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Mobile broadband for old person

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    Mobile broadband for old person

    My elderly Uncle is about to move to a new care home where BT Broadband is not available.
    He currently has cable broadband.

    He uses the Internet on a laptop and his smart TV on his "good" days with his one functioning hand.
    On bad days, he does not know what a laptop is:-(

    I do his remote IT support via TeamViewer.

    The new care home has a good signal with 3.

    I'm thinking of getting either a 3 MiFi dongle to use with the laptop or a 3 USB dongle and a router to use with the laptop + TV.

    The most important thing is a connection that is always on - he won't cope with having to do anything extra to get online and I need access without having to talk him through connection.
    Second most important is up-time - he can't move and it's a real pain getting care workers to reboot IT kit!

    Anyone using one of these gizmos got any suggestions as to specific models to get / avoid?
    Will the always on bit work?

    Ta

    #2
    It will need to be always plugged in or else it will go flat after 2-3 hours of use
    It will need resetting occasionally and the power button is a bit on the fiddly side
    If he's watching TV shows with it then he'll probably burn through the bandwidth allowance in 2 weeks
    Although the overall speed is good pings can be a bit slow and the ping time can vary massively.
    Coffee's for closers

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks Spacecadet.

      If it's left on a charger, will the MiFi stay on?

      Once the laptop is connected once, does it automatically reconnect after reboots like a normal WiFi?

      I need a solution that I can set up and leave working.

      Not too worried about data allowance - I suspect streaming video usage will be minimal.

      Comment


        #4
        Hm......

        I'm thinking about one of these 3G routers:-
        Netgear Mbrn3000

        and one of the 3 USB dongles plugged into the router.

        That gets WiFi out of the support loop as the laptop and the TV can be connected to the router via Cat5.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by ctdctd View Post
          If it's left on a charger, will the MiFi stay on?
          yes

          Originally posted by ctdctd View Post
          Once the laptop is connected once, does it automatically reconnect after reboots like a normal WiFi?
          As long as your laptop (or other device) is configures to automatically connect, then yes, it will connect automatically just like it was a normal wifi router.

          Originally posted by ctdctd View Post
          I need a solution that I can set up and leave working.
          They are good but not quite as carefree as a regular broadband router.

          Has the care home not got internet he can use?
          Coffee's for closers

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Spacecadet View Post
            Has the care home not got internet he can use?
            No - they are part of a group so have corporate internet but it's not available to the inmates.

            There are 40+ oldies there and none are online.

            Ta for the comments re the MiFi

            Comment

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