Vodafone Mobile Broadband logo

Vodafone mobile broadband

Vodafone overview

  • Good range of pay monthly mobile broadband packages from 1 to 24 months, plus 'free' laptop deals
  • PC protection security and backup capability with monthly contracts.

Best selling Vodafone mobile broadband deals

Vodafone Broadband Genie Road Test results

Vodafone Road test
Vodafone Huawei E172 dongle
Downloads
rating -4 stars4 stars
Uploads
rating -3 stars3 stars
Most stable
rating -5 stars5 stars
Coverage
rating -3 stars3 stars
Feelgood factor
rating -5 stars5 stars
Dongle software
rating -5 stars5 stars
Overall rating
rating -4 stars4 stars

May 2010

2010 Awards: Most Stable Winner & Best Software Winner

Vodafone couldn't quite match last year's runners-up spot, but in fairness it didn't do an awful lot wrong this time out either. We were sent its PAYG dongle, the Huawei K3586 Rev2 (in both blue and pink, fashion fans), not one of the presumably posher contract models, which may have made a difference, but hey, it's Vodafone's call.

To be honest, we liked the dongle a lot, as well as the software. The bright colours gave it a bit character and helped it stand out, while the software was simple yet effective - it tells you what you want to know accurately while staying out of the way, but giving just enough bells and whistles to make you feel in control.

While Vodafone's Huawei K3586 Rev2 only took two Awards, it was quite unlucky not to get more. If we had been handing out third place gongs, it would've been third overall (behind T-Mobile and Virgin Media) as well as in downloading and coverage. It did well in the streaming and BBC download tests, while scoring an average above 1Mb across the trip in speed tests.

The only area it really didn't perform at all in was uploading, where it was a long way back from the top performers. However, uploading from a mobile broadband dongle isn't something many people will be doing much of, so if you take that out of the equation this is still a dongle worth considering, just as it was last year.

Overall analysis of the Mobile Broadband Genie Road Trip 2010

by Chris Marling May 2010

About Vodafone

When it comes to standing the test of time, Vodafone wins hands down. It has been in the mobile business since the start and the same goes for 3G mobile broadband: it has a good name across the board, from reliability to service, and much like its branding it relies on reputation rather than flashy bells and whistles. Vodafone claims the fastest 'up to' mobile internet speed currently available in the UK, at 7.2Mb, although we haven't noticed it performing noticeably better than any other mobile broadband products we've tested. It is also pretty much the only choice right now for overseas mobile broadband data deals, although it is still expensive.

Vodafone is the only British owned mobile broadband UK network: it has operations in more than 20 countries and is in fact the biggest mobile network company in the world (by turnover). Launched in 1985, it was one of the UK's original two mobile networks (alongside BT Cellnet, now O2). Vodafone helped pioneered mobile broadband, launching mobile broadband for business customers in 2004 and for consumers shortly afterwards. October 2008 saw the first of its so-called 'free' laptop deals, throwing in a Dell laptop and dongle on a long term mobile internet contract. It launched 'top up and go' in December 2008.

Vodafone announced a network infrastructure collaboration with O2 in March 2009 - the biggest deal of its kind in the world to date. The two mobile internet providers will build future mobile sites together, as well as merging existing ones, aiming to improve coverage, future-proof their network and of course cut costs.

Vodafone customer reviews

Show all 190 Vodafone Mobile Broadband reviews»

  • unhappy

    by ian at 18:06 on 31 Aug 2010Report abuse

    Avoid Vodafone PAYG !!

    bought mine last year - used it for a week. I went to use it again and it wouldnt connect.

    - the software said "Looking for Network" but wouldnt connect
    - support number in software was no longer available
    - the helpline kept asking for a Mobile number - when you havent got one
    - eventually told SIM had expired cos I hadnt used it for 6 months - so had to pay again.

    This wasnt clear in the terms and conditions (apparently hidden in page 3)

    Misleading marketing, bad software, bad site, bad helpline

    Rubbish all round - go to someone else
  • unhappy

    by Qingdao at 11:32 on 29 Aug 2010 | registered | 1 postReport abuse

    I hate the dongle! i got the PAYG one. it keeps showing up an error message and RAS error code 619 and later becomes 635.but it happens so unpredicable and more and more often. the only thing that you can make it work to uninstall the software and reinstall it again. but can you imagine the pain to do this three times a day?! i ran customer service, waited for 40 minutes and was still music. absolutely useless. so i took my netbook to the vodafone shop in meadowhall. despite telling them that i didnt' want to solve this problem just to unstall and install again, they still did it! then they told me that it worked and there is a way to make it work so they dont know what is wrong with it and they can't help. but they did refunded it to me despite i had it more than a week. i went to get a O2 one, which i did not get at the first place becase the dongle cost much more than the vodafone one. however i have to say i never had any problem with O2 so far and yeah! dont have to do the stupid unstall and install again!
  • happy

    by michael at 02:39 on 27 Aug 2010Report abuse

    Hi K, I think your problem may be the 12months. I use a vodaphone dongle when on holiday and it is rock solid and fast enough for me. I pay 10euro for 10hours top-up BUT I've been caught out (just once) because I didn't realise it times out after 12months. Which is why I only buy the smallest amount each time. I think it is very reasonable (hotels usually charge around 2euro for 30min to use their network - which may be faster but much more expensive). Hope this helps.
  • unhappy

    by Russell Chesler at 12:28 on 18 Aug 2010Report abuse

    Wow, it's hard to emphasise just how terrible this broadband is. 1st dongle didn't work so returned. 2nd dongle didn't work so again tried to fix via customer support. Got disconnected approx 10 times during the process and they never called back even after promising to. I would strongly recommend you avoid Vodafone, and their terrible non-existent support at all costs!

Add a review

Post a reply to this thread

 

 

Please describe your emotions in making this comment:


Powered by reCAPTCHA

Unless you are a verified user, comments will be moderated before they appear. Comments submitted entirely in capital letters, containing advertising or excessive swearing will be rejected; please try to be polite. The best comments are relevant, factual and balanced; think about all aspects of the package, such as speed, connection quality and customer service. We reserve the right to edit comments.