How to Add Wi-Fi to Your Car
Getting your car connected to the Internet may prove to be very useful, especially when it comes to avoiding traffic jams, or keeping the kids quiet in their car seats during a long trip. In fact, the car itself can be transformed into a Wi-Fi hotspot, and this article will teach you how to do that. If course, the car may also have Internet integrated into its system from the very moment you’ve bought it.
Let’s start with the more frequent option, which is popular among people who haven’t bought a car in 2016. If you have a smartphone that has Internet access, it is very easy to use it in the car, providing Internet to other devices by making use of the Wi-Fi tethering option. If your phone supports tethering, it will act like a Wi-Fi hotspot and you won’t have to buy anything else; the nearby devices will be able to connect to the Internet wirelessly.
Of course, mobile data plans are still expensive, so avoid streaming long movies, for example; otherwise, you may pay huge amounts of money to the phone company, and I can only assume that you don’t want that to happen.
Most modern phones have access to fast, 4G Internet connections these days, so the connection speed should be blazing fast. Of course, if signal propagation is weak, you can always add an access point and connect a high gain antenna using RP-SMA adapters to extend the range.
One thing to note, though, is that Wi-Fi tethering can drain the smartphone battery quite fast, so you should keep it plugged in into your car battery. Use an adapter to do that, of course, or if you are feeling more adventurous, try using a reliable solar charger.
If you are among the lucky people to have a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot in your car, you won’t need to bring in your phone with you all the time, or make sure that it is always fully charged. Your car can connect to the Internet no matter who is driving it, or who is on board. As an added bonus, you won’t risk paying a lot of extra money because you’ve exceeded the monthly data plan.
Many new cars come with built-in Wi-Fi access. The main problem seems to be the Internet connection speed, though; the promises made in the contract aren’t always kept. Some of the top car makers promise (and offer!) full 4G connectivity and integrated hotspots, but the prices paid for these top cars and services aren’t always small.
When a car has a built-in Wi-Fi connection, it includes bigger antennas, which provide a much better signal in comparison with the signal provided by a tethered smartphone. Audi, BMW, Fiat, Ford, GM, Mercedes Benz are just a few of the key car makers which offer automobiles with integrated Internet access.
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