pocket wifi

[Mike J]

The companies here probably will not want to do a contract with someone in the USA.  They would have no recourse if you were to stop paying the monthly fees.  I think you may be forced into doing prepaid.  You should be able to do that using Lazada.com with a credit card.  Order the pocket WIFI or Globe at Home and have it shipped to your girlfriend.  She would need to let you know the cell number of the device to buy the preload from Lazada.  If you are not familiar with Lazada.com is somewhat similar to Amazon.com.

[Tommy T.]

A couple of tips for pocket wifi that might be helpful?

It might be good to purchase the universal version - it will work with any network and you will not be locked into using just Smart or Globe only. They cost more because they are not bundled with the SIM but you might find that added flexibility to be good to have.

Secondly... Don't leave the pocket wifi always plugged into mains power - especially when using it. The battery will swell up to the point of bursting open the wifi case. The battery will last less than a year if you don't unplug and the unit I had (at least) was not constructed to permit battery replacement. When the battery was done, the unit was done.

I forget the price, but seem to remember about US60-75 or so - purchased at Octagon computer and electronics store here in Philippines.

Edited November 13, 2019 by Tommy T.

[Lou49]

Maybe try a wifi sim card for a smart phone. The phone then becomes a wifi hot spot, same as a pocket wifi. I use one in my dual sim Samsung and my ipad connects to it. A single sim phone works as well. The Smart wifi sim card load is p1000.00 for 30 days . The card itself is i think 50p. Globe had a similar deal.

Edited November 12, 2019 by Lou49

[Tukaram (Tim)]

If it is for her to use over here, it would probably be easiest for her to pick one up at the mall.  You could also buy one on Lazada, or Shopee, and have it sent to her. She can buy a local sim card, even if the pocket wifi is not available nearby. Best way to load it would also be locally. Just send her money for a load. 

I have no idea if you met her yet, or how well you know her (not my business, really). Now personally, I never sent money to anyone I never met... But this is not a lot of money anyway.  Trying to do it from the US is just complicating a rather simple issue.

[bob1965]

As above, I’d try setting her phone up as a hotspot. There’s some not bad data loads available. And if you  look on the globe Philippines website, I think you can buy her load on there.

also, they sell the globe at home prepaid wifi set up there. It claims to be faster than pocket wifi and can be left plugged in. It’s on sale at P 1500. You could try buying that. Says free delivery.

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 hours ago, Lou49 said:

Maybe try a wifi sim card for a smart phone.

 

13 minutes ago, bob1965 said:

As above, I’d try setting her phone up as a hotspot

Add my vote.  We stopped using pocket wifi years ago.  Just use the data on the phone.  I pay 299 pesos a month.  It is only 2 gigs but I am not using it to watch movies so it is fine for facebook, email, and messages.

[hk blues]

If it were me. i'd just send her the money to load the phone in a way that is most convenient for her - I know sending money isn't always a favoured option but hey, if you can't trust her to use the money for its intended purpose I wonder if you should continue the relationship anyway.  

[graham59]

Agree.

Send her the money.

Filipinas (or their friends) are experts at setting up pocket wifi, etc.  Let them do it.

Send top-up money later, once it is in use.

Edited to add:

If you haven't met her in person yet... don't send a penny until you have.  

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by graham59

[Jollygoodfellow]

3 hours ago, bob1965 said:

they sell the globe at home prepaid wifi set up there. It claims to be faster than pocket wifi and can be left plugged in.

I can vouch for that as I have one in a condo I manage here in Cebu. Reliable 20 mbp but I dont know where the OP,s girl is which may not work as well. She should have an idea of what works best in her area.

[GeoffH]

The other option if you want wifi and don't want to use a phone hotspot is Globe at Home wifi, that is available in a prepaid version which can be bought at most larger malls.