Jump to content

Do not use Mobile Phone HotSpots for Internet.


dmr

Featured Posts

39 minutes ago, booke23 said:

 

Good luck with that. I once spend nearly an hour on the phone to Three trying to cancel a contract.....this was after being with them for 5 years, so I was 4 years past the end of the contract.

 

They literally tried everything to not cancel the account......including asking if I had any friends or family who would be interested in taking on the contract. They cancelled it in the end, but it was a bloody hard slog.

 

For this reason I would never touch Three mobile with a barge pole!   

They are all Bad'uns so we just have to put up with it. Three still maybe just have the best network and prices but terrible customer service. My very first mobile broadband contract was with Vodafone and its hard to describe just how terrible that was (you would not believe me). EE are/were nice people but their network is not so good. Am in the process of moving the phone from EE to O2 but my expectations are low.

At least there is some competition. Next week I need to phone HMRC ?

 

.............Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Until yesterday, I have had fantastic mobile service from 3.....got a bit dodgy when they removed my old unlimited ONE contract a couple of years ago , but the phone contract at 40gb, coupled with the new 3 Unlimited 4g data mobile wifi though a B525 with aeriel has worked fantastically...until New Year.

Now, the TV will not see the signal, either vie wifi or ethernet. It did correct late yesterday, and let us watch Godfather1, but today will allow nothing through, either on tv, phone or laptop.

Somethings changed with 3, or Huwaei, or both.

Three have always had a good network and the best prices, but I think because of this they have always run their network at or just over capacity. They are still the only one to offer proper unlimited broadband. Since the plague set in internet usage has doubled so I assume Three are now a tad overloaded. Some days here it just stops dead for an hour or two.

 

..............Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, dmr said:

Thats the one, is it any good?  If its much better than a mifi and can run off about 9 volts it might be ok, I have a little 12volt to 9 volt thingy.

 

We had a router and external ariel a while ago but the usb powered mifi in a porthole is just as good and more convenient.

 

..........Dave

Bloody excellent piece of kit. I use one at home instead of landline. 4g signal strength appears to be better than either our phones or my boat mifi all of which are on the same network. 2.4 and 5 WiFi so covers the house well.

And it will take external antennas not that we need them here 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Loddon said:

Bloody excellent piece of kit. I use one at home instead of landline. 4g signal strength appears to be better than either our phones or my boat mifi all of which are on the same network. 2.4 and 5 WiFi so covers the house well.

And it will take external antennas not that we need them here 

whats the internet speed you get?

does the wifi reach all part of your house

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, dmr said:

They are all Bad'uns so we just have to put up with it. Three still maybe just have the best network and prices but terrible customer service. My very first mobile broadband contract was with Vodafone and its hard to describe just how terrible that was (you would not believe me). EE are/were nice people but their network is not so good. Am in the process of moving the phone from EE to O2 but my expectations are low.

At least there is some competition. Next week I need to phone HMRC ?

 

.............Dave

Having had 3 on two occasions ( dreadful in every way ) and EE which were good and vodafone in 1989 which were a scam trying to cancel I have had o2 for the last few years, I will not be going anywhere else. I reckon they are not the cheapest but they are way the best. Shops will change or cancel contracts there and then with zero problem unlike the horrific game played by 3 on each occasion. All fone companies are scammers but you will find o2 the best of the bunch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, booke23 said:

 

Good luck with that. I once spend nearly an hour on the phone to Three trying to cancel a contract.....this was after being with them for 5 years, so I was 4 years past the end of the contract.

 

They literally tried everything to not cancel the account......including asking if I had any friends or family who would be interested in taking on the contract. They cancelled it in the end, but it was a bloody hard slog.

 

For this reason I would never touch Three mobile with a barge pole!   

I've found the networks all use similar tactics, but this helps:

 

"Mobile customers can leave their network by sending a simple, free text message, under new Ofcom rules"

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2019/end-it-with-a-text-mobile-switching

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, restlessnomad said:

whats the internet speed you get?

does the wifi reach all part of your house

Speed is between 32 and 64mb depending on time of day etc screenshot enclosed from phone through wifi. It would be slightly quicker if it was on a cable direct into the router.

Although the 2.4g WiFi covered the whole house there are some places where neighbours signal produces interference and slows it down so I have gone to 5g WiFi and divided the house into three sections with an Access Point in each one. The router is in the middle of the house with an AP at either end. The AP,  plus the TV and Heating stuff are hardwired back to a hub behind the router.

 

 

Screenshot_20210103-115538.png

Edited by Loddon
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With two phone accounts with 3, one a WIFI dongle, for cost saving I attempted to cancel one contract, this started a 6 week torrid time of conversations with 3. To mention a cancellation immediately put on hold for another department who could 'help' with this. Times on hold would vary between 11 minutes, a connection to an agent trying to sell me a new product, connection to an agent with a poor command of English, or complete disconnection.

The local 3 shop, very pleasant, but could not manage a termination of contract, I did get a phone number of the Hutchinson head office in Glasgow, where Sarah, on the desk, said an 'executive' would call me back, a promise which failed to materialise.

 

I was clearly not using the right technique for terminating a contract, but during this episode I thought I was loosing my mind.

 

For anyone faced with dealing with 3, take notes of time, and date, and actions from the start; because as time progresses and frustration grows, you may loose the will to carry on.

 

I have now cancelled both contracts, and signed up with GiffGaff.

 

The relief is immense.

 

  • Greenie 1
  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 3 shop can't do much apart from flog you stuff.  They're call centre in India is the place to phone, they have the authority to do most things, cancelling contracts, reimbursments and can tweak things. You have to bare with the Indian lady though to understand her, be very polite. I go in the 3 shop with cakes, and ask them to phone the Indian call centre for me as my phone data is almost out on PAYGO, and they hand the phone to me to talk to the call centre lady. Worked twice for me, and got a £80 reomburstment when it was only about £45.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, dmr said:

Thats the one, is it any good?  If its much better than a mifi and can run off about 9 volts it might be ok, I have a little 12volt to 9 volt thingy.

 

We had a router and external ariel a while ago but the usb powered mifi in a porthole is just as good and more convenient.

 

..........Dave

You can get a 5V to 12V adapter cable to power it from a bluetooth socket, or similar from a 12V cigarette lighter type socket. It only draws 1A at 12V, so just over 2A at 5V.

 

I got a USB one from Amazon a few weeks ago, having used a cig lighter socket for a few years.

14 hours ago, booke23 said:

I can’t speak for all other networks, but Vodafone don’t. If you want to leave you request a PAC code via online form, it arrives a few hours later and off you go. You don’t speak to anyone!

Yes.... it used to be difficult, irritating, time consuming, but the last 2 sims I've cancelled have been done via text, or online.... just as above.

13 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

I sort of guessed that.

 

I think they all do now.

I think they have been forced to. You can be fairly sure it wasn't voluntary.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, booke23 said:

That’s a very good innovation on their part. My cancellation experience with them was a few years ago where you could only cancel by phone. 

It may not have been entirely their idea... [giving the PAC code out by text]

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/consumer-switching-proposals-to-reform-switching-of-mobile-communications-services

 

notably:

Our package of reforms included the introduction of a new and simplified way to switch (‘Auto-Switch’) where consumers will be able to request and automatically receive a unique code by text, or through their online account, which they can give to their new provider to switch and port their number (if they wish to do so).

The customer requests from their existing provider the switching code – either a PAC (“Porting Authorisation Code”) if he/she wishes to port their number, or an N-PAC (“Non porting Authorisation Code”) if wishing to switch without a port. Customers can request these by text, through their online account, or by speaking to their existing provider over the phone.

 

Which was a step up from the earlier commercially derived position of 'sure you can switch providers, please show up in person to our office in the Outer Hebrides, anytime between the hours of 1am and 2am on 29 February and we will be  more than happy to help you out'.

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, bizzard said:

The 3 shop can't do much apart from flog you stuff.  They're call centre in India is the place to phone, they have the authority to do most things, cancelling contracts, reimbursments and can tweak things. You have to bare with the Indian lady though to understand her, be very polite. I go in the 3 shop with cakes, and ask them to phone the Indian call centre for me as my phone data is almost out on PAYGO, and they hand the phone to me to talk to the call centre lady. Worked twice for me, and got a £80 reomburstment when it was only about £45.

I used to have virgin mobile and their call center ladies(philippines) were always pleasant to talk to, much better than Indian one (even british)... I wish call centers move out from India to Philippines, they seem to have better command over English and don't talk like robot / reading from script.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a radiation expert and a Fellow of my professional chartered institution and I can categorically say that there are absolutely no health risks associated with mifi, wifi or another other non-ionising radiation emitters like these.  No peer reviewed scientific study has ever found any evidence health risks and the Three guy was talking scaremongering rubbish!

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Richard10002 said:

You can get a 5V to 12V adapter cable to power it from a bluetooth socket, or similar from a 12V cigarette lighter type socket. It only draws 1A at 12V, so just over 2A at 5V.

 

I got a USB one from Amazon a few weeks ago, having used a cig lighter socket for a few years.

Thanks, we have lots of usb sockets and 12v usb adaptor thingies. An amp at 12volts is pretty hefty, especially as I usually leave these things turned on all the time. The mifi uses about 300mA at 5volts.

 

..............Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

after losing 4 hours of my life, 4 separate digital chats and 2 phone calls, I finally managed to convince the technical staff at 3 that their sim card was buggered, and not my laptop, aerial, router, kitchen sink or leg.

new one being posted out, and a temporary borrow of a good neighbours one has proved me right and them wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, matty40s said:

after losing 4 hours of my life, 4 separate digital chats and 2 phone calls, I finally managed to convince the technical staff at 3 that their sim card was buggered, and not my laptop, aerial, router, kitchen sink or leg.

new one being posted out, and a temporary borrow of a good neighbours one has proved me right and them wrong.

Glad you are getting it sorted, we are back in plague central now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, dmr said:

Thats the one, is it any good?  If its much better than a mifi and can run off about 9 volts it might be ok, I have a little 12volt to 9 volt thingy.

 

We had a router and external ariel a while ago but the usb powered mifi in a porthole is just as good and more convenient.

 

..........Dave

It'll run direct from 12 volt supply according to many, but a 12 volt to 12 volt regulated supply wouldn't do any harm. There is a concern that charging voltages may shorten its life, but many are happily running them direct from the boats 12 volt supply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Eeyore said:

It'll run direct from 12 volt supply according to many, but a 12 volt to 12 volt regulated supply wouldn't do any harm. There is a concern that charging voltages may shorten its life, but many are happily running them direct from the boats 12 volt supply.

I ran my old router on 9volts and that appeared ok, I have a 9v regulator "plug" from an old camera or something. My guess is that everything gets regulated down to 5volts inside the router so anything above about 7 volts should be ok. I will do at test at some stage.

12 volt regulators are more complex as they need to be "buck boost" which makes them generally more expensive.

 

 Phone rules dictate that this stuff has to post to our "billing" address and with Covid I'm not likely to get there for months. They have just forwarded the SIM card so will not be pleased if I now ask to get the router forwarded too.?

 

.............Dave

 

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
On 02/01/2021 at 23:14, dmr said:

Three have always had a good network and the best prices, but I think because of this they have always run their network at or just over capacity. They are still the only one to offer proper unlimited broadband. Since the plague set in internet usage has doubled so I assume Three are now a tad overloaded. Some days here it just stops dead for an hour or two.

 

..............Dave

I have 3 network I run on just 3G turned 4G off it’s a lot faster because 3 & 4 are not both looking for the best signal 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 02/01/2021 at 21:08, dmr said:

We are big data users and had two Tree MiFis with 40Gyte each, and also use the mobile phones (EE and O2) as hotspots in places where Three is not good.

We have upgraded one of the mifis to unlimited data so the other is a bit redundant. (remember the joke about the Irishman and the everlasting bottle of Guiness?)

 

Today we tried to cancel one of the Three contracts and the Three man wanted to know why. We explained that we had another and also used a mobile phone as a hotspot.

He told us that this was very dangerous as a mobile phone hotspot will emit radiation that will damage our health. He recommended that instead we upgrade the mifi to unlimited data...at a much better price than the current unlimited contract. So this is what we have done.

I now need to cancel the contract on the first unlimited MiFi.

Funny world ?

 

............Dave

More amazing is that he cancelled a contract, I've been trying to get mine sorted, I have three contracts with Three, and I don't think I m unlimited I used to get messages saying il be charged even more as im beyond the limit. I don't think that happened and the messages have ceased. Good WiFi but for innocent like me they look like greedy bstarding sales persons, interested only in their w

Own commission. Not all, as the first one spent a good hour sorting out my needs, and I was pleased

Edited by LadyG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think all mobile providers are thieving bastards, it depends how much you need a phone or data connection. I bought a three 24 month 24GB sim last year for use in my car (Spotify, map updates etc). Of course, the fact i live in France (mostly, certainly for the last 18 months due to covid) has meant i exceeded their 'reasonable use' data allowance and they promptly cut me off in October 2021. Having complained and told them the packet that the SIM came in did not state the T&c's about roaming overseas for data, they have eventually refunded me 20GBP (about half of the SIM cost) and told me as long as I return to the UK before the 24 months is up, it will still provide the remaining data. I have to say that it's not a bad result considering all the UK providers seem to be now turning the screws on roaming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Russ9294 said:

I have 3 network I run on just 3G turned 4G off it’s a lot faster because 3 & 4 are not both looking for the best signal 

I would not know how to do that or what advantage it is, must be a disadvantage too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.