Verizon 4G Mobile Hotspot

[MarkV]

We are rural enough that our Verizon wireless modem has been our form of internet connection for the last few years. My wife is interested in adding another computer so we are looking at the Mobile Hotspot from Verizon. Was wondering if anyone here has had an experience with them that is good or bad?

MarkV

 

[Uncle Doug]

We use a Sprint 3g-4g mobile hot spot when we travel. It is unlimited 4g, the problem is that 4g is only available in larger cities. When we bought it (2 year contract) we wanted to use it for home use and travel. We soon found that we would exceed the 3g limit every month with home use also as we live in a rural area. We ended up adding back a home internet service again as that was cheaper than paying the excess use fees each month. We still use it when we travel or rv.

These things work off of cell phone technology so depending on the cell service reception in an area so goes the internet. We have found certain areas that have poor Sprint coverage so internet access was very limited.

 

[ozley]

I like to tell people about http://www.millenicom.com/ They offer Sprint & Verizon with no 2 year contract. I have Verizon with 20 Gig for $59.00 and no tax.

 

[jinman]

Mark, if you already have the Verizon wireless modem, you might look into the Cradlepoint MBR-1000 router. It has USB slots for a wireless modem and also can have normal wired input from a DSL modem for later upgrades. It allows you to seamlessly use your modem card as the source for a wireless network at your home. When you go on the road, you simply pull the modem and take it with you for use with a laptop. We did that for two years until DSL became available for our home use. If your modem is 4G, it should give you very satisfactory service to two or three computers on a wireless network.

Oh yes, the MBR-1000 comes with no setup software. It is all contained within the modem. You log into it as an internet address and setup is piece of cake, mostly auto-magic.

 

[Fordman1981]

Not sure about the hot spot but my phone is 4 g LTE and is is blazing fast the fastest tested yet is 12 meg down and 32 meg up

 

[ronjhall]

Mark, if you already have the Verizon wireless modem, you might look into the Cradlepoint MBR-1000 router. It has USB slots for a wireless modem and also can have normal wired input from a DSL modem for later upgrades. It allows you to seamlessly use your modem card as the source for a wireless network at your home. When you go on the road, you simply pull the modem and take it with you for use with a laptop. We did that for two years until DSL became available for our home use. If your modem is 4G, it should give you very satisfactory service to two or three computers on a wireless network.

Oh yes, the MBR-1000 comes with no setup software. It is all contained within the modem. You log into it as an internet address and setup is piece of cake, mostly auto-magic.

I have 2 of the Cradlepoint MBR 1000 routers. One in the house with a cable hookup. The other one is in my motorhome. They both work very well. Have a long range and are easy to set up.
Since I purchased the 1000's Cradlepoint has come out with new models that may work better for your needs.
Using air cards is a common product used by many RV'ers that travel a lot. Cradelpoint is the top supplier of routers for these cards.

 

[MarkV]

Thanks for the info guys. We have been pretty happy with our 3G modem and can stay within the use limits for our needs. It beats the heck out of our past dial up system. I remember Jim and some others talking about the Cradlepoint router in the past. The problem is the wife wants an Ipad which does not have a USB port that you can use a wireless modem in. So something like the Cradlepoint would work fine at home but would not let use the IPad while traveling without taking the router, modem and having a power source. That is what lead us to the mobile hotspot Verizon offers. Just wish I knew someone that has been using it.

MarkV

 

[thatguy]

I have the Verizon MIFI 3g (they upgraded me to the 4g for free, but I have not switched devices yet)..

The mifi is our primary internet connection for about 9 mths now and we get between 1 to 2 mb download speeds and up to .9 mb upload speeds.. Every now and then if it gets really slow (or drops into 1xrtt) i will restart the modem and it speeds up..

We had the Virgin Mobil mifi when they offered 'unlimited' usage - but when they started throttling speeds back after 2.5 gb we dropped it for Verizon. I still have the VM Mifi, but the download speeds were not quite as fast as verizon.

We use between 6 to 8 gb per month and have the 10gb ($80) plan - BUT if we do go over it is only $10/gb

I would highly recommend the Verizon Mifi

Brian

 

[crbr]

+1 for the MiFi. I have the Verizon 5gb package and never get close to the limit of usage, without regard to being conscious to my usage.

If you can get a cell signal, you will be in business. I'd recommend the 4G.