Using smartphone sim in broadband router

bogwalrus

I notice on Three they offer unlimited data with their smartphone pre pay packages. This cost €25.

Just wondering if I could get that sim and use in my 4g broadband router and get unlimited data.

At the moment their broadband sims are expensive and don't have unlimited data.

Thanks for any help.
Boggy

ED E

Against the rules but loads do it, go right ahead.

DopeTech

bogwalrus wrote: »

I notice on Three they offer unlimited data with their smartphone pre pay packages. This cost €25.

Just wondering if I could get that sim and use in my 4g broadband router and get unlimited data.

At the moment their broadband sims are expensive and don't have unlimited data.

Thanks for any help.
Boggy

€20 Pay as go go deal gives you acye data also saving you €5.41p/m. What you were looking at were the billpay sim only deals.

You won't have to worry about topping it up either, just log onto my3 and add your debit/credit card and set it to auto topup every 30 days.

Ten Pin

FrostyJim wrote: »

add your debit/credit card and set it to auto topup every 30 days.

Just be aware that three don’t allow tethering (as mentioned above). Just be careful about giving card details to them in case they slap a big charge on you for tethering, safer to just buy a cash top up voucher in a shop. I know it’s not bill pay but they might have some t&c buried that say they could take it (charge) from your card. Save yourself any hassle by using a cash top up.

Also after 30 days you can buy 500MB add on for a fiver and do that four times (sequentially when each 500MB is used) with your 20 euro top up (total 2GB). You would need to get the timing right so as not to waste it or overlap data usage. Three charge one euro per MB after the 30 days if you don’t have a 500MB add on.

editorsean

One thing worth noting is that if the prepay balance drops below zero, Three expects this to be paid going by its terms & conditions. For example, if they determine a phone SIM is being used as a data SIM and decide to charge the default €1/MB out-of-bundle usage like they did with some unlucky Bill Pay users that tethered. So far I haven't heard about this happening to prepay users and reckon they would just disconnect any SIM they believe to be clearly abusing their network.

Prepay Customers
11.3 If this agreement ends, we will close your account and Disconnect you. On Disconnection you will not be able to use the Three Services or make emergency calls.
11.4 You must immediately pay all Charges you owe (if any) up to the date the agreement ends. If we Disconnect you for non-use of the Three Services or your conduct (under Sections 10.5 (b)-(c)), then any unused credits or allowances on Prepay Vouchers or Add-ons remaining on your account on Disconnection will be forfeited.

Surprisingly, there is nothing in their "The Small Print" terms & conditions (on or after February 2013) PDF about tethering or hotspot usage or using a phone SIM in a dongle, at least not that I could find. However, they mention in several places on their website's Help & Support section that such usage is not permitted, which in turn points to the Terms & Conditions that seems to lack this info!

The Three UK network has already blocked both tethering and using a phone SIM in a dongle with their prepay plans. There are few lengthy threads on other forums discussing about it. Based on what I've read, they're using Deep Packet Inspection to look for clues that a PC is connected and even some web browser Apps are reported to give a false positive that the user is tethering, resulting in the "Are you using your phone as a hotspot?" page appearing, a warning SMS and data being disabled until the phone is rebooted. They also check the IMEI number to determine whether the SIM is used in a dongle or tablet.

So I suspect in the long run, they will probably do something similar here. It wouldn't surprise me if they are intentionally ignoring these users as they upgrade their network, since the extra congestion helps pin-point what areas of their network need upgrading. Then once they complete their upgrade works, they could simply block this usage like they do in the UK and make their "faster network" from the upgrade works stand out with the bandwidth freed up. Just my opinion.

bogwalrus

Great replies and advice. I will give it a go sure and if any warnings are sent I can just move back to a broadband package. I have been caught once before with going over data. Never again!

Thanks,
Boggy