WiFi in caravan

knightstyle

On many sites we can get a poor WiFi connection but only for 1 device. Is there something I can put on the roof, where the signal is stronger, and have more than 1 device connected wirelessly?

la531983

Starlink….

knightstyle

Sorry some of us are on a tight budget and that is very expensive! I just want to use the site WiFi in my caravan without having to go and sit outside by the WiFi aerial.

Also the mobile phone signal is just 1 bar on 4g.

fwor

I stopped using site wi-fi years ago, because the performance during peak times can be atrocious (lots of people all simultaneously trying to stream their TV shows via a tiny connection from site to the Internet itself).

These days most locations have an acceptable mobile phone signal on one carrier or another - I just have a dual-SIM phone so that I can choose the one with the best signal level. The second SIM costs £5/month (Lebara, for example).

The phone sits up in the roof of the van, set up as a wi-fi hotspot in as good a reception place as you can get short of going outside and putting it up a tree. I then use a laptop in the van to work from, with wi-fi connection to the phone.

knightstyle

Sorry but as I said we are currently in the woods at Sandringham, just 1 bar on 4g and when we go to Graffham there is no signal at all.

victor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141926#Comment_82141926

^^^This is the answer^^^

Yes it is expensive, but if there is no acceptable on-site WiFi and a very poor or non-existant mobile signal, you have little alternative. Unless you can of course survive without internet for the duration of your stay!

Even Starlink needs a clear path to the satellite, so if you're under trees or similar, it may not work.

la531983

Either that or work out if other mobile providers have better reception there, look at coverage maps.

Grumpy_chap

Check mobile signal with all providers and then would something like this work?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3424999?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142123#Comment_82142123

Rather than £95 at Argos for something locked to EE, could try a similar device, unlocked, for 18 quid at CeX and source your own SIM.

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=SMONGEN150MIFIUNL

These cheap MiFi devices don't have connections for external aerials, which might give a better signal on a pricier device.

Rodders53

Check the Caravanning Forums: CMC's own, CCC own and the Caravan Talk forum:
You'll find many more like-minded folk there who will possibly have the answer to your problem via external antennas and suchlike kit.

(Not that it will help a lot as the site wifi on both Clubs' sites has been notoriously poor for many years and still not getting better).

You may be best investing in a good external antenna mobile data setup with multiple sims for the different networks as the tin box sides of most caravans (plus foil-backed insulation) act as a faraday cage.

SiliconChip

Have you asked other people on the site what they do? I know that on the site in mid-Wales where my sister has a static caravan quite a few use Starlink, although she uses a mobile hotspot. I doubt if there's any other viable alternative unless you can persuade the site owner to invest in something that offers a stronger wifi signal across the site.