Using a Public Mobile SIM with a Mifi device

[keno0]

I have had a public mobile phone plan for a while now and have been very happy with it. I use my phone to hotspot. My partner is a technophobe and refuses to get a smartphone - it look him many years to give in to getting a flip phone. We live somewhat remotely - cell phone coverage has only just reached us, so we had a satellite internet plan with Xplornet. However, they are decommissioning the satellite that services our area. Someone gave us a used mifi device that we could use instead. This uses a sim and typically a data only plan in order to be its own little hotspot. Because the prices of data through an ordinary SIM plan are seemingly way better than those of data only plans, I got him signed up for a regular public mobile plan, thinking there should be no reason that it shouldn't work.
Anyway, I can't get it to work. The device shows bars and Public Mobile H+/LTE in the corner of the screen and I can get it to connect to the computer 'network login portal', but I can't get past that to actually access websites, despite putting in all the passwords to satisfaction. It just says 'Connected, No Internet' on the computer. I tried changing the APN but the only input box is just for APN, none of the rest of the details. Any advice?
And yes, if he just got a smartphone it would all be fine, but he won't, so I would like to try make this work, because otherwise we're looking at a pile of money to get Starlink.
Thank you!

[keno0]

Thank you all, seems it has decided to work all on its own - although maybe due to @foreverkayla 's suggestion, though it seems slightly inconsistent with me trying with my own SIM yesterday@. Perhaps, as you suggest @dust2dust it is not that great of a thing in the first place - maybe that is why it was having difficulty getting past the network log in page. I shall see how it goes and perhaps investigate the smart hub if it remains inconsistent. Thank you everyone for your help 🙂

[dust2dust]

Some of the reviews for this thing are not very flattering. Maybe that's why the friend gave it to you. Since you have decent cell reception in your rural location, I would suggest getting any of the home network devices like the Telus SmartHub that use the cell service. I think Bell and Rogers have similar boxes. You should be able to find these used. My Public sim works in the Telus SmartHub.

[keno0]

It seems the passwords that I encounter are not locked to the SIM but to the device - I am currently typing from the hotspot off the new SIM, but had to use the same password as with my old SIM. I tried my SIM in the Mifi and had the same problems, and the device password there was the same. 

[keno0]

He did give it to me telling me it was unlocked, and I figure if it was locked maybe the public mobile info wouldn't come up? Is is a mifi 5792 from novatel wireless. Thank you. 

[keno0]

Thank you, good idea, I will try this. 

[foreverkayla]

I have never done this, so this is just my thoughts.  Maybe try putting the SIM in your phone and see if the computer connects to it that way.  I know for my phone, I set up a password to protect my hotspot.  Maybe you need to disable this feature for it to work.  And then maybe once you put it back in the mifi device, it will connect ok?  Just a thought.

[softech]

@keno0 

what brand and model is that mifi device?

Also, which carrier it was used on before?  if your friend got the mifi from a provider, it could be a locked device