Quote:
Originally Posted by trailernerd
Chiming in a bit late as a "computer dude"
Assuming you don't care about budget all that much...
Your best bet is to find which carrier (and hopefully there is one that works) has the best 4g service in the area, and then get BOTH a hotspot AND an cell booster. There are coverage maps available , or ask around to find out who has the best signal.
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https://www.technomadia.com/
Technomadia is a great website and Youtube channel that speaks to WIFI and Cellular data connections and equipment and a great place to get the latest reviews on plans offered by mobile companies.
Most folks that are serious about making sure they have a good signal (say full timing and work from the road) do a couple things. One is they have MIFI units from a couple different carriers (say Verizon and AT&T) so that if one is not giving them a good signal, hopefully the other is.
The second thing they do is get a WIFI booster with a high DB directional Antenna (YAGI is very popular for this) that they can point towards a distant wifi signal and get a better signal. This takes some practice as the higher the DB, the narrower the cone but farther it can reach to find a signal on directional antennas. Generally using an APP on your phone, you can find the direction of the strongest signal and then rotate a mast mounted YAGI and try to zero in on the best signal you can get. Much like trying to tune in your old roof mounted batwing by watching the signal strength on the TV or antenna booster.
The truth is most campground systems are not high enough bandwidth to provide much more than a slow loading web browsing experience (unless your at a campground that has a paid extra system). Few can support streaming video and only a few more can support streaming music.
If you must have signal and more bandwidth, your best bet is bite the bullet and go with option 1.
If your only an occasional camper and it's not worthwhile to have two data plans for two different mifi units, get two seperate cell phone plans on differnt carriers for you and someone that is going to be camping with you and hopefully one of the two providers have a decent signal that can be used as the hotspot for that trip.