WIFI options Help Please

Swannie · 06-12-2020, 09:25 AM

Hi everyone we purchased a Vista LX 35 F and are working on the road, we are frustrated with the WIFI connections at the parks and are asking this amazing group for some advice. We live in Canada and plan on many trips to the USA working from our motor home. We need consistent and affordable WIFI. Can anyone please suggest the best system or plan, I have searched many days and have been overloaded with options. So might as well get input from people who have a system that works for them. Thank you in advance for any help.

Winterbagoal · 06-12-2020, 09:35 AM

Get an unlimited mobile plan down there, and use the towers for your internet access. They're a lot cheaper than up here, and some even come with mobile wifi hotspot hardware, if that's what you want. Or you can build a system from scratch that does the same. AT&T and Verizon have the best coverage, With the T-Mobile/Sprint network placing 3rd, AFAIK. T-Mobile has a 55+ discounted all inclusive plan, that might work for you as well, depending on your age.

**creativepart** · 06-12-2020, 09:43 AM

This is a gigantic subject with lots of ins and outs and not easily answered. Especially with the international nature of your situation.

I highly recommend you join the Mobile Internet Resource Center's website: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com. They are a website devoted to the subject and they review equipment, data plans, and everything else mobile internet. Massive amounts of info that is updated constantly - as this subject changes constantly.

It's free to visit and see a limited amount of info, but to get the most value you have to pay an annual fee. I've been a member for 3 years and it's saved me far more than the cost of my membership.

**ThomB** · 06-12-2020, 09:45 AM

I just answered a thread on irv2 yesterday about this. From what I'm reading many people that are now searching are turning to Visible phone service. It can be had for about $25/month. They are putting this onto an iphone. (it works on Android, but they are able to hook the iphone to a router easier).

So I guess the deal is you take the phone and install the Visible sim into it. Visible uses Verizon towers so coverage is pretty good in most of the US. The service is unlimited everything and allows for tethering to 1 device. I don't think there is a requirement of what that device is so a cellular router works (WifiRanger or other). **I have a Pepwave Surf on the Go router that is inexpensive and allows for the retransmission of a cellular signal.

Not say this is the end-all solution but an inexpensive solution being one of the cheaper solutions you may find. https://www.visible.com/plan

I have only looked at the server and not tried it out yet. My niece and her husband recently moved to it, but I've not heard more from them yet.

**creativepart** · 06-12-2020, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomB

I just answered a thread on irv2 yesterday about this. From what I'm reading many people that are now searching are turning to Visible phone service.

A main problem with using Visible:

Visible does not include any international calling, texting, or data usage - including use in our friendly neighbors to the North and South - Canada or Mexico.

Swannie · 06-12-2020, 10:15 AM

Thank you yes it is a huge question and no simple answer thanks for the info very helpful cheers

al1florida · 06-13-2020, 10:11 AM

As CreativePart wrote earlier, https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ is an excellent place for extensive info about internet service on the road.

Their website caters to and is designed for folks like you who must have internet on the road.

RVwithDogs · 06-13-2020, 10:27 AM

Might be interesting to keep an eye on Space-X, just listened to a report on NPR that they just launched more low-orbit satellites. From what I read they seem to want to provide broadband access to the world soon.
https://www.satelliteinternet.com/providers/starlink/

**creativepart** · 06-13-2020, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVwithDogs

Might be interesting to keep an eye on Space-X, just listened to a report on NPR that they just launched more low-orbit satellites.

They say they need another 300 SAT in place before they can start their PRIVATE Beta (employees, suppliers, etc) which would be early Fall and then a PUBLIC Beta by invitation only by end of the year.

They're testing different antenna configurations right now and are having to re-engineer a new antenna construction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp_fKk4DJC0

This video is from a week ago:

jrpend · 06-17-2020, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swannie

Hi everyone we purchased a Vista LX 35 F and are working on the road, we are frustrated with the WIFI connections at the parks and are asking this amazing group for some advice. We live in Canada and plan on many trips to the USA working from our motor home. We need consistent and affordable WIFI. Can anyone please suggest the best system or plan, I have searched many days and have been overloaded with options. So might as well get input from people who have a system that works for them. Thank you in advance for any help.

Hi -

If you don't like "This is what we do" move on, now.

We traveled to Alaska last year and we had pretty fair connectivity a lot of the way.

What we have is a WIFI Ranger and T-Mobile phone with unlimited data. When we were in parks or near places (McDonalds, Starbucks, Whitehorse visitor center) we used the local wifi facilities. the Ranger is pretty good at sniffing out "open" wifi and we found a couple of (we think) unintentional open wifis including one on the Homer spit.

Where we didn't have good wifi, we connected the t-mobile phone up to usb port on the ranger and used our data. This doesn't work *real* well in Canada.

There were times we did without. My daughter was taking an on-line grad course this summer and spent a lot of time in the public library in Homer.

Since coming back from last summer we discovered that if you have xfinity at home you can use their hotspots free. You can also pay. We do have xfinity at home and we do use the hotspots. The Ranger knows how to log us on.

JCM · 06-17-2020, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swannie

Hi everyone we purchased a Vista LX 35 F and are working on the road, we are frustrated with the WIFI connections at the parks and are asking this amazing group for some advice. We live in Canada and plan on many trips to the USA working from our motor home. We need consistent and affordable WIFI. Can anyone please suggest the best system or plan, I have searched many days and have been overloaded with options. So might as well get input from people who have a system that works for them. Thank you in advance for any help.

We had that problem for years. Gave up on Canadian providers. Finally found a AT&T hot spot at Walmart for $50.00 and could buy time for it - quite reasonable. The same unit here at home from Bell was &350.00 and $80.00 per month.
For phone we went with Net10 also from Walmart. $14.50 included a excellent flip phone, car and house charger and 300 minutes.
Hope this helps.

golden13 · 06-17-2020, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swannie

Hi everyone we purchased a Vista LX 35 F and are working on the road, we are frustrated with the WIFI connections at the parks and are asking this amazing group for some advice. We live in Canada and plan on many trips to the USA working from our motor home. We need consistent and affordable WIFI. Can anyone please suggest the best system or plan, I have searched many days and have been overloaded with options. So might as well get input from people who have a system that works for them. Thank you in advance for any help.

My wife works as a DBA from the road. We each have a phone, plus we have a tablet. Each account has unlimited high-speed for the device, plus (I think) 18GB per device of hotspot data. We stream our TV on the device itself and cast that to the TV from the device. That way it doesn't cut into our hotspot data. I dunno - do you need more than 54 GB of hotspot data a month?

The other solution is Google Fi. You can buy high-speed data by the GB from them, in addition to whatever plan you get. If you buy one of their latest Google phones, you get dual network coverage as well, which is great when you are in fringe areas with spotty coverage. None of it is cheap, but when it's your bread and butter, it's worth it.

MkgBen · 06-17-2020, 06:41 PM

I use the T-Mobile 55+, $60 for 2 lines plus $25 for Canada and Mexico AND unlimited HOTSPOT in USA for $85 incluing all fees and no contract. In Florida I was streaming 150 to 200 GB per month. As long as there is good service for T-Mobile where you go I recommend it. I have been very pleased. I have an unlocked Moto G 4 -- ancient technology today. If you go the cell route, get an unlocked phone with both CDMA and GSM and a no contract plan you can change if it is not working for you. You probably need to buy and sign up with a US address. Plans have changed some for new users now, but one includes 3 GB data in Canada. If you hit T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon stores at a slow time, you can usually get a knowledgeable agent to walk through the options. Using the web can be overwhelming.

As pointed out above, you can stream to your phone/pad then cast to the TV which does not use hotspot data and is unlimited in many plans at the big 3 carriers.

So much depends on where you park and drive your RV.

Yoders2Go · 06-17-2020, 09:19 PM

I spend winters with ALLOT of Canadians, and they get a US phone and access point device from a carrier here. I travel the US and left AT&T for Verizon PREPAY. I have unlimited voice and text (US, Canada and Mexico) I bought my Verizon comparable 7730 Jet pack from eBay for $35, I got my 2 phones unlocked all carriers, from Amazon. I took my devices to the Verizon store and set up a family prepaid account for unlimited (& unthrottled) data on the jet pack and the phones each have 8Gig. They gifted is an additional 7Gig per phone or month. I pay $120 per month for all of it. I connect 8 devices to my jet pack at once. I stream movies on my TV.

CharlesMoore · 06-18-2020, 09:39 AM

As a resource on issues such as these please research Mobile Internet Resource Center videos on many, many issues such as these: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/

As a wifi/cellular professional, I find them credible, entertaining and they present the latest options for data plans.

R2D2 · 06-23-2020, 01:23 PM

Another issue with cell based WiFi is service. We are currently in an area that has one bar at most if you roll your eyes to the left and stick your tongue out to the right. Seriously, you have to walk the campground to find a spot where you can talk. It sometimes takes three days to get text messages.

I have seen that most campgrounds are offering Tangonet or a similar service. Not sure about security on them, so if using them we don't do banking or such. We opted to have AT&T WiFi installed since we're here for awhile. They offer month to month plans, so no contracts. Turn on WiFi calling and our phones operate perfectly. This requires phone service availability at the camp site.

On the road we use a Verizon Jetpack/MiFi which works great as long as there is service.