Orange España launches Mi WiFi Auxiliar for MásMóvil fiber outages

TL;DR: Orange España has developed Mi WiFi Auxiliar, a mobile-based backup internet service for home fiber outages. In its first phase, the service is available to convergent MásMóvil customers, requires an Android 16 or later phone, and does not add extra cost or count backup traffic against the customer's mobile data allowance.

Orange España has developed Mi WiFi Auxiliar to keep home internet running when a fiber line fails. The service is covered by a patent granted to Orange España by the European Patent Office and uses a mobile phone connection as a temporary replacement for the home router.

When the operator detects a fixed-line incident remotely, it sends the customer an SMS offering activation of the backup network. After the user activates the function in the app, the phone creates a hotspot with the same SSID and password as the home router, allowing devices such as TVs, game consoles, tablets, and home automation equipment to reconnect automatically without manual reconfiguration.

In the first phase, Mi WiFi Auxiliar is available only to convergent customers of the MásMóvil brand. The service requires a phone running Android 16 or later, has no additional charge, and the data used by home devices while the phone acts as a router does not reduce the customer's contracted mobile data bundle.

Orange also offers a separate backup product called Fibra Oro. Fibra Oro uses an Airbox 4G TCL MW63VK MiFi router with a data-only SIM connected to the rear USB port of the Orange Livebox router, switches automatically to the mobile network when fiber fails, and costs €5 per month for 300GB of monthly data, after which speed is reduced to 5Mbps.