Vodafone internet problem?

[DealorNoDeal]

If the only new functionality you want is the hotspot, you might want to look at a MiFi device (or similar).

I've already got one of those with a giffgaf sim. I've got a separate non-smart mobile phone with a Vodafone sim, just used for calls and texts.

From what others have said,I could replace both devices with a smart phone which would provide hotspot+calls+texts. Then I could take full advantage of the giffgaf sim, which includes free calls and texts as well as 15Gb of data per month.

[hobnob]

Maybe it's time I considered joining the modern world and retiring the old Nokia for a smartphone.

Are there any cheap ones that would do the job? I'd only use it for the hotspot, calls and texts. My eyesight is too crap to be able to surf the internet on one.

If the only new functionality you want is the hotspot, you might want to look at a MiFi device (or similar).

[DealorNoDeal]

Maybe it's time I considered joining the modern world and retiring the old Nokia for a smartphone.

Are there any cheap ones that would do the job? I'd only use it for the hotspot, calls and texts. My eyesight is too crap to be able to surf the internet on one.

[WTFH]

Showing my total ignorance, but does the network continue working when you're on a phone call?

Yes (and Mal's answer is also true for Apple devices). I'm paying £16 per month for unlimited calls/texts and 30GB data per month at 5G speeds.
I have used it to connect a PC, a Mac and an iPad to the internet and make phone calls at the same time. This would include streaming videos and large group Teams meetings

[DealorNoDeal]

It's a WiFi hot spot, so the connection can be shared. It's not a router, so no management is offered other than a connection limit (my Samsung is 10 devices so not really a problem). All devices will be sharing the data network that the phone is connected to of course.

Showing my total ignorance, but does the network continue working when you're on a phone call?

[malvolio]

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Out of interest, can you use a smartphone as a router, ie. share it between two laptops?

It's a WiFi hot spot, so the connection can be shared. It's not a router, so no management is offered other than a connection limit (my Samsung is 10 devices so not really a problem). All devices will be sharing the data network that the phone is connected to of course.

[DealorNoDeal]

You could always pair your Windows 10 computer to your smartphone and use the data on it ...

It would make sense but I'm a bit of a luddite.

The gifgaf PAYG sim comes with unlimited texts and minutes and 15Gb data, which isn't bad for £10/month. It automatically renews each month off a credit card. If I have a lot of calls, or long calls, to make I take the sim out of the router and stick it in the Nokia phone. Yes I know, a bit

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Out of interest, can you use a smartphone as a router, ie. share it between two laptops?

[WTFH]

You could always pair your Windows 10 computer to your smartphone and use the data on it ...

[DealorNoDeal]

Vodafone mobile broadband still not working.

I tested with two different routers. Both work fine with gifgaf (O2 network), three and EE sim cards. But not with either of the two Vodafone sim cards I've got.

In the end I ditched them and went with gifgaf which worked out cheaper per Gb and they've got a decent website (Vodafone's website is utterly shyte).

In case anyone's interested, smarty seem to be the cheapest for PAYG data.

[DealorNoDeal]

don't they have a service status thingummy?

I couldn't find any reports of a problem in our area but, if there is a fault, it's possible they may not be aware of it because the telephony side is working fine.

I would report it but that would mean contacting customer "service"

[ladymuck]

No idea what the issue is (don't they have a service status thingummy?) but I can sympathise with the rest of your post.

I ditched Vodafone about 5 years ago when they took out a tower at the top of my road and what little reception I could get in my previous flat was reduced to nothing. Their customer service is awful and what I remember of the website was dire.

Three's website is especially terrible, particularly for business customers as you cannot do any account administration online.

[DealorNoDeal]

I've been using Vodafone mobile broadband for a few years now.

On Saturday it stopped working. The router connects ok at the telephony level but I can't ping any sites. Normally, if I run out of data or something, I can still access vodafone.co.uk but not now. Interestingly, I can do an nslookup on domain names, so it is still connecting to their DNS server.

This is what I've tried, to rule out a problem at my end:

1) another router (made no difference, so it's not a fault with the router)
2) another Vodafone sim card (no difference, so it's not a problem with my account)

If I put a Three or giffgaff sim card in the router, it works fine with their networks.

I tried taking the laptop and router a few miles away in the car, to connect to a different tower, but the problem is the same.

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It's not a biggy because I was thinking of ditching Vodafone anyway (crap website and customer service).

By the way, what is it with the big 4 telcos (Voda, EE, Three, O2)? Their websites are all dreadful and they get terrible reviews.

I'll probably go with giffgaff, or maybe try Smarty. Both their websites are a joy to use compared to the big 4.