New cellular internet routers and answering your questions! Rural internet solution
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- A lot of repeat questions have been asked, so I take the time to answer them in this episode and give an update on new cellular routers that are available.
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After struggling through little to no internet for 3 years, you have helped us to finally have usable internet at our home! We did cellphones in the window, hotspots, HughesNet, waited for StarLink to never come, etc. and the best we had was 1 Mbps down, .3 Mbps up, with latency over 1000 ms. Once we got NetBuddy with a MIMO antenna, our speeds drastically increased -- over 7 Mbps down, over 5 Mbps up, and under 100 ms latency. I know those speeds are pitiful to those that have options, but we'll take them any day over what we had! We can now stream multiple videos, play online games, surf the web... all at the same time! Thank you, Mr. Kelley, for the recommendation!
Very happy to hear this, the struggle is real!
which MIMO antenna did you buy?
there's no way you can do all of that with those numbers. sorry but I don't believe you.
surfing the internet? sure absolutely.
playing multiple videos and online games? maybe videos. not on high quality. going to be 360p quality roughly. you could probably have a few ppl do that MAYBE....
online games? no way in hell unless it's "facebook" games.
and you def aren't doing all of that at once, with multiple people.
you aren't going to have the speed necessary, let alone bandwidth.
if you have multiple people trying to take a shower or use the water, your water pressure is going to drop significantly. same concept with internet "bandwidth".
so again, speed aside (which you don't have enough of) you can't multi task like that.
I literally don't believe you. it's not possible.
@@iamnobody9001that’s because you are a nobody. My family is struggling with 5mb down at the moment as we are all able to watch stuff on our phones etc. it’s doable.
Thanks for some actionable knowledge that I can actually can try/ test for myself. Learning that "unlimited" cellular plans do exist was a game changer. Into it.
Thanks so much for the series on your internet progress. We too are rural and I had a service all set up and was running nicely with a Netgear M1 router but got an email that they were not going to be able to offer service anymore. Was back searching on the tube again to see what I could find and found you and NetBuddy. Got my router last week, super quick shipping, and am now up and running! Getting much better speeds with their router over the M1 AND the service is much cheaper! Thanks again!
Glad to hear that
Hi, Andrew! As always you have done proper research and provided high quality content. My son in law is chairman of Rutherford County Commissioners. One of the most challenging problems they deal with is acquiring good cell and internet service for rural residents. It’s three steps forward and two steps back. It’s very frustrating. See you Sunday. 😊
Thank you for watching, see you then.
I don't know if you're planning to do this already, but you might consider taking one of these routers and hooking them up to a portal battery (eco flow or similar) and testing your speed at other areas of your property. If you find a spot that gets a better speed, you could build a shed or something in that area and power it off solar. Then run fiber from that spot back to your house and connect to another wireless access point or use a wireless point to point system to get the signal back to your house.
Instead of fiber I’d use a Ubiquiti point to point radio. They can push 1gbps over 5 miles no problem
I just installed a cheaper unit from Amazon for a friend yesterday. It claims 3km range, I was impressed how well it worked from his home all the way out to his shop.
Yaay, Andrew in his office!!!😃 May you have many happy productive days there:))))
Now I just need some proper furniture. 🤣
@@TKCL And a zip line for your moderators:))))
Love my Netbuddy router! One thing to add would be to back the current settings before changing anything. There is a reboot option for my router that I have set so no need for a external timer. Thanks again for all the information and testing.
I am in a similar situation as you, but different... I am working on building my internet set up in my tiny little teardrop trailer to go explore the USA and still be able to work 8 hours a day. I was wondering if you have ever tried any of the more expensive cellular routers like Pepwave and Cradlepoint. I would LOVE to see how they compare to your current router. I love the price point of your router, but I am curious to know if these other routers are any faster.
If you don't know about them, one big advantage in both of those brands is that there are two SIM slots per cellular modem, an A and B. You can configure the system to switch between them if the signal goes down. While it is not immediate, it does save you from having to physically switch the SIMS.
Another cool thing is they make routers with 2 cellular modems in one router. There are multiple ways to configure it to run. One way is to combine the bandwidth from both to increase your overall speed. Another approach is failover: If your primary goes down it will automatically and immediately start using the second modem until the connection is reestablished with the primary modem. Again each modem has an A & B SIM slot for a total of four SIM cards. It can get expensive, but you can get some really cool internet!
Since your original video I bought the router and have been extremely happy. I have had great service. Every three or 4 days I have to reset the system. Which I have had to do with my phone and mifi system. Thanks for the update.
Glad you also got the affiliate link also.
Very happy to hear that, its a struggle for us to find a good affordable internet solution.
@@TKCL same here. We were trying to wait for the electric co-op and that has proven useless.
Hi. Do you mean you have to reset a "cloud" phone? And what is a midi system?
Interesting Andrew. Enjoyed your review. 👍👍. ❤️❤️. 🇨🇦
Thanks for your help on this! I have a cabin on the river in the TAG area of Alabama. Zero cell signal at the cabin. Bought the waveform directional antenna and the netbuddy with the T-Mobile SIM card. Mounted the antenna on the roof and pointed it in the general direction of the tower. Storms blew in on me. Went inside and tested it and had 28mbps. Can’t wait to get back up there and fine tune it. 🫡
Nice!
4g & 5g cellular home broadband becoming popular here in the UK - rural & urban dwellers are getting into it as it's working out cheaper as ADSL is being phased out & people are being forced onto more expensive fibre connections.
I really enjoy the these videos especially the cellular/wifi thing thanks❤
Thank you for watching
AWWW HYPE!!!! I've been waiting for this video
I love your home! That loft is great!
Thank you, I built it last year and documented it on the channel.
Great video just subscribed. I gotta asked have you tried lowering the Waveform antenna below the peak off the house. The antenna will put up “noise” from other towers or electrical devices like an omi antenna being over the roof line. A lot of time the building (well your house) helps to focus the signal just directly to the tower your aiming to eliminating “noise” that slows your speeds done (so the house helps the antenna like a satellite dish). (I’m not Rich by the way. My TH-cam name is just something I came up with years ago to support his channel) . Ok let me know? Great channel. thanks George
Yes I have and if I remember correctly I seen a slight drop in signal and speeds. I tried a lot of requests.
@@TKCL ok cool . I just found the house actually helps the signal.
Great update and information.
Are you going to be impacted by the crazy weather they are calling for in California?
I found your videos while looking for options for the internet. My area has no good internet. The only thing around was CenturyLink, which has a cool 1.5megs download for $60/month . I got that new router you got with a t-mobile card . I'm around 30 to 40 megs download no external antenna . the first day I got up to 272 megs, then drop to where I'm at right now . I'm going with external antennas soon but very happy with what I'm getting so far ,especially for 40 dollars per month . Thank you !!
Your welcome, the struggle is real for rural internet.
I'm considering this option as well. Did you place the router in an attic?
I did, but I have a conditioned attic. I'd never put one in a standard attic that gets extremely hot or cold.
@@TKCL thanks! Did the router you chose from the first video in this series require any configuring with the SIM card?
Very first ever router was from a different company and would only take data only sims. I didn't have to do any configuration with a AT&T Sim.
A lot of these types of online businesses won't have brick & morter or even phone numbers to keep overhead low, which allows for the competitive pricing that they can offer. Typically, they also won't have a large staff and will expand their staff as they grow. If emails are responded to in a timely fashion, then that's a good thing.
With my T-Mobile home Internet gateway I’ve gotten a maximum of 630 down but I typically stay between three and 400 down with 30 ms ping and usually about 80 or 90 up speeds. T-Mobile aggregates 4G LTE with 5G and that’s why the speeds can be so good.
You need to be relatively close to a tower as well for those speeds and or clear line of sight. I can get some pretty amazing speeds if I drive closer to the tower.
Loved This!
Yep 4x4 mimo LTE is very good if you got a cat 8 cat12 or more LTE modem chipset you'll get better LTE speeds
Something to think about; most of the cellular towers are owned by tower companies and they rent space on their towers for cellular, tv,911 a n other critical service.
Awesome educational video. Love the content.
Thanks for watching
Looks like a great opportunity for most people. I guess I am still too rural. I contacted Verizon and they said no external antenna will work for them even though my house is surrounded by their towers. AT&T and T-Mobile said the same thing. Maybe I'm a little late to the show. Net Buddy doesn't have anything in stock it seems.
They constantly sell out as people keep checking their website daily. Just like everyone else they have had problems getting stock due to supply chain issues.
I use visible 30.00 in a unlocked hotspot at my apartment and Metro by T-Mobile at home internet here in my camper van
I live in Florida..if I lived closer I would help you improve those speeds a bit. I recommend Proxicast Cellular Antennas. They are probably the best. It's also important to play with the antenna and testing the connection each time you switch directions. Sometimes it isn't optimal to point directly at the tower. More times than not it needs to be turned towards it but not directly at the tower for best signal. I know you can easily get into the hundreds on download speeds and close to that on upload speeds and if you do a lot of uploading then you need to change from an N41 to an N71. N41 caters to download whereas N71 is good for both.
If you connect the antennas directly to the T-Mobile Gateway you will get much faster speeds than what you are getting with all that hardware you got. Just trying to help
I use a cheap used Huawei B525s, got it for 50€(new one goes for 120-140€), works like a charm, and it has the option of either internal antenna or external antenna (can also use third party antenas) for greater range and signal strength, but it isn't needed as it works great. I get 32ms ping with 10Mbit/3Mbit speeds (that is the limit of my contract).
I live in north Florida in the middle of no where I have T-mobile home internet it works half the time with our budget having no limited internet is awesome I would love to try one of these net buddy routers just would have to wait to get the money to buy on hopefully soon we tired of buffering and not being able to use our laptop while someone is watching TV satellite internet is way to expensive
I also live in north Florida in the middle of nowhere..
You should do a test at the other side of your house for 5G,
You could do a test like this person does in his video "AFFORDABLE High Speed Internet Anywhere - My RURAL INTERNET Setup Revealed!! video from Silver Cymbal"
You could setup with your older waveform high gain antennas on a poll on a slab of wood and the router hooked up to one of your EcoFlows and sit out the back with your laptop, You can easily aim your antennas by rotating the slab around.
Use a different address to get TMobile at home the modem can be used anywhere
Also, if your gaming and not uploading then you don't need fast upload. You need fast download but here is the kicker with gaming consoles. The Xbox and Playstation do have nice network cards that are compatible for up to 1gb but their online networks block those high speeds, acting as a choking point, because they don't want some folks having such a huge advantage in online game play. So getting more than 400mbps is probably not going to happen. I get over 300mbps on my PS4 Pro. Would get 900+ but PlayStation Network blocks those ultra speeds
When they ran fiber at my farm in Ky. My bill went from $76.00 to $143.00 a month and service was bad
That's sad, typically fiber is amazing and affordable. We are eventually supposed to get it, but I'm not holding my breath.
You might be on TMO band n71 that's why your TMO 5g speeds are crappy b n41 is the ultra capacity band it's aggragated with b66 LTE or b13 or B2 most times
I'm surprised you haven't tried using your old 4 antennas on your back pouch with your router without mounting it to your roof to test the 5G coverage, since the router was able to pickup 5G inside on the desk it should certainly pick something up.
Yeah with such a weak patchy signal indoors with the indoor antennas on the desk and getting nearly 50Mbps down you could have a even stronger connection even though the external house antennas may not claim to be made for 5G they'll still pick up something much stronger than though the indoor bunny ear antennas do.
You could do a test like this person does in his video th-cam.com/video/T6qgFtgzu8o/w-d-xo.html AFFORDABLE High Speed Internet Anywhere - My RURAL INTERNET Setup Revealed!! video from Silver Cymbal
You could setup the waveform high gain antennas up on a poll on a slab of wood and the router hooked up to one of the portalble solar panel batteries and sit out the back at the other side of the house where you have mentioned T-Mobile broadcasts it to test what you can get to see if it's worth switching the panel antenna on the roof to the other side.
what about using a we-boost to boost the 4G LTE signal? (Live in rural Indiana)
It does not work that way, these routers pick up more bands and different signal ranges.
So using a booster will not increase speed even though I went from 2 bars to 5?
@@TKCL
Thanks for the cellular information. Up here we are lucky to get good 4G and 5G is non existent
cudy are the best. I like the $69 budget AX 3000. Oh Maaaaaaaane
I’m currently getting 228mb download and 11.8mb upload with Spectrum, SE of Dayton, OH.
Anyone would be happy with that download.
Y'all might have some good news coming soon. If you're on the electric co-op, they may be running fiber in your area. Our's did that and we love it!
We got an announcement a while back we will be getting fiber, however it's a several year project and I've heard nothing more about it. I pray it happens.
Our 1 gig symmetric fiber is through our electrical company. Many electric companies are doing this in Tennessee.
That would be nice if my elec-co-op decided to do that.
You keep talking about different SIM cards from different providers but who provides the SIM card?
Can I just go to a carrier for example Verizon T-Mobile AT&t and pick up one of their SIM cards
You'll have a nightmare of a time trying to get them to understand the equipment. Buy your Sim from a 3rd party that sells these routers, link in the video description. Everything is already set up and ready to go.
Which sim router will be best fot business? Let me know please?
It depends on who has coverage in your area, go with that company.
What type of prepaid SIM card do you use? Is it a data only? Where do you get the data only SIM cards?
You buy the sim and router from the same company. Netbuddy
I have the arc Verizon box connected via pig tail adapters to a 4x4 mimo panel. I then connected my Xbox to the Verizon box with an Ethernet cable and the speeds are….manageable, but my question is if I were to put the Verizon arc gateway back to stock condition and add a router to the Verizon box and make the arc a modem only via online, and then connected my Xbox to the router using Ethernet, would I see any improvement at all since either way I’m using a wired connection? Thank you for any help it’s been a journey trying to figure all of this out to only achieve minimal results so I’m just trying to see how far I can go to stay connected and your channel has been a huge help!
If a router would help by converting the Verizon box to only the modem part and then seeing how the mimo panel can perform connected to the router instead of the box then I was thinking about buying the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000
Not sure on that one to be honest.
Hello! So glad I found your channel. Just watched both videos of you covering this topic. My husband and I are thinking about moving to a more rural area, and I worry about internet coverage as I work from home and we stream Netflix, video games, etc. I apologize if this is a silly question or was already answered elsewhere and I missed it - but for the tower coverage area, if the property is not in the highlighted coverage zone of one of the towers, does that mean slim chances of this method working?
That's not a good sign for sure. Do you have any cell phone signal at the property? If so you do have a signal that can be boosted.
@@TKCL I haven’t physically been to the properties yet to confirm if there is signal on my phone, but I checked the Verizon and T-Mobile 4G maps on their websites and it shows signal coverage for them. But I will be able to confirm if there’s signal or not on my phone once I attend the showings. Thanks!
A question for the power cycle reset for a phone to get higher on priority list. Do you have to do a power cycle on a phone to achieve the lift on the priority list or can you simply turn off your Mobile Data in the settings and turn it back one to achieve the results?
I believe airplane mode cycle would be the same and a better choice than the data cycle.
@@TKCL Can confirm the Airplane Mode option!
Any thoughts on this Cudy vs GL.iNet GL-X3000 (Spitz AX)
I don't know enough about those models to say.
I ordered the Cudy but how can I add an outdoor antenna
Just disconnect the antennas on the router and purchase an external antenna to attach to it. Link is in the video description of the antenna I use.
do you have a video out on how you installed your cable through your outside wall and made it waterproof on the exterior side?
I can't remember which video, but I drilled through my soffit into the attic and sealed with silicone. I didn't go through the wall.
@@TKCL I’ve built a barn home also with spray foam. Was it hard to fish your wires through the spray foam?
I had to tear quite a bit out to get my hand through. I then just filled it back with can spray foam. It worked out well.
Hi! Thank you for your thorough videos. I am trying to connect a mimo 4x4 antenna to a net buddy/suncomm 5g o1 router and can’t find information on which cable goes to which port on the router. If you have any information I would be greatly appreciative. Thank you!
The cables are labeled 1-4, I started from left to right on my router connecting them. Honestly play around with combos until you get the best signal. Make for sure you are connected to the cellular ports and not the 2.4 and 5ghz wifi ports.
Love your content, have you played around with band locking?
Not yet, but I've been meaning to.
@@TKCL try band 71, 2, 4,
I am between these two routers also. Cudy seems to have slightly better WiFi specs. Net buddy told you the suncomm had better connection with T-Mobile, but I have to ask if the Cudy you tested has the 520N modem or one of the other modems? Another deciding factor for me is the network and WiFi settings. I can’t find much on the Suncomm to even see if it can do a DMZ or DNS over TTL. I would have been interested on the test with the Cudy on the waveform antennas. Seems like the Cudy held the signal, I’m sure with some channel locking you might have been able to keep the Suncomm on 5G also?
According to their website the 5G Cudys have the RM520 Modems with the x62 chipset.
@@nightcrawler226 True, but according to the forums and some documentation on the website the older models could have two other modems. At one point they were using three different one and it depended on what was in stock so you don’t know when you order off a site like Amazon. The fact that you grabbed 5G fairly stable on your desk I’m hoping that was the 520N because I’m trying to decide between each one.
I really enjoy watching your informative videos, I believe I have watched all your videos on wireless internet. I'm considering using one of these for security cameras in my shop, it is all metal. From your experience do you think this will get enough signal without an external antenna for security cameras? I see where Verizon is offering wireless internet for $25.00 a month with a 10 year price lock! i have got to dig a little deeper and see if that is limited or unlimited usage before I choose a carrier and order my router. Any guidance and suggestion would be helpful thanks.
Metal is the enemy of signal, your most likely going to need an external antenna. With that said, I am waiting for a external outdoor router to show up for testing, it would be perfect for your situation. It mounts outdoors getting great signal, and you run a ethernet cable inside to a wifi router. That's exactly what I am doing at my metal shop.
@@TKCL That sounds like what I need . You have a time frame when you'll possibly be doing a review on it. Is this a netbuddy router or someone else?
It's Netbuddy, just waiting for the router to show up in the mail. Will probably be a couple of weeks before testing is done and a video edited.
@@TKCL ok thanks I will be watching for it.
I have seen Starlink advertised here. Just looked at there site. Just over double what I pay now so no intention of going with them. But looking at the coverage map, they do all of Australia except a few areas around Brisbane and Sydney. Other providers must have a monopoly on those areas. Looks the same in your region, maybe political issues.
Is 129mbps up and 28mbps down considered good internet speed ?
That's excellent upload speeds and decent download. You should be able to accomplish most common internet tasks.
I've recently purchased the suncomm router in this video. So far it's great but I have one issue I don't know how to fix. These router use CGNAT. This causes a double NAT situation. Does anyone know how to fix this
Goodmorning sir well I bought one of these from netbuddy it’s the cudy lte 18 4g will 2x2 mimo work or do I need the 4x4
It will work, but that's a 4x4 router and you'll get far better signal with a 4x4 antenna.
@@TKCL thank you Mr.Kelley 🙏
I’m trying to build my house in a similar way as your ( metal trusses) what does your wall assembly look like ?
Explain what you mean... FYI I have 200 videos on the channel of me building the house, I'm sure I have what you are looking for.
I have a spare phone with an unlimited plan, could I just take the sim out and put it into the router?!?
That usually doesn't work because the phone Sim recognizes the phones IMEI number.
Why would you use a device that requires that you use the plan provided by the manufacturer, you can buy cellular routers that have a sim card slot. You can get much better plans that way.
Please show me those plans. You talking about hijacked routers that might run a $25 a month Visible cell phone plan for a short time before its disconnected? I literally have an unlimited T mobile plan that WAS $45 a month, recently went up by a few bucks. Working great after almost two years and is data only dedicated. You can also add other sims to these routers as well.
@@TKCL I've been running visible on a few different cellular routers mostly random cheap ones on amazon for a few years now, my area is not congested but I use 800 gigs of data per month and can frequently get speeds up to 2 or 3 hundred megs per second. But lately I've been using a GL-Inet Spitz AX. It works really well. It isn't hijacked either, regardless of what brand you buy from they are all manufactured in china in one of a handful of factories.
@@TKCL Do you honestly believe netbuddy makes the routers? Your data slows down because the plans they force you to pay for have lower priority and you are in a congested area. I am not in a congested area, so visibles low priority isn't a problem for me.
No I dont, but you better believe there's a difference between cell plan hacked routers and ones designed to accept data plans.
Hey if you don't mind me asking if my Verizon phone works pretty good at my house will a Verizon sim router work even better ?@@TKCL
Any news on xmartfi
Never used it
As a newbie to this type of technology, what would a Verizon jet pack do numbers wise. My campground WiFi is terrible and wife uses hot spot for work and we also use it to stream television. We are close to towers, nearest one is about a mile away.
Not sure, but I bet that type of device is a lot slower.
Hey Mr Kelley on that cudy I have 3 blue lights and 1 red is that normal
Yeah I think mine did that as well. The red light changes color when 5g is detected if I remember correctly.
Question: have you tried just purchasing the Sims from net Buddy. Then purchasing your own router online through another company. Does net Buddy sims card come activated already.
No, you typically have to make adjustments in the routers software for the Sim. That's why I recommend buying a Sim and router combo already set up.
I've already got tmobile gone internet. Is it possible to simply purchase a cudy cellular router and switch my sim over?
Big carriers frown on that, you could wind up with your account cut off. Your supposed to use their Sim in their equipment.
Love your videos. Been exploring how to get internet to my cabin in the woods. If I get a router, do I have to buy an att plan or would can I just use an att sim card in the router? Att is the only tower in our area. Have a weboost & get 4 bars on it through att.
You purchase the router and plan together, it's ready to go.
Cool. Where do I look to purchase the package? We can get only get hughes internet in the hollar our cabin is in & everyone that has it...hates it.
Link is in the video description
Is there any solution for people that have their own LTE or 5G router and want to buy an unlimited sim?
I'm sure there is, but I haven't pursued that option. I strongly believe you'll have less issues buying a router and plan combo already setup.
Is that cudy router the 4G LTE Cat.18? really wating that for my Motorhome, is that good? PLanning to try it out if it is a huge diference from my little hotspot i wont buy an 4x4 mimo external antenna if not i will but the 4x4 antenna eheheh
Yes it is, I've seen they worked well.
@@TKCL Nice! Thank you! on my amazon shopping cart for black friday, i will let you know the comparison of my hotspot and the cudy cat 18, 4g lte, not the 5g, thats overkill
Awesome video. I asked a similar question on another video you made, but I just found this video and it's more applicable because you cover a setup that's identical to mine.
I've got the new Netbuddy Suncomm modem paired with the Waveform 4x4 panel. What connection order did you use between the modem and the panel antenna? I've tried all sorts of variations and haven't been able to get a steady, reliable, connection to T-Mobile. Currently I'm using 1, 3, 2, 4 - numbered clockwise from the back left corner of the modem.
I would greatly appreciate you're help with this because I'd like to confirm if it's a setup issue on my end, or if it's just that T-Mobile won't work in my area.
Any idea how you connected this to the new Net Buddy router?
Connected what exactly?
@@TKCL what order did you connect the cables labeled 1 through 4 on the panel antenna to the modem? I've found the way they're connected to the modem has a huge impact on speeds.
Looking at the backside of the router I did 1-4 from left to right.
@@TKCL If you still have that router, and if you have time, could you try one and three on the left, and two and four on the right? I'm not 100% sure, but I think I tried the configuration you described and didn't get good results. Yesterday I switched to 1/3 left, 2/4 right, and my speeds are much better and much more stable.
Was it just me or was the ping lower after plugging into the external antenna?
Don't trust speed tests 100 percent. It will always change a little everytime you run one.
Do you know if one can set the IMEI on the MOFI5500 cellular routers?
I have not tried that on Mofi, but I do believe some can.
Is net buddy no longer providing data plans? I just got an email from them stating that I have to go get my own data plan now?
Just found out about this myself, I am digging into it now and making a video. Their website has been updated with how to purchase new plans and set your router up for it.
@@TKCL thank you
@@TKCL I got an email this afternoon from netbuddy saying that customers with their t-mobile plan will continue with uninterrupted service. I don't know what happened, but for now anyway it looks like those of us on their t-mobile plan are good.
That's great news
Can you update IMEI on that router?
Yes I believe you can
I have been watching your videos and have purchased a Mofi cellular router/waveform antenna, because like you my options for internet at our house in AZ were limited. I purchased a Visible sim card based on our Verizon phones working fair at that location. We have not had very good success YET. I'm not giving up...
When you get sim card from a provider, do you specify a data only card?
I have been thinking about getting a Cricket sim based on a friend's phone having pretty good speed at that location.
Thanks for the info!
Yes typically these devices use a data only Sim not a cellular Sim. I don't know what the Mofi uses. There are some instances where devices can use a cellular Sim.
That's why I strongly suggest getting a sim and router combo already set up by a provider.
@@TKCL The Visible card works, I'm just not getting any speed...1Mbps download speed. I saw up to 5 and that's with no external antenna connected. I'm hoping the waveform will get it going.
I was under the impression that cellular sim cards would work. It seems like I've seen YT videos that show people using a card out of phone.
If your getting some speed and connectivity it's working. I thought I read somewhere visible has a 5mbps speed cap on the unlimited data. That's probably your biggest problem, external antennas will always help.
Visible's (Verizon) Phone SIM won't allow you to use it with Mofi... You would only be tapping into the 5G of hotspot data vs the unlimited alloted to cell phones. just Sell the Mofi and get Net Buddy's. Nothing special about Mofi really.
I had Nettbudy a few years ago. I started with AT&T with them until AT&T dump their old plan the MVNOs were using and then T-Mobile through Nettbudy until that got dropped and they switched me back to another AT&T plan. About 6 months later they basically closed my SIM and my account and disappeared with no communications. I’m with another MVNO now in my remote RV location but my new Virginia property I need an internet solution. I am on the list for T-Mobile home internet and need something in the meantime and the Nettbudy T-Mobile plan would fit well but very leary about going with them again. Any thoughts?
Very interesting, I've only been with them a few months and I've experienced zero cut offs or plan changes. Time will tell I guess 🤞🤞
Yes! Thanks for Cellmapper overview. Terrible website from user friendly ness
Netbuddy routers are sold out! Argh
Can you list what 3rd party data plans you have used
They get a lot of business, they will be back in stock soon. I've tried direct AT&T data only plans with a 3rd party router, Bullseye wireless unlimited plans, and most recently I've settled on the Netbuddy plans. I've talked with a few other companies, but no one seems to be able to get to Netbuddys pricing on plans, especially their T mobile.
@@TKCL Netbuddy is still sold out right now - 2/16 on their website. AT&T / Verizon, would love to hear of alternatives. I am using IsPMint but they have a very wimpy router. Tried to connect Waveform 2 for externals but it doesn't seem to work at all. Help anyone?!
They briefly got some in stock last weekend and sold out very quickly. A few people have told me they bought one. Sadly demand is outpacing supply.
hi, really appreciate your reviews of these cellular routers for those of us that are living in the sticks. Based on your videos i did buy the top of the line cudy 5 G router, i looks the the one on your countertop and the 4 antenna kit. And i bought the $50/month home internet plan from t-mobile. But the router cannot get a signal from the t-mobile tower 2.4 miles away. I called t-mobile and the gal in tech support said she thought i would need to get their t-mobile "gateway" to piggyback to the cudy router. She said the ime# for the router is different than what she is showing in my account. Is this true that i need a t-mobile "gateway", or is there a workaround for this? Thanks for any info.
Thank you for the video and showing how to find the towers. You said that you have your router set to turn off and back on in the middle of the night. How do you do that?
I use a programmable outlet timer from Amazon.
@@TKCL OK thanks I am not familiar with what it is
Just type that in, people use them to turn off and on Christmas lights and more.
Okay, now I feel really stupid. I have that same SunComm 5G router from Netbuddy and the Waveform 4x4 panel antenna with that same wire set up but I could’ve swore my instructions, instructed me to attach the antenna cables to the back of the router. I don’t have it in front of me because it’s up at my cabin but in your video I just saw you have it attached to your side antenna ports on the router. I’m guessing you’re doing it right and I misinterpreted and I’m doing it wrong?
It's labeled, make sure your wires are to the cellular ports and not the 2.4 and 5g wifi ports. As I connected it is the new correct way, it's exact opposite of my old router. You'll see an improvement for sure by moving everything around.
@@TKCL gave it a try this weekend and oddly, looking back over the antenna directions, they were indeed wrong and a little common sense on my part would have gone a long way. Switched the cable connections from antenna to the 5G/4G ports on the sides (required cutting some of the electrical cable tape to give the 4 individual cables housed inside more articulation), reinstalled the WiFI antennas on the back of the router and ran some speed tests. Download Speeds were consistently about 20 to 30% higher, in the range of 58 - 72mbps and upload in the 8-12mbps range. I’ll take it. Thanks!
Those are plenty good enough speeds for the average tasks.
What are you all using for internet now?
Still using this cellular, we have fiber coming late this year.
@@TKCL I got you, we are getting ready to move back to Madison out in the rural Lee area and I’m pretty sure TCEC hasn’t made it out there yet. Star link was my next option but I now know that’s a stretch as well.
@Napalmbravo it's definitely coming to that area, but it could be 2024 or 2025. It's in Madison city and north of us in Aucilla. Starlink is a huge investment and monthly payment to toss when fiber becomes available. See if you have T mobile in that area. They have free equipment and it's $50 a month.
@@TKCL I will definitely look in to t-mobile I know years ago I don’t think we were in their service area out there but that’s been a good while back now so it’s definitely worth checking out.
I got a question is cellular routers for iPhone also ? Or only android
Neither, it's for everything. They emit wifi signal just like a standard router.
@@TKCL I’m confused about cellular and wifi routers. Does router still collect my log when I’m not sign in or if I don’t have a router does that it give knowledge if I connect to the device I’m using like iphone?
i have one big issue does this run as a hotspot design? how does it transfer a cell service to a wifi service .
This is a cellular router, modern and wifi all in one.
What do you use to reboot your modems automatically?
A 7 day timer outlet bought off of Amazon.
I GIVE UP! I've been searching videos for months trying to figure out what all the names of verying equipment are to know what I should try...and there are so many comments in every video which is way over my head technically.
Many videos referenced "your" channel...and I am truly hoping you can help me figure out what would be best to try. "Please" reply if you ever get a spare moment.
I just moved from south FL to south GA (adel, ga). And was told by the Windstream Kinetic technician technician at install that the service sucks, but know there are no other options. He said if you leave, that we were the last available node for service in the area and we probably won't be able to get our service back if we try satellite or Hughes Net (supposedly the only other options).
There is no copper or fiber optic in the area, Kinetic by Windstream uses a tower. From asking people in the area, it appears "Verizon" is the preferred carrier. My cellphone has T-Mobile and I don't even get one bar signal half the time. So I can't do any service that relies on a hotspot from my cell phone.
My download speed with Kinetic by Windstream is usually around 3-6, and upload speed between 0-1. But I "need" to find something better, more reliable, and that will be acceptable to what most employers require to be able to work remotely.
I don't do any gaming, but there are always 2 devices at any time watching TH-cam.
I think another thing that makes my service problematic is that the house is a metal manufactured home.
Do you think I would have luck with NetBuddy and a Verizon SIM, and an antennae?
Sorry this is so long. Thank you for whatever feedback you may be able to provide. God bless!
I can't answer that, you need to follow the steps I showed in this video to see if you have decent cellular coverage on that property. If you do, see what provider and order that system from Netbuddy. It's already set up and ready to go. It's very straightforward.
@@TKCL Ok. Thank you very much for a quick response. God bless.
Is it me or it looks like you attached your wifi antennas to external antennas instead of 5g antennas
Negative, I pay very close attention to this. The new model routers have moved the Wi-Fi antennas to the exact opposite location as previous models.
Cell mapper is not working on my laptop and the app is some Finder app that has nothing to do with cell towers. Any advice? When i search USA it only shows Sprint and T mobile but the map is basically blank. I can't move it or anything.
No idea, it's always worked for me. Try opensignal app
What website do you use for Speed Test.?
Ookla
I do have a question regarding cellular routers for internet and cell phone boosters like WeBoost. Do you have to get both to cover the cell phone signals and the internet or would the cellular router cover both the internet and cell phone signals. I am about to order the Netbuddy and if that covers both I would be very happy but if it doesn't I would also get the WeBoost as well, thanks.
It does not cover both, one is for internet and the cell booster is for cell phone signal.
FYI I am testing a new Weboost cellular booster, video out within the next two weeks.
@@TKCL Thank you very much and I'm looking forward to it. My wife and I are also pretty remote in Southern Middle Tennessee and we currently have a Verizon Jetpack and Cell phones with terrible reception so I have been looking for options. Your explanations on the devices are a big help and I will make the investment. Thanks again!
Why not just use wifi calling ?
If I buy one on Amazon where do I get the nano SIM card from?
That's the problem, no one knows. Your better off buying from a dealer that has everything set up and programmed. Some take cellular plans, some take data only ect.
@@TKCL ok thanks
@@TKCL so wait. are you then paying the T-Mobile $50 per month and also paying a dealer cellular plan? How does this work. If you have T-Mobile internet currently, how to do use one of these routers if you can't just swap the sim card? Thanks for the info!!
Anyone know if the cudy routers work with a firstnet sim?
We signed up for first net a while back (wife is in the medical field). I was informed after market routers would not work due to a private band first net uses.
I have been trying to get a Net Buddy Data only wifi router now forever, but they have been sold out forever and behind shipping schedules for parts they say. Do you know of any other supplier of the devices that come with the data plan only sims? I have been unable to get a good data plan sim as well. Just digging for help, sorry to bother.
The owner told me they are back in stock this weekend and start shipping Monday. Keep checking as they sell out fast!
Thank you! I will.
does each device connected to these routers get their own unique IP address?
Sorry for bugging but is there any help you can offer with the cudy router at first it was working now it don’t have any download or upload speed I messaged the guy from netbuddy and he basically said just return it I’m not a tech expert I’m just trying to get it goin within my 10days if not I can’t return it
You didn't change anything in the settings or do a factory restore did you? They are setup from Netbuddy with the proper internal settings for your sim. As basic as it sounds, did you unplug and plug it back in? That reconnects you to the tower. Where you getting good speeds before and then it just stopped?
I got the netbuddy router with AT&T service. I have over 200 mbp but everything buffers! Any ideas?
That's excellent speeds, sounds like a wifi connection problem 🤷
@@TKCL I have an Wi-Fi extender. I can’t figure out what’s going on
Strange, I get about a 1/4th those speeds and everything works fine. Have you powered off and on everything? It really does help.
@@TKCL yep. I’ve researched and tried everything I could think of. Maybe my speed test app is wrong
Bummer it's been one month and they're already sold out
They've got them in stock a few times but sell out very quickly. People keep checking often
I cant seem to get hiboost 4k to work decently at all :\
Have you verified the proper direction of the tower and aimed the Hiboost antenna towards it.
@@TKCL I have. It only works directly next to the indoor antenna. The booster gives me no added bars. I can get 5 bars and 4-8 mbit but that's all
@@TKCL I have all green lights and I am like 2 miles from the tower. It must be a trash tower
How many bars do you have without the device on?
@@TKCL it barely even works. I'm only like 2 miles away but I get 1 bar and 0 bars in part of my house. I do have cable internet luckily. What's the most optimal setup?
Net buddy is way to expensive and worse than TMobile at home or visible
The "need for brick and mortar" is a bit baffling. This is already aimed at people who live in the middle of nowhere. And yet those people still expect a brick and mortar store? In the middle of nowhere? Used to use T-Mobile in a USB modem connected to a regular wifi router. It worked great. There is very bad T-Mobile coverage where I now live and I have to endure Comcast.
I agree
1st?
You got it
You do realize that TMobile at home is cheaper and the modem is free too
They denied me based on my location and their router does not accept external antennas.
@@TKCL
th-cam.com/video/tqyGXm3yASc/w-d-xo.html
@@TKCL - if you disassemble the T-Mobile router, you can attach external antennas. Waveform sells a 4x4 panel antenna kit for this.
TMobile would be great. I tried the 5G box, got absolutely zero bars. Would love to have been able to use them but AT&T is the only service where I live.