Wireless Joint

Thanks for taking the time to help me out. I've done some research on here, but there are still some things I'm unclear about or just need confirmation. I'll try to make this brief, but I also want to give you the full scope of what I'm working with so you don't have to ask me for more info.

The Goal:
Set my parents up with truly unlimited internet with no throttling that they can use as their primary internet at home, but also take it on the road with them. That is, at least until Starlink becomes the clear and obvious choice and worth the money. They are recently retired and have a travel trailer. They plan on being on the road a lot in the near future.

The Situation:
My parents live in rural NY, I live in FL. Last I knew, the only wireless network they could get at home is Verizon. We have been on Verizon for a very long time and have a family plan with unlimited data on our phones. They also have a Novatel T1114v for the home and internet thing. It only includes 15GB of data per month. Sure, they could pay $60 more per month to upgrade it to 100GB/month, but I still don't think that would be enough if they want to get rid of DirecTV and go to streaming only for watching live TV and demand content. As far as the old home phone number we put on that device, they would have no problem porting that to Google Voice and having those calls go to my mother's cell phone.

My Understanding:
From what I've read, there are basically two ways to go about the setup. You can either pop a SIM card into a router/modem combo, or you can tether a cell phone directly to a router. If there is a third option then I must have missed it. I have read that Verizon/Visible is the hardest carrier to work around. I read and understand how TTL works and that I would need to tweak the settings. I also read that, even after tweaking the TTL settings, sometimes your carrier can blacklist your IMEI and then your router is essentially useless unless you switch to a different carrier. This is the last thing that I want to happen!!! I understand that some people figure out ways to clone the IMEI, but that is illegal and not discussed on this forum. So, I assume that tethering would be the safer way to go? I also read that changing the TTL settings sometimes isn't enough and you have to use a VPN. I already have a subscription to IPVanish and I could figure out what I need to do for this setup.

So, what is the easiest and most fail proof way of going about this? My parents aren't the most tech savvy people, but if I have to walk my father through a simple set of instructions I could. I would like to be able to setup the equipment at my house to test it, then ship it to them and have them be able to just plug it in and use it. If there is a way to put the SIM card directly in the unit, not have to worry about blacklisting, and setup a VPN right in the router (so all connected devices use it), then that is what I want to do. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to take the time to break it down for me and point me in the right direction!

Welcome to the forum!

You have done more research than most and posted basically a complete question. Gold star!

One question: What are their signal "bars" in their house?

The absolute easiest route is to tether an activated cell phone, or hotspot, to a router that can distribute the internet connection throughout their home. Bypassing hotspot limits would be needed for the phone. BillA has posted much on how to do this.

The problem for this setup comes into play when there is barely a usable signal.

A cell phone booster system can help here, but if the connection is primarily for full time data use, there is a chance the cost of such a system far exceeds the true benefit. Sometimes a simple router/modem combo with a LPDA antenna can outperform the booster. In this case you cant tether.

VPN is seeming to be the route to go as well, good call.

So, circle back. What signal do they typically have at/in their house?

Didneywhorl wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:33 am Welcome to the forum!

You have done more research than most and posted basically a complete question. Gold star!

Yes two gold stars

I think they are going to be moving to RV park to RV park. Which means there will be a lot of Modems Trying to do the same thing. So there could be congestion on the tower next to the park.

Thanks for the quick reply! They actually have an older Wilson booster with a yagi antenna that I installed probably 10 years ago. Today I am going to have my dad snap a picture of the model number, because I don't even remember what bands it's working on. Yesterday I told him to unplug it for a few days to see what the signal is like without it. I will report back once I know. Last time I was there visiting I seemed to have a pretty decent signal outside. I think the coverage has improved significantly since I installed that booster.

As for the signal strength when they are on the road, that is something I worry about. A powerful omnidirectional antenna hooked up to a router/modem would be the cheaper than a $500 WeBoost system or similar. Plus, if there is a useable signal, they could just use wifi calling. I highly doubt that the booster they already have will be sufficient to hook up to these routers, but I would be pleasantly surprised if it is compatible with the current bands used. On the flip side, if they tether a phone they would have to have a booster like you said. I haven't done much research into the actual tethering process and the steps involved. If it's too complicated then it may not be the right option for them.

Reflecting back to my post, I guess I should have boiled it down to two simple parts.

1) If I tether a phone to a router, how complex is it to connect or disconnect each time you change locations? Is there a how-to somewhere on this site that breaks it down for Verizon customers? We don't need to get into signal strength. I just need to know how to set it up and what steps my parents would have to take each time they need to connect (including using a VPN).

2) If I go the router/modem route, how high is the risk of Verizon shutting off service if I don't clone the IMEI? Assuming that I activate the SIM card in an old phone, swap it over, make sure the TTL settings are correct, and somehow setup a VPN connection within the router; What is the likelihood that at any time it could get disconnected or throttled?

Didneywhorl wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:33 am Welcome to the forum!

You have done more research than most and posted basically a complete question. Gold star!

One question: What are their signal "bars" in their house?

The absolute easiest route is to tether an activated cell phone, or hotspot, to a router that can distribute the internet connection throughout their home. Bypassing hotspot limits would be needed for the phone. BillA has posted much on how to do this.

The problem for this setup comes into play when there is barely a usable signal.

A cell phone booster system can help here, but if the connection is primarily for full time data use, there is a chance the cost of such a system far exceeds the true benefit. Sometimes a simple router/modem combo with a LPDA antenna can outperform the booster. In this case you cant tether.

VPN is seeming to be the route to go as well, good call.

So, circle back. What signal do they typically have at/in their house?

The old booster they have is a Wilson 271201 850/1900MHz dual band booster. Surprisingly it is still boosting both frequencies. And according to my father, it does make a difference. He got 2 bars standing in the middle of the house without it, compared to 4 bars with it plugged in.

I realize that 700MHz or 1700MHz would be a lot more common for Verizon. So I don't imagine them taking the old booster on the road with them.

See link may fit your needs
https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

850 is verizon band 5 which is a valid option, 1900 is band 2 (i think both up and down though not sure) also a valid option on verizon. That said the more popular bands seem to be 4,13 and 66