Advice on internet tethered to cell phone

[coastnalong]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I have heard that people are receiving internet through a cell phone, but don’t understand how I can do that.[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I am currently living in western Washington State, but plan on moving to eastern Arizona (out in the country) later this year.[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]My plan is to live in a travel trailer and maybe later build a large shed type building to live in.[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would appreciate anyone who can explain:[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]1)  [/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]How does this work,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]2)  [/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]How I would go about obtaining whatever equipment I need,[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]3)  [/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif]What would be the best cell phone service to use for this purpose in eastern Arizona (if you know)?[/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]Thank you in advance for your help.[/font]

 

[maki2]

Here ya go, this website explains it.
https://www.engineersgarage.com/how_to/how-internet-works-on-mobile-devices/

 

[crofter]

With an android phone and an unlimited data plan, like visible. You go to settings, then where it says " mobile hotspot and tethering" you turn that switch on. Then you scroll down and the phone displays the "key" or password to input in your laptop. You will need to input the password in the laptop and have it connect automatically. 

There are online instructions you can access that will be more of a step by step than what I just wrote. During peak times you may not have access with visible. Powering the phone down and then back on can help get you tower access again. 

Happy travels!  -crofter

 

[highdesertranger]

there are also "Hot Spots" that allow you to connect you computer without the need of a smart phone. the million dollar question is what if any cell service do you get at your location. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

The other half of the question is how congested the tower is.

 

[brucedevauxone]

hi there BY-FAR the cheapest i have found in the last two years is $15/mon if paid annually for UNLIMITED data (mine is usually around 10-15 down and 2-3 up)!!! this is a company called (PCsforPeople) it is income qualifying- OK it is $15/month but you must buy the wifi-device== about $100-- they are not a provider RATHER they use the carrier that is in that area- on their site you enter Zip & see if they have service THEN you meet the qualifying requirements and order the service- just like any over-cell-tower services the internet comes from the provider through the tower- VISIBLE is another great option at $40 (as low as $25) and the phone cost $19!!! i get about 50mbps down & up! with Visible you also get a phone service and texting- if your moving to the country i would wait until you can go there & check around which carrier has good service-

 

[user 423]

....[font=Verdana, sans-serif]but plan on moving to eastern Arizona (out in the country) later this year.[/font]

I'm staying out in the country between Sierra Vista and Bisbee.  Verizon and T-Mobile phone reception is pretty spotty. Barely usable when it's windy or stormy. My Straight Talk hotspot works OK most of the time.

 

[B and C]

I'm staying out in the country between Sierra Vista and Bisbee.  Verizon and T-Mobile phone reception is pretty spotty. Barely usable when it's windy or stormy. My Straight Talk hotspot works OK most of the time.

StraightTalk comes in two flavors, red and blue.  Red being verizon and blue being AT&T (the best I can remember).  It has been a couple of years since I had the red StraightTalk.  Just saying StraightTalk leaves a 50% gap.  They are also a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) and own no towers.  MVNO's are also prepaid plans.  

I travel with a Verizon phone and hotspot (postpaid), an AT&T Mobley on AT&T (postpaid) and a Visible phone with hotspot (prepaid).  These along with a Wilson WeBoost and a directional antenna on a painters pole usually gives me usable service when others around me don't have usable service.  It all depends on how far off the grid you want to get.

 

[jacqueg]

My iPhone 6s allows for tethering/personal hot spot, and I believe you can still get them refurbished. Of course all subsequent iPhone models allow it as well. I have a Verizon unlimited plan. Nominal cost is $75/month, more like $110 once I pay all the taxes, etc. BTW, applicable taxes will vary with your zip.

Works pretty well for me, if the tower is too crowded or too far away, I do something else instead. Obviously, I don't depend on it for work.

 

[XERTYX]

A helpful hint for straight talk.... When buying the phone on the package it will usually say GSM-A, GSM-T, CDMA-S, or CDMA-V. They have service contracts with sprint, tmobile, at&t, and Verizon. The dash A, S, T, or V tells you which network providers towers are used. The GSM means it uses a sim card. The CDMA means it doesnt BUT if it's a CDMA that also has 4G LTE then it has both the old technology CDMA without sim and a second radio using a sim card.

I have a CDMA-V 4G LTE phone as that's what I specifically was looking for when I got it. I can use and roam on all 4 major carriers towers in north America. I almost always have service. I havent taken my phone to the desert yet but I'd wager it would do as well as any other prepaid phone. Post paid Verizon CDMA/LTE hybrids have had the best coverage in my experience as they are prioritized.

Drawbacks of straight talk- $55/month unlimited talk-text-data (up to 60GB) (not quite unlimited) 10GB hotspot per month.

Can only buy phone cards at walmart or use credit cards (I'm a cash only type of person)

Pro's- no commitment, can load several months cards into "reserve" to pay longer in advance, only pay as you go service I'm aware of offering phones with dual CDMA/GSM radios (device specific) on Verizon's towers.

Caveat
I wouldnt personally go with the CDMA-S 4G LTE as in my experience sprint service prepaid phones will only roam on sprint CDMA towers and not Verizon but verizon service phones roam on both. But in my experience sprint branded pay as you go will roam on sprint and verizon LTE towers and vice versa. So Verizon branded hybrids offer more towers based on my experience selling and testing dozens of different services. Cheers.

 

[mbase28]

Does anyone here depend on using their cell phone for internet to be able to work? Has anyone used remote desktop with a hotspot connection of their phone? If so, does it work for hours (like 2x 4 hour slots a day)?

 

[B and C]

I have used my hotspot to VPN back to the house and then RDP into my house desktop (pay bills and such). No problems as long as you have a good cell signal with a tower that isn't overloaded. Probably not going to work too well at the RTR in Quartzsite though and during the big tent event. Too many nomads converge there then. Cell tower congestion will be your limiting factor after getting a strong signal. There are a lot of nomads that make their living using hotspots, technomadia being one.

Oh, and welcome. Maybe a mod will move this to the newcomers corner or you could go there and start a new thread to introduce yourself.

 

[Jimmyflorida]

I bought the $20 visible phone and signed it on in december and it has been my only internet i have a desktop computer that is is hooked to via the usb tether and the hotspot is hooked to my smart dvd player and i stream netflix/prime/youtube on my dvd player and i don't spend a whole lot of time on my computer probably 1 hour a day and as long as i have decent service i never seem to have a problem occasionally a movie might stop to load (1-2 times a day) for 15-30 seconds but not usually i am extremely happy with it for $25 unlimited everything its hard to beat in my opinion I am  currently in eastern arizona

 

[user 423]

^
Which phone model do you have?

 

[JeanInaBox]

Visible... do they use Verizon towers?

 

[mbase28]

I have used my hotspot to VPN back to the house and then RDP into my house desktop (pay bills and such).  No problems as long as you have a good cell signal with a tower that isn't overloaded.  Probably not going to work too well at the RTR in Quartzsite though and during the big tent event.  Too many nomads converge there then.  Cell tower congestion will be your limiting factor after getting a strong signal.  There are a lot of nomads that make their living using hotspots, technomadia being one.

Oh, and welcome.  Maybe a mod will move this to the newcomers corner or you could go there and start a new thread to introduce yourself.

Hi B and C,
Thanks for the welcome. I can introduce myself in the newcomer corner. Sorry, if I just jumped in. Been reading on this website for the past days.
I'm trying to figure out if I could do my job while traveling via internet on my phone. I will continue this with a new thread in the newcomer corner.

 

[highdesertranger]

a lot of members work from their phone or hot spot on the road. it really depends on where you are, what phone company you are with etc. if you rely on internet for your job I would get a couple different plans. Verizon and ATT have the best overall coverage. highdesertranger

 

[Jimmyflorida]

Visible... do they use Verizon towers?

yes they use verizon towers as they are owned by verizon

 

[Jimmyflorida]

^
Which phone model do you have?

i have the visible R2 that i used for my internet

 

[barleyguy]

I have an AT&T phone with tethering and a Verizon hotspot (and antennas for the hotspot). And yes, I work full time on the internet, so it's essential that I have an internet connection.

Generally Verizon has the best coverage. Though I was in one spot west of Sand Dunes National Park where I had AT&T but no Verizon. So it's really handy to have both. I've never been in a spot so far that had neither. I'm sure it's possible to find such a spot, but you'd need to be in a very remote location, or possibly in a valley or canyon where you just can't see any towers.

T-Mobile merged with Sprint recently, so there are really only 3 US carriers now, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. T-Mobile has good deals and good speeds in cities, but they have some gaping holes as well. Last I checked they had no coverage at all in South Dakota. This may have been fixed by the Sprint merger, but not sure.

All carriers that aren't one of those 3 use the towers from one of them. Independent companies are called "MVNO"s. "Mobile Virtual Network Operators". They often will have really good deals. Depending on the contract between the companies, the main company may get higher priority on the tower than an MVNO. But if you're in a rural area it's unlikely to matter because the towers probably won't be close to full.

$.02,

Harley.