Connecting Skybox F5s to 3g?

[AaronJ]

Hi guys I have a Skybox F5s. I was told before I bought it, that it would be able to pick up a 3g WIFI signal, as I don't have broadband or a landline, but it doesnt

Can anyone please tell me what I can buy in order to connect the receiver to the 3g WIFI?

I would prefer something that could either pick up the signal from the portable 3g hotspot, or let me put my 3g data sim into it and then connect that device to the receiver using ethernet, but any solution to the problem at all would be good

Would the homeplugs work, or something else?

Any help would be appreciated

[sattv5]

You could get a wifi dongle for your Skybox which would then pick up the signal from your 3g wifi, cheapest links I could find but either will work fine:

WIFI 150MBPS WIRELESS ADAPTOR 802.11 B G N LAN NETWORK MINI USB DONGLE ADAPTER | eBay

WIFI 150MBPS WIRELESS ADAPTOR 802.11 B/G/N HIGH GAIN AERIAL LAN USB DONGLE | eBay

[genam]

when you say 3g wifi do you have a mifi portable box or are you going to use your phone as a hotspot.
3g and wifi aren't the same thing.

[AaronJ]

Thanks a lot for the info and links satttv5

Genam, sorry... I have one of these... O2 | Mobile Broadband Pocket Hotspot | Your own personal, portable hotspot to get online, on the move.

I have read that wireless isnt ideal for Skyboxes, so, if possible, I would prefer the connection to be wired

Again, any info would be appreciated

[DW190]

Thanks a lot for the info and links satttv5

Genam, sorry... I have one of these... O2 | Mobile Broadband Pocket Hotspot | Your own personal, portable hotspot to get online, on the move.

I have read that wireless isnt ideal for Skyboxes, so, if possible, I would prefer the connection to be wired

Again, any info would be appreciated

If you have your pocket mifi then just get one of these, although wired is preferred I have used these with little trouble.

WIFI 150MBPS WIRELESS ADAPTOR 802.11 B G N LAN NETWORK MINI USB DONGLE ADAPTER | eBay

[sattv5]

You could buy a 3g router, but you would still have to get a cheap dongle to go along with it, but you would be able to connect via ethernet cable.
To be honest the F5's has less problems connecting via wifi than the earlier boxes, and the wifi dongle would be the cheapest option.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edimax-3G-6200N-Broadband-Router-Server/dp/B002GNHOCQ/ref=tag_stp_s2_edpp_url

TP-Link TL-MR3220 Wireless 3G 4 Port Router 3G/WAN failover 2.4GHz 802.11n/g/b 0845973051501 | eBay

[AaronJ]

Quick question guys... Ive ordered one of the WIFI dongles from Ebay, it should be here soon

I know that, when connecting a laptop of PC or similar to a WIFI signal, you need to enter the WIFI key or password, in order for your device to be able connect to it

Do I need to do this on the Skybox somehow, or will it just pick up the signal automatically? If I do need to do it, can someone please explain how I would do it

[mahrkpat]

I thought the whole point of having skybox with 's' at the end was its gprs capability, you should be able to get a wifi dongle from one of the mobile phone operators which will connect your box via the usb(?) to their internet service.

If you have bought a wifi dongle what wifi signal are you going to connect to if you don't have broadband at home?

[AaronJ]

mahrkpat, I have one of these already: O2 | Mobile Broadband Pocket Hotspot | Your own personal, portable hotspot to get online, on the move.

But my Skybox cant pickup the signal

Apparently I need one of the WIFI adaptor dongles, as suggested in this thread, that I can plug into my receiver, so it will pick up the signal from my hotspot. So I bought one:

WIFI 150MBPS WIRELESS ADAPTOR 802.11 B/G/N HIGH GAIN AERIAL LAN USB DONGLE | eBay

I am hoping that this device, when plugged in to my receiver, will pick up the signal from my hotspot and enable it to connect to the internet. I was just wondering if I needed to enter the WIFI password into the receiver somehow, so it can connect

[DW190]

WIFI 150MBPS WIRELESS ADAPTOR 802.11 B/G/N HIGH GAIN AERIAL LAN USB DONGLE | eBay

I am hoping that this device, when plugged in to my receiver, will pick up the signal from my hotspot and enable it to connect to the internet. I was just wondering if I needed to enter the WIFI password into the receiver somehow, so it can connect

Some people just dont read and jump in at the deep end.

When you have your wifi dongle put it in the box and go into network setting and click on the wifi active. The box needs to reboot then back into the wifi setup and make sure its ON the select you mifi and enter login password.

W

[thanidar]

hi it will work with a router and wifi dongle but it will stop and start.plus you will get glitching dongle data is the same as phone data its dosn't run continues its not the same as broadband data.try from your phones wifi before you buy a router and dongle and see what you think.with phone or dongle data you will have to keep refreshing the data.or try having radio on phone at same time[sound down] this will help.

[AaronJ]

I haven't got a WIFI phone thanidar and ive already ordered the WIFI dongle now. Il see how it goes and if its no good I will have to try to find another way of doing it

[AaronJ]

Ok guys, so ive had the WIFI dongle running with my O2 hotspot for a while, but unfortunately it seems thanidar was right.... the connection isn't too good and it doesnt work well. It was only a few ? so theres nothing lost from trying it, but I do need to find a better way of doing it and I would appreciate a bit of advice


I have a USB broadband dongle and I am planning on buying a router that sattv5 recommended, like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TP-Link-TL-MR3220-Wireless-3G-4-Port-Router-3G-WAN-failover-2-4GHz-802-11n-g-b-/370843058235?pt=UK_Computing_Wireless_Routers&hash =item5657f8003b


I would then connect the USB dongle to the router and the router to my Skybox via ethernet


Before I go ahead and buy it, could someone please confirm that this would actually be a better way of doing it and that the connection would be better, more like a normal broadband connection, compared to that of the WIFI?


Cheers guys

[sattv5]

I think the issue is more with it being mobile broadband than anything else, you may be better off in trying a few different sim cards from different network providers.
it maybe useful to go to Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test and seeing what the results are for your connection.

[AaronJ]

Thanks for the advice mate. The thing is, to get 2 or 3 different sim cards, all with data loaded on them, its gonna cost me around ?30. On top of that, my current hotspot only accepts O2 sims, so I would have to get a different WIFI device for each of the sims, or at least a new 1 that could take any sim and even after all that, theres still a possibility that I could be no better off than I am now


I already have a USB broadband dongle, so if I could spend ?20-?30 on a router, have that connected to the Skybox by ethernet and that would solve my problem, then I would much prefer to go that way


In theory, i presume it would be much better doing it that way, id just like to make sure I am right, before I go buying a router. If someone could give me some input on that, I would appreciate it