Best Mobile Hotspots

When traveling, you would like your laptop, tablet, or cellular phone to still have connectivity. It won’t be practical or economical to try to use the same Internet provider that you use at home. But, seeing the ubiquity of the Internet and smart technology, a number of solutions have been developed to allow for connectivity, wherever you go. Also, there are many other devices that employ WiFi--cameras, printers, even robot sweepers! So there are definite advantages to having WiFi access wherever you go. A mobile hotspot is tailor-made for that need. 

A mobile hotspot, or MiFi device, can be hooked up in as little as five minutes. There will typically be a basic monthly fee that allows a certain amount of gigabytes of Internet use, with an additional fee when you exceed that. You can also hook up as many as 10 devices at once, depending on the quality of the mobile hotspot.

We've put together this guide to help you select the best mobile hotspot that answers to your needs. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of mobile hotspot,

• See useful tips about that particular type of mobile hotspot,

• Read reviews of different brands of mobile hotspots, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of mobile hotspot, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

We can look at the differences between mobile hotspots, depending on your away-from-home needs.

• Using your phone as a hotspot: If you travel away from home only occasionally, you can use your Smartphone or iPhone as a hotspot, using a technique called “tethering”: it connects the phone to another device, allowing to use its cellular signal. The actual method differs depending on whether you’re using an iPhone, or what brand of Smartphone you’re using. The number of devices that you can connect to the Internet this way--anywhere from 5-10 devices-- will differ depending on the carrier and the phone model. The problem with this method is that it drains the phone’s battery very quickly--sometimes in as little as 4 hours! If you need the Internet for a longer time than that, you should purchase a mobile hotspot instead.

• Traveling through rural areas within the USA: If you travel within the US, but mostly remain in rural or remote areas, there are hotspots that give basic and minimal connectivity for a basic monthly fee, upon which you add a nominal fee for every gigabyte of data that you add. This is cheaper than other flat-rate monthly plans. An example of such a rock-bottom device is the Karma Go. One GB of data is $14, 5 GB is $59, and 10 GB is $99.

Karma Go

• Travel within cities in the USA: If most of the time you find yourself traveling in urban settings, a device such as the AT&T Velocity is ideal. It requires a micro-SD SIM card and is compatible with GSM networks. It can connect 10 devices at once--but you have to know if your Internet provider supports GSM frequencies and not CDMA.

AT&T Velocity, with a touchscreen

• International traveler: There are also hotspots for people who go overseas, who would like an alternative to buying a local SIM card in each country where you travel, or just relying on public WiFi. An example is Roaming Man--a mobile hotspot that works in over 130 countries and allows you to connect 5 devices at a time. Also, there is no subscription: you simply pay around $10 per day that you’re abroad--some countries are only $8/day!

Roaming Man

• Exceeding your plan: As we mentioned, you pay for a certain amount of GB of data on your plan. But you’ll be surprised how quickly that fills up. Uploading and downloading pictures uses up data, as does streaming of music or video content. You should check what happens if you exceed your quota. Verizon and AT&T will slow down your connection and charge an extra $15 or so for every extra GB of data.

• Differences in battery life: Mobile hotspots have to be charged up, and you should consider the charging time, and how long the device will run on a single charge. The Verizon Jetpack has a battery life of 24 hours of constant use, which is exceptionally good.  It can hold its charge for 27 days on standby, when not in use. If necessary, you can use it as an emergency charger for your smartphone, by just attaching a USB cable to it.

Verizon Jetpack

• Touch screen and easy menu: Customers were pleased with mobile hotspots that use a touchscreen with a simple menu. An example is the Netgear Unite Explore 4G Mobile WiFi Hotspot. It also allows for parental control and content filtering.

Netgear Unite Explore 4G Mobile WiFi Hotspot

• GSM vs. CDMA: You’ll notice that there are two types of mobile hotspots: GSM (= Global System for Mobile Communications), and CDMA (= Code-Division Multiple Access). GSM devices give you the freedom of selecting a SIM card of a carrier. This is ideal if you travel, and you want to insert a SIM card compatible for the country where you’re staying. On the other hand, CDMA mobile hotspots will be hardwired for a particular carrier, and won’t have the versatility that you may require when traveling. CDMA is in use in the USA, Canada, and Japan. So, if you’re in other parts of the world, prefer a GSM mobile hotspot. Also, make sure that the GSM device is “unlocked”--that it isn’t locked onto a particular provider.

• “Generation”: Devices are rated by their “generation”, being 2G, 3G, 4G, or even 5G. There is a catch with using a lower-generation device, in an area with a higher generation network. Thus, a 3G device might not work in an area that has a 4G network. But a 4G device will work even in areas with a 3G network.  

• Range: The range of your mobile hotspot is also a useful spec. It tells you how far can you be from the mobile hotspot and still have connectivity. The MCD-4800 has a WiFi range of 328 feet, which is quite a high-end model.

• How many devices can you connect at once: Mobile hotspots differ in the number of devices you can connect to the Internet at once. The Verizon Jetpack Hotspot allows for up to 15 devices at once. (Many mobile hotspots will display the number of devices presently connected to WiFi, as well as the signal strength.) That means that your entire family can use it for hooking up their laptop or mobile device. (This is as opposed to setting up your phone as a hotspot, which usually can only work for up to 10 devices at a time.)

AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company. Its origins were Bell Telephone Company, founded in 1880 by Alexander Graham Bell and American Telephone and Telegraph Company. AT&T split into a number of “Baby Bells” in 1982, and one of the Baby Bell companies, Southwestern Bell, became the present-day AT&T Corporation. Besides providing phone service, their products include mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, phone accessories, wireless products, and more.

Verizon was founded in 1983, after the break-up of American Telephone & Telegraph Company. It was made from a merger between Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, and GTE Corporation. They provide service for the Northeast United States, but also make smartphones, iPhones, and wireless Internet solutions.

ZTE is a telecommunications and information technology company that was founded in Shenzhen, China in 1985 by Hou Weigui. They make mobile phones, tablets, routers, wireless controllers, cloud products, network optimization tools, and much more.