T-Mobile Personal CellSpot (Cel-Fi Duo Booster)... Crazy?

[PetePetePete]

Anyone ever use on of these on a boat to help bring in a fringe signal?

In my case: T-Mobile in Bahamas...

[zboss]

Originally Posted by PetePetePete

Anyone ever use on of these on a boat to help bring in a fringe signal?

In my case: T-Mobile in Bahamas...

You need to be realistic on how much boost you can expect to get from one of these devices. If you are having no bars, you may get one bar and if you have two bars you may get three bars, but you will almost never get from 0 bars to 2 or 3 bars.

The consequence is that you can probably have an OK conversation with 1 bar but you aren't going to get the full speed of the 2g or 3g service, if at all.

The bare minimum "bars" I have had success getting a useful internet connection with in the Bahamas is two over our Wilson device.

[PetePetePete]

Makes sense... I'm thinking if I'm on the fringe... say, 1 bar... this would help me get a bit better...

I'm wondering about the "registering" part?

[Delancey]

FYI T-mobile unlimited data does not permit tethering to cell phone outside of the US. Not sure what you're planning on doing or whether this matters to you.

We got a T-mobile phone to take to the Bahamas and ended up having to get data from BTC to do work on iPad or laptop.

[PetePetePete]

Originally Posted by Delancey

FYI T-mobile unlimited data does not permit tethering to cell phone outside of the US. Not sure what you're planning on doing or whether this matters to you.

We got a T-mobile phone to take to the Bahamas and ended up having to get data from BTC to do work on iPad or laptop.

T-Mobile Sim Card inside iPad.
+ Lightning plug to HDMI to TV.
I just need it for email and simple stuff.

[Kenomac]

I use an iPad Air 2 with a T-Mobile SIM card. It's very slow 2G service which is ok for email, news and CF etc, but forget about video. It takes 6-8 minutes to download a 1:30 video on youtube. Otherwise, so far so good for what we need.

[zboss]

The newest iPad introduced yesterday has a filesystem like on the Mac. You will be able to download/upload files into a directory and then transfer them to a mac.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/05/io...ystem-to-ipad/

Also, the T-Mobile One Plus International plan, which can be added for $25 a month, includes unlimited international tethering.

"Tethering: Tethering at max 3G speeds; full speeds avail. with Plus Int’l. See T-Mobile.com/OpenInternet for data management details. Standard int’l speeds approx. 256 kbps. "

[LoudMusic]

To repeat what others have said, T-Mobile international roaming is 2G. It works and is good but it's obviously slow. But you're on a boat - what's the rush?

[Kenomac]

Here's the results from an actual speed test on the T-Mobile International roaming plan. I'm on a 3G TIM network with 3-4 bars. It took 1.5 minutes to upload this photo to CF.

To people used to fast service, this would seem like the AOL dial up days from 25 years ago.

[PetePetePete]

Thanks folks. I think T-Mobile will do what I want. It doesn't need to be crazy fast. Just needs to work well enough for me to send email, etc.

[tedowens]

I also tried to use T-mobile in the Bahamas, but I was never able to get a signal - even in Nassau. I had to get BTC SIM cards to do anything. Recently they lowered the price to $35/15GB.

I used T-mobile on the SE coast of the USA. The coverage is a little less than ATT & Verizon, but is good around populated areas. However, I am going to switch my hotspot to ATT as the are less expensive for data (not voice).

[PetePetePete]

Originally Posted by tedowens

I also tried to use T-mobile in the Bahamas, but I was never able to get a signal - even in Nassau. I had to get BTC SIM cards to do anything. Recently they lowered the price to $35/15GB.

I used T-mobile on the SE coast of the USA. The coverage is a little less than ATT & Verizon, but is good around populated areas. However, I am going to switch my hotspot to ATT as the are less expensive for data (not voice).

I wonder if it was because of a plan issue or something? I've been told by many people that T-Mobile works well (not great). But you have to have the "ONE" plan.

When did you go? What plan did you have?

[jamhass]

We used T-Mobile in Mexico using their North America plan which included unlimited voice, text and internet. We had no problems tethering at the fastest speeds available, usually 3G but often 4G.

There is small print in the agreement that limits international roaming to 3 months, and if you exceed that they can AND DO cut you off. And not just limiting useage, they cancel your plan and cancel your plan and your phone number.

[akprb]

AT&T working great in Bahamas, 3G and almost always a strong signal.

10.00/day international package which allows access to our US data and voice plan.

Only charged for the day if you use it.

[SailingBo]

Last Spring we used T-Mobile sim in the Bahamas inside a Wirie Pro. The speeds were maddeningly slow...barely Edge or better in many cases (even within sight of a tower). Often it would take 5-10 minutes to send a text message.

This Spring we splurged on a BTC card & 15gb plan ($35) and we're blown away by the difference. We were getting 3G-4G speeds in most places. The difference was night & day. We'll never use T-Mobile in the Bahamas again.