Mifi routers

keithgdg

keithgdg

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A question for the brains trust.....I have a 3 mobile mifi router on board that, although not too fast, works well enough in the uk. If, when I go off to the med, I get payg sims for each country will they work in the router?
 
In principle, yes, but you do have to look a bit more carefully at the specifications of the device and the service provider. Some devices may be locked - whihc means that they will only work with a SIM from the company that supplied the device - most mobile devices are heavily subsidised and the suppliers try to discourage you using their device without them collecting the call charges. Most devices can be unlocked fairly easily - sometimes by reprogramming them with new firmware and sometimes by paying the original supplier a fee to send the control message that will unlock it.

There are also several frequency bands in use - most modern devices can run on all the commonly used bands, but there certainly are devices supplied in Europe that cannot work with some of the American carriers, for example.
 
keithgdg said:
A question for the brains trust.....I have a 3 mobile mifi router on board that, although not too fast, works well enough in the uk. If, when I go off to the med, I get payg sims for each country will they work in the router?
Click to expand...

It will be locked to Three. You can get an unlock code from a variety of ebay sellers for a few quid, or you can pay Three to help you unlock it.
 
Exactly my problem. The 3 shop in the uk said they could return it to their factory to be unlocked, and that it could then be used in france with a local SIM payg. Here in France I am told it is very difficult to find the "right" sim that will work, since it is discouraged. Any practical solutions will be appreciated!
 
lindsay said:
Exactly my problem. The 3 shop in the uk said they could return it to their factory to be unlocked, and that it could then be used in france with a local SIM payg. Here in France I am told it is very difficult to find the "right" sim that will work, since it is discouraged. Any practical solutions will be appreciated!
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I'm puzzled why it should be difficult in France. I've used 3g data services from most of the big mobile carriers in France - admittedly roaming on a British SIM in a British supplied mobile device - so the service certainly exists and is supported. A few years ago, my wife was connected into a UK governemnt computer system, fixing it as I drove us round the Paris ring-road - the service was fine, but expensive - but we were not paying for it!
 
lindsay said:
Exactly my problem. The 3 shop in the uk said they could return it to their factory to be unlocked, and that it could then be used in france with a local SIM payg. Here in France I am told it is very difficult to find the "right" sim that will work, since it is discouraged. Any practical solutions will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Use an unlocked smartphone - most Samsung, iPhone and some Nokias will operate as a local hotspot or mifi, using bluetooth or another comms medium.
 
charles_reed said:
Use an unlocked smartphone - most Samsung, iPhone and some Nokias will operate as a local hotspot or mifi, using bluetooth or another comms medium.
Click to expand...

Certainly true, though I'm not sure it solves the practical problems - almost all subsidised smartphones will also be locked, so you are back to the same issue of having to get it unlocked somehow.
 
lindsay said:
Exactly my problem. The 3 shop in the uk said they could return it to their factory to be unlocked, and that it could then be used in france with a local SIM payg. Here in France I am told it is very difficult to find the "right" sim that will work, since it is discouraged. Any practical solutions will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
The thing about finding the "right" sim is complete tosh. Most dongles take full sized SIM cards, which are standard. Just make sure you get one of those. Orange France do a 2GB for €20 prepay voucher. It's not the best deal in the world, but you use it when you want it, and just stick on a new voucher when you run out of data. Buy the vouchers in Orange shops. Just need to make sure the dongle/mifi is unlocked.
charles_reed said:
Use an unlocked smartphone - most Samsung, iPhone and some Nokias will operate as a local hotspot or mifi, using bluetooth or another comms medium.
Click to expand...
An iPhone will only let you enable tethering if the network has activated this for your account. I wouldn't rely on this working when swapping around prepay SIM cards.
 
lindsay said:
Exactly my problem. The 3 shop in the uk said they could return it to their factory to be unlocked, and that it could then be used in france with a local SIM payg. Here in France I am told it is very difficult to find the "right" sim that will work, since it is discouraged. Any practical solutions will be appreciated!
Click to expand...

Which model of Mifi is it. As far as I can tell, the eBay unlocked give you a code based on your IMEI number, and some instructions on how to connect to your computer and unlock it. About £3 or so.

I haven't done it yet, but i got the info from a few people on the canalworld forum, who say it was successful.

Can't see why it would have to be sent away - perhaps to justify the price?
 
I'm not sure if this muddies the water unnecessarily...

Some dongles come with software which tries to install itself when you plug them in, I understand this is true for some MiFi devices too. When this happens its not sufficient to just unlock the device as the software installed will also constrain the devices access to the originators network. I have a Huawei device that does this, I've worked around it by installing Huawei's Mobile Partner software (http://huaweinews.com/2013/08/download-mobile-partner-latest/) and rejecting the device's attempts to install its own version.

Its also possible to stop the self install but that requires a bit more hacking and lots of Google research :)
 
RobbieW said:
I'm not sure if this muddies the water unnecessarily...

Some dongles come with software which tries to install itself when you plug them in, I understand this is true for some MiFi devices too. When this happens its not sufficient to just unlock the device as the software installed will also constrain the devices access to the originators network. I have a Huawei device that does this, I've worked around it by installing Huawei's Mobile Partner software (http://huaweinews.com/2013/08/download-mobile-partner-latest/) and rejecting the device's attempts to install its own version.

Its also possible to stop the self install but that requires a bit more hacking and lots of Google research :)
Click to expand...

To muddy the waters even further... ;)
My Three branded Huawei dongle also comes with included Three branded software. However, the software doesn't limit you to connecting to Three's network. It's set to Three's network by default, but you can add/edit profiles to suit other providers.
Whether all the software works the same, I donut!
 
Some of the earlier 3 mifi are unlockable, without payment, then the appropriate APN info have to be put in. I understand it is difficult to get a local sim data service in france as you need a french address and bank a/c, so the govt can control internet use for alleged crime purposes.
 
david_bagshaw said:
I understand it is difficult to get a local sim data service in france as you need a french address and bank a/c, so the govt can control internet use for alleged crime purposes.
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This was changed a while back. We had absolutely no problems getting an Orange France SIM card when we travelled down the canals. All they wanted was to see passports and an address. They can now use foreign addresses, so they just took our UK address. We paid using our UK credit cards.
Nay probleme!
 
Subject: Mistakes Happen
A man received the following text from his neighbour:
I am so sorry Bob. I've been riddled with guilt and I have to confess. I have been tapping your wife, day and night when you're not around. In fact, more than you. I'm not getting any at home, but that's no excuse. I can no longer live with the guilt and I hope you will accept my sincerest apology with my promise that it won't happen again.

The man, anguished and betrayed, went into his bedroom, grabbed his gun, and without a word, shot his wife and killed her.

A few moments later, a second text came in:
Damn autocorrect. I meant "wifi", not "wife".
 
Cardo said:
To muddy the waters even further... ;)
My Three branded Huawei dongle also comes with included Three branded software. However, the software doesn't limit you to connecting to Three's network. It's set to Three's network by default, but you can add/edit profiles to suit other providers.
Whether all the software works the same, I donut!
Click to expand...
If the branded software doesn't work you can try Huawei's generic software. You have first to identify which device it is though, in particular which chip is inside it.
 
The one to watch for is that Three only have a 3G network and they plug the firmware so it cant operate on 2G and other connections, even though the wifi is capable of it even after you have unlocked it. This becomes an issue in some bad coverage areas as you cannot get any internet at all (albeit slowly). If you want a wifi to unlock and use with other networks I suggest using an EE one as this does not have the problem. Also, some wifi units do not have a web interface, you have to use a PC to set them up which is very annoying if you need to change settings without a PC.

EE do a great deal where you can get a Huawei 4G wifi that is compatible over most of the world by signing an annual contract that cam be cancelled on 30 days so you do the contract, then immediately cancel it. That way you get £200 of unit for about £25. Don't let them talk you into the Alcatel 4G unit they also have, its rubbish
 
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