This method is only applicable if you need to access the internet on the go to check on something (goggle some info, check on emais, send an important msg to family or friends). this is not for people who needs to be always online to chat with friends and always access his/her facebook accounts for the latest updates 🙂 ...

I think others may already be using this technique. I'm just documenting it here so that others can use this method if they want to save on internet cost while still having internet access on the go when it's needed 🙂 ...

All you need is a portable MiFi (unlock, not sure if the lock units has the same menus as unlock units) router and a prepaird Tattoo sim card. I prefer to use Tattoo as the normal internet charge is P5 per 15 mins block compared to Smart Bro which charge P10 per 30 mins block. For my needs, 15 mins is more than enough internet access if I need it when I'm away from home ...

1. First thing to do, on your smartphone or tablet which you use to access the internet on the go, if it has a sim card, disable the Data Access on the sim card, this will ensure that your device will only access the internet via WiFi (thru your portable router or home network when your at home).

The MiFi router I'm using is an old TP-Link M5350 which I bought 3-years ago. If you have a different router, read the user's guide of your router on how to do it. Almost all of the routers in the market will have this functionality. I would also recommend that you do this first using a laptop rather than on a smartphone/tablet at once. Once you are familiar with the process, then you can try doing it using your smartphone/tablet as this will be the one that you will use to access the internet on the go outside the house.

2. Connect (your laptop will access the internet via the MiFi) your laptop to the MiFi router.

3. Using your browser (e.g. safari or chrome), go to the website menu (IP address) of the router. For TP-Link the default IP is 192.168.0.1 (for Huawei E5151 it's 192.168.8.1, this is the one we use at home).

4. Once you are on the website, you need to login. For TP-Link M5350, the default userid is "admin" and the default password is also "admin". Don't forget to change this once your using your router outside your home.

5. Click on the Advanced tab ...

6. Click on the Dial-Up Settings ...

7. Set the Dial-Up Type to Manual ... by doing this, your telling your router not to automatically connect to the internet whenever it's powered ON or not to connect automatically to the internet when the connection get's disconnected. For prepaid tattoo, each time your router re-connects to the internet, it's considered another block of time (P5 pesos for Tattoo). Simply put, you want to manually control when your router can connect to the internet and as much as possible, the router should only connect once to the internet (and stay connected) within the 15 minute block time.

8. Click on the Save button to save the changes ...

9. Note that for other routers (e.g. Huawei), in the dial-up settings, there is an additional parameter for Idle Minutes - if set, it means that if the internet is not being use for x-minutes, then the router will disconnect from the internet. You don't want this to happen, what you want to happen is that once your router is connected to the internet, it stays connected even if no one is using the internet. To do this, set the Idle Minutes to "0" (zero), this means not to disconnect from the internet once it's connected even if no one is using it.

10. Reboot the MiFi router to activate all of the changes you made. If your changes are correct, your router will be ON but it will not be connected to the internet - you don't see the "Globe Icon" on the LCD of the router, it means it's not connected to the internet ... and no deduction from your balance ... you also see an "M" instead of an "A" in the router LCD which means manual instead of automatic ...
NOTE: The good thing with keeping your MiFi router ON and not connected to the internet is that you can also send text msg using your router from your smartphone or tablet's browser (safari or chrome).

11. To access the internet, go to the website of the router and manually connect to the internet. For TP-Link M5350, you can either do it in the Status Screen or in the Dial-up Screen. The latest firmware of the router (M5350_v1_140311) has 2 types of menu, one for Computer and the other for Mobile. The mobile menu is quite user-friendly to use using your smartphone or tablet. Once your finish with using the internet and it's nearing 15 mins of use, manually disconnect your router from the internet - Globe icon disappears from the LCD of the router.

12. Once everything is OK, you can then try it on your smartphone or tablet to manually connect or disconnect your MiFi router from the internet - safe the IP address of the router in Safari or Chrome. If you did everything correctly, then your cost of internet on the go will only be P5 per 15 minutes for Globe Tattoo ... You can check this by checking (send BAL to 222 for Tattoo from your device's browser) the balance of your sim card before and after you use the internet.

Cheers ...

Boo!