Comments 3 MiFi Huawei E5830 - Peripheral - review

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IanForsey

1:51 AM on 7 October, 2009

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A very good review.

I purchases the monthly contract on the morning it was on sale. Excellent unit. Works well, stays connected and reconnects in and out of bad areas, with in the time before standby kicks in.

Two points. The reviewer was lucky in getting those download speeds. In Devon I have not seen greater than 1mb/s down and up is around 30/40 Kb/s Average down is around 300Kb/s to 500kb/s.

the other point is that whilst it will stay connected and receive power via the USB lead, it will not stay connected, as suggested in the review, when connected to the charger.

On the whole a great unit at a reasonable cost.

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GoldenGuy

2:14 AM on 7 October, 2009

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Mm - MeWant! A very elegant solution that would save me from having a broomstick hanging out the side of my laptop. I just know 5GB isn't enough. I'd happily consider a higher tariff for more though.

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IanForsey

2:15 AM on 7 October, 2009

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Further to my comment about the Three Mi Fi Unit:

After further tests I find that the unit will in fact connect while being charged. However if it is running and you connect to the charger it will disconnect, turn off, except for the charge flashing light.

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Indigo

4:38 AM on 7 October, 2009

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Don't Huawei network products route all your data through the State Security Bureau of the People's Republic of China?

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Gordon394

6:20 AM on 7 October, 2009

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@Indigo - errrrrrrrr, no.

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SweetFA

8:34 AM on 7 October, 2009

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I've got a 3 mobile dongle and i'm pretty sure my monthly 1 gig allowance is combined downloads & uploads, probably worth stating this - ie you can't actually download a gigabyte, so presumably the 5 gigabyte allowance with this device is on the same basis.

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Coffee_With_Bailey's

10:12 AM on 7 October, 2009

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Are any tools provided to monitor the used proportion of your monthly traffic allowance?

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Indigo

10:13 AM on 7 October, 2009

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@Gordon - I was only joking, but have you read this?: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5993156.ece

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IanForsey

11:31 AM on 7 October, 2009

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Yet a ---Further to my comment about the Three Mi Fi Unit:---

After reading the review and posting my first comment with regard to charging. It appeared to be charging so I added a comment to say the review was correct is saying you can charge and be connected.

Tested it again and confirm that it is not possible to charge from the mains and be connected at the same time.

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Ben

11:35 AM on 7 October, 2009

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@Ian Forsey - that's a bit rubbish, surely? :S

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Niall

12:58 PM on 7 October, 2009

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My unit worked without any problems when it was plugged in to the mains.

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mikfrak

2:26 PM on 7 October, 2009

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More of a question than a comment. Given the small memory of the cheapest iTouch and the relatively low cost of micro SD cards, could you use the T3 device's memory slot as a backdoor way of extending the iTouch memory? Would you be able store iTunes playlists, photos and video on it and use Skype, giving yourself a cheap alternative to an iPhone, without the Satnav?

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IanForsey

12:58 AM on 8 October, 2009

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Ben & Niall

I agree that the Mi Fi unit will work when connected to the mains. But and a big but - it does not charge! Well mine will not charge. So absolutely no point in connecting to the mains!

Perhaps you would be good enough to test yours. 'Three' support confirmed to me that it will not charge when connected. Not good.

I have asked Three if I can purchase a spare battery and told not possible yet as it is to new! Jeeze!

My download/upload speeds have been terrible. This evening when it's surely not busy my download speed was 97kb/s. speeds of yesteryear! And at 1.0am it is still unusable.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/585936056.png

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sockatume

11:59 AM on 9 October, 2009

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It doesn't charge while connected to the mains and is online, but does it draw power from the mains charger? I mean, can it run indefinitely on the mains when it's online, so long as you don't mind having to charge the battery after?

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JudgeChuck

9:48 AM on 15 October, 2009

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Quick question: Does anyone know whether this creates an Infrastructure or Ad-hoc WiFi access point? I have a device that I would be very interested in using with one of these but it can only connect to Infrastructure points. Cheers!

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Hornet

3:55 AM on 16 October, 2009

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Just released in Aust. w/out mains charger. Customer support are morons. Can someone tell me the current and voltage rating of the mains charger please.

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shauren

1:24 PM on 22 October, 2009

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I got a O2 dongle and the coverage was pathetic. 3 coverage appears to be much better or may be this modem is better at picking up signals. (I think it is the former because 3G coverage using my O2 iPhone is not great).

Pros:

1. It doesn't stick out of the back/side so doesn't get in the way

2. I can put it near a window to get better reception

3. It's about the size of a mobile phone so you can put it in your pocket

4. Feels like a fixed broadband connection although not quite as quick (but certainly quicker than my iPhone 3GS on 3G).

Cons:

1. I am on Pay as You Go and the 3 website isn't 100% clear on what it is going to cost longer term.

On my charger it says output 5.3V 650mA (which is the standard USB rating I believe)

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johng7swz

12:10 PM on 1 November, 2009

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Does anyone know if this device and its software is compatible with Windows 7 Professional. I have been using a USB dongle (e160g) on 3 but since moving from Vista to 7 it no longer works and I cannot find any updated software or drivers - suport at 3 uk are useless! I do not want tobuy the MiFi if it will not work on Windows 7

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Steve31

10:51 AM on 7 November, 2009

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Three mobile broadband costs: http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband/What_it_costs - seriously considering pairing with an iPod touch...

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alandr

8:37 AM on 8 November, 2009

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I currently use a dongle and plan to buy this on PAYG and use my SIM - 3 say it will work. But I currently use a SIM password. Can this device suppoer a SIM password? I cannot see where you would enter it when you connect.

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bdveit

10:24 AM on 27 November, 2009

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I would like to be able to use this to run a couple of ip cameras at a remote location. Would this be possable. Would it remain online 24 hours a day or would the conection be terminated?

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MikeCharnock

3:08 PM on 2 December, 2009

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I have one of these, and it works really well. Bought it PAYG (for £50) and am using it with a 3 wireless broadband (15Gb for £15/month).

People getting slow speeds must be in poor signal or busy areas. In mid Sussex I am getting about 1.3Mbps down, and amazingly slightly better (up to 1.5Mbps) up. Seems good at holding the phone signal, as I have used it in a car, using an iPod Touch to stream internet radio. On the journey between Hastings and Brighton only one signal drop, which lasted about 10 seconds. Recommended.

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Joseph Middleton

10:10 PM on 7 December, 2009

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Are some people failing to see the true beauty of ths device? In my school there are 4 of us with iPhones/touches and we would love to use bump or play games but our school wifi is passworded and so to have a mini wifi network (regardless of Internet) means we can all play together!

Now here's my question(s)

will my above idea work if there is no sim card in there?

Is it possible to use my current contract of unlimited texts and internet as the Internet sim?

Sounds like a very good idea just want to make sure it works!

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DeviousDog

3:31 PM on 5 February, 2010

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This is a fantastic device for providing Internet access on the go. The devices display screen with only 5 indicators with verious lights is more then enough for exact connection status, however it will not provide input on how charged the battery is. It will idicate either charging or flat. Brand new out of the box you can plug the USB charger in and connect to the network with out charging the battery, however you can not turn the device on without the battery inserted. Unsure if the battery charges whilst connected into mains due to lack of battery indicator.

Changing the Access Point Name (APN) settings for other networks was as simple as making a coffee once you plug the device into your computer (PC). Of course you will need to get your device unlocked, I have got it working on three (default), O2 and Vodafone.

Very surprising that the unit allows for upnp for anyone wanting to stream video or music, shame that the device could not see the microSD card and stream the contents from this.

The one concern I have with this unit is it will disconnect the WiFi connection after a period of time of being idle (WHY), but it still stays connected to your service provider. This seems a bit pointless and silly, why disconnect WiFi and keep service connection going. Currenlty there are NO settings to turn this behaviour ON or OFF, fingers crossed a firmware fix will come. So internet connection can not be constant with this device currently, it will disconnect after a period of idle. Idle period is unknown.

I did test the unit with my normal phone sim from my Blackberry (which has internet access), once the APN was configured for this service provider the unit gave me Internet access. This has now given me an option to use my phone sim for internet access, when I need to access the internet on my computer and no WiFi is avalible.

Unit is great for MAC or PC, iPhone or Touch and will give a good option for the iPad without the 3G card. Cant wait for the second Gen of these devices.

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nigelmercier

12:03 AM on 2 April, 2010

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@Hornet

As shauren said the charger says output 5.3V 650mA. However, I've tested it when charging and it only draws about 300mA with the wireless on. I'm using a phone charger to keep it running, as I don't have mains!

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nigelmercier

12:06 AM on 2 April, 2010

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Forgot to ask, has anyone used the Huawei E5830 Firmware update from Brightpoint (see http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/huawei-e5-e5830-e5832-imo-firmware-update-available)?

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RobHJ

8:08 PM on 8 April, 2010

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I've just got an Orange Mobile Broadband dongle that I'm struggling to connect to my laptop running Ubuntu.

Would the 3G sim from that work in one of these or are they locked down to 3?

Sorry if this is dumb question!

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JinKee

7:21 AM on 9 April, 2010

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Does anyone know how to UNLOCK this device? I want to use it with another service provider and not 3?

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taige

9:45 PM on 25 April, 2010

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Do you guys know how to charge by USB charger? it doesnt seem to work.

btw I'm trying to start a mificlub. check it out at http://mificlub.com

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SimonChu

4:21 AM on 26 April, 2010

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We, Mugen Power brand battery, provide a strongest battery pack for Huawei E5830 @3900mAh, triple power than OEM. This unique battery sell very good now and are now serving the network service provider.

For further detail, please contact: marketing07@unifirm.com attn: Simon Chu

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Steve39

1:45 PM on 20 May, 2010

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I just wanted to confirm what most other people are saying about Three’s MIFI dongle:

1. It will not charge via the USB port if you are online – your battery will eventually fail

2. You can use indefinitely while connected to mains but it does not charge the battery (if it doesn’t get in contact with Three – they replaced my original mains charger FOC)

If you want to charge the battery up – you have to do it offline.

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smar

2:16 PM on 8 August, 2010

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I have been using Huawei E5830 for a week. This is sure a good wifi device. I find no problem charging the battery using the usb connecting to my laptop or desktop.

I can still use the device and get connected via wifi when charging from the main or usb port. Charging the device while using it will of course take a longer time to charge the batter full. Charging using the usb port will definately take a longer time.

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More Photos

This useful device from 3 will give you a Wi-Fi network on the move via a mobile signal so you can connect multiple devices to a single connection at the same time. Its portability, ease of use and all-round excellent peformance is certainly impressive and offers far more than a USB dongle.

Overall

8/10

Write your own review

Reviewed by Niall Magennis

07 October 2009

Price as reviewed

free/subscription

Awards

Scores in detail

Design: 8/10
Features: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Pros & Cons

Pros

Lightweight and compact
Simple controls
Can connect multiple devices

Cons

Lacks an external aerial
Long time to charge
LEDs lack clarity

Comments on 3 MiFi Huawei E5830

Overall

Price as reviewed

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Awards

Scores in detail

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Price as reviewed

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