also called MiFi · mobile hotspot · pocket Wi-Fi · portable hotspot · travel router
A portable device that creates a personal wifi network from a mobile data connection.
Pocket wifi is a small gadget that takes a mobile data signal and spins it into a personal wifi bubble for your devices. Unlike an eSIM, which lives inside one phone, this little box can put several devices online at once and travels in your bag. It is a solid backup for the days your accommodation's internet gives out mid-workday.
You booked an apartment on the promise of fast internet, and on your first Monday it crawls to a stop during a video meeting. You switch your laptop onto your pocket wifi device, which is running on a local data plan, and finish the call while the flat's connection stays dead.
It gives several devices reliable internet on the move, a backup when accommodation wifi fails.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are competing ways to get data and how they differ in setup.
A physical SIM is the plastic chip you swap in, an eSIM is the same thing downloaded as a profile with no card, and a local SIM is one bought in-country for local rates, often needing SIM registration against your passport.
Roaming uses your home plan abroad at a premium, pocket wifi is a portable hotspot device you carry, and Starlink is satellite internet for places with no cable or mobile signal.
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