Can you educate me on portable wifi?

WiFi is just a wireless local network. If you want internet, it requires a land-based internet connection, otherwise you will be using your mobile phone’s data connection.
Maybe you can get into Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet Beta program.
https://www.starlink.com/

Someone else will know a lot more than me.

I recently was reading up about this. When I googled there were lots of websites for various portable WiFi’s. I’m glad you asked! I’m curious too.

You can use the hotspot feature on your phone for a laptop. The phone will be using 3G or 4G and then your laptop connects to your phone like a WiFi. If you use an iPad you can get it included on your cell phone plan as an additional device, but both of these suggestions only work well if your reception is good from the cell towers.

@ragingloli with that thought in mind I recently changed my cell phone data plan to unlimited everything (for surprisingly cheaply too.) Is that a good move?

Agree with @ragingloli on Starlink, although I don’t know how available it is yet. If you’re going to go with your phone, you’ll probably want some sort of unlimited data plan (or a high data plan) and set it up as a hotspot when you want to use the internet.

That will only work if you have data connectivity, though. If you’re in the back ass end of nowhere with no data then it won’t work.

Your last option is to go to Starbucks and use their wifi.

I have unlimited data but not unlimited hotspot. Unless, I misunderstood.

I recently changed my cell plan to unlimited
And I actually have a seperate hot spot device I bought through my provider a few years ago. I was on the phone with my provider for 30 minutes trying to work this out….it’s crazy expensive to get enough data to run stuff.

I clicked on Raggy’s Starlink link….nuttin honey. I’ll check into it else where.

Starlink is still in development so….I guess I start calling internet providers to see what’s available.
Thanks you guys.

Can you park it in a campground with free wifi?

I don’t think we have those kind of high falutin campgrounds around here. I’m sure I could find some in the state but we want to be reasonably close to the grandkids.

Friends who are now nomads in their RV recommended talking to an electronics store (like Best Buy) to get information on the most appropriate device for you. A couple of years ago they paid about $200 for theirs and have been very pleased.
I don’t know the brand they use sorry. They read reviews in the various trade mags so they had a basic idea what they were looking for.

Verizon used to sell a portable “hotspot”, with its own phone number, to connect to cell networks. It became obsolete when smartphones became hotspot substitutes.

I have used an iPhone to connect other devices to the internet when I was overseas and did not have wifi. Just get an unlimited data plan.

@JLeslie Most iPads do not have their own cell connection; WiFi + Cellular is a $130 upgrade from the iPad for Wifi.

@zenvelo I know my first iPad had both. I don’t even know if my current iPad does. I have no idea what the OP has.

I actually have a portable hot spot that I got from my cell provider @zenvelo. It had it’s own number. Now that I have an unlimited plan maybe that’s all I need. Maybe I’m overthinking this.

Thanks @canidmajor. I’ll look into that too.

Your portable hotspot is separate from you cellphone it will need its own unlimited plan.

Here is Tom’s Guide for Hotspots.