Has anyone hear ever paired a Verizon USB Wireless modem with a personal wifi hotspot such as the Cradlepoint - Personal Wi-Fi Hotspot Model # PHS300?

My mother in-law is a travel agent always on the go so she wants to be able to use multiple devices (laptop and ipad) simultaneously, but the Verizon WiFi hotspot they recently picked up is not working well. It works fine for periods of time and then the signal will cut off randomly, but the USB Wireless modem has worked great for them for a while. Can they just pair it with a Personal Hotspot such as the one from cradlepoint? If so, is this easy to do?

5/2/2012 11:19:38 AM

Travel agents still exists?

5/2/2012 12:23:13 PM

Yeah, few and far between. She actually has a thriving business, but it does include a few smid size business accounts that keep it going.

For the most part it is just as cheap to use an agent other than for airline tickets. If you like a high level of service it makes sense when booking a bigger trip like a cruise or going to an all-inclusive resort out of the country, especially if it is something you are not familiar with.

Any feedback to my initial post?

5/2/2012 12:36:27 PM

We use Cradlepoint MBR1200's for internet access for restaurants under construction. We have about 40 of them out in the field right now and they work fine. If your USB adapter works more reliably, I'd say make the switch. We use the 551L's. Also, they pair just fine. Just make sure your USB adapter is on the compatibility list. They use that wipipe software that Kyocera uses too, but Kyocera's seem to only favor a select list of USB adapters.

Good luck!

5/2/2012 2:17:02 PM

I would be calling Verizon and freaking out then, there is a 1 year warranty on that portable modem.

5/2/2012 4:23:33 PM

i rooted my parents phones and taught them how to use wifi tether

5/2/2012 9:15:38 PM

just ordered a cradlepoint MBR95 to try and use with my verizon mifi 4510L 4g hotspot. I will report back on how it works.

5/2/2012 10:12:37 PM

Just recieved my Cradlepoint MBR95 and it works great with my Verizon mifi 4510L 4G hotspot.

5/5/2012 6:15:47 PM

I've got a Sprint 250u usb 3g/4g and a Cradlepoint MBR95 and it works flawlessly

5/6/2012 2:30:24 PM

If this individual will have access to a constant supply of power outlets, then a router + USB device to plug into the router will work.
- I've been using an older Alltel UM175 USB modem + older Cradlepoint MBR1000 router for 3 years now.
- As mentioned, make sure the modem you purchase is on the compatibility list, and, TEST. Cradlepoint is good about testing / taking feedback, however, some things slip through the cracks.
(The v1.8.x releases of their firmware were horrible with my specific modem, the 1.9.x releases are fixed).
- The nice thing about this setup, it "just works" without much fuss. If the modem is already activated, plug it in, Cradlepoint will flash a light for a few seconds to let you know its connecting, and once you have a solid light you are good to go.
- The newer firmware versions of Cradlepoint allow a fair bit of configuration options if you want to play with them (still not as good as DD-WRT, but, all in all it offers a lot more options than WRT54G routers do).
- You could probably find a case for both the modem + router and easily include it as a part of carry-on luggage.
- Verizon's network has the largest signal availability if this person will be traveling to rural areas. Sprint/AT&T do not cover those areas terribly well.
- One big thing to watch out for is the 5GB data cap most carriers enforce. The best I've seen is a 50GB cap offered by (http://www.millenicom.com/page/plans#unlimited_plan). These folks use one of the big three networks (Verizon/Sprint/AT&T), and their customer service was fantastic when I spoke with them. The only reason I'm NOT using them now if where I live they only offer Sprint, and Sprint does not work at my house.



Alternatively, if power outlets will be unavailable on a frequent basis, or you won't have the device in a solid/stationary position for a fair bit of time, I would look to upgrade their primary device (the laptop I suspect) to have a built in 3G/4G device. Having a USB device sticking out of your laptop will eventually lead to a broken USB device if you will be using it in rougher environments. You can still do the Wifi hotspot in this case, but, you really should get a built-in 3G/4G device to the laptop if this individual will be outdoors / walking more than sitting as part of their job / etc.



Good luck.

5/9/2012 6:56:22 AM

^tl;dr

5/9/2012 9:34:13 AM