As much as we try not to, we can’t help but want to get online when we are away in the van. First and foremost, being self employed musicians means we rely on email for gig enquiries and new student enquiries. Being unable to get online means we can’t keep tabs on our business, let alone keep an eye on our bank accounts, keep in touch with family on longer tours and back up our photos. So as much as we sometimes may crave being cut off from tinterweb, in reality it just cannot be.
After 4 years of touring Britain and Europe and relying on our iPhones, and dodgy 3G signal, not to mention an almighty large phone Bill following our last trip abroad (facebook addict alert!!) the time had come for us to invest In a better solution for our internet needs.
Enter Motorhome Wifi which I’d read extensively about in various magazines, blogs, forums etc.
Right from the onset, I knew we’d made the right choice- Keith spent a good half an hour discussing our requirements with Adam, who was friendly, knowledgeable and “user friendly” I.e didn’t bombard us with techno jargon!! As fellow motorhomers themselves, they understood our needs when off site- as we mainly tend to stay on BritStops these days, or aires/ France Passion sites abroad, we were interested in an antenna that would allow us to pick up pub wifi networks in the comfort of the motorhome, or Free wifi hotspots (more on that later)
After a lengthily discussion, it seemed that the directional iBoost antenna would best suit our needs, promising to pick up signals up to 1km away.
Having just left BT broadband, and signing up to Sky, we would no longer be able to use the BT hotspots (or so we thought) Adam told us about a system that allowed us to buy a Fon account for a one off payment of £34, and this would enable us to still use the BT hotspots. Perfect, and info that we would not have known otherwise, so thanks Adam.
We placed our order at 3pm on Monday with the also friendly Sophie, and at 8.30am Tuesday morning it arrived! Outstanding service!
Once unpacked, it was easy to assemble and set up (although I have to be honest, Keith has rang a couple of times with questions, both of which have been answered quickly and non patronisingly- thank you again!)
We enjoyed giving it a trial run on our weekend away last weekend, and even at a pub in the middle of nowhere we were able to pick up 4 or 5 BT Fon hotspots, not to mention both pub’s networks. It’s also worth mentioning that without the iBoost, we were unable to find these networks on our iPads, iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones.
The other thing that is worth noting is that the antenna collects one signal and then allows you to connect numerous devices to that one signal- excellent for those of you, who like us, have more than one device. When we used to use BT hotspots we could only log on one at a time as we only had one username. This takes that problem away! Hurrah!
We were able to keep an eye on our business email (I know we were only away for 2 nights but…!) update the blog, back up photos, use spotify, Stream music, use facebook/ twitter, and my new favourite site walk4life which I’ve enjoyed looking on for walks local to where we are staying , and updating my miles walked (55miles since 10th Jan!)
So, without a shadow of a doubt, we would give this an almighty 10/10, excellent service, easy to use, and a great product and want to recommend it to anyone else who values the internet whilst on their travels!
Thanks for a great addition to our motorhome gadgets cupboard 🙂
Very interesting, I hope to order one this week. One thing worries me slightly as I have a small panel van – do you find the size of the internal box a bit on the large size for a motorhome – does it come with fixings to hang it vertically on a wall?
The internal box which plugs into 12v socket isn’t big at all, it’s about the same surface size as our iPad mini, and has little feet on. I’m sure it would be easy to sort out a way to fix to a wall, however we don’t keep it out permanently, we only get it out when we want to go online. The external antenna is also pretty small, and has a revolving sucker which enables you to stick it onto the side or a window.
Lydia
Having read your write up I have bought and fitted one this week. I have fitted it as a prominent installation in the gap between the rear cupboard and the back door on our panel van. Thanks for your reply. Picture here:- http://www.motorhometravels.co.uk/our-vans/autocruise.html
Excellent- glad info was of use 🙂 nice pics and I like your blog too! We’ve been talking about panel van campers this week… Possibly a downsize option for us at some point. Happy travels 🙂
That should have read ‘Permanent’ installation 🙂
Having used the Motorhome WiFi for a few week sI am very pleased with its performance. Major problem with BT WiFi though in France as I could not get logged on at all. Tried everything they recommended but SFR-FON would not accept our logon anywhere, even trying the BT/ prefix and after spending over an hour on BT Chat helpline with a totally useless Indian Call centre guy. Even tried setting up a new email with them but that did not work either. Worked great in the UK and near French Macdonalds and campsites.
Hope you enjoy Scotland.
Thanks for your feedback- interesting to read! We’re off to France next week so will see how we get on. :-/ actually, thinking about it, I think I saw an update from Adam at Motorhomewifi regarding France and BtFon- I will see if I can find it
Thanks for the excellent info, we also have a iboost and we are happy with it. I plug mine into a live 12v feed on the dashboard and stick the antenna to the inside of the windscreen, it even picks up signal from inside when the external thermal blinds are fitted meaning it’s safe at night inside the van when on Aires.