Community Forums

plane · 03-17-2023, 10:24 PM

Does anyone have any experience with Travlfy WiFi or other hotspots they recommend. Travelfy automatically selects the strongest signal of four different carriers and there are no contract and you can turn on or off at will, pay for only the months you travel. Not real techy so any help is appreciated.

Jim_HiTek · 03-18-2023, 11:48 AM

I think its a cool product, but...my Visible $25/mo unlimited data also jumps to any nearby tower. So usually on my screen I see 'Visible' in the top left of the task bar, but when traveling from place to place, I may see none or any of the other carriers shown there. And I always have service if I'm not too far away from everything.

However, I did need to add an OpenCRT router/AP for $35 to allow using the data on all my other devices. I can run 2 computers, the Roku, my & my sons phones, and my tablet all showing videos at the same time (yes, I tested that). In that situation there was a bit of lag once in a while on a device or two, but that was a stress test and it passed.

A year later, since I'm a snow bird and end up in some remote areas I found I could use a WeBoost device I found used on eBay for $325. The Travify system offers that type of fringe area amplifier too.

One big advantage I can see with the Visible system over the Travify is that you can get a reasonably priced phone online or use your current unlocked phone, sign up to Visible and get unlimited data, text, and talk. All for one price, $25/mo. If you really really like your current cell phone and what you pay for your phone service and want to keep it, yeah, Travify would work well for you.

Note your current carrier might also offer unlimited data, and as long as you can 'Tether' your phone via USB, you can make your own Travify system.

Er, I can't seem to find any specs for the Travify system. One page under the 'Activate' tab suggests that they charge for data use. You need to buy a months allotment perhaps? They seem to hold their cards close to the vest. 'Activation and data fees' means they charge for data. A normal person streaming and surfing would use 536 GB of data per month. I know personally I use around 100 GB of data/mo. Check their FAQ for more info than their main pages show.

Dutch Star Don · 03-18-2023, 04:21 PM

We have the ATT Mobley and are grandfathered in on an old $22 a month program. However, that TravlFy really sounds interesting. All of these work off of cell service. I know some areas are better for Verizon and others are better with ATT. It would be nice to have a unit that can use what works best in the area.

With that said, I would want to know who the major carriers are that they are using. If Verizon and ATT are two of them, that would be nice. The price doesn't sound too high, especially when you can turn it on and off.

plane · 03-18-2023, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

We have the ATT Mobley and are grandfathered in on an old $22 a month program. However, that TravlFy really sounds interesting. All of these work off of cell service. I know some areas are better for Verizon and others are better with ATT. It would be nice to have a unit that can use what works best in the area.

With that said, I would want to know who the major carriers are that they are using. If Verizon and ATT are two of them, that would be nice. The price doesn't sound too high, especially when you can turn it on and off.

What I have found is they use ATT, Verison, T-Mobile, and Sprint. The cost for 10GB is $29 up to $89 for 100GB and there is a $15 one time fee for changing plans

Jim_HiTek · 03-18-2023, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plane

What I have found is they use ATT, Verison, T-Mobile, and Sprint. The cost for 10GB is $29 up to $89 for 100GB and there is a $15 one time fee for changing plans

Whoa. $89/mo if I used them. And that 100GB per month was before I started streaming so much. Could be double that by now. Well, they might be great, but...

speedway · 03-21-2023, 03:13 PM

We are using T mobile.

100 GB is $50 per month. Speeds in Metro areas are 45 to 90 mbps.

More rural areas are 25/30 mbps.

Haven’t been west of the Missouri River with it yet so coverage might suffer out west.

Live streaming 1080p eats a shocking amount of data!

Jim_HiTek · 03-21-2023, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedway

We are using T mobile.

100 GB is $50 per month. Speeds in Metro areas are 45 to 90 mbps.

More rural areas are 25/30 mbps.

Haven’t been west of the Missouri River with it yet so coverage might suffer out west.

Live streaming 1080p eats a shocking amount of data!

It sure does eat data. Makes buying a cheap phone and signing up for Visible @ $25/mo with unlimited data look pretty good doesn't it?

bentjm · 03-22-2023, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plane

Does anyone have any experience with Travlfy WiFi or other hotspots they recommend. Travelfy automatically selects the strongest signal of four different carriers and there are no contract and you can turn on or off at will, pay for only the months you travel. Not real techy so any help is appreciated.

The problem with Trvlfi is that it picks the strongest signal - which has nothing to do with the best data throughput.

It is a neat concept that fails in the real world.