Rivian Mom
Active Wheeler
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2024
- Messages
- 246
- Reaction score
- 26
- Rivian
- R1S
Made a discovery recently and what better platform to share it on than Trailrivian! I had a plan to see if I could setup an always on Internet connection but using my existing mobile subscription rather than Connect+. After accidentally buying a European band version, I got this and it worked great.
HOSAYA Portable WiFi 4G sim Card WiFi Modem 10 WiFi Users 4G LTE Router with SIM Card Slot High Speed Portable Travel Hotspot Mini Router USB Modem Nano sim Compact Design 88mmx28mmx9mm
The trick was to look for bands B2 and B4. Having these probably means it's designed for the Americas. The device itself is essentially an older generation cell phone, sans screen and battery. It is powered by USB and creates a hotspot that can host up to 15 clients. It takes a nano SIM; some providers will give account holders one for free.
On the topic of battery: I was specifically looking for a hotspot that doesn't have a battery because I dont need it and I don't like the idea of a battery sitting in the hot cabin. (Yes I realize the irony of the cabin sitting on 1000s of the same batteries. But keep in mind those have active cooling for a reason.
I managed to get at most 60mbps down, depending on reception. Surprisingly the device actually has surface mount ports for antennas. Even so I knew I wouldn't get the theoretical 150 because it doesn't support all the bands T-Mobile uses (I use Google Fi which is provided by T-Mobile).
It's $37 but there's a similar one on AliExpress for $19 which I also ordered but hasn't arrived yet. The AliExpress version seems like it might be better as it supports more frequency bands. And especially so for GoogleFi folks as it has more bands overlapping with T-Mobile's which should give better speeds.
After setting it up indoors, I attached an A-to-C USB adapter and plugged it in to the Rivian. Presto: an easy Internet connection that piggybacks on my existing mobile service and therefore means I don't need an additional Connect+ subscription.
Chromecast also worked flawlessly. My phone connects to the Rivian hotspot and the second Rivian wifi radio connects to the USB hotspot. Let's call it "Connect-" as in "connect mine (by) us." In the near future it'd be fun to see if I can build my own 5g variant, mostly just as a fun project.
HOSAYA Portable WiFi 4G sim Card WiFi Modem 10 WiFi Users 4G LTE Router with SIM Card Slot High Speed Portable Travel Hotspot Mini Router USB Modem Nano sim Compact Design 88mmx28mmx9mm
The trick was to look for bands B2 and B4. Having these probably means it's designed for the Americas. The device itself is essentially an older generation cell phone, sans screen and battery. It is powered by USB and creates a hotspot that can host up to 15 clients. It takes a nano SIM; some providers will give account holders one for free.
On the topic of battery: I was specifically looking for a hotspot that doesn't have a battery because I dont need it and I don't like the idea of a battery sitting in the hot cabin. (Yes I realize the irony of the cabin sitting on 1000s of the same batteries. But keep in mind those have active cooling for a reason.
I managed to get at most 60mbps down, depending on reception. Surprisingly the device actually has surface mount ports for antennas. Even so I knew I wouldn't get the theoretical 150 because it doesn't support all the bands T-Mobile uses (I use Google Fi which is provided by T-Mobile).
It's $37 but there's a similar one on AliExpress for $19 which I also ordered but hasn't arrived yet. The AliExpress version seems like it might be better as it supports more frequency bands. And especially so for GoogleFi folks as it has more bands overlapping with T-Mobile's which should give better speeds.
After setting it up indoors, I attached an A-to-C USB adapter and plugged it in to the Rivian. Presto: an easy Internet connection that piggybacks on my existing mobile service and therefore means I don't need an additional Connect+ subscription.
Chromecast also worked flawlessly. My phone connects to the Rivian hotspot and the second Rivian wifi radio connects to the USB hotspot. Let's call it "Connect-" as in "connect mine (by) us." In the near future it'd be fun to see if I can build my own 5g variant, mostly just as a fun project.
