Router Advice

[winningteam]

Okay -- I just received Starlink for those times when we are at a campsite with no cell coverage! Yay! I am now really interested is setting up a much improved LAN. We have 2 cellphones we use with internal Hotspots (that have a max hotspots before they slow down/crawl) and daily caps when traveling thru Canada and now the starlink. I want to create a local network that all our devices will connect to without having to select from the various wifi connections and log ins. Basicall, I want to be able to prioritize which service is used and if that one becomes unavailable or slow I need to failover to a different service automatically. I am technical enough to know what my goal is but not what to search for and make sure what I get is compatible with what I need. I also dont want to spend a fortune on a bunch of bells and whistles that I will never use because I am not technical enough to know how to set them up. Simple User Interface!

[SavageNomads]

If I understand you correctly, I'm not sure you can achieve what you are looking to do without making some adjustments. The idea of multiple internet sources with prioritization I have only seen on mobile routers with embedded cellular modems which can mix in a WAN source, Cellular data, and WIFI sources.

I have a Pepwave router that does this and I can switch between two different cellular sources, a WAN source, and any WIFI I might find. There are some models that can bind all of these together in an additive fashion into a single larger bandwidth tunnel (SpeedFusion is the name of the feature).

In your case - a mobile router such as this could connect to StarLink via its WAN connection (ethernet), then use the WIFI connection to connect to ONE of your hotspots (you'd have to figure out which one is best to use). Then depending on the model of router you have - you either would select between the two, or combine them, or let your prioritization settings do it for you - but the nicest part is you could then have all of your devices connecting to a single WIFI that you broadcast from this router.

If you had a hotspot device that had an ethernet output or a way to just tether your phone's hotspot as an ethernet connection - the cheaper route would be to get any old WIFI router and then manually connect either the cell phone ethernet tether or your StarLink ethernet to the WAN input of that router and then have all your devices connect to it.

Without spending money on an external antenna and/or mobile data plans to put into the mobile router/modem (Pepwave) - its probably the same result to just put it all through the basic WIFI router that you can pickup at WalMart or BestBuy or anywhere else and manually do the prioritization and plug in at each location.

Otherwise - if you're up to spending some extra money - then the full external antenna system and Pepwave router are the way to go.

[winningteam]

Originally Posted by SavageNomads

If I understand you correctly, I'm not sure you can achieve what you are looking to do without making some adjustments. The idea of multiple internet sources with prioritization I have only seen on mobile routers with embedded cellular modems which can mix in a WAN source, Cellular data, and WIFI sources.

I have a Pepwave router that does this and I can switch between two different cellular sources, a WAN source, and any WIFI I might find. There are some models that can bind all of these together in an additive fashion into a single larger bandwidth tunnel (SpeedFusion is the name of the feature).

In your case - a mobile router such as this could connect to StarLink via its WAN connection (ethernet), then use the WIFI connection to connect to ONE of your hotspots (you'd have to figure out which one is best to use). Then depending on the model of router you have - you either would select between the two, or combine them, or let your prioritization settings do it for you - but the nicest part is you could then have all of your devices connecting to a single WIFI that you broadcast from this router.

If you had a hotspot device that had an ethernet output or a way to just tether your phone's hotspot as an ethernet connection - the cheaper route would be to get any old WIFI router and then manually connect either the cell phone ethernet tether or your StarLink ethernet to the WAN input of that router and then have all your devices connect to it.

Without spending money on an external antenna and/or mobile data plans to put into the mobile router/modem (Pepwave) - its probably the same result to just put it all through the basic WIFI router that you can pickup at WalMart or BestBuy or anywhere else and manually do the prioritization and plug in at each location.

Otherwise - if you're up to spending some extra money - then the full external antenna system and Pepwave router are the way to go.

I was hoping for a more automated failover without the mobile router and antenna. I do have a travel tp link that I could use to turn my cell hotspot into WAN but was hoping for it to switch automatically if I lost one signal or the other and would be nice to add in the campground WiFi (as an added bonus) when there was one

[SavageNomads]

Yea, for auto fail over, the Pepwave mobile routers are probably your best bet. There are a lot of options in there - none of them really cheap though. MobileMustHave.com is a great resource.

[Steve W8IZ]

Originally Posted by winningteam

... I am not technical enough to know how to set them up. Simple User Interface!

There is the seed of a really neat and fun computer program that routes traffic based on available bandwidth. This would take a person learning to program Python and a Raspberry Pi single board computer. As you say, you're not technical enough. Others here are. Maybe someone would bring it to market.



Switching feeds would be trivial. The database would define the service, bandwidth available at any given time and the ability to repeat every available wifi [through a Virtual Private Network]. The rules would test feed and then determine the end connection. X.25 version 2,456,670.0.0.



Interesting. I doubt there is someone with the time to do it but interesting.


Steve

[winningteam]

Originally Posted by SavageNomads

Yea, for auto fail over, the Pepwave mobile routers are probably your best bet. There are a lot of options in there - none of them really cheap though. MobileMustHave.com is a great resource.

There are a lot of pep wave models any suggestions as to which ones allow 2 different isp connection and turn it into one out?

[lemodrop9344]

Would encourage you to go to the Mobile Internet Resource Center where they have information that is geared to those who are trying to accomplish some of the things you are discussing. The free section should be sufficient to get you started.


https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/


Peplink has a variety of products that have found a strong following with RV'ers & boaters.



I use a Peplink device with Starlink & RV WiFi & a cellular sim as a fail over. I have been very pleased with the setup. I have been using the included paddle antennas since I installed it in 2020. So far, I've been reluctant to install the external antenna I purchased with the unit several years ago as the reception is really very good.


I have not had much success using my phone's WiFi signal routed through my Peplink device. That's not to say it won't work, just that it was not an effective way for me to do things.



As a point of reference, the lowest price is not always the least expensive for individuals lacking familiarity with some of these products. Customer support can be very time consuming & a lower price typically come with a lesser amount of individual customer support.

[Parafango]

Maybe, this company may have something that will do the trick.
Their strong suit is cellular fallover for ISP failure for commercial applications, like SEARS, Disney, and others.
They have several mobile applications used for 1st responders that need a "bubble" of internet surrounding their vehicle during an emergency.
Here is a link to their mobile products.
Cradlepoint
BTW, I don't work there, nor do I get anything from telling you about them
Safe journeys

[winningteam]

Originally Posted by lemodrop9344

Would encourage you to go to the Mobile Internet Resource Center where they have information that is geared to those who are trying to accomplish some of the things you are discussing. The free section should be sufficient to get you started.


https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/


Peplink has a variety of products that have found a strong following with RV'ers & boaters.



I use a Peplink device with Starlink & RV WiFi & a cellular sim as a fail over. I have been very pleased with the setup. I have been using the included paddle antennas since I installed it in 2020. So far, I've been reluctant to install the external antenna I purchased with the unit several years ago as the reception is really very good.


I have not had much success using my phone's WiFi signal routed through my Peplink device. That's not to say it won't work, just that it was not an effective way for me to do things.



As a point of reference, the lowest price is not always the least expensive for individuals lacking familiarity with some of these products. Customer support can be very time consuming & a lower price typically come with a lesser amount of individual customer support.

Thank you so much. I.dont need the cheapest I just don't want the really expensive version that has a bunch of bells and whistles that I am not experienced enough to get the benefits of. Obviously I am dangerous when the subject is router advice and it should probably have been modem (so many are combos these days).

[winningteam]

Originally Posted by lemodrop9344

Would encourage you to go to the Mobile Internet Resource Center where they have information that is geared to those who are trying to accomplish some of the things you are discussing. The free section should be sufficient to get you started.


https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/


Peplink has a variety of products that have found a strong following with RV'ers & boaters.



I use a Peplink device with Starlink & RV WiFi & a cellular sim as a fail over. I have been very pleased with the setup. I have been using the included paddle antennas since I installed it in 2020. So far, I've been reluctant to install the external antenna I purchased with the unit several years ago as the reception is really very good.


I have not had much success using my phone's WiFi signal routed through my Peplink device. That's not to say it won't work, just that it was not an effective way for me to do things.



As a point of reference, the lowest price is not always the least expensive for individuals lacking familiarity with some of these products. Customer support can be very time consuming & a lower price typically come with a lesser amount of individual customer support.

BTW. Which peplink so you use to accomplish this?

[lemodrop9344]

Originally Posted by winningteam

BTW. Which peplink so you use to accomplish this?

Peplink MAX BR1 Pro LTEA (non 5 G).


If you are interested, I can have the individual I buy from contact you. I get nothing from referring customers to him. PM me if interested.



He has been very helpful with some of the more complex configurations with my Peplink device.


At any rate, good luck in your search $ safe travels.

[hansbkk]

Sorry if this is perceived as a hijack, LMK if I should start a new thread?

I am using Visible (VZW MVNO) to hotspot, works very well, true unlimited and great 5G reception,

but the service only permits one hotspot client at a time, and we need more.

I have a good LTE router we use when the TMO signal is stronger but the Visible SIM does not work in it, I think just not VZW compatible radio bands.

Ultimately I will want to be able to load-balance, or at least have fast redundancy switchover between TMO/VZW/ATT maybe Starlink

I understand when that time comes Pepwave "Speed Fusion Cloud" works well other reco's FFR welcome but my budget is not there yet.

I tried a USB connection to our router, but that only works hooked up direct to a PC, not on the router. We do not want to use the PC as a hotspot/router, it uses way too much power off grid.

Rather than buying a whole new router now - not just cost but complexity - I'm now looking for a gadget that WILL accept the "phone as USB 5G modem" and convert to CAT5 Ethernet that will plug into the WAN/LAN uplink port on just about any router.

If there is a way that gadget can be used with Wireguard (Mulvad) VPN that would be ideal, I do not trust the kids to be vigilant about running that properly on their (many types of) client devices.

TIA

[B52Rnav]

Not sure that I fully understand your configuration. If your Visible phone is Android, you must configure USB for tethering, if you have not done that. I have also found on devices that I have that tethering only works on USB-C. May be limitation of my devices.

[winningteam]

Originally Posted by hansbkk

Sorry if this is perceived as a hijack, LMK if I should start a new thread?

I am using Visible (VZW MVNO) to hotspot, works very well, true unlimited and great 5G reception,

but the service only permits one hotspot client at a time, and we need more.

I have a good LTE router we use when the TMO signal is stronger but the Visible SIM does not work in it, I think just not VZW compatible radio bands.

Ultimately I will want to be able to load-balance, or at least have fast redundancy switchover between TMO/VZW/ATT maybe Starlink

I understand when that time comes Pepwave "Speed Fusion Cloud" works well other reco's FFR welcome but my budget is not there yet.

I tried a USB connection to our router, but that only works hooked up direct to a PC, not on the router. We do not want to use the PC as a hotspot/router, it uses way too much power off grid.

Rather than buying a whole new router now - not just cost but complexity - I'm now looking for a gadget that WILL accept the "phone as USB 5G modem" and convert to CAT5 Ethernet that will plug into the WAN/LAN uplink port on just about any router.

If there is a way that gadget can be used with Wireguard (Mulvad) VPN that would be ideal, I do not trust the kids to be vigilant about running that properly on their (many types of) client devices.

TIA

I have a device that wireless ly commects.to my cell phones hotpot and converts it to an ethernet connection. I use it when traveling and sometimes connecting a mon wireless printer to a wireless connection. Is that what you are looking for?