Getting started with Internet in the motorhome

[GAVLAD]

LAN / WAN / Chinese-Winky, Nano, Loco, FON

What the 'ell are you all on about?

It all sounds like Telly-tubbies to me.

I've been recently following a post about Internet connection/wifi strength in the motorhome and I'm sorry to say, I've got lost with it all.

Like most who want an Internet connection whilst away (whether to catch up on the news, plan a route, book a site or even to keep the other half happy with surfing the latest high street sales) but who currently only has their iPhone or iPad's mobile phone wifi tariff & signal to rely on, choosing the next stage/option is obviously a minefield - especially when you don't know all of the techno jargon that can be discussed on here.

Please can someone 'in the know' provide an overview of the different options along with the pros & cons for what type of usage would best suit what type of gadget?
There's been mention of boosters, mifi, a gadget costing £40 but no link to look at what this gadget does - all to the uneducated means nothing.
I'm sure that such a guide would benefit the uninitiated as well as the growing numbers of newbies - information provided by first hand knowledge and experience rather than speak to so-and-so at X company.

I was going to post this suggestion on the current thread that I have been following, but didn't want to be seen as hijacking it, plus I thought it should be independent of any company product name in the post title.

Hopefully, we'll have a really useful beginners guide.

 

[Speve]

We use an iPad wifi cellular with data card you can get all your email and surf the net with it have been using it four years now no problem just make sure if you are intending going to Europe you get a good card we use mobi data as rate stays the same.

 

[DBK]

I suggest having a read on this website first: http://www.motorhomewifi.com/home/
Depending where you want to go a MiFi might be the answer. This is like a mobile phone, having a sim card, which connects to a mobile operator, such as Three, and then generates a local Wi-fi signal which your devices can connect to.

But there are many options and speaking to the folk in the link should help clarify things and should you buy from them you get excellent after sales service in my experience.

 

[Encantador]

In very basic terms.............

For basic browsing as described, a 'Three' sim card in the ipad is the best option for a lot of countries, but not all. Three are selling a data only sim card for ipad etc for £56 at the moment which is normally over £70. This gives you 12 months of use or 12Gb of data whichever comes first. How long 12Gb of data lasts is anyones guess.

The boosters mentioned are basically a ariel to help pick up the camp site wifi better.

The mifi is a device you put your sim card in (instead of in the ipad) and it creates a small wifi network, so you can then connect your ipad, phone, laptop to it, ideal if you want a number of devices to be able to connect to the internet at the same time.

A mixture of campsite wifi and 3g sim card in phone/ipad/mifi does for most people. There is always Mc Donalds which apparently has free wifi at a push.

Whatever you do, there will always be times/places where nothing works.

 

[9526]

It really is a lot more straight forward than you are thinking Gavlad. In the simplest terms though............

You can get data to your computer/pad/phone in 2 ways

Method 1 - Through the mobile phone system - you may see 3G or 4G mentioned (different data speeds)

To do this you need either a phone/pad containing a SIM card or a mifi containing a SIM card. Obviously a phone and data package is the simplest way.

A Mifi works by connecting to the mobile network (like your phone) and allowing you to log your computer or pad onto its "network"

You will then need a data package (contract or pay as you go) for your phone or mifi.

Method 2 - wifi, this is when you connect your pad or computer to a "network" At for instance a campsite or mc Donald's.

If you are close to the signal you will be able to log your computer or pad directly onto the network (just as you may do at home with a password)

If you are further away you may need a "booster" which magnifies the signal.

The fon network is a wifi network (shared with bt) you simply log on with a password.

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