[Trsvis_Bickle]

Probably a daft question for all you technophiles on here but can I use any smartphone as a wi-fi hotspot?

I've been using an old Nokia 6300 for years and been perfectly happy with it. I make and receive very few calls and use my ipod touch for music, web browsing, emailing etc when away from home. Obviously I'm restricted to areas with wi-fi provision for the latter two activities so I'm thinking of getting a cheap smartphone to use as a wi-fi hotspot.

I'm not going to spend more than about £100 and the Huawei Ascend G300 has been getting some good reviews so I had that in mind. I was going to add a Tesco £10/mth SIM as that includes 2Gb of data et voila.

Will it work and are there any other choices that might be more suitable? As I say, I'm not interested in using the phone for anything other than basic, low volume calls, texting and as a wi-fi hotspot for my ipod and ipad. So stuff like cameras, screen quality, number of apps etc is irrelevant.

All suggestions gratefully received.

[Anika Hanson]

I can't imagine you having any problems so long as tethering is allowed by your network provider. The phone is capable of generating a mobile hotspot. I have a Samsung galaxy note and I use the mobile hotspot with my iPod and iPad. It works really well. On my tariff I have 2GB of data and never use it all even though I'm tethering pretty much all day. The only thing is that tethering tends to drain the battery. I usually carry a spare with me and change it if necessary. Even when I'm tethering all day I usually get at least 12 hours out of a single battery charge. Sometimes I can get through the whole day (17 hours) on a single charge.

I think the other choice would be to buy a mifi dongle. They are about £60 and do the same thing. That might be more useful to you if you don't need the huwewi for making phone calls or any of the other features.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I can't imagine you having any problems so long as tethering is allowed by your network provider. The phone is capable of generating a mobile hotspot. I have a Samsung galaxy note and I use the mobile hotspot with my iPod and iPad. It works really well. On my tariff I have 2GB of data and never use it all even though I'm tethering pretty much all day. The only thing is that tethering tends to drain the battery. I usually carry a spare with me and change it if necessary. Even when I'm tethering all day I usually get at least 12 hours out of a single battery charge. Sometimes I can get through the whole day (17 hours) on a single charge.

I think the other choice would be to buy a mifi dongle. They are about £60 and do the same thing. That might be more useful to you if you don't need the huwewi for making phone calls or any of the other features.

Ah, a dongle. Never thought of that. Many thanks for your help.

[chrisjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

Ah, a dongle. Never thought of that. Many thanks for your help.

Dongle usually means a device that plugs into a USB port on a computer. The MiFi is a mobile data device and WiFi hotspot in one self contained unit, not really a dongle as such.

And being WiFi it would allow your iPad and similar devices to connect which a USB dongle wouldn't.

Just that if you walked into a phone shop and asked for a mobile data dongle they would probably point you at USB devices which is probably not what you want.

[TheBigM]

Also beware that whilst mobile broadband packages allow use of dongles and MiFis etc, most data provided in smartphone contracts is not allowed to be used via tethering, only on the phone itself.
A MiFi or similar is the way to go here or perhaps an older second-hand device. A second-hand HTC Desire must be as cheap as chips now.

Giffgaff has some inexpensive gigabags that allow mobile data use.

[scorpionatthepc]

Tesco dont like you tethering and they say their network doesn't support it.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Dongle usually means a device that plugs into a USB port on a computer. The MiFi is a mobile data device and WiFi hotspot in one self contained unit, not really a dongle as such.

And being WiFi it would allow your iPad and similar devices to connect which a USB dongle wouldn't.

Just that if you walked into a phone shop and asked for a mobile data dongle they would probably point you at USB devices which is probably not what you want.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Could have been embarrassing.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigM

Also beware that whilst mobile broadband packages allow use of dongles and MiFis etc, most data provided in smartphone contracts is not allowed to be used via tethering, only on the phone itself.
A MiFi or similar is the way to go here or perhaps an older second-hand device. A second-hand HTC Desire must be as cheap as chips now.

Giffgaff has some inexpensive gigabags that allow mobile data use.

Thanks, a Mifi sounds worth checking out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpionatthepc

Tesco dont like you tethering and they say their network doesn't support it.

Bummer.

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpionatthepc

Tesco dont like you tethering and they say their network doesn't support it.

That's surprising since they are owned by O2 who do allow tethering. I see giff gaff who are also owned by O2 do allow tethering.

[scorpionatthepc]

But I'm sure it worked last time I tried it its just that they don't like you doing it..

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpionatthepc

Tesco dont like you tethering and they say their network doesn't support it.

Well, that sucks a bit. Tesco's £10/mth SIM gives you 2Gb/mth plus calls and texts. Just to get 1Gb/mth on a Mifi deal seems to be £10.49/mth - i.e. more than twice as expensive and you don't get the calls and texts either. Why is there a premium for mobile wi-fi?

[jabbamk1]

Because mobile wifi allows you to "tether" thus the premium price.

Tesco give more data/mins/tetxs as that is for on the phone use only.

I think its silly tbh but that's the way it goes. And the networks that do offer tethering g either charge you £5pm extra or already have the price ridiculously high.

Only option as mentioned is a mifi from Three who do £15,99pm for 5GB or a phone contract with tethering but that might cost more.

[c4rv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

Thanks, a Mifi sounds worth checking out.

You can also get battery power ones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

Bummer.

Most of the providers don't 'support' tethering but I don't know any that actively stop it. You may get a letter from them saying they have detected activity that indicates tethering reminding you that its not allowed.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Because mobile wifi allows you to "tether" thus the premium price.

Tesco give more data/mins/tetxs as that is for on the phone use only.

I think its silly tbh but that's the way it goes. And the networks that do offer tethering g either charge you £5pm extra or already have the price ridiculously high.

Only option as mentioned is a mifi from Three who do £15,99pm for 5GB or a phone contract with tethering but that might cost more.

At this rate, I'm considering just accepting that I'll have to settle for broadband access by phone only when I'm in those places that don't have wi-fi. There's no way I want to pay over £10/month just for data. Heck, I'm so tight, I resent paying £8.68/mth now for calls and texts.

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Because mobile wifi allows you to "tether" thus the premium price.

Tesco give more data/mins/tetxs as that is for on the phone use only.

I think its silly tbh but that's the way it goes. And the networks that do offer tethering g either charge you £5pm extra or already have the price ridiculously high.

Only option as mentioned is a mifi from Three who do £15,99pm for 5GB or a phone contract with tethering but that might cost more.

True. My tariff is £36. I get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and a measly 1 GB of data. I can thether on O2 as its allowed. I now pay £5 a month to get another GB of data.

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

At this rate, I'm considering just accepting that I'll have to settle for broadband access by phone only when I'm in those places that don't have wi-fi. There's no way I want to pay over £10/month just for data. Heck, I'm so tight, I resent paying £8.68/mth now for calls and texts.

That's why I use my phone instead of a mifi dongle/ didn't buy a cellular iPad. I don't want to paying a fortune just to use Internet on the go.

[darkjedimaster]

It is a shame that the OP doesn't have a Android phone. For almost a year now I have been using an App called Foxfi with an app called PDA+. This has allowed me to connect my tablet to my mobile wifi hotspot, without ever occurring tethering charges. As long as I keep within my monthly allowance for data usage, I never get charged any extra on my bill.

The only downfall is that the app itself can murder the battery.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkjedimaster

It is a shame that the OP doesn't have a Android phone. For almost a year now I have been using an App called Foxfi with an app called PDA+. This has allowed me to connect my tablet to my mobile wifi hotspot, without ever occurring tethering charges. As long as I keep within my monthly allowance for data usage, I never get charged any extra on my bill.

The only downfall is that the app itself can murder the battery.

As darkjedimaster says, there are ways around it. but bear in mind that tethering is still against the T&C and if found out the networks will cut you off. Three/T-Mobile/Virigin and others actively cut off/block people who tether when they're not supposed to.

[JulesandSand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpionatthepc

Tesco dont like you tethering and they say their network doesn't support it.

When my broadband went down I used my phone (Tesco contract) tethered to access the internet for several days without a problem. The only problem being that my 'unlimited' data on my contract is 500MB!!

I have a 3 MiFi device for travelling and emergencies which works brilliantly - I buy 1GB sims for it from Amazon for about £5 each - sims with larger amounts of data are also available.

The advantages of MiFi over a dongle include the ability to have 3 separate devices connected at the same time and the ability to place it anywhere to get the best available signal. The only downside is that the data on the sims I buy expires a month after activation whether all the data is used or not.

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JulesandSand

When my broadband went down I used my phone (Tesco contract) tethered to access the internet for several days without a problem. The only problem being that my 'unlimited' data on my contract is 500MB!!

I have a 3 MiFi device for travelling and emergencies which works brilliantly - I buy 1GB sims for it from Amazon for about £5 each - sims with larger amounts of data are also available.

The advantages of MiFi over a dongle include the ability to have 3 separate devices connected at the same time and the ability to place it anywhere to get the best available signal. The only downside is that the data on the sims I buy expires a month after activation whether all the data is used or not.

I've been able to connect my iPad, iPod and chromebook simultaneously to my phone's mobile hotspot.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I've been able to connect my iPad, iPod and chromebook simultaneously to my phone's mobile hotspot.

Yes, but is that because your tariff supports tethering?

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Yes, but is that because your tariff supports tethering?

It does support tethering. So if your network provider didn't support it would they restrict you to only one device at a time?

[JulesandSand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Yes, but is that because your tariff supports tethering?

My contract doesn't include tethering but I was able to do it anyway and with more than one device.

[jon41]

My Orange contract allows unlimited tethering and no fair usage - although they now no longer sell these plans and cap everything.

[scorpionatthepc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trsvis_Bickle

Well, that sucks a bit. Tesco's £10/mth SIM gives you 2Gb/mth plus calls and texts. Just to get 1Gb/mth on a Mifi deal seems to be £10.49/mth - i.e. more than twice as expensive and you don't get the calls and texts either. Why is there a premium for mobile wi-fi?

How have you managed to get 2gb for £10 a month? I pay £12.50 a month and only get 1gb.