Tag: Remote

Considerations for Successful Work and Travel: How to Stay Connected with Cellular

The ability to work remotely has opened up a world of opportunities for people who love to travel. With a cellular internet connection, you can work from almost anywhere in the world. Whether you’re a freelancer or a full-time remote worker, working from the road can be both exhilarating and challenging. In this blog, we’ll discuss the steps you can take to work from the road with a cellular internet connection.

The most crucial aspect of working from the road is a reliable internet connection. A stable and fast internet connection is essential for most remote work jobs, as most tasks require internet access. It’s important to research ahead of time and find out if your destination(s) offer any internet connectivity. Even if they do, we suggest investing in a cellular Internet device and service so that you don’t have to rely on someone else’s connection. 

Choose the right equipment

The first step to working from the road with a cellular internet connection is to choose the right equipment. You’ll need a reliable laptop and/or tablet along with a portable cellular hotspot device. This can either be your smartphone acting as a hotspot, a dedicated battery powered WiFi hotspot, or a router with embedded cellular modem. If you’re looking for the most reliable however, we recommend a router. These are meant to stay online 24/7 (if needed) and allow for multiple connections, wired and wireless. They can also support multiple WAN connections and automatically failover and failback between connections. 

You’ll also want to consider an antenna or signal booster that can improve the existing signals wherever you go. Should you select a router with an embedded modem, an antenna should be sufficient. These are meant for connecting directly to a single device at a time. However, if you will be using multiple cellular devices to connect with, then a signal booster is the best option. This will take the existing signal and boost it wirelessly to any device within range. 

Choose the right cellular provider

The next step is to choose the right cellular provider. Do some research to find out which providers offer the best coverage in the areas you’ll be traveling to. Look for providers that offer unlimited data plans, as you’ll be using a lot of data while working remotely. If you’re going to be using your phone, make sure your plan includes a good amount of hotspot data as well.

Find a good spot to work

Once you’ve set up your equipment and chosen a cellular provider, it’s time to find a good spot to work. Coverage maps show availability, but you won’t know the signal or speeds until you get on site. Test the connection speeds to verify if you have enough to work. You could also look for coffee shops, libraries, co-working spaces, or other places that offer free WiFi. Just make sure that the WiFi is also fast enough to support your work. 

Manage your data usage

Working from the road with a cellular internet connection means that you’ll be using a lot of data. To avoid running out of data in the middle of an important task, you need to manage your data usage carefully. One way to manage your data usage is to use data-saving apps and browser extensions. These tools can help you compress images and videos, block ads, and reduce your data usage while browsing the internet.

You should also be mindful of your data usage when streaming videos or music. Consider downloading your favorite shows and songs before hitting the road. This way you can avoid eating up your data plan too quickly. Just take a look at our data usage calculator to gather an idea of how much data you may need.

If unlimited plans are not offered, some folks will get multiple lines of data from the same carrier. This way they can switch SIM cards once one has used all its data allotment. If that’s not possible, they’ll opt for a different carrier as a secondary connection.

Stay connected and secure

Working remotely can be isolating, but it’s important to stay connected with your team and clients. Use video conferencing tools like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet to communicate with your team members and clients.

It’s also a good idea to set up a virtual private network (VPN) to protect your online privacy and security. A VPN can encrypt your internet traffic and protect your data from cyber threats. You can also find a router with a good firewall. This allows you to protect your entire network from possible threats.

When you’re connected to someone else’s Internet, it makes your devices vulnerable as they can be seen by other devices on the same network. If you plan on doing this, we recommend you use a router to connect into the network first. You will then have your own private network that you can connect all your personal devices to.

Have a backup plan

Even with the best equipment and planning, things can go wrong when working from the road. That’s why it’s important to have a backup plan in place. Consider carrying a backup battery for your laptop and smartphone, as well as a backup portable WiFi hotspot device. You can also download important documents and files to your laptop or smartphone, so that you can access them even if you don’t have an internet connection.

Before You Get on the Road

Working from the road with a cellular internet connection can be both challenging and rewarding. It’s important to do research beforehand so that you select the best cellular carrier and data plan. Once you have your hardware in place, test it out at your main location and see how it works. Evaluate the connection performance for your primary applications to make sure it’s sufficient. Remember that an antenna or signal booster can help with the performance. By following these steps, you can stay connected and productive while exploring the world.

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Cellular Routers vs Cell Phone Hotspots: What to Use for Business Failover

Businesses depend on reliable and stable internet connections to operate efficiently. In the event of a primary internet outage, having a backup solution is essential to minimize downtime and maintain productivity. Two common solutions for business failover are using a cell phone hotspot or a cellular router. While both provide a connection to a cellular network for Internet access, they do not offer the same benefits. We’d like to take a closer look at each of these solutions and compare their pros and cons. 

Cell Phone Hotspot

A cell phone hotspot is a feature offered by most modern smartphones and cellular providers. They allow you to share your device’s cellular data connection with other devices via WiFi. This option is convenient and easy to use, especially for single users (like remote workers) or small businesses with minimal internet needs. Pros of using a cell phone hotspot for business failover include:

  • Portability: A cell phone hotspot can be used anywhere and is easy to transport, making it ideal for remote workers or businesses that require frequent travel.
  • Affordability: A cell phone hotspot is a low-cost alternative to a cellular router, especially if the device is already owned by the business. Most carriers also include hotspot services with your data plan. 
  • Ease of use: To operate the hotspot on your phone, you simply need to turn it on, then turn it off when you’re done. There’s really nothing to it unless you want to adjust its name or password. 

Cons of using a cell phone hotspot for business failover include:

  • Availability: Hotspots are not meant for 24/7 use. Keep in mind that this is someone’s cell phone, so they will take it home when they leave the office. This makes it impossible to run any hardware like security cameras. They are also battery powered. You can keep them plugged in 24/7 to avoid losing power, but this shortens the battery life. 
  • Accessibility: If you have a shared printer and files on your primary network, these items will not be accessible. This is because your computer will be connected to the cell phone hotspot network. 
  • Failover: When your primary Internet connection fails, you will need to manually switch all critical devices to the hotspot, creating some additional downtime. 
  • Limited data & bandwidth: Most cell phone plans offer limited data allowances, which can be quickly exhausted by multiple devices connecting to the hotspot.
  • Limited User Support: Hotspots can usually only support up to 15 devices and only wireless connections. There are no Ethernet ports available for wired connections. 
  • Limited WiFi Range: The wireless range from hotspots are normally limited to 30ft or less. This can be even more degraded when you have interference in the environment. 
  • Limited interoperability: Some users may opt to use their hotspot with a WiFi as WAN router (or tethered to a router with USB WAN port) that can extend their WiFi range and user support. However, this can create issues with some applications working properly. If possible, it’s best to put the hotspot into a bridge/ passthrough mode, but this is not normally a supported feature on hotspots.
  • Unreliability: The reliability of a cell phone hotspot can vary depending on the location and network coverage. They also do not have external antenna ports to help with signal strength. All of this makes it unsuitable for businesses that require a consistent internet connection. 
  • Security risks: Sharing your cell phone’s internet connection with other devices can pose security risks, especially if sensitive data is transmitted.

Cellular Router

A cellular router is a standalone device that connects to the internet via a cellular network. This option is ideal for any user, but is generally used by businesses with more complex internet needs and larger teams. Pros of using a cellular router for business failover include:

  • Reliability: Cellular routers are designed to provide a consistent and stable internet connection, making them ideal for businesses that require close to 24/7 uptime.
  • Failover: Cellular routers can sometimes connect with your primary Internet connection and provide automatic failover between connections. This means all your devices (critical and non-critical) can be connected to the same network, if needed. You don’t have to manually switch devices from your primary to backup network. 
  • Bandwidth: Cellular routers can handle more data and support several devices, making them suitable for larger businesses.
  • Security: Cellular routers come with built-in security features to protect your network and data from threats.
  • Antenna Connections: Most cell phones do not have external antenna connections, but routers generally do. This makes it easier to increase signal strength and quality directly to the device. 

Cons of using a cellular router for business failover include:

  • Cost: Cellular routers are more expensive than cell phone hotspots.
  • Complexity: Cellular routers can be more complex to set up and manage, especially for small businesses with limited IT resources.
  • Size: Routers are usually larger in size and will require constant power for 24/7 use. 

As you can now see, the choice between using a cell phone hotspot or a cellular router for business failover will depend on the specific needs of your business. For remote workers, travelers and small businesses with minimal internet needs, a cell phone hotspot may be a suitable and affordable option. Hotspots are great for temporary use and provide a simple failover solution. For larger businesses with complex internet requirements, a cellular router may be the better choice for its reliability, bandwidth, and security features. However, either solution could be suitable for many applications, so it’s important to consider the differences.

Should you need assistance with determining your ideal solution, reach out to our team by phone, email, or chat! 

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How to Find a Cellular Failover Solution for Home Office/ Remote Work

When it comes to failover Internet connections, any type of Internet service can be used to backup another. However, due to the reliability of a cellular Internet connection, this is typically the recommended service type. Since the service comes through wirelessly from cell towers, it is less prone to service outages. Unlike wired services, which are run underground in most cases and can easily be broken. 

If you require Internet service in order to work remotely from home or run a home office, then you should consider a failover connection. This can be quite an overwhelming process when you first get started. We hope this article will help guide you through. 

Selecting a Cellular Provider 

Another benefit of cellular services is that they are quick and easy to install. Some users will start by contacting the same service provider as they use on their cell phones. This is an easy way to verify where you have coverage. If needed, check coverage maps from other providers to compare. 

Also think about whether you need 4G LTE or 5G service. Currently, the fastest 5G service is limited to small areas within large cities. Other 5G services will provide similar performance as 4G LTE, so it’s worth verifying this with the carrier if it’s not clearly defined on their map. You may also want to look into how much bandwidth your common applications use. This will help determine how much bandwidth speed you need from the cellular provider. 

Keep in mind that in any case, cellular bandwidth speeds are variable. They will differ with regards to the frequency band(s) your cellular router is connected to, along with its signal strength and quality. Other factors such as the user load on the cell tower you’re connecting to can also affect your speeds. The best approach is to place the cellular router in a part of your location where signal and speeds are most stable. If you find the only place like that is outside, an external antenna can always be added. 

Purchasing a Data Plan

Once you’ve decided on a cellular provider to use for your home office or remote work, you’ll need to purchase a data plan. If you have coverage from multiple providers, check with each to compare what data plans are offered. These plans will typically differ with how much data they allow you to use over the course of a month, as well as the price. If you’re not sure how much that is, you can utilize our data usage calculator to assist. We’ve also outlined typical usage for common applications such as VoIP, Video Calls, and VPN to help you determine how much data you may need. 

You’ll find that in most cases usage required for your most important applications can be well under 1 GB of data. This is the amount of data that 5Gstore includes with their current failover plans. Any additional data used will be priced at $10 per 1 GB. For more information, check out our Data Plans here. 

Finding an Appropriate Failover Router

The cellular provider will give you an activated SIM card along with the data plan. This will be inserted into the cellular router. What do you need to look for exactly? Are there any specific features you need like VPN or QoS support? What about the hardware – do you need a certain number of Ethernet ports? Use our router advisor to help narrow down the options. 

Have you selected a cellular provider to use? If so, do they have 5G service in your location? Even if they do, is it necessary to use your applications successfully? As we stated earlier, determining how much bandwidth speed your applications require will help answer this. 

Consider how you might limit your data usage when on your failover connection. This is easiest when you push only your mission critical devices/ applications (e.g. your VoIP phone and computer) over the failover connection. This can be possible by keeping your failover network separate from your primary one. 

Or, you may opt for a multi-WAN router that takes both connections and handles the failover itself. These routers usually support load balancing rules, which can also help with managing usage. Load balancing differs between router manufacturers, but generally speaking, it allows you to send specific connections over a single Internet service as needed. For example, you can have your VoIP setup to connect to either your primary or failover service while all other devices/ applications can only use your primary service. 

Where to Start?

Whether you’re looking for a separate failover router or something that can connect to both your primary and failover connections, here are some popular solutions:

Contact the experts at 5Gstore (phone, email, or chat) for assistance with finding the appropriate router and failover plan for your needs. 

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What Does the New Version of the ezDevice App Support?

There is a new version (3.1.0) of the ezDevice mobile application for iOS and Android devices. This app is designed for managing our Remote Power IP Switches, both UIS (522*, 622B) and ezOutlet (22B, 62B, 72B) models. IP Switches help users remotely power cycle network devices automatically, manually, or via a schedule. 

The previous version of this app experienced a couple issues. Such as, being able to delete a group, or find the search bar. General tweaks and other bugs were fixed to enhance the overall user experience. 

They’ve also added a few new features and details, which include the following:

  • Add device by scanning the QR code
  • Show current detected WiFi Signal Strength
  • Option to delete Cloud4UIS account
  • Increased Outlet reset count-down timer accuracy

If you have any questions, or want to learn more about our IP Switches, please reach out to our team by phone, email, or chat!

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Where to Find Information About Peplink’s InTouch for Remote LAN Management

With Peplink’s release of router firmware 8.2.0, they added a new feature called “InTouch.” For remotely accessing LAN devices on your network, no longer will you need a public IP address, costly VPN services or Out of Band Management (OOBM) licenses.

There has not been much information surrounding this feature, but the company will be publicly announcing it on April 19. 

Peplink describes the feature as a service that allows remote management of any device, anywhere. InTouch leverages SpeedFusion Cloud and InControl2 by extending your reach to any device UI backed by a Peplink router. 

InTouch is easy to set up and all you need is the following:

  • a valid InControl2 subscription
  • a SpeedFusion Cloud data plan
  • a Peplink router running firmware 8.2.0

Want to see just how easy it is? Check out our instructional walk-through here.

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How Does Peplink’s New InTouch Feature Work?

With Peplink’s new firmware version 8.2.0 comes a new feature that has been long awaited by many users, including our team. That feature is called “InTouch” and it allows folks to access IP based devices that sit behind their Peplink router. It works by leveraging SpeedFusion Cloud, which means you must have an active SpeedFusion Cloud connection. 

We wanted to test this out to see how well it works. Outlined below are instructions. In our example, we are accessing our Remote Power IP Switch, model UIS-622b. This device helps to monitor our router’s WAN connection as well as local devices on the network. If the Internet connection fails, or a device drops its connection to the network, a reset to the router or other device’s power is triggered. This usually resolves the connection issue. 

  1. Log into your InControl2 account at https://incontrol2.peplink.com
  2. Select the Organization, then Group of the router you want to access devices behind
  3. Click on the router device from the group to open the Device Details page
  4. Hover over the Settings tab and select InTouch
  1. From this page you’ll add devices you want to access. Click Add
  1. Enter a name for the device and its local IP address – you can obtain this from the cloud app or Cloud4UIS.com for your Switch OR you can typically find this from your router’s client list. 
  2. Click OK 
  1. Click Save Changes on the next screen
  1. Now that we’ve added our device, we can access it from the Device Details page or Group Overview page. 
  1. Shown here is the Device Details page. Note the new InTouch button. 
  1. We’ll click here to select the IP Switch we just added. 
  1. A new page will open and we’ll be connected to the web administration page of the IP Switch. 
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Spring into Action!

If you’re like most people, you’re eager to get outside this spring. Now you can get out while you work with the assistance of Verizon’s One Talk service. 

Verizon One Talk is a versatile, multi-line phone solution for offices, remote work, or a combination of both. Your mobile phone number is shared across multiple devices, giving you a single phone number, so that you can gain access to calls and business telephone features while on the go.

Just imagine you have an essential appointment out of the office, but you have been waiting on an important call. Not to worry because you can be at two places at the same time with the Verizon One Talk Mobile App! Now you can receive all of your important calls from anywhere in the world.

How Does it Work?

Go to your Google Play or App Store. Search for the Verizon One Talk app and download. Or click on the links below.

Google Play

App Store

Follow these steps:

  • Sign in
  • Each One Talk phone number can use the One Talk Mobile and Desktop apps on up to 5 different devices. Using the One Talk phone number in the Desktop app counts toward the limit of 5 devices.
  • Open One Talk and sign in.
  • Select One Talk Phone Number and enter your One Talk phone number.
  • Select Device Name and enter a name for your device. (Minimum 3 characters.)
  • Click Request PIN.
  • Check your email for your activation PIN*. It’s the email address your One Talk administrator used when setting up your Verizon One Talk account.
  • Enter your activation PIN and click Activate.

Your mobile app will now ring when your desk phone rings! 

Need a break? Turn your app on Do Not Disturb in the phone app. Then all your calls will go to your voicemail!

*The One Talk Mobile app is not compatible with Galaxy Z Fold phones or Microsoft Surface Tablets

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Working Remote in Rural Kentucky on LTE

In our business, even before the pandemic, we’ve been helping customers find ways to work remotely. As an experiment I wanted to test this out for myself. So, I took a week trip to our family farmhouse in Isonville, KY. This is in a remote area with lots of hills and little to no cellular reception. In the recent past we have been able to achieve a better signal, though it usually teeters around one bar, if we are lucky!  

Knowing the challenge of getting a good enough cellular signal – and that I would need to be able to maintain VoIP calls and load webpages and videos correctly – I decided to go with two styles of antennas. One would be an outdoor omni-directional antenna and the other would be an outdoor high gain Yagi antenna. The Omni-directional antenna I went with was a SureCall Ultra-Wideband LTE/5G Antenna. The Yagi antenna was a SureCall Ultra Wide Band Outdoor Yagi Antenna. 

My antenna setup

I also decided since this would be a test for future use, I wanted to do a temporary setup. I bought some standard 2 foot length 1.25 inch PVC tubing from the local hardware store and a few fittings to fashion a temporary mounting pole in the upstairs room of the farmhouse. The Peplink router I used was a Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini LTE-A. 

Armed with my Pepwave Max BR1 Mini, the antennas and the PVC I went to work on getting the antennas mounted and aligned for the best signal acquisition I could obtain. I used the data from cell mapper to get an idea of where I needed to aim the Surecall Wide-Band Yagi Antenna and an app on my phone (which I use when I go hiking) called GPS Status (iOS Link | Android Link) to aim the antenna precisely.

Results from GPS Status

Using the stock antennas on the Pepwave Max BR1 Mini on the second floor I had a signal value of -119dBm, and this is a horrible signal to be sure. After connecting the omni-directional antenna to Cellular Main and the Surecall Wide-Band Yagi Antenna to Cellular Diversity I was able to acquire a signal value of -73dBm. This was a HUGE improvement. I ran a speed test with the stock antennas, and I was only able to get about 4.5Mbps down and 0.4Mbps up. With the antennas in place, I was able to get 19.8Mbps down and 8.7Mbps up. This was about 15.5 miles to the nearest tower from the farmhouse.

Distance from farmhouse to tower; Frequency bands use in the area

As another test I decided to try and use my old cellular router, a Netgear LB1120. This is what I had used prior to receiving the Pepwave Max BR1 Mini. With the stock antennas I had absolutely no signal. With the SureCall Wide-Band Yagi antenna, I aimed it at the one and only cellular tower that had the band it supported in the area (Band 4.) The result was staggering, to say the least. I went from no signal to a signal of -89dBm. Now while that doesn’t sound like a huge improvement, let me explain why this result was so jaw dropping. The tower I was connected to was just shy of 24 miles away!

Distance from farmhouse to cell tower
Additional frequency info for the area

My results with these antennas have given me the ability to have a future permanent setup at a very remote rural location that I can reliably work from. With a relatively low budget. I know that other people in “Rural America” have this exact same issue with not being able to get steady service in an area that is usually not serviceable. My results are a testament to how well these antennas perform.

You can check out the products we used (just with longer cables) at the following link: https://5gstore.com/cart/33660

If you have any questions please give us a call and we will be happy to assist you Monday – Friday 9am to 6pm CST (833) 547-8673.

Tests performed and addressed in this article were done, and details written by David W. with the 5Gstore team.

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