You have tout compris

How to beef up your Internet connection in wild areas :)

If like me you have “tout compris” (understand it all), Free.fr is your Internet provider.

But if you’re in the countryside, with no fiber and a poor wired connection, there is not much you can do about it, regardless the operator. That is why some of them will allow you to get an unlimited 4G plan to compensate this lack of regular access, but it doesn’t solve a couple of issue:

• How good is your signal inside your apartment/house

• How fast is it, especially when everyone is using the same connection

As a subscriber of Free.fr, you can couple your susbcription with a maximum of 4 mobile lines. It will only cost you 15.99€ per line for an unlimited plan, free of fair use ! Every single mobile operator will limit your mobile bandwidth once you reach the limit of your plan, the highest and cheapest being 100Go with Free. This limitation disappears with Free if you’re also a Freebox customer. Get your sim card straight from a vending machine in less than a minute… Find one here: https://www.free.fr/boutiques/bornes-free. And then, all you need is the right equipments:

• At least a 4G Router

I have found this Huawei 4G Router very reliable, even without an external 4G Antenna. It’s not the cheapest option but surely one if not the most reliable one. https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07L556QXK/

• A 4G Antenna if you want to maximize the signal

Find where the nearest 4G antenna is (https://www.antennesmobiles.fr/) and install your antenna accordingly in order to maximize the signal. https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01E7CWNSI/

• A Loadbalancer if you want to use several 4G routers at once :)

This is the fun part. If like me you have 3 routers with 3 different sim cards, you can connect them to a loadbalancer in order to distribute the bandwidth throughout one single point of exit. https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B074GK47KF - This model will increase the security of your network and allow you to set various parameters to dispatch the bandwidth.

• A Mesh network to cover your entire apartment/house without a glitch

To cover a large area with a very stable solution that includes WiFi 6, I recommend the ORBI from Netgear (https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B081SF349N/) and if you want a very robust solution for a cheap price, I recommend the Xiaomi AX1800 that you can get on Ali Express.

• A wireless 4G Router if you need Internet on the go

Finally, if you want a wireless 4G Router when you’re on the move, get a Netgear nighthawk 2 or a Huawei E5785-92c.

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A lot of people have asked me the past few months how to beef up their internet connection in order to reduce the frustration of a freezing zoom call or a degraged movie on netflix.

I understand that this solution doesn’t come cheap if you go all in. However, once you have supported the initial equipment (the 4G router only will cost you about 200€ and 3 Xiaomi AX1800 a total of 200€ as well), the cost for an unlimited 4G plan is only 15.99€.

Enjoy the speed :)