For those that missed the $24.50 Coles Huawei E5573 Pocket Wi-Fi Modem deal
this could be a good alternative.
Optus E5573 is 4G Band 1, Band 3, Band 7, Band 28, and Band 40. It is also 3G 850/900/2100mhz. This is basically perfect for Telstra/Optus.
Includes 4GB of data/14 days
Reported previously as not network locked.
cheers (my first deal post)
refer to description. "Reported previously as not network locked."
thanks, the double negative threw me…
Legendary first post, go get 'em tiger!
is it just me, or has anyone else had problems activating the mobile broadband SIM cards for this particular model, as though the cards are potentially defective?
Yes, had to call them up.
How would this go overseas if I put a local sim in it? Say, Italy and Switzerland specifically?
would like to know as well
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe
All networks in Italy and Switzerland use LTE band 3, 7 and 20 - 800/1800/2600mHZ
I bought 2 last week as Officeworks have priced this since last Thursday to price match Big W.
I can confirm that the ones I got from Officeworks is unlocked as I am able to use Telstra sim in it.
How do you find it works on 3G when 4G drops out? Some say the 850MHz band is working, some think it could be disabled.
Would love to have this confirmed by someone who is not guessing ( I read most relevant info on here and Whirlpool ).
I am not sure as I haven't looked into that. Perhaps you can view it when you log on to the modem.
Do you live close to a city where there would be 2100MHz towers, or regional/suburban/rural. If the latter, probably picking up 850MHz if speed seems reasonably quick on 3G. Performance is a major give away, but not technically confirmed.
@ozhunter68: I live near city and I think I have been getting 4G with Telstra. Speed is good with Telstra compared to when I get 3G with my iphone with Optus/Virgin at my home.
Do you need to re-configure this modem to work on other providers, or just pop in an activated broadband sim and off you go???
I just plug in the Telstra sim and it works without any configuration.
Can also confirm Auto APN when Telstra Sim inserted. Can't speak for others…
I put in a vodafone sim and had to create a new profile for it to work, telstra sim just works right away, no configuration needed.
Anyone know how this would work with VF?
It does, but it doesn't support all of VF's 4G bands.
Just got one, thanks
4G Band 1, Band 3, Band 7, Band 28, and Band 40
I think that's 2100, 1800, 2600, 700 and 2300.
No Officeworks around me, went into Auspost to send a package and also noticed they had the same modem for $29 as well. Bought it and will give it a go tonight. Thanks Op for the post.
Is there a way for me to get shared data on my phone plan with the modem? I have 10GB and it would be great if I could share it with my other devices without using up my phone battery
Can confirm that the modem is not locked to Optus. Just tried a Telstra sim in the one i brought from Coles for $24.50 last month https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/253582.
Used in Japan, work perfectly. Easy setup with other sims.
Do you just plug and it will auto setup for Japan. Just wanted to find out for future reference as the sim cards I bought for Japan last time, I had to download the APN details from a website to my iPhone for it to work.
you just need to setup the APN before hand ( Add to the list) or somewhere got WIFI to fix it. Very easy.
Hi
So I can use the Travelsimdirect Docomo sim card on this device?
When you say setup apn… you mean to activate the sim on a mobile then switch it to the modem router?
Is it easy to setup the APN?>
Thank you.
@limucat:
You setup the APN at your current country if you already have the sim. If you are in Japan, yes, use your mobile to setup the APN there. Go somewhere with free wifi will help you. I use my iPad to do setup for the APN.
I bought my Japan sim from Datago. And they recommend to pre-set the APN while I'm in Aust, which I did. Once i landed and turn on the device, and change the APN to the one that require to use in Japan, then it work straight away.
I've had one of these die on me and neither Coles nor Optus were at all interested in replacing it. Managed to get another at this kind of price though so it didn't hurt too much, and now at least have a spare battery (not that I've needed it as the battery life is excellent). This second one hasn't missed a beat and it's blazingly fast. Hard to believe 4G is so cheap now.
Expired now back to $69.
still works for me, pickup 3023 $29
just bought one
Cool yh Just checked back $29 again picked up 2.
Thanks.
Just picked one up for the same price at Kmart in WA, not on their website though.
So.. just picked one up and trying to activate it.
However, can't seem to figure out how to activate the 4gb data for 14days?
Can't seem to work it out… or am i just stupid?
Not just you, others had issues. What is happening? Are you trying to activate online and it just doesn't work? Yet to activate my included sim, probably going to run into this also.
Activated 1 today (got 4GB to use in 14 days)
i tried office works click co;;ect - out of stock
Just spoke with someone from Officeworks, the only available ones in Victoria are in Mildura.
Anyone had any luck with Kmart in Vic?
It comes back again
Does it need unlocking to use on Telstra ?