I'm currently using.....

[Didneywhorl]

I'll be the starter of this branch of the forum...


I'm currently using Unlimitedville's Sprint hotspot plan, I get pretty dern good LTE/Spark signal.
$99 a month, no contract plan.


I used to have Mellinicom, until they cancelled the service on me.
Prior to that I had a few other services that also were closed down.

[gonus]

Switching to calyx. I just signed up for them and am waiting to try them out. So do not take it as a plug. If anyone else is that would be great to hear some good news

I was(currently am) also using unlimitedville. I got an email today telling me that end of April (2018) it is going away and I will need to switch to a blue or pink plan. They were great and I will try the pink or blue plan if the Calyx plan doesn't work out.

[Didneywhorl]

Going away? Seriously? Here we go again.

[Jflex113]

In the past I have used a Calyx plan and those plans have been solid. Never had an issue with them. I did for a few months switch over to a personal Verizon phone plan and use that. For those of you out there that are curious about using Verizon it is not open NAT or route-able IP like a r.ispsn sprint APN plan would be. I have also noticed that the buffer time on most any video such as YouTube can be flaky at times with Verizon. That being said the speeds on Verizon (at least where I live at) are much better than Sprint especially on the upload side of things. About a month ago I switch back over to my Calyx Sprint plan, it might be a little bit slow than Verizon but the ping times are the same for the most part. Sprint is also an open NAT which is a plus for gaming and the video buffer is far better as well. I would get a max DL of 150 mbps on Verizon and a max UL of about 45. On Sprint I get closer to 85 mbps DL and 5 UL. I used to us a MC7455 as my main modem but about a month or so ago I upgraded to the EM7565 and have been loving that.

[Didneywhorl]

Thats great! Im being forced out if unlimitedvilles Sprint plan, so I think I might give Calyx a go.

Im hoping to upgrade to the new Sierra cat12 modem soon too.

[Jflex113]

You're not the only one. I've seen a few other that this is happening to as well unfortunately. Give Calyx a go, they have always been good.

[fjguyote]

I just signed up for calyx also, so hopefully they're as good as everyone says. I've also been looking into getting a better modem/router through The Wireless Haven but was wondering what exactly you gain from that- just better signal (both cell tower and wifi at home) I assume?

[Didneywhorl]

The modem, like a sierra wireless, gives you a lot of freedom to use multiple SIMs (providers) and more control over your radio. The router is like any other the features are what matter. The routers sold by The Wireless Haven are customized for using your own modem module and custimizable antenna setups.
Antennae are where the signal boosting happens.
In effect the equipment allows you the control you need and the options you want to be able to scavenge every ounce of available signal(s).

[Jflex113]

Another nice thing about having router is that you can setup a VPN if you wish to do so on the router. And if you have a sprint plan with the APN r.ispsn you can setup UPnP and have an open NAT type. That's a big deal for us gamers out there. As for signal and speed boost have a the modem/router setup blows away the hotspot in my particular location. I would usually get 30 mbps DL and 2 mbps UL on the hotspot where as on my Linksys build I regularly pull at a minimum 65 mbps DL and 5.5 mbps UL. Later at night also when there is less tower congestion it's not uncommon to see triple digit download speeds. I would highly recommend a modem/router build. If you have any questions feel free to ask away.

[mrjeff]

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you switch from the Calyx provided hotspot to the sierra wireless? thanks.

[Didneywhorl]

The Sierra wireless modem module can act as a generic modem that the wireless networks will accept if setup properly. When configured with a SIM slot, you swap the SIM card from your hotspot to the modem and configure it appropriately.

There are tutorials on this site that should give more detail if you need, or ask about any clarity you need.

[cherub05]

"NetBuddy" MVNO only on AT&T.....if your in their incumbent area (AT&T) then they should have the best coverage, that's why I went with them. I also have a personal vendetta against them because they said "Fixed Wireless" wasn't available to me. What a money grab they have orchestrated from the FCC! 2.5 BILLION dollars and B30 is screaming at me. BUT its double NAT and it sucks for gaming, so I'm searching for an excellent VPN...any suggestions?

[Didneywhorl]

Good ole dbl NAT. Im not familiar, yet, with ATT but with Sprint I simply needed to find a different device(SIM) that was provisioned to Sprints public ip APN to get rid of the dbl NAT issue; aka crappy ps4 online play, and impossible XBOX online play.

Im fairly certain that your service area has nothing to do with why you have dbl NAT.

VPN bypasses was something I couldnt seem to workout myself.

[Trkman76!]

JFlex,
What carrier are you using on your new 7565. I’m on Calyx and wondered if you know of anyone having luck using sprint with the 7565 on Calyx.
Thanks

[Didneywhorl]

Ive heard of a few who have done so just fine. For some odd reason it will not use B25, but you can 3xCA on B41.

[Jflex113]

I have used Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile and AT&T on my EM7565. I rank them as follows in my area from best to worst: T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T.

I currently use Verizon as my back up connection as I have a fiber fed Ubiquiti PowerBeam as my main connection and I gave my T-Mobile to a buddy of mine who needed it more than me.

T-Mobile is great because I can get an unlimited phone plan and they don't seem to care when I mask my traffic to look like a phone. Verizon sort cares and they throttle me on some stuff but not other things. Sprint is okay but if you live in an area with a lot of trees and no LoS to the tower you're going to have a hard time getting good signal. And as for AT&T, I only picked up one band from them and the fastest speed test I could get was 17 mbps down by 3 mbps up.... pretty slow compared to the other 3. AT&T also has poor cell phone service around here as well. I live 3 miles from a cluster of towers and I have LoS with all of them so I'd say that is a pretty good way to test who is the best.

If you want a solid phone plan to use in a phone use either Verizon or T-Mobile. If you want a solid plan without having to mask your traffic use one of those expensive sprint plans other wise I'd use T-Mobile all day long.

Here is a comparison of the 3 carrier's I could recommend.

T-Mobile

EM7656 T-Mobile.jpg

Verizon

EM7565 Verizon.jpg

Sprint

EM7565 Sprint.jpg

[swwifty]

wow, those are some pretty good speeds.

jealous of that LOS

[Jflex113]

It's nice but I use LTE as my backup connection now as I now have a fiber fed powerbeam. It's a shared service but I typically can pull 50 to 70 mbps at 10ms

[Didneywhorl]

Super nice. I cant generally get better than 19ms ping

[swwifty]

It's nice but I use LTE as my backup connection now as I now have a fiber fed powerbeam. It's a shared service but I typically can pull 50 to 70 mbps at 10ms

that backup connection is better than both of my connections combined (4G & DSL)

[Jflex113]

Idk what you're situation is like but I'd look into remotely setting up your equipment and using ubiquiti equipment to bounce the connection back to you location

[swwifty]

Idk what you're situation is like but I'd look into remotely setting up your equipment and using ubiquiti equipment to bounce the connection back to you location

not sure what you mean, like getting a high speed connection somewhere near by, and using a PTP bridge to get it back to my house?

[Jflex113]

Yes. For some people this is their only option,

[swwifty]

Yes. For some people this is their only option,

I've thought of this, but my 4G connection and DSL combined is good enough for me

[Didneywhorl]

Id prefer to beam a wired connection to me over LTE, but LTE is what I have for now.

[BillA]

Excuse my ignorance, but how do you switch from the Calyx provided hotspot to the sierra wireless? thanks.

Calyx states on their website that using the sim in another device/router other than what they provide can lead to suspension of the service. It may not happen, but just a heads up.

And now let's all have an LOL moment at the insane prices those UnlimitedVille clowns are advertising. ($149/month woot?!) Maybe they've been smoking too much reefer lately... lol https://unlimitedville.com/plans

[Didneywhorl]

I used to be a victim, but I had zero Idea of the options available. That was prob 4 years ago now. They are crazy high with some of it, and they have lost provider accounts in the past screwing their customers