#763528 by mitchja
08 Jan 2011, 19:35
It's been mentioned a few times on here so I thought I just give you the run down of how to use/setup a VirginMobile US MiFi dongle

I managed to pick one up from Radioshack in San Francisco whilst I was there.

It's $149.99+tax and I also had to purchase a $40 unlimited usage top-up with it at the same time.

Once you finally manage to force open the ridiculously thick well sealed plastic blister packaging (try using just a pencil as that's all I could find in my hotel room!!) you first put the battery in and then you are supposed to charge it up first. There was a reasonable amount of charge in mine so I just skipped that bit and just went onto setting it up.

It comes with a carry case, a charger plug and a USB charging cable. It's got a mini-USB socket on the side and just an on-off button on the top.

With Virgin Mobile US using the US Sprint mobile network and thus being a CDMA network device, there's no SIM card with it. It also wont work in many other countries other then the US, which in order to avoid ridiculously high data roaming charges charges, is obviously not recommended anyway.

There's an instruction card provided which is easy to follow. Once you have switched it on and linked your device to it's WiFi using the provided WiFi password, you need to log into the device using a web browser.

From the device set-up page you can directly access the Virgin Mobile US website in order to activate your account. I used my UK home address but you do need to select a US state and zip-code so I just used the hotels for this :w . It also asks you where you will use the device the most so I just selected San Francisco. This is only so Virgin Mobile can assign you a local mobile number, you only need this mobile number to log into your online account.

Once activated you are provided with a couple of account/mobile numbers and an account PIN which you need to write down as you will need these later.

You are then asked to set-up your payment details for topping up. As I'd already purchased a top-up, I just entered the code RadioShack had printed on the till receipt into the website as per UK PAYG top-ups. You get the option to set-up a credit card for either automatic monthly top-ups or manual top-ups as and when you need it. You don't have to set-up a credit card though if you don't want to as you can top-up using top-up codes as I'd done. Not sure if it will accept UK credit cards or not :?

The system is the same as Three UK mobile broadband *used* to be, where once your top-up is accepted and applied to your account, you then have to convert it to broadband2go monthly usage plan before you can use your device. You will see your account is in credit by $40. You then buy the unlimited monthly usage package using this $40 credit.

Once you have done this you then need to go back to your MiFi device set-up webpage and enter the account/mobile numbers you received earlier. Click on the accept button where your device will then re-boot and then off you go!

As well as the 30 day $40 unlimited plan, VM US also offers a 10 day 100Mb $10 plan too.

You can keep a track of your usage using your online account via the VM US website.

I'd recommend you change your WiFi WPA security password as the default one is printed on the bottom of the device. There's the usual list of WiFi security protocols to choose from. The default one is WPA.

As with any mobile broadband, it's difficult to measure your exact connection speed but I was getting in the order about about 1Mb downloads whilst in San Francisco.

If you use a UK MiFi device, this works in exactly the same way allowing you to connect upto 5 separate WiFi enabled devices at the same time.
#763566 by buns
09 Jan 2011, 12:51
Thanks James y) y)

This looks a very promising deal for me, as the Hotel on St. Pete Beach that Mrs Buns & I regularly visit still insists on charging $10 per day, per device :0

That $149 would soon be recouped and as I already have a US Virgin Mobile, all should fall into place nicely

Thanks once again

buns
#763961 by mitchja
13 Jan 2011, 18:06
Just an update as I've received this email from Virgin Mobile US:

Starting February 15, 2011, if you go over 5GB in a month on the $40 Unlimited Plan:
• Your data speeds will be limited for the remainder of the monthly plan cycle. During this time, you may experience slower page loads and file downloads and lags in streaming media.
• Your data speeds will return to normal as soon as you buy a new Broadband2Go Plan.
• This change will only affect plans bought on or after 2/15/2011.

How will it affect me?
Keep in mind, 5GB is A LOT of data. To give you an idea, it's about 250 hours of web browsing or over 500,000(!) emails*. So this change shouldn't affect you unless you're a heavy downloader/streamer/etc.



...so it looks like 'unlimited' is now longer actually unlimited from 15th Feb. 5Gb is still more than enough for most users though.
#797764 by phantomtwin
16 Dec 2011, 21:57
Hi all - this is probably a long shot - but here goes.

I bought one of the Virgin MiFi's on my last trip to FL (Jan 2011) and although I've not used it since Virgin have just mailed me $20 free credit - which is handy as I'm in LA at the end of Jan 2012.

The problem is I need to load/use this credit by 10 Jan as far as I can see and don'tthink I can load the balance with a UK credit card?

So is there a kind soul who could purchase a $20/$25 Virgin top up card for me over the next week or so?

I'll happily cover all costs by paypal etc or whatever works best.

I know it's only $20 - but hey - these are tough times and I hate to waste free $ when I'll need to pay for this very soon.

All help/ideas/suggestions welcomed.

thanks

Andrew
#797767 by mitchja
16 Dec 2011, 22:59
I've managed to top mine up using my UK VS AmEx card online from the UK.

Goto the Virgin Mobile US website and log into your online account. Click on 'Payment Settings'. Select 'Register my card but use it only when I tell you to' to avoid automatic monthly top-ups.

To add the AmEx card I used my UK address but for the state and ZIP I used a US one (used the San Francisco hotel I last stayed in). That then allowed me to then top-up. Once the card details are entered, you wont need to enter them again as you can just top-up as you need to.

You have to top-up at least once every 12 months in order to keep your account active.

I've no idea if it works using other UK card types though :?
#797773 by buns
17 Dec 2011, 01:26
mitchja wrote:I've managed to top mine up using my UK VS AmEx card online from the UK.

To add the AmEx card I used my UK address but for the state and ZIP I used a US one (used the San Francisco hotel I last stayed in). That then allowed me to then top-up. Once the card details are entered, you wont need to enter them again as you can just top-up as you need to.

You have to top-up at least once every 12 months in order to keep your account active.

I've no idea if it works using other UK card types though :?


Mitcha

Thanks for the reminder y) Just topped mine up with the same process

buns
#797865 by mitchja
19 Dec 2011, 21:08
You cannot use the Virgin Mobile US MiFi in the UK as Virgin Mobile US use the CDMA network which we don't have here in the UK (UK uses the GSM network for mobile phones/dongles etc)

Three UK and Vodafone UK do sell their own MiFi dongles which are not that expensive now. Three sell them both on PAYG (cost £85 which includes 3gb of data which will last upto 30 days) or on pay monthly. Vodafone only sell them on pay monthly tariffs.
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