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Three Mobile WiFi
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Three Mobile WiFi
| In a nutshell | ||
Last updated October 2013 Three Mobile WiFi uses Three Broadband to create a wireless network (WLAN) so you can connect devices like laptops or mobile phones to the internet completely wirelessly and without the need for a fixed broadband connection. You can connect 5 Wi-Fi devices simultaneously with speeds of up to 21.1 Mbps. Best buy: THREE Pay As You Go 3G MiFi from Currys (£34.99) |
Summary
Nicknamed MiFi®, Three Mobile WiFi uses a Three broadband connection plus a wireless modem to create a fully wireless network that you can use to connect multiple devices such as laptops and mobile phones to the internet. You can use it to access the internet without any need for wires or a BT phone line. The system is very simple to set up and use, with no wires (obviously) and no software to install.
Use the links on this page to buy online and you'll get free delivery and a 14-day money back guarantee, provided that you return everything in "as sold" condition.
The speed that you experience will depend on whether you are in an area with "excellent coverage" (i.e within HSDPA coverage), "good coverage" (i.e. within 3G coverage) or "marginal coverage" (i.e. on the edge of the 3G coverage region. Three's HSDPA coverage region currently covers 91% of the UK population (data correct in October 2009) and offers download speeds of up to of up to 2.8 Mpbs. 3 are currently rolling out 7.2 Mbps coverage across the UK. You can check coverage by postcode on the 3 website. 3 claim that most people on the HSDPA network can expect a speed ranging from 1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps.
Ofcom's survey of mobile broadband, published in May 2011 found that Three offered significantly faster average download speeds than T-Mobile and Orange, but slower than O2 and Vodafone.
User questions
Got a question? This is the place to ask it!
Please don't ask a question that has already been asked. Duplicates will be removed. |
I would like to check my acount, because I can't bring it on my ipad.
Asked by
Linda maidment
from England
on 10th Feb 2017
Just tried STV Player on 3 Mobile and it first gave me sound out of sync, tried again and there was no sound at all?????
Asked by HARRY BAYEN
from SCOTLAND
on 2nd Nov 2016
Help with my dongle please?
Asked by Momo little
from England
on 4th Aug 2016
I'm going into hospital and there's no wifi so found my old HUAWEI 586
forgot how to use it since got iPad 3 yrs ago help don't know what I
need for to pay online .
Three Mobile WiFi user reviews
Love this product? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the product that's best for them. Please do not review this product if you have not used it, and please ask questions in our User Questions section above. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 158 reviews: 
Reviewed by Michael short
from uk
on 3rd Aug 2017
Absolute rubbish hardly used and after about 30 mins had gone through
2gigs. Contacted 3 now help at all all they did was sell me more.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Helene
from UK
on 30th Jan 2017
Well, I am glad I am not the only one. It’s a shame I
didn’t find out these reviews before I took Three, but
that’s the problem when you can’t get online during most
of the week, you don’t get to read online reviews!
I took
a ‘wifi bank’ (Huawei E5573 4G Mobile Wi-Fi) with an
allowance of 2GB per month back in November, for £9 per month.
Up to then I had been using Giff Gaff on my smartphone, £7.50
for 1 GB, so Three looked like a better deal and it would enable me to
connect my laptop and my chromebook if needed. I wanted the internet
access for emails and general browsing (paying bills, checking bank
accounts, transferring monies, reading the news, occasionally
downloading the odd PDF) while commuting every day (5 to 8 hours so I
don’t get much done in the evenings), and very occasionally at
work. I checked the coverage for the area through which I commute and
my company’s offices, and although both are in rural areas,
according to Three’s website, it was supposed to be excellent.
In fact, the signal is too low for me to get on the internet for most
of my commute, and during most of the day at work (I can’t
exactly walk round the office to try and pick up a better signal, not
very discreet…) and I will find out that I have used 10 Mb just
trying to get onto the internet, without having ever having managed to
download a single page. The signal works fine if I am travelling by
coach to London, or if I am in London, but that only happens a couple
of times a year. The signal is also very good at home, where I
don’t need it, as I have Virgin. Even though I hardly ever used
the device, I found out I had gone over my allowance for every single
month since joining: December was particularly bad (£31.19 bill
even though I only used the device for a week) and when that happened
I checked the Huawei app on my smartphone, and found regular messages,
posted in the middle of a single night, informing me I had used
£10, £15, £20, £25 etc. I think what happened
is that one or more of my devices connected to the Huawei in the
middle of the night, to check for Windows updates or similar. I now
keep the battery outside the Huawei when I am not using it. The other
big issue is that the Huawei app shows I have an allowance of 100 Mb
only, when my contract is for 2 GB. I haven’t had the time to go
back to the shop to try and sort it out.
The only good thing is
that because it is a 2-year contract, it has helped raise my credit
score a little. Maybe that will help me get a mortgage. But as far as
internet use goes, it’s back to Giff Gaff: better signal, and
the £7.50/1GB deal lasts me a whole 3 weeks.
Rating:
Reviewed by Beth McH
from UK
on 10th Dec 2016
We bought a 3 Dongle as we have no broadband signal. It worked for a
while then 3 changed their interface. Basically they are saying we now
need to upgrade our computer which worked fine until they fiddled with
their settings.
I am hoping that 3 mobile will be refunding the
cost of 2 dongles bought in good faith and made useless by a needless
change to their top-up programme.
DON'T go with this
company. They constantly make 'upgrade' changes that cost YOU
money.
ps like others we've topped up, had the page
freeze and lost the top up voucher. I've called them and they've paid
up but make sure you use a free-phone number and DON'T pay out even
more for phone calls.
Rating:
Reviewed by Ace
from Surfer
on 18th Nov 2016
Got 3 Mifi 2 days ago with 3GB free. This ran out in 20 mins of
streaming on BBC iplayer. Topped up £25 and converted that to
7GB and to my shock 1 day of browsing the web and watching less than
an episode of Top Boy on all4 I'm out of data.
Incredible so I've called 3 and they're talking like that's normal to
pay that much when my3 mobile has unlimited web for £25. I'm
fuming. This company needs reporting and to be fined and I need a
refund.
P.S: there should be a 0 star option below.
Rating:
Reviewed by Diane harrison
from GB
on 17th Jun 2016
Moved l13 old swan in May can hardly connect now..glad i got o2 data
cos i'd be more fuming! when I lived near l6 everton signal was alot
better tho not perfect!we pnly have 3 wifi for our pc may change
soon!
Rating:
Reviewed by kikka ace
from england
on 1st Jun 2016
To all all three mifi uses i have the same problem with my 3 mifi
loosing the connection (alot). But the other night i was going through
the settings and noticed that the pre shared wep key had 3 options, so
i changed it from WPA/WPA2-PSK TO WPA2-PSK and so far i have not had
any issues with the connection dropping. Hope this helps everyone out
there with this problem. Would apprechiate any feed back from u guys
......thanx.
Rating: 
Reviewed by diane
from uk
on 1st May 2016
Totally disappointed with 3 my Wi-Fi comes and goes. Told 3 this and
all they say well it's showing good reception!! Well try living here
then!!! They won't do a thing. Been with three for 11 years and this
past 9 months it's awful. Also have phone with them, again never get a
continued service. Annoyed.
Rating:
Reviewed by Paul Vickery
from UK
on 8th Apr 2016
I bought a 20gb mobile mifi on Sunday. By Thursday, I had used it all
up?!!! What!??? I browsed the Internet, wrote emails and downloaded
playlists from my computer to my phone. Er... That's it. The playlists
were large and I've probably downloaded about 300 songs. Now some of
the songs took so long to download because of the wifi connection.
Could that be the problem? Anyway, I'm not a happy bunny. Please
help.
Rating:
Reviewed by Diane
from uk
on 19th Mar 2016
terrible customer service signed up agreed monthly data no problem for
first 7 month then problems with no connection after several weeks of
this went to shop where ipad was wiped clear and service resumed. Bank
statement showed an extra £50 had been taken from my account
this was during the time iPad was not in use, following lengthy phone
call still no explanation offered to refund me £25 but not happy
as my contract was capped so they had no right to take extra money
from my account......fuming was told They can do this can they????
Rating:
Reviewed by Allen taylor
from Uk
on 17th Mar 2016
My WiFi with three is a load of rubbish it keeps going off all the
time and I don't intend paying for something I'm not getting.
Rating:
Reviewed by NED
from NORTHERN IRELAND
on 4th Feb 2016
DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND UNLESS ONE IS OK WITH ALL THIS TECH
JARGON.
Rating:
Reviewed by Des
from England
on 30th Jan 2016
I bought the dongle from three it has been up & down not very fast
,but they have just super pumped the signal so now get 4G not 3G &
average download speed 25-45mps upload 5-20mps so for me it is a very
good service now i can't complain.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Leon White
from England
on 26th Jan 2016
I was as happy as larry until i changed to a 12 month contract and
simultaneously they did some engineering work in my area, now the
signal is up and down like a strippers knickers, had issues with the
cap i had on my previous account, which they did not transfer over.
therefore got a whopping 2p charge which bounced my DD and i got a
£10 bank charge, which they refunded but not the 2p (petty),
thier website stated that i had 3 answers to how much data i had left
1. your account is suspended due to unpaid dues (they owed me
£11, 2. 8gb, 3. you have used all 20gb in 3 weeks!!!
didnt
get very far so lodged a complaint, cancelled my contract and DD, now
awaiting written confirmation of my complaint, which i doubt they will
get right!!
Rating:
Reviewed by fuming!!!!
from uk
on 8th Jan 2016
Topped up my three dongle, got signal got on to Google got to see one
page then received a text stating I had £0.00..... I didn't even
get to look at anything. I am fuming that £10 has just gone
before I even had a chance to blink!! I will not be using three ever
again...I give it no stars!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Michelle
from Ireland
on 20th Dec 2015
Absolutely dreadful. NEVER connects to the internet, it's ridiculous.
It'll connect for a couple of minutes if I turn it off and on again
but then stops working again. Avoid like the plague. Never again will
I get anything to do with 3.
Rating:
Reviewed by Larry
from UK
on 19th Nov 2015
I purchased 3 Mi-Fi from a local store a few months ago. I was led to
believe that I pay £16 per month via direct debit on a 30 day
rolling contract. Then.., when my bank statements came through, I
noticed that 'Three' had taken over £40 on more than one
occasion! What is that about??., I wasn't even getting 10Gb anyway!!
After numerous calls, I was told that there is a 'cap' that goes OVER
the 10Gb data allowance, which was certainly NOT mentioned to me. I
cancelled the direct debit and have been pestered with calls from
'THREE' ever since, often 3 or 4 times a day demanding I pay another
month! This is bordering 'HARASSMENT' Then they say that when paid..,
they will (wait for it....) ''RE-INSTATE MY SERVICE''! I wish these
people would TAKE NOTICE when I tell them that I cancelled my Direct
debit, because I wasn't getting what I was paying for anyway, and yet
they want me to 'pay for ANOTHER MONTH (???). It seems that the staff
are either deaf, stupid or can't be bothered to help the customer
without fobbing us off with the proverbial 'B.S' simply to scam as
much as they can get out of us.
I certainly won't be
recommending this scam outfit to anybody. I am seriously considering
sending an email to BBC's 'Watchdog' program. This company needs to be
exposed for what it really is! Nothing short of a scam outfit with
'hidden' charges etc etc!.
Bottom Line?..., AVOID LIKE THE
PLAGUE. I'm only giving one star rating, because unfortunately, there
isn't a Lower rating to give these rip off merchants!
Rating:
Reviewed by Anonemous
from United Kingdom
on 18th Oct 2015
It just says that the signal is down when we are abroad!! Someone
please help!!
Rating:
Reviewed by MissT
from United Kingdom
on 4th Oct 2015
The mifi has always been brilliant for me and I've never had any
issues. To answer the questions to some of the users regarding using
excessive data check which applications are running in the background
(on iPad) and if any apps are sending push notifications i.e emails
sent to the device as they arrive. I disabled the running of several
apps when I'm not using them as this was consuming data without my
knowledge. You can access apps in settings on iPad. Same goes for
using a laptop or PC check that emails isn't constantly synchronising
and automatically retrieving emails as they arrive. Also check any
anti virus isn't using too much data by checking settings on your anti
virus programme and set the programme to update just once at start up
of the computer. Or alternatively set it to run updates manually. If
you cannot access the login page because you have forgotten the
password you can reset the device by removing the back cover of the
mifi and there's a reset button which you then press and hold down
with the point of a pencil for approx 5 secs until the device flashes
3 times then turn the device back on and connect to the Internet using
the wifi key which is printed underneath the battery cover then access
the login page using the default password which is "admin" to change
the password and username to something else. Also change your wireless
key to something else if it's a second hand device. If you have
connection issues you can also change the settings from 3G to 2G
whichever signal is stronger for your area. Not all areas of the UK Or
countries worldwide are providing 3G signal some areas will only pick
up a 2G signal. Also you can scan for networks manually in the login
page then select 3mobile as default and save the settings. Signal
issues are usually a problem with the area you live having a poor
3mobile signal. Test your device in a different area to see if the
signal improves then you know the area you live is the issue if it
doesn't change then reset your device if it still doesn't work then
it's a faulty device. Other signal problems can occur if you have
placed it near another device like a tv, mobile phone, or anything
containing metal components i.e "house or car keys" can interfere with
radio frequency then causes signal loss. Hope this helps!
Rating:
Reviewed by Ruth
from UK
on 8th Sep 2015
'Three' staff do not listen to your requirements. When you politely
complain about problems, such as signal cutting out and not being able
to use a printer through wi-fi,the stock answer is, we've never had
this problem before. Business ethics is not something they believe in.
Commission based staff will tell you anything. The CEO of 'Three'
should put customers before profit and then the company will
progress.
Rating:
Reviewed by lily oage
from uk
on 8th Aug 2015
I have never had problem with my mobile contract BUT recently got mifi
for daughter to use and apparently used up all data before month was
up and they allowed £50 over, I didn't ask for an allowance of
£50 over data allowance, customer service disgraceful.
Rating:
Reviewed by Bronagh
from tyrone
on 7th Aug 2015
I bought mine second hand went to 3 shop got new sim card today but
last guy had it had a password on it rang 3 they were no help at all
so can anybody help me.
Rating:
Reviewed by beverley gant
from uk
on 5th Aug 2015
Got my modem today easy to set up and I'm 72. Had a normal dongle
before but want to connect other devices to network. I have to say I'm
impressed it's on the mantle in my front room laptop is in small
bedroom. It's a lot faster than my dongle. No hesitation in
recommending if your in a good coverage area.
Rating:
Reviewed by michael Russell
from UK
on 3rd Aug 2015
had a myfi for a while, so convenient in you pocket system, very handy
if fixed broadband is off, can replace it very conveniently, trying it
out in Europe for first time in August soon, interested to see what
it's like in Tyrol and journey by coach, through Belgium France and
Switzerland etc.
Rating:
Reviewed by Ali
from UK
on 21st Jun 2015
I had two mifi contracts for two years, one for personal use and one
in a holiday let for the guests to use. I never had any warnings of
approaching the 15gb monthly allowance. I was furious at the cost per
mb if one of the units went over the allowance so I rang and
complained. I had not been told about this 'feature' when I had taken
out the contract. It was in the small print of the contract received
later but this is important enough to make it compulsory to include it
in the verbal agreement over the phone. But I did manage to get it
turned off so that usage ended when the 15gb ran out. So, if you want
to save money, ring them and demand they do the same for you.
For two years I was quite happy with connectivity but both contracts
ran out in the last couple of months. I ended one and moved the other
onto monthly. I can end it at any time now ... and I am thinking of
ending it right now. Connectivity is atrocious. The internet drops out
every few minutes and the only way to get it back is to turn it off
and on again (I press the 'renew lease' option in settings). I can get
it back for a full five minutes that way before it drops out again.
This has been going on for a week now, on all our devices. After
talking to customer services for hours, who came up with nothing I
hadn't tried already, I was put through to technical who admitted
there is a problem and others have complained too. So technical, why
didn't you tell customer services? Three, get it sorted or I'm
terminating my payments with immediate effect and demanding a refund
because you are not supplying the contracted service.
Rating:
Reviewed by Jill
from England
on 13th Jun 2015
How can I cancel my 2 year contract cos it's usage is shocking!
Rating:
Reviewed by Alex Brooke
from United kingdom
on 29th May 2015
I have toped up my three g dongle £15 it did have connection but
now it hasn't.
Rating:
Reviewed by Bianca
from UK
on 19th May 2015
HATE HATE HATE having this contract. I went in-store to inquire, as I
wasn't keen on paying for expensive line installation in my new house.
I had NO idea about how much data I need each month, but the sales
assistant reassured me that 15GB was plenty and that she even watched
Netflix daily with her MiFi. It seemed like a GREAT idea! £15 a
month for a tiny, wireless connection!
I used the
internet quite frugally at first, then eventually started a Netflix
subscription. My data allowance ran out in two days. I phoned up
Three, outraged, but they simply just suggested I don't stream movies
anymore. I'm so frustrated, I wish the sales assistant in store knew
what she was talking about, otherwise I never would've entered into
this contract! She had a duty to help educate people like me who had
no idea, so now I'm stuck with this ridiculous contract. It's SLOW
(Three suggested that it depends on what time I'm online...I could
barely load a web page even at 3am) and my data even ran out this
month after specifically AVOIDING large streams.
I've
tried so hard to get rid of it, but I'm stuck. I've phoned countless
times, filed complaints...There's nothing I can do. Thanks Three!
Please train your staff better.
Rating:
Reviewed by Robert MacLeod
from Britain
on 16th May 2015
Why is it that when you get a contract phone for three mobile, the
bill we have to guess as they don't send out written bills in
time,they want cash even though your internet access starts again on
the 26th but they want cash on the 15th an not on the day you pay your
bill like any other company,an WiFi we get charged for even if you
have your own hotspot of your own indoors,if anyone has any ideas id
appreciate your feedback.I'm very disappointed at the company three
all the hidden costs they don't tell people,the way the staff treat
you in the shop very ignorant I'm changing my mind an they are a ripp
off,if you try an call them its India we end up calling who half the
time cant understand what I'm talking about I'm definitely not going
to recommend there crevice to anybody I know its the usual,my contract
is 16£ for my phone per month plus insurance 4£ but its
always over the 20£ contract,ie hidden cost's so its a one from
me until you sort your company out.everyone says EE are bad nothing
like three,TERRIBLE.cant wait to get out of the contact.
Rating:
Reviewed by Arthur
from Ireland
on 12th May 2015
Wireless in Ireland is terrible.
Rating:
Reviewed by Lee
from UK
on 19th Apr 2015
The service is incredibly poor and the connection is terrible. Even
with 5 bars it's still bad. Furthermore, it took 2 hours to download a
500mb game! If I was you, I would stay away from these products, as
they will drain money out of you for a scrappy service in return.
Rating:
Reviewed by Andrew J Palmer
from UK/England
on 9th Apr 2015
I have been on my Mobile WiFi with '3' for the past five years whilst
living on a boat and have had speeds faster than BT broadband in
Norfolk and in parts of London, Scotland, Midlands etc. I used to be
on Vodafone who assured me that their network was the best but it was
terrible so cancelled it years ago.
I am very impressed
with my wifi and would not change it now for anything - unless it
changes of course which can happen. I have been over my monthly limit
of 15Gb monthly and was aware of it and paid the extra without a
problem - they do tell you if you are near to going over your limit
and yes it is expensive but the system is very good.
So
long as '3' do not change their systems then I shall remain with my
WiFi and shall have no problems recommending them to anyone.
Thank you
Rating:
Reviewed by sarah ford
from england
on 17th Feb 2015
I have tried to cancel my concrete and I have been unable to over and
over again. I am getting very annoyed with this service. I hate
it!!!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Venu
from Uk
on 7th Feb 2015
Extremely poor service from Three. The network is very limited. The
devise works hardly for 6 months. It is very difficult to terminate
the contract. Extremely disappointing. Paying money for no reason.
Rating:
Reviewed by John Abbey
from IRELAND
on 21st Jan 2015
They will at some stage tell you that you are going outside your
package and charge you a heap of money for going over your limet,they
do it to everyone just to make more money from you,i was with them
years and then it started so I got rid of it.
Rating:
Reviewed by Les davies
from england
on 18th Jan 2015
my 3 wifi dongle is not getting a signal, as if the network is
down
Rating:
Reviewed by catherine price
from wales
on 4th Jan 2015
I'm really disappointed that I've no usage left again second month
running .I've had my tablet for just over a year & its never
happened before .now if I wanted to top up using my tablet I couldn't
do so because nothing comes up to do so .really disappointed
Rating: 
Reply by Toby
from UK
on 15th Jan 2015
Check your update settings esp apps like facebook as often when they
reset they set the sync to every 10 mins etc!! Set all to manual
Reviewed by David
from England
on 27th Dec 2014
We live in a static caravan and the only Internet we could get was
with the on site system which was far from satisfactory. 6 months ago
we entered into a contract with 3 for their Myfi and we are now using
the Huawei E5756e and apart from a few teething problems in the
beginning caused by maintenance on the arial, we have found it to be
far better than we expected. We run 2 IPads and a laptop on it and
have very little trouble. The only downside is that we are restricted
to 15Gb we would like more.
Overall we are very happy with the
Myfi and would recommend it to anyone wanting intrernet without the
added expense of a BT line
Rating:
Reviewed by Ryan
from England
on 23rd Dec 2014
I have to be honest... I was previously a Three "The one plan"
tethering hog typically tethering 20GB to 40GB a month (I would let
the world and his wife tether my connection, used it as my home
broadband as it was 10x faster than my ISP, after all, this is how I
was sucked in to three) but as you know those good days came to an end
and Three kicked me off the one plan (my plan to let my contract roll
was not allowed by Three).
I had looked around for other
network providers and no one can offer what 3 do at a similar price so
with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and ignoring all the poor
reviews I went into 3 and got myself the Mifi Huawei E5330 and I have
to say I'm glad I did. I lay £15.99 a month (as I also have a
mobile phone contract with three) and I get 15 GB of data a month and
I have no problems with my connection and I am still getting faster
broadband than I did with my previous ISP... And I would say it will
probably only get better once the one plan hogs have all been phased
out...!
So whilst I'm still slightly unhappy about being
kicked off the one plan I now understand why they did it and I'm
actually saving myself money by having my home broadband disconnected
and using the MiFi....! So I'm a happy three customer again! (Although
that bad taste in my mouth is still slightly there!!!)
Rating:
Reviewed by Rory
from England
on 21st Dec 2014
Shocking signal absutley useless they are robbing millions with this
device people pay for a service and get very poor results this is an
outrage they should be made to pay everybody back for the lack of good
service it's unbelievable they are still allowed to sell it
disgraceful pay up three we want money back you have failed on a major
scale.
Rating:
Reviewed by Carol
from United Kingdom
on 11th Dec 2014
The reception is very very poor and I live central manchester. That
shouldn't happen! The internet runs even slower at night which is when
I normally do most of my work on the PC. That being said I hardly get
to use this wifi properly because of it's bad connectivity so I just
wonder how the data still manages to disappear. It's a nightmare and I
would not recommend it to anyone. I am going to cancel my contract
asap.
Rating:
Reviewed by Robert Arthur Needham
from uk
on 27th Nov 2014
The huawei e5220 mobile broadband is total rubbish I can only get
speeds 0.03 to 0.34 in hull and all you get are excuses I would not
recommend it to anyone I do not know where to go in hull as their is
no decent broadband suppliers
Rating:
Reviewed by Eoin Smith
from Ireland
on 20th Nov 2014
I also have huawei mifi and its possibly the worst thing ive ever
used. i dont know if its the 3 network thats bad or if its the modem
they have supplied, but when i play my ps3 online 30% of the time its
perfect and the rest it is laggy and wont connect online. when i use
it for my laptop it wont load hd quality videos because it takes
years. when i ask 3 support i get asked all the stupid questios and
told all the "genius" tips that never work. im in a 5 bar area so they
cant blame it on the signal. do yourself a favour and stay away.
Rating:
Reviewed by Paul Mayhew
from UK
on 30th Oct 2014
Have had a huawei MiFi for just over a month now. Works really well
and good speed but the data just disappears. Tonight I had 2542mb left
from my 10gb allowance with update due in two days so watched a film.
In 50mins it had used up all of the data. This would have lasted on my
mobile (also 3) for at least 4 days. They quote a film on 720 should
use up to 1000mg so where did the other 1500 go?
I'm very
sceptical of the management of data allowance.
Rating:
Reply by LAWRENCE YOUNG
from CHINA
on 16th Nov 2014
CAN YOU HELP ME, i CANNOT OPEN THE LOG IN PAGE. USER NAME SET AS ADMIN, FOR PASSWORD, i TRIED admin, NOT WORK, I then tried password, STILL NOT WORK,
PLEASE HELP ME, I CANNOT FIND THE INSTRUCTION SHEET
YOU CAN ANSWER HERE, BETTER STILL, MY EMAIL IS
loongsung@yahoo.com
thanks, Lawrence
Reviewed by john
from uk
on 7th Oct 2014
worst thing I ever did was to get my 3 mifi, it is loosing internet
daily when it does work its so slow. never again will I use my 3
Rating:
Reviewed by John C
from UK
on 1st Sep 2014
I have a contact with three and couldn't be happier, it's better and
cheaper than the competition, the mi fi dongle looks a bit dated and
cheap. But that's my only negative comment.
Rating:
Reviewed by rich
from uk
on 3rd Jul 2014
Bought the 3 mobile wifi (Huawei) 4 months ago most of the time I have
no signal. Have contacted vodafone and have been told to press reset
button or change my browser, complete waste of time.
Rating:
Reviewed by Sarah Cound
from England
on 30th Jun 2014
In Cambridge the Three MiFi connection is really, really slow. It is
worse than dial up nearly 20 years ago. I have no idea why a city that
prides itself on science and innovation has to accept such appallingly
bad service - I do know the university has a separate system which I
assume must be great! We poor tax payers get dreadful service at high
expense.
Rating:
Reviewed by Ken Hall
from Ireland
on 15th May 2014
THREE.IE IS WORSE THAN DIAL UP.
Rating:
Reviewed by petra
from uk Peterborough
on 19th Apr 2014
Can't get internet connection wfi on any of the stagecoach busses or
the trains are any other providers this has been like it for just over
a week what has happened
Rating:
Reviewed by JerseyGirl620
from UK
on 26th Mar 2014
I do love trying out new gadgets so when I got wind of 3's MiFi I
thought it was just what we needed due to travelling so much & to
save ££'s at home. We got the 3 MiFi nearly two yrs ago
and can't wait until the contract ends in Aug this year. We lived in
East Midlands and in the south. Signal was pretty good most places,
but very unreliable during normal extended use. Device screen shows
full bars while pc and mobile or tablet say no internet connection.
What's that a out??? I had to remove the battery and reboot/reset it
numerous times to get it going again. Yes I too had many chats with
cust serv to no avail. In fact my husband's expecting ME to work magic
on the gadget in the morning coz its bugged out again and he's ready
to drop-kick it outta the window!! Oh yes they sent us a new
replacement last year after I complained. But we still have same
problems. They are more concerned about getting you to take on more
mobiles or other devices with them to keep you trapped. But we've
already arranged to go back to broadband for home use and mobiles for
travel as almost everybody's offering free wifi now wherever we
travel. So would I recommend this gadget? No not at this point. There
would have to be some mega improvements in many areas first.
Rating:
Reviewed by gezza
from portugal
on 16th Feb 2014
come on UK get your act together, i got a e5330 here in portugal and
get 13 mb download everywhere i go. Uk really is a cheap skate
country, mast s no good and not enough while they rob you blind
Rating:
Reply by Margaret
from UK
on 19th Jan 2015
Hi,my friend bought one of these as they are in Portugal for 3 months
with their caravan. She says it won't pick up a signal. Any idea why
or are parts of Portugal no good?
Reviewed by Lee
from UK
on 29th Jan 2014
I love these devices but if you pay more than £10 it should be
"all you can eat". We are in the age of smartphones now & people
are doing all kinds of data intensive stuff on their phones, I don't
see the problem with allowing the same on MiFi / dongles as most
people use these for laptop when away from their home broadband
(cable).
I give four stars, the device is great but the
plans don't do them justice.
Rating:
Reply by john
from uk
on 3rd Apr 2014
spot on, i agree £15 for 15gbts, or £1 a gig, should be all you can eat data
Reviewed by pierce
from ireland
on 2nd Jan 2014
I was with 3G as a wireless broadband costumer for 4-5 years. I moved
from Cork city centre to a very rural location and 3 still worked. I
up-graded from the dongle to the mifi router this year november 2013.
The coverage was really great. My 3 G bill was always 21 euro each
month regardless of usage. Got a bill for 98 euro. Astonishing? Not as
astonishing as the discovery i made with costumer service on the
phone. One told me I was always prepay while another, the second told
me i was a bill payer the third told me i was now both. Even after
topping up by 10 euro on the interm of that months billing they say i
still owe 98 euro. My neighbour, rural 3 miles away also the same bill
amount and the same problem. Astonishingly its the same amount. What
are 3 up to bare swithching off their loyal costumers. I unplugged and
remain so. Today i bought a newspaper and bought a DVD for less than a
days internet. I will not need to stream the news tomorrow or the
movie as i now own them. BOOO to 3 and their new rip off of the
costumer policy for short term gain.
Rating:
Reviewed by paul
from london uk
on 9th Nov 2013
I have the older version BLACK square thing and don't use one of these
on a tablet it DOES use up all your internet dater very easily and in
days / hours. but as for laptops its brilliant. I got
66 to 72 hours a month out of it on a laptop and that's brilliant
Rating:
Reviewed by Pauline
from England
on 18th Oct 2013
Do not go anywhere near one of theese i didnt even turn my wifi on and
three said id used all my data!!!!! How???? And they said £15.99 a
month on a 1 month rolling contract why are they taking £35.99 when
ever they feel like it?? And u ring to discuss this and get no where
but thro to india. And then they say u have to pay us what u owe i
said i told u to cancel it 2 month ago they obv didnt do and tried to
put the blame on me.... Three.co.uk ur a disgrace and as for ur wifi
stick it where the sun dosnt shine
Rating:
Reviewed by gavin saunders
from ireland
on 15th Sep 2013
this is the worst wifi in all of ireland. its supposed to be
able to have 5 people on at a time with out slowin down but if you
have more then 1 it goes slow. they give u a boaster to help improve
on your strengh but it makes it worse. if i could give this wifi 0
stars i would.
Rating:
Reviewed by RS from England on 8th Sep 2013
No problems, Very fast internet , Always good reception . Before i got this
i checked on the Three web page if my area is covered and it was. Very Good
Rating:
Reply by patricia bowden
from England
on 1st Oct 2013
Hi I am have a problem setting mine up I have a sim. But to top up I have to enter mobile/device number but cannot find a number it will take. Help. Please.
Reviewed by rich from uk on 26th Aug 2013
great for two years then stopped. call escalated to three uk support who did
nothing. cancelled contract after waiting 14 days for a response. silly company.
Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 20th May 2013
pretty rubbish all in all. Sporadic speeds in central London. I had a short
term let with this internet included and it pretty much sucked....
Rating:
Reviewed by Elke from UK on 18th Feb 2013
I have had the 3 WIFI for a while now...... worst dongle i have ever tried.
Well, not actually the dongle but the 3network is absolute rubbish. I was told
Nottingham had a very good signal strengh for 3 network, and so it used to but
not for a long while. One minute you,re on 3G but within seconds youre on Emergency
only. wish I had never trusted 3..... nothing but fob offs when you phone
Rating:
Reviewed by Mike from UK on 18th Oct 2012
Just bought E586 with 10gb PAYG. Total disaster. Speed of 0.5mbps. Can't wait
to cancel in a month. Lost 80 pounds. And that's W11 London.
Rating:
Reviewed by Bill from uk on 9th Oct 2012
Watch out for out for the out of bundle charges for the 10gb per month 1 month
rolling contract. It does not automatically shut you down at the 10gb limit,
it then charges a fortune 10p per mb.
I do a lot of meetings with cam contact from my mobile facility hence why I
crunched through the usage,so just be aware. I will cancel my contract and return
to payg, but I certainly wont go to a monthly full contract with three after
this. It is as bad as when the first mobiles started stuffing the customer on
excess to bundle charges.
Very sad , the reception is good, the mi fi E586 is superb, just no way to gaurantee
to restrict the billing ( a cap doesnt work so many excemptions )
Rating:
Reviewed by Ed
from UK
on 21st Sep 2012
As a veteran of mobile broadband,having had stints on both 3 and T-Mobile,with brief interludes on both Vodafone and O2 between times,I found myself in something of a quandary a year or so ago,having moved from an area where all were level pegging,to a locale where the signal is variable at best,and simply non-existent at worst.After months of faffing around with extension leads,adjusting settings,sitting outside/upstairs,a work colleague said he had a mifi up for grabs.I didn't have a tremendous amount of faith to begin with,but what a revelation!!!The signal is now faultless throughout the house-no lag or buffering on Iplayer or You Tube-totally transformed my experience!I hate dealing with Three,as they are a notorious nightmare(even though the network is really good),but now there's no need to!I have even considered ditching pay as you go for the two year 15GB agreement,as I have used 500mb in one night on several occasions!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from London UK on 12th Aug 2012
My contract for MiFi 15Gb started in April 2012, and worked well for 2 months
then hit the rocks. 1. The local mast is continually being 'repaired' so no
service for blocks of 5 days at a time 2. Service dips in and out so cuts out
every 10 mins. 3. Customer service is a nightmare as you get passed from pillar
to post. 4. Agreed call back times and dates from tech dept not honored. 5.
Overall the product is not fit for purpose.
This is a total waste of money and i'm trying my best to get out of this contract,
which is proving difficult. Beware.
Rating:
Reviewed by Elaine from UK on 2nd Jul 2012
Took out contract on E586 last October to use in park home and, similar to the
previous reviewer had excellent reception and download speeds for about eight
months in a rural area. Was able to receive continuous tv catchup viewing on
laptop etc and would have awarded 4 stars (minus the one because technical helpline
was unable to tell me how to link up printer and had to work it out myself).
Unfortunately about a month ago started to lose connectivity and unbearably
slow both on laptop and I-pad. Hoped that downloading updates might help but
no difference whatsoever. Can anyone suggest a reason for this as I still have
nearly a year on my contract and have no landline to obtain broadband.
Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from London, UK on 8th Jun 2012
Been using 3 and the Huawei E585 for about a year. First eight months or so
quite good. Past four absolutely dreadful. Impossibly slow, and this in Zone
2 of SE London. Slower than dial-up. Totally unacceptable at £16 a month. Will
be cancelling soon. Couldn't really recommend it.
Rating:
Reviewed by Trudi Hughes from Uk on 7th Jun 2012
Reception and connectivity on my Huawei E585 Mifi device (on 'three' network)
noticeably much slower than a year ago. Wonder whether increased usage and /
or possible lack of maintenance / upgrading to mobile phone network responsible?
Area in which device used: Gt Dunmow, Essex. Any ideas, anyone?
Rating:
Reviewed by KARL BALL from ENGLAND on 25th May 2012
Since having the MIFI I am so frustrated. Despite having a great signal strength
(the dispaly shows I have the maximum available)It is unbelievably slow. Even
typing this short message is making me so angry because I am constantly loosing
conectivity, I would not reccomend this to anyone.
Do yourself a favour and do not sign up to a contract that does not deliver
what it is supposed to.
Rubbish Rubbish Rubbish
Rating:
Reviewed by Penarthian from Uk on 11th May 2012
We use the 3 mi fi and have had it just one year. We run a Touch and iPad from
it and on occasions a laptop as well. We have wi fi in the house but when we
are out and about it is excellent. We paid for the device and usage for one
year and this was far the cheapest option. We now own the device and another
years charges are considerably lower.
This was a cheaper option than buying an iPad where we needed to pay monthly
for connection. This way we can run up to 5 devices for the price of one!
Rating:
Reviewed by Jackie
from UK
on 8th May 2012
I have been trying 3 mobile WiFi E586 from home for over a month from my mini mac in the hope that I could replace my home broadband. I am less than 200 yards from the transmitter and it always show 5 bars or H. Unfortunately I usually get only 1MB download speed. It is very fast in town though. It looks like I'll have to return to Virgin for use at home.
Rating:
Reviewed by Charlie from England on 20th Mar 2012
I have the newer version of the 3 MIFI, the speed is great, the batteries great.
The usage is appauling. The first 'gig' took me about 3 days to go through and
was going up mbs until it reached a 1000 which is 1gb
but once youve hit the gb mark. the length in between each gig is shortened
to 100mb? it's going fast.
Rating:
Reviewed by Stephen Ward from UK on 3rd Mar 2012
I have had the 3 mobile USB device for 2 years, it doesn't work, never has.
I have upgraded my OS to windows 7 and it still doesn't work.
I have had screaming arguments with the Indian office who are worse than useless,
in fact they are the worst of all companies.
I have used my real name so that should 3 wish to resolve the issues then they
can contact me.
Buy a different one.
Regards
Stephen
Rating:
Reviewed by Chris hurst from england on 2nd Mar 2012
good tool for me works on my boat so i am not paying for home broadband whilst
i am away on holiday etc, the 3 help cantre is absolute rubbish manned by poorly
speaking foriegn staff and they failed to send a replacement faulty base station
instead sent me another modem fools i asked for a warranty claim but the base
station is only covered for 3 months i am seeking advice on that one? so at
this moment in time its a good deal with usual call centre rubbish backup buyer
beware
Rating:
Reviewed by dan37 from uk on 2nd Mar 2012
hi i have a 3 mifi e586 it is grate its better then a home wifi as you can used
it out and about in a car or a train
or in a camper van on a bus if you have a home hub it ok but you are paying
for it when you are not there this you can used anywere i go around uk a lot
so its not worth my haveing a home wifi i caan used this in home aswell i get
good signel i have all ways had o2uk on phones was not relly a fan of three
but now there are very good i give it five stars very good three
Rating:
Reviewed by VR from Canada on 20th Feb 2012
I got 3 mobile wifi for my daughter in London. They advertise that you can use
up to 5 devices and that 15 GB is "plenty" of internet. They even have a chart
on their website that supposedly calculates how much you'll use on average.
Well it is completely false advertising. She and her roommate used all the allowance
in 2 weeks, just doing their homework and regular browsing - not watching movies
or anything. And now it turns out you can't get more GB except by paying 10p
per megabyte. So their bill for 3 weeks is now running at 50GBP. Absolutely
outrageous. And you can't even cancel because the cancellation fee is the full
cost of the contract. In other words, there is no cancellation option. DO NOT
USE 3 MOBILE WIFI.
Rating:
Reply by Kevin Knight from Englad on 15th
Mar 2012
I must reply to this post. I have used 3 mobile broadband for the past 4.5 years
with various methods of connection. I currently have an E586 MiFi unit that
I use extensively in my caravan. I travel all over the UK with work and use
the van instead of hotels. Both my wife and I can be connected to the device
doing all the surfing we want. Between us we have 2 iPhones, an iPad, Macbook
pro and my works Win7 laptop. We have a 15Gb contract and we have never exceeded
this. My wife subscribes to an online TV show and I often view UTube videos.
Updating the iOS devices is all carried out using the 3 network. I cannot understand
how the 15Gb is used up in 2 weeks if they are not downloading loads of stuff.
Check the daily use on the My Account section on the 3 website, it might suprise
you!
Reply by Dave Herbert from UK on 19th Mar
2012
I agree totally with the first reply, 15Gb would not be used by 2 people browsing
and doing homework in that time period. There's been some video usage to have
hit the limit in 2 weeks, I would say the three usage calculator is reasonably
realistic.
Reply by Richard White from UK on 6th May
2012
I don't agree with this review at all...15 Gb is a lot of usage and not just
homework! I think you should check their my account section. You will probably
find lots of vids have been dowloaded/streamed.
Reply by BL from UK on 25th Aug 2013
I agree! I changed from a pay-as-you-go contract to a rolling monthly contract.
With only normal surfing and email checking using one PC and a tablet,no streaming,
movie/video downloads and so on, we apparently used the whole 15Gb of data in
less than three days! Something very wrong here - I previously used no more
than 3-4Gb per month with the same equipment and general usage. Tech support
were only able to recommend changing my password (not the problem, we're quite
remote from other houses) and switching the device off most of the time. Eventually
(at the end of a 90 minute telephone call) I was advised to use another supplier
and so I shall. This is a rip-off - it's a rubbish service and dishonestly marketed
- how can a light user be charged for 5Gb per day?
Reply by Kerrie
from uk
on 13th Dec 2014
We have used 3 mifi for 3or 4 years, but in the last few months, (since the last contract ended) we keep going over the 15gb data, even tho we never went anywhere near it before. Last month our allowance was gone in two weeks - despite the fact we had been away on holiday for 5 of those days! We have turned off every update, checked for viruses and keep it unplugged but still the data keeps disappearing. I just listed it as a metered connection and as soon as WiFi connects it drops at a mb per second - without even any browser windows up! I just spent an hour online, ordering a gift and it used 1.7gb! So give the kids a break, I doubt they're streaming - last wk my hubby downloaded a game which was 128mb and 2.5gb disappeared - three data just disappears and the helpline don't know where it goes.
Reviewed by William Read from United Kingdom on 20th Feb
2012
The dongle is a Huawei E585, all worked well for 5 months then it got hot and
stopped working. Took it to the 3 shop and they sent it away. It came back with
a generic letter saying that it had been dropped/crushed and was unrepairable!
I phoned the repair number straight away and the bloke told me that this was
a generic letter when a device can't be fixed (how dishonest of 3), and that
I had to re-contact customer services and get it refunded or replaced. I then
had the run around from 3 and after 4 very long calls (in excess of 45mins)
was told a manager would ring me to see what could be done. You guessed, no
call! I am now having to go to the ombudsman to try and get this resolved. I
find this all so despicable, that 3 can treat people this way and keep getting
away with it. Incidentally if I was a contract customer instead of PAYG, no
problem, instant replacement. Now that tells you alot about how their contracts
are ripping us off.
Rating:
Reviewed by Samantha from UK on 16th Feb 2012
3 Mifi is bad. We bought it because it said it could connect gaming devices,
like Nintendo DS Lites. No. It cannot. I sat for hours trying to get it to work...the
second you press the button to set up the Network, you have been sucked in and
there's no going back. I rang 3 within 6 days of ordering the device to cancel
the contract (it says there may be a small fee to return the device to factory
settings). They told me to do this and this and to call back if it didn't work.
So obviously it didn't work so I called them back. They told me to try calling
Nintendo about the possibility of the DS being faulty and pretty much said ..'Have
a good day' before I could continue what I was saying. Called them back instantly
and asked to cancel and they said I couldn't. My mum rang back the day after
and a woman said she was unsure if we could cancel and would have to speak to
a manager, she said she would get back to us, but they never. We decided to
just stop the direct debit, and then I got a call to say we had missed a payment.
These calls continued about 3 times a day and eventually the online manager
told us we could cancel the contract. Hurray...but thats not the end...I continued
to get calls from several departments about missed payments and when I explained
the situation the woman started shouting at me, she called me balshy and aggressive.
Ok so I'm a geordie with a strong accent I was just talking. The same woman
continued to call me over and over again, despite having talked to the online
manager. The calls have only recently stopped. The account, after two months
of negotiating, has now been closed.
Rating:
Reply by Cobble from UK on 20th Feb 2012
I found it works on every console and handheld except the DS due to the DS's
outdated Wi-Fi protection. 3 Mobile Mifi uses WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security
protocol - DS can only read WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). That's why you'll
notice a grey padlock next to your SSID on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Setup
screen instead of a red one. 3DS works fine though.
Reviewed by Crutch from uk on 14th Feb 2012
The first month connection was pretty decent. Then it went to pot. To the point
where I phoned up, literally begging to have my contract terminated. Customer
services show no respect, knowledge or compassion. Ignoring upload/dload (which
varies from 0.04 - 4mbs, but rarely gets passed 2mps) my ping (which is what
you really need to monitor) is pathetic. I've recorded ping speeds in the 1000s!
Recently getting a 1650ms ping. Basically that's nearly 2 seconds to send a
very small request out and back instead of doing it in the blink of an eye.
It doesn't sound that bad, but try and think how many requests/processes involved
in loading a simple website and you get the idea of why you shouldn't use this
service (even if its just to load Google, do a search, then switch off your
pc and carry on with your day!!!!)
I look at my mifi I'm disgust, knowing that ill never get out of my contract
cheaply and that I've been stitched up like a good'en.
Nb I also live in Birmingham and was quoted excellent reception. I also implemented
all the speed boosting tips 3 are so eager to point out. If anything, maybe
putting you off from going with 3 might improve my embarrassing speeds.
Rating:
Reviewed by Wilko from UK on 1st Feb 2012
I thought 3 mifi was the bee's knees when I changed from T-Mobile. The peed
was faster, the ease of putting the mifi where the best signal was etc etc and
the price being much better .... £15 for unlimited (although slowed after 2GB)
on T mobile ...compared to £15.99 for 5Gb on 3. After a month of perfect use
and great speeds I started to get problems. 9 times out of 10 I get the HSPDA
signal, but as soon as the signal drops to 3G I lose internet connectivity completely
until the HSPDA returns!! Customer services is terrible, very condesending,
thanking you for having any knowledge more than them. Infact I would go as far
as saying that I would probably get more help standing outside the school gates
and asking one of the kids to help me!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Heidi from Uk on 13th Jan 2012
Just bought a macbook pro & mifi from three on payg, so far it is great, faster
than our home broadband (we do have rubbish speeds at home) it gets a signal
in places we never thought it would eg Clumber park, had a vodafone dongle before
&. It was so slow it was unusable, but bearing in mind other comments from people
about their problems we went payg so if it all goes wrong we aren't locked into
a contract of any kind, so far we would highly recommend the three mifi.
Rating:
Reviewed by Pin from Uk on 10th Jan 2012
Outstanding!!!! I've tried many on my commute southampton to London Andriod
tethering on O2 = fail. Android tethering on Giff Gaff = Fail. So i picked up
one of these babies (black version) from cash convertors for £15 hahahaha those
cowboys gotta luv em. Suffice to say i snatched it. Went for a lovely stroll
to Three shop and bought the cheapest payg 1gb month card..to trial out. All
i can say is Woooow!!! At last i have full internet on the move!! Damn this
thing is faster than home virgin!!! I don't deal with customer service...haah
i buy my gb's infact...i will be ordering on ebay 3GB X 6 = 18GB Data in 6 months
@ £23.50 ..all good for my needs. Why ppl bother with contracts is beyond me.
:)))))
Rating:
Reply by Brian from Uk on 24th Apr 2012
You are talking cobblers. I get the same train to London and use the same huawei
mifi - it will not get a connection for large parts of the journey - it doesnt
work at all in Winchester, or north of Basingstoke. It doesn't even work all
that well between Wimbledon and Waterloo. 3s coverage is the problem - the device
does the job, although the battery life is very poor.
Reviewed by Tony from United Kingdom on 2nd Jan 2012
I have been with 3 for about 5 years or more. I must say that the customer service
could certainly be improved. I always ask to speak to the managing director
now because I am fed up with being thrown from one department to the other and
speaking to people who I can not understand. I recently took out the 18 month
contract with 3 and the new WiFi service. I must say that the new device is
a great idea, WHEN IT WORKS! I must of had MUG written on my forehead at the
time because the dongle I was previously using works 100% better than the new
WiFi device. I have now thrown the WiFi device to one side and I have gone back
to using my dongle. As a web developer on the move, I found myself getting more
and more frustrated with the loss of connection. I am now using the dongle again
with no problems at all. Also, be sure to check your paperwork. The customer
service advisor, who upgraded my device on the phone, said it would be an 18
month contract. The 18 month contract turned out to be a 24 month one!
Rating:
Reviewed by sophia from Essex on 2nd Jan 2012
Terrible service from this company, BEING CONNED FOR EXTRA USAGE when don't
download anything. Stay clear
Rating:
Reviewed by Darren from UK on 14th Dec 2011
I also have the later version - the black Huawei MiFi. Very fast, I can stream
video and only occasionally get buffering messages. Nigel, you should call the
call centre, I did and they offered me 15GB for £16. Also the amount of data
you have used is displayed on the device, so you don't even need to go into
the console to check how much you have used.
Rating:
Reviewed by Nigel Thain from United Kingdom on 1st Nov
2011
Absolutely brilliant. I use one of these (the later black version) for work.
Never had a problem at all. Great value and good speeds BUT.... and this is
a warning. DO NOT GO OVER YOUR 5GB LIMIT. I did, without realising it and I
was stung for 10p per MEG !. To be fair(ish) to three, they sent a few text
messages to my 3 control panel, but if you dont actively look at it, and there
is never a need to, you wont see the messages. A warning email would be better
(for me, but obviously not for 3 !!)
Rating:
Reviewed by Uni from UK on 25th Oct 2011
My Experience with Three has been on par with any other mass consumer company,
although, the download speeds on HSDPA are very nice when they work. Luckily
I'm in a fairly decent position so I have (on occasion) reached over 4mbps (yup,
500+kB/s). Only for Short bursts though and my average (when its working) would
be around 2 mbps (200-250kB/s). The problem with these mobile networks is consistency,
one minute you could have a perfectly stable connection, and for seemingly no
reason at all it drops and fluctuates, this happens anywhere, using any computer,
for any network, it is the nature of mobile broadband. I'm on a Phone contract
with an non-capped bandwidth, In a single night here i could download 3-4GB
of data, a night mind, thats over 100GB/mo. The price seems OK, not great, but
just OK. Three's Customer Services are pretty poor to be honest, your sent to
call centres mostly in India, These people wont get paid much, so don't expect
them to do extra work to help you if you know what I mean. Not very good at
all IMO. Although better than most other providers. You _can_ game on these
networks, provided you dont mind randomly de-syncing in any game you play (not
all, just randomly any one). The network, for what it is, is excellent, coverage
is easily searchable using three's coverage map, and is quite accurate. the
biggest drawback is harsh traffic shaping techniques which almost prevent peer-to-peer
networking. 4/5. The Customer Service is Mediocre and reminiscent of that of
the old BT days (without the waiting time), Although I admit waiting times are
much lower, still not perfect though. 2/5. The Price is OK, more expensive than
a few other major providers but they dont give you HSDPA with unlimited data.
4/5 Conclusion is the service is Good, its by far not perfect, number of improvements
to customer satisfaction can be made with UK call centres, Less harsh traffic
shaping methods, and a bit more responsive to negative feedback.
Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from UK on 17th Oct 2011
I have the 3 MiFi device and I travel a lot in the UK, stay in hotels, work
in offices, every week. I only use with my iPad but I think it's a fantastic
device. Fast, useable strait out of the box have had it for about 10 months
on PAYG with 3. But I have to agree with other comments about customer service
which is appalling and seems designed to get you to give up. But escalation
does the trick. I just ask for technical service but thankfully i have not had
any issues with it for ages now, including paying for my top up and this was
incredibly frustrating at first. Overall, for me, it's excellent.
Rating:
Reviewed by Jerry johnson from Ireland on 12th Oct 2011
My partner purchased a Three wirelesss modem as we alredy have Three mobile
broadband via a dongle. We were advised by their 'customer service' that we
could use the sym from the dongle with it as we wanted to be able to conect
an iPod Touch. They said that it would obviously use more data from the account
as we would be spreading it over several devices. Firstly it wouldn't connect
to her desk-top computer wirelessly, it had to be connected via a USB port,
this was useless as although the computer connected, the iPod struggled to pick
up the signal, even though it was right next to the modem! After some experimenting,
we figured it would work fine with a laptop and the iPod, but simply wasn't
working with any other device if plugged into the desk-top. The biggest shock
was when I tried to log in to my 3 account a couple of days later,I couldn't
connect to anything other than the Three Homepage. I checked the data allowance
on the card by returning it to the dongle and found that I had a bill for 75
euros as the wifi modem had used up all the data and they (Three) had allowed
it to work outside the data allowance. As the WiFi modem wasn't doing what we
had hoped, and had now caused us to have to pay a further 75 euros, my partner
rang Three to arrange to send the WiFi modem back to them under the 14 day money
back guarantee that came in the box. She got through to someone in India and
they refused to allow her to return it! They said they would only take it back
if it wasn't working! Well it isn't working as far as we're concerned, and the
14 day Money Back guarantee does not specify any terms what so ever for getting
a refund! After spending considerable time talking with them, they still refused
to register the guarantee and would not give us an address to return the Unit.
The 'Guarantee' is useless. The advice given before we purchased was useless,
and even though we have sent an email to their complaints department (still
awaiting a reply!) we still have no way of returning the modem and getting our
money refunded. I intend to cancel my account with them in January and would
urge everybody to give this fly by night company a wide berth! Since being with
them we have had poor download speeds and terrible customer service!
Rating:
Reviewed by rich from derby england on 9th Oct 2011
i have had my wifi four over a year now living at 3 diferant addresses during
this time and speeds have been great and three service is good will allways
try and rectifie eny problems eaven when you do not have a resept
Rating:
Reviewed by Pasquale from UK on 19th Sep 2011
I've had mifi for the past 2 years and it is a piece of technology that I would
reccomend to everybody who is on the move at all time, I use it at home and
most of the time the connection its excellent, but sometimes it slows down drammatically
and at this time what I do is, turn the device off for a couple of seconds and
then switch back on again, and it runs as normal and the speed going back to
the excellent, I sometimes take it with me with my laptop and also I use it
with my mobile phone. what can I say this is called technology and for once
they got it right.
Rating:
Reviewed by Gyula from England on 16th Sep 2011
I use a pay as you go all you can eat data plan,chopped down to micro size.fits
in ipad2 and now I get unlimited Internet for £15 a month. RESULT
Rating:
Reviewed by KotCR from UK on 13th Sep 2011
Unsure why, but while I always have a good signal, this is only usuable for
me in the early hours of the morning. I get good, solid speeds between about
1am and 7am of about 1 mpbs, but between 8am and midnight, despite still having
a strong signal, I'm lucky to get 5kbps. Yes, that's kbps, not mbps. Most of
the time during those hours it will remain at 0 or 1 kbps, a practically non-existant
internet connection. Seems to be little point having an internet connection
that you can only really use during the hours you should be sleeping. However,
like many other people commented, for the first fortnight or so of using it,
the speed was always good even during the day. Almost seems like 3 intentionally
throttle down your connection speed once they've caught you in their elusive
trick and have your money.
Rating:
Reviewed by Sebastian from UK on 11th Sep 2011
I bought this product purely for online gaming. I signed up for the 15BG 18
month rolling contract, which i purchased early in mid 2011. After fixing the
settings so no-one else can join the network it creates and diabling the SSID
broadcast so no-one else can even see it on Mi-Fi- scanning software, I saw
it safe to use. At first the connection seemed perfect. (How wrong can a man
be?) Until only a few months of use, the 'Signal Strength' began to slowy creep
down, almost through each use - randomly swithcing between Highspeed (H) and
3G, eventually to stay on 3G at a strength of 1 to 2 bars - this is totally
unusable for any kind of decent online game or, in fact anything worth doing
at all. 'What did I do wrong, 3?' I dont know how many countless, joyfull hours
a day I (used to) spend gaming, nor do i spend time counting the ammount of
hours I spend doing it. All I know is that Im not gaming. That, and the fact
that my 18 month contract (which is still costing me £15.99 a month) will expire
in December 2012 - I month that is regarded by some people to the the end of
the world as we know it. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT
Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from england on 1st Sep 2011
Excellent bit of kit, indespensible if always on the move, or a frequent commuter,
picks up a signal just about anywhere, but don't expect iplayer or the like
to not have to buffer every now and again. Saying that I've had mine since they
came out, it's proved very useful, on their 15gb contract, as a moderate to
heavy user it still is not enough to fully replace home broadband.
Rating:
Reviewed by Will from UK on 1st Sep 2011
I have had this for a year now. When I first got the mifi it was great, speed
was amazing and websites loaded really quickly. In the past few months this
has all gone downhill very fast, to the point of being almost unusable. I am
signed up for a 24 month contract so still have to see out half of this, for
a poor service. Feels like I bought one product but was given an inferior product.
Rating:
Reviewed by James Sargent from United Kingdom on 18th
Aug 2011
Had mine for about a year now, and had two of the same unit. Both have had problems
staying connected and would drop connection even if there is a decent HSDPA
signal. Would avoid.
Rating:
Reviewed by albert desalvo from UK on 17th Aug 2011
Not a review as such... but a suggestion, if your wireless speeds were great
and have significantly decreased over time... check the channel your wireless
network is transmitting as the reason my be due to interference on the same
channel as more and more people establish home networks etc and generally wont
change from the default settings. I plan to buy one of these today, as I have
only heard good things about them.
Rating:
Reviewed by Kevin Horne from England on 16th Aug 2011
I made the mistake of signing up for 2 years. The reception is poor, slow and
frustrating. Customer service gets you through to Paul, Kev or John in India
and from there you go around and around in circles till you get fed up and give
up. On the good side my contract ends at the end of this year and will I be
renewing? You guess. Would I recommend 3? Certainly if you like dialup speeds,
the world’s worst customer service and throwing money away. In life it
is said that you get what you pay for. With 3 you pay for nothing and no matter
what they say about cancelling if not happy or satisfied forget it; you have
a better chance of seeing England win the football world cup or a politician
telling the truth.
Rating:
Reviewed by Mike from UK on 6th Aug 2011
I've been using the 3 wifi on a boat in various locations for a few months and
I'm very happy with it. We run two laptops from it and it's very reliable, much
better than T Mobile, and it doesn't slow down at busy times.
Rating:
Reviewed by bob from scotland on 18th Jul 2011
very poor , only get a connection sometimes and when i do its not a good connection
Rating:
