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Mifi, performance and opinions

P

Pinnoks

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2011
20
0
Melbourne, Australia
It seems like such a great idea, being able to hook up all your devices (ipod, ipad, iphone, macbook ect.) to the internet simultaneously at any given location, provided that you have wireless reception. It could also help people cut the cost of some devices such as the ipad, as you no longer need to purchase an extra sim card/plan, and can also save money on purchasing a wifi-only model. As i do not own a Mifi modem myself, i am interested to hear others opinions on the modem, and peoples experiences with them, mainly the speed of the connection. Thanks,
Jake.
 
I'm a fan
I have a Huawei MiFi device on the 'Three' network in the UK & it seems significantly faster than the iPhone's native 3G; MiFi does HSPA & I guess either the iPhone (3GS) doesn't or O2 in the UK doesn't

Either way, it works really well
My one issue is that battery life isn't what it could be; generally lasts for ~6 hours. If it were 10, then I could go a day without worrying. As it is, I end up charging from USB in the afternoon
 
I just picked up a MiFi device from Verizon. $35 a month for 3GB of data. The device they gave me was (free with 2 year contract), is the 5spot AC30. I have only used it a couple of times and not to excited about the speed. But i may not have been in a great spot yet.

It works ok for web surfing, but streaming is tough.
 
I and a couple family members have CLEAR MiFi devices. We have CLEAR 4G in our area and the speeds are great.
 
My iPad is my MiFi device.

Jailbreaking and the MyWi app turns my iPad into a great MiFi. Whenever I travel abroad, I buy a local SIM and share my 3g data connection with friends, family and my other devices. The great iPad battery life is a big plus.
 
A MiWi app!? Does that allow you to dial the number of the MiFi and put in the pin? I bought a Huwai from Vodafone here in Portugal but had to return it as there was no way of getting it to connect. I asked the guys at Vodafone if there was an App but they didn't know of one. I'll have a look at the App you mentioned.
 
abriwin said:
A MiWi app!? Does that allow you to dial the number of the MiFi and put in the pin? I bought a Huwai from Vodafone here in Portugal but had to return it as there was no way of getting it to connect. I asked the guys at Vodafone if there was an App but they didn't know of one. I'll have a look at the App you mentioned.
Click to expand...

MyWi is an app in the Cydia store for jailbroken iPhones/iPads. It doesn't affect the way you install and configure the SIM for 3G service on the device. It just creates a wifi network which other devices can connect to and share your 3G internet connection. It does allow you to control access to that network with a password.
 
We have a MiFi and love it!!

We live in the country (NO Cable or DSL available) and had been using the Verizon thumb modem and had to deal with who was going to be online first.

Now with the MiFi be both connect and MUCH FASTER (Tween .63 - 2.1MB) than previously. We love ours.... Wish for more than the 5GB download budget tho...
 
Thanks, I guess I should have read your comment more carefully. I need an app that will allow me to dial the number of the Huwai or similar Mifi without a Mac being present.
 
I have got the virgin mifi, due to their no contract $40/mth true unlimited data plan, and ability to use 5 devices on it! We LOVE LOVE it! Speeds are great, depending on the area of course, but we have yet to suffer from painfully slow speeds or no connection! Unlike AT&T! Get it from Walmart as they offer an extra data plan of $20 for 1MB/mth which you cannot get from buying it elsewhere, not even from virgin themselves! I will go out of my way to not give AT&T money after the retraction of the unlimited plan!
 
cujimmyusa said:
I have got the virgin mifi, due to their no contract $40/mth true unlimited data plan, and ability to use 5 devices on it! We LOVE LOVE it! Speeds are great, depending on the area of course, but we have yet to suffer from painfully slow speeds or no connection! Unlike AT&T! Get it from Walmart as they offer an extra data plan of $20 for 1MB/mth which you cannot get from buying it elsewhere, not even from virgin themselves! I will go out of my way to not give AT&T money after the retraction of the unlimited plan!
Click to expand...

Not sure if I understand the last part of your post. I have the verizon 5 spot wifi, and so far the speed has been bad ( only been above 1 once). Also the unit itself is a bit of a pain, hard to turn on and turn off. I end up just pulling the battery to turn it off.
 
I was debating the same thing recently, and just got the Virgin Broadband2go mifi 2200 today, with a $40 unlimited one month card. It's pretty darned good, and I've been in about five different towns in two counties today. Web pages load tolerably quickly and I have no trouble with YouTube video or anything. I'm impressed. This is a better deal than the AT&T 25$ plan with only 2gb (that can end up costing you $50 or more per month if you routinely exceed the limit.). Pay as you go is nice.
 
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