Afrihost Mobile Feedback Thread

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Question for Afri<person>

My car headunit runs Android, which obviously works better with an internet connection. I currently tether to my cellphone which is a pain in the arse because I have to keep enabling/disabling wifi tethering.

The headunit also allows for a direct 3G stick - but obviously compatibility might be an issue.

I'm considering the mifi unit, and just powering it off the 3G USB from the headunit. (headunit has wifi)

Now - obviously the mifi unit will be left in the vehicle.
1.) Battery life will be an issue when the vehicle stands overnight, or over weekends - does the unit power up easy by itself when power is detected?
2.) Will reception be much of a problem from the cubbyhole? Doesn't seem to be with the cellphone
3.) Does the unit function as a wifi router? e.g. if I have three devices connected to the mifi unit, will they see each other?
 
Volksieboi said:
Just some feedback... I logged a ticket and received an email last night saying that my account was reset, and that i should restart my device...

and....

BOOM! been clocking around 6Mb Down, 2Mb up and a ping around 70ms

Needless to say... my meh:( is now a :D

still curious though? what does resetting the account do?
Click to expand...

It could be a few things, you establish a connection with the closest tower. It could also be refreshing your IP on the network. I'd say it's probably more likely the first one.
 
xrapidx said:
Question for Afri<person>

My car headunit runs Android, which obviously works better with an internet connection. I currently tether to my cellphone which is a pain in the arse because I have to keep enabling/disabling wifi tethering.

The headunit also allows for a direct 3G stick - but obviously compatibility might be an issue.

I'm considering the mifi unit, and just powering it off the 3G USB from the headunit. (headunit has wifi)

Now - obviously the mifi unit will be left in the vehicle.
1.) Battery life will be an issue when the vehicle stands overnight, or over weekends - does the unit power up easy by itself when power is detected?
2.) Will reception be much of a problem from the cubbyhole? Doesn't seem to be with the cellphone
3.) Does the unit function as a wifi router? e.g. if I have three devices connected to the mifi unit, will they see each other?
Click to expand...

The MiFi unit also functions as a USB 3G unit - plug it in and it has dashboard software on the virtual CD. This could cause conflict on using the 3G USB from the head unit to power it.
 
GreGorGy said:
The MiFi unit also functions as a USB 3G unit - plug it in and it has dashboard software on the virtual CD. This could cause conflict on using the 3G USB from the head unit to power it.
Click to expand...

That might not be a problem if the headunit picks it up? Android seems to like the brand (Huawei).

I wonder if you get USB data to USB Power converter - it must be as simple as removing a through cable connections?

My main worry is having to manually power the mifi device each time I start the car - it defeats what I'm trying to achieve.
 
xrapidx said:
That might not be a problem if the headunit picks it up? Android seems to like the brand (Huawei).

I wonder if you get USB data to USB Power converter - it must be as simple as removing a through cable connections?

My main worry is having to manually power the mifi device each time I start the car - it defeats what I'm trying to achieve.
Click to expand...

I think the best move is to go directly to Huawei and see what they recommend and make sure that nothing you put in place interferes with your manufacturer warranty.
 
AfriMan said:
I think the best move is to go directly to Huawei and see what they recommend and make sure that nothing you put in place interferes with your manufacturer warranty.
Click to expand...

Head-unit is after-market - I've already had confirmation from Suzuki that as long as I don't cut wires, I'm good :)

Do Huawei actually respond to requests for information like this?
 
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xrapidx said:
That might not be a problem if the headunit picks it up? Android seems to like the brand (Huawei).

I wonder if you get USB data to USB Power converter - it must be as simple as removing a through cable connections?

My main worry is having to manually power the mifi device each time I start the car - it defeats what I'm trying to achieve.
Click to expand...

Yeah - as much as the Americans are anti huawei, their devices just seem to work much better and much easier than other manufacturers. Those double-A-side USB cables you get with external optical drives are meant to provide auxiliary power to the drive on the second USB-A which suggests that what you are wanting - USB power only - must exist. The device does have an option to shutdown WLAN without external power but I doubt that shuts off the rest of it - never tested that.

I'd think that with it plugged in, and trial and error will eventually tell us, headunit will use it as a USB if it can and then the wifi will also be available to phones etc in the car. What is interesting is when I plug the WiFi into my USB, it fails to show up as a virtual CD using a white USB cable I have but it does still charge. I have no idea where this cable comes from but it seems to be doing exactly what you want - charging without any other functions.
 
I wonder if I can get a loan unit somewhere - I see lots of guys running around with them in the office :twisted:

I don't want to spend the R1000 odd on a device that will work like my cellphone currently.

Wouldn't mind the LTE one :p But doubt I'd use it.
 
Looks like it could work....

Can anyone tell me if they mifi device powers itself on after battery failure once getting power, or do you manually have to turn it on again?
 
xrapidx said:
Looks like it could work....

Can anyone tell me if they mifi device powers itself on after battery failure once getting power, or do you manually have to turn it on again?
Click to expand...

Manual I am afraid. I have been going through invoices and wracking my brain to try remember where the hell I got that charging-only cable from and I just cannot.
 
GreGorGy said:
Manual I am afraid. I have been going through invoices and wracking my brain to try remember where the hell I got that charging-only cable from and I just cannot.
Click to expand...

Maybe it won't be a problem - the only thing that will use wifi is the car:
Maximum working time: 5 hours
Maximum standby time: 280 hours while Wi-Fi is off; 30 hours
while Wi-Fi is often on.
 
Down Again!

This morning I can't connect to the internet with my Afrihost sim as it says the following:


But I knew I had at least 6GB data remaining... When I logged in to ClientZone with another router & sim I can confirm I have 6.4GB data remaining!


So what is going on Afrihost?:confused::(
 
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Munross said:
This morning I can't connect to the internet with my Afrihost sim as it says the following:


But I knew I had at least 6GB data remaining... When I logged in to ClientZone with another router & sim I can confirm I have 6.4GB data remaining!


So what is going on Afrihost?:confused::(
Click to expand...

open a ticket in client zone and they'll reset the account, if you read through the thread you'll see it happens often
 
kamikazi said:
I've cancelled my subscription, no service again last evening and this morning.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. There hasn't been a general authentication or service problem last night or this morning.

If you PM me, I'd really like to see if we can sort this out, even if you have decided to cancel :(
 
Munross said:
This morning I can't connect to the internet with my Afrihost sim as it says the following:


But I knew I had at least 6GB data remaining... When I logged in to ClientZone with another router & sim I can confirm I have 6.4GB data remaining!


So what is going on Afrihost?:confused::(
Click to expand...

Sounds like there could be a problem on our side. PM me and I'm sure we can get you sorted out :(
 
Anyone get the latest email around mobile data? A short while back it was reduced, for example, from 2 + 3 to 2 + 2 - now it looks like after August the + 2 will also fall away for new subscribers? Is that correct?
 
xrapidx said:
Anyone get the latest email around mobile data? A short while back it was reduced, for example, from 2 + 3 to 2 + 2 - now it looks like after August the + 2 will also fall away for new subscribers? Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Anyone who subscribes before 31st July will be guaranteed extra data until the end of December 2014.

Check next Friday as to what's on offer to new subscribers... If the 2 + 2 drops to 2GB and the price is still R145 then they will not see many extra customers if any! 2GB is available from other networks at R99pm already!
 
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