[underground]

I'm interested to hear of anyone elses experiences here... lots of travel on East Midlands trains Sheffield to London and back, and find that older trains aren't too bad in terms of ability to get a 3G signal, but the new ones are pretty much lead-lined apart from at Leicester. Phone call signal is similar although I'm not that bothered about talking, although it would be useful if possible. I've seen a lot of people with dongles, but they are seemingly plugged into laptops and since I want to connect both laptop for work and phone for not-work, wondered about something like a mifi, do they work even in the train? I'm assuming they are all 3G powered and since the trains are seemingly 3G proof, is it a non-starter?
I could pay £4 per journey or £7 per day to use their wifi but it seems a blatant ripoff and if I could pay for a device and then only pay for bandwidth, I'd be a lot happier, but only if it would wok, obviously...

[tomtom]

OK, I think the reason why the phone/3g signal is bad in the newer trains may be due to the glass having a very thin  metal layer inside to keep heat out/in. Some cars have similar things on their windscreens - that can result in sat navs etc.. not working as it blocks the signal etc..

Second, get your phone set up for tethering. This may depend on your provider - I'm on EE and its free - but of course uses up your data allowance. Its then effectivley the same as Mifi - though will tap into your phone data allowance.

Dongle/Mifi... yeah they work.. The bargain to be had for this is the 3 12 month payg data sim.. 12gb of data for £40... and it lasts a year.. still some on ebay last time a looked - and you may get some with with a mifi box or dongle..

But all this is wack if the train is 3g proof.. if thats the case they probably have the 3g antenna on the roof for the onboard wifi.. Does the wifi have a roaming partner? ie if youre already signed up for BT Scrotumhub then you get it free etc.. That might be a way around it.. Or the train company could be being mega cynical, blocking mobile signals to force you to pay for your wifi!

For my road warrior moments, I use my iFern tethered through EE, and have an iPad with 3g data and I use a giffgaff sim (piggybacks O2) in that...

[gme]

Nothing works other than the on board WiFi. I have tried dongles, tethering etc and they all ultimately rely on 3G signal which is non existent. I have no idea why this issue happens on East Midlands trains as i dont have the same problem on cross country or east coast mainline, just simply tether my mobile to the laptop.

It is a glaring error on East midlands part and paying for the WIFi pisses me off when i have already paid £200 just for a return ticket to London. I use the trains all the time, as its not dead time stuck in the car, and i want to be able to work, including taking phone calls. East midlands make this an impossibility to the point where i often get the train to Doncaster from Sheffield then get an East coast train to London.

[fatneck]

Most of my train travel is on London Midland (to Birmingham) or Virgin (to London) and I find my iFern tethering works pretty well generally. I'm on 3's One plan with unlimited data so can use tethering as much as I like. I find this brilliant for random bits of work I have to do here and there (or for extended lunch breaks in the park...)

[underground]

Exactly Gav, and I think the Doncaster / Retford option might be the answer - I've tended to opt for East Midlands for the convenience of a straight trip to St Pancras but in retrospect its becoming a total pain in the arse. Maybe a change or 2 would break the boredom a bit..,

[tomtom]

Free wifi on Hull trains if you pick them up at Retford...

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I heard that the MiFi devices are better at picking up signals than many phones. I rate the '3' signal and if you get a current one you'll have close to 4G capability (20mb+) for 3G prices once they roll out the upgrade to all masts.

If you get a Three MiFi online or via the phone think you can return it within 14 days for free if it's shit, so could have a few test runs.

Worth remembering that data connections via masts aren't really designed for use from high speed trains, although connections will migrate between masts, the mast power and coverage constantly changes depending on number of connections, so if you're on a train with 100 people trying to connect to the same mast, instantly the power of the mast will drop due to the number of connections.

[Norton Sharley]

And therein lies the problem, not that there's no 3G just that it comes and goes so frequently that you can't maintain a signal obviously not helped by metal box you're sat in.  Most of the East Midlands line is in a cut culvert rather than above ground (as East Coast) which probably only makes this worse.  Much though I'd like to blame it on East Midlands trains (which are generally shit old trains, bumpy rails, and way overpriced) I think it's the location of the line that is the problem not them blocking the signal. 

Go First Class (free wifi) or go East Coast?

[gme]

Its not a moving, dropping in and out problem its the trains. And its not the fact that there old as its more of an issue on the new ones. (the problem with the old ones is that they dont have a power point )

I have checked this by standing on the platform at Sheffield station with a full signal then sat inside the train 2 meters away from the same spot with no signal at all. Even when the train stops in stations you cant get a signal.

I am sure it wasn't a deliberate ploy to make people use there WiFi but the design of the trains stops phone signals.

[dr_botnik]

This really irks me also  first world problems eh?

[underground]

Its not a moving, dropping in and out problem its the trains. And its not the fact that there old as its more of an issue on the new ones. (the problem with the old ones is that they dont have a power point )

I have checked this by standing on the platform at Sheffield station with a full signal then sat inside the train 2 meters away from the same spot with no signal at all. Even when the train stops in stations you cant get a signal.

That's exactly it - as per my earlier post, old (and incidentally a lot more comfortable to sit in) train to London = not perfect but generally enough to work by and download 6 albums to Spotify to listen offline (in the knowledge that the peak time trains home would be signal-less).
I read an article whereby Vodafone have supposedly partnered with EMT and installed signal boosting kit in all 27 Meridian trains (the modern ones that suffer this issue) and solved the problem - I have to assume that this benefits Vodafone customers only as I certainly didn't benefit.

First world problem indeed but at getting on for £200 for peak return, solely for work purposes, a total shitter. Being able to work on the train is equivalent to a decent chunk of time not spent idle which could be otherwise spent in the office being productive.

[a dense loner]

If its for work purposes surely you can get work to pay for it?

[underground]

That would spoil a good moan Lee... Anyway, its a pain in the bollocks having to pay and sign in etc for daylight robbery.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I read an article whereby Vodafone have supposedly partnered with EMT and installed signal boosting kit in all 27 Meridian trains (the modern ones that suffer this issue) and solved the problem - I have to assume that this benefits Vodafone customers only as I certainly didn't benefit.

http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/information/media/news/East-Midlands-Trains-passengers-get-a-mobile-phone-boost-from-Vodafone-UK/

Sounds like you need to get your work to pay for a Vodafone mi-fi. £39 for the '4G ready' one, £10 a month for 1gig download (should be plenty for work). It isn't going to break the bank. however my consultancy fee invoice is another matter... 

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/dongles-and-mobile-wi-fi/index.htm

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Sounds like Vodafone have installed a 'femtocell' on each train. Although they sound like a womens sanitary product, they are clever little boxes. Some networks put them in customer homes when they complain of poor internal signal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell

[dobbin]

I have one in my house. It's called a suresignal. THink they are £80, although of course, i didnt pay.

[a dense loner]

Ok never mind the trains bit now, jims had a moan. I've got virgin broadband in front room, wifi is good everywhere else except the attic. How do I boost the signal?

[slackline]

Ok never mind the trains bit now, jims had a moan. I've got virgin broadband in front room, wifi is good everywhere else except the attic. How do I boost the signal?

Simplest would be Powerline WiFi adapters (caveat : to use powerlines all plugs need to be on the same circuit in the house).

[underground]

this sorta thing

[a dense loner]

Genius cheers guys

[butters]

I have one in my house. It's called a suresignal. THink they are £80, although of course, i didnt pay.

Got one at home too and it is awesome - where there was no signal now there is full coverage. Obviously this is of no use to you on a train but that is besides the point. 

[lagerstarfish]

its a pain in the bollocks having to pay and sign in etc for daylight robbery.

are there no government/EU incentives available for commercial users of Daylight Robbery? they seem very keen on spending my taxes on it