Mifi is it worth it ?

[Phill D]

I have a mifi and a dedicated SIM with an external Poynting roof antenna , i have yet to get a better signal / speed; off the combined Mifi and antenna than my phone.... even tried a ground plane, no noticable difference in download speeds

maybe its me, but at least i have more than sufficient data for our needs between the mifi Sim and our phones.

only time will tell if my investment was worth it.

 

[Geo]

Ive found a little black puck 3" x 3" I assume MiMo has two cables coming out absolutely no labels or makers name on it will give it a go in a local mobile blackspot in Robin Hoods neck of the woods

 

[nicholsong]

I know this is an old thread but I have been wondering if we could get any benefit from a MiFi and not knowing much about them I ploughed through the thread and I am glad I did so, as it convinced me that our set-up of using the Samsung phone to tether our laptop, for just internet browsing, e-mails and Skype/What'sApp video, but no streaming, which fits into our Gb allowance does all we want.

A lot of people have gone that way and dumped MiFi.

So thanks for all contributors in saving me doing any more research and spending unnecessary money.

Geoff

 

[Millsy's]

Could anyone advise me on this please.
I am looking at buying the Huawei 5577 and it has 150 mbps download, would there be any great benefit in getting the 5785 version as it has 300 mbps ?.
I gather that it boasts a better download speed but does it really make a noticeable difference ?

 

[irnbru]

I recently bought the E5770 new in box for a bargain price of £35. Its very good so far and pages load up faster than my talktalk at home. I know some of that is down to the sim but I'm happy with my bargain.

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[Bolti]

I know this is an old thread but I have been wondering if we could get any benefit from a MiFi and not knowing much about them I ploughed through the thread and I am glad I did so, as it convinced me that our set-up of using the Samsung phone to tether our laptop, for just internet browsing, e-mails and Skype/What'sApp video, but no streaming, which fits into our Gb allowance does all we want.

A lot of people have gone that way and dumped MiFi.

So thanks for all contributors in saving me doing any more research and spending unnecessary money.

Geoff

We have dumped the fibre broadband we had to the house and now solely relie on mobile internet. At first we tethered to phones but we live in a rural location and our connection is not great. To get a usable internet connection phones had to be upstairs then downstairs the WiFi signal would be weak or non existent in the conservatory. So I bit the bullet and bought a mifi place it upstairs in the same place the phones were but the WiFi signal it puts out is much stronger than our phones.

 

[Gellyneck]

Could anyone advise me on this please.
I am looking at buying the Huawei 5577 and it has 150 mbps download, would there be any great benefit in getting the 5785 version as it has 300 mbps ?.
I gather that it boasts a better download speed but does it really make a noticeable difference ?

Does the 5785 have external aerial connectors (TS9)?
This could be a consideration if you're in a weaker signal area.

 

[EdwardFT]

One caveat from experience with MiFi: devices connected to it don't normally know that you are not on a "real" WiFi network, and may take the opportunity to do things like backup that may use a lot of bandwidth. Best switch the MiFi off at night, for example, because phones and tablets often do large backups at night if connected (and even if supposedly sleeping).

 

[Addie]

Could anyone advise me on this please.
I am looking at buying the Huawei 5577 and it has 150 mbps download, would there be any great benefit in getting the 5785 version as it has 300 mbps ?.
I gather that it boasts a better download speed but does it really make a noticeable difference ?

The additional speed of the E5785 is achieved through something called Carrier Aggrigation. For you to benefit from this you would have to be;

1.) Close enough to a cellular tower to recieve its long range and short range signals, if indeed it has more than one output and/or you can recieve it.
2.) For that cellular tower to support LTE-A / 4G+ on two of its bands that overlap your location so they can be used concurrently
3.) Most likley an EE contract customer, since EE has the most coverage and PAYG customers don't quite got full access. Three/Vodafone has very limited 4G+ coverage outside of major cities.

The E5785 is a generation behind the E5577 (lower pixel count display, doesn't show the WiFi password on the front) and there are two versions with the same model number with/without antenna sockets.

One caveat from experience with MiFi: devices connected to it don't normally know that you are not on a "real" WiFi network, and may take the opportunity to do things like backup that may use a lot of bandwidth. Best switch the MiFi off at night, for example, because phones and tablets often do large backups at night if connected (and even if supposedly sleeping).

Simply choose 'low data mode' on an iPhone or 'metered connection' on an Android/Windows computer in your network settings to prevent anything other than your own active use from using data.

 

[Millsy's]

The additional speed of the E5785 is achieved through something called Carrier Aggrigation. For you to benefit from this you would have to be;

1.) Close enough to a cellular tower to recieve its long range and short range signals, if indeed it has more than one output and/or you can recieve it.
2.) For that cellular tower to support LTE-A / 4G+ on two of its bands that overlap your location so they can be used concurrently
3.) Most likley an EE contract customer, since EE has the most coverage and PAYG customers don't quite got full access. Three/Vodafone has very limited 4G+ coverage outside of major cities.

The E5785 is a generation behind the E5577 (lower pixel count display, doesn't show the WiFi password on the front) and there are two versions with the same model number with/without antenna sockets.




Simply choose 'low data mode' on an iPhone or 'metered connection' on an Android/Windows computer in your network settings to prevent anything other than your own active use from using data.

Thank you Addie for the the concise and helpful information, at the moment I have the older Huawei E5673B with a 3 Sim on contract this boasts 150 mbps, in your opinion would it be worth investing in the Huawei E5577?
My basic layman’s logic is thinking that if it’s a generation or two later it should be better, right ?

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[nicholsong]

Adam

Good to see you posting your very knoledgable contributions.

How are you and Sophie, any good touring recently despite the virus problems?

Geoff

 

[JP1889]

The additional speed of the E5785 is achieved through something called Carrier Aggrigation. For you to benefit from this you would have to be;

1.) Close enough to a cellular tower to recieve its long range and short range signals, if indeed it has more than one output and/or you can recieve it.
2.) For that cellular tower to support LTE-A / 4G+ on two of its bands that overlap your location so they can be used concurrently
3.) Most likley an EE contract customer, since EE has the most coverage and PAYG customers don't quite got full access. Three/Vodafone has very limited 4G+ coverage outside of major cities.

The E5785 is a generation behind the E5577 (lower pixel count display, doesn't show the WiFi password on the front) and there are two versions with the same model number with/without antenna sockets.




Simply choose 'low data mode' on an iPhone or 'metered connection' on an Android/Windows computer in your network settings to prevent anything other than your own active use from using data.

Thanks for clearing up that there's 2 models of the e5577. There's about £30 difference. I've discovered the E5577-320 is without antenna sockets and the E5577-321 is with sockets. Hope this helps anyone else who was confused by this.

 

[Captain Birdseye]

Thinking about getting a mifi for the MH the one I am looking at is a maxview one which also boost signals/increases reception from other WiFis

In your opinion - are they worth the money ?

Yes. In addition to using mobile data it will also repeat an wifi using the external roof mounted arial and amplifier to get a better signal. This is accesed using the tools menue in the Huawei app. Very useful.

 

[Gellyneck]

Thanks for clearing up that there's 2 models of the e5577. There's about £30 difference. I've discovered the E5577-320 is without antenna sockets and the E5577-321 is with sockets. Hope this helps anyone else who was confused by this.

There's also two different suffix options, Cs and s, which have different battery capacities and as a result different physical sizes.
The "Cs" has a 1500mAh battery, as opposed to the "s" which has a 3000mAh, and is thinner.

 

[Ukbandit]

In my opinion I wouldn’t bother, I have 2 in the van one is the small huawai mifi, and the other is the huawai home base router, I was paying another contract for the mifi sim, but found my phone was more than good enough, I’m a heavy internet user. I got rid of the mifi sim, because I can always put my phone sim into the mifi devices, never bothered as I don’t see a significant difference in signal, even with the Ariel connected.

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[Neil n Pat]

After BT Openreach let me down not arriving on two occasions to install broadband I decided to use the Netgear Netcard from the MH in the house purchasing a second external antenna the same that is on the roof of the MH. Using the 4G connection with an unlimited sim card from SMARTY for twenty pounds per month which connects to the Samsung TV and all our other devices in the house. When we go away I just take the Netcard out of the house then plug it into the MH antenna and USB supply. If we go abroad I change the package to the 30 Gb package which is reduced to 20Gb when roaming whilst using satellite for TV reception. 4G streams flawlessly with Prime, IPlayer etc etc. This set up saves paying for your broadband connection when not at home not being used. Thankyou BT for letting me see the light as in the future no one will require your broadband with the accompanying awful service with others adopting 4G and 5G more and more with different choices and options. I accept though if you require lots of bandwidth with super duper speed requirement's this option maybe not for you. It would be nice to have a smart TV in the MH. On the wish list.

 

[Clive Mott]

Had a system but found it limiting. Simple tethering to the phone suited us.

 

[Chipster]

Same here. No issues using phones tethered and as hotspots. We use different carriers to minimize signal loss. But I’m from the old school of if it signal ain’t available do summat else, I’m trying to keep away from that stuff when I’m away anyway!!

 

[emjaiuk]

Each to his own, but it is not at all uncommon, even in the UK for our EE based phones to have no signal, but 3 data card in Huawei via MIMO roof aerial to give us good Wi-Fi and hence email or WhatsApp

 

[Toady]

Two iPhones on board with good data packages. When there is poor reception then I use one of the phone SIMs and place it in the mi-fi and job done.

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[Gellyneck]

Last week in D&G had 3-4 splodges on the 3 sim e5577 mifi (without external aerial).
Mobiles had - 3 @ 1-2, O2 @1-2, EE @0-1 and Vodafone @ 0-1. All in 2 new Xiaomi Note 10 Pro's.
Didn't really need to make phone calls and if so would probably have used wifi calling.

 

[TerryL]

Have used a Huawei mifi for years, all around Europe with a 3 sim and in Morocco with their local company. But recently started a monthly contract for my mobile ('cos it's cheaper than the landline) with plenty (for me) of data which worked very well couple of weeks ago at Thetford so I'll use that for now. Still plenty of credit left on the 3 sim if I run out.

 

[Realist]

Just fitted the Maxview roam mifi system. Yes it’s expensive but I’m hoping to use it in other locations too.
Very easy to install and set up. Only just fitted so not sure on how well it works.
I will use it with a 60gb SIM card to allow a web cam inside the van to be used along withTruma heating system and of course the usual tv, Netflix etc....

what I liked about this over others is that it allows you to connect it to a local WiFi network and saving data use on the sim whilst still keeping the local van network that everything else in the van uses. If that makes sense!!

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Same system I use, currently down Cornwall and connection to my provider is patchy but without it I would get nothing at all. Also connected to the sites WiFi and using this as well and that’s what I’m using while I type this reply.

Worth the money.

 

[JJ]

The "device" I am using at the moment doesn't seem to have any ariel sockets, nor can I find a SIM card slot or a battery.

It has writing on the front that reads...

"The Count Of Monte Cristo".

It appears to work anywhere I am...

Quite heavy though.


JJ

 

[nickw22000]

Thinking about getting a mifi for the MH the one I am looking at is a maxview one which also boost signals/increases reception from other WiFis

In your opinion - are they worth the money ?

We installed mifi with external aerial, very pleased. The signal and speed is better than when tethered, and we can connect in places where we couldn't previously get a signal. I'm told by clever people that the improvements are in no small part due to the aerial which avoids electrical interference that would affect the phone for normal use or when tethered.

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[Skez]

It's a no brainer for us! We get a FAR better signal connected to the Mifi (Huawei 5577) and external aerial than we do tethered to phones.

This is particularly so in areas where the 3G/4G signal is poor. I don't know if this is because we are in a metal PVC or not?? We use a Voxi SIM in the Mifi.

 

[Krumpli]

I had a wifi booster for a while but that model became unsupported. After a year of going to the local cafe for my internet usage I invested in the Huawei mifi. It's about the size of a bar of soap and it works very well indeed. I can use the laptop and my dear lady can use the iPad. I first used it in Hungary, but the paperwork is a nightmare. Greece was much better and cheaper for Vodafone sim.