As I mentioned before, getting online is a little different than at home, where wifi and the internet are nearly everywhere in a city, or at least readily available! Here you have to work at it a little more.
I bought a personal mobile hotspot on Amazon before I left, as I'd read from a co-worker to be that I would need such a device. Rather than wait to get here, Mr. In Control had to get a good one! Well, it may or may not be, but when I got it out of the box and inserted the SIM card that allows it to connect to the 3G internet signal of my carrier, it didn't work. Of course I hate it when things don't work like they should, and it is a bit aggravating to be able to read directions, understand them, set the thing up as directed, and it still wouldn't work!
After two days of this, and spending way too many hours on the effort, I went to the phone company office on camp and asked for help. The Arab gentleman helping me was just as determined to get it to work as I was, and even more so. After an hour and a half I was ready to throw the thing in the trash and move on, but he wouldn't let me. 5 minutes later he found a setting neither of us had seen before, and in a few minutes I was up and running!
Now wherever I am I can turn this guy on and skype, text, check the web or my emails. Very helpful! And tomorrow I'm moving from the hotel to the dorm (not really, but that's how I think of it so far) on camp, where there is no wifi, so it's perfect timing to get this working!
<It's now Friday morning, three days after I wrote the above, and I just discovered that this post didn't publish. There was more that I'd written but I can't remember what it was, so will send it now as is!!>
I bought a personal mobile hotspot on Amazon before I left, as I'd read from a co-worker to be that I would need such a device. Rather than wait to get here, Mr. In Control had to get a good one! Well, it may or may not be, but when I got it out of the box and inserted the SIM card that allows it to connect to the 3G internet signal of my carrier, it didn't work. Of course I hate it when things don't work like they should, and it is a bit aggravating to be able to read directions, understand them, set the thing up as directed, and it still wouldn't work!
After two days of this, and spending way too many hours on the effort, I went to the phone company office on camp and asked for help. The Arab gentleman helping me was just as determined to get it to work as I was, and even more so. After an hour and a half I was ready to throw the thing in the trash and move on, but he wouldn't let me. 5 minutes later he found a setting neither of us had seen before, and in a few minutes I was up and running!
Now wherever I am I can turn this guy on and skype, text, check the web or my emails. Very helpful! And tomorrow I'm moving from the hotel to the dorm (not really, but that's how I think of it so far) on camp, where there is no wifi, so it's perfect timing to get this working!
<It's now Friday morning, three days after I wrote the above, and I just discovered that this post didn't publish. There was more that I'd written but I can't remember what it was, so will send it now as is!!>
Hi there! I will be relocating to Dhahran soon and keep hearing the internet isn't the most reliable. Are you able to share the brand/model/name of the device you are using? Also, how much is the monthly cost of unlimited 3G? Is it fast and reliable?
ReplyDelete