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Hi all -
I'm trying to figure out the simplest solution for my sister who is mildly developmentally disabled and has some other health issues - she lives at a residential facility. She recently moved from a place that had at least a weak wifi system so she could have internet access. She basically uses her Kindle for email, youtube, and limited music streaming because she's in a rural area with hardly any radio stations.
Unfortunately her new place doesn't have wifi. I miss being able to send her e-cards, links to videos, etc. and think it's a good way for us to stay in better touch.
Her cell has decent reception through Sprint and if it makes sense I could upgrade it so it could be used as a mobile hotspot. I've never had to do this for myself - how hard would it be for her to flip this on and off or whatever? She doesn't need huge bandwidth or a lot of data but I don't want it getting inadvertently wasted. However, if it's too hard for her to mess with, obviously she won't.
Would it be any easier for her to just get a mifi hotspot, not connected to her phone?
Just trying to find something that would be as simple as possible for checking email mostly. Any other possibilities to consider?
For dead simplicity, you won't beat the mifi. Turn it on, find a spot with good reception, and set it there. Charge it every few days you're good to go.
Depending upon the phone, it could be pretty easy to enable the hotspot, or it could be a hassle. In some versions of Android, you might be able to get a widget that can turn it on and off from the home screen. Not sure on iPhones, but I'd have to believe there's something similar.
If not then she might have to dig a few levels deep into the phone settings to enable / disable the hotspot.
For dead simplicity, you won't beat the mifi. Turn it on, find a spot with good reception, and set it there. Charge it every few days you're good to go.
Depending upon the phone, it could be pretty easy to enable the hotspot, or it could be a hassle. In some versions of Android, you might be able to get a widget that can turn it on and off from the home screen. Not sure on iPhones, but I'd have to believe there's something similar.
If not then she might have to dig a few levels deep into the phone settings to enable / disable the hotspot.
That's kind of what I thought in terms of settings - on my phone it's about 3 layers in to find the setting...I'm sure she would get frustrated and probably just give up....with mifi she could pretty much just have it up and use her kindle like usual. Thanks!
Any recommendations in terms of whether I should get one from Sprint or go with an unlocked version?
Using the phone as a hotspot will reduce the phone's battery life, because it makes the phone's radio work harder.
Try it and see if the difference of having hotspot enabled prevents the phone from running as long during the day as your sister needs for it to run.
True about the phone battery - and she would likely not think about turning it off and on so it would constantly be running down the phone - good point!
i use cyanogenmod on an old nexus. i swipe down from the menu and toggle wifi-ap (its like turning on gps or airplane mode).
the mifi is probably easier but i suspect its more expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63
That's kind of what I thought in terms of settings - on my phone it's about 3 layers in to find the setting...I'm sure she would get frustrated and probably just give up....with mifi she could pretty much just have it up and use her kindle like usual. Thanks!
Any recommendations in terms of whether I should get one from Sprint or go with an unlocked version?
Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63
True about the phone battery - and she would likely not think about turning it off and on so it would constantly be running down the phone - good point!
maybe an ifttt recipe to enable wifi access point when the charger is plugged in ; then another one to disable wifi-ap when unplugged ?
Last edited by stanley-88888888; 07-03-2017 at 10:15 PM..
have both. For longer term usage, mifi is better and smaller. Keep in mind that most carriers offer separate data plans for mifi, so if one of them has a better deal, you might buy there. Prepaid can be nice and affordable. In other words, for mifi, shop around!
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