Mobile Hotspot for internet streaming

[Rzorbcksfan]

Are any of you using a portable, pay as you go, hotspot in order to stream internet while camping. There are a lot of companies out there, and I am looking for something reliable, and at the same time affordable.

[Markb5900]

I use my phone. For two lines, 100gig of hotspot data, unlimited talk, text and phone data is about 100 a month.

[Rzorbcksfan]

We have used our phones also, but we only get 5 gigs each per month on our plan. We are paying around $90 per month. Who are you with?

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Markb5900

I use my phone. For two lines, 100gig of hotspot data, unlimited talk, text and phone data is about 100 a month.

That works until it doesn't, like boondocking and it depends upon what you consider "affordable". There are a number of threads on this topic especially since most RV campground wifi is junk. My Verizon plan is as"unlimited" as any plan out there but if you cannot hit a tower it is worthless and the unlimited pertains to the phone. When you tether you are then limited to 10 gig by most plans and that can be used up pretty fast.



There is also a thread on Starlink, and some of the others available.

[Markb5900]

Originally Posted by Rzorbcksfan

We have used our phones also, but we only get 5 gigs each per month on our plan. We are paying around $90 per month. Who are you with?

We are with ATT.
It takes several hours of streaming to use up the 100gig of hotspot data. It is 50gig per line.

[RogerR]

I have T mobile 55plus magenta that gives me 5 gigs hotspot on 2 phones plus AAA and Netflix for $70, tax included. When we travel I upgrade to Magenta plus for $90 total and get 40 gigs hotspot.

I can switch back and forth and they prorate the month so I don't have to spend the $20 extra all the time.

get a referral from a TMO customer and they get a reward and I think you may get a discount. Tmo also has portable 5 G home hotspots that you are not supposed to travel with but i have heard there is no enforcement of that rule currently

[Woodworker]

I have Verizon and use the Mi-Fi. Works pretty good and a lot easier and quicker set up than that satellite dish company

[Stavman]

Just depends on what's important to you

I boondock, half the time cell service sucks, and can't stream

So I use two things. A Mikrotic cell/booster router. If that won't get service, I set up Starlink which only takes maybe 5 min

I travel a lot in my RV so internet is very important to me... Dishy mcflatface works amazing

[Parrott]

T Mobile home internet here. $30 a month with phone plan. Magenta 55+. We take it everywhere from NC to Key West. Works great. Also been getting YouTube TV for half price plus AAA for free along with Paramount +.

[JimD]

I have had the AT&T GoPhone for many years and use its hotspot while camping. Works like a champ!

I have the minimum plan at $50/month for 2 lines. That gives me less than 10 gig a month at full speed but that is adequate for my camping needs. I don't stream anything, just use the internet to keep tabs on the news and search for crap I don't really need.

[RDTC]

Using an Amazon Fire Stick. You can manage the data usage rate. There is a low, medium, and high setting. The screen resolution drops with the lower rates. At medium it is okay. Low picture quality is poor.

Helpful if you are trying to extend your streaming time, managing a lower data plan, or have a poor signal.

[Jarnae]

T-mobile 5G home internet, it's by far the best option out there. You have to enter your home address to see if you qualify for it.. if your address doesn't work try your parents or any address where you can send the first bill to. After you get the service you can update your billing address to your own.

It's no contract, 50 bucks a month unlimited 5G. You just go into T-mobile store and pickup the hardware.. it's free, you just sign up for 50 a month a month and you are off and running.

[KCSA75]

Originally Posted by Parrott

T Mobile home internet here. $30 a month with phone plan. Magenta 55+. We take it everywhere from NC to Key West. Works great. Also been getting YouTube TV for half price plus AAA for free along with Paramount +.

How is T-Mobile home internet working out for you? I've considered it but concerned about bandwidth and reliability. I work from home and need a dependable service.

[Nevr2late]

Originally Posted by Jarnae

T-mobile 5G home internet, it's by far the best option out there. You have to enter your home address to see if you qualify for it.. if your address doesn't work try your parents or any address where you can send the first bill to. After you get the service you can update your billing address to your own.

It's no contract, 50 bucks a month unlimited 5G. You just go into T-mobile store and pickup the hardware.. it's free, you just sign up for 50 a month a month and you are off and running.

Is it unlimited even when using the phone as a hot spot to stream video?

[Parrott]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

How is T-Mobile home internet working out for you? I've considered it but concerned about bandwidth and reliability. I work from home and need a dependable service.

At home or on the road. No issues at all. I did keep my Spectrum for a month to make sure.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Nevr2late

Is it unlimited even when using the phone as a hot spot to stream video?

Most are “Unlimited” for everything over the phone but when you tether all bets are off and most like mine limit to 10 gigs or less. Tethering to the TV Wi-Fi is perhaps about 5-7 movies and you have used up the months worth and big charges start. I have a very generous business plan that runs about $50 per phone but even that has its limits.

I called Verizon to verify my suspicions and they confirms that.

[SouthCo]

My Verizon Unlimited plan offers 15GB of hotspot per line per month (we have 5 lines). After you use that up you still have data via the hotspot but they can throttle you to a lower speed. It doesn’t just stop working.

They have plans with higher GBs but we don’t use what we have…

[RogerR]

I tried T-MO at my Illinois summer home, very poor reception with promises of towers to come and better coverage. Like all of them the coverage map is very iffy! But in Florida and some campgrounds in Colorado and Utah near towns it was fine. I think this is typical for all of them.

If you put in an address they will tell you if good reception with more reliabiltiy than the map. My Florida home gives me 128 down which blows away the Xfinity cable at 12 to 15.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by SouthCo

My Verizon Unlimited plan offers 15GB of hotspot per line per month (we have 5 lines). After you use that up you still have data via the hotspot but they can throttle you to a lower speed. It doesn’t just stop working.

They have plans with higher GBs but we don’t use what we have…

Once you hit the throttling, your speed drops to 6-10mbs on average. You get to watch the TV screen buffer, or your morning paper does not load on the Ipad that does not have cell data, without buffering for two or three minutes. We found, watching a few shows on Netflix, or a movie a couple of times a week and you are out of hotspot data a week or more before the month is out. Then it gets ugly trying to do normal stuff. I have 6 lines, including the Ipad on the account and that is why I now have Starlink.



And those without unlimited teather data, even though it may throttle you for a bit, will eventually pay bucks for running over the limit. I don't have that problem but will tell you throttling can be annoying.

[SouthCo]

We don’t live in our camper so streaming a lot of movies isn’t what we do. We always stay in campgrounds with cable for tv and use our phones for data but not to stream television/movies. OP will have to tell us about their usage to get better recommendations.