# Need temporary Internet access from laptop while traveling... Options? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351 "2011-03-29T05:22:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/1 "2011-03-29T05:22:16Z")
So I’m going to be traveling soon on a family matter. My grandparents’ house doesn’t currently have Internet access, but I need to be able to work on something while I’m there. Thus, I’m looking into my Internet options. I’ll only need it for a couple of weeks, and would prefer it be as fast as possible (so dialup is probably not an option; besides, I’m not sure I could/should monopolize the phone line). I’m not sure how long I’ll need it at a time, so flat rates (rather than by the minute or whatever) would be preferable. Other than that, I really have no idea what’s out there, so I’m trying to leave myself as open as possible. What are my options? (Once I find out what they are, I’ll check coverage maps myself.) Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/2 "2011-03-29T05:37:01Z")
Where are you now and where will you be traveling? You may be able to tether your computer to an existing cellphone, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/3 "2011-03-29T05:42:11Z")
Oh, I should mention that my laptop is absolutely the only way I get Internet access. My cel phone has absolutely no Internet features on it whatsoever (neither does anyone I’m visiting, IIRC), and I don’t have any other thing like an iPad or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/4 "2011-03-29T10:55:07Z")
Since it’s short term, you need a dongle (I imagine there have to be companies there which offer them). For short-term it will have to be “pay by volume”, but the volume may be “per day” rather than “per minute” (different carriers will have different offers, it’s quite a jungle). It’s a USB “cellphone-network modem”, which can provide very high speeds depending on which kind of cellphone network is available where you’re using it. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/5 "2011-03-29T11:06:33Z")
Most of the wireless providers off these dongles. Usually they’re as expensive as a cell phone, unless you buy a 2-year contract. You might be able to find a used one on craigslist or ebay, etc and then activate it with a provider. I know off the top of my head that Virgin offers an $80 dongle with no contract, though. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/6 "2011-03-29T13:42:39Z")
Go to the nearest McDonalds to your grandparents house. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/7 "2011-03-29T14:25:48Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Go to the nearest McDonalds to your grandparents house. And if there’s no McDonald’s nearby? Go to Starbucks! When I was getting a wireless router at Best Buy, I saw some device that didn’t need an existing Internet connection. It looked like it just plugged into a USB port and connected to a sattelite system or something like that. Did I dream that up? Did I misunderstand? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/8 "2011-03-29T14:53:10Z")
That’s the dongle we mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/9 "2011-03-29T16:44:40Z")
I love that dongle is now a legitimate word. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/10 "2011-03-29T17:37:14Z")
All the discussion so far has been wireless access. But could you just have DSL added to their phone line for a couple of months? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/11 "2011-03-29T19:15:08Z")
DSL very often comes with a contract, but cable internet almost never does. For $30 or less, you can get a much more reliable connection that’s probably 10x faster. Mobile internet only makes sense if you need it while mobile; if you’re at a house, just go with traditional service. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/12 "2011-03-29T19:16:26Z")
If you absolutely need wireless for two weeks, sign up for a new cell phone contract with an Android phone and a data plan. Put PDAnet (a software dongle) on there and tether it to your laptop. 14 days later (or within the return period, however long it is), cancel your cell phone contract and return the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/13 "2011-03-29T19:30:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Go to the nearest McDonalds to your grandparents house. > [@tdn](#): > > And if there’s no McDonald’s nearby? Go to Starbucks! Or try Barnes & Noble or Borders. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/14 "2011-03-29T19:39:18Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > Most of the wireless providers off these dongles. Usually they’re as expensive as a cell phone, unless you buy a 2-year contract. You might be able to find a used one on craigslist or ebay, etc and then activate it with a provider. > > I know off the top of my head that Virgin offers an $80 dongle with no contract, though. Yep - I bought one (though it was more like 99 dollars) last summer when I needed access for a week(ish). IIRC, the prices for service varied by how much bandwidth you expected to need; was as little as 10 dollars for a few gig for a week, up to 40 dollars for a month of unlimited service. See if you can borrow the dongle from someone; it’s hard to rationalize spending 100 dollars (or even 80) for a one-time need. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/15 "2011-03-30T04:09:51Z")
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming; the more options I have to consider, the better. And yeah, I could go out and use free Wi-Fi, but considering that I’d be going there to help out my grandparents around the house and such in the first place, that would severely limit my “go out” time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/17 "2013-06-14T04:29:55Z")
Look at the types of offerings by Walmart: > **[Mobile Broadband - Walmart.com](https://www.walmart.com/cp/Prepaid-Broadband/1071164)** > > Shop for mobile broadband, prepaid mobile broadband, 4G mobile hotspots, 4G laptop sticks and 3G mobile hotspots for less at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/18 "2013-06-14T16:01:40Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming; the more options I have to consider, the better. > > And yeah, I could go out and use free Wi-Fi, but considering that I’d be going there to help out my grandparents around the house and such in the first place, that would severely limit my “go out” time. 🙂 I’m not sure what kind of work you need to do. Would it be possible for you to go somewhere with Wi-Fi simply to download stuff, go back to the house to read research/work on documents, and then go back to the place with Wi-Fi to e-mail stuff? If you need to be connected the whole time that won’t work, but if you can figure out ways to optimize your Internet usage for brief periods of time and then work without the Internet, that could be a good option for your situation. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/19 "2013-06-14T18:32:36Z")
Uh, I figured things out two years ago, thanks. 🙂 Unless you want to hear about what I ended up doing…? ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/20 "2013-06-14T19:47:12Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Uh, I figured things out two years ago, thanks. 🙂 > > Unless you want to hear about what I ended up doing…? Well…don’t keep us in suspense! We’ve been waiting two years to find out. What did you end up doing? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351/21 "2013-06-15T22:10:31Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > See if you can borrow the dongle from someone; it’s hard to rationalize spending 100 dollars (or even 80) for a one-time need. I think that I’d rather spend the money than ask somebody about their dongle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-temporary-internet-access-from-laptop-while-traveling-options/576351.md?page=2)