Internet access

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pcatterall

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I got one of those boosters for my WIFI, it is pretty good but my hopes of free WIFI ( using my BT FON ) have not materialised.
I really would like more reliable access to the internet but will have to improve my knowledge and skills a bit ( with your help!!)
I just have an old DELL (400?) laptop and a simple mobile phone ( and my Kindle!!)
I find that my kindle will access the internet via the phone network but it is very slow.
I know that 'proper' mobile phones can access the internet but I think I would find the screen size an issue.
Can I get my lap top adapted to access the internet via the phone network or should I buy a 'tablet' sized note pad that will do this? Is this an IPOD?
You will guess that my knowledge of these devices is limited and that any advice will have to be simple!!
I assume that I will be better off with some kind of contract as well so will appreciate advice on this as well.
I guess that I would use the internet for an hour a day and will want to use it in France as well as in the UK and possibly also the Med ( if we ever get there !!)
most grateful for the usual good advice.
 
Most modern mobile phones have internet access built in. I use the now superseded Nokia E63, which gives a reasonably fast internet connection as long as there is a 3g network connection available (3g is faster). It can also be connected to my laptop by a process called 'tethering' via a USB connector. The phone downloaded a short programme to the laptop, which allows the Laptop to use the phone as a modem. Not as easy as wi fi, but works adequately. I havea very generous PAYG deal with 3 network which gives me more internet data than I normally want, free! I dont think they offer that particular deal now, but the current deal is still quite reasonable.

Overseas 'roaming' is expensive, and the free allowances do not apply abroad. If i am abroad for any length of time I simply buy a local company Sim card, the cost of which can vary, but is always cheaper than 'roaming' charges. To do this the phone has to be 'unlocked' from the network you bought it from. This can be dead easy or quite difficult, it depends on the make. The Nokia was not easy and involved several attempts and phone calls to 3s customer service department before they got it right: its usually a matter of entering a code sequence, but obtaining the right code can be a saga!

Not as easy as using local wi-fi usually, but it works quite welle nough to pick Email, keep abreast of YBW forums, social groups, and check weather forecasts etc. You have to be a bit careful if downloading a lot of graphics, as that can get expoensive. Going outside the EU can be a bit more complicated, and you have to check that your phone works on the same bands as the local companies. My Nokia did not receive data in Canada for example, although normal voice calls worked OK.
 
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pcatterall said:
I got one of those boosters for my WIFI, it is pretty good but my hopes of free WIFI ( using my BT FON ) have not materialised.
Click to expand...

I guess you must be somewhere 'out-in-the-wilds'.... which is great. On my mooring right now I have a choice of 3 BT Openzone/FON signals, and 2 other open signals. I would guess 70% of the time around the Solent I can find a free signal. The rest of the time I use a dongle (or phone-as-a-dongle).
 
Be careful when you go to France. I bought a Vodafone Dongle to use with my Laptop when I went to France. Mistake. I should have bought Orange. (french)
When I got France, I found that Vodafone are not in France. So they have an arrangement with some other phone suppliers, Movistar Etc. And where I was the signal was rubbish. And the Vodafone Dongle would not choose Orange.
My Vodafone phone would not work unless I went upstairs as the signal was rubbish. So I bought a Pay as You Go Orange Phone and had a perfect signal everywhere.
So whatever phone supplier you have dont assume you will get Mobile Broadband when you cross the channel.
 
nimbusgb said:
LOL. We use about 50gb a month at home and no or very infrequent online tv or movies!
Click to expand...

If all you're doing is browsing then there's a good chance that traffic is not you! To use 50GB a month you'd need to use 49GB of movies, music, streaming or downloads - web and normal email won't account for anything like that even if you're constantly browsing unless you get huge attachments to email all the time.
 
Many thanks guys. So I guess that ,in terms of basic technology, the 'internet dongle' you refer to is a device that enables a link to the internet via the mobile phone network ?
It seems also that if I have a mobile with 3 or 4g capability I can use this to 'link' ( in some way) to my laptop.
Thanks for the info to date.
 
One thing to be wary of is that many mobile phone contracts now specifically forbid 'tethering' - i.e. using a mobile phone as a data modem to connect a laptop.
For most mobile internet stuff these days, it's hardly worth bothering with a laptop anyway, just get a decent smartphone with a nice clear screen and a good package mix of calls, texts and data that suits your usage.
 
BT FON?

savageseadog said:
What was wrong with BT FON?
Click to expand...

Bt has been trying to sell this to me for some time. They tell me I can pick up a signal almost anywhere. This is not the case. Picking up a signal elsware away from hot spots relies on other peoples wi fi connections in their homes. Some of my neighbours use it but turn it off after use. You can pick up the odd signal but I would not rely on it.

Personally, I use 3G PAYG. £15 for three gigs. Some may say expensive but I can get a signal in most places. If the signal is a bit low I plug the dongle onto a 3 metre usb lead and put it up on a pole outside. Please note that it is best to tape the dongle to the lead or it could fall off into the oggin.

Hope this helps.


Regards.

Alan.
 
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Yes Alan, FON has disapointed so far. I have ordered a cheap Orange dongle on a one month contract just to see if it works, if it does then I will order a better package.
There seems to be logic in considering a good phone with 4g if I can use that as a modem for my laptop when I need the bigger screen, that would seem to be the best of both worlds? phone when I'm on walkabout and lap top at the chart table?
Greenallien refers to a 'ban' on tethering..... I wonder why this is as the customer is paying for the 'connection' and data quantity with the larger screen just being a 'viewing device'.
Thanks again
 
Greenalien refers to a 'ban' on tethering..... I wonder why this is as the customer is paying for the 'connection' and data quantity with the larger screen just being a 'viewing device'.
Click to expand...

Simple - money! If you get a relatively expensive calls package, such as 3's 'One Plan' (£25 a month) then they allow tethering. However, the main thing the operators seem to want to avoid is people with Pay As You Go phones using them for excesive data access - and you're likely to use more data with a connected laptop than just with a phone - for example, because the screen is bigger, it takes more data to fill it. They'd much rather sell you a data dongle.
 
Reptile Smile said:
Doesn't solve the abroad issue, though, does it?
Click to expand...

OK! Get an unlocked MiFi on eBay, or wherever, and buy the best value local PAYG SIM wherever you are. I would guess that Italy remains the best place for lots of PAYG data for not too much money.

In places where the PAYG data is too expensive, anchor near a free wifi signal, or discipline yourself to visit free wifi cafes for emails etc.
 
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