Best way to get connectivity on the road for a Windows laptop WITHOUT a smartphone?

[TygrBright]

I'm trying to prepare to be on the road for a couple of weeks during a time when there is a LOT of work to do. My employer gave me a shiny new Thinkpad X13 running Windoze 10 Pro 64, and set it up with a VPN connection to their network. I should be able to connect just fine from any available network.

But since I do not have a smartphone, there is no network available in the rental car in which I will be a passenger. With many hours of available time to work.

And no connection.

I understand there is something called a "USB 4G modem" that can be used to connect a laptop to a cell phone network. My not-smart cell phone is with Consumer Cellular, but they tell me they need a SIM card to connect me to their network, and as far as I can tell, neither the laptop nor any of the "USB 4G modem" devices I have looked at have those things.

Anyone here know of any not-too-expensive ways to connect in a moving car without a smartphone?

hopefully,
Bright

[FoxNewsSucks]

1. A lot of cars have built-in wifi hotspots

Check with the rental company. It probably wouldn't be cheap, but might be cheaper and a lot less hassle than trying to get a telco modem or hotspot

[TygrBright]

2. Interesting idea, thanks. I will look into it. n/t

[qazplm135]

3. Can one of the other passengers

Set up their phone as a hotspot?

You'd have to compensate maybe but most cell plans give you effectively a couple of days worth of data per month free for hotspot usage.

[TygrBright]

4. Nope. No passengers with smartphones. n/t

[qazplm135]

12. Are you guys

Taking a trip to a 90s time bubble? 😉

[TygrBright]

13. If we could go to time bubbles I don't think we'd pick the 90s... n/t

[qazplm135]

14. Dems in charge, economy booming

No real wars, internet existed but not ubiquitous, America is doing fairly well all in all, I wouldn't mind taking a trip back there...if nothing else to retrieve the body I had back then.

[drray23]

5. None practical.

other than picking up wifi spots at libraries, Starbucks etc..
If your employer wants you to connect they should provide a cellphone or 4g modem.

[DanieRains]

6. Starbucks

Just don't do banking.

And who doesn't have a smartphone.

[TygrBright]

7. I don't have a smartphone. Nor does anyone I'm traveling with.

And I don't do banking from any location except my desktop computer at home, or in person at the bank.

The period of time I need connectivity for is when we are between Starbuxes, on the road, in motion... which would otherwise be 'dead' time. If I can use that time for my work obligations then I'll have more time to enjoy the travel when we are not on the highway.

philosophically,
Bright

[Nictuku]

8. You get get some sort of MiFi device

The are not what I would call inexpensive, but since they can handle multiple connections maybe the others would pitch in?

You can purchase one of these devices, and then turn the service on when you need it, and off when you don't use it.

I went to Amazon and typed in Mifi and got a list of a lot of different devices:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mifi&ref=nb_sb_noss

Scroll down the page, there is one for about $45.00.

The biggest problem with this is they only work where there is cell service. No bars, no internet. We had one where I worked for people to use when they were traveling and didn't want to use their personal minutes for work.

[TygrBright]

9. Thank you - I have to hope it'll work with the Thinkpad, but it's definitely worth checking out. n/t

[Nictuku]

10. If the Thinkpad has Wifi capability, it will

That is what these devices are designed for. Some of them can have up to 16 devices connecting to them! (slows it down a bit with that many, but it works). With only 1-4 devices using it for wifi, it should work great. As long as there is a cell tower in the area.

I live in a rural area and we don't have good cell service here at all, and so it would not be useful without cell service.

Definitely more secure than using any kind of public wifi (I don't recommend ever doing that, using pubic open Wifi connections, even if you are establishing a vpn connection, because the login to the vpn can be snooped on public wifi (like in airports, hotels, starbucks)

[TygrBright]

11. It looks as though I would have to purchase and have activated a SIM card to use with it?

In other words, it's not designed to freeload off available networks but can be used with an existing network data plan. This makes sense with what the Consumer Cellular people told me - that I should be able to go to Target or Best Buy, and purchase a 4G AT&T SIM card, which Consumer can then activate with a data plan for a month, and add the charge to my regular bill.

With the $45 MiFi device and the data plan it might be a bit pricey but the work time gained might be worth it. And it's possible I could talk the office into paying for the MiFi gadget. They discourage use of public wifi with organizational machines.

appreciatively,
Bright

[Hugh_Lebowski]

15. Yes, you have the right idea (nt)

[Nictuku]

16. It should have its own sim card

I don't think that Consumer Cellular has as good of cell tower coverage as Verizon or ATT. What type of service you get depends on the manufacturer, and what the device supports, (my experience is only with the Verizon mifi card). I didn't have to insert a card, I just had to call verizon to activate it. Then make sure to de-activate it after the trip (This is usually on a monthly basis, but I think they might be able to pro-rate it)

My mom has Consumer Cellular on her phone, and I have Verizon, and I had better bars most of the time than she does. But neither of us have any cellular connectivity when we are at the house, unless we walk outside and up the driveway.

[hunter]

17. All the pay-as-you-go mobile services are expensive.

A 90 day WalMart "Straight Talk" plan is $130 for 25 gigabytes of data. You can add additional data, 2 gigabytes at a time, for $15. A Straight Talk mobile hot spot is $49.

That's pretty typical for these plans. I'm just using WalMart as an example.

It's easy to rip through 25 gigabytes of data, especially if you don't tell Windows that you are using a limited connection and to block any upgrades that are not absolutely essential for security.

You'll also need to practice extreme ad-blocking and restrict video streaming services to 480p or less, if you stream at all.

My flip phone can work as a hot spot but I'd only use that for emergencies. My provider charges $10 a gigabyte.

I figure if your work expects you to use a mobile service they should pay for it and hand you whatever equipment you need, all set up and ready to go.