Has anyone added WiFi to their S197? I'm NOT talking about using a cell phone's 'Personal Hotspot' feature. Instead, I'm hoping someone has successfully installed a small WiFi hotspot device permanently in the vehicle. I was thinking that maybe the second USB cable near the glove box could be the power source? And maybe someone here knows of a device that you can program (perhaps with a SIM card) and link it to an existing cellular account as an additional line, maybe $10/month, plus data over? I searched TMS, but could not find info on this.

 

You can buy hotstop devices from most cellular companies. Going to be a lot more than $10/month, though...unless you're using a very small amount of data.

For instance, Verizon's cheapest data plan is $35 at 2GB, plus a $10 line fee. You might have better luck trying to get a bigger data plan through your smart phone (assuming it can share between all devices on the account) and use the hotspot through that. Data does get a little cheaper per GB at the higher plans.

 

I have my phone thru T-mobile and my tablet with data is only $10 a month extra with 3GB of data. I can use my tablet as a hotspot or take the sim card out of it, put it in a dedicated hot spot device and still use it on the same plan. If you only have a data line though, it would be at least $50 a month. Of course, if T-mobile doesn't have good coverage where you live, it wouldn't be a good deal.

Unfortunately, T-mobile just changed their plans and prices have now gone up. I don't think any major carriers have data plans for $10 anymore.

Plus I don't think plugging in a mobile hot spot to a cars usb port would be able to keep it charged. It won't turn off when you turn off the ignition. So unless you manually turn it off, it will stay on until the battery runs dry. Of course, I am not an expert on the subject. Maybe it will turn off if no one is logged in to it and using data for a certain amount of time.

 

I don't know about the feasibility of finding a hotspot with data for the price you're wanting, but wiring it up wouldn't be an issue. Wire it into an ignition switched source, convert the voltage down to 5V, and plug into USB.

 

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.