Sonic WiFi
- Thread starter HADES20
- Start date
Your limiting factor is probably going to be how the car gets a data connection. Almost every carrier will sell you a small portable wireless hotspot but you're still going to have to pay them for data usage somehow. Those are pretty easy to wire into the car for power, and everything else is wireless.
Until I switched to using my Nexus 4 as a hotspot I had a tiny little device from FreedomPop that worked pretty well. They run a WiMax based service like Clear so range is pretty limited outside built up areas, but inside the DC metro it was great. Their business model is that you pay a deposit for the device and they'll give you a small amount of bandwidth for free every month (500M I think) and you paid for anything over that. It was enough for me for a while but I went to one of T-mobile's prepaid plans later with the Nexus 4 hotspot.
It was battery powered but charged over microUSB, so you could power it off the cig lighter or hardwire in a 12V to 5 adapter. It worked pretty well wired into my Mazda3, and passengers could use the connection on a wifi tablet.
Until I switched to using my Nexus 4 as a hotspot I had a tiny little device from FreedomPop that worked pretty well. They run a WiMax based service like Clear so range is pretty limited outside built up areas, but inside the DC metro it was great. Their business model is that you pay a deposit for the device and they'll give you a small amount of bandwidth for free every month (500M I think) and you paid for anything over that. It was enough for me for a while but I went to one of T-mobile's prepaid plans later with the Nexus 4 hotspot.
It was battery powered but charged over microUSB, so you could power it off the cig lighter or hardwire in a 12V to 5 adapter. It worked pretty well wired into my Mazda3, and passengers could use the connection on a wifi tablet.
Swordsmith
242hp/252 ft-lbs BNR EFI
Not sure what the logic is here. Your car uses your cell phone for all functions, and uses your cell phone's data to do so. If you get a separate hotspot you could use the hotspot for that data instead, but you'd have to pay for the separate spot. Either way you're paying for the data you use, no?
I am using Boost Mobil, which gives me a fixed price per month, just slows my data down if I go over their limit, but I don't seem to ever go over that limit.
I got a TMobil hot spot a few months back to tide me over during the switch from phone company DSL to cable company internet; it cost me something like $50 to buy, and $50 for some prepaid data (5gb I think?), which my business plus family went thru in a week. If we hadn't run thru the data it would have gone away after a month. Sounded like a terrible deal, in retrospect, we just didn't know how much data we went thru.
Wouldn't it make more sense to continue to use your phone than to set up a hot spot which won't have any of your apps on it, and which will probably cost more than just bumping up your data limit on the existing device?
I am using Boost Mobil, which gives me a fixed price per month, just slows my data down if I go over their limit, but I don't seem to ever go over that limit.
I got a TMobil hot spot a few months back to tide me over during the switch from phone company DSL to cable company internet; it cost me something like $50 to buy, and $50 for some prepaid data (5gb I think?), which my business plus family went thru in a week. If we hadn't run thru the data it would have gone away after a month. Sounded like a terrible deal, in retrospect, we just didn't know how much data we went thru.
Wouldn't it make more sense to continue to use your phone than to set up a hot spot which won't have any of your apps on it, and which will probably cost more than just bumping up your data limit on the existing device?
007CobaltLS
New member
I used 80 gigs of data on my Verizon HotSpot (use HotSpot via my phone)...I'm currently without cable internet at home so I added the HotSpot until I get internet set up again. The plus side is I'm on an employee plan through a friend...so I pay nearly nothing a month for everything I have...the downside...even employee plans get throttled down if you exceed a certain usage in a month...I noticed it the other day. The other downfall is that where I'm living, the house is a deadspot and 3G is all I get inside...I plug my phone in and put it in a window to get 4G LTE but only 2-3 bars max.
I was going to go to a VZ HotSpot (separate device), but it costs WAY too much a month for almost no data...and going over...yeah, that's way more than I pay a month for unlimited everything on my phone.
I was going to go to a VZ HotSpot (separate device), but it costs WAY too much a month for almost no data...and going over...yeah, that's way more than I pay a month for unlimited everything on my phone.
seanp1
Active member
Great! Send your hotspot to the OP. Problem solved!
sonic24740
Zippy
I would love some more info on that.. I would love a hotspot i don't need to pay for..
007CobaltLS
New member
There's an app or two that you can download for android...supposed to allow free hotspot...not sure if it actually works, but I've seen it mentioned somewhere....not on this forum, but I believe another I belong to.
$ub$onic
The Sticker Guy
My father in laws work pays for it. He need to have access to WiFi at all times and he can do everything over his iPhone
Maddog2020
Active member
I use Foxfi on my Verizon phone. Got it at the Play store for free. I have unlimited data so I'm not worried data usage. The free version limits bandwidth, for about $6 they remove that restriction. Some carriers don't allow Foxfi to be downloaded from the Play store but they have instructions on how to get around that.
sonic24740
Zippy
really will have to look into that.. i could root my phone but i jusat can't bring myself to do that. i have a galaxy 2 note and if its gets bricked because of it replacing its just too much..
Maddog2020
Active member
No rooting needed!
007CobaltLS
New member
That's the one I heard about...thanks for that.
Yeah, I don't want to pay the $6...I'm cheap...but then again...paying $10-15 a month for the HotSpot makes less sense....I'll look into it myself. Just have to be somewhat careful since I am on an employee's family plan.
Yeah, I don't want to pay the $6...I'm cheap...but then again...paying $10-15 a month for the HotSpot makes less sense....I'll look into it myself. Just have to be somewhat careful since I am on an employee's family plan.
HADES20
New member
AT&T only allows me 5gb of data which can get used quickly if your going to listen to pandora and such in the car and continue to use it elsewhere where there's no wifi
ungawd
New member
You'll still have to pay for the data used someway. If you go over the 5g limit you pay extra. If you buy a wifi hotspot that uses data over cellular you have to pay a carrier for service and data. I don't get the need for "wifi" in a car for this stated purpose. You don't need wifi, it sounds like you need what you already have, a cellular carrier and device designed to use it.
sonic24740
Zippy
yea sprint is one of them.. but there are ways around it.. i found one and i cant use it as a hot stop but with usb.. but i am happy.. I am a truck driver and i was buying time at truck stops now i don't have too.
thanks for the tip.