Normally around $70, Officeworks has dropped the price to $39.
Timely deal for all you Optus customers looking for a backup.
Telstra 4GX WiFi Plus Modem $39 + Delivery ($0 C&C/ in-Store/ OnePass/ $55 Metro Order) @ Officeworks
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jrjr on 09/11/2023 - 10:56 officeworks.com.au (3087 clicks)
Last edited 09/11/2023 - 14:51 by 2 other users
Last edited 09/11/2023 - 14:51 by 2 other users
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It seems that the answer to my own question re Belong SIMs is "not easily". One way is to convince Telstra to give you an unlocking code, which is likely to be a painful exercise based on this report. Another option is to go through this complex procedure for reflashing the device firmware. (This particular procedure dates from 2018 and may only work on earlier models of the device.)
That flashing guide isn't for this model and won't work, see my reply to another comment for my own unlocking experience.
Ive used a boost Sim in it and it works.
Thanks for that :-)
only cat 4 but it is cheap
It's in this weeks Woolies catalogue for $39 also … (these tend to be on special at coles or woolies every other week…
A better option for those with Rewards Dollars & good Rewards offers.
$39… Have offer of 2000pt ($10cr) for $40 spend this week & $50cr on card🎉
Think I'll just keep using my old unlocked 4G+ phone for home wifi using FREE Boost SIMs😄
RRP $79. Regular special is $59.
Telstra shills out in Force
I dare you to post an Optus deal.
I wonder if this outage is going to cause some people to dual sim Optus and Telstra on their phones to have a backup. Which is crazy really, shouldn't Optus have their own backup!?
Is the reception on these better than a modern 5g phone?
Likely depends on your location & speeds on number using local towers.
FLICKIT has used older version of this modem in very remote areas. Areas that aren't likely to have 5G. Seems connection between tower & network was issue, if many wanted to use at same time.
I use 4G+ & 5G phones in city to provide home Wi-Fi on FREE Boost SIMs. Most of time there isn't a great deal of difference - depends on task. Works well.
5g is only around heavily populated areas and I believe it has a fairly short range, so it's not really suited to fringe/rural/remote areas, I assume 4g will be dominant in those areas for quite a long time because it has much better range… (I only have a basic understanding)
https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/our-coverageYes, the higher frequency required for faster data transmission means a shorter transmission radius from towers with 5G.
So there is a need for shorter distance to towers, therefore the need for building more towers.
That & requiring good high speed connection to rest of network means it's for city areas with large number of users.All contributing to the great 5G conspiracies😜
Thanks. My use case is at some caravan parks the 4g reception on my phone can be very patchy for data (streaming content). Was wondering if one of these would provide more 'reach'.
It 'should'.. The good thing about a modem like this is you can sit it in a window or move it from one end of your van to the other to find the best reception, getting near line-of-sight to the tower always helps…
It also has external antenna ports. You can get 2x TS9 antenna pretty cheap on ebay/ali/etc
@sween64: This year I've been using one of these, it certainly helps: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/195573231272
I looked around the cheapies on ebay and ali but they seem to have mixed reviews and I didn't want to 'trial and error' it, so I settled on the pricier $65 one from an Aussie company…
@foxpants: Single, I believe you only need the secondary for MIMO, and that requires 2 antennas… A lot of the cheapie antennas with 2 connectors dont appear the actually have 2 antennas so I assume they're probably a bit gimmicky …
I believe MIMO ('Multiple Input Multiple Output') just helps to boost your speed, I'm not too fussed about speed as long as I can get a good connection, so being frugal and wanting an ok quality antenna I decided to go with this non-MIMO omnidirectional one… Decent quality MIMO antennas were quite a bit more expensive…
Edit: https://www.telcoantennas.com.au/buying/smart-guides/guide-t…
MIMO
The second most important feature of a 4G antenna is the capability to operate in MIMO.
4G uses a technology called MIMO, which means 'Multiple Input Multiple Output' - this is where your modem uses two separate antennas at once to deliver super fast speeds.Normal 3G and Next-G signals broadcast vertically polarised, where the wave travels "up and down".
LTE MIMO waves are slant polarised, where each wave is rotated 45 degrees from the horizontal, mirrored so the first is at 45 degrees and the other at 135 degrees.
This smart little trick is called polarisation diversity and allows your modem to distinguish two independent streams of data over the same frequency allocated by the cell tower.
Because our modem has two internal antennas each responsible for receiving one stream of data, it is absolutely crucial we have two separate external antennas.
We cannot use a 'Y' patch lead or some other trick to connect both ports of the modem into one antenna, nor can we connect both external antennas into one port.MIMO is switched on and off by the modem. The decision to use MIMO is negotiated with the cell tower, whereby the quality of the received and transmitted signals are assessed (a metric known as CQI). When signal strength or quality is low, it's difficult for the modem to distinguish between the two data streams, so when signal levels drop below a certain threshold level, MIMO is switched off and the modem operates with only one antenna.
@FLICKIT: Just be aware that antenna is only 7dB gain. You can buy the smaller magnetic based single wire antennas much cheaper.
Does anyone want to start a fundraiser to get one these to Access Canberra? The staff had a day off yesterday due to Floptus.
aka Droptus. All of ACTGOV phones were down, at least the network stayed on.
I have one of these on a Telstra small data plan with Data Share on my main plans. It works well in the car for my Daughter's Tablet when out in the car and when working off site in Melbourne. No complaints, it's a great little device. I am using it at the moment for this post!
Still it doesn't take much data capability to be able to post here via mobile broadband😉
(Since I'd Rather be Travelling, I've only posted via mobile broadband since 2011, on (2G?), 3G, 4G, 4G+ & now 5G - with over 25k posts😄)It's the more data intensive activities, possibly video done on your Daughter's Tablet when out in the car - which show it's capabilities.
I'm sure she would let you know if that wasn't successful😄It's the more data intensive activities, possibly video done on your Daughter's Tablet when out in the car - which show it's capabilities.
Most of the time I am using it to connect to a VPN and then RDP into my computer at home. Like I am doing now.
Sometimes I stream stuff as well, but that is rare on my laptop.
I find it is better to use the device thank hotspot off my phone. Plus I can up and leave my laptop connected without having to do the whole phone connection again.
I'm sure she would let you know if that wasn't successful😄
Oh, she does. She knows it as the thing, so when its not working, she says, "dad, have you got the thing?". She is only 4.
Told you she'd tell you😂😂
I stream movies from mobile to TV.
No home Wi-Fi, no computer.
Just use the phone, used as Wi-Fi hotspot (with FREE Boost SIMs) or pocket Wi-Fi modems in the past. Works well.
can these work for resellers like belong?
Discussed earlier.
yes or no was less letters to type
Don't be lazy & try to rely on others to read for you.
Others & I have already explained the answers above.
It's more complex than a yes/no answer!
Used one of these on a roadtrip around Australia to work remotely. Up on the 4wd roof cage it got decent signal in places where my phone and partners phone would struggle. Other times I hoisted it up in a drybag with a power bank on a couple of poles lashed to the roof cage, and then eventually upgraded to a 4g MIMO directional panel antenna with some TS9 adaptors and that worked great. Speeds weren't anything to write home about but just having signal at all was important for remote work.
I hoisted it up in a drybag with a power bank on a couple of poles lashed to the roof cage, and then eventually upgraded to a 4g MIMO directional panel antenna with some TS9 adaptors and that worked great.
My story is much the same, lol, using a drybag and powerbank hoisted up a tree with a rope… I upgraded to one of these antennas earlier in the year: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/195573231272
It seems to do an ok job but I cant comment on how it compares to other antennas…
Often, without the antenna I'll have a couple of bars of 3g but super slow unusable speeds, with the antenna plugged in I may get no bars or 1 bar of 4g, but half decent usable speeds… It's certainly increased my range and I get a much more stable connection….
Just asking you fine folks, what device should I get ?
I just signed up to that $99 JB Deal (they shafted me by $300). I have more Data than I need. But I have no other internet access. I rather not use my Main Phone as a hotspot for my laptop or TV on a 24/7 or permanent basis.
Hotspoting works okay in short bursts, but it really taxes the modern phone in terms of processor and battery life. You can see the battery health diminish in real time. And it can become an (expensive) hazard.
So I want to get an outdoors SIM card modem (only Low-4G reception) and use that to hotspot to all my devices.
What is the best way forward?
Price, Reception, DurabilityThanks in Advance!
Had 1 for about 15 months and used it a lot was good until it got pregnant and started to swell.
Did you get a replacement?
only 12 months warranty
Most pregnancies only come with 9 months warranty.
ACL might back you in to get a replacement outside warranty. Would a reasonable consumer expect a $79 modem to last more than a year?
should've kept it away from your horndog phone
Have this one. Searched low & high for a cheap unlock code. Never find anything.
Cheapest plan with Telstra is $25 a month: 30 GB then unlimited at 1.5Mbps
https://www.telstra.com.au/internet/data-plans
I like the Optus punchline as I'm one of the victim.
And my felix mobile w/ Vodafone network needs some love from the deal.
I've been using this device for the better part of 3 years. I had to replace the first one due to hardware fault after a year and a bit of use (couldn't replace it under warranty as I couldn't find the receipt). I am already with a data plan on Telstra and asked for them to unlock my device this afternoon through their chat support and was all completed within less than 15 mins.
Did you have to pay to get it unlocked?
not at all. completely free. I logged into my account to chat though which probably streamlined the process. They will ask for ur IMEI and will provide you a specific unlock code for your device.
Been waiting for this. Thanks 🙏
Can click and collect at local store 2 hrs time, but can't use One Pass delivery….
It seems people cant go without their phones for 1 day. Sounds like a problem.
How can we unlock this ?
We've got around 600 of these sitting in boxes for when Covid hit… And never quite hit Cairns. Only handed out a couple hundred 🤦♂️
Who's we? Can you send me one please if I pay for postage?
I have an unlocked Optus Alcatel Link Zone MW41. Is this similar? I paid $9 for the modem and a few dollars for unlocking.
I want to add an external antenna and WiFi modem to my car as I live in the country so get patchy reception.
Would this little unit work? In my mind it works but has anyone done it?
I'm going to use a boost sim which others here say works with it.
I want to add an external antenna and WiFi modem to my car as I live in the country so get patchy reception.
That doesn't mean it is going to fix it for your phone itself. Yes, you can WiFi to the Hotspot and then you have internet, but doesn't mean phone/text is going to be a fix.
You might want to look into a Cel-Fi and get a car kit. It'll be heaps better thank trying to rig up a hotspot. No ongoing fees for the Cel-Fi, just the upfront cost and it will cover everyone in the car with no additional Wi-Fi connections etc.
For remote area use I can understand, but for city/urban use don't you guys already have spare phones that you can just hotspot?
There's nothing stopping people from doing it, these things are just easier to use. Power them up when you need them and away they go, data limits usage/limits are easily viewable, password is on the screen for easy sharing, nice web configuration, etc. Better versions can have USB or Ethernet which is useful in certain cases, and given they're a pure modem the battery may last longer than a phone doing the same job.
Great points!
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a google search didn't answer my question but I saw a couple of adverts listing it as Telstra/Boost only