How do you get internet for working when you are on the move,

[rickyrickygrimes]

I have a new-ish iPhone and a MacBook Air that’s about 4 years old. I just spent a week accommodating a school trip from France to London, and I have really struggled to get reliable internet access anywhere. In the hotel the wifi signal was weak. In the various trains (sncf, Eurostar) it either didn’t work once connected or it was very patchy. Ditto in the various museums and galleries. I couldn’t get anything done online.

If you travel and work while on the move, how do you manage it?

Er, 5G ?

should have specified that I mean on my laptop, not the iPhone.

i also tried to use my phone as a hotspot, really didn’t work.

Just use phone at hotspot for 4g/5g

Either doesn’t work or is really patchy.

Maybe my expectations of free WiFi are too high?

I tether to my phone, I’ve never had major speed issues with it. You could look into getting a dongle using a sim with a different company to your phone network if your phone network doesn’t have great signal.

Free WiFi isn't all that great. You need to get roaming enabled on your phone and hot spot for your laptop, and either suck up or expense the huge cost involved.

Hotspot roaming shouldn’t be an issue. Maybe your phone provider doesn’t have great coverage there?
A dongle is just pre paid roaming as well tbh

I have a portable router with a sim in it

I can rarely get free wifi to work properly, except in hotels. I use my phone as a mobile hot spot, but on trains the signal fluctuates a lot.

I also use my phone as a hotspot for my laptop with varying degrees of success (Vodafone). The WiFi on the Eurostar is TERRIBLE!!!!