Best on the road internet these days?

[maki2]

What part of N AZ? Does this map coincide with your Verizon experience, and does ATT look better? https://map.coveragemap.com/signal-strength

Apparently if you can get any signal at all, a cell booster can make it usable... but never used one myself.

That map is basically useless. The blank areas on it are typically inaccessible for vehicle traffic.

If you are near a town or major highway you will likely have a choice of a couple of different providers. But much depends on the terrain for how good of a signal strength you can get. The terrain can block signals from towers as can the distance and strength of the signal being emitted from a tower. Anytime you are that close to towns in Arizona there is a lot of noise from off road vehicles with weekend camping. Sorry but it is not peaceful paradise camping.

 

[maki2]

ATT is generally better in remote areas based on the map, so hopefully you'll have better success.

It's been a long time since I've camped in that area... so long that I'm not sure what a "dispersed camping area" is. I guess they are places where they try to encourage clustering to make their jobs easier? And in some areas camping isn't allowed. I hear Flagstaff has gotten very busy, but 20 minutes seems close to me.

Time alone does not indicate distance traveled or fuel consumption.

 

[rruff]

I bought a WeBoost, single device signal booster some years ago, and it keeps the phone connected for at least text in almost any area I might be in.

I was wonder about how well those work. Reviews seem pretty positive.

 

[rruff]

Time alone does not indicate distance traveled or fuel consumption.

It's a short time, though... unless you are going to town every day, that's close for a place like Flagstaff.

Where I was camped SW of Bouse it took me over 30 min to travel the 4 miles to Plomosa Rd! No way to do that quicker... very rough with many arroyo crossings.

 

[WanderingRose]

I was wonder about how well those work. Reviews seem pretty positive.

Mine consistently does exactly what it says it will do…boost existing signal.

 

[maki2]

Distance in miles equals $ for fuel. Of course it matters how far versus how much time.

 

[rruff]

That map is basically useless. The blank areas on it are typically inaccessible for vehicle traffic.

I've camped in many "blank" areas... and I had no cell service. You need to zoom in to see the finest "tuning". There are a lot of blank spots near Flagstaff; looks like Tmobile is the best there overall, near town.

Distance in miles equals $ for fuel. Of course it matters how far versus how much time.

When I'm going 5 mph on rough dirt/gravel/sand tracks, up and down steep arroyos and such, my mpg is maybe 30-40% what it is on pavement... so both are important variables. More wear and tear offroad as well.

Yes, it matters if you can't afford the cost of driving. I usually camp an hour+ from town and resupply every 10-12 days, but will probably extend that a bit. I like being away from the crowds. Don't think I'll go to Flagstaff though, as it can be rainy in summer with some monsoon action. I don't like mud...

 

[NctryBen]

Using AT&T I rarely do not have signal. In fact where I’m at we can see the towers behind us… but there are sites where you can’t get signal enough. I bought a booster and it made a night and day difference. But hauling boats coast to coast my AT&T has been very dependable. With the few sketchy places the booster is the bomb… Starlink would be good if you traveled as a group and shared the cost. I think you’ll see more Starlink used equipment for sale over time.

 

[rruff]

I bought a booster and it made a night and day difference.

I'm curious which booster you bought?

 

[Happy Camper]

Carla, visible speed on the device itself is 9mbps -200mbps.

When you are utilizing the hotspot the speed was limited to 5mbps, but it tends to be faster. I think they stopped enforcing the speed limit on hotspot a while back.

 

[NctryBen]

I'm curious which booster you bought?

I didn’t research a ton. So I snagged a Wee Boost. When I have one bar with real slow whatever I instantly have three or four bars. I got the trucker model…

 

[rsday75]

I just did a ton of research for mobile internet for our RV.
We are not full time yet & often stay in sites with trees which is not great for Starlink.
I decided on a cellular router. It uses dual SIM cards so you can cover more than one provider. With the external antennas, it picks up signal much better than a phone. You can also mount an antenna on the roof of the van or RV for even better reception.
There are ways to make these devices work with an unlimited tablet plan. We are using Verizon, but may get a cheap AT&T or T-Mobile plan to have options.
You can also make these work with cell providers home internet plans if you wish.
This is the router I got.
So far so good with just the included antennas and mounted in a window. I may add the roof top directional antenna next year as we travel more.

 

[rruff]

^What was your cost for everything including the Verizon plan?

 

[rsday75]

^What was your cost for everything including the Verizon plan?

I got the router for $390 on Amazon. The Verizon tablet plan was a $15 per month add on with my cell phone plan. I believe it is $30 or $40 standalone.
Looking at T-Mobile & AT&T stand alone tablet plans, they seem to be $40-$50 a month. There are some MVNO carriers that offer tablet plans that can work as well I have read.
To use the tablet plans in the router, there are some fairly technical settings required.
More expensive HotSpot plans will work with little special configuration.
I did have to update the modem firmware in the router to get it to work with Verizon. There is a Reddit post with those instructions.
Lots of good info on Reddit under the rural ISP subreddit that applies well to RV/Van life.

I have trialed the router at home with great results. My wife & I both work from home….soon to be a couple weeks here & there in our RV.
I am thinking I’ll run Verizon all year & spring for another MVNO SIM for the 6-8 months we travel.
That will give 2 connection options for best chance of good service to keep us working from “home”

 

[rsday75]

Oh, and the router allows many connection options. You can tether a cellphone via USB. You can use WiFi as LAN if you are parked near usable WiFi. The router supports VPN. You can load balance connections of have fail over if a connection goes down. It really gives lots of options. You can even use the cellular as a backup to Starlink if you need connection of absolutely every type.

 

[Happy Camper]

Would love to know what router you're using. The $390 price tag seems more in line for a higher end model. I have a couple of those hanging around in the "plan to use sometime soon" phase, but they are 4g.

An ongoing review would be helpful for those considering a stronger, but higher priced, option.

 

[rsday75]

Would love to know what router you're using. The $390 price tag seems more in line for a higher end model. I have a couple of those hanging around in the "plan to use sometime soon" phase, but they are 4g.

An ongoing review would be helpful for those considering a stronger, but higher priced, option.

The router I am using is linked in my post above. It is known as the Spitz AX.
With 2 bars of 5G Verizon here at my house I get 100-150 down and 20-40 up (Mbps)

Near an upgraded tower with the ultra-wideband, I got 500/100.

This is a more expensive option than some others, but it is a high performance option for those needing a stable connection.

All this said, I have 25 years of Systems Engineer experience in IT. This router is easy to use on a hotspot plan. Tablet plans & getting the most on unlimited plans requires a good bit of knowledge & research. I don’t want anyone assuming it is plug & play.

Also, using a tablet or phone plan on the router may require an IMEI “repair” which, depending on the state you reside in, may be a legal gray area.

I am simply posting here as this is an option that is MUCH better than the honestly crap hotspot solutions the cell carriers provide.

I’m happy to answer questions about the router and setup, but for various reasons if you want to use a cell plan other than a hotspot plan, I’ll leave that research up to each individual.

 

[Happy Camper]

I would agree that some of the solutions are very easy to set up. But are not always the best functioning unit in terms of range, speed, etc.

 

[rruff]

Looking at T-Mobile & AT&T stand alone tablet plans, they seem to be $40-$50 a month. There are some MVNO carriers that offer tablet plans that can work as well I have read.

Thanks, I'm pretty clueless about this.

I wonder if you can use this with a regular phone plan (with hotspot data) and still act as a hot spot? It sounds like it it needs to be something special. I just want to be able to get internet on my laptop. I'm not working and performance isn't that critical. If I can get even a weak cell signal and boost it enough to be usable, I'd be happy.

 

[rsday75]

Thanks, I'm pretty clueless about this.

I wonder if you can use this with a regular phone plan (with hotspot data) and still act as a hot spot? It sounds like it it needs to be something special. I just want to be able to get internet on my laptop. I'm not working and performance isn't that critical. If I can get even a weak cell signal and boost it enough to be usable, I'd be happy.

Several people use an additional phone line on their plan with this. They use the phone SIM.
Some IMEI magic is needed to allow this router to use a phone SIM.