Motorhome wifi

[antprice1970]

Hi, can anyone tell me the best equipment for getting better wifi in my motorhome. It's something I'm not too well clued up on and don't want to break the bank?
Thanks in advance

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Have a Netgear M2, have been on numerous trips all over Europe for the last 2+ years and have had a good signal every time.
Stream a lot of Netflix in 4K with no problems.
Have not even bothered about an external antenna as it’s that good and the plus side is I can take it out and about with me to other places/vehicles .

 

[stewartwebr]

We have Skylink installed in the motorhome and have found it excellent. We have wifi all over Europe without exception. I mounted the antenna flat on the roof of the motorhome and converted it to 12volt DC operation. If you use wifi a lot and want guaranteed service without relying on mobile phone network availability this is the answer. When I installed it I looked at the cost of the 5G wifi devices which some people have posted on here and in reality add that to your monthly data contract it is not that much more. The price of the hardware was 350GBP but is now 450GBP and the monthly cost for the "Roam" package for unlimited satellite Wi-Fi anywhere on the continent you select is 85GBP a month. The roam package can be enabled and disabled monthly depending on your use. So, if you return from a trip and not going to be using the van you can select to freeze the service until you need it again.

Starlink | Roam

Stay connected on the go, starting at $50/mo.

www.starlink.com

 

[VXman]

I use a 6 year old Samsung phone (cost me £30). Switch the hot spot on and hey presto I have a wifi router.

It works for streaming TV 95% of the time. Occasionally I have popped it out of the skylight for better signal. Another advantage is it is mobile - I can take it out to the beach with us.

 

[roger ball]

Fitted a camp pro 2+ system today, with the stainless steel fitting kit so you can fold the antenna down horizontally to the roof.

Alfa camp pro 2+

Have gone from 40 / 50% signal with the old system to 78% on the same campsite with new system.

That said my old system which I've left Insitu as a back up has been pretty good in rural Wales and it was no more than an eBay recon router (Huawei 525) and four cheap external antennas from AliExpress on each corner of the roof.

When my old Huawei system had no signal, I would place my mobile phone face side up wedged between the hatch handles and glass. I found that worked quite well especially in the wilds but the phone would heat up something terrible.

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[Howard B]

Ditto
Bought 'renewed' off Amazon looks brand new.

Another explorevan YouTube video explains why external antennas might not improve connectivity [basically 2 external vs 4 internal]

If you are going to connect the Huawei to external antennas - don't forget to change the router settings
This same video also details how, using a provided java script, you can see & choose the best channels manually rather than letting the router choose them.



I've only had a brief use at Abingdon THS - and it seemed to give me up to 4x speed compared to the ZTE MF910 mifi unit I was previously using.

Dont have any options in the app to change antenna settings that I can see.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Dont have any options in the app to change antenna settings that I can see.

https://www.three.ie/device-support...ic/settings/how-to-connect-external-antenna/1

 

[Howard B]

https://www.three.ie/device-support...ic/settings/how-to-connect-external-antenna/1

Strange, mine doesnt show System in the advanced settings.

 

[AJ1982]

I can vouch for the
Netgear Nighthawk M1, I got mine for £120 from CEX last year but I believe they charge more today but they do come with a 2 year warranty when bought from them.

 

[Manic]

Dont have any options in the app to change antenna settings that I can see.

I use this web page and if you go advanced and the router you should see antenna settings, can’t do screen shot at the moment because it won’t let me log in

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[Howard B]

I use this web page and if you go advanced and the router you should see antenna settings, can’t do screen shot at the moment because it won’t let me log in

Thanks. Tried the IP address 192.168.8.1. Got a message that this site cant be reached.

 

[starquake]

Howard B look at what IP address you get given in your wifi connection status on your phone or computer, it'll likely be 192.168.THIRDDIGIT.1 or .254 -> it's probably 192.168.1.1 as this is often default on most routers.

ie, same thirddigit as your phone or computer gets on the wifi then change that to .1 or .254 in a browser.

 

[Manic]

Thanks. Tried the IP address 192.168.8.1. Got a message that this site cant be reached.

On my Apple devices I get a warning but let’s you go to the w webpage if you want, I think it’s going back to when America thought Huawei was stealing data, but it works ok for me when it lets me log in, the Huawei Ai won’t let me log in either.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

When my Teltonica RUT850 packed up, I purchased a Kuma connect lite, which I have stuck to the wardrobe roof like a giant spider so far at home and abroad it has been really good and it's never failed to connect which is much better then the Teltonica unit it replaced.
https://kuma-products.com/products/4g-router-wifi-booster-kit

 

[Mleabon]

Honestly this is not great advice based on sites we visit. The difference is "working" versus no signal.
Friend has same ZTE router (very close) that came with our motorhomewifi. Parked next to us, us getting 20Mbit, them, 2 or nil when we tested. In end we gave them OUR vans login as they were complaining!

But it depends on which sites you visit. Middle of town sites, St Neots UK, say Gt Yarmouth (both CAMC), ie places where your phone gets 4 or 5 bar, you'll get similar performance completely agree. Cromer sites and when we went to the forest of dean site Bracelands ... you just won't get a (usable) signal without a roof antenna, ie, places where your phone has 0 signal or 1 bar. Those sites, our phones speedtest at 0.25M the motorhome wifi at 10-15M

Given for us, the flexibilkity of on-demand TV to be able to not watch things in real time -> it makes a big difference.

Totally agree. There's no way using a phone hotspot in a tin box will be as good as having an antenna on the roof.

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[Howard B]

Howard B look at what IP address you get given in your wifi connection status on your phone or computer, it'll likely be 192.168.THIRDDIGIT.1 or .254 -> it's probably 192.168.1.1 as this is often default on most routers.

ie, same thirddigit as your phone or computer gets on the wifi then change that to .1 or .254 in a browser.

Same message "site cant be reached"

 

[Manic]

Final got web page to open, it was my fault putting wrong password in
This is where I change antenna settings

 

[Howard B]

Final got web page to open, it was my fault putting wrong password in
This is where I change antenna settings
View attachment 822384

I cant access 192.168.8.1 on my PC. If I type it on my Iphone I get directed to teh Huawei AI download which I already have. There are no options for external antenna on the Huawei App on my iphone.