MIFI - Montana Owners Club

richfaa · 05-17-2010, 09:24 AM

We are due for a Verizon Aircard upgrade. We now have the USB 727 and the CP 1000 router and are satisfied with the service..

We are doing our homework on the MIFI and the reviews are not all that great. We note it has no support for a external antenna and the download speeds are reported as less than what we see with the USB 727. Of course the pro is that you do not need a router.
Anyone using the verizon MIFI and what is the performance..????

OntMont · 05-17-2010, 10:46 AM

Not using it because they are vendor specific. If you change service providers, you have to buy a whole new MiFi. We use the Cradlepoint router (CTR500) which will accept an air card from any service provider. Because we live in Canada and spend time in the U.S., being able to switch between two service providers is quite handy.

CasaDelSol · 05-17-2010, 12:03 PM

We are using it thru Verizon Wireless. While it is not as fast as our road runner broadband at the stick house, it isn't that bad. Since I retired I am not in as much of a hurry as I use to be

lfw · 05-17-2010, 01:01 PM

We use a 720 USB modem.. with a Blekin router. Plug the USB into my DW laptop and then hardwire it to the router.. setup the network. and I can get on the internet with my laptop as long as she is connect to the internet.. Works great for us.. been doing it for a couple of years now..
lfw

richfaa · 05-17-2010, 04:15 PM

Casa Del Sol.." While it is not as fast as our road runner broadband at the stick house, it isn't that bad." Can you measure your speed..if so how fast is it.. We get 1 meg or better download with our USB 727..usually better. We are told the MIFI is slower than that. Using it now and the weather is bad..rain, etc but we are doing 986KBPS down...a bit slow for here.

Emmel · 05-17-2010, 05:02 PM

We are using the Verizon MIFI and are quite happy with it. I guess I never really worried about any speed, but it's fast enough for our needs. I am able to read the local news paper on it every day and it is a lot faster than the wifis available at the cg's we've used.
One thing about it, you must be within 30ft ot it to get on. We are using both lap tops on it here and on the road.

DONnANNIE · 05-17-2010, 08:14 PM

Rich, another option for you. I just switched to the new Palm Pre Plus cellphone. It has a hot spot. I made a WiFi connection with my laptop. At that time, my D/L speed was 1.5 Mb(I was fairly close to cell tower) It also requires a $29.99 data package(with Unlimited Usage) No external antenna connection.

8.1al · 05-18-2010, 02:53 AM

Rich,
I read 2 reviews on mifi and the one got 1000kbps down and 500 up while the other obtained 1.5-1.8 down and 395 up so it is capable of good speed. I wouldn't consider it because it won't accept an external antenna. Since you already have a good router why not stick with it and upgrade to a newer broadband modem?

adelmoll · 05-18-2010, 03:31 AM

Rich, be sure to check out the Escapee forum. Evdo Alex is no longer with 3G but has a lot of great info on there. I have the Cradlepoint 350 with the Verison usb175. I know I have to be careful if I upgrade cuz the 350 does not work with all of the new Verizon upgrades..

Helen

CasaDelSol · 05-18-2010, 03:59 AM

Rich the status feature shows that my speed is 54.0 Mbps. Is that what you are looking for? I am very happy with the MiFi. Sorry if I can't give more info but I am just trying to figure out how to find my status info and not having that easy a time at it.

rames14 · 05-18-2010, 05:09 AM

I have had my mifi for two weeks and like it so far. Will know more after our trip to Texas and Utah. Since I am doing a lot of work travel, the small size let's me put it in my backpack and use it in the airport and have more than one computer connected. And, it works with my Ipad. For me I had to consider portability and ability to work with multiple devices like the Ipad.

mhs4771 · 05-18-2010, 07:24 AM

Rich, another thought, are you GrandFathered in with your current Air Card? I was looking at the MiFi, but if I switch I lose my unlimited use status and drop to the 5 Gig limit. While we don't use it for business, we do use it a lot and many times have gone over the 5 Gig limit which could add up in a hurry. So I'm staying with what I have until it dies or they change the system enough that it won't work.

Jdrobone · 05-19-2010, 01:34 AM

Rich,
Using speedtest.net, five minutes ago, I got 2.14MB/S down to DC server and .68M up////1.61MBS down to Phoenix and .42MBS up////1.61MBS down to Sioux City and .51MBS up. Worked fine on the hill at MM but don't remember speed. I don't do music files and movies and usually use about 1G/month on surfing and mostly text.
Jerry

richfaa · 05-19-2010, 01:05 PM

Good input guys... The 30 foot distance is a problem for us. It is about that far from this PC to Helen's in the room next door and for sure it would not reach downstairs. It would be OK in the 3400. The no external antenna capability bothers me.
We did call Verizon and we are grandfathered in on our usage,,,unlimited ..and we would NOT lose that if we went MIFI. Jerry your speeds are really good. I am trying to talk the Verizon store to let me use it for 30 days. They do that for phones...

We will be up on the hill next season at MM so that may help..

8.1al · 05-19-2010, 02:31 PM

Rich,
I'm curious why you would want to replace your router with Mifi

richfaa · 05-20-2010, 03:34 PM

No particular reason Charlie. We are due for the" Every two" free Verizon upgrade and I was looking to see if there was anything better. With the MIFI you do not need a router so would not need to upgrade the router. We have decided to stay with what we have for now. The CP 1000 router and the USB 727 aircard serve us well.

dustinc02 · 05-20-2010, 06:48 PM

I have the sprint MIFI card. When the connection does not go dormant it works well. We are needing to keep it busy so the connection stays awake or else it takes quite a while to regain connection. I was reading that this is the device and will happen with any carrier. As for the no external antenna adapter, I purchased the Wilson Signal booster with the cradle mount. The card fits well in it. The signal went from 1 bar to 5 bars. Well worth the money, I can even put my phone on top of the card to gain signal on the phone at the same time. (Of course you would need to use a handsfree bluetooth)

Jdrobone · 05-21-2010, 12:44 PM

Had mine since last Nov, use it every day, not perfect but never have had it go dormant. Verizon.
Jerry

mhs4771 · 05-21-2010, 01:33 PM

Rich, I would double check with Verizon several more times as I have to several Verizon dealers and directly with Verizon and was told the upgrade to MiFi would result in a new contract and loss of the Unlimited Use I currently have.

mlh · 06-05-2010, 03:36 AM

Rich
I have Verizon MIFI. Love it. The shop computer that I'm using it as I hunt and peck this is 70+ feet away from my mifi box in a window up stairs, but in plain view. I have a very low signal but it works great in all weather conditions. If you put the MIFI in your truck or camper, had it hooked to 110 v, you could use any of your computers on the net at any time. I think the best place for it would be in your camper bedroom.
Lymwood

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