charnees

We like to use a wireles router at home. We are looking for apartments in Italy, and some advertise broadband internet connection, but not wifi. Is our router we use here in the US compatible with internet connections in Italy? That way we would not be a limited in our options for apartments.

Ackislander

What does it say on the wall wart about current requirments? Will it take European current automatically like your computer will or will it need a transformer?

That's the first question. There are others, some technical, some ethical (what equipment do you have the right to use in someone else's property?)

charnees

what is the wall wart? never heard fo it.

We would ask for permission to do it.

zeppole

charnees,

First of all, you will need to convert the current or you will fry your US router.

But have you e-mailed some of these places that say "braodband" to make sure they don't have wi-fi? Sometimes people do, but forget to put it in their advertising.

If you see an apartment you absolutely adore but it doesn't have wi-fi, tell the landlords you will rent the apartment if they will buy a router and hook it up and add it to the cost of the rental and they can keep the router. That would be about 100e out of your pocket, or less, but I think it would save you a lot of time and aggravation trying to set up your own system.

I don't see any ethical issues if you are renting an apartment and have been offered free broadband on the property but connect via wi-fi instead of a cable.

flanneruk

I'd strongly advise against your router idea. You've no way of knowing how the phone in the flat is connected (flats in Rome have all kinds of interfaces with the public network), or what contract the owner has with the phone company (the phone company might not be the ISP even when internet is offered). It's not at all universal for flats rented out even to have an accessible phone, never mind one with an internet contract.

I'd personally distrust the answers I got on such things from a stranger I didn't share a language with. If the wall wart (the voltage guide on your router) shows current incompatibilty, the transformer you'd have to bring with you will almost double the weight of your luggage (and add real cost). And the owner's permission doesn't mean the idea will work, or that your router will survive.

If they don't offer broadband access, you should assume there isn't any, and either rely on your mobile phone or take out a contract on a dongle. And even those solutions might not work inside many Roman buildings with thick walls. Holidays in Continental houses and flats often involve doing your email in a cafe or standing with your phone (or with your laptop and dongle) in an empty exposed space a few hundred yards away.

Ackislander

A wall wart is the box that plugs into an electric circuit and provides the power to your router. If it doesn't handle European current, it will fry, perhaps spectacularly.

If it is rated for the appropriate current, it will still need an adaptor (US or UK to continental Europe).

zeppole

If a landlord is offering broadband access inside the apartment, you will have no problem using an Italian wi-fi router inside that apartment if the Italian router is set up for you inside the apartment, no matter how old the building or thick the walls. You don't have to go to an internet cafe or stand outside doing your e-mail in the part of the continent.

Rather than buy a chiavetta (dongle) that can only be used in Italy, consider investing in an iPad or some other form of tablet. That way, you can take the tablet home with you and have some use for it.

http://www.frommers.com/community/fo...-use-traveling

If for some reason you'd rather have a chiavetta that only works in Italy, you need to ask your landlord which phone company in the area offers the best coverage for that location. If you are renting that apartment for less than two years, you would do best to purchase a re-chargeable payment plan, not a monthly contract. In that plan, you pre-pay for so many minutes of access/GB, and when you need more, you get the chiavetta topped up at the local provider's store.

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a...02/m/876100592

If you need internet access in Italy in order work remotely a password protected corporate network inside the US, a chiavetta may not get you there.

zeppole

PS: Charness,

In case it wasn't clear, I was suggesting you buy an iPad or some other type of tablet in the US and bring that with you to Italy rather than a router. That way, you can take the device when you leave and have something you can use in the US. If you only need to check e-mail and the weather, or do searches for hotels, there are some types of e-book devices you can purchase in the US that will enable you to connect to the internet in Italy and perform those tasks. And a Kindle or some other brand of e-book is a nice thing to have both at home and abroad.

charnees

I should have specified that I have already asked if there is wifi, and the answer is no.

Also, I do own an IPad, but without 3G or 4 G, so it needs a wireless connection. We don't have a smart phone and haven't ever had a data connection for one, so I am not familiar with how they wouod work in Italy. We do have a tiny "MyFi" rounter which we used in HI, with a monthly plan from Verizon. I have no idea if that can be used in Italy or if we would need to re-register each time we move from one town to another.

hetismij2

Can't you buy a data cable and take that? Or buy one there?
At least with no WiFi you know you have a secure connection.
We always carry a cable for staying in hotels since the WiFi is often terrible but usually they still have a data point too.