I chose WiFi-Korea (see bottom of post for link) because the information was presented concisely and simply (hate stupid websites), collection and return was convenient, the price was pretty good, and they looked legit.
Below is a short review of my experience with WiFi-Korea.
Reservation and collection
They actually offered to deliver/pickup the device to/from any location in Korea for a fee, but because we were staying in the vicinity, and we weren’t putting up at a hotel, we decided to go with self-collection. (saved USD 10 in total, yay)
I made the reservation online and paid the full amount (USD 3.99 a day + USD 100 deposit) via PayPal.
On the actual day, we made our way to their office. It was easy to locate, although I was a little surprised to find it’s quite stark with just 2 desks in a room with 2 guys hidden behind the monitors lol.
Usage
No issues with speed or signal quality everywhere we visited in Seoul. The battery also lasted the entire day with no problems. Although the specifications stated 10 hours of continuous battery life, we actually used it for 12 hours (and more) almost every single day.
My only complaint
Everything went pretty smoothly, staff were friendly, device worked great. However, there’s just one thing I’m slightly miffed about.
Fu went to return the device himself (while I sat at the station, impaired by my failing knees) and he was told that we exceeded the data usage on one day (incidentally it was on my birthday) and had to be charged for the excess.
USD $30 for that one single day.
Let’s back up a bit and do the math.
The rental comes with 500MB of data per day.
Extra data fee is 2 cents per MB.
30 / 0.02 = 1,500MB
500 + 1,500 = 2,000MB
That’s basically saying we used 2GB of data in a single day?!
On average, I use less than 200MB of data A MONTH, and that’s with the usage of Google Maps, the occasional YouTube and what not.
What were we doing on that day to have chalked up 2GB of data?! Streaming a super high quality, blue-ray rip of Lord of the Rings trilogy as we picked at rusty locks at N Seoul Tower?
It doesn’t even make any sense. And Fu doesn’t even like Lord of the Rings!
There’s supposedly some app that can be downloaded to track the data usage (which we found out only on the last day while returning) but it was clearly too late to see which blackhole the data went to.
Fu was quite shocked and asked for a discount, which they gave quite readily. Although we got a 50% discount, I’m still quite pissy because it’s a matter of principle!
I really don’t believe we used so much data in a single day, especially since we were preoccupied with activities the entire day, from Bau House in the morning, shopping at Myeongdong and then N Seoul Tower (lock and then dinner).
Where got time to use so much data you tell me?!
But yes, I know it’s over. I just needed to rant.
Ok, I feel better. Heh.
Refund
After we returned the device, they refunded the deposit (minus the extra charges grrr) within like 10 minutes, so it was pretty speedy service.
In conclusion
I would still use them on my next trip, because everything was pretty good apart from that one hiccup. But this time I’ll be sure to download that app!
Addendum (2 Jan 2015)
WiFi-Korea actually emailed me because they were receiving significant traffic from Triple Rin! Apart from thanking me for the post, they also informed me that they’ve renovated their office lol.
More importantly, they said they have updated their system to be more user-friendly. This last point was probably mentioned specifically to address my annoyance about overcharges stated above.
I can’t verify the spankin’ new office nor the new system as yet, but I might be planning a trip to Seoul again this year (free trip from miles FTW!) and if I do, I’ll post updates of WiFi-Korea then!
In the meantime, they have provided a referral link for readers of Triple Rin (that’s you!) to get a 10% discount off usual charges!
Use this form and select Triple Rin under “Referred by”:
Granted, you will probably get the discount whether or not you selected Triple Rin, but if lots of people are referred from this post, maybe they will give TR readers an even better discount in future? Or MAYBE, they might even pay me for my effort someday?! (one can dream…)
In case you were wondering, I am not and will not be paid or anything. But I thought it would be a good deal for my readers (who doesn’t like a discount?!) so I agreed to be listed. It’s a win-win situation. Win for you, the reader, and win for WiFi-Korea. I’m just… here. Don’t mind me -_-
For other Seoul posts, check out the master post!
Thank you for sharing your experience. Thanks to you, I just rented one of my own for my upcoming trip to Seoul!
Hi April,
Thanks for letting me know this post helped you! Makes my effort so much more worth it ^o^
Enjoy your trip!
ps: Remember to download the app (ask the staff when you collect the device) to monitor your usage so you don’t run into the same problem we did!
Thank you for the extra tip, Rin! PS I’m a new reader, I came here specifically for your info on Seoul, and I love your blog! It’s very entertaining, and designed very well!
PPS I saw that you are with your partner in Texas now, may I recommend, in your spare time, that you two make the trip out to the Guadalupe River for some tubing! It’s about a 1.5 hr’s drive outside of Austin, and a perfect way to beat the Texas heat! You can rent tubes and whatnot here: http://shantytubes.com/tubing_guadalupe_river.html
It’s good cheap fun, and the views are BREATHTAKING! (We did the “Horseshoe” route–you can see it on their website.) Takes an afternoon and you can even bring beer if you want! I recommend bringing water shoes for when you hit shallow water and must walk your tubes. If you want any other recommendations for things to do from a visitor’s perspective, feel free to email me directly! Hope you have a great time in TX!
Hi again April!
Thank you for your kind words! It makes me blush, but also makes me extremely happy :D
Wow, thanks for the tip! (yeah, it’s mad hot here right now!) That definitely looks interesting, along with kayaking! I just need to get over my obsession with not developing more freckles, sigh.
I think I just might be emailing you soon! ;D
Hi may I ask the app that can monitor the data usage? ^_^
Hey there, I have never actually used the app (as you can tell from my post) so it’s best you check with the staff when you collect the device :)
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Thanks for the review. I suspect that wifi-korea is actually measuring in Megabits (notice on their site Mb). Megabytes are usually denoted with MB; there are 8 bits per byte, so you should divide your 1500Mb to get 187.5MB, which seems a lot more likely.
I found your blog by way of googling haircuts in Seoul by the way, thanks for the write up!
Hi Christopher,
That’s interesting… I never considered it that way. However, even if it were in Megabits, that would mean I used 2000/8 = 250MB in a single day. It still seems rather excessive!
All the same, thank you for commenting! :)
Glad you found it useful; Enjoy your haircut and trip!
Hmm, I actually rented the egg from pocketwifi. Unlimited data usage. I am still in seoul now and so far the egg has served me well. Travelling alone so I need to have wifi with me everywhere.haha
HI Juliana, I assume you took the “Urban Data Pack”? That technically isn’t unlimited data usage; It’s 2Gb per day. But good to know it’s been working well for you!
How are the speeds on the Urban Data Pack? We chose the more expensive, lesser data allowance “Everywhere Speed Pack” because the speeds were quicker on that one – 100Mbps vs 10Mbps. (We’re impatient like that lol)
I rented it from pocketwifikorea.com. I paid everything online and got the device at incheon airport. Unlimited data. I rented the one for the whole of Korea as I was travelling outside Seoul. ^^
I see… That’s different from the service I reviewed above then. For a moment I thought you were referring to the same service as the one I used.
It is a tad bit pricier than the one I used above, but it’s always nice to have options! Thanks for sharing your experience :)
Hi, Thanks for the info! =) may know what is the name of the app to download? and which part of the airport we can rent the wifi? Thanks again.. =)
Hi, I am going to Korea next week as well and I just booked similar pocket wifi service from http://pocketwifikorea.com. The price is a bit higher (usd 5.25 per day) but come with UNLIMITED data usage, which is something you should consider for peace of mind.
I used ESP on my last trip to Seoul. I suppose your mobile setting allowed your mobile to up or download automatically. I turned everything off, but my girl friend forgot to turn off icloud and icloud kept uploading loads of photos without us knowing lol. I personally enjoyed WiFi-Korea and those staffs.
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Thank you for information and discount. it’s helpful for my plan. you are so kind, and beautiful too.
You’re most welcome :) Have a lovely trip!