[LexxM3]

In Canada, the provider of the stock BMW wifi hotspot service is AT&T (likely MVNO over Rogers network) and it is $15/mo for 1GB. That's pretty pathetic. So I'd like to setup my own mobile 4G/LTE wifi hotspot in the car and attach it to my family shared data plan.

Does anyone have recommendations for hardware to achieve this?

A key feature is that the hotspot needs to turn off with the car and turn on with the car power, no button presses. As it turns out, I am having a heck of a time finding anything that works that way (and works on USB or 12V power, with extended operating temperature spec). All mifi-style units out there require constant interaction to start and stop them, and the battery is actually a detriment — I don't want to continue being connected to a battery powered unit after I leave the car.

Thoughts? Ideas?

[perikifi]

Originally Posted by LexxM3

In Canada, the provider of the stock BMW wifi hotspot service is AT&T (likely MVNO over Rogers network) and it is $15/mo for 1GB. That's pretty pathetic. So I'd like to setup my own mobile 4G/LTE wifi hotspot in the car and attach it to my family shared data plan.

Does anyone have recommendations for hardware to achieve this?

A key feature is that the hotspot needs to turn off with the car and turn on with the car power, no button presses. As it turns out, I am having a heck of a time finding anything that works that way (and works on USB or 12V power, with extended operating temperature spec). All mifi-style units out there require constant interaction to start and stop them, and the battery is actually a detriment — I don't want to continue being connected to a battery powered unit after I leave the car.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I will be solving this problem too once I get my new car. In a quick search some months ago I found two products that might survive in a car and do roughly what you want:

Wlink R220
Teltonika RUT240

Teltonika seems to be available through Amazon.com.

[mgnmpl]

Originally Posted by LexxM3

In Canada, the provider of the stock BMW wifi hotspot service is AT&T (likely MVNO over Rogers network) and it is $15/mo for 1GB.

Wow... it's a little bit more then $5 in Poland (and I assume Europe) for 1GB.

I'm testing the one month free and I assume I'll be using it if needed.

[eagle_bmw]

I'm sure you know, the switched fuses in X5, e.g., for cigarette outlet, have delays after the car is turned off. For mine it is about 10 minutes so plugged in devices will stay powered for that long. I couldn't find any that switches off immediately (I tapped into the cargo fuse box for the dash cams).

I found one mifi that can be powered through USB (netgear nighthawk M1) but it seems to require a button pushed after the power is restored, and only 0 to 60C, so not meeting your requirement.

[jole996]

Originally Posted by LexxM3

In Canada, the provider of the stock BMW wifi hotspot service is AT&T (likely MVNO over Rogers network) and it is $15/mo for 1GB. That's pretty pathetic. So I'd like to setup my own mobile 4G/LTE wifi hotspot in the car and attach it to my family shared data plan.

Does anyone have recommendations for hardware to achieve this?

A key feature is that the hotspot needs to turn off with the car and turn on with the car power, no button presses. As it turns out, I am having a heck of a time finding anything that works that way (and works on USB or 12V power, with extended operating temperature spec). All mifi-style units out there require constant interaction to start and stop them, and the battery is actually a detriment — I don't want to continue being connected to a battery powered unit after I leave the car.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Any android smartphone? Connect via USB for charging. You can make it an AP, setup in battery management to turn off radios (wifi in this case) when on battery and turn on radios when on external power.

[LexxM3]

Originally Posted by jole996

Any android smartphone? Connect via USB for charging. You can make it an AP, setup in battery management to turn off radios (wifi in this case) when on battery and turn on radios when on external power.

That radios on only plugged in setup is a nice trick — thought about this, but that trick didn't occur to me. Nice.

This might actually be the cheapest approach with an older generation phone and provide additional fun options like built in streaming of one's own choosing format and other stuff. Hm ...