Question Wireless access point RV

[bhollehday]

I have multiple devices on Wi-Fi in my RV. I’d like to connect all my devices to an access point and then somehow connect my mobile hotspot to the access point or connected to the local Wi-Fi so I only have to update the wifi info once.

I bought this tp link extender which also has access point mode.

https://a.co/d/0tkEPYt

Is there a better way of doing this?

 

[kanewolf]

I have multiple devices on Wi-Fi in my RV. I’d like to connect all my devices to an access point and then somehow connect my mobile hotspot to the access point or connected to the local Wi-Fi so I only have to update the wifi info once.

I bought this tp link extender which also has access point mode.

https://a.co/d/0tkEPYt

Is there a better way of doing this?

The best implementation is to get a "travel router". A phone hotspot often has a limited number of devices you can connect. I see good things written about TL-WR902AC travel router. I don't have one, so I can't speak from personal experience.

 

[gggplaya]

When I travel on business, I use a GLI.net Beryl router. I only have to log into the hotel web portal with 1 device, then all my devices work great for 1-2 days until the portal timeout resets and I have to log in again.

For some trickier places, I can also log in with my laptop and clone the mac address to my Beryl router, so then the wifi network thinks my router is my laptop. This is only for places with more sophisticated network security.

GLI.net also has the Spitz router which is actually designed for RV's. Can be used as a cellular router with it's own sim card and external antenna which can be extended up to the roof if you want, or a repeater for your phone's hotspot, or connect to campground wifi.

 

[bhollehday]

When I travel on business, I use a GLI.net Beryl router. I only have to log into the hotel web portal with 1 device, then all my devices work great for 1-2 days until the portal timeout resets and I have to log in again.

For some trickier places, I can also log in with my laptop and clone the mac address to my Beryl router, so then the wifi network thinks my router is my laptop. This is only for places with more sophisticated network security.

GLI.net also has the Spitz router which is actually designed for RV's. Can be used as a cellular router with it's own sim card and external antenna which can be extended up to the roof if you want, or a repeater for your phone's hotspot, or connect to campground wifi.

I like the idea of having all options. I would mainly use my phones hotspot (hopefully wirelessly), then campground wifi. Would like to have the option to purchase a data plan though. Sounds like this router is the best bet.

TL-WR902AC
Spitz router
GLI.net Beryl router

I think the musts for me:
connect to phones hotspot wirelessly
remote external antenna for campground wifi
available SIM data plan

Sounds like Spitz is the winner. Trying to understand IoT better and what the data plans cost.

 

[gggplaya]

The Spitz and the Beryl run on the same software, by the same company. But the Spitz has several variants which range widly in price due to the price of the cellular modem.

The 5G wifi 6 version is $399.
The 4G wifi 6 version is $329.
The 4G Wifi 5 version is $129.

The Spitz also uses a standard barrel connector DC5521 and is compatible with 12v systems up to 24v. So you can buy a DC5521 pigtail and wire it to a switch on your RV switch panel if you want for a clean install. You can run it on house batteries for a long time. Also comes with a wall mount.

The Beryl uses a USB-C 3amp connector. USB C is very standard but 3A might be a little challenging to find. But there are plenty of 12v to USB-C adapters on amazon. Also ones that plug into the cigarette port.

I owned the TL-WR902AC, it was my first travel router like 10 years ago. It didn't work well at some hotels and I couldn't log in properly. I ditched it as soon as the Beryl came out. GLI.Net's software is significantly better, it's travel router perfected and based on OpenWRT. It works much better than TPlink's software which is adapted from their home routers and not as capable with edge cases with hotels.

If price is a factor, GLInet has the Opal router which is Wifi 5 with a less powerful processor, but uses the same software as all their other routers. Having a less powerful processor means it'll be slower when using the built in VPN features. But for $30, what do you expect. As a simple travel router, it works great if you use the VPN software on your computer or tablet instead.

 

[bhollehday]

The Spitz and the Beryl run on the same software, by the same company. But the Spitz has several variants which range widly in price due to the price of the cellular modem.

The 5G wifi 6 version is $399.
The 4G wifi 6 version is $329.
The 4G Wifi 5 version is $129.

The Spitz also uses a standard barrel connector DC5521 and is compatible with 12v systems up to 24v. So you can buy a DC5521 pigtail and wire it to a switch on your RV switch panel if you want for a clean install. You can run it on house batteries for a long time. Also comes with a wall mount.

The Beryl uses a USB-C 3amp connector. USB C is very standard but 3A might be a little challenging to find. But there are plenty of 12v to USB-C adapters on amazon. Also ones that plug into the cigarette port.

I owned the TL-WR902AC, it was my first travel router like 10 years ago. It didn't work well at some hotels and I couldn't log in properly. I ditched it as soon as the Beryl came out. GLI.Net's software is significantly better, it's travel router perfected and based on OpenWRT. It works much better than TPlink's software which is adapted from their home routers and not as capable with edge cases with hotels.

If price is a factor, GLInet has the Opal router which is Wifi 5 with a less powerful processor, but uses the same software as all their other routers. Having a less powerful processor means it'll be slower when using the built in VPN features. But for $30, what do you expect. As a simple travel router, it works great if you use the VPN software on your computer or tablet instead.

Id like to have the option for using a data plan. Are there any good pay as you go plans or is everything monthly?

 

[bill001g]

Depends on what you mean "monthly". First you are looking for a data plan for a device like a tablet or hotspot these tend to be more expensive than data plans for phones.

There might still be plans that you pay per gbyte. These were extremely expensive last time I saw them.

What is more common now days are plans that have a certain Gbyte of data and you have 30 days to use it. If you exceed the amount of data you paid for you on some plans can pay to add more. A lot of these plans like to pretend the data is unlimited for the 30 days. In the fine print though what is unlimited is some extremely slow data plan like 200kbps that you can use for the full 30 days. The faster data plan stops when you hit the cap you purchased.

mobile broadband is still a massive mess of reading fine print. What you are looking for is what is called "prepaid" data plans. These tend to auto cancel and you are not committed for say a year or more. Be careful some have hidden one time activation fees.

A addition issue is getting data plans that work with your device. Used to be you needed to buy a router designed to say run on verizon and a different one for att. Now days that is less a issue but you still need to check. The new thing you find is the carrier does not want to activate the sim on your device. There are some plans that only work with certain hardware. This tends to be more common when you buy from brands you say find in a convenience store or even walmart. This does not seem to be any technical limit there must be something else going on. For some reason they only support a small list of say tablets.