Mifi

[scotty1]

which is best mifi

 

[Landy Andy]

I bought this kit from Motorhome WiFi. It’s brilliant. Just fitted a Vodafone 100Gb SIM card for it. Zero signal at home. Turned on the roof antenna and full signal 4g. Used it all this weekend with five items logged on to it.

Highly recommend

https://www.motorhomewifi.com/product/4g-roof-antenna-e5577-mifi-save-25/

 

[Zigisla]

^^^^^^^ wot e sed. Used my unit in the new forest - renound area for no signal at all - even phone and had good 4g and streaming quality with this unit. That was just the mifi lent against the overhead cab bed. Now the roof aerial is fitted, I used mine the other day again with nothing on the phones and had 4 bars of 4g. Again, as above Vodafone 100gb deal.

 

[Korgrocker]

which is best mifi

Depends where you live. In Scotland Central Belt, all carriers work mostly well. But go North, then forget Three. EE gets patchy so Vodafone and O2 better bets. But there are large areas of Scotland with no useful mobile signal.

 

[scotty1]

When you look at HUAWEI 5577 there are 5577c/ 5577s etc what is the difference .ta

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[Lenny HB]

When you look at HUAWEI 5577 there are 5577c/ 5577s etc what is the difference .ta

s has a bigger battery, not important if you are only using it in the van.

 

[scotty1]

Some have C or B or C123?

 

[Korgrocker]

I'm using an EE MiFi device and live just west of Dunfermline, Scotland. Strong EE 4G signal and I've just done a speed check, Download 20.33Mb/s, Upload 5.39 Mb/s, Ping 42 ms. But it does vary according to weather and time of day. When we're away in MoHo we leave it plugged into a USB port (5V 1A) all the time with 6 devices connected (2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 2 Kindles). But it's good enough for my domestic needs as well. So it's making me think it's about time I ditched my land line. I'm on a 50Gb per month data package - more than I need most of the time. As a check, I also have a good 4G Vodafone signal - I've just tethered my Mac to my iPhone and a speed check gives Download 13.67 Mb/s, Upload 9.84 Mb/s, Ping 62ms. So it boils down to where you live and what your expectations are. The limitation is more about the 4G signal strength than the MiFi device I think.

 

[DerryW]

Excuse my ignorance, how effective are these abroad, Mainly France, Spain and Portugal

thanks

 

[Korgrocker]

Excuse my ignorance, how effective are these abroad, Mainly France, Spain and Portugal

thanks

Sorry - can't help with this - never travel abroad

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[Addie]

Excuse my ignorance, how effective are these abroad, Mainly France, Spain and Portugal

A MiFi device is generally no better/worse than a mobile phone at obtaining a cellular signal and thus their effectiveness is dependant upon the coverage of network provider who's SIM card you are using. Abroad, Three SIM's are limited to 3G in many countries and you can only use their 'roaming partners'. A Vodafone or EE SIM can use any network in any country, so arguably better abroad than in their home country since you can roam between networks.

One of the main benefits of an unlocked (rather than network provided) MiFi is the ability to add an external antenna which is something you can't do with a mobile phone as well as freeing up your phone for other tasks.

 

[Lenny HB]

Excuse my ignorance, how effective are these abroad, Mainly France, Spain and Portugal

thanks

Brillant, sometimes have to change networks. We have a Poynting MIMO LTE roof mounted aerial and have been up in the mountains with neither of our phones picking up a data or comms signal but could get 3g on the MiFi.

 

[scotty1]

Would the window mounted antenna work up on skylight or outside of skylight on a magnetic bracket?

 

[Addie]

Would the window mounted antenna work up on skylight or outside of skylight on a magnetic bracket?

It's common to mount on a Skylight (plastic is RF transparent), you could put it outside - but it's not weatherproof.

 

[scotty1]

So it could lay flat in plastic bag?

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[Addie]

So it could lay flat in plastic bag?

Well, yes, but laying it flat on the roof in a plastic bag would be the same as suction mounting it internally on a skylight in that respect. There isn't really any compromise to a permanently fitted roof antenna. RF cable does not lend itself to being trapped through windows/rooflights and as such we don't recommend any temporary externally mounted antennas.

It sounds as if (from your other thread) that you already have a MiFi and that it's working well - the MiFi's themselves are all very similar (except for antenna sockets and screens etc) so I would keep with that until such time as you have an issue with it or are looking for a fitted antenna solution.

 

[Guigsy]

Just come back from 6 weeks in Spain. 5577c with a Poynting external antenna and a Vodafone SIM. Excellent signal everywhere.

 

[scotty1]

Many thanks Addiei have 4g huawei but not with the screen giving info I like the look at your suggestion and I’m not sure I have arial ports on mine I will check in morn and come back to you.

 

[Landy Andy]

Many thanks Addiei have 4g huawei but not with the screen giving info I like the look at your suggestion and I’m not sure I have arial ports on mine I will check in morn and come back to you.

You can get the HUAWEI app, and that gives you the info that is, would be, displayed on the screen.

 

[scotty1]

Thanks I’ll have a look at that.

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[The Wino]

I would just get a cheap one and see if it does the job we have a basic huawei worked well past 3 years and we aren't too precious if we sometimes don't get a signal.

 

[Manic]

I tried a Netgear indoor antenna that you suction to the window and it didn’t help at all, so sent it back for a refund.

 

[Guigsy]

I tried a Netgear indoor antenna that you suction to the window and it didn’t help at all, so sent it back for a refund.

Note that if the signal is already good, the aerial will do nothing (or may even be marginally worse!). If, however you've got a spotty signal, it makes a massive difference. On a few occasions (like in the Lake District) my phone couldn't get anything, but the MiFi could still pull 7Mb/s.

 

[Simon Select]

Just get a mobile dongle from 3, Vodafone etc. These expensive "Mifi" kits are all pretty bits of plastic that are powered by a mobile dongle anyway.
It will save you a lot of money just doing a mobile data contract with a dongle.

 

[Manic]

Just get a mobile dongle from 3, Vodafone etc. These expensive "Mifi" kits are all pretty bits of plastic that are powered by a mobile dongle anyway.
It will save you a lot of money just doing a mobile data contract with a dongle.

Only if using it through a laptop, dongles won’t work without.

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[Simon Select]

Only if using it through a laptop, dongles won’t work without.

Then just use your phone with a data plan. That would then enable you to connect all your devices to it.

 

[scotty1]

Think I’ll go for window antenna it is a bit more versatile and if we change van we can take with us?

 

[Stroppy Bird]

Think I’ll go for window antenna it is a bit more versatile and if we change van we can take with us?

This is what we have along with the mifi.

It does improve the signal a bit. A couple of weeks ago we were on a campsite with no phone signal and nothing directly on the mifi but we managed to get a good connection using the antenna with the mifi and were able to make calls through wifi using this (both sims with three).

I also use it where we do have a signal on the mifi but it's only weak. It usually improves the strength by a couple of bars and speeds things up a bit.