Range of portable hotspot in Japan
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: united, Hilton, Amtrak
Posts: 1,185
Range of portable hotspot in Japan
I am planning on renting one of these portable hot spots. There are two of us traveling. If we have adjacent hotel rooms, is it possible for both of us to use the wifi? Or will the person in the room without the hot spot be to far from the hot spot.
#2
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Most hotels have internet. If only wired internet in-room, buy or borrow from front desk a portable LAN-Wifi adapter.
Whether you can access WiFi from the next room depends on building material and room layout. Yes I have "seen" other peoples portable hotspots showing up when staying in hotels.
Whether you can access WiFi from the next room depends on building material and room layout. Yes I have "seen" other peoples portable hotspots showing up when staying in hotels.
Last edited by beep88; Feb 2, 2016 at 3:24 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 106
#5
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
My experience is one of the following
- no internet in room
- only LAN internet
- good wifi
Never experienced bad wifi. During evening prime time, wifi speed could be slow when other guests are streaming movies and what-not, but LAN internet is always fast.
- no internet in room
- only LAN internet
- good wifi
Never experienced bad wifi. During evening prime time, wifi speed could be slow when other guests are streaming movies and what-not, but LAN internet is always fast.
#6
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
On a trip to Japan three years ago, I had landed in a hotel with poor wi-fi and only a LAN connection. At the time, it was not a problem, since I was carrying a full-sized MacBook Pro, which has an Ethernet port.
However, on my next trip, the following year, I had a MacBook Air, which has no Ethernet port. I asked at the Apple Store what to do if I encountered this situation again. They sold me an adapter that into the Lightning port on a MacBook Air and connects to an Ethernet outlet.
However, on my next trip, the following year, I had a MacBook Air, which has no Ethernet port. I asked at the Apple Store what to do if I encountered this situation again. They sold me an adapter that into the Lightning port on a MacBook Air and connects to an Ethernet outlet.
#7
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 161
Hotel wifi is crap - that's almost a universal truth, but is even moreso in Japan where it's still relatively new.
I always rent a pocket wifi to have when we're out but my wife and I usually end up using it in the hotel as well. Yes, it will work in adjacent rooms as long as you're not both staying in penthouse suites. When my wife and I are out, whichever one of us has a bag with us keeps it and the other never has a problem using it when we're in separate rooms (such as a public bathroom).
Different ones might have different ranges; they're not all the same model. I've used two different ones and they seemed at least similar, and both of them worked through walls at least 30 or 40 feet. It was pretty much like a home router.
I always rent a pocket wifi to have when we're out but my wife and I usually end up using it in the hotel as well. Yes, it will work in adjacent rooms as long as you're not both staying in penthouse suites. When my wife and I are out, whichever one of us has a bag with us keeps it and the other never has a problem using it when we're in separate rooms (such as a public bathroom).
Different ones might have different ranges; they're not all the same model. I've used two different ones and they seemed at least similar, and both of them worked through walls at least 30 or 40 feet. It was pretty much like a home router.
#8
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,843
Curious, as in 50+ trips to Japan, I have yet to experience bad hotel internet. But I realize it is a relative term, I tend not to download video often, for example.
#9
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Bear in mind that some more upmarket hotels charge for wifi unless you have status or are on a package which includes internet access. Less expensive business hotels tend to offer free wifi. The speed and reliability can vary.
I always rent a pocket wifi for the convenience of being connected while on the move.
I always rent a pocket wifi for the convenience of being connected while on the move.
#10
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 161
The best wifi I've had in Japan - and I also make a couple trips per year there - would work fine for about 5 minutes and then would randomly just die completely. Then it would come back, then die again. That was at the Grand Arc Hanzomon. At every other hotel I've been to, it's just been basically unusable most of the time. Sure, it always shows a strong connection, but try to use it and not much happens.
I don't typically watch videos over wifi when I'm at hotels either (though there's no reason I shouldn't be able to), but I do expect web sites to load in less than a minute, and for my email to not tell me it's "still working..." when I send a message. Most Japanese hotel wifi still barely offers dialup level speeds - it makes me wonder if they've even upgraded their switching equipment.
A pocket wifi in Tokyo is much faster and more reliable. You're not being routed through a tiny little pipe that's as cheap as the hotel could buy it for. Instead, you're using one of Japan's public cellular networks, which aren't going to be overwhelmed by 50 people using it simultaneously. There's no question of network congestion slowing you down - these networks are built for millions of simultaneous connections (tens of thousands at your particular access point).
At many hotels you still need to pay a nightly fee for wifi, and in that case, a pocket wifi is a no brainer because you can also use it outside of the hotel. But even if the wifi's free, I'd still have a pocket wifi for reliability's sake.