Dethleffs man Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 does anyone have a suggestion how to get internet access in these countries when travelling using aires, france passion etc. I try to get hotspots, and wifi locally but find the speed slow when my children use it on their iPads to play a few games and i try to watch something streamed. i have an ee contract but that is only for 100mb per day so no good for watching a film or the footy etc. and also slow when i use my iPhone as a mobile hotspot, constantly slowing down etc so not ideal i have read about mifi and am not clear on this do i get one and then buy a sim card in the countries i visit? or buy a 3 sim card as this is supposed to work as in the uk when in france and spain? I have a 3 dongle and have read that the allowances will now work in europe has anyone tried this? any suggestions/ experiences welcome visit both countries and off to france soon for a 3 week break and a months break late summer, spain for a month or two in december and need to sort this one thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I have a Motorola Razr i smartphone, combined with a 3 pay as you go sim, this allows full use of the internet with their feel at home add on, costs just the same as in the UK. Dunno about streaming stuff though, never tried it, but just brilliant for normal internet browsing, email etc, I used it all over France when it was first launched last year, cost me peanuts during the 7 weeks we were touring around, and now extended to Spain as well according to a text from 3 that I received just this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabino Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 The 3 "Feel at Home" is great. But they don't allow tethering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solwaybuggier Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We have a mifi which works fine for us - 2 ipads use the same connection. Not sure how far the data allowances you get on any mobile network will go for downloading streamed content, though. We download a paper daily, and find that 3MB a month is very tight indeed. Spain is quite easy, can't remember which network we used last time but I'm sure someone will advise. France is more of a problem with PAYG - there was an excellent provider called Joe, which you could turn on and off at will, although a minimal topup every 6 months was needed to keep number active. And you could pay by British bank card. But they've just announced they close on 15 May, seem to have taken over by Virgin, and UK cards no longer work. There are alternatives - SFR's La Carte is one - but they seem a lot dearer for data packages. The 3 offer is little use to us - we live in an area with little 3G coverage, so avoid contracts in favour of PAYG - but a lot of people favour it. I believe that either you can't use it with a mifi, or alternatively, if you can you can only connect one device to mifi at a time. I'm sure someone will advise though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Never once found anywhere in France without a 3G service, even in the middle of the Pyrenees, just take a 3 pay as you go sim, you don't need a contract, just get the feel at home add on when you top up and you're sorted ;-) There really is no need to make it any more complicated than that, unless you simply can't live without streaming stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 sabino - 2015-04-03 12:20 PM The 3 "Feel at Home" is great. But they don't allow tethering. To laptops. We've had no problems tethering to our Android tablets, from our Android phone, Stunningly good service. We're on PAYG with an unlocked smart phone, and buy the £15 monthly add on, with unlimited data. Been great having internet all week here at the Soustons Plage aire. With our 85cm Mecatronic dish with auto skew, we're the only Brits here with UK TV and internet!! Another couple moved on as they were without either (they had a dome). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We use a long range directional aerial & a wif router, nearly always able to find a Fon hot spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I have two contracts with 3 plus the PAYG which I used before I took out the phone contract). which means that I have 15G on my Mifi and quite a bit on my phone SIMS. Obviously far more than I need abroad but I do need it in my mobile home as I cannot have a landline. I do have a landline in my bungalow though as the signal for 3 is abysmal. I used the Mifi fine last year in France and would be able to use in Spain now apparently (not received notification yet) and I think Switzerland if I visit those countries. Had no problem getting a signal wherever I travelled last year although I think you can only use one device at a time when abroad. I am interested in using the FON but know nothing about it. It would be useful maybe to use at the house in France and maybe I could then cancel the internet payment out there as it is wildly expensive. Would I need a special router? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minstrel Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I have a three dongle, which works well in both England and France (only places I've used it) but I don't think downloading films would work too well unless you can download and watch the film later. In my experience evenings are the time when everybody is calling friends and therefore the signal can be intermittent. I found that best signal is in the morning - not necessarily when you want to spend time on the computer. Suited me as Chris was skiing each day.Yes Spain is now covered. I got my dongle paid for by BT due to their incompetence in cutting us off one month before be were due to join Virgin. It is the contract 10gb per month one. This is not what I need so I think I will buy their 12gb for 12 months at about £67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Hi, Forgive my ignorance but what is FON and there hot spots and how do you get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionadb1 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi there We went to Spain, and used this https://www.easymifi.com/en/ absolutely brilliant, fast quick and easy. Not so cheap, but the convenience of being online is invaluable. Fon is part of BT, can use hundreds of hotspots throughout uk and Europe. If you do not have wifi with BT you can purchase Fon for 1 year for £36.00. We LOVED our mifi!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Ninian - 2015-04-04 2:28 PM Hi, Forgive my ignorance but what is FON and there hot spots and how do you get it. FON is an international system which allows you to piggy back on domestic wifi sources. It is available to all BT Broadband subscribers and is free of charge. There might be other ways to get access. I've not found it much use abroad but then I don't have any signal boosting kit. Now that Three offers free data roaming and calls, that service meets my needs well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0930 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I have used a Zoom mobile router for some years now. It works just like a MiFi but the main advantage is that you attach a mobile dongle to it relative to the area you are in. It will translate any dongle allowing you to choose the best service and therefore not tied to any one service provider. The router itself costs about £60 plus the cost of the PAYG dongle. Possibly not the cheapest option but gives you the best of all worlds. Google "Zoom mobile router" for more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertandjean Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Responding to this using three from aire at Honfleur, with no problems. We have a mifi on contract for £16.99/month which gives us 15 gb which we use for pads and tablets, plus Jean has 25 gb on her phone also from three. So fingers crossed we might just manage while we are in France for the month!!! (Must add great morning here sat out in very warm sunshine, before walking into town to have lunch overlooking the old harbour, so will not need much more internet for a while). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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