wifi

[qwark]

I am thinking of getting a wifi signal extender for our motorhome, are they worth buying? what sort of range would you expect to achieve?

Any pointers to any make would be great.

Thanks

Tom (?)

[Arthur Brown]

Hi

Answer one - yes worth buying

Range depends upon do many things it is how long is a bit of string. I have pulled up to a mile but that was with line of sight.

Do a search and find Adam. He has a company whose name escapes me at the moment but he goes to all the shows etc and is very helpful. Try motorhome WiFi, it should pull him. You could also try Solwise in Hull. I have dealt with them and they provided a first class service. They provide the router and the antenna. Such a device is invaluable on sites where you are only allowed one WiFi device, ie phone. With a router, it becomes the one device but you can link as many as you wish to your router. If you are new to all this then it will take some understanding so people like Adam are invaluable as they explain in detail and will answer your questions.

Hope this helps.

Arthur

[peterjl]

Hi. You need to think about what you would use.it for and how often. Yes, they work but I can't be bothered.I purchased one about 4 years ago. I used it less and less and these days it sits in draw at home

 

 

Where we buy wifi we use one code and just download data ( newspapers, magazines, emails etc) one machine at a time. We find there are less and less unlocked wifis around ( which was my original reason for buying) soooo, rather than pay we generally use free campsite wifis , cafes, shops, tourist offices. In some countries there are loads of free wifi on campsites, especially Scandinavia, Iceland, Ireland. The exception is in U.K. where we use cc and c&cc sites and find the annual deals a good value.

 

Peter

[qwark]

Thanks guys , food for thought indeed

[marksrv6]

I have RangeMaster WiFi Booster Long Range Antenna and Router for Motorhomes & Caravans, it works fine but I hardly use it because I use aLow Profile 4G MIMO LTE Roof Mount Antenna coupled to a 4g router and pay as you go sim, I find this 10 times more useful than wifi and if you are paying for wifi it works out cheaper, using the external 4g antenna gives far better reception than I get on my phone, Given the choice I would keep the 4g antenna and dump the wifi because most of the time there is no wifi anyway within range.

 

My wife loves it because she can surf the internet while we are traveling.

[Barryd999]

I have had a few. I now have an iBoost from www.motorhomewifi.com

 

Before I had just a USB antenna which meant I could only connect one laptop but the iBoost is an antenna with a wireless router like the one you probably have at home (12v of course) so you tune in the antenna then all your devices can share it. Really pleased with it.

 

Ive had some kind of antenna since 2009 as its vital for me to get online when away for months on end. Works really well abroad with the FON system and in the UK with BT Fon / Wifi.

 

Best distances I have had is about 4 miles across water and 5000ft up in the Alps but thats not the norm. I think Adam from motorhome wifi managed to get across the Bristol Channel his. A very helpful chap.

[Mel B]

Why not get a cheap MIFI unit and cheap data sim:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Trio-PayG-SIM-Pack/dp/B01FI1JW72/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1481386840&sr=8-9&keywords=12gb+sim

[veletron]

The budget solution is an Alfa R36 router and an Alfa TubeU-V external USB adapter. You stick the antenna on top of the N-Type socket on the TubeU-V.

 

I have this setup fitted to a PVC with a permanently installed antenna Omni antenna. The antenna is fitted to the back door using the common maxview antenna mounting kit, I have bent the top bracket so it hooks over the rear door.

 

If you cannot install permanently and are using a suction or magi mount antenna, get the Alfa Awus036nhr USB device instead of the TubeU, this has an SMA connector, so just find an antenna to suit from amazon/fleabay

 

I also have a 3G/4G setup using a MiFi in the van and a separate permently installed antenna, the MiFi is more useful than the WiFi repeater overall.

 

My third internet system is a 2-way sat dish second user from ebay, that goes on a tripod. I live in Scotland and tend to head west where there is little mobile coverage, however overall in tems of usefulness, the MiFi is best, followed by the 2-way dish, followed by the WiFi repeater. My experience might be different if I used wifi equipped sites but I prefer wild camping.

 

Nigel

[aandncaravan]

There might be a way that is free?

I have been using my mobile phone as a Wifi 'Tethering hotspot' for about 10months on the Three mobile network. This allows my Laptop, Wife's phone, TV, any device (up to 4) to 'WiFi' to my phone, which then makes the connection to the Internet.

Because the data is 'free' on my phone plan, it costs nothing.

Where there is any signal it works very well, generally averages around 8Gig download speeds. At home it is around 11gig download speed(when showing '4 of 5 bars' of signal), which is faster than the fibre broadband in the street.

 

Today Paul from Nantwich used WiFi to connect his Laptop to my phone to pay his Bill via Bank transfer in the middle of a field out in the wilderness of Wales. That was a first for me and we were both pleased it worked so smoothly.

 

 

In the last few weeks I have changed the phone tariff plan so that all of my phones free 13Gb data is now able to be allocated as Tethering Hotspot WiFi data. Previously, although I had 12gb of free data, only 4gb could be used by the Wifi Hotspot.

When I checked, only Three currently allow all the data to be 'WiFi tethered', but that was a few weeks ago.

 

 

Just prior to the upgrade of the Three plan I bought an EE 4GEE Wifi mini (see photo) with a 4gb monthly allowance to connect the new TV to the Internet. It also acts as a backup when the Three network is off the air, which it has been a few times recently during the local network upgrade to 4G.

 

That works well even in poor signal areas, as you can 'sticky pad' it to the centre of a window on the side of the vehicle that gives the best signal. Harder to position a heavier phone in the same way to get the best signal.

 

Where my Wife's EE phone is showing a poor '1 bar' of signal the 4Gee still delivers around 1gb download speed. Even in these conditions, the Laptop works a lot faster than most of the free Wifi points I have used.

 

I would suggest you look at your phone plan to see if there is some way you can exploit your free monthly data allowance then use your phone as the Internet gateway for the other devices??

 

 

I think my new Three 'SIM only' mobile phone plan is £18 a month for phone calls, texts and 13gb data?

 

I use a Motorola Moto G, which is massively faster than any of my previous phones at transferring data. When I borrowed my Daughters relatively new Samsung J3 for a week I found it ok in most respects as a phone, but very, very slow as a Wifi 'Spot'.

Max download speed, using my own SIM averaged only 2gb in the same location where the Moto G achieves 11gb, so choose your phone carefully?.

 

 

[veletron]

aandncaravan - 2016-12-14 9:02 PM

 

 

Where there is any signal it works very well, generally averages around 8Gig download speeds. At home it is around 11gig download speed(when showing '4 of 5 bars' of signal), which is faster than the fibre broadband in the street.

 

 

You mean 'Megs' (More correctly, MBits/sec) rather than 'Gigs' !! Unless you are in South Korea anyway!

 

MBits/sec is a measure of speed, Gigs (more correctly 'GigaBytes') is the total the contract offers per month. There's a thousand 'Megs' in a 'Gig'.

 

Standard 4G in the UK tops out at around 30Mbits/sec (more usually 10-15) 4G+ gets you about 50Mbits/sec and if you are in London and a few other cities, up to 150Mbits/sec is available over 4G in certain area's.

 

Using your phone for internet access from another device (tablet/laptop) is known as 'tethering' and its a decent way of getting access for near nowt, but quite a few mobile phone contracts ban 'tethering' - some more actively than others. - check your contract!

 

1 bar of 3G is faster than 5 bars of 2G, 1 bar of 4G is faster than 5 bars of 3G. Often the MiFi/Phone will hop onto the strongest signal offering you extra-slow 2G when 3G is actually available. Its worth 'forcing the issue' with your device. In the Mifi/Phone settings simply choose '3G only' or '4G only'. Just remember to change it back when you move!

 

Nigel

 

 

[aandncaravan]

Yes you are of course correct about the megabits. Being in North Wales, I guess I am lucky it's not the Kbps often spoken of!!

 

 

Just ran a Ookla Speedtest to compare the 2 and my Moto G (3G only) is currently running 10.92 mbps download/2.18mbps upload speed with the EE 4Gee mini (displaying it's on 4G which never seems to alter at home) running at 14.6/2.85mbps. See :

http://www.speedtest.net/result/5882891613.png

 

But the Laptop is an ancient one, so the figures might change if a decent one was used?

 

 

One of the reasons I opted to use my mobile phone to access the Internet, apart from it being free, was the poor BT Copper Land line into the old workshop which rarely ran at more than 0.8m download.

 

Performance on the BT line at home was better, but still nothing like I expected.

 

Now binned the Land Line at home saving quite a bit each month with faster access to the Internet.

 

 

 

[bolero boy]

i believe that Three does not allow data tethering abroad, even in their 'feel at home' countries....

mins/texts fine, but not data tethering....just on the device it was originally bought for.

however Vodafone Red deals now allow tethering abroad upto specific limits.

[Robinhood]

...people's requirements and practice vary tremendously, and the technology is always moving.

 

I considered buying a USB antenna and mini router, but decided the money was better invested in a 4G mifi, and I haven't regretted that decision.

 

However, since a USB antenna isn't over-expensive (the router generally being of greater cost), I'm mulling over buying simply that.

 

I invariably carry a laptop with me (to which a boosted USB antenna would be easy to attach). It has always been possible (via Netsh commands) to enable a wireless hotspot on many laptops, but using the commands has been a bit of a pain. Since the anniversary update to Widows 10, however, the capability has been quietly added to the settings page: "Settings->Network and Wireless->Mobile Hotspot", and (subject to the particular laptop supporting it) you can now easily set up a hotspot, and easily connect a boosted aerial.

 

Much like using a phone as a hotspot, but with the easier option of significantly boosting the wifi connection.

 

As not all Win10 devices support this, it is best to test before relying on it - mine works fine.

[Barryd999]

The only thing I would add regarding tethering and using your mobile phone as a hot spot is firstly as mentioned make sure your contract allows it but more importantly watch your usage especially abroad where your data limits may be much less than for the UK or as with 3 tethering is now allowed.

 

As soon as you start using a laptop it will eat data compared to your smart phone which is what the data allowance is intended for. Dont go watching too much youtube or other streaming services such as iPlayer, Putlocker etc. Also its worth considering turning off updates or even anti virus updates temporarily if on a metered connection.

 

For me Internet access in the van is vital but ive always got away with using just a wifi antenna a bit of perseverance. The iBoost really for me is the best way to go. If desperate I Can always tether my iPhone with Vodafone but I only have 2.5gb of data per month. Here at home I can easily do 10GB in a day no problem.

[aandncaravan]

Barry, may I suggest you look at the value of a possible switch to THREE's £18 a month mobile phone Advanced plan with 30Gb of data (all 30gb available to 'wifi Hotspot'), unlimited texts and 600 minutes a month?

 

See : http://www.three.co.uk/store/SIM/Plans_for_phones

 

 

If you use a lot of data on the move, like you seem to, it's a bargain.

 

 

[veletron]

bolero boy - 2016-12-16 8:34 AM

 

i believe that Three does not allow data tethering abroad, even in their 'feel at home' countries....

mins/texts fine, but not data tethering....just on the device it was originally bought for.

however Vodafone Red deals now allow tethering abroad upto specific limits.

 

They certainly don't, when using a standard phone sim card, but if you have a data-only 'mobile broadband' sim card designed for a MiFi then this works fine in the MiFi abroad in a feel-at-home country. I removed it from the MiFi to stick in a phone and cart up a hill to a mountain hut, it worked fine in the phone, but a friend tried to tether his phone to mine, and the three 'tethering not supported' message appeared.

 

It may be that a bog standard three voice+data phone sim also works for sharing if you stick it in a MiFi rather than trying to tether using the phone.

 

Nigel

[aandncaravan]

Anyone thinking of making more use of their phone to access the Internet, either directly or WiFi via a Computer, might be interested in the 'Reprint' below of PC Adviser's 2016 assessment of the Mobile phone providers and their places?

 

Three get more top 3 places than any other provider, including second place in the 'Best Coverage' category. They also get a '2nd' in 'Best for Data'.

EE seem to have upped their game as well?

Note that while Three are rated 2nd for coverage at 98% of UK, just behind O2 at 99%, I think it currently has fewer 4G masts, than some of the others, hence it's slower network speeds?.

 

The review was published 1 December 2016, so pretty recent?

 

 

Best Mobile Network of the Year 2016

1. giffgaff

2. Tesco Mobile

3. Three

 

 

Best Pay Monthly Network 2016

1. Three

2. Tesco Mobile

3. O2

 

 

Best PAYG Network 2016

1. Tesco Mobile

2. O2

3. Vodafone

 

 

Best SIM-only Network 2016

1. giffgaff

2. Tesco Mobile

3. Three

 

 

Best for Roaming 2016

1. Three

2. O2

3. giffgaff

 

 

Best Customer Experience 2016

1. Virgin Media

2. O2

3. Amazon

 

 

Best for Data 2016

1. giffgaff

2. Three

3. O2

 

 

Best Network Coverage 2016

1. O2

2. Three

3. EE

 

 

Network Customer Service 2016

1. giffgaff

2. O2

3. Three

 

 

Best Value Pay Monthly 2016

1. Tesco Mobile

2. Three

3. Virgin Media

 

 

Best Value SIM Only 2016

1. giffgaff

2. Tesco Mobile

3. Virgin Media (Also see our Best SIM-only deals 2016 article.)

 

 

Fastest Mobile Network powered by RootMetrics 2016

1. EE

2. Vodafone

3. O2

 

 

 

 

[veletron]

As ever, there is alot of interpretation to do with these results. Voda and O2 might have the best overall coverage, but they have huge area's covered only by a 2G network which is useless for internet connectivity.

 

The same study considering only 3G/4G would stick Voda/O2 and the MVNO's using them at the bottom while EE and Three (and their respective MVNO's) would be at the top.

 

Depends whats important to you - calls or data.

 

Nigel