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Best RV Internet Package for full timers ?????


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OK so read a few threads on internet access and its all turning to jello in my mind 🤢

What I need is a reliable service that will run my laptop and roku/firestick  for my 40" smart tv simultaneous in my class C. I will need over 20g a month.I  would also like to use open wifi points like at McD's .Im on the south east coast(NC,SC,GA,FL) and not really in any rural areas (for now) . I have seen pre pay plans through ATT,Verizon,Straight talk,Sprint(never use again) and a few others but dont want to sign up for one until I get some solid advice.

Can someone please suggest the best full package of what I should or could use as far as : Mobile hot spot,router,antenna ,booster,phone plan? 

 l just want someone to say "hey for your needs I would get this,this and this and you will be ready to go" and save all the "coulda shoulda woulda's" for another day LOL .

 

Edited by SurfsideNomad
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Unfortunately, it's really hard to suggest 'you should get' - as there really is no singular best option out there. And the options change all the time - a lot of the options folks have been using might not be currently available. 

We personally use a grandfathered Verizon & AT&T unlimited plans.  We test them out regularly in a combination of high end routers (currently the Pepwave MAX Transit), consumer hotspots and WiFiRanger's new Converge line up.  We prefer MIMO antennas to boosters for data performance in most places. 

If you want to see our current personal setup, we have it at: http://www.technomadia.com/internet - we also explain how it comes together.

 - Cherie

 

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3 hours ago, Technomadia said:

Unfortunately, it's really hard to suggest 'you should get' - as there really is no singular best option out there. And the options change all the time - a lot of the options folks have been using might not be currently available. 

We personally use a grandfathered Verizon & AT&T unlimited plans.  We test them out regularly in a combination of high end routers (currently the Pepwave MAX Transit), consumer hotspots and WiFiRanger's new Converge line up.  We prefer MIMO antennas to boosters for data performance in most places. 

If you want to see our current personal setup, we have it at: http://www.technomadia.com/internet - we also explain how it comes together.

 - Cherie

 

 

Thanks for the input !   Not really looking for a best option as that is a matter of opinion...really im just looking for a  package that is affordable and works lol

Can anyone along the south east coast fill me in on who (carrier) and what(hardware) they are currently using in simple terms..im not trying to turn this into rocket science lol  ?

Edited by SurfsideNomad
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Tom
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2005 Born Free 24' Rear Bath
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
Minneapolis, MN

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32 minutes ago, Tom_M said:

Thanks Tom ! I checked out the togo and the reviews. I am concerned about not having access to the router and also seems  a lot of people were having issues with LTE network going down or not connecting.I may have to pass on this one until they allow router access and LTE functions a bit better. 

From what I am gathering so far(and I maybe wrong)  ATT prepaid unlimited plan with a hotspot might be good option to start with.

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47 minutes ago, SurfsideNomad said:

.....seems  a lot of people were having issues with LTE network going down or not connecting

You can't count on any one cellular connection to be reliable all the time.  Yesterday in coastal TX we were experiencing slowdowns and brief outages on AT&T and Verizon even on my postpaid phone which has higher network priority than my prepaid AT&T and Verizon hotspots.  When that sort of thing happens you shouldn't blame the hardware, rather, it's a network issue.  That's why having an alternate connection is important if you need full-time internet access.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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All cell services will be fully LTE soon, and that's where the speed is so you want that.  "East coast" is a big place and there's no one answer on a carrier for all of it.  Verizon and AT&T beat out the others in almost all areas, but each of those is better in some areas.  We have Verizon phones with 15GB each and an AT&T unlimited Mobley, so we have choices depending on location.

 

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For higher bandwidth options you could try to get into the AT&T Connected Car plan then move the line to a SIM card and then use that in a Pepwave router which I highly recommend. I personally use two Pepwave routers: BR1 MK2 LTE-A for primary, BR1 MINI LTE-A for secondary and that allows me to use two carriers simultaneously and also have wifi options. The other larger bandwidth options are prepaid unlimiteds which come and go, I got into Verizon's and they quite frankly are terrible, AT&T seems to be the top dog as of this writing. I also have a Sprint hotspot plan, it was 120 GB when I got it, the site shows 200 GB now, it works well in various areas but not as good as AT&T (I have the mobley offering).

The new Pepwave firmware offers a TTL override which you can set something like "65" which I'm using now that helps prevent carriers from determining if you're on a hotspot or cell phone as they may have different speeds for each. 

I use various roof antennas but my favorites are the Panorama 5-in-1 and I use the 2-in-1 for the BR1 MINI. I also have SureCall and Panorama Omni's I've experimented with. 

https://rvforums.com/threads/cat-6-versus-cat-18-lte-modems.118/

Pepwave and Cradlepoint are the way to go now over other inferior offerings IMHO. Give 5Gstore.com a call and ask them for recommendations. That's who I did all my business with. I'm not affiliated with them.

Neal
2017 Newmar Ventana 4037 - 1800W Solar - HWH Active Air
2017 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox and Air Force One
https://rvforums.com

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Our travels are primarily in the east, and we've found our transplanted grandfathered $23/mo AT&T Connected Car unlimited data plan has worked well about 85-90% of the time, and was at least generally usable the rest of the time. We've also have Verizon's grandfathered $65/mo prepaid unlimited data plan and their Visible brand $40/mo unlimited talk/text/data plan currently, but we plan to drop the $65/mo plan at the end of the current pay cycle. The Visible plan has worked acceptably for us to fill in in the few spots where AT&T was weak, and with Visible's new "Party Pay" incentive our bill has dropped to $25/mo. The Visible plan does have some limitations, so read the details carefully before signing up. We routinely use a combined 150-200GB of data each month between net surfing and TV streaming, making unthrottled unlimited plans a necessity for us.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
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Update : I went with ATT Unlimited data prepay plan With auto-pay I am at $35.00 a month :).Got an ATT sim card from bestbuy $10. and also bought a Netgear att Nighthawk M1 hotspot from ebay for $150.  I was able to config the hotspot router to  the att sim and now have unlimted no  throttle with ability to use multiple devices. I was able to use 40"smart tv with  firestick ,laptop and cell phone with no issues. This seems like it will suit my current needs !

Thank you all again ! 😎

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1 hour ago, Bobbyb said:

Surfside: Please tell us more about that ATT $35.00 plan. Is it the hacked plan that is sold on Ebay? Thanks

Lol Kind of..sort of...maybe

You dont need to buy it on ebay though. Here are the steps :

1. Buy  netgear nighthawk m1hotspot approx $150 on ebay(use only this router for this method)

2. Buy ATT unlimited data sim card from walmart,best buy etc for $10...(tip: take picture of sim card ICCID number its a lot easier to see the numbers) Save this number for account setup DO NOT INSERT SIM INTO NIGHTHAWK HOTSPOT UNTIL AFTER STEP #7

3. go to google play store and download " IMEI Generator" app and open it and click "Generator" then input this TAC code at the top "3558200" and then click orange "Generate" button.

4. A list of numbers all starting with 3558 will show up. Copy any one and save it along with all of your other account info you will be creating so you have it for future use. This will be your IMEI # when setting up your ATT account.

5.  go to https://dcp2.att.com/OEPNDClient/  click "get your pass"

6. input the ICCID # (sim card) and IMEI #   (3558??????)click next

7. Choose the domestic unlimited data plan with autopay (this gets you the service for $35 a month) .Fill out your autopay Credit card or bank info accept the terms of service and pay for your first months service.THEN CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR CONFIRMATION !

8. Take your ATT sim and place it into the router and turn it on. You will then need to connect to the router  by typing 192.168.1 into your browser and the ATTwifimanger page should pop up or try connecting to it with your wifi on your laptop or tablet and when prompted enter the password that the nighthawk hotspot is showing on its screen and then attwifimanger  webpage will pop up.

9.Set up your network name and password.

10.Connect to the internet with up to 20 devices !!!! :)  

 

What you are doing is setting up your att simcard to look like its in a ipad  when you are actually using it in nighthawk hotspot router.

DO NOT ASK ATT FOR ASSISTANCE WITH SETTING THIS UP ! DO NOT CONTACT ATT Customer service and tell them you are using a hotspot router with the unlimited plan they will tell you to buy the pricey hotspot plans and possibly kill your account.

Hope this helps some of you it took me some time to type it all out lol.

 

Edited by SurfsideNomad
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11 hours ago, SurfsideNomad said:

What you are doing is setting up your att simcard to look like its in a ipad  when you are actually using it in nighthawk hotspot router.

And, to be quite clear, you are violating AT&T's Terms of Service (TOS) for that plan.  The alternative is to pay a bit more per month and get a SIM from a business like OTR Mobile, a company that maintains it has a reseller relationship with AT&T and is authorized to use its SIMs in hotspots.  Each of us has to decide what we feel comfortable doing.  For the additional $25/mo it costs me to use OTR Mobile, I'm comfortable doing that.  

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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52 minutes ago, docj said:

And, to be quite clear, you are violating AT&T's Terms of Service (TOS) for that plan.  The alternative is to pay a bit more per month and get a SIM from a business like OTR Mobile, a company that maintains it has a reseller relationship with AT&T and is authorized to use its SIMs in hotspots.  Each of us has to decide what we feel comfortable doing.  For the additional $25/mo it costs me to use OTR Mobile, I'm comfortable doing that.  

LOL...wish you had mentioned OTR mobile in your earlier post????.. I may have went that route. Personally,I have been violated plenty by most every major cell carrier, so I am comfortable with bending the rules a little in this case :)

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19 minutes ago, Zulu said:

Have people been caught doing this? If so, what happens?

2 years Prison and daily whippings with a 5ft LAN cable !!! ..Just kidding.  They will  likely close the prepaid account. At that point you will have to setup a new one or use another carriers plan like tmobil,verison ..or  that OTR mobile docj mentioned

Edited by SurfsideNomad
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34 minutes ago, noteven said:

Not sure if this is the same in the USA but in western  Canada flyover country if you need one or two more “bars”  of reception you turn off LTE. 

Most phones automatically transfer from LTE to "legacy networks".  The bars at the top of a phone display are "qualitative" not "quantitative".  You can't use them as actual measures of signal strength.

Furthemore, although I don't know if it's going to happen in Canada or not, but Verizon is planning on shutting down its CDMA legacy network in the near future.  Similarly, AT&T turned off its 2G system in 2017.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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11 hours ago, Zulu said:

Have people been caught doing this? If so, what happens?

There was a pounding on my door, quite insistent.  Since it was 2am and I was tired, I ignored it.  Next thing I saw, peeking through a bleary eye, was the AT&T SWAT team putting a hood over my head and handcuffs on my wrists.  I was whisked away quickly, driven for a long time, then put on a plane.  After hours of flight, we landed and my hood was taken off.  Where am I?  What is this place?  Nobody spoke a word.  I would eventually learn from others like me, although we were commanded not to talk, that I was at AT&T's secret prison in Guantanamo.  The torture wouldn't have been so bad if at least we had food and water.  We were forced to eat rats to survive, and collect what rain water we could in our old dirty shoes.  This was to be my life for the remainder of the AT&T contract term I had violated.

To this day, I find myself craving rat meat and shoe water.

Edited by Carlos
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DocJ is correct. However if you consider that Cell companies do not follow their own rules nor the rules of the FCC. They advertise unlimited internet using a meaning of the word unlimited that is not in any dictionary. This is not by accident. They know full well that it is a form of a lie. But if it means more business they do not care. In this case being discussed no one is stealing the internet service. Users are just expanding the service from one device to another and paying for this service monthly Certainly no worse than what cell companies do every day. It is not illegal. I would suggest that ATT does  not care or they would quickly close the loophole. many thousands of users have done something similar with the Mobley

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1 hour ago, Bobbyb said:

However if you consider that Cell companies do not follow their own rules nor the rules of the FCC. They advertise unlimited internet using a meaning of the word unlimited that is not in any dictionary.

Best post I've read in a long time! So true!

Neal
2017 Newmar Ventana 4037 - 1800W Solar - HWH Active Air
2017 Chevy Colorado with Blue Ox and Air Force One
https://rvforums.com

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1 hour ago, Bobbyb said:

It is not illegal.

It is absolutely illegal.  I run a VoIP company; almost any violation of our ToS is illegal.  Cell carriers have even more protections than we do.  I've also been bumped off a data plan for putting the SIM into an unauthorized device.  It took months, but suddenly one day it didn't work.  Call them, and they explained that they detecting me using a phone-only SIM in an iPad.

 

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58 minutes ago, Carlos said:

It is absolutely illegal.  I run a VoIP company; almost any violation of our ToS is illegal.  Cell carriers have even more protections than we do.  I've also been bumped off a data plan for putting the SIM into an unauthorized device.  It took months, but suddenly one day it didn't work.  Call them, and they explained that they detecting me using a phone-only SIM in an iPad.

So you moved the SIM back or what?

SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
www.rvSeniorMoments.com
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