Cell Phones

looking for cheap phone as 4G hotspot

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  • Sep 14th, 2018 10:53 am
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Apr 18, 2009
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looking for cheap phone as 4G hotspot

currently using my nexus5 for this purpose but the battery sucks

any suggestions? below are my requirements:

- small size and not bulky (no more than 5-5.2inches, the smaller the better, 5.5 inches is not acceptable no matter how cheap it is)
- as cheap as possible in terms of price
- decent battery
- unlocked
- dual sim
- runs on android
- must be 4G compatible for canada and the USA (that means xiaomi phones are out)
- not using it for any other purpose except hotspot tethering, so other specs dont matter

i know there are mobile hotspots u can buy for cheap, but i prefer something with a configurable screen that i can look at

TIA
Last edited by chroma_cg on Sep 14th, 2018 10:50 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Dec 4, 2017
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Try BLU phones. They are among the few made for the NA market that support dual SIM, and many models are low budget. It's getting very difficult to find any small Android handset, though.

If you are flexible on the dual SIM requirement (or could stand to just have separate handsets), the smallness requirement could be filled by budget handsets that are still available through various prepaid services, like PC Mobile.

Hotspot pro tip: if you just need it mostly for casual Web browsing and email, use Bluetooth tethering instead of WiFi. It uses a tiny fraction of the power. Even a modest phone can host tethering this way for 1-2 days instead of a couple of hours.
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BLU phones use a skin that makes them significantly different to navigate compared to other androids.
Try Asus Zenfone Max 3. Dual SIM and big battery to boot. Don't expect it to perform fast as a phone though (personal experience)
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Feb 25, 2014
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chroma_cg wrote: means xiaomi phones are out)
There's a few new Xiaomi phones that support most LTE NA bands (Freedom band 66 being the exception)
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IanBrantford wrote:
Hotspot pro tip: if you just need it mostly for casual Web browsing and email, use Bluetooth tethering instead of WiFi. It uses a tiny fraction of the power. Even a modest phone can host tethering this way for 1-2 days instead of a couple of hours.
Does anyone know how to turn on bluetooth tethering on iPhone 6 running ios 11?

I have paired my S7 (mobile hotspot) to the iPhone but when I try to allow the iPhone to use the S7 for internet via bluetooth, it says I need to "turn on bluetooth tethering on the paired device to access the internet from this phone".

Any ideas?
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Oatmeal wrote: Does anyone know how to turn on bluetooth tethering on iPhone 6 running ios 11?

I have paired my S7 (mobile hotspot) to the iPhone but when I try to allow the iPhone to use the S7 for internet via bluetooth, it says I need to "turn on bluetooth tethering on the paired device to access the internet from this phone".

Any ideas?
I have only tried using an iPhone as a hotspot once, and it only allowed WiFi and Bluetooth together for hosting. I.e. the client device could use either to connect, but iOS had no ability for the host to selectively offer just one type or the other.

On Android (for many years), you can individually activate hotspot hosting on WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB. Note that it's pretty easy for the carrier to identify USB tethering and some of them will refuse to connect or will add extra charges later, assuming that the device is a rocket stick or other non-phone device for which they have special plans.
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yow2kvil wrote: There's a few new Xiaomi phones that support most LTE NA bands (Freedom band 66 being the exception)


I use mi6 as my daily driver, cant connect to roam mobility while in the states

Hence the non-xiaomi requirement
Last edited by chroma_cg on Sep 13th, 2018 8:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Whats the purpose of dual sim in a hotspot phone? Dual data plans?
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AzNCrAzYcOoLeR wrote: Whats the purpose of dual sim in a hotspot phone? Dual data plans?
Not really, just something useful for me personally thats all.

i have a few speakout sim card sitting around that i give to my parents and inlaws when they visit canada. outside of that i use them for meetups for kijiji/bst trades. i guess i will use the phone this way while inside canada
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chroma_cg wrote: I use mi6 as my daily driver, cant connect to roam mobility while in the states

Hence the non-xiaomi requirement
Well you picked the wrong Xiaomi. But why does that exclude other Xiaomi phones that would work? I mean, it's pretty easy to find the right ones.
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yow2kvil wrote: Well you picked the wrong Xiaomi. But why does that exclude other Xiaomi phones that would work? I mean, it's pretty easy to find the right ones.
then any that are smaller than 5.5 inches, and less than $200?
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I used to use my Zenfone2 as an hotspot, but yeah the battery sucks. I bought a real hotspot, ZTE Falcon Z-917, at T-mobile (runs great in Canada too), the battery runs for like 12h, and once it is configured (SSID/password) I never went again on the config webpage. It is very small and cheap. Only one SIM, so yes sometimes I switched SIM between Roam mobility and T-Mobile, mainly when entering/exiting USA. I made T-Mobile unlock it (it's free). It is super convenient.
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Magister wrote: I used to use my Zenfone2 as an hotspot, but yeah the battery sucks. I bought a real hotspot, ZTE Falcon Z-917, at T-mobile (runs great in Canada too), the battery runs for like 12h, and once it is configured (SSID/password) I never went again on the config webpage. It is very small and cheap. Only one SIM, so yes sometimes I switched SIM between Roam mobility and T-Mobile, mainly when entering/exiting USA. I made T-Mobile unlock it (it's free). It is super convenient.
ya i thought about getting a real hotspot too, but i worry that i have to dig into APN settings manually if i use the hotspot in another country. i know that for USA use it should be automatic, but i prefer something abit more versatile in case crap hits the fan

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