Frequently Asked Questions

A) Pocwifi is an innovate technology company based in Australia and New Zealand, providing travellers portable WiFi routerallowing them to Surf The Internet, Anytime, Anywhere. Currently, we are only able to rent the routers to travellers, but we are planning to offer Pocket Wifi Modem for sale in the near future. P3G is a mobile SIM-free WiFi hotspot, able to connect up to five (5) WiFi enabled devices.

A) You will save money and have less hassle. You no longer have to purchase a new SIM card in each country you visit, worry about losing the purchased SIM card, running out of data, or racking up a massive international roaming cost. There’s an unlimited data allowance*allowing you to connect on up to five (5) WiFi enabled devices in over 100 countries. The device is small enough that it will easily fit into your pocket or hand bag allowing you to have internet access with you wherever you go. The device can also work as a mobile battery to charge your mobile phone.

A) There is only so much we can do. We would have borrowed the DeLorean and set-up our service decades ago, if it was possible, saving travellers money and huge hassles. At least we’re here now, all set up and ready to make your mobile WiFi dreams come true. We provide portable WiFi modems which you can rent and travel with, keeping you connected in over 100 different countries. Give us a call or flick us an email for more information.

A) Yes we do! We understand that you’re travelling and often internet is essential to keep up with work, contact important people or prevent yourself from getting lost. For this reason, our core mission is to ensure that your experience renting a Pocwifi pocket WiFi router is uncompromising in facilitating your travel experience. Therefore, if you are ever not 10% satisfied with your pocket WiFi rental, please get in touch with us as soon as you can. Someone from customer service will get back to you within 24 hours with a solution. Sometimes, that person will need to ask you a few more questions to ensure the correct problem is being addressed. We will do whatever we can to come to a solution which doesn’t take up more of your time than necessary. We will most likely be able to resolve your issue remotely, otherwise we will send you a replacement unit as fast as humanly possible. If, for whatever reason, we cannot fix the problem (or you don’t want a replacement unit), then we will give you a credit for your next rental or refund your money. It’ your choice!

A) Pocwifi negotiates discounted wireless data rates with carriers worldwide and passes those savings onto you. While Pocwifi doesn’t regulate your data usage (you pay a flat rate), you, as a renter, are subject to each carrier’s Fair Usage Policy. These are implemented by Internet Service Providers (ISP) in order to apply a bandwidth cap to a user when a channel shared by many users becomes overloaded. We recommend avoiding certain things that generally use large amounts of data, such as steaming videos, and cloud based updates. If you do exceed an ISP’s Fair Usage Policy, they may throttle your usage by slowing down your data speed for a short period of time. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions page

A) The pocket WiFi router works with any WiFi enabled device, including laptops (Windows and Mac), smartphones (iPhone, Android, Blackberry), and tablets (iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Kindle). You are able to connect up to five (5) devices at once to the pocket WiFi router. It will also work with any carrier-locked device.

A) You can connect up to five (5) WiFi enabled devices to one (1) pocket router. Please keep in mind that, like with the modem you have at home, the more devices using the router at once, the slower the connection speed may be.

A) This depends on the coverage. When connected to a 3G network, download speeds can be as fast as 7.2 Mbps and the upload speed can be as fast as 5.6 Mbps.

A) You can be comfortably connected when the device is up to 25m away from the modem.

A) A fully charged battery should last up to twelve (12) hours. To make the most out of the battery life, turn the router off when you aren’t using it. To recharge the battery, just plug the pocket modem into a USB outlet refering the handbook.

A) About 6-8 hours from 0% to 100%

A) It takes around one (1) minute to connect It. But itmay take around five (5) to ten (10) minutes for your modem to activate the first time when you use it in a new country.

A) Unfortunately, the mobile Wifi modem doesn’t allow you to make voice calls, via cellular networks. However, you will be able to make VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls using apps and programmes such as Skype, Viber, Google Voice, and Facebook Messenger.

A) You won’t be able to send regular SMS/MMS messages via the cellular network. However, you will be able to send messages via WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber, Skype, Google Chat, and Facebook Messenger.

A) When the device has found the best ISP in your area, the light on the front of the portable router will turn from a solid red to a solid blue. Search the SSID on the back of the portable modem and use the PWD to login and start to enjoy the Wifi.

A) Don’t worry if this happens. You just need to reset the mobile router using a pin, or something small to press the reset button 5 to 10 seconds. This will set the router back to factory settings and you will be able to use the password (PWD) printed on the back of the router.

A) Pocwifi partners with some of the biggest network operators worldwide to make sure that you always have the best and fastest WiFi connections available. There will always be great coverage in populated areas such as cities and towns. However, if you are travelling to rural or uninhabited areas, such as the Alps, it would be best to get in contact with us to make sure our pocket WiFi modems will work.

A) While we do offer fantastic coverage on land, maritime coverage will depend on how far out to sea you are, and the cruise location – the closer to land, the more likely there will be coverage. We suggest you ask the cruise operator if there is mobile data coverage (3G) on the cruise. In any case, there will most likely be coverage while docked.

A) Not always. Cell phones work over the cellular network, and the pocket WiFi modems work over the data network. With cellular networks being around a lot longer, you may find some places, especially in rural areas, where you will be able to make calls from your cell phone, but not connect to the internet.

A) In the rare event that this happens, and you won’t be travelling to any other location where the pocket modem will be able to connect, you can cancel your rental. To save time and worry, please contact us to check the location you are travelling to has data coverage before booking.

A) To make sure we have pocket WiFi modems free for when you are wanting to travel, we recommend you place your order at least 3 days before your departure date. However, you can still place orders closer to your departure date and we will accommodate as much as possible.

A) Either! We have drop off / collection points in Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney airports with the list expanding. If you are not going to be passing through one of these airports, we are able to courier your pocket WiFi modem out to you. We can courier it out to you to arrive before you depart for your journey, or be waiting for you when you arrive.

A) If you notice the incorrect address straight away after submitting your order, give us a call and we will get it corrected. If the provided shipping details prevent the device from being delivered on the first attempt, you will be contacted from the shipping company (eg. UPS). Any redelivery costs will be charged back to you.

A) If you require shipment to a country not offered on our website, or have specific delivery requests, please contact us before you make your booking so we can make the necessary arrangements.

A) Get in contact with us ahead of the original due back date and we will make the necessary arrangements to make sure that you can continue to use the mobile Wifi data. You can either pay for the extra rent on the phone or pay later when you return the device.

A) There are a few options you can do:
1. You can drop the device off to one of our airport pick up and drop off locations (Auckland, Christchurch or Sydney)
2. You can return the device by courier (at your cost) to the pickup location or nearest office.

A) Yes, you can. We have pick up/drop off locations in Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney airports. If you are unable to make it to any of these locations, you are able to courier the WiFi router to us (at your cost). We strongly suggest using a trackable return method.

A) The portable router needs to be returned as quickly as possible. We ask that you drop off the router or postmark your return package a maximum of two (2) days after your rental ends. This will allow the next customer to enjoy easy and portable WiFi. If returning the device by this time poses a problem, please contact us as soon as possible so we can work something out.

A) You are responsible for the safe and timely return of the rented pocket WiFi. For this reason, we always strongly recommend using a trackable return method.

A) If you would like to change any information relating to your rental of the portable WiFi router, you are more than welcome to. Just get in contact with us and we will make the necessary changes. If you need to change your rental dates, please let us know as soon as possible

A) Your nominated debit or credit card will be billed immediately upon placing your order. The charge will show up on your bank account statement from “POCWIFI”

A) The charge will show up on your bank statement from “POCWIFI”

A) Yes, all the prices on the website include GST.

A) We will not charge a deposit for orders placed using a debit or credit card via our official Pocwifi website. However, we will place a pre-authorisation on the nominated debit or credit card. Once the portable WiFi modem has been safely, and completely, returned to us, we will reverse this transaction.

A) Of course. To request a copy of your GST invoice, please email admin@pocwifi.com.

A) You can cancel your rental any time you want. For cancellation fee, please refer to the Price List on our home page for details. We are unable to refund days with usage on the portable router. If you already have the portable router, you will need to return it to us immediately.

A) Once the rental order has been confirmed, you will receive emails with important information regarding your rental of your portable WiFi router. For this reason, please make sure that the email you provide (in the shipping section) is one you check regularly. If you need to change your email address after placing the order, please contact us and we will make the necessary changes.

A) A standard web page will usually download between 200 – 500KB of data. However, website with more videos and photos, such as Facebook, may use a lot more data.

A) A general rule of thumb is that 50MB is enough for 250 emails. However, any attachments can greatly change this number. A simple text email will only be a few bytes.

A) A simple voice all via Skype will use around 4KB/second. A video call will be 650KB/minute. However, this will vary according to coverage, as Skype will automatically increase or decrease call and video quality according to our internet speed. As a reference, a 15 minute audio call could use around 5MB, while a 15 minute video call could use around 10MB.

A) Online gaming on a PC will use a maximum of 100MB/hour – usually around 70-80MB/hour. This is regardless of the type of game, because graphics do not factor into data consumption, meaning games like Minecraft and Call of Duty will use the same amount of data. However, one important aspect to consider is ping time – the fastest connection via the pocket WiFi is 3G, which is a lot slower than something like a home LAN network. For this reason, users may experience some lag while playing simply because the internet speed is insufficient. For games where success depends on reacting quickly (shooter games such as Call of Duty), a 3G connection may be too slow for the game to be playable.

A) There are a number of factors that could contribute to experiencing rapid data usage. The main way to use a lot of data quickly is by downloading or streaming audio/video (e.g. Netflix, Spotify). This can easily result in data usage of over 100MB in 15 minutes. A standard-definition movie is usually around 700MB.

Certain programmes will consume data in the background without giving you any indication of doing so. System updates are usually downloaded and installed automatically without any prompt.

Backup software such as iCloud, Dropbox and GoogleDrive will continuously use data throughout the day. Most Mac/iOS devices come pre-configured with a backup feature always enabled.

Other programmes such as Skype will also contribute to data usage if kept on continuously. Be wary of email clients such as Outlook and Entourage. These programmes constantly download both emails and attachments.

Remember that any data usage is amplified when sharing the connection from the portable WiFi modem between multiple devices, or people. This means that even ‘normal’ activities such as web browsing will consume more data when multiple devices are connected at the same time. For that reason, we highly recommend you share the above information with anyone who will be using the pocket WiFi router with you.