wifi for 30 day trip

[bucci4141]

Hello,
We are planning on travelling to Colorado from Ohio and we will be staying at a few Harvest Hosts along with some campgrounds. I really want to be able to watch TV and surf the internet for the 30 days but I don't know what to use to be ensure I won't have any issues. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
TIA
Dan

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by bucci4141

Hello,
We are planning on travelling to Colorado from Ohio and we will be staying at a few Harvest Hosts along with some campgrounds. I really want to be able to watch TV and surf the internet for the 30 days but I don't know what to use to be ensure I won't have any issues. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
TIA
Dan

Cell phone mobile hotspot?

[theroc]

I tend to agree with the cell phone hotspot idea too if only temporary for a month. Maybe temporarily upgrade your current cell phone plan to an unlimited data 5G plan/option and use your smart phone as a hotspot where you can connect your devices (laptop, tablet, TV, etc.) to it via your own wifi. If you don't have a smart TV with you, then a tablet or a laptop would be good to use for that purpose as that is what we now use for the limited travel in which we now partake.

In the old days, many of us used dedicated Verizon mifi hotspots while traveling in RVs but nowadays, smartphones are so advanced that many can provide that same quality wifi as the old mifi hotspots it seems.

Depending on your carrier, even if you have unlimited data, they will throttle the speed after using a preset amount of data so you'd still have to choose and allocate how much streaming you plan to do but using the internet for browsing, banking, etc. will always* be available as you don't necessarily need extremely fast speed for that type of activity. *of course, you have to be in an area that has a fairly good data signal. Verizon used to be best in rural areas but I know it's the debate recently if T-Mobile has better data coverage and faster speeds in rural areas.

If it's only for a month, I'm thinking cellular is the way to go as it wouldn't be worth it to invest in satellite service. This is assuming that you're traveling in areas that have relatively good cellular data coverage. But if you plan to stay in rural areas where not many live with no cellular data coverage, then satellite service would be a necessity.

I'm not an expert on this subject so I now others will fill you in on other options and correct any faulty information I've given.

Streaming TV with a Hotspot: Is it Possible and What You Need to Know

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by bucci4141

Hello,
We are planning on travelling to Colorado from Ohio and we will be staying at a few Harvest Hosts along with some campgrounds. I really want to be able to watch TV and surf the internet for the 30 days but I don't know what to use to be ensure I won't have any issues. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
TIA
Dan

We just connect our TV, laptop, and iPad to the hotspot function in our Android mobile phones. Streaming movies and Internet browsing work just fine this way wherever we can get cell phone coverage. I increased the hotspot data limit a little through our Verizon mobile phones plan to make sure we never run out of hotspot data capacity.

[kwftlaud]

I usually just use my hotspot function on my TMobile phone. works 95% of the time on the east coast.
10 years ago when I went out west my phone connection was not always good but things could be much better now a days.

One thing I wanted to mention. Tmobile has a sweet deal called "Internet Backup" . Its a 5g modem that has limited data ( 7g I think ) but its high speed where ever there is 5G service. It costs $10 a month. I have one for my house and it works great. I will take it with me when I travel to see if it works better than my phone hotspot. Not all addresses qualify to get this modem but its a great deal and it is a good alternative if you can get one.

[OldBaldFat]

Where in Colorado are you going?

Into the mountains, it is easy to be in places where no cell based device can get a signal. There are simply not enough towers, or any towers in some places.

Also, mountain ridges and peaks, being in mountain valleys can all be completely dead spots for cell signals. They are real good at blocking any signal. Be sure to talk to the CG/ Host in advance about signal strength for your particular carrier.

[jacwjames]

Back in ~2018 my wife was in charge of getting a new phone plan. My only request was that the phone can be used for a hotspot. She came home with Sprint plans which turned into TMobile. In 2021 I took a trip and planned to rely on my phone for internet connection, NOPE, limited coverage and when I called support they said the plan was limited to 5GB a month which is pretty much useless.



So make sure if you use your phone it doesn't have low limits and not throttled.



Hope it got better but T-Mobile was terrible, on my trip in 2021 I did not have a signal most of the time while traveling outside rural areas. Luckily I had a Cricket Hotspot that worked every day, sometimes slower but it worked. Even used it to make a WIFI call.