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Thread: Mi-fi or personal hotspot

  1. #1
    Master stoneyloon's Avatar
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    Mi-fi or personal hotspot

    My aging mother-in-law is looking to get online for the first time so I'm looking to give her my tablet.
    Instead of getting broadband to her house, I thought mobile WiFi would suffice. Is there an advantage to getting a mi-fi router over using a hotspot from her phone? She'll need a new SIM no matter what as it's a basic call and text phone she has just now...

    Any other suggestions? She's on the basic state pension only so don't want anything too costly.


    Cheers,

    Adam.

  2. #2
    Master
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    I use hotspots fairly regularly but then the data comes out of my inclusive allowance, I’ve also got a 4g tablet for when travelling.
    In the past I’ve used something similar to a Mi-Fi and my parents still do as they don’t want broadband and live in the middle of nowhere, for what they use it works great, but when my kids turn it on and connect the speed annoys them.
    Some phones are easier than others to turn the hotspot on with, but looking at your post she may need a new phone as well.

  3. #3
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stoneyloon View Post
    My aging mother-in-law is looking to get online for the first time so I'm looking to give her my tablet.
    Instead of getting broadband to her house, I thought mobile WiFi would suffice. Is there an advantage to getting a mi-fi router over using a hotspot from her phone? She'll need a new SIM no matter what as it's a basic call and text phone she has just now...

    Any other suggestions? She's on the basic state pension only so don't want anything too costly.


    Cheers,

    Adam.
    I have a mifi router set up for my parents - I can check the balance on the card in it remotely. I would not mess around with hotspots on phones with OAPs - the phone goes flat, they accident turn off the hotspot and change the settings... just get a 4G mifi from ebay and go that route...

  4. #4
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    Some Mifi deals or Home 4G deals are pretty good.

    I think one of the main benefits is that she can position the router on a windowledge to maximise reception.

    If only for use in UK, you could get a unit off ebay/Amazon and bung a sim-only into it.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Alansmithee View Post
    I have a mifi router set up for my parents - I can check the balance on the card in it remotely. I would not mess around with hotspots on phones with OAPs - the phone goes flat, they accident turn off the hotspot and change the settings... just get a 4G mifi from ebay and go that route...
    This sums it up for me.

  6. #6
    Master stoneyloon's Avatar
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    Cheers guys

    We can always rely on TZUK.



    Cheers,

    Adam.

  7. #7
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by junglebert View Post
    This sums it up for me.
    The support is much much easier - any problems are normally solved with "pull the plug for a minute".

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by stoneyloon View Post
    My aging mother-in-law is looking to get online for the first time so I'm looking to give her my tablet.
    Instead of getting broadband to her house, I thought mobile WiFi would suffice. Is there an advantage to getting a mi-fi router over using a hotspot from her phone? She'll need a new SIM no matter what as it's a basic call and text phone she has just now...

    Any other suggestions? She's on the basic state pension only so don't want anything too costly.
    I've gone for one of these :-

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07S7DMY3H

    And this :-

    30 gig data for £10 a month which you can tweak up or down depending on how much she uses

    The routers a bit pricier than a mifi unit, but it gives far better wifi coverage so your m-i-l won't have to drag it about with her, and being mains powered no need to keep charging

  9. #9
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gyp View Post
    I've gone for one of these :-

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07S7DMY3H

    And this :-

    30 gig data for £10 a month which you can tweak up or down depending on how much she uses

    The routers a bit pricier than a mifi unit, but it gives far better wifi coverage so your m-i-l won't have to drag it about with her, and being mains powered no need to keep charging
    I got similar to Gyp for my mum and a smarty sim unlimited for£18 pm.

    It’s worth noting if you use Amazon prime you can add one adult to your prime and they can use prime video which I did and Netflix plus access to iPlayer and other on demand tv, it’s been use during lockdown for the price of a firestick

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