New “Airstream Connected” LTE-WiFi Dealer Installed

[primepower]

I hope I can just insert the Sim from T Mobile.

On a side note, I have had nothing but trouble with Airstream of Virginia. The worst buying process, our first trailer, a pop up, was a better buying experience. Now they are wanting to charge me $300 more just for the connected kit. Sad I have to drive 4 hours away to Greensboro to get a decent price and service.

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by UncleBad

For #1 - yes you should be able to do that as others have done so and a few folks here have spoken with AS who has stated the system is unlocked.

Unless things have changed, the answer is no. If your new SIMM is AT&T or T-mobile there is no problem, but as you can see from the settings screen below, you have to set the type of SIMM card. Since Airstream doesn't give you the password to the system, it is effectively locked.

Also, if you reset the modem to factory default to gain access, you are effectively in limbo. Airstream holds the online support contract for your modem and will not release it. This effectively keeps you from using any of the extended licensing products like the WiFi Wan (campground wifi feature) or getting support from Peplink or Airstream. You are far better off simply replacing the router with another LTE router so you can put it back into factory mode if you need support.

[primepower]

Good advice. But looking at your picture I should be good since I'll bounce from AT&T to T Mobile.

We have T mobile and have been very happy. Especially with the military pricing. I travel overseas and T mobile is the best over there.

[turk123]

I just signed up for another year with ATT on the existing EIME number. It added it as a separate contract and says "pending" with no dates. This is exactly what others are showing.

The email ATT sent me says it will activate AFTER the current contract expires. If this is true, technically you could sign up two or three times more with the same effect. Or 10 times if you have $3600.

I went through this in the past and ATT honored the contracts. Let's see what happens this time. Probably will go through pain if they don't honor it. I used my Keybank credit card in case I have to contest it.

[primepower]

I called the dealer in Greensboro who will do the install and they gave me the numbers I needed. I just purchased the plan so thanks a bunch to this forum as my wife will have all the data she needs this summer while she lives in it and starts a career change going to a new school.

Now for a successful install and to call customer service at Airstream to turn off the campground WiFi feature.

[UncleBad]

Originally Posted by turk123

I just signed up for another year with ATT on the existing EIME number. It added it as a separate contract and says "pending" with no dates. This is exactly what others are showing.



The email ATT sent me says it will activate AFTER the current contract expires. If this is true, technically you could sign up two or three times more with the same effect. Or 10 times if you have $3600.



I went through this in the past and ATT honored the contracts. Let's see what happens this time. Probably will go through pain if they don't honor it. I used my Keybank credit card in case I have to contest it.

Turk, I thought about that too.... signing up multiple times to get multiple pending plans... but I am hopeful technology and plans will change to allow more and different options within a year and a half.

I have just one pending plan that should activate in April. Anyone have a plan that should activate earlier I wonder?

[primepower]

I activated mine today and it does say unlimited. However I know that is before the January cutoff date so that may not help you.

[mdtravelers]

So will someone receiving a new Classic after January 2020 have to pay AT&T the higher price for connecting to the internet with no other option?

[hsgsports]

Like Turk and several others, I just signed up for another year even though my current plan doesn't expire until Oct 2020. It says pending but I'm hopeful it will go through.

The key words in my email were "The plan will become active on the end of your last Domestic plan Eastern Time.'

[kittmaster]

I'm debating if I should try to re-up it before April.....it stinks that there is no way to get a definitive answer until someone runs into it.

[ghaynes755]

MD, not you don't "have to pay" AT&T. You can use any carrier's service in the sim card slot. The other sim card slot has an AT&T card that is only used for the Airstream Connected trailers that allow for remote control/monitoring of the trailer. Currently these are only recent model year Classic trailers.


So you would still have the Airstream Connect on your new trailer regardless if you even use the second sim slot for data connection.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by kittmaster

I'm debating if I should try to re-up it before April.....it stinks that there is no way to get a definitive answer until someone runs into it.

Grant you, it may or may not be valid, but with the email that AT&T sent me saying it will continue after my other one expires, you have a pretty good argument to use with your credit card company.

[primepower]

Steve,

Is the range large enough for the inside of the camper? I looked at this but am afraid it would not provide adequate coverage in my classic.

Originally Posted by stevejones

Got the TP-Link AC750 WiFi Travel Router on Amazon I think. Less than $40. Dual band, same speed as other routers. Can also be a repeater and a few other things. Has an ethernet input or can connect to WiFi. Nice and small. Short range. Intended to be used in a hotel room to make a private secure network of your devices. Powers off a USB outlet.

Steve

[stevejones]

Originally Posted by primepower

Steve,

Is the range large enough for the inside of the camper? I looked at this but am afraid it would not provide adequate coverage in my classic.

Seems to work just fine in our 27 Globetrotter. I like the fact that it is powered by USB. In our Globetrotter, there is an alcove above the TV in the dinette area that has a USB charger outlet in it. I guess the intent is to put your phone up there and charge it. We have the Peplink installed in that alcove. So the TP-Link AC750 is mounted right next to the Peplink with Velcro. We cover the alcove with a picture, held on with more Velcro so I can easily get to the routers if I need to. The TP-Link is plugged into the USB charger. Easy peezy for our setup. Not sure how it would work in your trailer. You can always get it, try it, and return it if it doesn't work for you.

We seem to be able to get the 5Ghz signal everywhere inside the trailer, but to be honest we mainly use our devices in the dinette area. Outside the trailer if you can't see the 5Ghz signal of the second router you can probably still see the 2.7Ghz signal of the Peplink. As I remember (trailer is in winter storage right now) I could see the 5Ghz signal on our "front porch".

Whether this makes sense for you depends on if you have a USB charger outlet close to the Peplink. Whatever you end up getting, if you can't use a USB powered model, make sure you get a 12V powered router. You don't want to be having to fire up your inverter so your router works if you don't have hookups.

Steve

[mdtravelers]

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

MD, not you don't "have to pay" AT&T. You can use any carrier's service in the sim card slot. The other sim card slot has an AT&T card that is only used for the Airstream Connected trailers that allow for remote control/monitoring of the trailer. Currently these are only recent model year Classic trailers.


So you would still have the Airstream Connect on your new trailer regardless if you even use the second sim slot for data connection.

I own a 2016 FC. Is there a good reason to have the Airstream system installed and then use a SIM card of my choosing? I'm trying to figure out if the system Airstream installs is worth the price. It sure seems easier.

[primepower]

I'm doing it as I believe it is. I plan to use the AT&T SIM card for the first year as I already purchased the unlimited plan and after that I will place a T-Mobile SIM card in.

Originally Posted by mdtravelers

I own a 2016 FC. Is there a good reason to have the Airstream system installed and then use a SIM card of my choosing? I'm trying to figure out if the system Airstream installs is worth the price. It sure seems easier.

[primepower]

Thank you for the response. I get mine installed in the middle of the month and so once I get the trailer back I will look at it to see what power options I have. I'm looking at a larger router from tp-link however I don't know if I'll have room for the 8 and 1/2 inch antenna height. I would like to make sure my TV in the rear bed area has access to the internet so we can watch Netflix. I'm halfway considering using a mesh Network like I do in my home. About $30 more than the tp-link router I was looking at but I would have full coverage.

Originally Posted by stevejones

Seems to work just fine in our 27 Globetrotter. I like the fact that it is powered by USB. In our Globetrotter, there is an alcove above the TV in the dinette area that has a USB charger outlet in it. I guess the intent is to put your phone up there and charge it. We have the Peplink installed in that alcove. So the TP-Link AC750 is mounted right next to the Peplink with Velcro. We cover the alcove with a picture, held on with more Velcro so I can easily get to the routers if I need to. The TP-Link is plugged into the USB charger. Easy peezy for our setup. Not sure how it would work in your trailer. You can always get it, try it, and return it if it doesn't work for you.

We seem to be able to get the 5Ghz signal everywhere inside the trailer, but to be honest we mainly use our devices in the dinette area. Outside the trailer if you can't see the 5Ghz signal of the second router you can probably still see the 2.7Ghz signal of the Peplink. As I remember (trailer is in winter storage right now) I could see the 5Ghz signal on our "front porch".

Whether this makes sense for you depends on if you have a USB charger outlet close to the Peplink. Whatever you end up getting, if you can't use a USB powered model, make sure you get a 12V powered router. You don't want to be having to fire up your inverter so your router works if you don't have hookups.

Steve

[larslink]

I just purchased a 2020 Atlas and had planned to go with the Airstream Connect package. However, as of the 14th of January, AT&T stopped offering the unlimited plan. So I started doing a little research.

The vehicle came with the Poynting 3 in 1 antenna preinstalled on the roof already. All I needed was the Pepwave BR1 Mini modem. This sells for $399 at full retail and it takes about 10 minutes to install and another 10 - 15 minutes, or so, to configure if you haven't done it before.

In terms of plans, I found the Sprint 100 GB per month to be the most competitive of the 4 big U.S. carriers. It's $60 per month if you sign up for autopay. The AT&T plan for Airstream Connect is $300 for 100 GB per month. Tip: If you go with Sprint you need the Sim card # SIMOLW516TQ.

Because the Pepwave BR1 Mini supports two Sim cards with a priority and failover option, I installed a prepaid AT&T card in the second slot. This one I don't use, but it's there if I ever find myself in a place where Sprint doesn't have coverage but AT&T does.

So, in the end I have the same hardware that Airstream uses, but I paid $400 vs. $1000, and my data plan is one fifth the cost.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by larslink

I just purchased a 2020 Atlas and had planned to go with the Airstream Connect package. However, as of the 14th of January, AT&T stopped offering the unlimited plan. So I started doing a little research.

The vehicle came with the Poynting 3 in 1 antenna preinstalled on the roof already. All I needed was the Pepwave BR1 Mini modem. This sells for $399 at full retail and it takes about 10 minutes to install and another 10 - 15 minutes, or so, to configure if you haven't done it before.

In terms of plans, I found the Sprint 100 GB per month to be the most competitive of the 4 big U.S. carriers. It's $60 per month if you sign up for autopay. The AT&T plan for Airstream Connect is $300 for 100 GB per month. Tip: If you go with Sprint you need the Sim card # SIMOLW516TQ.

Because the Pepwave BR1 Mini supports two Sim cards with a priority and failover option, I installed a prepaid AT&T card in the second slot. This one I don't use, but it's there if I ever find myself in a place where Sprint doesn't have coverage but AT&T does.

So, in the end I have the same hardware that Airstream uses, but I paid $400 vs. $1000, and my data plan is one fifth the cost.

If I want a Sprint plan I would joined FMCA (75.00) and got the unlimited plan with no contract for 50 per month which includes a hotspot for 1 cent. A better deal is Visible that uses Verizon network with unlimited and no contract for 40 bucks per month. Here is more on the Visible plan;
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/40-mo...ed-442091.html

[Rocinante]

Great idea, especially since this gives you the flexibility to swap out SIMs any time you find a better deal. We would not have chosen Sprint because it has poor coverage where we have historically camped, but nevertheless, you control your destiny and you have a great solution at a great price. Hope it works well for you!

Originally Posted by larslink

I just purchased a 2020 Atlas and had planned to go with the Airstream Connect package. However, as of the 14th of January, AT&T stopped offering the unlimited plan. So I started doing a little research.

The vehicle came with the Poynting 3 in 1 antenna preinstalled on the roof already. All I needed was the Pepwave BR1 Mini modem. This sells for $399 at full retail and it takes about 10 minutes to install and another 10 - 15 minutes, or so, to configure if you haven't done it before.

In terms of plans, I found the Sprint 100 GB per month to be the most competitive of the 4 big U.S. carriers. It's $60 per month if you sign up for autopay. The AT&T plan for Airstream Connect is $300 for 100 GB per month. Tip: If you go with Sprint you need the Sim card # SIMOLW516TQ.

Because the Pepwave BR1 Mini supports two Sim cards with a priority and failover option, I installed a prepaid AT&T card in the second slot. This one I don't use, but it's there if I ever find myself in a place where Sprint doesn't have coverage but AT&T does.

So, in the end I have the same hardware that Airstream uses, but I paid $400 vs. $1000, and my data plan is one fifth the cost.