Tethering from two different devices (at different times).

[hbar98]

Hey, this is my first post at SmallNetBuilder, and it's going to be one of those questions...

Here's my situation:
I live out in the sticks, and while I have excellent Verizon 4G, I have one other internet option that says it tops out at 2mbps, but in reality is slower than 3G.

Anyway, I want to be able to use my phone as the home's internet, but since my wife also needs to use the internet when I'm not home, I need the ability to use two different cell phones as our internet connection. I don't want to shotgun the two (though that would be AWESOME!), but we both need to be able to access the network and internet when we are home.

Currently, I have an old Dell laptop with an older Wireless G card acting as a bridge to my Netgear WNDR4500. It sorta works, except the connection drops, or sometimes I can only access Google services. I understand this is the nature of the beast, but when I can hit 50mbps on the phone, something has to be wrong when I can't access anything when the phone is tethered.

So, what are my options??

Here's what I have on my home network, for reference: 2 network printers, 2 chromecast, 1 NAS drive, various game consoles, Dish DVR, smattering of wifi only tablets.

Here's what I thought of already, and some thoughts:

1) MiFi box... Not a very good option. I don't want to have to take the sim card out of my phone every time I come home, and I know my wife definitely doesn't want to. Also, I have a lot of stuff that needs to be online in order to be useful. I do have unlimited data, but adding another line to my account that has a small data pool isn't an option because nowhere we work has wifi access. We are all 4G, all the time around here.

2) Client bridge box... I actually bought a cheap one off Amazon. It works-ish, but can only ever connect to one device unless you reset it and enter a new devices. Again, not handy for two different devices, but if I could find one that would allow me to use two devices I'd be interested.

3) Different router... I'm not tied to my Netgear WNDR4500. I would buy something different if it means I could eliminate the laptop. I did some searching on the boards and came up with the cradlepoint MBR95. Is this still the preferred choice for connecting via hotspot? It seems a little long in the tooth, but if it works I'm game... as long as I can connect two different devices. (I can name the hotspots the same and use the same passcode if it can only connect to one device and it doesn't MAC filtering). Or if there is a newer router out there, I'd listen.

4) Something I haven't thought of... Honestly, networking isn't my strong point. I've been reading on the site and a few other places, but I've hit a wall and need some guidance. I'd be open to suggestions, and I do have a couple hundred dollars set aside for getting the necessary hardware to get this to work.

So, TL;DR:
I want to use two different tethering sources as my home internet source, though not at the same time. I would like as few barriers as possible, and ease of use is nearly the top priority. I'm not averse to buying new or different hardware to get this to work.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing what you all can think of.

If I have left something important out, or you need more information, please let me know what you need and I'll try to get you the information!

-hbar98

 

[sfx2000]

uggh.. but it's a common scenario... best off with a dedicated device that you're using for your WAN connection.

Since you have VZW Unlimited Data on the line for that account, you might be able to use that SIM card in another device, let's say a USB Data Dongle or 4G LTE broadband router (VZ offers one of these, BTW, for about 200USD).

Add another line, and then swap the MDN's between the two, keeping your unlimited data on the WAN, and moving the MDN back to the SIM card on your mobile.

It's a complicated swap, and best to go to a company owned store, not an authorized reseller, as they would know all the options available there.

If you use 4G as WAN, CradlePoint is probably one of the strongest players in the market segment - their devices are fairly solid, and they have one of the better driver support teams (each device can be a bit odd, and Cradlepoint is one of the best at it, working with most, if not all, of the device OEM's and Operators).

good luck!

sfx

 

[hbar98]

Thanks for the suggestion, sfx! I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply.

Here's my short term solution so far...

I found a Netgear PR2000 for a pretty good price, so I got that to act as a bridge between my 4G hotspot and my WNDR4500 router. The connection seems pretty stable so far. I've tested it out and it seems to be able to accept a connection from either my cell phone or my wife's cell phone.

Until I can get my hands on a cradlepoint or something else, this'll work for now.

I'm still doing some research, so I'll try to keep this thread updated with what I find.

Thanks again!

 

[hbar98]

I have a question...

If I install DD-WRT on my router and enable client bridge so that I can use that to connect my cell phone hot spot to my wifi network, will the wireless router still work like a wireless router, or does all the ip assigning and so forth had off to the device providing the internet?

In other words, would it would be a waste of money to buy a $200 high end router to use it as a client bridge?

I'm trying to figure out the best way to continue. This is an overview of my network right now...

Cell phone ->(via usb tethering in FoxFi) Computer (FoxFi connection is shared to the ethernet port) ->(via ethernet) WNDR4500 -> Home wireless and hard wired network.

I'm trying to figure out how to do this in as few steps as possible, without adding a line to my cell phone plan for data, or having to switch out my sim card with a dedicated hotspot.

I'll keep reading and seeing what I can come up with!!