Wi-Fi

[Majicdoor]

Going on a road trip for about for five weeks but I need reliable Wi-Fi my wife works from home so we need Wi-Fi every day any ideas

[Rkloud9]

Originally Posted by Majicdoor

Going on a road trip for about for five weeks but I need reliable Wi-Fi my wife works from home so we need Wi-Fi every day any ideas

http://www.technomadia.com

These folks are loaded with knowledge and experience about all things tech.

In general, campground provided wi-fi is spotty, not reliable, and not secure. Most full timers who make a living being connected rely on wireless services. Depending on where you will be traveling, the carriers to choose vary. Most folks who travel the entire country will use Verizon as their main service, with the "must have service" subgroup opting for a second carrier as a backup, most likely AT&T. We have a Verizon dedicated hot spot with a signal booster, and we are connected about 90% of the time.

Hope this helps!

Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400w

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by Rkloud9

http://www.technomadia.com

These folks are loaded with knowledge and experience about all things tech.

In general, campground provided wi-fi is spotty, not reliable, and not secure. Most full timers who make a living being connected rely on wireless services. Depending on where you will be traveling, the carriers to choose vary. Most folks who travel the entire country will use Verizon as their main service, with the "must have service" subgroup opting for a second carrier as a backup, most likely AT&T. We have a Verizon dedicated hot spot with a signal booster, and we are connected about 90% of the time.

Hope this helps!

Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400w

I agree 100%. Made sure whomever you get it from, has a good signal wherever you plan on going to. My AT&T has a better signal than Verizon where I live, but not sure that it would be all over.

[Ender]

Originally Posted by Rkloud9

Technomadia | Adventures in Nomadic Serendipity

These folks are loaded with knowledge and experience about all things tech.

In general, campground provided wi-fi is spotty, not reliable, and not secure. Most full timers who make a living being connected rely on wireless services. Depending on where you will be traveling, the carriers to choose vary. Most folks who travel the entire country will use Verizon as their main service, with the "must have service" subgroup opting for a second carrier as a backup, most likely AT&T. We have a Verizon dedicated hot spot with a signal booster, and we are connected about 90% of the time.

Hope this helps!

Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400w

I'm looking into this myself....what brand signal booster do you use? Does it help? Thanks!

[BamaBob]

We use a WiFi Ranger as our booster and love it - when we were at a dealership getting service a couple weeks ago, I was able to acquire and use the McDonalds free WiFi that was about a mile away.

[Ender]

Interesting, I didn't even know about the WiFi booster - that looks like a good piece of gear, I'll look into it.

I think the Rkloud9 was talking about a cellular signal booster, though - I was wondering what their experience was with that.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Ender

Interesting, I didn't even know about the WiFi booster - that looks like a good piece of gear, I'll look into it.

I think the Rkloud9 was talking about a cellular signal booster, though - I was wondering what their experience was with that.

For that I would look into a WeBoost: https://store.weboost.com/products/drive-4gx

However, I would hold off on purchase for a month or so -- I have heard that WeBoost is developing a Cell Booster specifically for RVs (hopefully with multiple interior antennas)

[Schvarak]

Access to a providers signal is totally dependent on your distance from its closest tower. Your booster will only boost your signal to a tower, not from a tower that's too far away! Don't waste your money!

[Rkloud9]

Regarding cell boosters, we purchased a Wilson 4G cellular signal booster when we got our MBS 2400 W last year. There was a deal on Amazon for refurbished units @ about a 40% saving, so we went for it. This was one of the highest rated units by www.technomadia.com (check these guys out... they know their stuff, having full timed for 10+ years, relying on wireless connectivity for their livelihood).
The Wilson brand has been changed to WeBoost, but it is a similar unit. At the same time we got a Verizon hotspot, which great for enabling multiple devices like smartphones/tablets/Wireless Roku. We did not waste our money on the Wilson... we are often in areas where the signal is weak, dropping the service to one bar, often down to 3G or 2G performance. With the booster, we get an additional 1 to 2 bars of service, and most of the time it will move a 3G signal to 4G, making data transfer feasible. There have been times when, without the boost, phone performance was too spotty for more than a broken conversation, while with the boost, the phone worked without drops, and we were able to stream video. Clearly, if there is no signal, you are SOL. But a good booster will enhance a poor signal, and make a decent signal more reliable. And believe me, there are a lot of spots with poor service, including probably half the campgrounds we have visited in the last year (about 50 sites in 15 states).

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Schvarak

Access to a providers signal is totally dependent on your distance from its closest tower. Your booster will only boost your signal to a tower, not from a tower that's too far away! Don't waste your money!

As a Fulltimer and user of a WeBoost I respectfully say you have no idea what you are talking about.

Many time we have been in areas where unbolted cell signals were no service or maybe 1 bar. With the WeBoost, 4bars and often LTE

The WeBoost is highly recommended by Technomadia as *the* unit to own if you absolutely need to have a cell signal.

Sure there are going to be places where there is simply no cell signal - but with the WeBoost those places will be fewer and more far between

BTW, X2 on Technomadia - we have been MIA members for over a year now - some of the best money we have spent!

Technomadia | Adventures in Nomadic Serendipity