The Dogmother Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 (edited) We are going away soonishr to a place which doesn't have any wifi; not normally a problem, but Rosie will need to download homework over the break from the school's learning platform. A friend has recommended Samba mobile dongles/SIMs, looking at the deal it looks good, although I don't think I'd find time to be sat with the ads going in the background whilst the 'points' stack up. I've also read the reviews and some are less than happy with it for various reasons. Obviously there are pros and cons to every system. Can anyone recommend a PAYG mobile internet dongle, preferably one where the credit doesn't disappear after 30 days? I doubt that it will be used very often, so I'm still undecided whether to get one at all as we might be able to visit a friend whilst there and use their wifi. You know me... happy to be off-grid for a few days, but it's different with teens Edited February 24, 2013 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Could you use your phone? Most phones these days can be used as a wireless hotspot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I have to use mobile broadband dongles/wi-fi exclusively, and they are okay, but little more. That said. I am in Ireland, and the coverage here is terrible. It depends on the company you take the deal with, as it is their coverage that will let you down overall. Have you looked to see i there is a library or internet cafe close to where you'll be..? Or, as suggested above, are you able to tether your phone and use it as a modem..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Indeed - it depends on the coverage in the area. I used to HAVE to use a Vodafone dongle,as we were told we would never get broadband here. Voda is the only one that will work in my area. Can the school not give it to her on a memory stick before the holidays,or even snail mail it to her? Or can she use dial-up maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Could you use your phone? Most phones these days can be used as a wireless hotspot Thanks Fred; I had completely forgotten about this as I almost never use the 3G internet on my phone; if I use anything, then I switch on the wifi, but that's rare too and only really for updates. I only get 250mb of data/month on my plan but that's probably ample for our needs. Cinnamon; the only network available there is (luckily) vodafone, which is good for us although the signal is poor. There's no landline, internet cafes etc which is why I like it. The cottage is an old Forge just outside the village where my folks used to have their house, and where we spent most of our school holidays. They have sold the house now, but we still have lots of friends in the area, so we wanted to get up there while my mother is still able to travel etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I may be wrong but I think that downloading on mobiles through remote access is difficult, but not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I may be wrong but I think that downloading on mobiles through remote access is difficult, but not sure. It might take a bit longer, but should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 I might have to have a trial run before we go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charly1979 Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 We use a mini hub thing at our caravan cost a bit more but its brilliant as many devices can connect to it so if hubby is on call and im working too we can have both laptops etc. It was a lifesaver for completing my degree work and means I can always access the met offfice to check weather etc(Caravan ties in with our sailing) its brilliant as I have taken it on the boat with us too. Ours is with 3 and they do some fantastic data plans too . I am sat her wrecking my brains as in our house we have two mobile dongles if any of them turn out to be vodofone ones I will PM you as you would be welcome to it but I have a feeling one is T-Mobile and the other is 3 plus I think 1 is at the caravan (ok im useless but please note the good intention) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Thanks for the offer charly1979. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...