Winegard Connect 4GI (4G LTE plus WiFi Extender)

[Bill M]

I know "unlimited" is a marketing term but I want as much data as we can get. I was really hoping to not change plans. My goal was to add a MiFi jetpack to the existing plan so I could tether it to the Spruce router to verify it works. So I was excited to be told we could do it without changing plans. That plan is only on my wife's I-phone as I use a company phone (Samsung also on Verizon). I ordered the Spruce router already and will tether it to our phones when it gets here: a good way to verify we can access the internet via the router and a cellular connection. If that is successful I may reconsider the additional jetpack line for my wife's plan or see if I can get one through work (and probably should have an ATT plan too!).

You may have gathered we're not on the road yet. We plan to be as of the first of the year. I'm trying to learn what I can now and have a working (and upgradeable) system in place by then.

Thanks

[ncitro]

I know "unlimited" is a marketing term but I want as much data as we can get. I was really hoping to not change plans. My goal was to add a MiFi jetpack to the existing plan so I could tether it to the Spruce router to verify it works. So I was excited to be told we could do it without changing plans. That plan is only on my wife's I-phone as I use a company phone (Samsung also on Verizon). I ordered the Spruce router already and will tether it to our phones when it gets here: a good way to verify we can access the internet via the router and a cellular connection. If that is successful I may reconsider the additional jetpack line for my wife's plan or see if I can get one through work (and probably should have an ATT plan too!).

You may have gathered we're not on the road yet. We plan to be as of the first of the year. I'm trying to learn what I can now and have a working (and upgradeable) system in place by then.

Thanks

No problem, it is definitely a good idea to start figuring it out ahead of time. My system has gone through at least two major revisions and changes that I can think of since I started putting it together.

I do not have any experience with the spruce, so no help there. I can tell you the most improvement I have seen is when I put a antenna on the roof. Prior to that I was using a LTE booster, and it helped but then you lose MIMO and take a big speed hit. Getting my antennas moved from the device up to the roof was a huge improvement. Unfortunately there is no way to connect external antennas to your phone, so an advantage to the MiFi is you can connect external antennas. I used to do this until I switched to a cellular embedded router, now my SIM is directly right in the router.

[Bill M]

Thank you for the help (and the others too). I suspect we will eventually have something up in the air either on the roof or a pole but as I am not a techy by trade I'm starting with the basic building blocks and learning as we go. I figure if I can put two pieces together (a jetpack and a router) and they work fairly well I can expand/modify/upgrade from there. I want to avoid buying a complete package now only to find out it's not right for us. We're both still working full time so need to stay connected (streaming and gaming is not required).

[ncitro]

Thank you for the help (and the others too). I suspect we will eventually have something up in the air either on the roof or a pole but as I am not a techy by trade I'm starting with the basic building blocks and learning as we go. I figure if I can put two pieces together (a jetpack and a router) and they work fairly well I can expand/modify/upgrade from there. I want to avoid buying a complete package now only to find out it's not right for us. We're both still working full time so need to stay connected (streaming and gaming is not required).

Yeah that is exactly where we are, not full time, but spend a lot of time out (2-3 months at a time), and both still work so need access. If you want something simple I have heard good things about this little directional antenna. It plugs into the jetpack, and you stick it in the window and point it in the direction of the tower. Supposed to give a pretty good boost.

https://www.amazon.com/Netgear-60004.../dp/B00DN3J03O

[Guest]

Neil,

My AT&T was miserable at both Michigan and Ohio places. However, the service was decent at most every campground so you may be on to something.

Jim

[ncitro]

Neil,

My AT&T was miserable at both Michigan and Ohio places. However, the service was decent at most every campground so you may be on to something.

Jim

Yeah I was genuinely surprised. The last four years I’ve just run the VZW plan, and it’s been great. I decided to upgrade my system last year and run two carriers just to have more options. We were three weeks in southern Illinois, Atlanta and the smokies and on at least three occasions AT&T solidly outperformed. Best advice I can give people is have multiple options.