Best cell phones & accessories > mobile broadband according to redditors

$222 USD?? Call me crazy, but that puts this hat well out of DIY territory let alone any budget IoT project which the Pi is used for in the first place.

EDIT: I’ve got to be missing something. TR is saying this is affordable compared to other options. Besides being a hat, how would this be different from a [4G USB dongle](Unlocked Modem USB 4G LTE Huawei E397u-53 Worldwide Hotspot Service Required Only T-mobile in US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0JY15V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zAE0BbTXZT1ZX)?

By 4G dongle I meant a USB 4G modem, like this one.

You just put a SIM card on it with a decent data plan and plug it into any USB port in your PC.

A MiFi is just like a small wifi router that uses a 4G SIM card for connectivity instead of a fixed line. But this may not be a valid solution for you as I guess it will still require permanent power, just like a regular DSL/fibre router... so it might be exposed to current peaks. Maybe it can use a regular USB port in your laptop as power source? (haven't used any recent ones)

It would be very convenient, because you can then provide connectivity to all your devices and not just your PC.

Example.

Can anyone help me with my rural internet plan? Not super FIRE related, but I know a lot of folks here have probably encountered the same obstacle.

I'm in an area that can only get HughesNet, with their lovely 24-month contract only plans and low caps. I'm trying to daisy chain an alternative and could use some help!

At the location I can get decent LTE coverage from Verizon. They also offer an "unlimited' plan that drops your speed 4.8Mbps after 15Gigs. Not ideal, but still tolerable.

What'd I'd like to do is this:

• Verizon JetPack 7730L + An Antenna
  
  
• Verizon Single-Device Beyond Unlimited Service ($85/month)
  
  
• Pair The Jetpack to a Mesh Router, as my "single" device for full-home coverage
  
  
• Enjoy the 21st Century
  
  In theory it sounds straight-forward, but with only a USB out, how do I properly link the JetPack to the base router of the mesh system?
  
  
  

If you mean wifi hotspot, mobile carriers sell those. You could also just use your phone as a hotspot. If you want a device for a single connection that gets mobile internet on the go you can get what I got. I got an extra data sim line free from Tmobile a couple months ago from one of their promotions. I bought one of these, popped in my sim, and connected to my Surface Pro 4. I don't have to use my phone's hotspot anymore.

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Huawei-E397u-53-Worldwide-Desbloqueado/dp/B01M0JY15V/ref=pd_sim_107_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M0JY15V&pd_rd_r=VBYECTQP96W5X8G6BN5K&pd_rd_w=RlljH&pd_rd_wg=F1L0S&psc=1&refRID=VBYECTQP96W5X8G6BN5K

The one I was looking at is http://www.ebay.com/itm/162200904842?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

What I ended up ordering is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0JY15V/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll post back here when I get mine and get it working, but take a look at the amazon reviews, there has been some success with using this adapter with Linux. Hopefully it's pretty reliable while using a Fi data sim.

Huawei Mifis are Cheap and quite okay:
https://www.amazon.de/Huawei-E5330-Mobile-Hotspot-Router/dp/B00INXBW3U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479934750&sr=8-2&keywords=mifi

As Dataplan you could choose something like congstar, where you can choose to not make a contract but pay per use (monthly cancelation possible). After 5GB Traffic speed slows down to 64kbit/s though unless you rebuy traffic.
https://www.congstar.de/handytarife/datentarife/daten-l/

if there's a "no thanks" link, it's less shameful. here's a travel router with a usb gsm module that could work with a custom captive portal

A router won't add much in terms of power draw, a few watts when it's in use and you can turn it off whenever you're not using it. Something like this is fairly small and can be easily mounted to a wall or underneath a shelf with velcro.

In terms of 'turn off wan' that just means turning off the 'wide area network' or basically turning off the routers internet capabilities. It's likely not necessary, but a good measure if you want to use it for local devices only.

I don't believe you could use a phone or tablet to provide internet to the rest of the devices on the network. You'd likely need something more like this to distribute a 4g connection to several devices. There is a lot more to it in terms of network carrier issues, device compatibility, etc. but it would certainly be possible if you wanted to go that route.

To simplify for your original question, it really wouldn't be necessary to add 4G access for this to work, but it would be an option if you wanted to add internet access to the setup later on. I usually start with the basics but plan for the inevitable additions later.

Pocket WiFi is not popular in Germany like it is in Korea andv Japan, I doubt you'll find one to rent in Kassel or elsewhere. Such a service simply doesn't exist afaik. It would probably be easier and quicker to make an account with Amazon Germany (Hotel internet?) and buy one and have it sent to your hotel. Here's a Huawei one for 40 Eur

https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B00INXBW3U/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85Z%C3%95%C3%91&qid=1496816180&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mobiler+hotspot&dpPl=1&dpID=31o9PDHJbIL&ref=plSrch

In general these things are called "mobile hotspot" rather than "pocket wifi" here. Maybe the local Media Markt or Saturn have one on sale... But I doubt it... You can check their Kassel stock from their online shops.

Example device: Huawei E5330 in white is £30 at Amazon right now.

If you can get a SIM only deal for a fiver a month or so (these might work) that's relatively inexpensive - £4 a month would get you 250MB, or a fiver makes it 1GB (rolling monthly contract).

Alternatively, if you go with Three you can get this thingie for £8 a month on a two year contract, including 2GB of data a month.

I bought a T-Mobile ZTE FALCON Z-917 (Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ER6UAP2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_1qJCM85FrC2JT

Works great, has LTE, and the built in battery is a nice bonus.

• SD card is for storage, SIM card is for internet/telephony.
  
• If SIM card is locked, you cannot switch it to another device.
  
• Depending on telcom standard in your country, you can get e.g. a "Huawei E5220s-2 21 Mbps 3G Mobile WiFi Hotspot" (amazon).

Okay so what I did is that I bought a modem like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E5776-Mobile-Hotspot-globally/dp/B00B5SZHFE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-2&keywords=huawei+lte (example, don't actually buy this)

This type of modem uses a sim card and it's basically an internet router, you don't need to hot spot since this device is the hotspot. you just need to buy an unlimited data plan from whoever provides data to your area.

Or will I need something like this maybe

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Huawei-E397u-53-Worldwide-Required/dp/B01M0JY15V/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=usb+lte+modem+tmobile&qid=1549642597&sr=8-2


But again question is will you need Phone Line SIM or Data/Hotspot SIM?

this is what I ordered. No band 12 but is that really a huge deal?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0JY15V/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_dp

I don't need a crazy fast connection, this is for an Android head unit that needs data to run maps and maybe stream a little low quality music on Play.

For fastest solution you can buy this or similar before: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Ultra-Fast-Unlocked-E5577s-321-Portable/dp/B01BIQL7N8/ref=sr_1_1?s=clothing&ie=UTF8&qid=1503239856&sr=8-1&keywords=Huawei+E5577s+LTE and then just go to dna/elisa/telia shop or r-kioski (https://www.r-kioski.fi/tuotteet/prepaid-liittymat/) and buy 4G 1-month prepaid (those are unlimited data usually), just put sim inside and you are good to go. Then you have 1 month to find out if you can get fiber, cable, adsl or continue with 4G.

As a suggestion, I think you might want to get something like this (I think this one is only T-mobile in US) which could plug in to a Pi Zero (with a connector).

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Huawei-E397u-53-Worldwide-Required/dp/B01M0JY15V/ref=pd_sbs_147_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M0JY15V&pd_rd_r=67GRJCEV19N8CXCZCNEZ&pd_rd_w=fMpcp&pd_rd_wg=qCVYQ&psc=1&refRID=67GRJCEV19N8CXCZCNEZ

You would need Phone Sim card I think and Zero SD card and a weatherproof case.

You would then need a motor driver board and a motor (or solenoid).
You would probably want some sort of detector to detect "gate closed".

You would have to have power out to the gate.

I think you could probably make one cheaper, but it depends on how much you value your own time.

The GPRS usb dongles has given me a few ideas on other projects, so thanks.

I found this one from Huawei works for the data sim. Also, pick up an adaptor.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0JY15V?ref%5F=oh%5Faui%5Fdetailpage%5Fo04%5Fs00&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R25GJJW?ref%5F=oh%5Faui%5Fdetailpage%5Fo03%5Fs00&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1

So it would be something like this Huawei one?

Or maybe this Netgear one instead?

Weird how the price range is all over the place.

So will this work? And is this all I would need besides the SIM card?

https://www.amazon.com/ZTE-Velocity-Mobile-Hotspot-Unlocked/dp/B0747PF6P6

Or do I need another hotspot and/or something else?

You can use https://www.fakepersongenerator.com/imei-generator to generate ipad imei and sign up for the ATT iPad unlimited data plan. I just generated a few below to see if you can use any. Once you activate AT&T sim card with the following imei, take this sim card and place it in any unlocked phone or AT&T phone and you should have a data connection. You can also place it in a AT&T hotspot device or you can place it in your phone and use google voice for all incoming/outgoing calls as well as text. Port your actual number to Google voice because in order to use google voice, you just need data which you are going to get it with AT&T iPad unlimited plan. If you go with the hotspot device, the link is below:

https://www.amazon.com/ZTE-Velocity-Mobile-Hotspot-Unlocked/product-reviews/B0747PF6P6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_srt?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=1

​

iPad IMEI generated numbers: 358531057468284, 126670081228974, 990001276725975, 130990004976267

I know of something called Skyroam, found here: https://www.amazon.com/NEW-Skyroam-Solis-Unlimited-Pay-as-you-go/dp/B0756LFYC4.

Would this probably be the cheapest way to go about this? I would have use for one of these in the future, so might be something I’m willing to invest in.

Thanks to all who have answered so far — will be officially moving in tomorrow so I‘ll check those options as well.

Will this hotspot work with the AT&T LTE sim?

https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-ZTE-MF64-Z64-Hotspot/dp/B00Q9EDPI0

I do not live in Spain, however:

1. Download the documentation here
   
   
2. Send it to this address: [email protected]
   
   
3. Wait for their answer.
   
   Note that you will need a router and they will only provide it to you if you are bond to them for 24 months.
   
   You need a 4G router. If you want it for one computer you may be looking at this in Amazon or a lower cost Chinese router shipped from China. You are supposed to download/upload at 4G if available, if not 3G.

Get a cheapest phone (e.g. samsung galaxy pocket) with wifi hotspot facility, put the HK sim in it and use it as a Access Point for your main phone.

You can also get a pocket MiFi and put HK sim in it. [e.g. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5330-Mbps-Mobile-WiFi/dp/B00INXBW3U]

Ist natürlich wirklich keine besonders günstige Lösung, aber grundsätzlich würde ein mobiler WiFi Router mit einem Prepaid-Vertrag (oder vielleicht einer Zweit-SIM zu einem bestehenden Vertrag?) funktionieren.

zB https://www.amazon.de/Huawei-E5330-Mobile-Hotspot-Router-schwarz/dp/B00INXBW3U?th=1

a 3g box that you connect with wifi basically.
this is probably the exact one:

https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E5330Bs-2-Mobile-Hotspot-Europe/dp/B00INXBW3U

also, never had a single issue with that thing, this is definitely a problem in windows.

but it basically acts like if you shared your connection from a phone.

mobile internet
Not sure on a sub, but just get her this? We use it whilst camping.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INXBW3U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yXYHzbFWGVMP0

You will have to pay for a SIM card though, but those are pretty cheap. I recommend getting a 1gb-100gb SIM card from a SIM card machine.

Also if you want to pick it up to 150mbps it's $120 not $50 like the 20mbps one is

I use one of these, though you'll need a data SIM : https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-E5330-Genuine-Stock-Mobile-White-21MB-s-SIM-Free/dp/B00INXBW3U/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1506767209&sr=8-6&keywords=4g+mobile+router

Or get a portable wifi thingy.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5330-Unlocked-Mobile-White/dp/B00INXBW3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478191939&sr=8-1&keywords=mifi+3g+unlocked

Like that ^^

I was just looking at this one on amazon.

I have done this using the NETGEAR AirCard 4G 340U USB Mobile Broadband Modem.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013PRKCT8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just left China a week ago. I brought this: GlocalMe

It worked well enough despite the firewall. Google is absolutely out of the question, though. Using my own data allowed me to go to facebook and use Google maps. But connecting to this device meant going through the firewall.

EDIT: It looks like it's currently unavailable. There's a newer version and that's probably why. I'll see if I can provide a new link.

EDIT AGAIN: Yepp, here's the newer version: GlocalMe2. Shame. The original was $60USD and came with 60 euros of credit. I can't vouch for this one, but I can vouch for the original's reliability and speeds. Maybe others have used this new version?

Ok so I would do this then.

Buy a Cisco 3925 it has 3 gigabit ports.
port 1 to LAN (GPU Farm)
port 2 to Primary ISP
port 3 to Hotspot with Ethernet such as: https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-E5151-Hotspot-Ethernet-T-Mobile/dp/B00B4AYPLU

The router will run NAT and firewall, as well as IP SLA which you can use to monitor an external IP Address. Similar to this ( you won't need 3 routers) https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/ip-routing/200785-ISP-Failover-with-default-routes-using-I.html

Saw this on eBay while looking for a good LTE stick, I looked it up on Amazon and it supports 700mhz LTE, but is it B12 and T-Mobile compatible?

Here is the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Unlocked-Huawei-E397u-53-Worldwide-Required/dp/B01M0JY15V