The Verizon MiFi in Rural Areas, and Final Conclusions

This is the final installment of my review of the Verizon MiFi 2200, which began back in May with this post.

When I started using the MiFi I was concerned about how it would perform in rural areas. The problem is simple: the MiFi has no external antenna, and no way to attach one, and the device is too small to house an ideal 800Mhz antenna. Would performance suffer with a marginal signal?

Another concern is that, with the Verizon service, there is no roaming; Verizon customers can use data service only with a native Verizon signal. This is notable because Sprint, which also offers the MiFi, does allow roaming onto Verizon's network, though with a strict limit on how much of your usage can be while roaming. So with Sprint, you get service with either a Sprint or Verizon signal (as long as you are careful about your roaming usage), but with Verizon, it's a native signal or nothing at all.

Unlike many reviewers, I am not one of those folks who thinks Staten Island is “rural.” In the past couple of months, I have used the MiFi in some of the most remote areas of the United States: the desert of the Southwest; the Grand Canyon; remote areas of Wyoming, including Yellowstone; the prairies of western North Dakota, far from any Interstate. And I am pleased to report that the MiFi never let me down. If my phone, a Motorola E815 (known for good reception, and equipped with an extendible antenna) can use a signal, so can the MiFi. That is quite an accomplishment.

With a marginal signal, performance does sometimes suffer. The connection can become slow, and sometimes it will drop and require you to manually reconnect – but a phone suffers the same fate, and the MiFi's performance is no worse than any other device I have used for cellular data service.

However, the lack of controls or displays on the one-button MiFi does cause some inconvenience here. If the connection drops or fails, the only way you know it is from the fact that it stops working: you basically have to connect to the device's web interface to see what is going on. If you have to manually reconnect, this is also done from the web interface, and the signal strength indication (the “bars”) is only shown on, yes, the web interface. I got into the habit of keeping a browser tab open on the interface (the default address, as with most home networking products, is 192.168.1.1; I changed this on mine so it wouldn't conflict with my network at home).

Bottom line: there is no problem using the MiFi in rural areas, compared with other cellular data products. I am impressed. I am far too young and poor to be retired, and I rely on my computer to make my living, so my standards are high, and the MiFi meets them.

Battery Life

I have given the MiFi the benefit of the doubt: maybe I didn't charge it long enough. I left it charging overnight, and all day, to make sure I was starting from a full charge. But the conclusion is now inescapable – the battery does not last four hours, as rated. Starting from a full charge, my laptop will outlast the MiFi.

When the MiFi's battery is critically low, the light on the device will change to red, but this is the only battery indication offered on the device itself. To get more information you must look at the web interface, where the battery's charge state is indicated with the familiar “bars” icon. Unfortunately, when charging, the battery indication here always shows a full charge, so there is no way to tell when charging is complete. You're basically stuck with leaving it plugged in overnight and assuming that must be enough.

I will probably just buy a spare battery.

The MiFi with the iPod Touch

The Mifi is a wonderful addition to the iPod Touch. I can just have the device in my pocket and my Touch can get on the Internet as though it were a Verizon iPhone. I am using it this way more often than I thought I would.

I've gotten a surprising amount of interest in my MiFi review from people who essentially want a Verizon iPhone. If you're looking to get a data connection for your Touch, this is definitely the solution. However, if you are looking to replace your voice phone, thinking that Skype will fill that need, I would recommend against it. You'll be using a lot of bandwidth, you'll be unable to easily receive incoming calls, and you'll be adding a layer of complexity that you probably won't like. This is not the Verizon iPhone for voice usage. But if you already have a voice phone and just want a data connection for your iPod, this is it — activate the iPod Touch, and it's connected via WiFi in just a few seconds, with no further ado.

The whole reason we're with Verizon in the first place is for the quality of service: they have the best cellular network of any US provider, and they have 3G data wherever you can get a signal. If you aren't looking for voice service, go with an iPod Touch and a MiFi. AT&T can't touch this.

Five Gigs A Month?

I was worried at first about Verizon's 5G/month limit. My Internet usage at home typically exceeds that by a large margin, with downloading TV shows, iPhone SDK updates, and the like; living on the road for months at a time, with the MiFi as my primary Internet access, would this be a problem?

It is an issue, of course, but there are workarounds. My favorite is Starbucks. If you have a Starbucks Card (a gift card, essentially) you can register it online and get two hours per day of free WiFi at any Starbucks location. I simply saved my big downloads until I got to a Starbucks store, and did them there. As long as the card has been used in the past 30 days, you're in. The card is free, so if you were going to buy some Starbucks anyway, there's no added cost.

Excluding the large downloads, then, my usage has not come close to the five gigabyte limit. It would be nice to be rid of the limit, but living with it is definitely workable.

Conclusion

I highly recommend the Verizon MiFi for travelers who need mobile Internet access. It's not perfect, though, and I have several wishes:

I wish the device, or at least the web interface, had some indication of when it's charging and when it's finished charging. (UPDATE: this has been somewhat addressed with a firmware update.)

I wish the battery lasted a bit longer.

I wish I didn't have to use the web interface for everything. If there were a documented API for third-party software to access the device's particulars, I would be inclined to write a client for it, both for the Mac and for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Read the rest of my review in these posts:

Part 1: The Verizon MiFi 2200

Part 2: Experience On The Road

Part 3: Thwarting The Vegas WiFi Conspiracy

MiFi Firmware Upgrade (on a Mac)

Comments

[Rene]

Great review Jeremy.

We're pretty happy with the MiFi so far, and it's working great from our new spot in the Rockies. So far it's the best workaround we've found to our HughesNet mobile sat bandwidth limitations. Expensive to have both, but we try to look at it as a cost of doing business.

[Lyndle]

Great review.

I was very happy with my USB-720 until drop out software problems made it useless. However for the better part of two years the thing performed well anywhere there was a cell signal.

Now that I have the MIFI-2200 I often can't get even a 1X signal where I routinely was seeing great performance with the older system. When I do get a signal performance seems to be 1/4 that of the older modem. The 720 also had a connection for an external antenna that, while it did not improve gain that much, it did allow you to locate the antenna in 'clear air'.

Verizon markets a cellular signal booster that looks very promising except that it is not optimized for data. With the number of these modems in use in my office there is definitly a nich for an updated version of that.

For now though I'm seriously considering returning the 2200 and trying to fix the -720 software issues.

[Jeremy]

It would be interesting to know where you're located, so we can get an idea of what part(s) of the country are less well-served.

Also -- you can simulate placing an antenna in "clear air" by moving the MiFi device itself -- I found that to be very helpful in, for example, large hotels in Las Vegas, where I put the device in the window.

[Lyndle]

I live in Southern Maryland which generally has OK coverage. This is still a rural area though so if you are off the main path there can be drop outs. However my voice cell works ok and the old -720 was good too except for the software / hardware cut off problem.

I did see better performance last night in a very good signal area. It seems like the MiFi unit simply requires a stronger signal to work.

BTW the guys at work were all eager to link in on a hot spot but I had to nix that idea. I can't imagine any multiple use of this device for anything more than simple e-mail.

[Jhaines]

Great article just what I was looking for. Being someone who works in the city but lives in a rural area and whose only other alternative is satellite the MiFi, MacBook Pro and iPod Touch along with the Wii etc... I have found the MiFi to be a great addition although I mainly use the MiFi with my Cradlepoint MBR1000 router to get more than 5 connections. The MiFi is also great when out in the Motorhome camping, location and signal willing.

As far as seeing the charge and signal strength... "There is an app for that"

Mi-Fi app from AppsDen:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/browserRedirect?url=itms%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewSoftware%253Fid%253D333601535%2526mt%253D8

[Faithe]

There is now an iPhone app that shows you all kind of info for the Mi-Fi. Just look for Mi-Fi in the app store.

[Alex]

Very helpful. thanks for helping me decide on the verizon 2200. I'm liking it.

[janie]

Just found your post. I've had my Verizon MIFI 2 months. The first one stopped working after 2 weeks--it kept asking for the password and stopped accepting it. On my second one, it stopped roaming when traveling. No bars whatsoever, even tho my Sprint phone has 5 bars. I am now forced to wait on a new sim card being sent to the b&b we are staying at. I am so unimpressedwith a mifi.