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Thread: Mobile Broadband

  1. #1
    In the beeches
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    Mobile Broadband

    I currently use mobile broadband when I am in France, and so far it has worked reasonable well, but it can slow to a crawl due to a poor mobile signal in some places. I use a device called a WebPocket - which is a branded version of Huawei E5220/E5330 - it is an old 3g model. I use 24gb/2 year sim from THREE in UK.

    I know many people would use the hotspot option on their mobile phone, but having a stand alone device is better for my requirements.

    I now need to get something more reliable, and thinking about getting a 4g version of the Huawei E5220/E5330.

    What are the chances that I would get a worthwhile improvement in difficult areas (Alps & mountains) in France ?

  2. #2
    Super Moderator cosworth4x4's Avatar
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    Not sure if any help to you but i have a router on my van that i put the sim card into , definatly a lot stronger signal that i have on my phone , i run it off a 12 v battery , can get you the model number if it sounds suitable ?

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    echelon (03-05-2021)

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    V.I.P Detlef's Avatar
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    I eventually bit the bullet in France and had the landline/broadband reconnected to my apartment. Orange for €34/mnth, All was well but when the ski resorts shut I couldn't get back to suspend it (you have to return the router to suspend) so have paid for the last year plus when nothing was powered up. :( One good point is that the Livebox has an internet phone connection and allows free phone calls for the whole EU and EFTA. Not sure if it will still be free to the UK now, since brexit got finalised.

    Another ski mate bought a Livebox router (Orange flavour) and he can suspend over the phone as he returned his original router ages ago. They only suspend for whole months but that can be OK.

    When I initially moved in to the current apartment a friend that was staying in an adjacent catered chalet borrowed an old tablet I had for emergencies and left the log-in for the chalet on it, so I exracted that and used it on my phone and laptop for two years. I had to select my time to use it as they had rather too many people logged on to their system most of the afternoon/evening. Mealtimes were good as was overnight for d/l'ing files.

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  6. #4
    In the beeches
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    cosworth4x4 - if you have details of the router please post

    Detlef - I have had two contracts in France, the first was with FT/Orange, the second was a FreeBox. But both were a total nightmare to cancel - it was just too much stress each time, especially when I had many other things to sort out.

    Hence I want to try out the mobile broadband option going forward (when I can get back to my regular trips to France routine). If that doesn't work out, I will have to go back to a contract - the FT/Orange suspend idea sounds a good idea - thanks for that. I have to admit free calls has been convenient in the past five years, but not a clincher for me.

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    echelon (03-05-2021)

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    Super Moderator cosworth4x4's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Burnham View Post
    cosworth4x4 - if you have details of the router please post

    Detlef - I have had two contracts in France, the first was with FT/Orange, the second was a FreeBox. But both were a total nightmare to cancel - it was just too much stress each time, especially when I had many other things to sort out.

    Hence I want to try out the mobile broadband option going forward (when I can get back to my regular trips to France routine). If that doesn't work out, I will have to go back to a contract - the FT/Orange suspend idea sounds a good idea - thanks for that. I have to admit free calls has been convenient in the past five years, but not a clincher for me.
    Tp-link Archer MR600 V1 cheers Paul

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    Burnham (05-05-2021)

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    i have a Huawei B535-232 with a Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0001(external ariel) this seems to boost the signal quite a bit in the caravan with a 4g pay as you go from vodafone, any sim would do but the location is restricted to vodafone. it gets 10meg up and down with the antenna, 3 meg down and 256k up without.
    Last edited by kooozy; 05-06-2021 at 07:26 PM.

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    Burnham (08-06-2021)

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    I too have a Huawei - a B525s-23a bought from a well-known ******* site a year ago. Used with an outside antenna (I made mine out of a bent coat-hanger and an old "N" connector) - get nominally 20Mbps and peaks at 53Mbps (up from 8Mbps using the internal antenna) - depends where you are in relation to the mast. As a rule of thumb, if you get 2 bars on a phone on 4G, then this unit will get 4 bars using external antenna and the speed seems to increase with signal level. Good Luck

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    Burnham (08-06-2021)

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