Pocket WiFi

[RO_AH 1,659]

I invested in a Huawei B315 Gateway WIFI Modem Router  instead of a pocket wifi. I ordered it from Lazada. It is a router so you can plug in a wired connection or use the wifi. It is a lot more powerful than a pocket wifi and you canuse external antenna's if you are in a weak signal area. It is unlocked so I was able to try a prepaid SIM from each carrier to see which one had the best service in the area. For us it was Globe.

 

But if you can get DSL from PLDT that will be the best. But PLDT has very crappy customer service.

[herfnturf 27]

On 1/20/2018 at 9:44 AM, payxibka said:

Anybody use pocket WiFi in Phil?  I am going to be in Liloan Cebu for a month in March and will be working remote.  I need a solid connection.  Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

your situation is literally a clone of mine a few months back, even down to the location (I was just northwest of Mandaue though). I had a lot of headaches getting a stable connection for work, but ultimately settled on one of the globe home wifi devices, which is basically a pocket wifi since it's still over 4g. at our condo, speeds were totally fine. they'd range from 2-4mbps up to 50. thing is, the 2-4mbps rates were functioning the same as the 20+ mbps rates in the states. my fiance could watch netflix while I was VPN'd into work even.  I had no lag time at all even speedtesting at slower options. ideally, you'd use your on-site wifi if it's free, but even then, I'd suggest something like this as a backup option since phil wifi is spotty. however, if I had it to do over again, my only twitch would be finding a slightly better globe or smart wifi device with a high gain antenna. antenna size definitely matters and positioning also matters (closer to windows seemed to yield best results). 

 

here's the exact wifi device I had. it even worked in rural leyte, albeit less than 1mbps - but still slightly more reliable than my ProjectFi data. 

 

https://i1.wp.com/hungrygeeks.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Globe-Prepaid-Home-WiFi-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

This reminds me that when I go to the Philippines this year I need to get ANOTHER pocket wifi for me and the wife to use. We got one last time we were there and let her family have it while we are in the USA. They contacted me sometime last year about if I still had the paperwork on how to get in to manage the device. It turns out that there are to many people on the device now and not enough bandwidth hahahahaha.

[herfnturf 27]

11 hours ago, RO_AH said:

I invested in a Huawei B315 Gateway WIFI Modem Router  instead of a pocket wifi. I ordered it from Lazada. It is a router so you can plug in a wired connection or use the wifi. It is a lot more powerful than a pocket wifi and you canuse external antenna's if you are in a weak signal area. It is unlocked so I was able to try a prepaid SIM from each carrier to see which one had the best service in the area. For us it was Globe.

 

But if you can get DSL from PLDT that will be the best. But PLDT has very crappy customer service.

this sounds like the best bet. i couldn't find one with an external antenna when i was there, but if i need one when i go back, i'll go for this option. external antenna gives you a lot of options for signal boosting. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 hour ago, herfnturf said:

this sounds like the best bet. i couldn't find one with an external antenna when i was there, but if i need one when i go back, i'll go for this option. external antenna gives you a lot of options for signal boosting. 

You buy the antenna separate,.     That is how I found the antenna for my Huawei B593S-22.   Check Lazada

 

https://www.lazada.com.ph/catalog/?q=huawei+b315s+antenna&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4l.searchlist.search.go.2d26f7adAvWZLe

[RO_AH 1,659]

I found that the square one with the suction cup works great for Globe but not Smart. For Smart I had to use the chopsticks looking ones.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I use the 1st one listed works with both SMART and GLOBE

 

https://www.lazada.com.ph/mimo-panel-antenna-4g-lte-9-dbi-5-meters-cable-with-sma-for-huawei-b593-b315-e5186-11274039.html?spm=a2o4l.searchlist.list.2.30b4323fUSmwBx

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

20 hours ago, cyberfx1024 said:

This reminds me that when I go to the Philippines this year I need to get ANOTHER pocket wifi for me and the wife to use. We got one last time we were there and let her family have it while we are in the USA. They contacted me sometime last year about if I still had the paperwork on how to get in to manage the device. It turns out that there are to many people on the device now and not enough bandwidth hahahahaha.

Shocking...............