4g wifi

[markc]

hi we have a bt business contract and with it we have a 4g back up, which is if the landline goes down then the 4g dongle takes over, great when it works which now they have managed to tell themselves we have this then managed to activate it.

well the question is if i was to take the card out and use it in a mobile 4g router when we were away would it work or would it be tied to our home address ?
my reasoning would be that when we were away we wouldnt be at home so still only using the system once if that makes sense

 

[Chris F]

Its got to be worth a try - if the sim card is on, i see no reason it wouldn't work anywhere.

 

[upnortheast]

Should work, unless they somehow lock it to the dongle
One way to find out ,......

 

[Cowabunga]

I've got one and it doesn't work because 4G at ground level where my land line is, is non existent here. I've had a look at the dongle and I'm in the dark as to how it works. It appears to be a sealed unit with no way to get at the SIM card, which may well be built in anyhow.

In terms of looks it isn't far off being a black version of my Huawei mobile hotspot. In terms of use though, the Huawei just takes power from any USB A port and is an aerial for 4G data to my SIM card from 3. It then gives out a wifi signal just like any other wifi and requires the connecting device to have a password input before it will pair. I have it in my car most of the time but it can be used connected to a small battery pack or any USB A female, such as a computer, laptop, pickup truck and so on, even with a cigarette type socket fitted with USB adapter.

All I know is that the BT dongle is nothing like that and carrying a dongle, a router and a power source for the router looks like a lot of hard work, even counting that it does work. You would need the thing the BT dongle fits to, which is the USB adapter cradle with the data cable output that connects to the router also. Looks like a mess of cables and kit to carry around to me and there's no guarantee it would work.

 

[markc]

thanks for the replies
i can get the card out, the dongle splits the top slides off as it were and card is revealed,
i was thinking of putting it in a mobile router,
looking at a canal barge and wondering if we can manage with one contract.
so kit would be set up all the time just swap the card as needed.
at the moment it is plugged into a usb on the back of the router and just takes over if line drops out still using the hub wifi connections.

 

[Cowabunga]

thanks for the replies
i can get the card out, the dongle splits the top slides off as it were and card is revealed,
i was thinking of putting it in a mobile router,
looking at a canal barge and wondering if we can manage with one contract.
so kit would be set up all the time just swap the card as needed.
at the moment it is plugged into a usb on the back of the router and just takes over if line drops out still using the hub wifi connections.

Since you have got the SIMM card out, you might as well use the same thing I've got. A 'Wingle'.
Just drop your card in this and see if it works. It's unlocked to all networks and at worse you can get a 3 network, 12 or 24 month data card with 12 or 24GB of data that expires when the time or data is used up, whichever comes first. Hopefully the BT card will work but if it doesn't, it won't be wasted money.

Huawei E8372 Wingle- 4G Unlocked WiFi: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Buy

www.amazon.co.uk

Just be aware that there is another model that is designed only for laptops that only provides a signal to the device its plugged into. The one listed above is basically a wifi router, no less, and creates a strong signal that is sufficient for a large room at the least.

 

[markc]

well tried it today and it worked,
so looking good.

 

[Cowabunga]

well tried it today and it worked,
so looking good.

What did you use as a router?

 

[markc]

hi we used a maxveiw roamer router, designed for caravans boats and such

 

[Cowabunga]

Glad it works for you.

Can I ask why you chose to pay nearly £300 more for this than for the Huawei Wingle, which does exactly the same job as far as I can see? However I must be missing something [won't be the first time] and would appreciate knowing just what I am missing.

 

[markc]

well not our decision,
we bought a boat and part of the deal was fitting wifi and also some solar panels, so the choice was the suppliers within the price agreed.
it does have a external aerial, the problem with boats is inside a thick metal tube reception not good, otherwise we would have tried to use phone as hotspot and increased data on phone package