4G Wifi router with Sim Slot?

Thargor

I need a 4G router in which I can put a Three 4G PAYG sim and have it create a wifi signal for a whole medium sized bungalow in an area with an okay 4G signal, Ive tried all other ISPs but its fairly rural Co Clare and other options are fairly woeful.

Ive tested it with my Oneplus on Three 4G unlimited PAYG acting as a wifi hotspot and the connection has been great, 1080p Youtube streaming and everything, only issue is no smartphone Ive tried has been able to project a hotspot big enough to cover the whole house, or even more than a couple of rooms.

Can someone point me at a decent router that will do this job when I put the sim in it please? Everything I search for I cant decide if it will work with a Three sim in Ireland or not...

Arbie

We bought 2 of these and they work well:

Huawei Unlocked B315 4G LTE 150 Mbps Mobile Wi-Fi Router

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Unlocked-Mobile-Router-Genuine/dp/B013P15G4K

Thargor

Thanks for that, why 2 though? Are they strong enough to cover a whole house?

Any cheaper options out there?

Arbie

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks for that, why 2 though? Are they strong enough to cover a whole house?

Any cheaper options out there?

1 for us, 1 for a family member. Both working well. Got rid of UPC/Virgin. Good signal in 2-storey houses. I couldn't find any cheaper unlocked. Hard to find second hand but you could try adverts.ie or donedeal.

mayo.mick

I've this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-B593s-22-Unlocked-Wireless-Router/dp/B009QW3ZG4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463318867&sr=8-1&keywords=huawei+b593s-22

Could not rate it highly enough! Best investment ever I made Not sure if they can still be got, newer B315 version out now.

Thargor

If I buy this straight from Three (you need to add a €20 top up voucher to proceed but I need that anyway), will I get an unlocked router the same as if Id bought it off Amazon and have no issues putting a PAYG sim with unlimited data in it?

http://www.three.ie/online/data/prepay/huawei-b315/?src=p

Ten Pin

Thargor wrote: »

will I get an unlocked router

Almost certain it will be locked to 3 and may have some features locked too, VOIP for example and the PAYG phone SIM might not work as the 3 software might only allow broadband SIM and APN.

Thargor

Thanks, thats what I was thinking. Im just going to bite the bullet and grab a B593 or B315, I assume their internal antennas will be better than a smartphone or should I order an external one aswell?

THE ALM

Bought this a couple of months ago and happy out.

Using it with meteor and also in a bungalow and no problems so far.

tinner777

https://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-Unlocked-Wireless-Broadband-DWR-921/dp/B00BN36NMM

this got me sorted

briankell74

Hi
Does anyone know can i put a vodafone mobile sim in to a DLink router to test for 4g signal.
I have the router connected to two YAGI directional High Gain Antennas pointing at a Vodafone mast and wondering can I test for a 4G signal with a mobile SIM.
I will be borrowing the SIM of a Vodafone user that has 4G .
The router is a DLink and is Unlocked.
Any help would be great !!!!!!!!

Regards
BK

Berberis

Will a Three PAYG phone sim work in a Three Mifi device.
Can Three know if the sim is in a phone or the mifi device

padjocollins

Berberis wrote: »

Will a Three PAYG phone sim work in a Three Mifi device.
Can Three know if the sim is in a phone or the mifi device

would love to know the answer to this myself

i'm thinking of buying this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5577C-Ultra-Fast-Unlocked-Portable/dp/B011YM0OXU

tinner777

Berberis wrote: »

Will a Three PAYG phone sim work in a Three Mifi device.
Can Three know if the sim is in a phone or the mifi device

yes

padjocollins

tinner777 wrote: »

yes

yes to both quesitons i assume ?

ED E

padjocollins wrote: »

yes to both quesitons i assume ?

Yes it works and yes they know, but they dont currently care.

Shifty Shellshock

I'm with meteor pre pay and was wondering will any unlocked huawei modem work with my 4G sim? Or has it to be a specific one?

Halek

To anyone who has done this, do those routers take micro sims or the old big ones?
If the big ones, where did you get a converter?

Nyum Nyum

Halek wrote: »

To anyone who has done this, do those routers take micro sims or the old big ones?
If the big ones, where did you get a converter?

I use a Huawei B593s-22 and it takes a big Sim.

ED E

Halek wrote: »

To anyone who has done this, do those routers take micro sims or the old big ones?
If the big ones, where did you get a converter?

The adapter was included when three sold it to you in most cases.

Thargor

Every phone shop and repair place will sell the adaptors for €2 if you need them, probably be able to blag a free one from Carphone Warehouse/Vodafone/Meteor shops etc.

Gheadphone

Hey guys

I have a small white dongle from meteor and i need to have it outside the window (in a sealed plastic box) to get good signal.

In Maplin the guy told me that this would make life a lot better

https://www.maplin.ie/p/tp-link-archer-mr200-4g-lte-wifi-router-with-sim-card-slot-a54xu

Will this work just as well or better inside the window ( i assume the arial is stronger in the powered router).
Secondly can i just take out the sim from the dongle and put it directly into this? Will i get any issue from Meteor?
Finally can i use a signal repeater to get signal from this to another room?

Thanks in advance for the very basic advice.

padjocollins

Have a look at this forum Gheadphone
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102261214

THE ALM

Gheadphone wrote: »

Hey guys

I have a small white dongle from meteor and i need to have it outside the window (in a sealed plastic box) to get good signal.

In Maplin the guy told me that this would make life a lot better

https://www.maplin.ie/p/tp-link-archer-mr200-4g-lte-wifi-router-with-sim-card-slot-a54xu

Will this work just as well or better inside the window ( i assume the arial is stronger in the powered router).
Secondly can i just take out the sim from the dongle and put it directly into this? Will i get any issue from Meteor?
Finally can i use a signal repeater to get signal from this to another room?

Thanks in advance for the very basic advice.

Was doing the same as you with a dongle outside and changed to this router a year or more ago. You may find that it will work fine inside and close to the window, no real way of telling without trying although it will certainly be an upgrade on the dongle and should give you improved wifi coverage.

An option, which is how we have it set up, if your 3G/4G signal is poor would be then to add an external antenna. This would involve getting something like this. You would mount this outside as high up as you can safely get it and run the cable inside to the router, point the antenna at the mast, remove the two black antenna supplied with the router and connect the external antenna to these connections.

This might give you the option of placing the router in a more central location and getting a better wifi signal in the house. You can adjust the direction of the antenna until you get the best signal which might not necessarily be the one closest.

You could also use some powerline adapters if you find there is a wifi black spot.

Check online as you should find a better price for this router especially with sterling the way it is at the minute.

Gheadphone

padjocollins wrote: »

Have a look at this forum Gheadphone
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102261214

Thanks Padjo. So would you recommend the B593 over the Maplin router? Which antenna would work?

Gheadphone

Thanks a million The ALM. I think well have to go with an antenna. I'm not very familiar with this topic, is the one you posted pretty generic, i.e. will it fit with most routers? Ill try to stick it on the fascia and run the line through the window. Do i connect to both black antenna, i though one was for the wifi inside the house?

Thanks again

THE ALM wrote: »

Was doing the same as you with a dongle outside and changed to this router a year or more ago. You may find that it will work fine inside and close to the window, no real way of telling without trying although it will certainly be an upgrade on the dongle and should give you improved wifi coverage.

An option, which is how we have it set up, if your 3G/4G signal is poor would be then to add an external antenna. This would involve getting something like this. You would mount this outside as high up as you can safely get it and run the cable inside to the router, point the antenna at the mast, remove the two black antenna supplied with the router and connect the external antenna to these connections.

This might give you the option of placing the router in a more central location and getting a better wifi signal in the house. You can adjust the direction of the antenna until you get the best signal which might not necessarily be the one closest.

You could also use some powerline adapters if you find there is a wifi black spot.

Check online as you should find a better price for this router especially with sterling the way it is at the minute.

THE ALM

Gheadphone wrote: »

Thanks a million The ALM. I think well have to go with an antenna. I'm not very familiar with this topic, is the one you posted pretty generic, i.e. will it fit with most routers? Ill try to stick it on the fascia and run the line through the window. Do i connect to both black antenna, i though one was for the wifi inside the house?

Thanks again

GHeadphone, not all antenna fit all routers and can depend on the type of connection which, in the case of the MR200, is a SMA type although you can get adapters to change the type of connector.

The one I linked is a 4G Mimo type and you will need to connect the two leads to the back of the router. A Mimo antenna will receive a signal both in the vertical and horizontal plain hence the two connections. The wifi antennas are internal in the MR200 so will not make any difference removing the two black ones.

If you need a longer cable the antenna I linked is also available with a 10m cable.

The antenna is also directional so you would need to have an idea as to what direction you will be pointing it. Our nearest antenna is approx. 1km away but I find I get a stronger signal from one approx. 10km away in another direction.

Here is a map that will show you the various masts and if you zoom in and click on the mast symbol it will tell you the mobile operator and whether it is 4G (LTE) enabled or not.

Gheadphone

Ah brilliant so if i get the MR200 i can just pull the 2 antennae off and plug in the external one.

I just need to figure out whether the MR200 or the B593 is better and give it a whirl. Thanks again

THE ALM

That's it. The B593 is SMA as well so antenna should fit both.

padjocollins

Hi Gheatphone,
I got mine from poland as per oat23's comment in this forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102261214 .
It has the external antenna and it makes a massive difference. i'm way out in the sticks. I rant the wire through my window up along the outside wall. well worth getting . you can setup the box very easily to to your provider and to use the external antenana. instructions are with the box i think or there is a pdf link to it. I'm using 3's 20 euro a month data sim. does the job. speeds aren't fantastic (about 2mb) but a lot better than i was getting before (patchy, random disconnecting 3g).

Berberis

Being using a huawei e5573 for wifi in the house up to Thursday, but it appears to have given up the ghost and the signal bar is constantly red.
Put the sim in an old Three phone and that worked ok as a hotspot (not as good as the Huawei which its self was never too great either due to living in a field below a hill)

Tried re-setting the device and also brought the device with me when I had to go to dublin yesterday to see if it was maybe down to poor Three reception where I live but alas still the red light for signal.

Looks like I should invest in an unlocked Wifi router. Is this B593 the one to go for or is there a different one I should consider.
Basically I just want to able to put the sim in and away I go