Pupil Home Internet Access

[TLARWise]

I have been asked to provide a home internet solution for a pupil (single parent low income household) as a replacement to the DFE provided solution which has now been cancelled. Is a 4G Router still the best option in this type of case and if so does anyone have any recommendations for a decent value for money SIM package.

 

On a related note, when the DFE internet access solution was cancelled they mentioned that the provided Huawei routers had to go through a specific process before a set date to allow them to be reused. Typically we weren't able to get any of the routers back before that date no matter how many times we asked. Are these routers now useless or is there another way to get them working with a new SIM?

 

Thanks

[The_messenger]

I would go 4G router myself.

The Dfe routers could be re-used if you could get them back and have downloaded the passwords from https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/huawei-router-password

 

instructions to reset them are https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/devices/managing-your-4g-wireless-routers

 

however is it worth the hassle you may as well get a dongle at the sametime as the SIM (At least there will be some form of warranty)

 

 

Bob

[Oaktech]

It's worth asking Vodafone about this as they've done some insanely good 4g deals - their unlimited 4g plan which is £33 a month to the public for £9 a month for education.

[jemal]

I never got a DfE router, but at the start of lockdown got 3 TP-Links from Argos (think the M7350 model) and they've seemed good. Been able to set them up to work with our chromebooks, and hide the credentials and ability to add other devices etc once logging into the device as admin. The students could potentially factory reset the device but it'll be obvious then when it's returned. Initially used them on GiffGaff as was easy to stop and start the monthly provision as and when needed, but we since had a load of Vodafone 4G sim cards from a school covid campaign they did which are still good till November 2022. We try to only pair them up with school devices as we sometimes get all the quota used up for non educational reasons, and to reduce potential pressure from others in the household who may want to use it themselves.

I would advocate making sure the router isn't locked to any network, as the main ongoing cost will be the SIM data provision rather than the upfront cost of the router.