Cheap $20 a month Stand Alone Unlimited Rural Internet through AT&T Wireless

jcummins · Feb 21, 2020

There is a video on YouTube claiming you can take a SIM card from any cell phone put it in the mofi4500 and stream data using that device without the carrier knowing you're in fact teether the phone. Up until now the only way I know to get around that is just stream to the phone and then cast it to the TV.

Unlimited 4G Hotspot for $20 per Month! - YouTube ..... I would buy the mofi4500 in a heartbeat if I knew in fact this would work and the carrier would not eventually come back to me for doing that. I've read that Verizon is cracking down on similar type things is this. The ZTE Mobley with AT&T while that works the speeds I have from AT&T are far less than what I get from Verizon. Plus I have an unlimited Verizon plan for my cell phones. Plus apparently I could use the sim from the mobley as well.

Can anyone verify that this video is providing accurate information. Moving a sim to this device without Verizon thinking you have tethered the phone would be a very desirable thing.

kcflhrc · Feb 21, 2020

jcummins said:
There is a video on YouTube claiming you can take a SIM card from any cell phone put it in the mofi4500 and stream data using that device without the carrier knowing you're in fact teether the phone. Up until now the only way I know to get around that is just stream to the phone and then cast it to the TV.

Unlimited 4G Hotspot for $20 per Month! - YouTube ..... I would buy the mofi4500 in a heartbeat if I knew in fact this would work and the carrier would not eventually come back to me for doing that. I've read that Verizon is cracking down on similar type things is this. The ZTE Mobley with AT&T while that works the speeds I have from AT&T are far less than what I get from Verizon. Plus I have an unlimited Verizon plan for my cell phones. Plus apparently I could use the sim from the mobley as well.

Can anyone verify that this video is providing accurate information. Moving a sim to this device without Verizon thinking you have tethered the phone would be a very desirable thing.

No idea if that will work or not. I have however moved my Mobley SIM into a Netgear 4G LTE Modem and my speeds tripled. I also have a Netgear router behind it and consistently get 50 MB download speeds as opposed to the 12 to 15 I was getting with the Mobley connected to a router.

jcummins · Feb 23, 2020

kcflhrc said:
No idea if that will work or not. I have however moved my Mobley SIM into a Netgear 4G LTE Modem and my speeds tripled. I also have a Netgear router behind it and consistently get 50 MB download speeds as opposed to the 12 to 15 I was getting with the Mobley connected to a router.

The reason for my post about whether the item I link two would work is because I'm getting really mixed messages from the research I've done. For example directly on Amazon site a user has made the comment in answer to questions about the Netgear and it says it will not work for AT&T effective January 2020. Yet you say it does work and therein lies the problem very conflicting information. Here's what they wrote...
does not work with AT&T or Cricket as of Jan 2020. I used it for a year and it stopped working. I took it to both stores and they said it will no longer work on their network.

aczlan · Feb 23, 2020

If the device is compatible, it should work (in the case of Verizon, that means that the ESN/MEID has to be in their database).
As for you being able to move the SIM over, you can do that and they probably won't mention it, but they can see the make and model of the device based on the ESN/MEID which device reports back to the carrier.

Aaron Z

BigBlue1 · Feb 24, 2020

jcummins said:
The reason for my post about whether the item I link two would work is because I'm getting really mixed messages from the research I've done. For example directly on Amazon site a user has made the comment in answer to questions about the Netgear and it says it will not work for AT&T effective January 2020. Yet you say it does work and therein lies the problem very conflicting information. Here's what they wrote...
does not work with AT&T or Cricket as of Jan 2020. I used it for a year and it stopped working. I took it to both stores and they said it will no longer work on their network.

I don't know which Netgear product you are referring to specifically, but there was a firmware pushed to AT&T branded Netgear Nighthawk M1/MR1100 units in January that broke them. That may be what the reviewer was talking about (even if they didn't know the reason). It seems to have been fixed but that's not exactly clear. My M1 received the same firmware and didn't break, btw.

Nighthawk M1 Killed by FW 12.5.5.12 - Page 3 - NETGEAR Communities

kcflhrc · Feb 24, 2020

I wouldn't believe everything you read on the internet either. My Netgear 4 G LTE modem and router are going strong and those reviews are a who's who of idiots.

TractorGuy · Mar 3, 2020

My Velocity has been intermittent and having to be restarted again lately. I just ordered a Netgear LB1120 and one of those cheap MIMO antennas to try. Wish me luck.

jcummins · Mar 4, 2020

Good luck and give us feedback. I'm tempted to get that too.

kcflhrc · Mar 4, 2020

TractorGuy said:
My Velocity has been intermittent and having to be restarted again lately. I just ordered a Netgear LB1120 and one of those cheap MIMO antennas to try. Wish me luck.

The LB1120 is what I bought also to replace my Mobley. Speeds increased drastically, almost X4. Put a Netgear Nighthawk behind it and all is good. Has not had one issue or needed one reboot after I installed it. I didn't do any external antennas since I must be close enough to a tower and they are not needed.

TractorGuy · Mar 4, 2020

kcflhrc said:
The LB1120 is what I bought also to replace my Mobley. Speeds increased drastically, almost X4. Put a Netgear Nighthawk behind it and all is good. Has not had one issue or needed one reboot after I installed it. I didn't do any external antennas since I must be close enough to a tower and they are not needed.

That's good to know it worked for you. I got mine through an ebay seller for $100 shipped. Unfortunately it was listed as their last one.

I plan to plug it into my GL-AR300M router. The little router has been solid as a rock and demonstrates a 400ft - 500ft range.