jo79RI Posted February 20, 2020 Posted February 20, 2020 For options, are the cell phone booster and wifi booster both needed? What about the television antenna? How does a wifi hotspot fit into the equation? Does one need an unlimited data plan for cell phones?
Moderators Mike and Carol Posted February 20, 2020 Moderators Posted February 20, 2020 We use our cell booster. It’s good for an extra bar or two when we’re not near a tower. We didn’t get the WiFi booster, Campground WiFi is usually saturated and we tend to camp where there isn’t wifi. We do have unlimited data plans on our phones and use them as wifi hotspots. The TV antenna is nice to have and we do use it occasionally. I installed a SiriusXM receiver in the trailer so we usually listen to our news and sports without the TV. Mike 1 2 Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L
ozarkhikers Posted February 20, 2020 Posted February 20, 2020 I believe that it was David who posted awhile back about running your cell hotspot through the wifiranger. We do that and have found that it increases signal quality and speed. The wifiranger also has a free VPN that you can toggle on or off through the menu. Great for doing our online billpay while we are on the road. 1
Galway Girl Posted February 20, 2020 Posted February 20, 2020 Answers to your questions depend on you use case for mobile data: Some considerations and a quick table I made to show the differences... A key resource for all of us who are going to be mobile, and want to use internet on the road. This site was started by some previous Oliver owners...who were living the life of mobile technical writers. Since then, they've grown their YouTube and Blog on Mobile Internet into their main line of business. They do reviews of various types of BOOSTERS for CELL and WIFI and discuss the differences and why each is needed. They also describe many different use cases for RV's. From full time to part time, mobile workers to occasional travelers. They review and track the various data plans by Carrier, AT&T, Verizon etc...and tell which is the best value, has best coverage. Link below: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ C Short Hull 505 -Galway Girl 5 2 2019 Elite II (Hull 505 - Galway Girl - August 7, 2019 Delivery) Tow Vehicle: 2021 F350 King Ranch, FX4, MaxTow Package, 10 Speed, 3.55 Rear Axle Batteries Upgrade: Dual 315GTX Lithionics Lithiums - 630AH Total Inverter/Charger: Xantrex 2000Pro Travel BLOG: https://4-ever-hitched.com
jo79RI Posted February 22, 2020 Author Posted February 22, 2020 On 2/20/2020 at 10:03 AM, ozarkhikers said: I believe that it was David who posted awhile back about running your cell hotspot through the wifiranger. We do that and have found that it increases signal quality and speed. The wifiranger also has a free VPN that you can toggle on or off through the menu. Great for doing our online billpay while we are on the road. What is the WiFi ranger?
DavidS Posted February 22, 2020 Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, jo79RI said: What is the WiFi ranger? If you google search for WiFi Ranger, the first hit will be the website (https://wifiranger.com) for the company that makes them. A lot of info there. The google search page also lists reviews about the product. This is copied from my earlier post on Tethering a Hotspot to WiFi Ranger : "The WiFi Ranger has two inter-connected routers, the Sky router on the roof and the Go2 in the cabinet above the dinette, and it provides a number of useful features. First, it creates your own local network, which is especially useful if you have multiple devices. Logging in to your network is easy, as your devices can remember the password to your local network. Second, the rooftop antenna can boost the WiFi signal from a campground, a Starbucks, or a truck stop, from as much as a mile away (see post by RVGeeks). If your device (phone, tablet or laptop) is connected to the WiFi Ranger, you would have a much stronger signal and faster speeds than if you connected your device directly to the WiFi source. Third, the Sky router on the roof allows you to access your WiFi signal outside the trailer, as much as 1000 feet away. This allows you to surf the web at the picnic table or by the river. When inside the trailer you should connect to the interior Go2 router." Edited February 22, 2020 by DavidS 3 David Stillman, Salt Lake City, Utah 2016 Oliver Elite II Hull 164 | 2017 Audi Q7 tow vehicle. Travel and Photography Blog: http://davidstravels.net
jo79RI Posted February 22, 2020 Author Posted February 22, 2020 48 minutes ago, DavidS said: If you google search for WiFi Ranger, the first hit will be the website (https://wifiranger.com) for the company that makes them. A lot of info there. The google search page also lists reviews about the product. This is copied from my earlier post on Tethering a Hotspot to WiFi Ranger : "The WiFi Ranger has two inter-connected routers, the Sky router on the roof and the Go2 in the cabinet above the dinette, and it provides a number of useful features. First, it creates your own local network, which is especially useful if you have multiple devices. Logging in to your network is easy, as your devices can remember the password to your local network. Second, the rooftop antenna can boost the WiFi signal from a campground, a Starbucks, or a truck stop, from as much as a mile away (see post by RVGeeks). If your device (phone, tablet or laptop) is connected to the WiFi Ranger, you would have a much stronger signal and faster speeds than if you connected your device directly to the WiFi source. Third, the Sky router on the roof allows you to access your WiFi signal outside the trailer, as much as 1000 feet away. This allows you to surf the web at the picnic table or by the river. When inside the trailer you should connect to the interior Go2 router." The wifi booster you can get from Oliver works also?
Overland Posted February 22, 2020 Posted February 22, 2020 21 minutes ago, jo79RI said: The wifi booster you can get from Oliver works also? Oliver's booster is the WiFi Ranger. 1
DavidS Posted February 22, 2020 Posted February 22, 2020 19 minutes ago, jo79RI said: The wifi booster you can get from Oliver works also? The model that Oliver sells and installs is a WiFi Ranger. I just looked at the Oliver optional upgrades web page, and it is the same model, but they now describe it on their web page as "WiFi Booster." When I bought my trailer their web page called it "WiFi Ranger," which is the brand name. 1 1 David Stillman, Salt Lake City, Utah 2016 Oliver Elite II Hull 164 | 2017 Audi Q7 tow vehicle. Travel and Photography Blog: http://davidstravels.net
Overland Posted February 22, 2020 Posted February 22, 2020 FYI, if you're looking for the brand or model of something that Oliver uses, a good place to look is Oliver University. The Features Guides for each year contain manuals for all the various components. 1
GarryandKristi Posted March 8, 2020 Posted March 8, 2020 On 2/20/2020 at 10:03 AM, ozarkhikers said: I believe that it was David who posted awhile back about running your cell hotspot through the wifiranger. We do that and have found that it increases signal quality and speed. The wifiranger also has a free VPN that you can toggle on or off through the menu. Great for doing our online billpay while we are on the road. I have found that while it increases the signal strength, it does not increase the speed while using a phone as a hotspot. I tested all configurations with a Roku streaming stick and found that direct to the roku rather than via the wi-if ranger was faster (either wireless or direct connection from phone to hdmi adapter. I use the cellular booster. If you think about it, going through the WiFi ranger is just sending the data through another router, so could not speed things up. Garry and Kristi Apex, NC 2018 Oliver Elite II Hull 372 TV 2015 Ram 1500 3.0 L EcoDiesel
WhatDa Posted March 11, 2020 Posted March 11, 2020 (edited) We went with the WiFi Ranger and cell booster. I think I turned the cell booster on once. We use the WiFi ranger with the LTE upgrade module installed. So basically we have a roof-mounted LTE hotspot. It's able to get signal when phone inside have limited or even no data. We run the Millenicom $70/mo plan and we stream all our TV shows over that or campground wifi -- usually the Millenicom plan is faster than campground WiFi. I also work from the road over the connection and it's pretty solid for that. Edited March 12, 2020 by WhatDa 1 Between Olivers…
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