Ipad use??

VZW USB 720 modem with unlimited data plan in a Cradlepoint MBR1000 router. Also have external Wilson Truckers Cell Antenna and a Wilson amplifier when needed. DW loves being to use her tablet while we're on the road. We use the exact same setup at home, so the transition between home and RV is seamless.

Ted H.

SCVJeff wrote:

WiFi only models simply won't work with GPS because there is none installed. And they can't reference the cell sites for location because they don't have that capability either.

My MiFi interface gives location to the iPad without me doing anything (other than turning location service on on the interface). As has been said- it works fine in town, not so much in the sticks.

At least with an iPad, it comes in two favors:
-Cellular, that includes the GPS chipset (I'm told its all one)
-WiFi only, no GPS

WiFi only models simply won't work with GPS because there is none installed. And they can't reference the cell sites for location because they don't have that capability either.

Full GPS/ Cellular chipset iPads, while they have the capability, don't need to look at cell towers because you're outside traveling anyway. The whole triangulation thing is used for 911 1st responders and locating bad guys inside of houses, etc.

I have found net GPS works ok in an urban setting where there are lots of towers in multiple directions so it can triangulate. On an interstate where the towers are more in a straight line, not so much.

With my Internet on the go box it makes a valiant effort using cell tower locations (you can turn location service on and off). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's never very accurate.

Read up

Its not GPS, it wont work on the road, water, or any other place it cant directly talk to a stationary router that is registered, meaning a real GPS enabled device has used that router and it is now in the database. If you truly have a non-cellular, WiFi only device, it simply won't work as a navigation device.

Suggest you get on the freeway where there are no houses or routers it can talk to and watch what happens.

Vulcaneer wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Just an FYI on that... If you elect to buy an iPad without the cellular chipset installed, you ALSO lose GPS !

That means obviously no GPS nav, traffic monitoring, follow me weather, Find my iPhone, camera GPS data (if you're into that), location campground finders, DP AR auto setup, astronomy apps, etc.. If you care about any of that stuff, buy the cellular option on your favorite carrier and just don't turn it on.

Not sure that information is correct. I use my Non-wifi I-pad to find dish TV satellites all the time. Works where ever I go. And knows where I am.

Ditto. Garmin USA works on my iPad. I did see somewhere that the gps is "less accurate" with wifi only iPads, but don't know the truth of this claim.

Chris Bryant wrote:
I know it's not popular, but I use the Walmart Internet on the go- $79 for the hot spot, and it's $45 for 3 gb of data, but there are no monthly charges and the gb's never expire as long as you use it once a year. I've had it for several months now, I've used it quite a bit for checking email, security cameras and looking up stuff and still have 2.7 gb left. It's worked fine everywhere I've been.

Does anyone know who the service provider is for the Walmart Internet on the Go plan?

SCVJeff wrote:

Vulcaneer wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Just an FYI on that... If you elect to buy an iPad without the cellular chipset installed, you ALSO lose GPS !

That means obviously no GPS nav, traffic monitoring, follow me weather, Find my iPhone, camera GPS data (if you're into that), location campground finders, DP AR auto setup, astronomy apps, etc.. If you care about any of that stuff, buy the cellular option on your favorite carrier and just don't turn it on.

Not sure that information is correct. I use my Non-wifi I-pad to find dish TV satellites all the time. Works where ever I go. And knows where I am.

I'm sure you mean non-cellular, and THAT is another discussion. It ROUGHLY knows where you are because Apple, and another company I can't remember, keeps a database of the NIC's of each router that an Apple or apparently any GPS enabled device has checked into and that is referenced to the GPS coordinates that the iPhone reported. Sounds a little creepy, but if you don't believe it, look up the specs on your iPad and make sure it doesn't have the chipset. If not, load up any GPS program and slowly drive around any neighborhood and watch the screen. The map display will jump from one house to another... essentially any router that is on this database, SSID encrypted or not, they apparently talk.

I don't claim to understand how all this works and have found very little information about how it works. But I have 2 iPads: one with GPS, cellular turned off, and the other without, and didn't understand how/ why the GPS-less iPad was working.... kinda.

Jeff is right on this. The GPS and cellular are a $130 option bundled together. The wifi ipads know where they are from the database of wifi routers. That database gets built because plenty of devices (phones) with GPS and wifi connect to it and "registers" that router. There are stories where people moved and their wifi ipad still said they were at their old house, for a while anyway.

We bought an ipad2 a few years ago with Verzion for the main purpose of having a GPS. Since we didn't have smartphones we turned on the month-to-month data plan for $20 (1 GB). Once we got smartphones we turned it off. It's all activated & deactivate from the ipad itself and can be done every month (at least with Verizon). You can also add it to a family share plan for $10 but I didn't bother with hotspot capability on my phone.

BigBoy11 wrote:
How are folks using their VZ phone as a hotspot for the iPad? If the phone has wifi to share, the iPad should get the same signal?

If the iPad is WiFi only then the phone is capturing the cellular signal, and the iPad is connecting to it via WiFi.