Vodafone Sure Signal

[JohnH]

Just ran across this rather nifty device which was launched in mid-January.

I would have thought that Vodafone could afford to give it away because it would encourage people like me in rural areas to go with them because of not otherwise being able to get a mobile signal.

[Steve]

Interesting John, I wonder how many of those rural areas who can't get a mobile signal with any provider get greater than 1Mbps broadband.

[JohnH]

Well, where I live here in deepest Kent, the village has about 120 houses. Anecdotally, most can get a broadband signal of 1.5 - 3MB apart from me with my IDNet line of 6MB , but everyone struggles with a mobile signal of no better than about one bar.

[Steve]

You better get one then

[JohnH]

I'm planning on it, and I'm hoping the firm will pay 

[Lance]

If your neighbour has one, would you also be able to hook up to it? For example, does it at as a hotspot which anyone can connect too?

Could be a sneaky way for operators to expand their networks if so!

[Simon]

My 3G signal is flaky at home, but I use Wi-Fi instead, so, whilst I can see it's uses, I don't think I'd buy one. 

[JohnH]

If your neighbour has one, would you also be able to hook up to it?

Apparently not. Any phone that you plan to use with it has to registered with Vodafone, otherwise it won't work.
Also, unless you're on a pay monthly plan of, from memory, £25 or more, or who have bought it outright (from £50, depending on your price plan), you would not be able to hook it up, even if you are a Vodafone customer. It costs £5 a month to rent and can take a maximum of 4 phones.

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi,

I've got one of these. I've had it about 6 weeks and it seems to work well but I have had to reboot it twice in that time when phones misbehaved. It works fine on IDNet using a standard router (in my case a Draytek).

Each Sure Signal is registered to an account on the Vodafone website (easy and free to create if you don't have one). You can register 32 Vodafone numbers with your Sure Signal using that website. A maximum of 4 of those phones can transfer data or be in a phone call at any one time. Any phone you haven't registered (like your neighbour's) will be rejected and won't take your bandwidth. You must tell the website the postcode the unit is installed at and on which floor of the building it is so that it can fit its signal in with the local transmitters.

The price changes depending on whether you have a contract or not and how much your contract is each month. The deal I got (which I think is for any contract of more than £25 a month) gives you 2 options: Pay a one off £50 for the unit or pay £5 a month for it for the next 12 months (total purchase price £60)

I've gone from 1 bar signal in my house (with broken audio and 50% of incoming calls going to voicemail) to a solid 5 bars. Its range is about 70m. I would recommend it.

Cheers,
Paul.

[Niall]

I might get one of those. My signal is shocking on my iphone in the house. In fact, as soon as I enter pretty much any building with a vodafone mobile phone I lose a signal. I don't understand why other providers can supply a stronger signal then them as they claim to be the most successful mobile provider according the recent news.

Sadly I remembered this a little too late when ordering my phone with them. Still it works in most areas I go to (about 75%) but in a lot of pubs all I can see are locked wifi networks thanks to the owners getting prosecuted for misuse they won't unlock them anymore.

[Glenn]

Try their coverage checker, This is Wrexham's coverage.

[Niall]

Try their coverage checker, This is Wrexham's coverage.

That's odd. That map shows you've either got 3G or standard cover, and that the area is completely covered. Strange then that I look at my phone now, with it's 1 bar, in a supposed strong signal area! It makes me wonder how these masts work, and the one for this area is about half a mile away, next to the train station.