used here and abroad).
3- is pay as you go sensible initially rather getting a contract?

Help. Cheers. Gerry.

 

[The Wino]

You will need to think how often you are likely to use it and how much data to make a decision also which countries. For us mifi is great but we don't use video just web browsing/e-mails

 

[clanjones]

I have a WiFi,MiFi and a phone I can tether abroad.

We have been abroad for 3 weeks now and tethering with the phone (Vodafone contract) has been excellent. IMO faster than 3 which used to be the SIM of choice for the MiFi device. WiFi device hasn't been out of the box!

We don't stream Video but wonder if you the ability to stream is the key deciding point. I'm curious why you say you can only pair to one device. Is this an Apple feature? (I am a ludite and know nothing about them Mr Fawlty!)

Tethering shouldn't have this issue re more than one device.

For what little video we view when away, I store on a usb stick/hard drive at home and play back as required.

 

[mitzimad]

are you linking via bluetooth rather than wifi if you can only connect one device?

 

[DBK]

If you buy a MiFi unit then more than one device can log into it.

Whether you can usefully watch TV is a different question and I doubt you could be watching different TV programs at the same time though one could be watching TV while the other just browses the net.

An hour of TV watched live from say BBC iPlayer will take around 1GB of data per hour. It could be less but this is a good starting point as a reality check. So if you buy a Vodafone card with 50Gb of data a month (which will cost about £30 per month) then you might expect to watch up to around two hours of TV per day.

If you want to watch a lot of TV then getting a satellite dish is the answer but you can't go much further south than the middle of France if you want to watch BBC. With a Sky box and a subscription you can get other channels over most of Europe.

PAYG is an option to try things but you won't get much data and it may not be fast enough to watch TV. A local card may be faster but you won't watch BBC without delving into the realms of VPNs.

There are all you can eat data deals but the ones I've heard about only work for a couple of weeks at a time.

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[Gerryco1]

Thank you all for your input. Are we really going to be wanting to watch television when away? I don’t think it’s a priority. We plan to down load several films in case we need some light relief so it’s Mifi and a sim deal for us. Decision made. Thank you all.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Why dont you download the films onto a hard drive before you go?

 

[Gerryco1]

That’s a plan we will explore. And then just use interweb for info and internet. Cheers. Ferry

 

[The Dotties]

Why dont you download the films onto a hard drive before you go?

How?
Serious question, I don’t know how to, but would like to, if that makes sense.
I’ve got a W10 laptop, iPad and android phone, numerous thumb drives, even a couple of 1tb thinggies.
We’ve got virgin television, and a modern t.v. (Vanbtz fitted) in the Motorhome.
So got the means, i think, just no ability. (A recurring theme I’m afraid).
Cheers
Geoff

 

[138go]

1- Am I correct in thinking that a MiFi box and a SIM card is the way to go?
2-should the SIM card be purchased abroad? Or the UK ( data can now be used here and abroad).
3- is pay as you go sensible initially rather getting a contract?

1 .. IMHO Mi-Fi is not the way to go for Streaming Tv

2 .. Don't know. French can be very funny and may want a French address. Then you may have to have a contract. There may also be limits on the amount of data you can use.

3 .. Cost a fortune

A film can be 1Gb of data so it can get very expensive streaming films etc. If two of you are watching different films it can get even more expensive plus it will probably slow it down to a crawl. Even using YouTube eats data.

I use USB memory sticks that fit in the Tv. These can be loaded with all manner of films and series or you can just buy some DVD's. DVD's normally have a choice of language so you can pick them up most places. Second hand ones available in Charity Shops. I use various websites to download bits and pieces. Its amazing what you can find if you look. Watch the format though not all downloads can be played from USB. You can of course use a portable hard drive but I have had one fail so prefer USB Memory sticks then if you loose one you still have the others.

Put Kindle App on your IPad and download some books

You should be able to have your IPhone to personal hotspot with a password and then anyone with the password can hop onto the device.

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[Riverbankannie]

Thank you all for your input. Are we really going to be wanting to watch television when away? I don’t think it’s a priority. We plan to down load several films in case we need some light relief so it’s Mifi and a sim deal for us. Decision made. Thank you all.

I find it easier and cheaper to buy up dvds from eBay and save them up for when we are away. A trawl around the local charity shops can also prove useful at about £1 a go.

 

[Reallyretired]

We can get Netflix fine by tethering to my phone on Vodafone. The mifi on 3 was never fast enough.

 

[M1EWK]

If its any help what i do is download content in advance on to my mobile phone using the bbc iPlayer app or amazon prime video or even Netflix. I have an amazon firestick on my tv and it allows you to mirror the mobile phone display onto the tv. All you then need to do is play the video on the phone using the appropriate app and it will be displayed on the tv. This works really well and you dont need to take any usb drives etc and dont need any internet access either
Dave

 

[carls]

personally I download films and everybody in the family tethers to my phone

 

[Frankiej]

.. IMHO Mi-Fi is not the way to go for Streaming Tv

I don’t have a broadband connection at home and use the mifi for streaming from iPlayer, Netflix etc. and downloading. No problem at all. It is with Three and of course depends on where you live to get a good connection.

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[Lenny HB]

Tethering from your phone is fine in good signal areas which is great in towns but we are often out in the wilds then a MiFi with a good quality roof mounted aerial comes into its own, well worth the investment.
I've not bothered getting another Three PAYG Data sim, you only get 3G when roaming often not even that and upload speeds often diabolical. Will use EE or Vodafone in future.