Hot Spot

[CarolynandBob]

I use a T-Mobile T9 hotspot for my cameras on my shop. (house wifi is too far from the shop).

Last winter while in FL the hotspot would need to be rebooted about every 3-4 weeks. I would have my buddy go over and reset it. When we got back this summer I looked into it. The is a setting for "always on" which I toggled. Still needed to be rebooted. It would also say that it has been plugged in too long and to remove the battery if I wanted continuous charge or something like that. Did that and it still gives me an error about charging.

Called T-Mobile and discussed with them. They essentially said that it was not possible to have a hot spot work for months and not need rebooting.

I may have a work around with a friend that works at the electric company, that can shut off the power and turn it back on from his computer, but would rather have something reliable without reboot.

Anyone have any ideas? I have verizon phones, but the T-Mobile is only $20 a month for what I need. Signal is good too.

 

[Ziggy]

I use a T-Mobile T9 hotspot for my cameras on my shop. (house wifi is too far from the shop).

Last winter while in FL the hotspot would need to be rebooted about every 3-4 weeks. I would have my buddy go over and reset it. When we got back this summer I looked into it. The is a setting for "always on" which I toggled. Still needed to be rebooted. It would also say that it has been plugged in too long and to remove the battery if I wanted continuous charge or something like that. Did that and it still gives me an error about charging.

Called T-Mobile and discussed with them. They essentially said that it was not possible to have a hot spot work for months and not need rebooting.

I may have a work around with a friend that works at the electric company, that can shut off the power and turn it back on from his computer, but would rather have something reliable without reboot.

Anyone have any ideas? I have verizon phones, but the T-Mobile is only $20 a month for what I need. Signal is good too.

Use a simple wifi outlet you can easily schedule to turn off and back on whenever you need...or just a manual 14 day timer like the olden days since you don't have a signal in your shop.

 

[thedan]

Will it run plugged in without the battery? My Verizon will. If so, run ^Ziggy’s timer, or a Harbor Freight 24 hour timer and have it shut off for 15 minutes a day, then restart/reboot.

 

[CarolynandBob]

Will it run plugged in without the battery? My Verizon will. If so, run ^Ziggy’s timer, or a Harbor Freight 24 hour timer and have it shut off for 15 minutes a day, then restart/reboot.

No it still gives me an error message that it has been charging to long. I will look into the timer. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks Both of you

 

[DB / HAV]

I set mine to turn off every day for 5 minutes

 

[Taboma]

No it still gives me an error message that it has been charging to long. I will look into the timer. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks Both of you

I use timers for all my battery tenders both here at home and at Havasu. In my case and in yours, I'd recommend a mechanical over electronic programmable, this way the time of day will change following a natural power outage, but you won't lose the program duration.

 

[sintax]

I'm guessing this hotspot device has a battery, every one i've seen is designed to be portable and all have them. If thats the case the remote switch really wont work unless you fully drain the battery, and then have the power switch fire it back up a day later or something. Prob not a HUGE deal, but you obviously are down while thats happening.

Honestly, they are not wrong when they tell you its not designed to be run that like. Those devices are designed to be small, portable, and be used on the go for a short period of time. I would recommend finding a wifi router that accepts a SIM card (you can prob just pull it right out of your hotspot) as a "backup internet" and running that. Something like that would be be a better fit for your use case.

 

[thedan]

Will a smart outlet still work when its wifi is cut off(hotspot)?

 

[yz450mm]

How many cameras do you have? You can buy wireless Arlo 5G HD cameras through verizon, I think each one is 10 bucks a month. I have a few that I use at home on the horse corral area, and also on job sites.

 

[mjc]

Have you considered a wifi extender? How far do you have to go?

 

[Taboma]

Will a smart outlet still work when its wifi is cut off(hotspot)?

Just won't be able to turn it back on ??

 

[CarolynandBob]

How many cameras do you have? You can buy wireless Arlo 5G HD cameras through verizon, I think each one is 10 bucks a month. I have a few that I use at home on the horse corral area, and also on job sites.

3 cameras

Have you considered a wifi extender? How far do you have to go?

No 1100 Ft.

I ordered the mechanical. I can pull the battery on this hot spot.

 

[Cobalt232]

I can remotely turn off and on the plug our modem/router is plugged into in Havasu. Our alarm system uses cellular + Z-Wave so all commands go over cellular. Now I don't have to ask the neighbor to turn off and on the power to reboot.

 

[TimeBandit]

There are Wi-Fi solutions that can go more than 1 mile if you have line of sight.

Google "outdoor point to point wireless bridge"

 

[RandyH]

There are Wi-Fi solutions that can go more than 1 mile if you have line of sight.

Google "outdoor point to point wireless bridge"

Ubiquiti Nano Beams. 2000 feet on some models.

 

[Spot]

Wi-Fi boost would be my suggestion. One-time investment in a monster router and be done.

 

[CarolynandBob]

There are Wi-Fi solutions that can go more than 1 mile if you have line of sight.

Google "outdoor point to point wireless bridge"

Thanks but no line of sight. There are about 1000 ft of trees between. I have considered running fiber, but I had to trench about 700 ft to bring an new meter for the shop and it wasn't fun. No the trench was not from the house or I would have run the fiber.

New timer should be here today and will see if that does the trick.

 

[pwerwagn]

I use timers for all my battery tenders both here at home and at Havasu. In my case and in yours, I'd recommend a mechanical over electronic programmable, this way the time of day will change following a natural power outage, but you won't lose the program duration.

Just curious, why do you run your tenders on a timer? Just like a few hours on a day to ensure you’re not overcharging I assume?

 

[Taboma]

Just curious, why do you run your tenders on a timer? Just like a few hours on a day to ensure you’re not overcharging I assume?

Yes, limits charging time, should a charger not completely shut-off or malfunction. I think it's also a safety feature should a charger suffer a catastrophic failure resulting in an overheat meltdown, that by limiting it's "On" time it might mitigate that.
With their only function being to recover any parasitic loss and self-discharge for my Havasu toys and garage princess Camaro at home, it limits charging time and time of day to cooler hours.
Overkill ? Perhaps ?

 

[coolchange]

Yes, limits charging time, should a charger not completely shut-off or malfunction. I think it's also a safety feature should a charger suffer a catastrophic failure resulting in an overheat meltdown, that by limiting it's "On" time it might mitigate that.
With their only function being to recover any parasitic loss and self-discharge for my Havasu toys and garage princess Camaro at home, it limits charging time and time of day to cooler hours.
Overkill ? Perhaps ?

I run a timer at work. Only on during work hours. Occasionally getting a electric smell in the mornings just lucky one day and caught a slight stream of smoke like a dead cigarette in an ash tray.

 

[CarolynandBob]

Thanks but no line of sight. There are about 1000 ft of trees between. I have considered running fiber, but I had to trench about 700 ft to bring an new meter for the shop and it wasn't fun. No the trench was not from the house or I would have run the fiber.

New timer should be here today and will see if that does the trick.

New timer is fine, however the power button on the hotspot needs to be pushed to get it to connect. I am going to see how it reacts over the next couple of days. I know my buddy just turned the power to the shop off at the breaker and it reset, so not sure why it won't now.

 

[Taboma]

New timer is fine, however the power button on the hotspot needs to be pushed to get it to connect. I am going to see how it reacts over the next couple of days. I know my buddy just turned the power to the shop off at the breaker and it reset, so not sure why it won't now.

That is odd

 

[CarolynandBob]

I'm guessing this hotspot device has a battery, every one i've seen is designed to be portable and all have them. If thats the case the remote switch really wont work unless you fully drain the battery, and then have the power switch fire it back up a day later or something. Prob not a HUGE deal, but you obviously are down while thats happening.

Honestly, they are not wrong when they tell you its not designed to be run that like. Those devices are designed to be small, portable, and be used on the go for a short period of time. I would recommend finding a wifi router that accepts a SIM card (you can prob just pull it right out of your hotspot) as a "backup internet" and running that. Something like that would be be a better fit for your use case.

Do you know of a wifi router that takes a sim card that you can recommend?

 

[sintax]

AC750 Wireless Dual Band 4G LTE Router

This 4G LTE router lets you share your mobile network with up to 64 devices. Enjoy uninterrupted HD movies and rapid file downloads. The router comes with 4× fast Ethernet ports.

www.tp-link.com

so i'm not too familiar with the consumer market versions, but doing a quick google, it looks like this might be a valid option to try. Its at a budget price point, and seems to check the boxes. I would confirm that whatever carrier you use (verizon, tmobile, att, etc) is covered under their network section...

 

[sintax]

on the high end, you can look at something like this mesh setup...

Orbi LBR20: 4G LTE Tri-band WiFi Router | NETGEAR

Discover the Orbi 4G LTE Mesh WiFI Router which delivers up to 2.2Gbps high performance WiFi and provides coverage up to 2,000 sq ft. Buy now!

www.netgear.com

 

[Chili Palmer]

The Hot Spot - a pretty good movie with Don Johnson, you get to see the boobies of Virginia Madson and Jennifer Connolly.

The Hot Spot (1990) ⭐ 6.4 | Crime, Drama, Romance

2h 10m | R

www.imdb.com

 

[outboard_256]

On my verizon hotspot if the battery dies and I plug it in it doesn't turn back on till I hit the power button. It will just charge the battery with it off. So shutting off power may not be the solution. You need to test that out.

 

[Ghit]

Thanks but no line of sight. There are about 1000 ft of trees between. I have considered running fiber, but I had to trench about 700 ft...

I would say don't even bother trenching, SMF fiber is very cheap and you don't really have to bury it, string it up along a fence line. Problem is connectors at either end, buy pre terminated. If you want to get fancy, buy with a pulling eye attached and run it in poly tube as a poor mans innerduct.

I haven't seen mentioned buying a cradlepoint. It is a more rugged version of what your using.

Check ebay both cradlepoint or 1000' fiber can be had for $1-200.

 

[CarolynandBob]

AC750 Wireless Dual Band 4G LTE Router

This 4G LTE router lets you share your mobile network with up to 64 devices. Enjoy uninterrupted HD movies and rapid file downloads. The router comes with 4× fast Ethernet ports.

www.tp-link.com

so i'm not too familiar with the consumer market versions, but doing a quick google, it looks like this might be a valid option to try. Its at a budget price point, and seems to check the boxes. I would confirm that whatever carrier you use (verizon, tmobile, att, etc) is covered under their network section...

View attachment 1147438

I order this. The one you suggested wouldn't get to me in time, before we head to FL. It will be here tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/Dionlink-120...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[CarolynandBob]

I order this. The one you suggested wouldn't get to me in time, before we head to FL. It will be here tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/Dionlink-1200Mbps-Unlocked-Wireless-Qualcomm/dp/B09ZXLMKFN/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=RDI8UTI39R2J&keywords=dionlink+sim+card+router&qid=1661084965&sprefix=dionlink+sim+card+router,aps,86&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExRDZUOUVSSTQ3UlBWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjg0MTkyMkFOMkxGUDg2NVYzTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjI5MzQxR1VRUjM4NVMyODc0JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

This seams to be working. I have it on the timer and so far it has reset the last 2 days and everything reconnected when it powered back on. Thought I was going to have to call Tmobile and give them the mac address or something as it wouldn't connect to the tower. Just left it and said I would call the next day. It connected about 30 min later.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[Waterjunky]

Make sure you have the security updated and settings customized. I deal with commercial modems from a company called Sierra Wireless. They are a decent unit in some regards but are a total mess when it comes to security. They have been repeatedly hacked. The companies attitude is basically "not my problem". The challenge is that they do not provide the tools within the firmware to secure the network correctly.... I have finally gone to a full private network within Verizon. I have also changed brand of modem I am using. The hardware I am supporting finally got so sick and tired of Sierra Wireless games, they are now building their own modems so its not much help to most.

One of the key things was the hackers didn't care what the modem was hooked to. They took control and were using them in denial of service attacks. The overage charges would be in the thousands per day.

On the commercial units I was using there were three wires for power. The third wire was a signal wire that could be used to power cycle the modem. Cut power to it and the modem shuts down, add power and back up it comes. Think of it like the ignition wire on your car stereo.

 

[CarolynandBob]

Make sure you have the security updated and settings customized. I deal with commercial modems from a company called Sierra Wireless. They are a decent unit in some regards but are a total mess when it comes to security. They have been repeatedly hacked. The companies attitude is basically "not my problem". The challenge is that they do not provide the tools within the firmware to secure the network correctly.... I have finally gone to a full private network within Verizon. I have also changed brand of modem I am using. The hardware I am supporting finally got so sick and tired of Sierra Wireless games, they are now building their own modems so its not much help to most.

One of the key things was the hackers didn't care what the modem was hooked to. They took control and were using them in denial of service attacks. The overage charges would be in the thousands per day.

On the commercial units I was using there were three wires for power. The third wire was a signal wire that could be used to power cycle the modem. Cut power to it and the modem shuts down, add power and back up it comes. Think of it like the ignition wire on your car stereo.

I did change the setting and used a strong password. The good thing about my setup is that there are only cameras for my shop on the system. For my house cameras I use my fiber line. I only let my phone connect to it to make the security changes, other wise I get a better signal with verizon on my phone. This is a Tmobile $20 a month hotspot plan.