Using smart phone for laptop internet service

Question

Never had a smart phone but think I'll get one this summer. I travel between Mexico and the US and in the past I bought a Telcel USB WIFI drive for access to the internet when in Mexico. It costs $400 pesos for 4G of data which I use in about 3 weeks. I would also use coffee and internet cafes but then I have to carry my laptop around the village. In the US I use Starbucks and other hotspots as I travel as I don't have a home there. Last year I had Telmex install a line, phone and unlimited internet service, for $400 pesos monthly.  When I left Mexico I paid 5 months in advance to keep my service while I was in the US. This year I may be gone 8-9 months and don't want to pay to keep my service as it is a waste of money but Telmex said I probably won't be able to get internet service when I return due to a long waiting list. The Telcel drive is getting too expensive for only 4G of data. Besides, the last time I used one the service wasn’t up to par and I read the phone company slows down the speed during peak hours. If I buy a smart phone I am going to use a hotspot APP so I can use my laptop to hop on the internet. I can do this while in the US but can I use the hotspot APP when in Mexico? I have a VPN service on both laptops and use it all the time. Mainly so I can access US websites as when in Mexico I continually am connected to Mexican websites. My question being, will my VPN service allow my smart phone hotspot APP to connect to the internet in Mexico? Several reasons I don't have a smart phone, security issues and too small a screen are my biggest concerns. I can't read those small screens!   Thanks in advance, Ron

wnybob · Answer

I recently saw an ad for a tablet sized screen for smart phone, I think the price was about $99.Here is the link to what I saw:Superscreen Kickstarter

kerrlakeroo · Answer

I've not used it in Mexico  but I have a Motorola G4 that I use as a hotspot. If you order one from Motorola or from Amazon and specifically look for an "unlocked" phone it can work on any system CDMA, GSM doesnt matter, if you buy the phone from a carrier, (verizon, ATT etc) they usually will have turned off the hotspot feature and will have locked it to their service. Price last I saw for a G4 was about $150.

bob_nestor · Answer

kerrlakeroo wrote:I've not used it in Mexico  but I have a Motorola G4 that I use as a hotspot. If you order one from Motorola or from Amazon and specifically look for an "unlocked" phone it can work on any system CDMA, GSM doesnt matter, if you buy the phone from a carrier, (verizon, ATT etc) they usually will have turned off the hotspot feature and will have locked it to their service. Price last I saw for a G4 was about $150.Just because a phone is unlocked doesn't mean it can work on either CDMA or GSM.  Those are different technologies and almost no phone contains all the HW to do both on all bands.  The higher priced phones come pretty close but they still aren't universal.Things do seem to be coming together slowly though.  4G LTE seems to be somewhat universal across all providers, but that's not true for 2G and 3G and 4G isn't as widely available as the older technologies.  But you still have the problem of the bands in the various frequency ranges not being used the same way by all providers.Bottom line is determine which phone service provider has the best coverage for where you'll be spending most of your time, then find phones that match that service provider.

kerrlakeroo · Answer

bob_nestor wrote:kerrlakeroo wrote:I've not used it in Mexico  but I have a Motorola G4 that I use as a hotspot. If you order one from Motorola or from Amazon and specifically look for an "unlocked" phone it can work on any system CDMA, GSM doesnt matter, if you buy the phone from a carrier, (verizon, ATT etc) they usually will have turned off the hotspot feature and will have locked it to their service. Price last I saw for a G4 was about $150.Just because a phone is unlocked doesn't mean it can work on either CDMA or GSM.  Those are different technologies and almost no phone contains all the HW to do both on all bands.  The higher priced phones come pretty close but they still aren't universal.Things do seem to be coming together slowly though.  4G LTE seems to be somewhat universal across all providers, but that's not true for 2G and 3G and 4G isn't as widely available as the older technologies.  But you still have the problem of the bands in the various frequency ranges not being used the same way by all providers.Bottom line is determine which phone service provider has the best coverage for where you'll be spending most of your time, then find phones that match that service provider.If you check, you will find that the Moto series are about as close to "universal" as you can get. Before I bought mine I read the reviews on Amazon also and since the OP was asking about Mexico and central america  use, I mentioned them because they do work on both CDMA and GSM with the same handset, and I remembered the comments from Central American users about them working there well.   go to www.motorola.com and verify if you wish.

mandalay_parr · Answer

My suggestion is to go to a Verizon store and talk with them.
I have an iPhone with unlimited data and I use its built-in hotspot feature to run my laptop and tablet.
It comes with coverage in Mexico but I only used it for a short time in a border town.

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