Winegard Gateway Testing

[mikewb]

I've seen good and bad reviews for the Winegard Gateway, so I decided to purchase the Gateway and do some testing.

I have a 2021 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS that came with the Winegard Air 360+. I updated the Gateway firmware to the latest version and purchased an AT&T sim card to use in the Gateway. I also have an AT&T hotspot that was used in my previous trailer. I ran several tests to compare the upload and download speed of the Gateway and the hotspot. The test was conducted inside my trailer where my cell phone was equal distance from the Gateway and hotspot using a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection. My cellphone is a Samsung S20 FE.

I ran several speed tests using Google's speed test web site.

Cellular Testing
AT&T Hotspot connected to AT&T cell tower:
9 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

Winegard Gateway connected to AT&T cell tower:
20 Mbps download, 16 Mbps upload

Wi-Fi Testing
I tested the Wi-Fi connection from the Winegard Gateway to my home Wi-Fi and from my Samsung phone to my home Wi-Fi. My maximum home internet speed is 100 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. My home Wi-Fi equipment is a Google mesh Wi-Fi system.

Samsung cell phone connected to Home Wi-Fi:
86 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

Winegard Gateway connected to Home Wi-Fi:
22 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

I don't know why the Wi-Fi speed is 22 Mbps when the Gateway is connected to my home Wi-Fi. I expected it to be closer to the speed of my cell phone connection. Clearly, there is an issue with obtaining maximum speed from the Gateway to a Wi-Fi network.

I also checked the number of Wi-Fi access points that were available on my cell phone and on the Gateway. On my cell phone I had 3 access points available from neighboring houses. On the Gateway, I had 15 access points available from neighboring houses. Although the Gateway to Wi-Fi speed test was slower than expected, the signal range of the Gateway was impressive.

On/Off Switch
I also want to mention a modification I made with the on/off power switch that comes with the Gateway. Because of the location of the slide on my Reflection, it would be difficult to mount the on/off switch on the wall and I didn't want to drill another hole to mount it in the ceiling. I decided to mount the switch on the Gateway. Using a Dremel cutting wheel I cut a slot in the side of the Gateway to mount the switch.

To connect the switch wiring, I cut the Gateway 12 volt negative wire and attached the connectors that come with the Gateway. I plugged one connector to a spade on the power switch and the second connector to the other spade on the power switch. I was just completing the negative side of the circuit so it didn't matter which wire is connected to the spade.

The ceiling height of the Reflection does require me to use a small stool to reach the Gateway switch, but it is a minor inconvenience. We already have a stool in the kitchen that we use to reach the upper cabinets.

Conclusion
The Gateway is working good enough for my uses. Yes, the Gateway to Wi-Fi connection speed is less than I had hoped, but the Gateway to cellular connection performed well. I will use the unit during my summer camping trips.

I included pictures of the finished installation.

 

[FidelisOne]

This is a great review. I get my hands on my new 337rls tomorrow and will have it located at a hunting property that I want to be able to work remote from as well. Cellular is the data source I have on site, so knowing this does better than the cellphone hotspot is great news!

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[SNs2011]

I've seen good and bad reviews for the Winegard Gateway, so I decided to purchase the Gateway and do some testing.

I have a 2021 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS that came with the Winegard Air 360+. I updated the Gateway firmware to the latest version and purchased an AT&T sim card to use in the Gateway. I also have an AT&T hotspot that was used in my previous trailer. I ran several tests to compare the upload and download speed of the Gateway and the hotspot. The test was conducted inside my trailer where my cell phone was equal distance from the Gateway and hotspot using a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection. My cellphone is a Samsung S20 FE.

I ran several speed tests using Google's speed test web site.

Cellular Testing
AT&T Hotspot connected to AT&T cell tower:
9 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

Winegard Gateway connected to AT&T cell tower:
20 Mbps download, 16 Mbps upload

Wi-Fi Testing
I tested the Wi-Fi connection from the Winegard Gateway to my home Wi-Fi and from my Samsung phone to my home Wi-Fi. My maximum home internet speed is 100 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. My home Wi-Fi equipment is a Google mesh Wi-Fi system.

Samsung cell phone connected to Home Wi-Fi:
86 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

Winegard Gateway connected to Home Wi-Fi:
22 Mbps download, 4 Mbps upload

I don't know why the Wi-Fi speed is 22 Mbps when the Gateway is connected to my home Wi-Fi. I expected it to be closer to the speed of my cell phone connection. Clearly, there is an issue with obtaining maximum speed from the Gateway to a Wi-Fi network.

I also checked the number of Wi-Fi access points that were available on my cell phone and on the Gateway. On my cell phone I had 3 access points available from neighboring houses. On the Gateway, I had 15 access points available from neighboring houses. Although the Gateway to Wi-Fi speed test was slower than expected, the signal range of the Gateway was impressive.

On/Off Switch
I also want to mention a modification I made with the on/off power switch that comes with the Gateway. Because of the location of the slide on my Reflection, it would be difficult to mount the on/off switch on the wall and I didn't want to drill another hole to mount it in the ceiling. I decided to mount the switch on the Gateway. Using a Dremel cutting wheel I cut a slot in the side of the Gateway to mount the switch.

To connect the switch wiring, I cut the Gateway 12 volt negative wire and attached the connectors that come with the Gateway. I plugged one connector to a spade on the power switch and the second connector to the other spade on the power switch. I was just completing the negative side of the circuit so it didn't matter which wire is connected to the spade.

The ceiling height of the Reflection does require me to use a small stool to reach the Gateway switch, but it is a minor inconvenience. We already have a stool in the kitchen that we use to reach the upper cabinets.

Conclusion
The Gateway is working good enough for my uses. Yes, the Gateway to Wi-Fi connection speed is less than I had hoped, but the Gateway to cellular connection performed well. I will use the unit during my summer camping trips.

I included pictures of the finished installation.

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We currently are using At&t SIM with a NightHawk Hot Spot. Would you suggest switching to the Gateway or no?

 

[mikewb]

We currently are using At&t SIM with a NightHawk Hot Spot. Would you suggest switching to the Gateway or no?

I can't say that you will see improved performance when compared to your NightHawk hotspot but there is a good chance you will because you will be using the external cellular antennas in the Air 360+. Each person's situation is different. If your NightHawk is meeting your needs, maybe there is no need to spend money on a different router. If you are having problems and need to improve your internet connection, then you could run a test like I did. Before drilling holes and permanently mounting the Gateway to the ceiling I connected the Gateway to the 12 volt wires in the ceiling and connected the antenna wires to the Air 360+. I left the Gateway sitting on top of my ladder. I then tested the performance to see if I wanted to keep the Gateway. The performance was better than my hotspot so I mounted it on the ceiling. If I had not seen better performance I would have returned the unit to Amazon.

 

[SNs2011]

I can't say that you will see improved performance when compared to your NightHawk hotspot but there is a good chance you will because you will be using the external cellular antennas in the Air 360+. Each person's situation is different. If your NightHawk is meeting your needs, maybe there is no need to spend money on a different router. If you are having problems and need to improve your internet connection, then you could run a test like I did. Before drilling holes and permanently mounting the Gateway to the ceiling I connected the Gateway to the 12 volt wires in the ceiling and connected the antenna wires to the Air 360+. I left the Gateway sitting on top of my ladder. I then tested the performance to see if I wanted to keep the Gateway. The performance was better than my hotspot so I mounted it on the ceiling. If I had not seen better performance I would have returned the unit to Amazon.

Thanks. We are actually looking into getting a second router. We have two AT&t SIM cards. We just got rid of Nomad Internet. It's false advertising, not truly unlimited data. So we figured out our monthly GB use and went with AT&T and actually paying less than we were with Nomad.

 

[Dennis66]

I to have a 2021 303rls, I just bought a Verizon jetpack and a Netgear MIMO antenna. I will be testing this on our next trip in 2 weeks

 

[mikewb]

I have an update to my original testing information. I'm currently camping at a boondocking site in the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon. My AT&T hotspot is unable to connect to the cellular network. The Winegard Gateway is successfully connected to the AT&T network. I've been here for four days and the Gateway has consistently maintained a cellular connection. The Gateway connection speed is 3 Mbps download and 3.5 Mbps upload, which is adequate for my uses. The combination of the Gateway router and the Air 360+ external antenna really make a difference in this remote area.

 

[JM0397]

Ah, nice modification to the power switch!
I had the same concern with our new Solitude, so I just wired it up and stow it inside the Gateway. I pull it down to turn it on, but haven't really needed it yet as the Verizon jetpack does well on it's own at most places in the MidAtlantic region we've been to thus far.
However, I'm definitely going to take your mod idea so I don't have to pull it off the mounting plate to turn on/off!
The advantage of the Solitude (not sure about other models), is the mount point is just at the top of the stairs, outside the bathroom, so no problem reaching it!

 

[traveldawg]

It's been my experience that cellular repeaters (at least my WeBoost RV device) reduce the download/upload speeds most of the time while increasing the signal strength. Something akin to me telling something to my wife, who then tells it to you and then you answer her and she repeats it to me - it's just quicker if I talk directly to you.

I'm not so sure WiFi repeats do the same. Although in my case I have a MiMo antenna/router so maybe it is multichannel.

Haven any of you Gateway users experienced connecting to campground Tengo systems? Does it work or does it reject (or say) the MAC address is wrong/invalid? I can't connect and "repeat" Tengo signals.