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Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#41

Post by pjc50 »

crote wrote: post #19

GSM dongles simply aren't that popular anymore. Wifi access is near-universal, so the average consumer will pretty much never be without internet access - and their phone is a pretty suitable backup hotspot. The people who do need GSM-based internet - like surveyors or door-to-door people - are probably better served by tablets anyways, and definitely don't want to deal with a USB dongle. If they have to, they'll jus…

I'm slightly surprised by this since IME public wifi is pretty bad, not to mention covered in all sorts of click through login walls, so where 4G is available and I'm not in a known good location, I prefer that.

I do think 5G has been slightly miss-sold. Its main benefit is using the higher frequencies which have shorter effective range, so a busy location like a railway station that has thousands of people in can more effectively split them into microcells. But in most cases a "5G" phone is going to be using 4G infrastructure for a long time.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#42

Post by jeroenhd »

I think most people who need this just buy laptops with the module preinstalled. Every major laptop or tablet brand I know has LTE options available.

The framework community designs for a swappable dongle are nice but they're not exactly complete. The cheapest way I can think of is to grab one of those M.2 boards, put them into a small M.2 to USB C converter and print a case around that. Most affordable M.2 modules seem to be 4G only though.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#43

Post by ghaff »

eviks wrote: post #36
1023bytes wrote: post #25

With MacBooks it's very seamless to connect to your iPhone's hotspot, it just appears in the WiFi menu. It's definitely more convenient than a dongle, as long as you have your phone with you

The seams start to appear when you phone battery is depleted

So you carry an external battery pack. The Magsafe ones for more recent iPhones are nice in that you don't even need to deal with a cable.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#44

Post by stephen_g »

It's also annoying how hard it is to find good 5G enterprise modems. We have remote test sites, as well as backup internet for offices that are currently on 4G that I want to upgrade to 5G but it's hard to find. All I want is a 5G modem with an Ethernet port that will go to our existing routers. A lot of what I've found so far either has a lot of surplus features (routing, WiFi, etc.) which I will probably have to just disable everything on (Peplink looks decent and is in this category as far as I've looked, but I'm having trouble finding their gear for sale in my country), or has become "cloud managed" nonsense. Cradlepoint, for example make really nice hardware but now you have no option to use their "cloud management" stuff which I absolutely don't want or need, so I will not buy any of their gear. Just give me a web UI, it's not too hard...

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#46

Post by fyhfuhfg »

stephen_g wrote: post #44

It's also annoying how hard it is to find good 5G enterprise modems. We have remote test sites, as well as backup internet for offices that are currently on 4G that I want to upgrade to 5G but it's hard to find. All I want is a 5G modem with an Ethernet port that will go to our existing routers. A lot of what I've found so far either has a lot of surplus features (routing, WiFi, etc.) which I will probably have to ju…

don't forget the firmware quality.

google had to warn all pixel users recently to turn off modem because of a remote full control exploit on the cheap modem they used! it was the first late update to make it even more fun to pixel customers.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#47

Post by ghaff »

crote wrote: post #19

GSM dongles simply aren't that popular anymore. Wifi access is near-universal, so the average consumer will pretty much never be without internet access - and their phone is a pretty suitable backup hotspot. The people who do need GSM-based internet - like surveyors or door-to-door people - are probably better served by tablets anyways, and definitely don't want to deal with a USB dongle. If they have to, they'll jus…

>Wifi access is near-universal, so the average consumer will pretty much never be without internet access - and their phone is a pretty suitable backup hotspot.

For my last couple week urban European trip I decided to just see how I could get by with WiFi (and downloaded maps etc.) and rely on my AT&T pay by day only used as a backup. The answer was, yes, the various WiFi logins on trains etc. trying to extract marketing info from you ranged from mildly annoying to unusable. But, at the end of the day, there were only a few days I actually needed 5G.

Though with the trend towards multiple eSIMs it's probably increasingly easy to just use one of those--although the major carriers have generally improved their international packages so it may not even be worth the trouble.

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#49

Post by ronyfadel »

codetrotter wrote: post #39
ronyfadel wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was disappointed with how little charge the Anker 622 holds. They advertise the 633 to hold 1.3 charges for an iPhone 13. The 622, at half the capacity would only extend battery life by ~60% (not even one charge which is a big bummer)

> They advertise the 633 to hold 1.3 charges for an iPhone 13. I think you have a typo there. The product page for 633 says 1.8 charges for the iPhone 13. I was confused why 60% extra would seem low for half capacity of 1.3 charges (130%). Dividing 130% by two gives 65%. But since it’s actually 180%, I agree that 60% extra seems low. Should have been about 90% extra one would think.

You’re right, it’s 180% and I guess extra 90% for the 622, which makes Apple’s offering a bit ridiculous IMO (60% additional charge for double the price of the 622)

Re: Ask HN: Why are there no 5G USB-C dongles for laptops?

#50

Post by taspeotis »

ghaff wrote: post #43
eviks wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The seams start to appear when you phone battery is depleted

So you carry an external battery pack. The Magsafe ones for more recent iPhones are nice in that you don't even need to deal with a cable.

The laptop is an external battery pack…
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