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Phone as mobile hotspot

ouirdeaux

ouirdeaux

Caring, Understanding, Non-judgemental Type
I have cancelled my broadband & used my 5GB monthly allowance on the O2 contract I'm locked into for the foreseeable future. I am about to buy a mobile and get a SIM so that I can use it as a hotspot for my computer.

I know we're into length-of-string territory, but how much data should I assume I'd need per month? I use the computer every day for an average of at least a few hours, but not for things like streaming or gaming.
 
Fez909 said:
Get one of these: Best SIM Only Deals | 5G and Unlimited Plans | VOXI

£10 a month for the basic one is 30GB of data, plus unlimited FB/Instagram etc. No contract, so can cancel/upgrade in 30 days if needed. Can also buy add ons if you run out of data.

You should have an idea then how much you'll need.
Click to expand...
the £15/mo one looks good, actually. Unlimited YouTube/Spotify/etc as well as 90GB for everything else. Can't imagine you'll use more than that.
 
ouirdeaux said:
I have cancelled my broadband & used my 5GB monthly allowance on the O2 contract I'm locked into for the foreseeable future. I am about to buy a mobile and get a SIM so that I can use it as a hotspot for my computer.

I know we're into length-of-string territory, but how much data should I assume I'd need per month? I use the computer every day for an average of at least a few hours, but not for things like streaming or gaming.
Click to expand...

What operating system are you using? Windows will tell you how much data you've used in the past month (I think), so if you've been using a typical amount, that's your typical amount. I don't know if other OSes do the same, but I'm sure a quick google will tell you :)

E2a: Checking my work computer, which I use for, well, work, 5 days a week 8 hours a day, no streaming, no video conferencing (it's a VM and such things are done on the host) it says I've used 6.9G in the last 30 days, although 3.6G of that was 'System' usage, which is I'm guessing updates.

E2a2: Sorry, more helpfully: to find out your usage on Windows, go to settings, network & internet, and it will tell you. 'Data Usage' button will give you a breakdown.
 
ouirdeaux said:
I know we're into length-of-string territory, but how much data should I assume I'd need per month? I use the computer every day for an average of at least a few hours, but not for things like streaming or gaming.
Click to expand...

potentially more than you think.

depends what operating system you're on - mum-tat used to be on a deal with BT that had a limit (i can't remember what) on how much data a month was included, and started going over it most months when she went on to windows 10 - all the updates for windows and everything else soak up data. you may be able to turn some of these off, but it may not be all that great an idea for security.

most websites are increasingly data heavy - a good adblocker will reduce it, and think there's a way of turning pictures off on some websites.
 
Rather than buying a phone, I'd suggest buying a secondhand 4G router such as the £35 Sercomm LTe2122GR from eternalcommunications on eBay. I have one, they are "Three" branded.

If the Three network signal is strong in your area then how about an iD Mobile one month plan 60GB/£10 (they run on the Three network).

If Three's signal is no good, it's easy to change that router to another network by using a web browser addon - I'm running mine on Lycamobile (EE) as I have a bunch of their 30-day unlimited data SIMs (£3 each , no longer available!).

Usually 150Mbps speed but I've seen 270Mbps down and I'm 2km from the phone tower.
 
ouirdeaux said:
I have cancelled my broadband & used my 5GB monthly allowance on the O2 contract I'm locked into for the foreseeable future. I am about to buy a mobile and get a SIM so that I can use it as a hotspot for my computer.

I know we're into length-of-string territory, but how much data should I assume I'd need per month? I use the computer every day for an average of at least a few hours, but not for things like streaming or gaming.
Click to expand...
Do you have access to old broadband bills/statements? They list usage sometimes, so you'd have an idea of how much data you need.
 
GiffGaff is quite good. When I moved about 3-4 years ago, I didn't know how long I would be renting the other flat for, and Sky(? iirc?) wanted to tie me into a 12 month contract, which I wasn't prepared to do, as I might've had to move out after only 6 months. In the event, I stayed there 18 months before moving back to my original flat where I have WiFi.

So I often used to tether my laptop to my phone. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think I've paid between £10-25 per month for GiffGaff - if you set up recurring Goody Bags on direct debit, they will email you every month and say something like 'We think you're on the right Goody Bag for your usage, so don't change anything.' or 'You haven't used so much data, we recommend you change and get the lower value Goody Bag' - so they it's not set in stone, you can change the amount of data. If you run out, you can just buy a new Goody Bag.

I found it was fine for emails/social media, including watching random reels/TikToks that popped up in my feed. Also watching a certain amount of Netflix etc (not on HD setting).
 
AnnO'Neemus said:
So I often used to tether my laptop to my phone. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think I've paid between £10-25 per month for GiffGaff - if you set up recurring Goody Bags on direct debit, they will email you every month and say something like 'We think you're on the right Goody Bag for your usage, so don't change anything.' or 'You haven't used so much data, we recommend you change and get the lower value Goody Bag' - so they it's not set in stone, you can change the amount of data. If you run out, you can just buy a new Goody Bag.
Click to expand...

although you don't have to buy a 'goody bag' with giffgaff, you can just do genuine pay as you go, only requirement is you do something chargeable once every so often (think it's every 3 months) - i have a spare phone with one of their PAYG sim cards in it.

the goody bags may be better value if you do a lot, but think they expire after so long, and not sure how much you can carry forward.
 
Smarty do everything unlimited for £20 with rolling monthly contract. Been with them for more than two years using the SIM in a 4G router, never any problems and up to 140 down and 40 up.
 
I was quite proud when I moved house that I managed to use almost the entire 150GB the Vodafone package I had at the time came with.

If you want access to the full EE Network and not pay their prices, 1p mobile are worth a look. They go up to 200GB for £20.

www.1pmobile.com

UKs cheapest PAYG mobile tariff

1pMobile offers great value with 1p a minute, 1p a text and 1p a MB. Excellent coverage, free SIM and you can keep your existing number.
www.1pmobile.com www.1pmobile.com
 
It's been nearly a month, and I appear to have calculated my data usage nearly perfectly at 30GB. Unfortunately, it sometimes stutters when I'm watching horse racing, which is the only really demanding thing I use it for. I'm on the Three network; is there a chance another network might be better? I had occasional trouble with EE on my old broadband deal, but I knew that I had an ancient router that I should have upgraded ages ago.
 
ouirdeaux said:
I'm on the Three network; is there a chance another network might be better?
Click to expand...

I'd say try a few speed tests when it stutters, but they can use a lot of data very quickly so beware. I'm pretty certain the £35 Sercomm router I mentioned would provide faster speeds to your devices than tethering a phone (you could always sell it if it made no difference).
 
ouirdeaux said:
It's been nearly a month, and I appear to have calculated my data usage nearly perfectly at 30GB. Unfortunately, it sometimes stutters when I'm watching horse racing, which is the only really demanding thing I use it for. I'm on the Three network; is there a chance another network might be better? I had occasional trouble with EE on my old broadband deal, but I knew that I had an ancient router that I should have upgraded ages ago.
Click to expand...

In my experience - yes, and not only a chance but a near certainty. Three are (or rather were when I tested them) by far the worst of the major networks to use for 4G broadband. EE in fact the best. Vodafone second, but patchier in deep rural areas.

(Testing done in central and suburban London, Calder Valley Yorkshire, rural Suffolk, remote Peak District and Witney Oxfordshire, using a Huawei 353 (or is it 535?) 4G router in 2019/2020)
 
prunus said:
In my experience - yes, and not only a chance but a near certainty.
Click to expand...

Have to disagree with that. There's so much upgrade work going on at the moment that the network status four years ago isn't much of a guide.

Hell, Three's website still isn't much of a guide! Three's phone signal checker tells me no 5G here and Three's Home broadband checker says not available for my location, and yet somehow my 5G router can give me:

16041737752.png
 
prunus said:
What operating system are you using? Windows will tell you how much data you've used in the past month (I think), so if you've been using a typical amount, that's your typical amount. I don't know if other OSes do the same, but I'm sure a quick google will tell you :)

E2a: Checking my work computer, which I use for, well, work, 5 days a week 8 hours a day, no streaming, no video conferencing (it's a VM and such things are done on the host) it says I've used 6.9G in the last 30 days, although 3.6G of that was 'System' usage, which is I'm guessing updates.

E2a2: Sorry, more helpfully: to find out your usage on Windows, go to settings, network & internet, and it will tell you. 'Data Usage' button will give you a breakdown.
Click to expand...
449.21 Gb in the last 30 days. :eek: 359.94 Gb under 'system'.
 
spudulike said:
Have to disagree with that. There's so much upgrade work going on at the moment that the network status four years ago isn't much of a guide.

Hell, Three's website still isn't much of a guide! Three's phone signal checker tells me no 5G here and Three's Home broadband checker says not available for my location, and yet somehow my 5G router can give me:

16041737752.png
Click to expand...

Oh well fair enough. I did include the testing info etc in case anyone had more up to date data.

I didn’t just use spot speed tests though, I wrote a wee script to test bandwidth, packet loss, latency, stability (as measured by the ability to keep a pptp vpn up without interruption) over a 72 hour period and wrote the results to a database. Because that’s what I’m like.

As I recall Three were particularly bad for stability and packet loss, and suffered very badly from (what I assumed was usage contention) speed degradation at certain times of day.

Anecdotally, a colleague of mine who’s recently got fed up with working from home and has rented a small space, using a 4G router for connectivity (central London) ignored my advice and got a Three sim, and has been griping ever since about how his vpn drops several times a day. Here in the middle of nowhere, 5 miles from the nearest tower on EE 4G my vpn to the same endpoint is stable as long as I want it up. Except when there’s a power cut that is, but that’s not really EE’s fault. YMMV.
 
prunus said:
YMMV.
Click to expand...

So true.

Although it's fun to try and max out the SIMs I use, I really just have to remember that a solid 40Mbps minimum would be just fine.

I'll soon be finishing the 24 month minimum term with Three which has been a stellar performer, both speed and reliability.

Then I'll be using some 30-day unlimited data Lyca SIMs until the end of the year ('cos I got a dozen for £3 each). Testing EE, it connects to a very strong 5G band n28 but that gives an absolutely terrible speed - like 16Mbps. If I band-lock n78 I can sometimes get a weak 5G signal and a fair 300Mbps but today's test could only connect to 4G bands around 200Mbps.

Not sure what's going on with n28.

So all the techie-variation comes on top of other stuff like general contention or semi-permanent mast problems. That's my current situation - go to the next town and I'd probably have a totally different experience.
 
I find 5G to be sketchy AF. I can be sat right next to a mast and only have 20 meg download, usually with a much faster upload. Other times I'm getting over a gig in the car.
 
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