In this present day and age, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs now includes an addition – internet connection or WiFi. And to be precise, a fast one at that. So in planning my trip to Turkey, I listed down options for me to stay connected while traveling. The options included roaming, getting a local SIM, and renting a mobile WiFi device. Since roaming is expensive and my phones cannot accommodate another SIM, renting a portable hotspot turned out to be the only solution. So here’s my Alldaywifi review, our choice of mobile wireless internet device for traveling in Turkey.
Alldaywifi Review
What is Alldaywifi?
Alldaywifi is a company started by three young industrial engineers and entrepreneurs from Istanbul. And they are offering pocket WiFi to people traveling in Turkey as well as other services to help you with your traveling experience.
Like other portable and pocket Wi-Fi devices, or Mi-Fi, Alldaywifi provides you with wireless internet connection on the go. Think of it as your personal mobile hotspot. And not just any internet connection, but an unlimited high-speed connection for up to 10 devices! How cool is that?
How to book/reserve Alldaywifi?
You can book Alldaywifi straight from their website. It’s pretty straightforward and you just have to fill up all the necessary information until you get to the payment page.
You can pick up the Alldaywifi kit in your hotel/hostel/Airbnb/rental house all over Turkey, at the airport (Ataturk or Sabiha Gokcen), or even with a local contact person. There is no return at the airports but should you choose to pick-up the Alldaywifi kit at any of the two airports, one of their team will meet you bearing your name on a signage at the airport of choice. Do take note that this has an additional charge.
You can return the Alldaywifi kit to the same hotel or somewhere else.
You can also opt to have it delivered and/or returned to/from your location outside of Istanbul for a small shipping fee.
As per their booking form, you can book the Alldaywifi kit for a minimum of 3 days with free cancellation one day before the reservation date for Istanbul and 2-3 days before if from other parts of Turkey. It is highly advised that you book at least a week in advance.
But wait, there’s more!
They don’t just offer the Alldaywifi, you can also select extras to make your Turkey trip easier. Pretty convenient, right?
So what are these extras?
If you select the airport delivery/pick-up, you can also book an airport transfer directly at their site, for as low as 25$ for a 4 seater Mercedes.
You can even get an Istanbul Card (Istanbulkart) and Fast Museum Tickets to Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Istanbulkart is the reloadable card used for all of Istanbul’s public transportation. You can even choose to get a free Istanbul Railway Map!
And in case you don’t have a travel adapter and cannot be bothered to get one, fret not for you can rent or buy one through the Alldaywifi booking page.
Alldaywifi kit
Upon checking in our first hotel in Turkey, the reception also immediately gave us our Alldaywifi Kit. It includes the black hard cover case, pocket-size high-speed mobile WiFi router, power bank, mini-USB cable, USB adapter wall plug, instructions, return bag, and our free Istanbul railway map.
Alldaywifi: How It Works
The Alldaywifi pocket-size mobile WiFi router is pretty much foolproof. Just press the button in the middle for 5 seconds, et voila! Your devices can now connect to the internet. After putting in the password, that is.
Alldaywifi: Battery Life
The Alldaywifi came fully charged as well as the power bank (external battery charger). So when we used it on our first day of touring around Sultanahmet, the battery of the router lasted more than 6 hours even with 3 devices connected to it. Granted that we weren’t using the internet and our phones all the time because we were busy walking around, I was still impressed with its battery life. Better than my pocket WiFi’s battery at home!
On the rest of the days, we were using it on and off as per need so wasn’t able to gauge the battery life anymore. Charging the Alldaywifi router was pretty straightforward as well. You just need to plug it into the power bank or straight to the outlet.
Alldaywifi: WiFi speed
Alldaywifi offers unlimited high-speed internet wherever there is mobile coverage, from 3G to 4G/LTE or even 4.5G/LTE Advanced. We never had a problem with the internet speed nor connection while traveling around Istanbul and Cappadocia. Sometimes, it was even better than our hotel’s internet connection.
Plus the fact that it’s a secure connection, and not a public connection puts my mind at ease when I open my blog or when I needed to do online banking or Paypal transfers.
How did I use Alldaywifi
- receiving and responding to emails
- searching for activities and what else is there to see in the area
- Google Maps – we used this A LOT! We weren’t able to get ahold of free Istanbul map from the airport (didn’t see any!) or our first hotel so being able to use Google Maps was a life saver
- Zomato – for checking out restaurant recommendations in the area we were in
- social media – from Facebook and Instagram (posts, stories, and live) to other social media apps like Twitter
- watching Youtube videos to pass the time
- back-up internet when the hotel WiFi was spotty or down
- messages and video calls through WhatsApp, Viber, FB Messenger
- Google Translate – this was really handy especially when language is a barrier
- staying connected on the way to the airport (it takes more than an hour bus ride) or while at the Sabiha Gokcen airport (no free internet sadly)
- still used it even with the free WiFi from some restaurants because there were too many people connected, resulting to slow connection
- used it while riding a hot air balloon and it still worked well up in the air! (When the pilot hasn’t mentioned to us yet that there was also free WiFi available)
- even used it while riding the trains and the ferry
How much Alldaywifi costs
You can rent the Alldaywifi Kit for a minimum of 3 days for 26$. Lower rate if you rent it for 7 days or more for only 6$ per day. Taxes included.
While there is no PayPal option yet, you can pay via any major international debit or credit card – VISA, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, UnionPay, and Maestro.
More information on Alldaywifi
For more information regarding the company and its services, you can check their FAQ page.
To book, just proceed to their website and start to input your travel dates to start the booking process.
CLICK BUTTON TO BOOK YOUR POCKET WIFI IN TURKEY
Alldaywifi review: the verdict
If you’re traveling solo and only for a few days, then the Alldaywifi might seem costly to you. But for its price, it was definitely worth the convenience it brought us in our 8 days in Turkey.
Alldaywifi saved us the hassle of getting a local sim, waiting for activation and topping it up. With 5 devices that we need to connect to the internet at one time, it also saved us battery life since using your phone’s mobile data is more draining that connecting to a WiFi. It also lived up to our expectations of being connected anytime, anywhere while traveling around Turkey. We were definitely happy that Alldaywifi provides reliable internet connection with unlimited data and a secure one at that.
How about you? Would you try the Alldaywifi for traveling in Turkey? Would love to hear your thoughts!
LIKE IT? PIN IT!
Disclosure: Alldaywifi provided me with the kit for 8 days to review. A positive review is not guaranteed. It just so happened that I really liked the product. As always, you can count on me, to be honest in my feedback.Â
