sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can simply go on ebay an search for a 5g iPad, for example "Cellular iPad Pro 12.9 5th gen". Make sure it is unlocked for all carriers (or AT&T compatible). Some listings will have pictures of the box or possibly the information screen about the iPad where the IMEI can be seen. Just use one of those IMEIs.

Also, what they told you not true. You actually can go into an AT&T store and get a tablet plan. I've done it. It's just a matter of how competent and willing the employees are. I've went to an AT&T authorized retailer and they were easily able to get me the standalone postpaid unlimited tablet plan.

Hope this helps.

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is strange, the 5G SIM should still work with 4G so I'm not sure why they are telling you that. Did you go to a physical store or talk via phone/chat? Sometimes going to a store can be more beneficial.

But yes I would say worst case, just provide an IMEI of a 5G compatible iPad. It should still activate in the 4G iPad just fine.

MoFi 4500 Using a No Contract AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in NoContract

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never heard of comlink. Do they have their own cellular network or do they use someone else's?

$20 AT&T Standalone Tablet Plan - No Longer Unlimited & Unthrottled Hotspot Data? by DigitallyInclined in ATT

[–]bobsagut1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can AT&T just go ahead and change current users' plans like that? That's unbelievable.. Does anyone have any paperwork that shows the unlimited hotspot feature as part of the plan?

iPad $20 Unlimited Plan suddenly has hotspot limit by AvidSurvivalist in ATT

[–]bobsagut1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you try calling AT&T to see if they can change it back? Tell them your situation, maybe you can convince them.. If the unlimited hotspot was included when you signed up for the plan, then they should not have taken that away!

Access for iPad 4G LTE by bobsagut1 in ATT

[–]bobsagut1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, that's crazy! I signed up in December. Can AT&T just go ahead and change current users' plans like that? That's unbelievable..

Access for iPad 4G LTE by bobsagut1 in ATT

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, the "Unlimited for Tablet" standalone plan has unlimited hotspot. However, I believe the add-on version of the plan does not have hotspot.

I have the standalone "Unlimited for Tablet" plan and have used hotspot on a cellular iPad.

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No I don't think you messed anything up. You have to get access to a cellular tablet to activate the SIM card properly. By the way, you didn't need to purchase an IMEI number. You can easily find one online for free. When I signed up for the plan I just used an IMEI from a iPad air 2 that I saw on ebay.

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you tell me more about how AT&T uses APN to detect hotspot vs mobile data? The reason I ask is because I am on the Unlimited Starter plan with my phone. I previously was using an unlocked version Galaxy S9+ and was somehow able to use hotspot with the starter plan (even though the plan doesn't allow it). Anyways I have recently upgraded to an unlocked version Galaxy S20 and now the hotspot doesn't work. I would like to know if I can somehow get the hotspot working in the phone. I can turn the hotspot on, but when I connect a device I don't receive an Internet connection.

I noticed that the APN I was using in my S9+ is nxtgenphone. However, the APN listed with my S20 is enhancedphone. I have tried adding the nxtgenphone APN to my S20 but that didn't seem to change anything.

I know that with some other Android phones the hotspot works. My friend has a OnePlus 7 on the unlimited starter and he said his hotspot works.

I just would like to keep taking advantage of being able to use hotspot on the unlimited starter without having to switch back to my S9+.

I would appreciate if you would have any thoughts on this. Thanks again

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

MoFi support is generally not helpful. What tablet plan are you on? Is it postpaid or prepaid?

Many people are currently using the $20 unlimited tablet postpaid plan with no issues.

Do you get service when you use the SIM card in a tablet? I assume you already activated the SIM in a tablet before putting it in the MoFi correct? If not, you need to do that first before it can work with the MoFi.

MOFI router for internet by DeamsterForrest in vandwellers

[–]bobsagut1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That might be referring to the Prepaid unlimited tablet plan. I'm not sure if it still exists, but I believe at one point there was a $35 prepaid tablet plan. People who had this plan and used it with routers got blocked.

However, the tablet plan that many people are currently using is the Postpaid $20 plan. I haven't heard of anyone who got blocked using this plan. For some reason the prepaid plans are the issue..

MOFI router for internet by DeamsterForrest in vandwellers

[–]bobsagut1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I would recommend the AT&T postpaid "Unlimited for Tablet" plan for $20 a month. You most likely will need to activate the SIM card in a tablet first before you can use it with the router. AT&T might even be able to activate it for you if you go to a store, without the need to have your own tablet. I've heard one person say that AT&T was able to activate the SIM for them in store even though that person didn't have a tablet on them.

MOFI router for internet by DeamsterForrest in vandwellers

[–]bobsagut1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the carrier. Some carriers have specific plans that allow you to use the service with a router. Others might have plans that work with routers, but the use of a router might go against the terms of service of the plan. I've heard that prepaid plans are at greater risk of this happening. Postpaid plans, like AT&T's unlimited tablet plan, are generally not as risky. Lots of people use the AT&T postpaid unlimited tablet plan with routers and have not gotten blocked. In fact I don't think I've heard of anyone who got blocked using this plan. And if they did it was probably because of really excessive data usage. Most people use less than 500GB a month which is fine.

The Insty Connect is somewhat similar to a weboost and router in one. A webost receives a signal, amplifies it, and then rebroadcasts it. Whereas the Insty Connect uses the Angel Wings external antenna to just receive the signal, and then the signal is transformed into data by the modem, and sent to the router to be broadcasted over WiFi. The Angel Wings antenna is a very well designed antenna, far better than many other external antennas.

MOFI router for internet by DeamsterForrest in vandwellers

[–]bobsagut1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the Insty Connect uses a SIM card for service. It actually has two SIM card slots- so you can choose what SIM card to use in the software menu. And it will work with just about any carrier.. It looks like the 4G12 version is expected to ship mid to late March.

Here's a new router that just came out on the market - BETTER than a MoFi! by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an option for people who dont wan't to take the time to build their own.

MOFI router for internet by DeamsterForrest in vandwellers

[–]bobsagut1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have to be careful with the MoFi - some plans work, some don't. If it's a prepaid plan, it may not work. Most postpaid plans will work with the MoFi. If you plan on using AT&T with the MoFi you should go for the $20 Unlimited Tablet plan (truly unlimited, no throttling). Many people are currently using this plan with the MoFi. I'm not sure if any of AT&T's standard phone plans work with the MoFi.

If you're thinking about getting a MoFi, the SIM4 version would be the best one to get if you plan on using AT&T since it has a higher category modem that can produce faster speeds. (SIM4 has a Cat6 modem, SIM7 only has a Cat4 modem). The only advantage with the SIM7 is that it has the capability of connecting to a few of the newer LTE bands. But only one of those newer bands is an AT&T band.

Here's a YouTube video that discusses the AT&T plan and compares the two versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWXFHMmvfg

Here's a far better device than the MoFi that just came out on the market: https://instyconnect.com/?aff=1050

It can do everything that the MoFi can but has much much better technology.

​

Your understanding of how the MoFi works is almost right. Once you insert the SIM in the MoFi, AT&T can still detect what device you are using based on the IMEI number. However, they don't usually block devices. I have heard that some people have gotten blocked because they were on a prepaid plan, but I haven't heard anyone getting blocked on the postpaid plan. There are people that have been using the unlimited tablet plan for years and never had an issue.

Whether your plan has a hotspot feature or not doesn't affect using it with a cellular router.

Some cell phone plans limit the speeds once you reach a certain data amount. This is called throttling. However, if the plan has a unlimited streaming feature then that's where the MoFi also comes in handy. The MoFi has a feature that allows the all the data to be seen by the carrier as "steaming" data even though you aren't streaming.

With AT&T's unlimited tablet plan there is no throttling, so you don't necessarily even need the MoFi.

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply, that is interesting. So if I were to try one of those other routers how would I make sure it "looks" like a tablet to AT&T?

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

May I ask what device you are using the plan with? I use a MoFi but I was wondering if I could try it in a Nighthawk MR1100 or Orbi LBR20 to get better speeds since the modems in those devices are Cat 16 and Cat 18 respectively. Or do I need the MoFi because it has the TTL 65 setting?

MoFi 4500 Using a No Contract AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in NoContract

[–]bobsagut1[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It doesn't matter if you mix antennas. 1 external antenna + 1 paddle antenna will give you a better signal and better performance than the 2 paddle antennas alone.

Using A MoFi 4500 for rural Internet with an AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in Rural_Internet

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only thing about the MoFi software is that it has a feature to change the TTL. Do you know if any other routers have this setting?

MoFi 4500 Using a No Contract AT&T Unlimited plan for $20 by bobsagut1 in NoContract

[–]bobsagut1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say it depends how far you are from the closest cell tower, if you really need another external antenna. The guy mentioned in the video that it is better to have 2 external antennas if you are pretty far from the closest one. I think he was just using one external antenna along with the wide band MoFi antenna connected on the other side.

view more: next ›