Other devices used for mobile sims

biebiebie

So I’ve seen it mentioned recently. Using sims in mifi devices. And 5G routers. And not wanting to hijack those threads, so…

I was wondering, do you use any such devices? What use cases do you have?

And specifically, which devices do you use (make/model)? Do you recommend them; or best to avoid as they weren’t good purchases, but perhaps you’re somehow stuck with them. Maybe they’re old models, and newer ones are available? If sim routers, do you use external aerials? Are they portable with battery, or used at home instead of fibre/cable.

Anyhow I thought some boardies might like to impart their experience and knowledge, and perhaps prompt others to consider them.

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058391217/other-devices-used-for-mobile-sims

I’ve got alot of experience on this front, early 2000s Orange Broadband (now EE BT’s mobile arm) was my first broadband but it would slow to 2-3Mbps on a LLU ADSL2 24Mbps line so I used T-Mobile 3G in a HUAWEI ADSL router that supported some 3G modems, because the BT line was faulty in the city (& still is in 2025 won’t be resolved until BT lay the fibre the Gov had to put out to tender which BT won eyeroll, now delayed till 2031 due to Covid delays from 2022/23 financial year, target now 2028 but 2031 at the latest or public funding has to be returned, JOKE BT & Gov).

I travelled extensively in AU interstate driving where on them roads you need all three main networks (the now defunct Three AU merged with Vodafone just didn’t have the coverage outside metro areas).

Went 4G for broadband back in U.K., EU Directive for telecom still in place via Ofcom to date, will take a Parliament bill to change.

I’ll skip 4G LTE experience, now 5G has been out a good few years. But happy to take questions.

Current set up TP Link is X50-5G as FWA Broadband in U.K. at the moment £200 Amazon. Got a backup smaller FWA unit ZTE MC888 (£100 last year second hand from CEX had it shipped over) which is my travel FWA as compact. 5G Mifi ZTE MU5001 (a variant of the Aussie Telstra (incumbent) designed MU500, which was circa £100 with a 30 day plan late 2020 or 2021 during Covid as the HUAWEI 5G FWA £500 was returned as it couldn’t thanks on to 5G, MU5001 in same location had no problems.

5G phones
iPhone 12 Mini backup.
iPhone 14 main driver.
Reno Z 8(?) Andriod network testing app.

Mixx 3 was a Vodafone U.K. hotspot during Covid before MU5001 now a home Android device.

Used all on all UK networks, usually via MVNOs.

I generally use 2/3 networks minimum in countries, 2 in Ireland, 4 in UK as coverage is worse than Ireland because of landmass especially the further north you go, southern England is quite flat and easier to have signal on all networks.

And yes I hate fibre over LTE/5G as it’s fixed, kudos to Eir though it’s one of the best offers I’ve ever seen worldwide the €9.99 sim if you have their broadband.

Experience has taught me Tenda & HUAWEI 5G are crap, can’t hold 5G signal like ZTE or TP-Link.

5G antenna are the Achilles heel, routers should ship with the manufacturers with a choice of strength at purchase, this is a pet hate of mine and I find having 2-4 cheap MVNO providers payg bundle or 30 day contract (bill pay) much more efficient for signal than antennas, some of the best out there will not have a improvement even if you change the router antenna settings - it can make it worse. of signal/speed are that bad on a 5G phone plugging in charging on a window (test all) and you are a fixed location get a outdoor Power Over Ethernet Fixed Wireless Access router over a indoor 5G router and antennas (that wont apply to everyone who needs Omni directional antenna where POE FWA directional router fails them, a minority).

Using mobile networks for alternative to broadband things like Sky Go app etc to download rather than stream is key where you don’t need an antenna just some planning of sims & visual streaming services & most places you will be fine, unless your up a mountain and then you should get Starlink (mine V2.0 has been in a box UK side since last year to collect to take back to Ireland to activate on €50 plan, £125 new when they ran a promo for some UK postcodes (eircode) and were obviously clearing a backlog of stock knowing V.3 & V.4 were coming.

When they emailed and asked me to sell it back to them for non activation and asked how much I asked for the going rate of circa £400 on the website, they never even replied haha.

Oh ASUS and some others have routers you can Ethernet from a 5G FWA Router or MiFi and also use your mobile or preferably a cheap 5G Android mobile & a mix of then & sims can bring you fibre speeds wirelessly.

So yup I’ve got an extensive above average use of sims in non mobiles going back decades so if I can help any one with questions or opinion, experience fire away.

In my opinion if you can get 5G FWA or/AND 5G MiFi cheap invest in 2 or 3 Irish MVNO’s rather than a fixed broadband connection. Even camping out in the sticks you can have three networks making a perfectly reasonable fibre connection mix with an inverter for your vehicle.

I used Three prepay 5G mobile, Voda Ireland prepay in MU5001 and it covered me well, rare no signal is Im not out in the mountains often, unless I’m really horny (haha) burnt off energy.

Given the cheapass Sky sim now becoming my main driver (possibly) at €15 I’ll get a GoMo & possibly Three sim again & stop swapping sim between ZTE MC888 and MU5001. How that pans out I will keep you updated.

Lastly if you FWA for broadband always get a telephone port router so if you ever have to you can throw your main driver sim in it if ever required and take calls & check the manufacturer app for your text messages, versatility. Hot spotting your mobile device causes heat and therefore damage, don’t do it esp with an expensive 5G mobile often, its shelf life will degrade = Buy a cheap 5G Android if needs be (Voda has a unlocked Xiaomi Redmi 12 €69.99 if you port a number in, easy from a off the shelf prepay sim, just register it & port the number out to Voda deal https://n.vodafone.ie/shop/phones/xiaomi/redmi-12-5g.html?gallery=payg&productClass=SmartPhone&fg=true

Lastly I’ve no experience of Eir at all so I can’t help on that front other than with their bands and suitable product selection if that’s what you need, I always say buy a FWA/MiFi that covers all or most band of all networks at least in your home country. Future compatibility.

Question: what’s the more common phrase because Ireland networks use prepay, payg (so English Vodafone!) and prepaid.

UK is payg (& contract) AU is prepaid (& post paid). I find it quite confusing as the generally consensus in other countries is one term (with one network always being different ie O2 U.K. ‘prepay’ and everyone else using payg).

Kudos to the Aussies for common sense ‘pre & post’ is defo the best terminology.

Victor

Some home alarms have the option of using a SIM to connect to the monitoring centre on top of / instead of using a phone line.

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123097135#Comment_123097135

I wouldn't advise such unless you are prepared for initial cost & cost of data/calls/text to remote monitoring company (many have premium rate number$ & text$ ontop of the monthly fee that the system sends).

(The more the initial set up cost the more likely they will take standard calls/text out of allowances/unlimited sims. But these can be €1000+ systems).

1) Expense

2) when any part goes sim slot (or modem chip)/(included/doorbell)cam/alarm it expensive to fix or replace.

For example for an old relly in U.K. I have a (€150) Netgear M2 & Three U.K. business unlimited data (£6) set up with a £40 wifi camera with its own solar charger, if you buy a camera brand that also has a alarm unit with minimum of WiFi (preferable Ethernet too) & always keep the internet access separate (even a back up to a alarm unit that takes a sim). Consider also POE camera with a MiFi Ethernet port that can POE (not sure if NM2 can?).

Use a unit like NM2 means that if the electricity fails it has a back up battery as does the solar panel camera with its own battery.

It’s a basic set up for the old rellie but it works for them to see who’s coming up the path with app alerts to run camera video streaming, and talkback - especially if they are out to give a delivery person a key code for the (camera covered) shed to drop it there. Also as fellow (remote) admin I can remote do things if I’m told there is a problem the old rellie doesn’t understand from across the emerald pond.

The Continental Op

Electronic gates and access systems. Call the number to open the gate.

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123098079#Comment_123098079

Real people do or have servants, I’d rather the later solution haha, I must have been living under a rock because apart from VERY expensive gate systems I’ve seen in VERY expensive air bnb’s or large enterprise (including farm monitoring) I didn’t realise these were so mainstream now.

Hope prices have dropped with mainstream as these used to cost anywhere between €5-50000K

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123098175#Comment_123098175

All I know is (rich) neighbor has a gate system with its own phone number - great idea for guests but I just climb over the fence ;-)

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123098380#Comment_123098380

Neighbours with benefits, coming & going with no entry trace eh ;) ;)

I remember about circa maybe 25+ yrs ago seeing a set up very rural for a mates parents place (beyond rich but frugal) they had zero phone signal so it was a enterprise set up where it was all MDOS (i think) and linked to a pager because the pager lower frequency got signal where mobile networks didn’t and they would call the pager line instant answer due to call charges just approaching the (long) drive on the main road at the gate and send pager keywords all programmed in some algorithm for days (or dates?) and different for family users for security, as there was no phone coverage at the house or Internet other than dial up (which is still the case with a 5G main and dial up back up).

There was truck lead batteries in the gate pillar with all this (the other pillar was their ‘postbox’ buy could take parcels again his pager opening if you called a mobile number that would divert to the house landline (or mobile) and the delivery people would access the parcelbox door that had a letter box for mail, they would need to charge the truck size batteries up like once a month. The IT was some reinforced notebook thing you could just flip the screen and admin login.

Was StarTrek enterprise stuff at the time. Apparently it was just shy of £60K (in the 1990s I’m sure you could buy a semi for that) including the actual electronic gate/pliiars and tech in the 90’s. The pager was like the cheapest item to buy haha but the essential link.

The parents used to drive about in old Land Rovers from the 60/70s you’d never guess they had money or a fancy as fook gate keeper system.

biebiebie

@ScotsGoneIRE if you we’re to recommend 1 x 5G sim router and 1 x 5G mifi device, what will you recommend?

Is there any 1 device that can cover both scenarios for flexibility?

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123099006#Comment_123099006

ZTE are solid the MC801/MC888 are snug and portable unlike most other 5G Router “towers”, I just put it in a large bubble wrap bag and wrap around with some elastic bands to hold it into place.

TPLink 5G routers are solid BUT unless you are in excellent 5G coverage area don’t get one as they use lower Class LTE as a stationary device to fall back if it loses 5G and you go from 400Mbps to circa 40Mbps - that’s why it’s a stationery device on stature and speed, not really dependable or easily portable outside a vehicle. Software band selection is also a bit of a pain via the Deco app, defo as designed a stationary product for a broadband/fibre alternative.

Go for dual sim 5G router if you can spend a little more (changing SIM cards damages them) also good to have back up.

Cheap 5G Android make a great hotspot but can heat up, good for occasional and not prolonged use, will suit most people as a back up or

Also Mediatek modems in my experience are far better at the lower product range than lower Qualcomm equivalents.

I noticed as CAT phones went bust retailers are selling off a Mediatek 750 (i think) CAT Q10 Mifi (circa €100 places) perfectly great for most people but again there’s no manufacturer support only the retailer protections in law for faults, that would suit more harder use than a cheap Android for heat dissipation.

Most USA based 5G Mifi only support band n77 (or is it 78?) as high speed 5G as America has other lower frequencies on 5G, T-Mobile is 600MHz (can’t recall the n band) so unless you are going out to grannies wee Irish ramshackle bothy in the middle of the sticks it will do hold in built up areas and 10-15 outside them urban areas, you can get them cheap cheap as 335M people means a lot of refurbished devices.

MiFi again like dual sim router get a 5G MiFi with redundancy if you can afford the extra cost for Ethernet and antenna ports rather than just USB-C handling wired data transmission as it will charge at the same time usually (software dependant) and that’s not always good if it’s sucking energy out your other device in some circumstances so it’s a redundancy in itself to not be redundant with your battery being depleted by the MiFi.

Would also say MiFi OS that can work with battery present or not is a good place, if you are plugged in fairly regular battery life will suffer and they ain’t cheap.

For me Netgear MiFi 4G or 5G is well overpriced, find another manufacturer, their online support forms show poor support too!

Like ZTE modems above the MU5001 MiFi can run a browser script to lock bands etc even on non generic Provider firmware, mine was a Voda U.K. purchase with 30 day contract a few years ago still solid, oh and that reminds me about the MC888 its portable but fully band lockable but has slightly better performance than the MU5001 as it’s wired to the wall and more consistent than MU50001 which on battery or charging cable have some power fluctuations via the MiFi OS that’s designed to protect it from fluctuations & heat damage. Both Qualcomm along with MC801, I found Mediatek lower specs to be better speeds and better in battery though on MiFi & phones alone.

Performance on a Qualcomm IPhone 12 mini was poorer than the basic entry Mediatek 5G modems in Androids when I had that as my main driver.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123098072#Comment_123098072

I think the alarm market is very different in the UK based on your statement there

My alarm is SIM based, I need to top up the SIM four to five times a year with a fiver, the monitoring number is 1800 so the only cost is my own text replies and the network insisting on getting some money out of me to keep the number alive. System was professionally installed and vastly less than a grand, and is now 7 years old.

I would recommend ASUS routers for giving you basically the functionality of a high end consumer router on a 4G/5G device. Most support dual-WAN also so you can set them up for failover between wired and mobile data.

ScotsGoneIRE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123099177#Comment_123099177

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123099177#Comment_123099177

I’ve no idea these days 20+ years ago I had a BT one in my flat that used the landline (remember them haha) with no inclusive numbers to the reporting centre, it was premium charge then they sold it off then it was discontinued, was really just for security not proper monitoring.

2015/16 I got a quote for several known brands and it was extortionate so I just got a 2 way talk camera attached to wifi for the door but call charges wanted to charge for a text to say click here to open the stream link (in the app) when motion was detracted so you were charged a premium unit to remote monitoring centre wok then charged you 10p a text every time someone went past the door and the motion activated camera.

Then there was the £1000+ alarm/1 camera system that allowed normal inclusive mobile number/texts so any sim but the outlay was enormous and didn’t include install extras like drilling through a wall (lol) for cabling. Granted I’ve never bought a property in Ire so aye I’ve only ever had a remote cam/door bell camera with app alerts via wifi so no idea how much it is in Ire these days.

Defo would install a full unit if I was ground apartment or house I owned anywhere. App alerts are great and I can hit record as soon as a stream opens, or talk to whoever.

ASUS is what I use failover with Ethernet & USB tethering, I did that in U.K. previously with slow ADSL speed broadband & 2 mobile networks via 5G router & Android, also a TP Link MR200 was it when it was LTE/5G Android set up, rarely use it now but it’s there if needs be, fantastic bit of networking kit ASUS routers as master & 2 GSM slave modems, much cheaper in Ire than the UK even now and prices have come way down.

Sure mine is dual wan but I just used & usb tethering. Only had to use it rare in weak spots with Three tethered and Vodafone MU5001 on Ethernet/WAN. Can’t remember my exact set up settings now but it’s a (old now) grand bit of kit the ASUS RT-AX56U.

Defo if I need a new router I will seek another ASUS. Defo a highlight out all the routers I’ve used in 20+ years wish I had bought one a lot sooner!

A Law

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123097125#Comment_123097125

Hi @ScotsGoneIRE . Just looking for a bit of advice. My current set up is a tp links mr600 4g router. Just got a new sky SIM for it, €15 for life so looking to upgrade kit. Thinking of the Deco x50 based on your recommendaton? Coverage is very good according to the vodaphone map. What you reckon? Cheers

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Deco-X50-5G-Supports-External-Management/dp/B0BWS5WBQ7/ref=pd_lpo_d_sccl_1/257-4025799-3640040?pd_rd_w=V21Dj&content-id=amzn1.sym.716712ef-df33-47df-ae89-8f57d61f71e1&pf_rd_p=716712ef-df33-47df-ae89-8f57d61f71e1&pf_rd_r=DX2QEJ86DAG5VEWPK2GY&pd_rd_wg=tOCpG&pd_rd_r=0bb5f45c-8146-496f-b1b2-d66e56f0ec8b&pd_rd_i=B0BWS5WBQ7&th=1

biebiebie

@A Law I don’t think you’ll get a direct reply on that request. As like the name says, ScotsGoneFromBoards! i.e. Banned

A Law

Cheers, hadn't spotted that 😩