Mifi, hotspots and tethering?
QIssue 543’s Mifi article (page 35) was interesting. We have a caravan and take our laptop on long tours. Relying on campsite Wi-fi is patchy and expensive. Mifi seems to fit the bill, but you also mentioned tethering and hotspots. I wonder if this is the solution for us? So, could you explain the differences? Would tethering be as fast? Please explain it like I’m a child, rather than my 72 actual years! Bryan Warraker
AWe’ll start by reiterating that Mifi is a brand name owned by Hutchinson 3G, the firm behind the UK’S Three mobile network. However, the term is often used generically to describe any portable router that uses a 3G or 4G data connection to deliver mobile Wi-fi – dubbed a hotspot.
With that clear, there’s fundamentally no real difference between what a Mifi router does and the tethering or personal hotspot features that many modern smartphones are able to provide. In both cases, you’re using the 3G or 4G connection of one device to create a Wi-fi bubble. Other devices, like your laptop, are then able to connect to this, oblivious to whatever it is that’s creating this Wi-fi signal. Incidentally, ‘tethering’ traditionally meant using a cable to physically tether the phone to another device, but now ‘tethering’ and ‘personal hotspot’ are used interchangeably.
There are benefits to using your phone’s data connection as a Wi-fi hotspot, the process we described on page 37 of the feature: on an iphone, tap Settings then Personal Hotspot (see screenshot); on Android, tap Settings, then ‘Network & Internet’ followed by ‘Hotspot & tethering’. For starters, you won’t need to buy a Mifi device, and you can exploit your existing data allowance, rather than arranging a separate contract. All else being equal the speeds will be much the same, though in both cases many factors can affect matters – including your choice of network and signal strength wherever you happen to pitch up.
Equally, a Mifi device would allow you to leave the router in your caravan. That means your fellow campers’ devices wouldn’t be disconnected if you decided to go for a wander with your phone in your pocket. But other than that, for you, we’d say tethering is likely to be the right choice.