Oct 15, 2019, 2:57 pm
Last edit by: IBJoel
What is PokeFi?
Pokefi is a type of "MiFi" (or mobile WiFi network) device.
What is the cost of using PokeFi?
The price is of the device ranges from US$125-200, depending on where it is bought and then costs US$3/day or US$3/GB for data.
Where can I use PokeFi?
It is compatible in 60 countries
Expert Advice: Beware inconsistency of connection speeds and battery life
What are some alternative options?
Competitors include GlocalMe and Skyroam. Substituting SIM cards in a phone is another method.
Of note:
Pokefi is a type of "MiFi" (or mobile WiFi network) device.
What is the cost of using PokeFi?
The price is of the device ranges from US$125-200, depending on where it is bought and then costs US$3/day or US$3/GB for data.
Where can I use PokeFi?
It is compatible in 60 countries
Expert Advice: Beware inconsistency of connection speeds and battery life
What are some alternative options?
Competitors include GlocalMe and Skyroam. Substituting SIM cards in a phone is another method.
Of note:
- It does get warm for long usuage. So try to give good air circulation from time to time while using it.
- It doesn't charge well when it is in use. Turn the connection off before charging. Otherwise it may take forever to charge.
- Try to turn it on and establish internet connection while you are stationary. I once drive from Ottawa to Toronto and my wife turned it on while the car was in motion. It never established a connection for the whole trip. But if the connection was negotiated before I drive, it was good for the whole trip.
Pokefi MiFi Device
May 5, 2017, 1:43 am
#16
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan, AAdvantage
Posts: 2,100
This report http://disq.us/p/13bnw1f says the glocalme g2 worked just fine in countryside Vietnam. Although at that time there were doubt, the G2 shipped and so did the U2. I have an U2, want a photo 
?
?
May 8, 2017, 8:20 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: BQH / LHR / LGW
Posts: 51
May 9, 2017, 6:14 am
#18
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
May 11, 2017, 3:20 am
#19
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: Cathay Pacific, United 1MM, Southwest, Hilton
Posts: 3
My PokeFi experience
I bought one of these from the CX inflight catalogue. My experience has been, well, mixed.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
Last edited by mcousins; May 11, 2017 at 3:23 am Reason: Added another observation (#6)
May 14, 2017, 4:43 am
#20
Join Date: May 2006
Location: YYZ
Posts: 731
May 14, 2017, 5:19 am
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,684
I bought one of these from the CX inflight catalogue. My experience has been, well, mixed.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
ANSWER
Yes to the battery not mentioned in the instruction, but it was easily figured out for me as most battery device has that insulated piece for LiON safety.
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
ANSWER
It is a bit warm when operating.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
ANSWER
Yes and no. IME it was between 30 seconds and two three minutes.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
ANSWER
It is not ideal but no worse than Roaming with a non-native SIM around SE Asia
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
ANSWER
An external reset switch would be nice
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
ANSWER
Try their chat, It has work for me.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
ANSWER
Yes to the battery not mentioned in the instruction, but it was easily figured out for me as most battery device has that insulated piece for LiON safety.
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
ANSWER
It is a bit warm when operating.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
ANSWER
Yes and no. IME it was between 30 seconds and two three minutes.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
ANSWER
It is not ideal but no worse than Roaming with a non-native SIM around SE Asia
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
ANSWER
An external reset switch would be nice
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
ANSWER
Try their chat, It has work for me.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
Jun 26, 2017, 2:50 pm
#24
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 23
Ok. I'm kind of late to this thread but I'm going to review it. I bought Pokefi at HKIA back in February and it is cheaper than purchase on its own website. I've used it in China, Singapore,Malaysia and now in Europe. The connection in Switzerland and Greece is very good. It went green so fast in these two countries. In France and Italy it disconnected a few times and took quite long for the connection to reestablish. And also it lost connection like for example in underground metro station. The speed for browsing and accessing social media are good. It's a good device for a tourist and 5GB for USD 15 or 5 day unlimited (speed slow down after exceed usage limit) is very reasonable. It's very recommended. I rented pocket Wifi before in Europe and the price is much more higher that's why I am so satisfied with this product. Anyone who has use Pokefi in the USA please share your experience. Thank you
Jun 26, 2017, 5:59 pm
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,684
We use the $15 for 5GB plan. Unscientific observation: the speed seems similar to T-Mob LTE. It was used in major metropolitan cities so I cannot comment on its performance in rural areas.
Jul 12, 2017, 3:06 pm
#26
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Hawaii
Programs: Delta Diamond
Posts: 192
as a current GlocalMe user who is happy with the device except for cost being a higher than this Pokefi device. this thread intrigues me. I kind of want to buy one of these now even tho my GlocalMe works well. The cost of $15/5GB and it being able to be used an multiple countries compared to glocalme's package country is a big advantage!
Jul 23, 2017, 3:21 am
#27
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 1
Pokefi forgot password
Would someone tell me how I can connect back as I forgot password. I can't now connect to manage device page as I first need to put password. It's been for a while since I used it and now I need it for my travel to Asia. Thank you very much for your advice.
Jul 24, 2017, 7:57 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: asia miles
Posts: 1
I bought one of these from the CX inflight catalogue. My experience has been, well, mixed.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
1. It wouldn't switch on. It took me a few minutes to discover that the battery was insulated. (Good that they did that, but no mention of it ...)
2. My device gets quite warm during use, uncomfortably so if it's in my pocket.
3. As others have reported, initial connection time is long.
4. I've used it in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong (my home) and Singapore. In Hong Kong and Singapore, the performance is OK but not great and in the other three countries it was basically terrible. Really slow and nowhere near LTE speeds. Speedtest often showed less than 1Mbps download and 200-300Kbps upload.
5. It has trouble maintaining a connection. I've had the indicator go from green (connected) to red (disconnected) for no obvious reason, and it may be several minutes before the connection is reestablished.
5. The battery goes flat after a week or so even though it's powered off.
6. It has become unresponsive a number of times (wouldn't connect, wouldn't charge, etc). I removed and reinstalled the battery, and this seemed to restore operation for the time being.
7. I am suspicious that I have a hardware problem, but the support line has not answered my email messages.
Given the more positive reviews from others, I will try to chase their support again. My experience has been disappointing.
The connection in Singapore is very terrible, almost everytime I went inside mall it went red solid, which i have to wait another 30-60 min then i can use it again (blinking green signal)
I tried to contact the support, no reply! bad customer service or maybe they know that connection in Singapore is very bad so they don't bother to reply my msg!
Jul 27, 2017, 8:50 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Singapore
Posts: 46
For the pre-loaded 5gigs and any subsequent topups, do you have to consume it in blocks (e.g. of 1 gig or 500mb) in each country, or does the balance carry over to another country? (e.g. 1.4 gig in Canada, then 2 gigs in US and 1.6 gigs in Japan)?
Jul 27, 2017, 11:58 am
#30
Join Date: May 2006
Location: YYZ
Posts: 731