Moving Home - Need WFH Internet ASAP

[SunsetZed]

We're moving house and due to WFH (and school from home) will need decent internet from day 1, I've been thinking that maybe Dongles or mobile Wi-Fi hotspot would suffice but I feel like they'll b a) pricey for what they offer and b) very low performance compared to high speed internet. I'm guessing I'm not the first to face this challenge so what have others done?

[HantsRat]

1 - Give your chosen internet company the dates and see if they can set up on this date
2 - Connect via 4G hotspot either using phone or a mi-fi device
3 - Ask neighbours nicely if you can use there's is close enough
4 - Go to these drop-in style offices where you can rent by the day

[Lim]

Phone hotspot should be able to offer comparable WFH performance 95% of the time. Which is good enough for most tasks.

What is your concern. Do you have poor reception?

I had a dongle for this same purpose but speeds were identical to my mobile so I just upgraded my data package.

Edited by Lim on Monday 11th January 08:35

Edited by Lim on Monday 11th January 08:36

[Jazoli]

A mifi dongle (such as the huawei 4g one) and a 3 sim with unlimited data at £18/month will get you up and running (provided there is good coverage on 3, other providers are available obviously)

Its what I setup for a couple of family members, speeds are fine, streaming is great and there have been zero issues so far after 12 months, you can be up and running in 2 minutes after you have the dongle and sim.

Even a hotspot from your mobile will be ok short term.

[SunsetZed]

Thanks for the repy

HantsRat said:

1 - Give your chosen internet company the dates and see if they can set up on this date

I will try this but based on the service we've had previously (in terms of this kind of thing with them as opposed to the quality of their broadband) I'm not optimistic!

HantsRat said:

2 - Connect via 4G hotspot either using phone or a mi-fi device

I guess that's largely the same as using a dongle in terms of speed? Do you know if dongles offer any benefits over phone hotspot?

HantsRat said:

3 - Ask neighbours nicely if you can use there's is close enough

I did think of this, it's definitely a potential option but won't know until moving in.

HantsRat said:

4 - Go to these drop-in style offices where you can rent by the day

In normal times this would have been the solution, it's one of the (many!) additional challenges with moving during the current lockdown that I can't do it.

[croyde]

When Virgin were about to double my monthly bill I looked into 4g routers.

£100 for the router and did find a sim with unlimited data for £20/month.

Many places my 4g is often quicker than the WiFi.

[SunsetZed]

Lim said:

Phone hotspot should be able to offer comparable WFH performance 95% of the time. Which is good enough for most tasks.

What is your concern. Do you have poor reception?

I had a dingle for this same purpose but speeds were identical to my mobile so I just upgraded my data package.

Edited by Lim on Monday 11th January 08:33

Thanks, my concern is that the phone won't handle 3 of us on video calls at the same time (2 for work, 1 for school) and whilst 3 won;'t be the norm for most of the day there will be at least 1, probably 2 video calls in progress.

Jazoli said:

A mifi dongle (such as the huawei 4g one) and a 3 sim with unlimited data at £18/month will get you up and running (provided there is good coverage on 3, other providers are available obviously)

Its what I setup for a couple of family members, speeds are fine, streaming is great and there have been zero issues so far after 12 months, you can be up and running in 2 minutes after you have the dongle and sim.

Even a hotspot from your mobile will be ok short term.

Thanks, I'll have to check the reception in the area next time I'm there but it sounds as though getting a dongle like that will give a good safety net at least.

[Castrol for a knave]

SunsetZed said:

We're moving house and due to WFH (and school from home) will need decent internet from day 1, I've been thinking that maybe Dongles or mobile Wi-Fi hotspot would suffice but I feel like they'll b a) pricey for what they offer and b) very low performance compared to high speed internet. I'm guessing I'm not the first to face this challenge so what have others done?

I feel your pain.

We moved to an area that had atrocious internet speed - less than 0.5meg. I had intended to use ISDN but things changed so I was unable to.

First, have a look to see if there are any "rural broadband" providers (assuming your rural or semi rural) . These guys use a microwave link to a hub - requires a dish fitting though.

To be honest, we've dropped ours and just gone to 4g. Vodaphone will do unlimited broadband, sim only, for about £30. We use a Netgear router, but you can use an old phone as a hotspot. It is fast enough to stream hi def music in the evening.

[SunsetZed]

croyde said:

When Virgin were about to double my monthly bill I looked into 4g routers.

£100 for the router and did find a sim with unlimited data for £20/month.

Many places my 4g is often quicker than the WiFi.

Good to know, thanks.

Castrol for a knave said:

SunsetZed said:

We're moving house and due to WFH (and school from home) will need decent internet from day 1, I've been thinking that maybe Dongles or mobile Wi-Fi hotspot would suffice but I feel like they'll b a) pricey for what they offer and b) very low performance compared to high speed internet. I'm guessing I'm not the first to face this challenge so what have others done?

I feel your pain.

We moved to an area that had atrocious internet speed - less than 0.5meg. I had intended to use ISDN but things changed so I was unable to.

First, have a look to see if there are any "rural broadband" providers (assuming your rural or semi rural) . These guys use a microwave link to a hub - requires a dish fitting though.

To be honest, we've dropped ours and just gone to 4g. Vodaphone will do unlimited broadband, sim only, for about £30. We use a Netgear router, but you can use an old phone as a hotspot. It is fast enough to stream hi def music in the evening.

We're actually moving to an area where broadband speed will be fine it's just I think it will likely take at least a few days to get it setup so I want an interim solution but 4G sounds like it could be the way forward.

[Lim]

SunsetZed said:

Thanks, my concern is that the phone won't handle 3 of us on video calls at the same time (2 for work, 1 for school) and whilst 3 won;'t be the norm for most of the day there will be at least 1, probably 2 video calls in progress.

Can you go to speedtest.com on your mobile and check the speed? My phone has 30mb down which is faster than our fixed line. But less consistent and perhaps subject to caps .

Also worth googling to see if other providers have better reception in your area.

Main advantage of the dongle if on same network, was it was always on, plugged in and stationary. Speed and consistency was about the same, which is no surprise as it’s basically the same thing.

[SunsetZed]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Both!

We're selling, moving into a rental for a couple / few months and then moving into a new house. I like that tip though if it was a straight sell - buy I'd look to do the same as it's a great idea.

[SunsetZed]

Lim said:

SunsetZed said:

Thanks, my concern is that the phone won't handle 3 of us on video calls at the same time (2 for work, 1 for school) and whilst 3 won;'t be the norm for most of the day there will be at least 1, probably 2 video calls in progress.

Can you go to speedtest.com on your mobile and check the speed? My phone has 30mb down which is faster than our fixed line. But less consistent and perhaps subject to caps .

Also worth googling to see if other providers have better reception in your area.

Main advantage of the dongle if on same network, was it was always on, plugged in and stationary. Speed and consistency was about the same, which is no surprise as it’s basically the same thing.

Thanks that all makes sense. Problem is it's not a local move so I'll have to try googling and see if I can find a recommendation for a provider in the new area.

[hotchy]

Just get one of those pay as you go 3 sims and turn into hot spot. Cost you £35 for the month until your internets in.

I say this but I put off moving in for a week for my Internet to be fitted haha.

[sgrimshaw]

SunsetZed said:

Do you know if dongles offer any benefits over phone hotspot?

The obvious one is that if you use your phone, the house loses internet if you go out (with your phone).

I use several of these in my properties:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XC16QC1/ref=twister...

and one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071763HRG/ref=twister...

the second one is not 3x better than the first in terms of speed but does allow for 32 devices to connect (as opposed to 10).

Both work really well.

I use these SIMs as I don't want to sign up for contracts:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Mobile-Pay-Broadban...

[DaveE87]

It took BT 5 weeks to get my new house connected up after numerous delays and crap comms with OpenReach - it should have been installed on Day 1 as I arranged it weeks before. However, what they done is send me out one of the MiFi minihubs (at no cost) which I used until the broadband was up and running. Calls are taking half an hour minimum to get through to them though so it was a pain every time I tried contacting them. In the end I made a complaint so they could call me.

[SunsetZed]

Thanks all for the replies and sorry for the radio silence on an update, touch wood it doesn't seem to have been as painful as I feared.

Sky switched off our Wi-Fi at home today and should be at the new (temporary!) property tomorrow ahead of our move in on Friday so I think that's a pretty good result as it just means one day of Hotspot at home for home working.