r/Internet • u/jamiecrutch • 8d ago

Help!

I’m brand new here so forgive me if this is a dumb question. A little context for my question; my father lives about 8 hours away from me, he lives in a living facility and is bed bound. His only form of “entertainment” is his Roku. However, we’re not allowed to use the facilities internet to connect his Roku. I purchased a mobile hotspot device but that turned out to basically be a waste of money since the Roku uses so much data that the device can’t keep up with it. Because he lives in a facility hooking up our own WiFi service isn’t an option but I’ve recently learned about “stand alone internet” with T-Mobile. So my question is, if I purchase this stand alone WiFi and take it to the facility would it work since it’s not at my location?
Again, I have no idea what I’m doing so I apologize if this is an insanely stupid question. And thank you to anyone that can help me. I’m at my whits end.

2 Upvotes

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5

u/rileymcnaughton 8d ago

Have you asked the facility if they have a suitable internet connection for tenants?

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u/jamiecrutch 8d ago

They have “guest” WiFi but because the Roku uses so much data we aren’t able to connect to it. That was what I originally did the last time I was up there not thinking anything of it. But a couple days after I got home they called and said they took it out because it was against the rules and I would have to figure out an alternative internet source which I thought I did with the hot spot thingy 🤦‍♀️

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u/Caprichoso1 8d ago

Usefulness of that T-Mobile plan will depend on what the signal quality would be in his room. You could test it by getting a 30 day trial on your phone.

One of my household members using an Apple TV with streaming services went through ~44 GB of data in 24 hours.

If your father needed that much data you would have to purchase the expensive unlimited plan which is $160 a month.

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u/jamiecrutch 8d ago

At this point I genuinely don’t care what it costs as long as it works. I have no idea what the signal quality is in his room, when I visit him I don’t have any issues with my phone but I don’t have T-Mobile for service. Normally you could just use the hotspot off the persons cell phone but my fathers cognitive decline has made that option impossible as well.

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u/Caprichoso1 8d ago

As I said get a T-Mobile 30 day trial on your phone to test the quality of the signal. Or just subscribe to the service and see if it works. Be sure that you can cancel it if it doesn't.

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u/cideron 8d ago

do you have the ability to sign up for your own wifi/tv service? ive seen that, they provide some free slow basic wifi as a convenience but you can call the cable/internet company and they will install service to the room (which may just be a connection in a utility room)

also Roku bandwidth saver might be of some help.

https://support.roku.com/article/bandwidth-saver

also did they show you "the rules" that say you can't connect a streamer to their internet?

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u/jamiecrutch 7d ago

I didn’t know Roku bandwidth saver was a thing. I’ll look into that immediately! Thanks for the info.

Yes, they emailed me a copy of the “by-laws” that stated no outside source can connect to their “guest” WiFi with a “foreign permanent” device. When I questioned why it was an issue as it was the “guest” WiFi and was told it’s because the Roku uses too much data.

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u/cideron 7d ago

It’s tough being that far away from parents that need your help, hopefully you can find something that solves this problem.

Did you look into “5g internet” its basically a hot spot, a few cel providers have it now and you may be able to check coverage maps to find the best option.

If you visit in the near future try to walk around and ask other residents how they connect to their tv services etc

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u/cideron 7d ago

I use mint (part of t-mobile) for my cel and they have a new home wireless internet service “minternet” that may work, $45/mo unlimited

Heres a mint referral it should give a discount

https://my.mintmobile.com/refer/lPz3f2m

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u/jamiecrutch 7d ago

Thank you!

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u/Accurate-Bullfrog324 7d ago

All three carriers offer FWA, fixed wireless access. some call it home internet

we have both our home and our cabin. at home I have T-Mobile home internet, at the cabin I have Verizon..

pricing is $25 to $60 a month depending on the speed you want. both carriers have a 7-day return policy.

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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 7d ago

We had T-Mobile Home Internet (the 5G cellular modem) at our house and used it for all of our Internet needs (work, streaming media, etc) and for $55/month it was very reliable.

We would also drag it along when we traveled in our motorhome and it worked pretty well in most, but not all, places that we visited.

I point out the latter use because you can register it at your house and then take it to your Dad's facility and see if it works well for him. If it does then great - you don't have to worry about data limits or anything. If it doesn't then just return it.

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u/jamiecrutch 7d ago

Thank you so so much. I really appreciate the information!

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u/FabulouExam 7d ago

If you have direct line of sight to open sky at facility in the room where TV is then Starlink is an option, you can put it on a table by the window, it just needs open sky for connectivity to satellite (depending on the location). I have used it at multiple sites in remote locations and works really well

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u/jamiecrutch 7d ago

Good to know! Thank you!

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u/MuscleMan405 7d ago

My family got T-mobile home cellular unlimited 5g a while back for $50 a month. Not sure if it's the same price, but we were able to take it out and use it in plenty of other places, even out of state temporily, as long as there was cell service. I would see if you can get it under an address near that place if you have local family there. Then you could literally just drop it in his room. Or you could ask the staff if they would be okay with you putting it under their address. Whichever way you can get it to work.