BEST VAN LIFE / RV INTERNET OPTION? Unlimited Digital Nomad Wifi 5G M2000 Hotspot, Calyx Institute
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- We have remote jobs that require us to have a strong, reliable internet connection. With the ultimate goal of living a more digital nomad lifestyle we have been searching for the best RV and van internet / wifi option that will allow us to travel and work from our 2013 Ford Transit Connect Micro Camper Van.
After researching for months we decided that a 5G M2000 Hotspot With Unlimited Sprint/T-Mobile Data through the Calyx Institute, a non-profit dedicated to protecting internet privacy, would work best for us! The high speed, truly unlimited plan with no throttling and vast coverage is what sold us on this popular van life internet option!
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Was waiting on your Internet choice. Appreciate your review, along with the website coverage. Will be watching to ensure if it works as advertised. Please keep us informed. Safe travels!
Hey guys, I'm new to your channel, thank you for shining your light of information. Looking forward to future blogs.
Wow! Amazing video and information. Thank you soooooo much.
Thank y'all for sharing this. Just signed up today.
We hope it works out for you! So far we are liking ours!
That is so cool, i got a taste for off-grid working from home using an Ecoflow River Pro which i recently did a review for, and its changed the way I see work now, there's no need to be stuck in an office for the rest of my life. Now the inspiration is to get an RV/Motorhome and work on the road and live off-grid.
We use a mofi device with a spare phone line we had on our plan. Just have to change the TTL settings which sounds intimidating but super easy if you follow Reddit/videos/forums about it. Our plan “only” gets 50gb of priority data then if the tower is congested we may see slower speeds. But, T-Mobile has the magenta max plan with unlimited priority data that may be worth looking into for some folks. For us, just buying the mofi was the only cost, as the spare line we use is a free line we snagged. So essentially free rv internet with only equipment costs to worry about.
Thank you for this - I hadn't looked at Calyx since they got 5g. I use Visible as my main right now with a T-Mobile 100 gb 5g unlimited for all my fast needs - I'm not on the road yet. The combo worked out about as expensive as my prior internet service and let me cut that cord (my prior service had been really flaky the last few months I had it). The issue I am having is that Visible uses Verizon and currently in my area it gets very choked up. So far T-Mobile in my area is not choked up. It's always good to have a couple of options.
How does it work with Visible. I have a phone line with them only.
Great info!! I'd love a follow up video to see how it's been working for you so far and in what areas as you travel and work!! Please!!
Thank you for the video suggestion! We will have to keep that in mind :) Overall, we liked this as an internet option. When we were out in the middle of nowhere we didn't get the best reception. We considered getting a signal booster but it was easy enough to drive to the nearest town to get better service. On work days we tried to stay in towns, close to cell phone towers which we found on T-mobile's service maps. If we were to upgrade our internet services, we would probably look into Starlink. We have been recommended that by other van lifers we met. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
I use a Cradlepoint IBR900 with T-Mobile and AT&T, Panorama MiMoX4 antenna and a WeBoost 470159 on a painter's pole for fringe areas when stationary.
Good video
Very interesting. Thanks for giving us an alternate option. Let us know how it works.
Will do! We have been using it as our wifi for our apartment before we leave for the road, so far so good :)
We will have to see how it does on the road though...
Are you able to run a speed test and let us know your average download and upload speeds?
thanks for this video... this is a major worry when you want to travel and work full time remote.
You are so right! The other thing we have to worry about is finding time to edit vlogs lol Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it and you!
Thank you, that was very helpful. I will also take that into account and will see whether it is also possible for foreigners who do not live in the USA to conclude a contract.
No. According to their website only the US not Canada or Mexico.
Great video very informative sounds like a good internet service to go with & I actually use Verizon Mobile Hotspot & I love it🙂👍❤ I have 100 GB Unlimited Verizon Mobile Hotspot🙂👍❤
Thanks for the video! Very informative. We are considering getting the Calyx plan for our RV travels. I did not see it in the video but how have the speeds been? Thanks!
The Calyx Institute operated and had speeds similar to our phone hot spot. This worked for us since we have Verizon phones and the Calyx is through T Mobile. When we didn't have service on one, we were usually able to get it on the other device. But, there were times where we were too far away from service, especially when free camping, that we couldn't get service on either our phones nor the Calyx device.
Honestly, if we could do it again, and Starlink was available (at the time of this video it wasn't) we probably would have gone with that as internet. Most of the people we met on the road who were also working had Starlink and they said they rarely did not have service. So it really depends on how much internet you need on the road. The Calyx is definitely a great budget option as Starlink is quite expensive.
Hope that helps! Thank you so much for watching, we really do appreciate it! Best of luck in your search for internet!
@@mikeandheather Thanks for the reply! We are not full timers but do take extended road trips when our 2 girls are not in school; spring, summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas break and many weekends. Most of the areas that we travel to have cell service although during our cross country trip from FL to Washington state and back, there were certain area that cell service was not available. We looked at Starlink but for how we travel, that would be a very expensive option. Calyx is just about perfect for what we do and it is truly unlimited internet. Thanks again and safe travels!
Great info for my future rig!! 🚐💙
What happens if the Mifi breaks? Can you purchase the same model from say, Ebay, and move the SIM card over, or do you need to purchase another from Calyx directly for $750? Also, does the provided device have antenna ports (TS9 ports) on it to connect a booster if desired?
Excellent questions, I was wondering the same things.
Thanks purchased a Calyx membership due to your video. Where did you get the net holder? Thanks!
Hopefully you find it works well for you! So far we have not had any issues ☺️
We purchased the mesh holder at AutoZone, here is the link to the product if you are interested: www.autozone.com/test-scan-and-specialty-tools/comfort-travel-accessories/p/proelite-stick-on-storage-net/949543_0_0?cmpid=LIA:US:EN:AD:NL:1000000:CMT:8362476711&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3eeXBhD7ARIsAHjssr_51pFdh4T2d1Qa9MlrP0L-f5OCJXIoutmcn-XKWEStyEWviX93gFQaAtE5EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Hope that helps! Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it!
How has the service been lately?
Hey, is this still a great option for August of 2022? Are you still enjoying this service?
Hi, we have been working remotely from our van (we both have online jobs) for the past 2 months using this service along with our Verizon plan cell phones. For the most part we have found that where one does not have service the other does. Really the places where we have issues is near/in National Parks where there is no service regardless of the provider. When we are in areas that have service we get service. We are able to get service pretty regularly with no issues as long as we aren't in the middle of nowhere haha (when that happens we usually just drive to the nearest town) hope that helps!
@@mikeandheather I work remote and this could be an option for our home that is in an area with amazing 5G but horrible internet options. How is it with two people on video calls?
Is it still working well for you?
Regretfully, none of their modems have TS9 antenna ports, so you couldn't add a MIMO panel antenna to bring in a stronger signal for those of us in the boondocks :(
Thanks for the information, we will have to be conscious of that. Thank you also for watching, we really appreciate it!
Yep no ports. Only other option is a booster. I’ve been using WeBoost for years successfully. I’m most frequently in a mountain forest with only 1 bar. The booster takes me up to 2-3 bars. I am very satisfied with their products. I use a directional antenna for even better reception.
Well, are you still with Calyx and if so are you still happy with it?
We are no longer traveling out of the van, as we are traveling internationally now, and therefore no longer have the Calyx but it did work well in areas where cell phone reception was strong! However, in remote areas it was sometimes difficult to get service. If/when we return to van life we would probably invest in Starlink as we have heard that is the best option for internet in remote areas where we found ourselves often. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
Does the device get hot and fail?
No, we have not experienced that yet.
Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it!
Why not get starlink?
what is that? more info
It wasn't available yet, but definitely another (possibly better) internet solution!
We have enough homeless people.. we don't need more people living in a van..
Who is we? As if you are speaking for an entire population.
This is true. What we need is affordable housing. Since we don’t have that, we have this.
Advocate for affordable housing then, snob.