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0n board 4G Mifi suggestions


andybarrett1

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Hi 

 

Thank you for reading ....Looking to Install a Mifi router,  essential for "Home Working" currently moored on Shroppy Middlewich Arm.

 

So we certainly need external antenna connection.

 

Looking for 4G  provider  suggestions and router makes 

 

Thank you again 

 

Andy 

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I've got one of these, you see a lot of boats with them on and it works really well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poynting-4G-XPOL-A0001-Cross-Polarised-Antenna/dp/B00C1DGFPS/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=4g+antenna&qid=1618814491&sr=8-3

 

My router is one of these:
Unlocked Huawei B535-232 CAT7 300mbps 4G/LTE Home/Office Router (White) with 2 x External Antennas. Will work with any Sim Card Worldwide (Renewed): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

There are lights on it to display the signal strength which is handy. I went with Vodafone as my work mobile is with them and always seems to have better signal in rural areas than our personal mobiles on BT and 3... but it obviously depends on your area as to which is the best provider is for you.

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I have the same hardware, however I use Smarty 

http://referme.to/blHJxgx

Which is part of "3" and if no signal from them will be using 1p mobile

https://www.1pmobile.com/data-SIM.taf

Which is on the EE network

I think that should cover all bases but if not I have a GiffGaff SIM that should fill in any dead spots ?

 

ETA

The router runs from a stabilised 12v PSU rather than 230v or direct from boats 12v supply

Edited by Loddon
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If a signal is essential for your work then I suggest that you consider a router that will accept dual SIM cards to provide choice of network. Otherwise the Huawei B535 with an external aerial is a good choice. I use the 3 network. 

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3 hours ago, Idle Days said:

If a signal is essential for your work then I suggest that you consider a router that will accept dual SIM cards to provide choice of network. Otherwise the Huawei B535 with an external aerial is a good choice. I use the 3 network. 

Much more expensive to get a dual SIM router. It takes seconds to swap Sims in a single SIM router once you have set up the extra APN

 

 

Edited by Loddon
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When I first bought my boat I envisaged a requirement to have some complicated network setup with a marine grade 4G router, external antennas, dual WAN resiliency, the lot. Possibly even a satellite as a backup. As a "temporary" solution I bought a Huawei MiFI router which I simply fixed to a porthole using Velcro, no external antennas.

 

It worked so well that I never bothered to change this solution. I worked from the boat doing IT work which required me to make a lot of voip calls etc, even did a major site update on CWDF using the same router. I did have an issue with it overheating in the height of the summer from time to time but reflective privacy film/tint on the porthole put a stop to that. 

Fortunately the canal in question had great 3G/4G coverage thus negating the need for external antennas, so it could have been a different story if that hadn't been the case though on the odd days where I did have coverage issues, I simply swapped from EE to Three or vice versa. Some Mifi devices do have support for external antennas as already mentioned, might be worth getting one of those just in case. 

Personally I'd probably steer away from Huawei now for political reasons if nothing else. TP-Link also make decent ones at a similar price point. 

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1 hour ago, RichM said:

TP-Link also make decent ones at a similar price point. 

I have run mobile TP-Link for years and have just gone back to Huawei.

TP-Link struggled to get 4g on "3" here in the marina dropping back to 3g which was rubbish.

Huawei 535 gets 4g LTE in the same position

The 535 with the antenna gets solid 15-20mps 4g LTE enabling good streaming of video even in the evening when "3"  is really congested due to the number of users locally.

That pales into insignificance compared to the Huawei B818 at home that runs LTE at 90-100mbs without an external antenna ;)

 

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1 hour ago, andybarrett1 said:

Thank you for all replies so far ....

 

It does look like the Huawei B535 is the way to go with external Anteana .... Just wondering what network now 

 

EE or 3 ....

 

Andy

 

The only downside with the B535 other than its rather cumbersome form factor, is that it doesn't seem to have a built-in battery. I found a battery invaluable as it meant even during a brief power blip the router would still remain online. Essentially it meant I could realistically go 4+ hours with internet on a laptop even if the boat itself had no power. I guess you could consider a UPS of sorts but I was more of a fan of keeping things simple as to avoid over-complicating things.

EE still has the best network in terms of performance and overall coverage, whereas Three tend to provide better deals. Both will have network blackspots where coverage may not be so great in particular areas. I'd recommend checking their coverage checker in the areas you plan to be:

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Network/Coverage

https://coverage.ee.co.uk/coverage/ee

If reliability is of paramount importance in terms of network availability, I'd recommend using both. Perhaps one for your 4G router and another for your phone. (which you can use as a hotspot) Simple things such as weather and network congestion can impede performance and reliability, much more so than a fixed FTTC/FTTP circuit that you'd typically find in a residential property. 

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If you supply the 535 from a 12v-12v stabilised supply

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313220835322

then it is impervious to power outages unless you flatten the boat battery bank?

As for networks are you in a fixed location or cruising?

I use Smarty which is part of 3 and the big advantage is that there is no contract so if it's not suitable you are not tied in for 2years

http://referme.to/blHJxgx

1P mobile which is on the EE network gives you a similar deal.

https://www.1pmobile.com/data-SIM.taf

 

Both are good for testing networks without commiting to a long contract.

If you use the Smarty link to join we both get a free month

 

Edited by Loddon
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50 minutes ago, andybarrett1 said:

Sorted .... Well ordered 

 

Smarty Sim card (Used your link Julian ?

B535 Modem

Poynting  Ant

 

Thank you all for suggestions 

 

Andy

Thank you, enjoy your free month ?

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi folks. First visit back to CWDF after many years away, but great to find out it is still with us providing this invaluable forum....

I'm wondering how you got on @andybarrett1.? I have been using a Huawei 4g and then 4g+ mifi hanging in the porthole for several years after switching from a zoom router, external antenna and Huawei dongle which began for me in 2010, but I am now getting very disrupted by the overheating issues described by @AndyM, and erratic connection, and am thinking of switching back to router and external area. Like many my connection is now critical to my work which is data intensive, and I need it to work reliably daily and be quick. I am mostly static, and three has been generally very good over the last 1 11 years. Most of my boat is 12v so I can sort a stabilised dc power source. If poss I would also prefer not Huawei but will go with the flow if the options aren't as good. 

Thanks

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On 19/04/2021 at 12:42, David Mack said:

I have always found my phone in mobile hotspot mode has been fine for web browsing and youtube on the laptop. May not be best for heavy data users, but worth trying before spending money on something more sophisticated.

 

It's what I do everyday working from the boat. Contrary to the OP's premise a MiFi router isn't essential for home working and neither is an external antenna.

 

If you can get a signal on your phone in the window then you can tether wirelessly to a laptop using your phone as a WiFi hotspot, which means one less SIM contract.

 

It depends on what you're doing I suppose, but I go on Teams video calls, download excel spreadsheets, email, etc, everyday.  None of that requires huge data speed to work efficiently.

 

Of course if you want to stream movies then your going to need faster data speeds, but I can't help thinking that many users are wasting their money on additional data contracts when they may already have adequate or even unlimited data on their existing mobile devices.

 

 

Edited by blackrose
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23 minutes ago, blackrose said:

It's what I do everyday working from the boat. Contrary to the OP's premise a MiFi router isn't essential for home working and neither is an external antenna.

Depends entirely on the location.  At Blackthorn Marina using a phone or internal MiFi you will only get 3g at best and that will be slow due to the number of users. External antenna and a decent router gets you 4g at about 15mbs still not good but usable. Conversely at home I get 4g+ and 90mbs on the phone which is very usable?

It's always best to gear up for the worst location if you are internet dependant.

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1 minute ago, Loddon said:

Depends entirely on the location.  At Blackthorn Marina using a phone or internal MiFi you will only get 3g at best and that will be slow due to the number of users. External antenna and a decent router gets you 4g at about 15mbs still not good but usable. Conversely at home I get 4g+ and 90mbs on the phone which is very usable?

It's always best to gear up for the worst location if you are internet dependant.

This seems much about expectation management. If I had 15mbs I would be on cloud 9. I manage with sub 10mbps - but I do work with GIS, Synchronised sharepoint projects, databases, and I stream BBC and Netflix etc. Why do you say 15mbps  is not usable? What can you not do? My problem is when my meagre sub 10mbps completely fails, and I can do nothing.

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50 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

It's what I do everyday working from the boat. Contrary to the OP's premise a MiFi router isn't essential for home working and neither is an external antenna.

 

If you can get a signal on your phone in the window then you can tether wirelessly to a laptop using your phone as a WiFi hotspot, which means one less SIM contract.

 

It depends on what you're doing I suppose, but I go on Teams video calls, download excel spreadsheets, email, etc, everyday.  None of that requires huge data speed to work efficiently.

 

Of course if you want to stream movies then your going to need faster data speeds, but I can't help thinking that many users are wasting their money on additional data contracts when they may already have adequate or even unlimited data on their existing mobile devices.

 

 

What happens when you are working and need to use your phone at the same time?

Your data signal gets disrupted and you have to get up and rescue your phone from the window. I used to do this, and it was a pain.

 

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34 minutes ago, id_rather_be_welding said:

This seems much about expectation management. If I had 15mbs I would be on cloud 9. I manage with sub 10mbps - but I do work with GIS, Synchronised sharepoint projects, databases, and I stream BBC and Netflix etc. Why do you say 15mbps  is not usable? What can you not do? My problem is when my meagre sub 10mbps completely fails, and I can do nothing.

15mbs is fine I'm just spoilt by my connection at home. When I visit friends and use their WiFi it usually feels slow.

We don't have a landline at home relying totally on mobile data.

When away I also have a second SIM on a different network which mostly fills in the blackspots both Sims are one month contracts/PAYG so are only active when needed. 

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1 hour ago, id_rather_be_welding said:

Hi folks. First visit back to CWDF after many years away, but great to find out it is still with us providing this invaluable forum....

I'm wondering how you got on @andybarrett1.? I have been using a Huawei 4g and then 4g+ mifi hanging in the porthole for several years after switching from a zoom router, external antenna and Huawei dongle which began for me in 2010, but I am now getting very disrupted by the overheating issues described by @AndyM, and erratic connection, and am thinking of switching back to router and external area. Like many my connection is now critical to my work which is data intensive, and I need it to work reliably daily and be quick. I am mostly static, and three has been generally very good over the last 1 11 years. Most of my boat is 12v so I can sort a stabilised dc power source. If poss I would also prefer not Huawei but will go with the flow if the options aren't as good. 

Thanks

I can say I am more than happy with suggestions given here ....Smarty is certainly working out ok .... On the Three network.. 

 

If you use this referral link we both get £10 credit and a free month.... If you don't like it move on ?

 

https://i.smarty.co.uk/m1OM7i.  

 

BR 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, jenevers said:

Will an Echo Dot work on a boat via blue tooth from a mobile phone?

 

It would, i think, work only as a bluetooth speaker but would need to be paired etc. whilst on a WiFi connection beforehand

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1 hour ago, andybarrett1 said:

I can say I am more than happy with suggestions given here ....Smarty is certainly working out ok .... On the Three network.. 

 

If you use this referral link we both get £10 credit and a free month.... If you don't like it move on ?

 

https://i.smarty.co.uk/m1OM7i.  

 

BR 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

Well I have my existing three sim unimited monthly so will probably stick with that, but thanks for the offer!

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34 minutes ago, id_rather_be_welding said:

Well I have my existing three sim unimited monthly so will probably stick with that, but thanks for the offer!

Don't forget when the contract is up threaten to leave, you should then get a better deal.

My unlimited is down to £15pm and a "free"  B535 router after I threatened to leave earlier this year. I've had "3" for years on various amounts of data and every two years the amount of data was negotiated up or the price was negotiated down ?

Edited by Loddon
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