Working from home - no internet connection

jdooley28

I will be moving house in the new year but will be staying with someone for the month of January who does not have internet in the house.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best option for wfh for the month. I know I could use a mobile hotspot but with 2 of us wfh full time i don't know if this is feasible. I had a look at renting a portable broadband device from a company at travelwifi.ie maybe some has used one before. The products seem to be aimed more at tourists coming into the country for a holiday but might do the job.

We would like to be able connect a few devices like a smart tv, speakers, etc but just something that would let use connect the 2 laptops to log into work would cover use fine for the few weeks.

Thanks very much in advance to anyone who could offer some advise or experience on whats best. Also we current broadband provider is virgin media and from what i remember its just the basic package\ speed if thats relevant?

smuggler.ie

TravelWiFi coverage checker link pointing to https://www.three.ie/explore/coverage-checker/ - go ahead, click the link, so you can sense what to expect from service provider.

MiFi might even cost you bit less compare to rent and its yours after - sell it if you like.
Also it would be unlocked to any network, not just three. ISP could be deal breaker what speed you'd get depend on area

To be able to connect non-WiFi devices you will need 4G router.
Reception on router would be better than on MiFi dongle.

jdooley28

I've looked at the cost of buying a mobile broadband router and most seem to have some inbuilt data allowance as part of the purchase so yeah looks like buying a mobile router and either using the inbuilt data plus PAYG if required is much better than renting.

I had never heard of term MI-FI until now but I'm not very up to date on technology!

If anyone has a particular product they could recommend that would be great. I wouldnt say money isn't a factor but main thing I'd like is something that can get us into work everyday and possibly being able to stream stuff on the TV as a bonus. Its an small to middle sized town so the coverage should be ok.

smuggler.ie

jdooley28 wrote: »

I've looked at the cost of buying a mobile broadband router and most seem to have some inbuilt data allowance as part of the purchase so yeah looks like buying a mobile router and either using the inbuilt data plus PAYG if required is much better than renting.

Looking on Amz UK , those SIM for UK market(roaming might be an option) and not even sure if they are "preloaded" - could be just be empty SIM, marketing gimmick.
As long its "unlocked" should take any provider card.

jdooley28 wrote: »

If anyone has a particular product they could recommend that would be great. I wouldnt say money isn't a factor but main thing I'd like is something that can get us into work everyday and possibly being able to stream stuff on the TV as a bonus. Its an small to middle sized town so the coverage should be ok.

I am using Huawei B525 - good enough. B535 is later model with similar functionality, some features/capabilities missing(phone ports) - might not be relevant to you.


Before commit, test coverage and speeds at least on the phone, in the peak time especially. Try multiple providers if avail.

ED E

jdooley28 wrote: »

Its an small to middle sized town so the coverage should be ok.

TEST IT.


A small town could crucify you, one supersite and the telco says job done. 200Mb between 1000 homes/3000+ phones. Come 9AM everyone hits Zoom and it collapses.

MarkR

Check here to find out what mobile companies have a mast near you.

https://siteviewer.comreg.ie/

jdooley28

Thanks for all the replies. So both Three and Vodafone have close by masts.

I'm thinking of buying a Huawei mobile router off amazon(model tbc) thats unlocked to all networks, I know thats a bit of an investment for a month or 2 but i can live with that as i can keep it for travel or use when i move on if it works out well or sell on if i really want too. Then buy a preloaded data SIM for Vodafone for £50 off amazon, plug it in and work away. Is it that simple or am i missing something?

Doubting myself as looking at amazon and both Vodafone and O2 sell unlimted data for a month for £50 (or 200 GB for £45) while Three sell 24GB for £36.

I'm sure there are probably easier\cheaper ways of doing this like just hot spotting off the phones all day but I'm not particularly technically minded so anything that does the job and wont cost a fortune where I'm throwing money everyday into topping up data is good for me

Ten Pin

Doubting myself as looking at amazon and both Vodafone and O2 sell unlimted data for a month for £50 (or 200 GB for £45) while Three sell 24GB for £36.

Get an Irish SIM, the most widely used is a PAYG Three plan, 20e / 4 weeks for unlimited data.

Depending on coverage, there's Vodafone X PAYG (unlimited) or Eir PAYG (80GB), also 20e / 4 weeks.

Test out a SIM from each MNO to find out which has strongest signal at peak time.

There's no benefit to buying a UK SIM, they cost more for less data and roaming data might be limited.


4G routers can be bought on Amazon for between 60 and 150 pounds. Unless this is for permanent use then a £60 router will work fine, if you want to future proof then spend a bit more.


Phone hotspot is the simplest option but may need to put the phone at a window to get better signal, a spare phone is handy for that purpose. All it needs is for the laptop/PC to have WiFi connectivity on board or through a USB WiFi dongle.

jdooley28

thanks again. Last question. Why doesn't everyone just buy a decent router and use the sim only 20e 4 weeks unlimited data? Is it because fibre broadband or whatever else they use that's wired as opposed mobile is better\faster\more reilable\better servive coverage etc because it doesn't seem cheaper or not locked into a contract

ED E

One street with Virgin has 2500Mb to go around. A whole townland might have 400Mb with mobile. Theres limited capacity which you feel at peak times. Also many want TV.

Bikerman2019

4g routers are on adverts. Ie for as little as 50 euro. Stick in a sim like gomo or 3 and away you go. Not sure about 3, but gomo allows 80 gig per month

Atlantic Dawn

Have a look on eBay too for unlocked routers, plenty unlocked from UK.

AutoTuning

Test the signal with multiple prepay operators and also be prepared to put an antenna outside to ensure get solid coverage. The little USB dongles are fine for occasional use, but if you’re looking at using it in a serious way, you’d want a proper setup.

Check out what’s available using your Eircode (postal code)

https://www.airwire.ie/index.php/avail

This will let you know what landline fibre and DSL services are available over either OpenEir or Siro’s access networks.

You might also have some decent local wireless services and if you’re in a cabled town/city check Virgin Media. Neither of these are listed in the above search.

Get your fixed broadband subscription in quickly. You can connect to with any of them. Just checkout comparison sites like Bonkers.ie and check reviews.

Even though many of the landline / fibre providers (except virgin) are using the OpenEir or Siro access network, they have their own core networks and onward connectivity. Some are better than others. There’s a misconception that they just resell Eir broadband.

RiseToMe

Where are you based? I've an Eir mobile broadband dongle here if you're in Meath /Dublin