Starlink

[BigBlue1]

I have a question on using the app to check for obstructions. What do the % numbers that show on the screen mean?

I haven't used the app for obstructions for months, since mounting the dish on the roof, but looking at it without going outside and actually using it I'd say the percentage in the center circle is the amount of sky you've scanned by moving your phone around. If there is more than one, perhaps the other is a percentage of obstructed view?

Rob

 

[RobA]

The question for me is, will the Verizon LTE Home Internet suck as much as their worthless DSL service.

I've had Verizon's LTE Home Internet for about a year. It feeds off of a tower 3/4 mile from my house and is good enough to stream Netflix etc. The speeds, however, rarely hit 50 mbps that they advertise. They usually are 10-15 during the evening, 35-40 in the morning and at times below 10. The worst part of the service, in my opinion, is the router. It can only handle a limited amount of devices you can have connected to it before the WiFi dies (I have a few Ubiquiti access points, Ubiquiti Nanostations (to get internet at our barns) and a bunch of Wyze cameras). I tried to substituting their router with the MoFi router I was using with the Ubifi service but Verizon could tell and made me use their router or lose the service. So I had an IT guy install a Ubiquiti Security Gateway which solved the problem.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I've had Verizon's LTE Home Internet for about a year. It feeds off of a tower 3/4 mile from my house and is good enough to stream Netflix etc. The speeds, however, rarely hit 50 mbps that they advertise. They usually are 10-15 during the evening, 35-40 in the morning and at times below 10. The worst part of the service, in my opinion, is the router. It can only handle a limited amount of devices you can have connected to it before the WiFi dies (I have a few Ubiquiti access points, Ubiquiti Nanostations (to get internet at our barns) and a bunch of Wyze cameras). I tried to substituting their router with the MoFi router I was using with the Ubifi service but Verizon could tell and made me use their router or lose the service. So I had an IT guy install a Ubiquiti Security Gateway which solved the problem.

I'm a bit concerned about the router as well. I have 10 devices, printer, TV, PC's, smartphones, security cameras etc. that connect via WiFi and 2 that plug into Ethernet ports. All remain connected but don't necessarily require bandwidth at the same time. The specs I've read vary with the type of equipment Verizon supplies but should just barely handle my requirements. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. UPS is supposed to deliver the equipment today so I'll know soon enough.

 

[LittleBill21]

I'm a bit concerned about the router as well. I have 10 devices, printer, TV, PC's, smartphones, security cameras etc. that connect via WiFi and 2 that plug into Ethernet ports. All remain connected but don't necessarily require bandwidth at the same time. The specs I've read vary with the type of equipment Verizon supplies but should just barely handle my requirements. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. UPS is supposed to deliver the equipment today so I'll know soon enough.

just throw another router behind it, and disable everything on the main router.

 

[bdhsfz6]

just throw another router behind it, and disable everything on the main router.

From what others have said, this is difficult to do. The person I spoke with at Verizon says it is not possible.

 

[LittleBill21]

if the verizon box has a network port, then it will work period. verizon will never tell you its supported as they don't want to have to support it.

 

[BigBlue1]

just throw another router behind it, and disable everything on the main router.

That's exactly what I do with the AT&T LTE modem that I have. It has an ethernet port that I connect to the WAN side of another router. I then disable wifi on the LTE modem (Netgear Nighthawk M1). I suppose if the Verizon LTM modem has no ethernet port it would be more work.

Rob

 

[LittleBill21]

That's exactly what I do with the AT&T LTE modem that I have. It has an ethernet port that I connect to the WAN side of another router. I then disable wifi on the LTE modem (Netgear Nighthawk M1). I suppose if the Verizon LTM modem has no ethernet port it would be more work.

Rob

he would just need a router that supports wifi as a WAN, but the configuration would be similar

 

[ponytug]

WiFi as a WAN is certainly one way to do it.

The Verizon MiFi 8800L also does support tethering via the USB port, which can then either be directly plugged into a second, more capable router, or via an adapter to convert USB to Ethernet. From what I read, not every adapter works. Of course, Verizon isn't going to tell you how- it would be a support nightmare trying to have their support team be up to speed on a bunch of other routers. Much easier to say "No.".

The advice to turn off most of the router functions in the MiFis is well taken, and will impact the performance of you don't. There is a great deal of information out there on how to do it. If you are considering doing this, I would read up a bit first.

One upside to the MiFi 8800L is that it has two antenna ports for external antennas (to do MIMO), which has the potential to improve speeds in fringe areas.

All the best,

Peter

 

[dmccarty]

Ordered Dishy in 2/8/2021 and my account says it will be delivered mid to late 2021. Since it is late 2021,

We have maintained two Internet services for years, two DSL lines with CenturyStink that are 1.5mbps each, and UbiFi cell service which is usually 6mbps worst case.

A month or so ago, we lost the DSL links. The phone was also off, which is no surprise, calling for service got the phone on pretty quick, which is a who cares since we really do not use it, but it was going to take 30 days, yes 30 days, to fix the DSL. This was also not a surprise because this appears to be the standard response from CenturyStink that we have heard from many others.

UbiFi upped the monthly charge from $90 to $120! They sent out a new sim card and at the end of October, the service all but stopped working. At least we had some service so many were reporting NO service what so ever.

So, here we have been paying for two internet services for years to have back up in case one goes down, and both services go down, or partly down, at the same time.

We got lucky and the CenturyStink repair guy, who as really nice, as they are 99% of the time, got here a couple of days early and got DSL working. Woot!

We had been researching other options for a cell based service and tried US Mobile. Their website said it would support our MoFi, we called and they said they support the device, the price was right, so we ordered sim. Get the sim and tried to enable it and the device is not supported. It was pretty obvious that other UbiFi customers tried to get on US Mobile and they changed the support in less than 24 hours.

So we tried Verizon which is our cell phone provider. They have plans to support 150GB a month for I think it was $80 or $110 depending on your other plan. Not sure how this all went down, the wifey had to go to the Verizon store as usual, but we changed our Unlimited cell phone plan to a new Unlimited plan, and supposedly got the Internet access for only $10 a month. I will believe it when I see the bill settle out. Been down this path before.

We know from using UbiFi, that most months we are averaging 130GB. Some months are more due to work but we can work around the work related bandwidth. So far, after almost a week, Verizon has been working well and seemingly better than UbiFi. We will be canceling UbiFi before the next pay period.

This is a mess but it might work out in the end. Having two Internet providers has been useful and we like having the backup even though DSL is slow. Once we get Dishy, and if it works like it should, we will cancel CenturyStink, which will pay for Dishy, and keep Verizon. That way we will have two separate Internet services and we will actually be saving a fair amount of money. Go Figure.

We Need Our Dishy!

Later,
Dan