How to Stay Connected Abroad: My Experience with iVideo Pocket WiFi

I know you were supposed to stay away from your phone and computer while you’re on holiday, but for some of us, it just isn’t possible. Trust me, I would love to get away from the online world for a second once in a while; however, social media is a 24/7 kind of thing, and when it’s your job, you just have to stay connected, whether you like it or not.

As you know, I love traveling. Every single part of it. Funnily enough, I realised it’s when I’m traveling that I don’t experience any anxiety at all, but there is one thing that’s been stressing me out recently – no internet connection. When I found out I was going to Sri Lanka, I was of course over the moon, but then I remembered how bad the internet in Bali was, and the panic set in. Luckily enough, iVideo came to the rescue just in time and offered me to test out their portable wifi. Of course I said yes and hoped for the best.

I was suggested to order the Multi Country 3G Pocket WiFi that offers coverage of multiple countries, including Sri Lanka and Slovenia, where I also spent a week of my holidays. The device gave me 1000MB of data a day, which was more than enough for me, my parents and even a few other people traveling with us. You can connect with up to 10 different devices, which is super convenient if you’re traveling with a group of people, especially since you can then split the cost and end up with a very affordable price. The rent of the package I had is 8.99 USD per day, by the way.

The device is half of the size of an iPhone, so you can literally carry it in your pocket, and comes with a charger. I had to charge mine up every couple of days, on condition I had it turned on all day long. I had no problem accessing my e-mails and social media, which is what I needed it for in the first place, but I do have to stress watching – let alone uploading – videos is more or less a no-go. Another thing to note is that it doesn’t work where the signal is weak, understandably. If there’s no 2G or 3G network coverage, the wifi connection doesn’t work, just like your phone data wouldn’t. In my case, I had trouble connecting a few times while staying at hotels in Sri Lanka, but had amazing signal in the middle of the jungle and while we were driving, haha!

At the end of the day, having this baby in my backpack was the best thing ever and now that I know this kind of device exists, I’ll definitely be taking advantage of it, especially when traveling to the countries where free wifi is hard to come by. Even if we dismiss work obligations, it’s so reassuring to have working wifi when you’re abroad – to stay in touch with your paranoid family, look up transport schedules, get directions… Ahh, having this device by my side when I got lost in Stockholm would be a life saviour!

If you want to try it out yourself, you can just order it on the website and and have it delivered home or arrange to pick it up at a location, such as the hotel you’re staying at. Same goes for returning it back – you can drop it off or send it back via post, as long as you’re in Taiwan, Japan or the USA. For more information regarding delivery, please check out this page.