heartsfc_fan Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Hi folks. Just wondering if anyone has one of these? I'm considering buying one myself, but want a bit of advice. Are they any good? I'm a light/moderate internet user. Don't download films or anything, but usually spend most evenings browsing the web and the odd youtube video. I also use Xbox Live maybe 2 nights a week. Do the dongles work with Xbox live? I would be sharing the connection on my laptop and using an ethernet cable and plugging directly into the xbox to get the connection. What's the best company for signal/speed etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The People's Chimp Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I've got an orange one through my work, it's pretty rubbish to be honest. It can have the 3G connection, with full signal and it will still just stop working for about 5 minutes. So it goes from great to shite then back to average then back to ok, then rubbish again, all while sitting in the same place, with it saying there's a 3G connection. It is quite annoying. It's also utterly terrible for using on the train, as it keeps on cutting out. I'd rate it 5/10 as It's handy for keeping in my laptop bag and using when I need it, but if I was being honest, unless you get a good deal you'd be better just getting a home connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Useful for when you're away from home and need to keep in touch. I've got a 3 one, it's not bad connection wise and I got it as it's PAYG. I wouldn't imagine they would ever be fast enough for online gaming though, and you'd use up your data allowance incredibly quickly even if it was fast enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamcraigbeattie Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Useful for when you're away from home and need to keep in touch. I've got a 3 one, it's not bad connection wise and I got it as it's PAYG. I wouldn't imagine they would ever be fast enough for online gaming though, and you'd use up your data allowance incredibly quickly even if it was fast enough. I have one which i use for work but i wouldnt like to rely on it because as someone says they do tend to drop connection rather a lot. Handy to have but not stable enough for my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazo Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Hi folks. Just wondering if anyone has one of these? I'm considering buying one myself, but want a bit of advice. Are they any good? I'm a light/moderate internet user. Don't download films or anything, but usually spend most evenings browsing the web and the odd youtube video. I also use Xbox Live maybe 2 nights a week. Do the dongles work with Xbox live? I would be sharing the connection on my laptop and using an ethernet cable and plugging directly into the xbox to get the connection. What's the best company for signal/speed etc? It would make far more sense and a lot more cost effective to get Internet installed at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 It would make far more sense and a lot more cost effective to get Internet installed at home. Yup, I've just ordered some "proper" internet. I decided that it was probably the best solution after reading some of the comments. Thanks for the advice folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Dover Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I've got an orange one through my work, it's pretty rubbish to be honest. It can have the 3G connection, with full signal and it will still just stop working for about 5 minutes. So it goes from great to shite then back to average then back to ok, then rubbish again, all while sitting in the same place, with it saying there's a 3G connection. It is quite annoying. It's also utterly terrible for using on the train, as it keeps on cutting out. I'd rate it 5/10 as It's handy for keeping in my laptop bag and using when I need it, but if I was being honest, unless you get a good deal you'd be better just getting a home connection. What you might find is that the ISP ( Orange in your case ) have installed their own crap software on the stick ! I had one provided by the 3 network and having googled the reasons behind it's 'crapness' I found a post recommending that I actually re-install the stick manufacturers own files ! I did that ( stick was made by Huwaie or something like that ) and afterwards it was absolutely rock solid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobo_755 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 What you might find is that the ISP ( Orange in your case ) have installed their own crap software on the stick ! I had one provided by the 3 network and having googled the reasons behind it's 'crapness' I found a post recommending that I actually re-install the stick manufacturers own files ! I did that ( stick was made by Huwaie or something like that ) and afterwards it was absolutely rock solid I did exactly the same as I have one through T Mobile. It was pretty poor to start with but after complaining non stop to them I managed to get a tenner off a month for the remainder of my contract and they reinstalled files and now works great but still not as good as having a home internet connection but is good for browsing only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Dover Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I did exactly the same as I have one through T Mobile. It was pretty poor to start with but after complaining non stop to them I managed to get a tenner off a month for the remainder of my contract and they reinstalled files and now works great but still not as good as having a home internet connection but is good for browsing only. Agreed Mine was on loan to me while I was recently in Hospital so any contact with the outside world was a bonus. It was also on a company contract so I've no idea what Pay as you go would have cost me while I was spouting keek on here all day long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del1812 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 We use them for putting stuff up the pictures and reports on match days. They are a massive pain in the arse as there is always, at least, one point during the 90 minutes when it will just stop working. Vital if you need to be able to use the net on a laptop out and about. But I would never get one to use in my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Plissken Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I had one about a year ago and they're absolutely crap. It would be slow as hell and stop working every five minutes. I would never get another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboInSouthsea Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I have one on 3 which never worked properly and was a total waste of money...if anybody wants it to see how bad things can get drop me a line and i'll even pay the postage. Had one on O2 which wasn't too bad but managed to sell it on eBay as have internet at home now which is top quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H J Simpson Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I must be in the minority then, as I have one and it works great at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GhostHunter Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Orange have updated their dongle software... http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/504365/3 Not sure if it helps the piss poor connection though - will be finding out tomorrow :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radioactive Mince Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I've had a T-Mobile one since March 2009 and it works brilliantly 99.9% of the time while I'm at work (HSDPA or 3G) but didn't work very well at all at home (the sticks) as it would only pick up GPRS. The home issue didn't matter at all as I got home wireless. My mobile internet works pretty well on the move (train from Dunf/Rosyth to Edinburgh) barring obvious moments like tunnels/while changing masts etc. Once had the laptop linked to my car stereo on the M/A90 (same journey) to listen to spotify and it didn't cut out. Overall, I'm very happy with my contract. It has proved to be well worth the dosh as I've been using it at work for usually several hours a night. It obviously depends where you are. I'm aware that some areas of Embra are bad (lots of hills/NIMBY mast blockers possibly?) but it works great in SW Fife and the flatter more Northerly areas of Edinburgh at least. I did a broadband speed check on one of those websites while at work and it came back as 2 point odd Mbps which I thought was good. I can stream live footy no problem for the guys at work, as I've done on occasion. I have a 3GB 'limit' but it's a fair usage policy. Normal internet browsing/light-medium downloading such as MS updates, PDFs and suchlike will put you nowhere near the limit. I've only ever been to 1.9GB or something and, trust me, this includes a couple of live streams, an hour long iplayer programme and about (at a rough guess) 60 hours of internet browsing. On the other hand, I got my wife a 3 stick and it's never seemed to work anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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