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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.
  • Free delivery for online orders; 7-day returns policy

Best selling Vodafone mobile broadband deals

Vodafone Broadband Genie Road Test results

Vodafone Road test
Vodafone Huawei K4505 dongle
Downloads
rating -4 stars4 stars
Uploads
rating -3 stars3 stars
Most stable
rating -3 stars3 stars
Coverage
rating -3 stars3 stars
Feelgood factor
rating -4 stars4 stars
Dongle software
rating -4 stars4 stars
Overall rating
rating -4 stars4 stars

May 2011

2011 Awards: Best Software Winner, Best Uploader runner-up

After a pretty strong first two Road Trips, plus a new dongle (the Huawei K4505), we were hopeful of great things from Vodafone this time out. The dongle looks cool and the provider had no problem repeating its Best Software showing from 2010. However, it was disappointing that a new dongle wouldn't install on a Windows 7 laptop without some forum searching and then having to input a command line prompt to get it going. Hardly a good start for beginners.

Once we were on the move, unfortunately the Vodafone dongle didn't quite live up to its promise either. It had taken Most Stable in 2010, and was runner-up overall in 2009, but despite the new dongle it didn't make any inroads when it came to download speeds. In fact, against the competition, it seemed to have slipped back a little. It did at least take runner-up in the Best Uploader category, continuing its feat of taking at least two awards each year.

Stability and coverage were both real problems though, with a high number of failures in tests due to a lack of (or dropping out of) signal. It was a shame, as when it did perform the K4505 returned some strong numbers – faster upload speed and a strong average download speed. Oddly, it had a higher than average performance on actually downloading content from websites. But then conversely it failed to upload images to Facebook and was poor for streaming content.

We can't help thinking that, in a good coverage area, the Vodafone dongle will be a good bet thanks to the nice software and good download speeds. When it works. On the move, though, it's just another dongle in the middle of the pack.

Overall analysis of the Mobile Broadband Genie Road Trip 2011

by Chris Marling May 2011

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 is pretty much the only choice right now for overseas mobile broadband data deals, although it is still expensive. It also offers mobile broadband laptop deals

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 pioneer 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.

2010 saw Vodafone branch into both mobile Wi-Fi units and SIM cards/deals for handheld tablet devices. In 2011 it introduced its ‘data test drive’ service, letting new smartphone customers use as much data as they like for the first three months of their contract so they can more easily set their required data limit going forward.

Vodafone customer reviews

Show all 271 Vodafone Mobile Broadband reviews»

  • unhappy

    by Stevieroy at 09:47 on 27 Apr 2012Report abuse

    The worst broadband ever, I've been complaining to them since October last year and asked that the contract be cancelled, the product is not fit for the purpose it was sold for, they said you can pay a early termination fee of £75, unreal, i've started keeping a log of daily issues and also I've recorded some videos showing it can take 20 minutes to load a bloody google page, the list is long and have told them that all info will be forwarded to office of fair trading, there's thousands of people pissed off with this crappy service, I've had 3 dongles in 6 months and a load crappy scripted answers, not paying for it anymore, apologies of the language but it is s**t........... give it up vodafone, you're not good at it.

  • unhappy

    by David at 11:43 on 14 Apr 2012Report abuse

    I got the Vodafone pay as you go dongle as im always on the road in my truck.. Im not impressed with how slow it is and how quick the money goes ! £10 in less than 5 days ! I go on the internet for Emails and on FB .. I don't download and films or upload but the money runs out too quick.. Im looking to find another dongle that works but from what im reading in all the reviews there is no dongle without fault !! I thought we were in the 20th century and modern times !! Smoke signals might be quicker !! That or carrier pideon !!

  • unhappy

    by jason 45 at 20:24 on 20 Mar 2012Report abuse

    same story here s75 area . awful coverage , after the sales guy in barnsley store said it was magnificent!!! (tosser!) i go on autotrader ..f/b ebay and hotmail it takes an age to displayanything . the credit seems to go very fast to. i used o2 until that became as relaible as a b/r train ! i think there all the same ,rubbish ! the t mobile fair usage policy is also a rip off i bought a dongle and sim card for 39/99 it said 3 months unlimmeted use ! b/s after 3 days of using it id ran out of data! and u cant top it up either! id uploaded some pics to auto trader some pics on f/b of my horses and sent 2 emails! how can that be unlimited? i rang o2 and said id used this for 2 years no probs now it svery unreliable the guy claimed id been using it for 9 hours aday? the dates he gave me .. i wasnt even in england ! he also claimed that someone else must have been using it !! utter crap i live on me own no one else in the house .. i,ll never use o2 or vodafone again

  • happy

    by kenneth gillion at 17:26 on 16 Mar 2012Report abuse

    regards to all. when i bought my vodafone dongle it was very poor so i wound some cooper wire around it and connected it to a home made aerial which went thru window and up the side of my house, now it works great.

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