The P1 MF230 comes with the P1 Mifi ToGo™ 69 plan, where the download speed is uncapped,which means you can go up as high as possible until the limit which P1 capped, which it is unknown. And the bandwidth quota limit of this plan is 6GB/Month.
Although it is advertise as 4G, but it is not the LTE which you normally hear. Instead it is operating on the WiMax spectrum.
The average speed I can get usually is about 1Mbps to 2Mbps at most places. But during the day I return the modem at P1 tower, just before I return, I am able to get the speed 8.26Mbps according to the speedtest.net app I had installed in my Android phone.
Configuring the MF230
The MF230 by itself, is ready to be use with its default setting, as you do not need to key in your usename and password, as when it is on, it will connected to P1’s WiMax network, and the modem’s MAC address will be the ID which authenticate your modem, and recognize, which plan you are on, and whether your account is active or not.
But there are some people, prefer to customize this MiFi modem’s default WiFi SSID to something more recognizable. Example people like me.
So what you need to do is, just plugin the modem with its USB cable to your computer and let the OS detect it and install its driver. A NDIS driver will be automatically installed by your OS, and there will be a USB network device appear in your computer where it communicates your computer and the modem.
Don’t worry if you are not a Windows user, it does support MacOSX and Linux too. NDIS modules are loaded automatically when you plug it in and a USB network interface with the IP 10.1.1.254 will appear when you hit the command “ifconfig”.
What you need to do next is just go to your web browser and go to http://10.1.1.254 and you will be greeted with its webUI interface. Default username is admin and password is admin123.
And after you logged in, you will see WiMax signal strength bar at the first page.
Here is the page where you can change your Wifi SSID and you may also change the WPA key as well.
Other than that, amazingly you can also configure it to do DMZ, port forwarding, as well as setup DDNS on it as well.
Not sure why these features was added into this portable WiMax modem, but to me, it is an extra advantage too, just in case we really need to run a portable server using our Android phone when we move around.
Portability of MF230
Well, since this device was advertise with is portability and with its keyword “on-the-go”, so I decided to take this modem for a walk, and see how well it able to survive my abuse.
I brought this modem to everywhere I go, when it was in my possession. Which means, I go mamak stall, I bring it along and connect my Android phone into it. It works quite well inside my pocket.
Since P1 said it can be connected by up to 5 devices, so I go a bit further with my test, where I asked a few mamak who have smart phone to connect in, as at the same time, I am watching Youtube using my tablet. So it means, 4 phones, 1 tablet.
The result is not as good as expected, as I can see that it is pretty laggy when there are too many people connected into it. The speed is just not enough for that much devices, if everyone is loading some heavy websites and watching Youtube. But still, it works quite ok when all of us only loading the Facebook app.
P/S: I forgot to force connect up to 10 devices, so don’t ask me if it can be connected by more than 5 devices or not.
Okay, since it works well when staying in 1 place statically, then I move forward on my next test.
Well, most GPS apps does need Internet access, right? And I think, if this little MiFi modem can be use while driving, then I can go unsubscribe my phone’s 3G plan already. So I decided to bring it for a ride in my car.
I did not connect it to my phone, and just merely wanted to see hows its signal strength when it is moving on the road.
Below is the picture where I am charging it in my car. And please be noted that, this modem will be on, whenever a power source is connected to its USB port. Which means, during the time it is charged in my car, it is on.
A sad result I get at the end. It is not ready to be a replacement for cellular 3G network yet.
On the road, along the whole journey, the WiMax signal LED lights colour keeps on change up and down from green, orange, red, and totally no lights!
The most shocking thing is, within a short distant of half KM on only 40KM/H (it was traffic jam at that time), the WiMax signal gone from green to orange, to red then to no lights, and then go up back to green again!
So conclusion is, it is great if you are using it at a static place, where you sit down and online. It is not ready to replace a cellular 3G phone for your GPS apps usage inside the car.