As digital nomads and content creators, having access to high-speed internet on the road is obviously super important to us, not only so we can stay connected but so that we can get all of our work done without having to visit a Starbucks every couple of days (which is exactly what we had to do for the first 2 months of or Rv life journey).
When we were searching for an affordable, yet effective mobile wifi option we came across a lot of videos reviewing StarLink, and to be honest we were surprised that a lot of them weren't exactly all that positive.
While StarLink does offer some very high speeds in a lot of areas, according to many customers there are a lot of blackouts in densely populated areas such as the east coast of the U.S. and Canada.
Coupled with the fact that StarLink does have a rather pricey entry point (around $600 for the hardware at the time of writing this blog) as well as a minimum 3 wait time to receive the hardware, we decided to look for an alternative option, and thank god we did because we were very happy when we discovered Maple Wifi.
Although Maple wifi is mostly targeted towards Canadians, it actually works just as well throughout North America, although unfortunately, they do not yet cover Mexico but we've been told they are working on that and should have Mexican coverage very soon, which is great because we plan on taking our RV all the way down to Baja California next winter.
So how does it work?
MapleWiFi leverages existing cellular infrastructure to bring high-speed internet to users throughout Canada and the United States.
As long as you can get a 4G LTE signal on a cell phone at your location, you can decent speeds with MapleWiFi.
They do not restrict the location you use your service. You can move it between homes, cottages or take it with you in your RV or truck, or on vacation - as long as you have cellular coverage, you will have service, their service does not need to be in a fixed location to work.
If there is no cell service available in your area, on either of the major 4G LTE networks, Maple wifi service may not work.
So obviously this is a little different to the service that StarLink offers, the most basic way to explain it is, if you are going to travel in places fairly close to regular towns where you can get a decent phone signal, then Maple wifi will work great, which is actually one of the down sides to StarLink, as mentioned we've never used the service but apparently, this is the main problem with it not getting any service in the more populated areas.
The plus side of using Maple wifi is that you can switch between networks to get the best reception, for instance, if you're in an area that gets great Verizon service but not so great AT&T, you can manually change the modem to connect to a Verizon network.
So I guess it comes down to what type of travel you want to do, but this could be a great option for anyone travelling through Canada and the United States.
So how fast is Maple Wifi?
Speeds will depend on many factors - most importantly signal strength to your closest cell tower. You can get an idea of what speeds your local cell tower is able to support by running a Speedtest on your cell phone while connected to cellular data - you should expect speeds at least as high as what your cell phone is able to get, but there are many users who are able to get much higher speeds. Most users see average speeds between 20 - 80Mbps download, and 10-35Mbps upload,
Key Features:
Unlimited Data - MapleWiFi does not limit your data in any way. Whether you're streaming movies, uploading pictures, or just surfing the web, you can do so without any concerns about going over a data cap.
No Installation Required - MapleWiFi internet service is plug-n-play and fully portable. You are not restricted to using it at one location.
For mobile users, both devices that they offer can be charged off a 12v USB power supply and can be left plugged in full time.
7-Day Free Trail - MapleWiFi provides a 7 review period for all new customers. If you are unhappy with your service for any reason, contact them within 7 days of receiving your Hub for a complete refund
No Lock-in Contracts - You can cancel your MapleWiFi unlimited service at anytime, and since it is a prepaid service - your service will automatically stop working at the end of your current usage cycle (31 days)
Check out Maple wifi for yourself using our affiliate link below, use code "lloydandmandy" to save $30 on your first month's service.
https://maplewifi.com/#a_aid=lloydandmandy