Ok, so many of us will have felt that frustration not being able to connect to the Internet on the go! I recently purchased a Three Travel 4G mobile MIFI dongle using one of their monthly tariffs. This is a monthly pay as you go package which suits me to the ground as I hate long term contract commitments.
Three are a pretty big company right! Hopefully it will suit my needs on the go! I travel a lot on trains and anyone who does this simply knows that loss of signal seems to happen quite often. I used this device on my journey from Leeds to London and back again.
MIFI 4G Performance on Three
So, how did Three’s 4G MiFi perform? Actually quite good indeed! I hardly noticed any interruption during the journey at all and even though there are a number of tunnels. The device continued to stay connected most of the time. I would say over 85% of the journey, I was connected.
I also found the device to be fast and pages loaded fairly quickly to say I wasn’t using my home connection.
I had tried in the past to write articles whilst travelling and seriously even the trains on board WiFi is terrible and it’s only free for the first 30 minutes of your train journey, well unless you are in first class section of course!
The device easily connects to my laptop, tablet and mobile phone! One thing I really love is that the device doesn’t take batteries! The Huawei Three MIFI device is chargeable. It comes with a UK compatible charging cable and if your device is not fully charged like mine, this came quite in handy whilst on the train.
On the Journey to London I charged the dongle and on the return I didn’t need to recharge it at all, the dongle has 6 hours charge before it needs charging again.
Another great feature of the Huawei MIFI dongle is that it actually allows up to 10 connections at any given time, so I had my phone connected whilst using the ipad too. I liked using the my phone on the MIFI device because I hate using my mobile internet ever since going over on my tariff and being charged £90 for the pleasure (I won’t name the company).
About the tariff
The pay as you tariff I used actually cost me £39 upfront and £10 a month after that for 2GB! Personally, I choose this tariff because paying the upfront cost allows me to have a 1 month rolling contract and If I find myself using more I may upgrade at a later date. You can choose from a number of varied MIFI tariffs here which go up to 20GB usage per month, which would pretty much suit everyone’s requirements.
To conclude
All in all, I really like the MIFI dongle and this is going to help me save time whilst I am out and about on my daily travels. I don’t know how I have managed this long without one.
Contact your Mobile company for further details on offers and prices
Ooh that’s so clever! Unfortunately we don’t live in an area where Three network is strong enough to provide our broadband. Maybe some day x
This sounds like a good buy. I had a dongle for my laptop from 3 and was quite impressed with it. this would be a GOod idea for my brother for Christmas. thanks.
That looks really useful for anyone who TRAVELS a lot! It would CERTAINLY make train JOURNEYS more productive and the price is great!
This is a great review – i like the fact that it allows up to 10 connections. that is great value and really impressive. Great to see such an easy to understand tech review!
What a fantastic idea I have never heard of a mifi travel dongle!
This sounds like a great option to connect to the internet. It’s a shame that train wifi is so bad, but it’s great you can get solutions like this now
Ive never used a Dongle as ive never been convinced they would be any good, but having read your post, I think I might have been a little too hasty x
I have a DONGLE AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE HAD IT QUITE A WHILE I HAVENT USED IT MUCH. I THINK I NEED TO DIG IT OUT AND START MAKING THE MOST OF IT.
that looks great – and it doesn’t look that big either, so that’s a bonus as well. lack of internet on train journeys can be frustrating – especially when there’s the delays there so often are 🙂
I used to commute Manchester – Leeds and back every day, this would have been amazing!
Although the journey I did you were lucky to get a seat let alone wifi 😛 Glad it’s workign well for you. Xx
Seems like a good idea for someone who travels alot. We’re lucky because Chiltern Railways wifi is free (although extremely slow)
What a great idea this is. I could do with something lie this myself. i need to consider a pay as you go in the future as i seem to spend a fortune on a contract. thanks for sharing.
This is great for someone who travels a lot. I used to a dongle many years ago when i first moved out and used to get internet access in my flat through it. looks like they’ve changed a lot since then x
Hmmm…interesting.I use FGW train wifi which is free for all of the journey.But like as you say, it’s patchy and drops out when you really need a signal.I do have a dongle that I bought years ago and have often wonder about updating for when I’m out.It’s certainly something I will think more about now.
THAT LOOKS GREAT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU TRAVEL LOTS. I travel out to clients all the time so will look into this as i hate asking to use their wifi
I have this, or should I say had this. I loved how it was easy to use when out and about but bought it primarily for home use which in hindsight, wasn’t a good idea as I didn’t buy enough net with it. For the actually unit though, I found the signal great and battery power lasted ages x
Yes, I don’t think it would suffice as a home wifi substitute just because people probably use it far too much at home. Mind you that being said, some people may not use the internet as often and the data packages may be fine… I suppose this is personal preference.
I don’t have one of these, but it sounds great for someone who travels a lot like me! I really need reliable wifi while i’m traveling
This would be a great option for those who travel like me! I hate flakey WIFI connections, lets hope it continues to do well. X
oh this looks great – i am travelling more and more and no wifi is becoming more of a pain! Kaz x
Can i use my CONTACT sim card in this?