Using a phone as a hotspot: best network?

staygold

Hi all,

I'm currently living in work accommodation where there is no internet. While I can use my phone for general internet, I'm unable to easily access internet on my laptop and as I'm with Vodafone, I'm unable to use my phone's data allowance for tethering. The other guys I live with have gotten mobile broadband but I'm wary of being locked into a long term contract and I don't need much internet anyway so I'm thinking of getting a sim card for it and using it for pay-as-you-go tethering. That way, I can use internet on my laptop for the when it's needed and I wouldn't be tied to a contact.

Would this be viable? If so, are there any prepay network plans that offer decent data and allow tethering?

ED E

Get a Three Phone SIM. Unlimited data €20. Tethering is prohibited but they dont prevent it.

staygold

Will it work? Vodafone prohibit tethering too and it just doesn't work if I try. Will it work for Three?

Ten Pin

Vodafone prohibit tethering too and it just doesn't work if I try

If data works on the handset itself then you should be able to tether unless they've recently changed policy.

If it's an iPhone or a Vodafone branded handset then they may have it blocked but it should work on any SIM free android.

Check APN type in Settings. Set it to default or leave blank and then try to tether.

babelfish1990

staygold wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm currently living in work accommodation where there is no internet. While I can use my phone for general internet, I'm unable to easily access internet on my laptop and as I'm with Vodafone, I'm unable to use my phone's data allowance for tethering. The other guys I live with have gotten mobile broadband but I'm wary of being locked into a long term contract and I don't need much internet anyway so I'm thinking of getting a sim card for it and using it for pay-as-you-go tethering. That way, I can use internet on my laptop for the when it's needed and I wouldn't be tied to a contact.

Would this be viable? If so, are there any prepay network plans that offer decent data and allow tethering?

Eir Mobile have no restrictions on tethering. I tether a lot, and it works fine. €20 for unlimited voice, text and 15GB of data, prepaid. Social media, including YouTube and EirSport TV app's are unlimited. 15GB is a reasonable limit for most mobile users.

Be wary of any operator who offers totally unlimited - no point having unlimited if the network crawls at busy times due to congestion.

la ultima guagua

http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057785761/2

I guess its meant for use with a MiFi but would it work in a phone ? ( esp a dual SIM phone )

Will I Am Not

babelfish1990 wrote: »

Eir Mobile have no restrictions on tethering. I tether a lot, and it works fine. €20 for unlimited voice, text and 15GB of data, prepaid. Social media, including YouTube and EirSport TV app's are unlimited. 15GB is a reasonable limit for most mobile users.

Be wary of any operator who offers totally unlimited - no point having unlimited if the network crawls at busy times due to congestion.

15GB isn't all that much if you're using it as your main online connection and your mobile.

The free social media and YouTube stuff won't apply to tethering either.

babelfish1990

The Fake Sheikh wrote: »

15GB isn't all that much if you're using it as your main online connection and your mobile.

The free social media and YouTube stuff won't apply to tethering either.

Staygold stated that "I don't need much internet anyway" - so there is a good chance that 15GB will be perfectly adequate.

The free social media and YouTube do work when tethering on Eir Mobile - no impact on my data usage allowance. Eir do not differentiate between usage while on a phone or tethering. The only restriction is if you are roaming, and then they are treated as data usage whether on the phone or tethering. In my view Eir and Vodafone are right to have reasonable limits to their data allowances to curb widespread abuse of bandwidth for peer-to-peer and Netflix. This is one of the key reasons why their networks outperform the others. I have lived in several countries where operators overload their networks. Ireland is lucky to still have two good networks that have managed to restrict excessive data use.

Will I Am Not

babelfish1990 wrote: »

Staygold stated that "I don't need much internet anyway" - so there is a good chance that 15GB will be perfectly adequate.

The free social media and YouTube do work when tethering on Eir Mobile - no impact on my data usage allowance. Eir do not differentiate between usage while on a phone or tethering. The only restriction is if you are roaming, and then they are treated as data usage whether on the phone or tethering. In my view Eir and Vodafone are right to have reasonable limits to their data allowances to curb widespread abuse of bandwidth for peer-to-peer and Netflix. This is one of the key reasons why their networks outperform the others. I have lived in several countries where operators overload their networks. Ireland is lucky to still have two good networks that have managed to restrict excessive data use.

I wasn't aware of that. I tether to watch football on the laptop when I'm away from home and I've been using a paid streaming site instead, its better quality but I would make do with Eir Sports if that's the case.

babelfish1990

The Fake Sheikh wrote: »

I wasn't aware of that. I tether to watch football on the laptop when I'm away from home and I've been using a paid streaming site instead, its better quality but I would make do with Eir Sports if that's the case.

Yes - if you look in the Eir Vision Go FAQ, under "Streaming and Data Usage", you will see that it is stated that the Eir TV streaming app does not count towards usage on Eir Mobile 3G/4G. This applies to all the Eir TV apps - Eir Vision Go, Eir Sport & Eir Movies. Eir actually suggest that you tether to Chromecast to get the big-screen experience.

http://support.eir.ie/tv/eirvisiongo

RoYoBo

I have a sim free Motorola G5 on Vodafone and have no problem tethering. Depending on my projected needs for the month ahead, I use either a 1Gb add-on or the Vodafone X plan with 12Gb - both work fine. The one thing to remember is to always connect via the Vodafone live APN and actually delete the other one.

Do you have an Iphone or a Vodafone brand phone OP? Seems like that might be the problem. I gave up on Three as the connection was unstable and the speeds available were dire for the most part.

Vodafone don't prohibit tethering. They stopped a good few years ago now. Comes out of your allowance once the live APN is used.