Getting Wifi in Apartment - Advice Please

[ymx28]

Having just spent ~£350 in a week on my phone here , I'm starting to consider getting Wifi in my apartment. We come out about 4 times a year and our next stay is for 2 weeks in July.

I would really appreciate any advice you could offer on how to go about this, likely costs, best vendors etc.

In PP for another few days, so maybe July before I can sort this out. We don't currently have a telephone line.

Thanks
Michelle

 

[Major Tom]

Hello Michelle,

I also have an apartment with no phone line and use a vodafone dongle,
it works very well.

Check out some electrical shops to purchase one, as the Vodafone shop in
Pollensa has now closed, I get top ups for it at the Lottery shop
in Puerto Pollensa.

Hope this helps....

 

[sws97sdg]

Hi Michelle
That would be my advice as well, just search the site for dongle, lots of advice about where to buy them and how to top them up, would be a lot cheaper than your phone

 

[Sparky]

Hi Michelle there is a lot of dongle info here http://www.forum.puertopollensa.com...s/3103-mobile-broadband-plug-ins-laptops.html

 

[SENOR CIGAR]

Hi Michelle,
If there are enough likeminded people in your apartment block/community then you might consider using someone like I B Red to install community WiFi.
No phone line needed at all and very good reception.
You probably need a minimum of 10 to 12 to make it worthwhile .We had it installed in the community I am president of in Boquer 2 years ago and the ongoing monthly cost based on 14 apartments is under 10€ a month.There is of course an initial installation fee for an ariel and cableing to each apartment which was all carried out in 1 day very easily.

The Senor

 

[Belladonna]

It is very frustrating to try to get things sorted within a block. I know, we have been trying for about 3 years now! At the moment, I am sticking with the good old dongle - after all that running around to get one, I have to make use of it! However, I have noticed that the people below have had wifi set up on their individual apartment, even though we discussed at a meeting for the whole block to be involved - but thats neighbours for you. Problem arises when there are local residents who have no interest at all in putting in wifi, which is absolutely fair enough, but then the price goes up considerably for the rest - and they end up using it anyway! Bring back postcards, that's what I say!

 

[ymx28]

Many thanks for your replies. We don't have a laptop out here, just bring iPhones & iPads, so not sure if the dongle option will work for us. The block option is interesting Señor - will look to discuss further with other residents.

Michelle

 

[James]

Many thanks for your replies. We don't have a laptop out here, just bring iPhones & iPads, so not sure if the dongle option will work for us.

You can get a MiFi (mobile WiFi) dongle modem from both Vodafone Spain or Yoigo.

See:- Vodafone: Acceso a Internet Módem Vodafone Mobile MiFi R201

and

https://tienda.yoigo.com/selforder/internet/modem-mifi-huawei-e586bs-2

 

[San Miguel]

Dongles

You need to check what reception is like (particularly where you live!). Try it using a mobile phone.
I have recently been involved with a friend buying a dongle, and we ended-up buying a pay as you go dongle from the Orange shop in Alcudia. It hasn't let him down yet and it seems to work in most places in the Port.

Cheers!

San Miguel.

 

[jamesfshaw]

Personally I would not do any of these things.
Why not buy a coffee each day at one of the hotels, restaurants and bars now all offering freee WiFi.
No worry about maintenance, no monthly bills.

 

[whaleywanderer]

Hi Michelle

I'm using my IPad with a data enabled Spanish sim card which I ordered before I came away for £29.99, it is the 'Happy Movil' (Orange) network. The initial payment included 1 Gb of data, the first 350mb at 3G speed. I have been using it now for over a week for general Internet and emails and is still working on 3G. It can also be used in an IPhone for making calls, although I have not tried this.

I have not had to top up yet and not sure if it will still work for data when topped up, which I believe can be done in most supermarkets, tobacs etc. The instructions that came with it were very sparce! Only time will tell, I will probably try to top up by a small amount when it runs out and see what happens.

I found it on the Internet by doing a search for 'Spanish sim cards' sorry cant remember the name of the company, think it was Holiday ............. If I remember I'll add the name later.

Hope this helps, it works for me.

 

[pollensa]

Personally I would not do any of these things.
Why not buy a coffee each day at one of the hotels, restaurants and bars now all offering freee WiFi.
No worry about maintenance, no monthly bills.

All of these places offer it puertopollensa.com/internet_cafes.html#wifipp and of course many more do. Just look for the 'Wifi' sign or ask.

 

[pollensa]

But if you really do want a phone line plus Wifi etc., ours is telefonica & I think I pay about 65 EUR a month which for me is worth it as I come out regularly & have a business to run. Our property management company organised it for me.

So even that would be cheaper than £350 a week! Which network were you using to be charged so much? Most UK mobile companies offer European data packages. If I'm elsewhere in Europe I also have an Orange dongle (on contract) that offers a Daily package for £7 for 50 Mb & I think you can get that for phones too. Virgin Media charge £24 for 20 MB over 7 days.

There are plenty of options!

 

[ymx28]

Mifi is sounding promising - will investigate before going home. Making the most of Cappuccino at the moment

FYI the mobile network is O2 ...

Michelle

 

[Mark]

The MiFi is a great idea.

If you dont find one while you are on holiday the data Sim card and an unlocked mi-fi can both be found on ebay. ( just ask if you need any links)

Not sure if you know how these work but it has nothing to do with your UK O2 contract.

The mi-fi would use a Spanish pay as you go data sim card to connect to the Spanish mobile phone data network and then it transmits this internet data by wifi so your ipad/iphone/laptop etc can connect to the internet just the same as in an internet cafe or at home on wifi.

If you made a phone call or sent a text on your UK mobile phone it would still cost you roaming rates as just the internet data is going through the Spanish phone network and not the calls or texts.

If doing a lot of texting its best to add a temporary upgrade/package to your UK contact while you are away, often only costs a few pounds for a bundle of roaming texts or roaming calls.

 

[Mark]

Personally I would not do any of these things.
Why not buy a coffee each day at one of the hotels, restaurants and bars now all offering freee WiFi.
No worry about maintenance, no monthly bills.

A good idea but most people don't realise the security risks of wifi and enter passwords or visit websites such as online email accounts.

A video that hints at what goes on. The device the security geek has is very clever and can do far more than he shows in the video.

Upgrade Your Life: Online Banking - How Not To Get Hacked - Yahoo! News
( sorry about the advert on yahoo..)

I best not post a link to site that sells the device

The mobile phone network is far safer than any wi-fi at the moment.

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the like

Another couple of videos, features the same person.

Airport WiFi Challenge and Your Ultra Software Picks - Hak5

scroll forwards to 3 minutes into the video where he is at an airport for a challenge.
This is a two year old video so is nothing new, this has been going on for years.

------
Another video that is more recent using a more advanced later generation device. It goes on a bit but watch from 7:36 in the video until 23:19
The device is hidden in a coffee cup.

Circumvent Windows Login Security with a USB boot-drive... - Hak5

 

[JMD40]

JMD internet post.

Hello there, I just thought I would let you know that I am having a business meeting this week after which I hope to be able to offer WI FI to visitors to Mallorca - approx. 6€ per day to cover up to 5 devices including smart phones or laptops etc. Small, lightweight, very reliable. Two packages available. Minimum one week rental. I shall provide more info when all is confirmed but this sounds perfect answer to help out many holidaymakers and owners of properties with the problem of wi fi coverage.

 

[fil6699]

I Have to say I have been using DDT for almost 2 years now and they are fantastic . We pay 54 Euro plus tax a month and that gives us unlimited internet with WiFi ,300 free mins to UK land lines every month, all local calls are free, Line Rental, Our Bills are Emailed every month in English, They have English speaking call centre. Plus a number in the UK that people can call and it connects directly to our phone in PP when using this number its free for us and only a local call cost for the people calling from UK. and the Wifi speed is surprisingly good as good as our BT in Yorkshire.

 

[eleanor]

Fil that really is an excellent deal. Thanks for the info. We had a phone line with telefonica but had so many problems with the service and also their billing. We eventually had the line taken away. Will look into this as having the facility is certainly a big plus.