Posted 18 hours ago

Mobile Internet To Laptop Whilst Travelling in the UK

Looking for best & cheapest way for internet to a laptop whilst travelling on trains across UK. Trains do provide WiFi, but it is quite unreliable. Would my own mobile internet be better? If so, I also don't want to use up my mobile battery as I pay a lot for my phone, would a Mi-fi with separate battery from my phone be better? Or could I just use an old phone with hotspot? I often have power source provided by train company. I use one SIM for calls & internet, but should I be looking for separate SIMS for each? Thanks for any help
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  1. bigwheels's avatar
    Wow, you are making it over complicated.
    Use your phone as a mobile hotspot.
    Or old phone and another sim.
    You stated the two options yourself.
    I keep 2 sims on the go and the wife has a third.
    Vodafone, 3 and EE.
    That covers us for just about everywhere we go.
    My cheap sim is Lebara, 99p or £1.99 for 6 months with 10 or 12gb data.
    I order a new sim every 6 months, to my mum, dad, me.
    Then go around again.
  2. AndyRoyd's avatar
    Some old tat Android mobile that's not seen the light outside your kitchen drawer for ages,
    coupled to your perception of best network coverage / preferred best deal, but maybe ideally different to your primary mobile network.
    Phone (or mifi) can be powered by laptop if necessary,
    plus the convenience of having a secondary comms device may be more appealing than one-function mifi.

    Base comparison for cheapest cellular deals likely against the short-term xx-months promos to the throwaway / rinse & repeat Lebara sims, where Lebara = Voda.
  3. Gollywood's avatar
    UK has terrible mobile internet coverage compared to the rest of the world
  4. sm9690's avatar
    Tether by USB so your phone stays charged
  5. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    Buy a power bank & get a dual sim phone
  6. KodaBear's avatar
    A lot of trains are basically faraday cages. So depending upon what you're on, you may well be better off using the onboard WiFi which has external antennas to get a better signal. Train WiFi in my experience will remain connected in a tunnel but mobile data won't as another example.

    If you want to use mobile data though, just make sure your phone is on a network with good rural coverage and then tether with that. Use USB if worried about battery life. Or if you're really against using your phone just get a USB Modem dongle.
  7. bozo007's avatar
    The train provided wifi is also using a mobile connection to connect. You are not going to get a much better experience using your own device unless the train wifi is already overloaded.
  8. jameshothothot's avatar
    I find my own mobile hotspot better on train than train WiFi usually as they often nerf your speeds on train WiFi to browsing only.
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