Sat Nav Tethering 02 Classic

[Titanium]

Hi,

I had to move to 02 Classic after my talkmobile tariff became obsolete about 5 months ago.

I occasionally use a sat nav for long trips which has live traffic updates on it, they work via Bluetooth to the phone, and then to the internet via WiFi or data.

The problem is, since changing to 02, the sat nav traffic will no longer work via data. It still works through WiFi at home but obviously that's not much use for a sat nav lol.

I was told this sort of tethering is allowed on 02 as I asked before changing over. So is there anything I need to do on the phone or sim to make it work?

Thanks
Tom

[MI5]

Yes, that will be the problem.
@Marjo can you check if tethering is allowed on Classic PAYG (I'm pretty sure it is) and it's also worth a call to CS @Titanium to check that your account is set up OK.

[Marjo]

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@MI5 wrote:
Yes, that will be the problem.
@Marjo can you check if tethering is allowed on Classic PAYG (I'm pretty sure it is) and it's also worth a call to CS @Titanium to check that your account is set up OK.

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Hi @MI5 waiting on info regarding this - will post back when I hear more.

[MI5]

Thank you.

[Marjo]

Hey so the Pay and Go team has confirmed that the tethering/personal hotspot service will work on the Classic tariff, however it may be slow. They recommend looking at the big bundle deals instead as the Classic is a very basic standard PAYG tariff.

[MI5]

Ah i see, so it could just be timing out on the connection then ?

[Titanium]

Thanks for the update Marjo.

It'll only be used once a fortnight or so through summer and I'm a very light phone user otherwise so not worth big bundles. £10 lasted 2 years on my previous talkmobile tariff even with the traffic use lol.

Is there anything I can do to stop it timing out if that's the issue?

[Marjo]

Hey @Titanium, so according to the Gurus who I asked about the timing out issue (thanks @MI5 for bringing it up!), the challenge is that depending if it's a new or recent sat nav, it may request information at a speed or type that simply the old tariff just can't support correctly. They compare to 'Old fax machine' speeds of yesteryear in relation to modern day ultra fiber broadband... In some cases the service or system will 'timeout' if it doesn't get a signal or data in a certain time. The sat nav may need a higher data connection. Ultimately, a tariff & SIM with a reasonable data speed connection will probably fix this. Not your ideal solution though I'm afraid as you mentioned not using it very often. 😞

[MI5]

Makes sense.......

[jonsie]

I can fully see the logic but it means upgrading tariff to a big bundle. I didn't realise that Classic was considered an old tariff and so subject to slow speeds.

[Titanium]

Ok, thanks again Marjo.

Is the hotspot itself restrictive?  As the data connection on the phone is more than quick enough.  I've got 27Mb download on 4G at home.  Compared to just 8.5Mb download on my home wifi (I'm on the cheapest Broadband tarrif, up to 20Mb).  To put that in perspective, I play console games online over the wifi connection with no noticeable lag.

The 5 year old laptop also won't connect to the internet via the hotspot, I wouldn't say that's recent in technology terms.

Changing to a rolling monthly just isn't an option for me financially.  And there are very few old style PAYG tarriffs left.  Of the three I found at the time, one had poor signal where I live, one did not allow tethering at all, so I was left with the O2 despite it being more expensive (although no longer the case as they've dropped the price since).  Very disappointing if the main reason I chose this tariff simply doesnt work in the modern world.

Is there anything on my account that could be blocking the hotspot from working?  MI5 mentioned about phoning CS to check the account but I didnt get the chance during the week.  Can try it over the weekend if that could be of any use.