After recommendations for a Wifi hot spot device that can take a sim card, needs to have a power cable or easily powered (not after battery ones). It's for my mother to run some basic devices (to assist with her dementia), she doesn't have traditional internet installed in the home. Thank you
Hot Spot Device Advice with Data Sim
mreddie on 06/03/2025 - 07:33
Last edited 06/03/2025 - 10:14
Last edited 06/03/2025 - 10:14
Comments
No, just need something that provides wifi internet into the home
Then why ask for SMS in the title?
Sorry I meant a Data Sim, corrected title
If you need it to receive and display SMSs the thing that best fits that description is a mobile phone plugged into a charger. And its a phone.
Or maybe a wifi+4G tablet.
It's just to provide internet to an assistive tablet, don't need to get text messages or anything like that
Your use of the term sms in the title is both confusing and indicative of your knowledge.
SMS stands for short message service ie. Text message
Correction data sim not SMS
How much data are you looking for and what sort of monthly costs?
Lots of routers will accept a 4G dongle.
Small amount of data each month, 10gb tops
thanks for the idea, just checked ours and we can connect an old phone via usb to our router
Just get a "battery one" and leave it plugged in. Bonus upside is that in the event of a power outage, her internet connected devices will still be able to contact the internet.
So many questions…
So few answers…And you thought the best course of action was to add yet another inane and unhelpful comment? Gotta pad that monthly shitpost count out somehow I guess.
And you thought the best course of action was to add yet another inane and unhelpful comment
hahahahahahahaha coming from you, that is the richest BS I've seen all year.
Close second ^ old bean
Tell us exactly what the device is please. Is it a service provided by an assist company? If so ask them what you need. Support for ageing/dementia is a skilled area. There are lots of things you might thing are good ideas that can go very wrong - the providers have seen it all so it’s worthwhile getting advice from practitioners in that field.
You need more than good luck to get this working to your expectations.So you don't want SMS on it, you just want a wifi hot spot.
https://ozphoneworld.com.au/products/portable-5g-lte-wifi-ro…?
Yes sorry, brain fade, just something that takes a data sim of some kind….
https://www.coles.com.au/search/products?q=mobile%20broadban…
Go for the one that you get the best signal from (eg. on your phone) meaning Optus or Telstra.
I've used one of these for years…never had NBN…but I do get an excellent Optus signal where I live…Thanks that looks exactly what we need
Your options are,
* A fully fledged 4G/5G router, giving large wifi coverage
* A pocket sized 4G/5G router, giving smaller area wifi
* A smart phone as a hot spot, giving small area wifiSmart phone would seem the logical solution as they are cheap, common, and provide additional functionality (telephone, browsing, apps, etc).
Maybe not such much where dementia sufferer is present, and the hot spotting phone is in reach.
Something like this would probably do the trick:
https://www.amazon.com.au/GL-iNet-GL-X750-Version-OpenWrt-Du…If you want something more router-y than the standard battery-powered hotspot (WiFi, wired network etc), TP-Link have a decent range for not too much money.
I got one of these, and it seems to work OK. (You can probably get it cheaper if you shop around.)
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/tp-link-ac…
Also went this route and very happy, takes seconds to swap Sim cards and coverage is very good
Get something like this and an annual prepaid data pack, 120Gb for $159. I used this for business travel within AU. Given it's Telstra you get the best chance of decent connection. You can even find second hand devices on eBay/Gumtree for less.
One thing to be aware of, especially if you are going to use it in the same location, is whether reception is decent in that spot. You may want to buy a new device first (before buying the plan) and test it. And return if connection isn't good enough.
good advice thanks
There is also this and its unlocked….
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/tp-link-4g-lte-mobile-wi-fi.…
The aldi data plans are ok too and use telstra network…. Best of both worlds.
just throwing it in as an option as telstra doesnt like to unlock their modems.aww, they no longer do their 365 plan for $120
Do you need to be able to receive SMS messages on the device?