Working on the road- Hotspot

[Johnreynolds10]

To all of you who work while out on the road, what do you look for in a good hotspot? We are planning on heading out to CO and WY this summer and will need to do some work remotely.
We have never owned a hotspot, and not sure if there are certain things we should look for when picking one. We currently are Spring/T Mobile customers if that helps.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated!

 

[Road]

To all of you who work while out on the road, what do you look for in a good hotspot? We are planning on heading out to CO and WY this summer and will need to do some work remotely.
We have never owned a hotspot, and not sure if there are certain things we should look for when picking one. We currently are Spring/T Mobile customers if that helps.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated!

.
Hotspots work by using an existing internet connection and converting it into a wi-fi signal that your laptop or smartphone can use.

The problem when traveling is finding that solid connection first. A hotspot device on it's own does not create that connection; it just creates a wifi area from that connection.

You can find WiFi pretty much everywhere now, though, even in the smallest of towns and in many national and state park visitor centers. Businesses like Panera Bread, Starbucks, local cafés, hotel lobbies, truck stops, and on and on. Plenty of apps for apple and android devices that help you locate WiFi in whatever area you may be. Then your phones and mobile devices are the best way to connect to that WiFi, when there is a WiFi signal.

You cannot create WiFi, though, with your devices or even with a portable router if there is no cell signal to start with. More and more cell signal towers are going up all over the place though, too, and like WiFi, it's harder and harder to find places that have no signal.

You can google portable routers for travelers. You still need a cell signal, however, and usually pay a monthly fee for the device whether you have a signal to create WiFi from or not. The advantage of portable routers to create WiFi over finding wifi at a café, for example, is that they are more localized and usually more secure (than WiFi at a café).

What a growing number of adventurers use, myself included, are cell signal boosters. They take existing cell signals and boost them to more workable levels. Ever try to make a call or upload something when you only have one bar? A good cell signal booster will double and triple the strength of that connection. It's not wifi and your data plans will apply.

I've been running the weBoost Drive 4GX-OTR going on three years and have found it to be really handy and dependable. Works better out in the open than in the city, and works better if you have the external antenna mounted high, and apart from the interior antenna. Plugs into your 12v outlet.

I can sit in the driver's seat and switch it on and off and watch it double and triple my cell signal. That often makes the difference between having a more solid connection or dropping the signal in the middle of a conversation or upload.

.

 

[haaken675]

Just make sure whichever carrier you choose has good coverage in the areas you intend to use it. I used to use one all the time when I traveled a bunch for work, and depending on the area/state I was in my phone would either work, or the hotspot would work depending on the carrier coverage. If this is more of an often used item, you may consider a cell booster as well.

 

[jschmidt]

In my experience adding a hotspot plan to your phone works out better than a dedicated hotspot. Many plans provide this. But if your Verizon plan doesn't, it costs $30 to add it. You can start or stop it every month.

 

[haaken675]

In my experience adding a hotspot plan to your phone works out better than a dedicated hotspot. Many plans provide this. But if your Verizon plan doesn't, it costs $30 to add it. You can start or stop it every month.

I would piggy back off of that by saying if you do add a dedicated hotspot, i would do it with a separate carrier then your phone. That way you are more likely to be covered. When i traveled frequently for work i would switch back and forth between my phone hotsppot and dedicated hotspot all the time depending on the area and coverage.

 

[egilbe]

I have a built in wifi hotspot in my truck. $200 a year prepaid with ATT for unlimited/22 GB a month, then its throttled. I can get unimited plan with Google Fi for ~$50 a month per phone, so that's three plans, ~ 66GB a month/unlimited for alll my streaming needs.

 

[Sparksalot]

If you decide to get a hotspot, I would not choose Verizon. My experience in much of the western USA is Verizon is very limited away from population centers. I’ve had much better coverage with ATT.