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Optus Huawei E5251 3G Pre-Paid Portable Modem $10 @ Harvey Norman

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Hi guys,

I was searching around for a cheap Portable Wifi modem for a trip I will be taking and came across Harvey Normans "Half Yearly" sales and found the Optus Huawei E5251 3G Pre-Paid Portable Modem for $10.00 !! Side note - it is only 3G but still will be plenty fast for basics and is a absolute awesome deal compared to Optus store + Big W's $49.00

Specs Below -

The Huawei E5251 3G Pre-Paid Portable Modem from Optus allows you to connect to the internet with up to 10 devices at once, giving you the flexibility of mobile broadband in a truly mobile package.

Key Features

The Huawei E5251 features 1 touch connection and a 5 second fast boot, ensuring you’ll be spending less time waiting and more time working or playing.
Up to 10 Wi-Fi connections are able to be supported at any one time by the Huawei E5251 3G Portable Modem.
The Hauwei E5251 supports DC-HSPA+ data services of up to 43.2 Mbps.

Limit 1 per customer

Related Stores

Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman

closed Comments

  • +1

    Price in title please.

  • How do these work ? How much bandwidth do you get?

    • put the sim card in, it gives you wifi for your devices, just like you are at home.

  • +1

    The price has been at this level for a while at Harvey Norman. The sim card comes with it is expired but when I tried to activate, it still worked.

  • With these older modems the value is often in how much data comes with the SIM as it's cheaper than some recharges ….

  • -2

    The kicker is that this device is 3g 4g devices can be bought for similar prices

    • +6

      Any examples of where this the case that a 4G device can be bought for a similar price.

      • -2

        Coles has an optus 4g stick for 14.50 in this week's catalogue

        • +2

          Very different device for a different use - no wifi hotspot. Need a computer to plug into. This is a stand alone battery powered modem, providing WiFi access for up to 10 devices at once. No use for me.

          USB modems are much cheaper than full portable modems like this & 3G ones can sell for around $5.

        • My huawei USB modem has wifi so acts as a hotspot , idea is plug into cigarette lighter charger and it's good to go …Optus sold them targetted at drivers who need internet in cars.

        • -1

          @garage sale:
          Yes. Optus E8372 4G Wi-Fi Car Modem $29 @ Officeworks That's a rarer, specialised device unlike the USB modem on sale @Coles - & much more expensive. It's a modem with WiFi hotspot, that happens to be powered from USB.

          Never understood the marketing of that specialised device to car users. Easily can be plugged into USB charger or powerbank anywhere. Locating a wireless device alongside metal & electronics in a car dash seems a strange setup for best reception of mobile signal. Reports on Whirlpool of using antenna to get best signals. A device like in this deal can easily sit on dash etc to get best reception.

          Can power a pocket WiFi device (like this $10 3G one or 4G) from battery or charged from lighter socket in car, then put in pocket when leave the car.

          Not sure if the car modem includes internal battery? Optus promotes it for taking anywhere.

      • +3

        I picked up an Optus ZTE 4G Wi-Fi Modem MF920V for $17.50 from this deal last weekend

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/286686

        Granted it is almost double the price.

        Previously I had a Huawei E5573 4G Wi-Fi Modem that I picked up for $14.55 from this deal

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/246366

        So yeah never been $10 but you can get them for under $20 if you keep an eye out.

        • Have you tried putting a different carrier sim into MF920V? I am interested to get 1 as well, but not sure whether it's unlocked.

        • -2

          My point exactly even the netgear 4gx devices sell for 30 which is 4g yes a cheap dongle is not the same as a wifi hotspot device alternatively you can just tether and not neg my comments

        • Can you pls advise what is the sim card size on MF920V?
          is it full size like E57773 or a micro sim?

  • How easy are these things to unlock….. Assuming it comes locked to Optus in the first place.

    • +2

      This one is unlocked out of the box. I even used it abroad.

      • USB dongle …I used it for 3 weeks on both Optus and Telstra Sims as I waited for together to fix my broadband connection over Christmas.
        Some of the USB also have wifi so you can just plug into cigarette lighter USB charger and use in the car.

  • Could this be used as a cheap router to connect a laptop and printer, if you didn't have a wifi modem at home? I have someone in mind if it'll avoid landfill.

  • +1

    I picked couple of them up for $8 while the Amex offer just to fill up the cart to $300. I remember you get 3GB of data to use within 14 days

  • I saw these for $10 at Kmart Altona VIC.

  • -3

    3G

    Obsolete.

    • +3

      People think that you need 4g but in reality 3g is faster than a lot of ADSL internet connections and it will be around for years to come. I recently used a cheap 3g hotspot on a holiday and it was perfectly fine.

      • +1

        Very true 4g would just let you hit the cap quicker https://youtu.be/oyJwQvbTWZM

        • +1

          It's not just about speed. In a busy holiday town 3G will often become unusable, but 4G will be ok.

        • @antman: Agreed, LTE even with 1 bar is normally faster than what I've found with full reception on 3G

        • @XeKToReX:

          LTE is more efficient transmitting data and better able to cope with congestion which is a huge problem on the coast during holidays.

        • @antman: Obviously it must vary wildly because I was in a busy holiday town and 3g was totally useable. I guess as more people move to 4g it will become less congested also.

      • That may be the case but if you have a choice of a 3G modem for $10 or a 4G modem for $17.50, I would easily go for the 4G. Remember that it is used as a hotspot. If you are sharing the bandwidth between a phone, several tablets and a laptop like my family on holidays, 4G will make a big difference

  • do these allow devices connected to it to communicate with each other? or only to the router itself?
    eg. could I use this while on holiday with a Chromecast connecting to it?

    • yeah will be fine, but i dont see you using too much chromecast considering how much data its going to chew up.

      • -1

        I'm on the 50GB Ovo plan for when I go away, using Plex I just turn the quality down to 480p and happily stream away!

  • Currently I'm without a landline connection so im using my phone's 4g connection on tether. Surprisingly my ping is good enough for light gaming and download speed is much much faster than adsl

  • If you want 4G unlocked mobile data modem, might be better off spending $24 at Big W for unlocked Huawei E5573.
    https://www.bigw.com.au/product/optus-huawei-4g-wifi-modem-e…

    They work well. Used one in UK connected to 4G signal. Was getting 20 to 30 Mbps download speeds

    • Did you have to unlock or was the modem already unlocked?

      • this came unlocked.

  • So would I be correct to assume that once you have a device of this sort you can then go round snapping up the various half price SIM deals that provide various amounts of data, activate them at leisure when you run out of data on one and then enjoy further data.

    • Or you buy a dual sim phone that does 4g / 3g on both slots and for calls you go with a cheap long expiry prepaid plan on Slot 2 and for data you go with cheap monthly SIM packs (in Slot 1)

      This set up is for people who call very little but use tons of data.

      That my friend is how you extract maximum value from your SIMS

      • Hmmmm, good info to know but I don't fancy trading in my 6P just yet.

  • im going on a cruise to new caledonia next month would this be an appropriate buy for me? or will it not work outside of australia?

    • it works in Vietname with the local sim card so I suppose it should work fine as long as you have signal.

  • get it for A$6 after Christmas shopping, now up to A$12.

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