How to Get Wi-Fi for Cars


Peter Holslin
Aug 04, 2023
Icon Time To Read5 min read

Having car Wi-Fi keeps you connected, safer in times of emergencies, and entertained on long drives, road trips, or when you're buzzing about town. Car manufacturers like Chevrolet and Tesla have been adding built-in hotspots to some of their models, but you don't need a brand new car to get Wi-Fi on the road.

So, how do you get that sweet car Wi-Fi? We’ll explain some affordable and effective options. Read on for details on mobile hotspots, in-car hotspots, public Wi-Fi, travel routers, and even internet from mobile providers to keep you connect always.

Use your phone’s mobile Wi-Fi hotspot

Before you invest in new gadgetry or the latest Tesla model, you might try simply switching on your phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot. Most smartphones nowadays come with built-in hotspots that allow for tethering to other devices.

You’ll need the phone, of course, and you’ll also have to be signed onto a phone plan that allows for hotspots and tethering. After that, all you have to do is simply switch on the hotspot and sign into it with other devices—it’s by far the cheapest way to get WiFi in your car (or anywhere else away from home). Just keep an eye on your data usage.

Read our guide on cell phone hotspots for more details on pricing and setup.

Mobile home internet options

Best overall
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
T-Mobile
Our Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5
• Price: $40.00/mo.
• Download speed: 72–245Mbps
• Data: Unlimited
• Installation: Free
Best for Verizon mobile customers
Verizon
Verizon Fios
Our Rating
4 out of 5 stars
4
• Price: $35.00–$109.99/mo. w/ Auto Pay and select 5G mobile plans
• Download speed: Up to 2.3Gbps
• Data: Unlimited.
• Installation: free

If you live in a rural area, you know how hard it can be to get internet even at your home, not to mention your car. Fortunately, some of our recommended portable internet providers, like T-Mobile and Verizon data plans, now also offer 4G LTE internet and 5G home internet plans to 90% of the U.S.

We recommend them for their low prices, especially for their respective mobile customers. Mobile wireless customers can get internet for as low as $35 per month with autopay from Verizon or $40 per month from T-Mobile, and the speeds are higher with better data limits than satellite internet (even if they're not quite as available as satellite internet providers like Hughesnet and Viasat).

Use a public Wi-Fi hotspot (coffee shop, library parking lot, etc.)

Another, even more affordable way to get WiFi in the car is to pull up to the nearest McDonald’s, Starbucks, coffee shop, or public library and connect your device on its public WiFi network. Many businesses offer WiFi for free and sometimes the signal is strong enough that it will allow you access from the parking lot or street.

Public libraries also usually have free WiFi, and some library branches extend their WiFi service to the parking lot so people can access it after business hours.

Of course, this means you and your passengers will have to make a pit stop to get WiFi while on a drive—but you won’t need to get out of the car or buy anything

Use a mobile hotspot device

If you need a reliable WiFi connection regularly on the go, it may be worth investing in a mobile hotspot like a Verizon Jetpack MiFi or NETGEAR AirCard. You can find recommendations for some sweet hotspots in our mobile hotspot guide.

Mobile hotspots work similarly to your phone’s WiFi hotspot, but they are dedicated devices for internet usage, providing a WiFi signal through 4G LTE networks. They work with any mobile device, including laptops, phones, and cameras. They offer equal if not better speeds than your phone, options for more data, and most of them can connect more devices than you would be able to with a phone.

Alcatel’s Link Zone 4G LTE plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter socket through a USB, letting it stay charged at all times. Sprint Drive, which plugs into your car’s OBD-II port, includes features for virtual vehicle maintenance and roadside assistance in addition to a hotspot that connects a maximum of eight devices and the option for a monthly unlimited data plan.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to pay for a monthly plan with a cell carrier in order to use the hotspot—it usually costs somewhere between $20 to $90 for 2–10 GB of data per month.* (You can also add a hotspot onto your unlimited phone plan.)

*Data as of 06/16/2020. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Pro tip: Measure your network coverage.
Info

You’ll want to take a look at the size of the cell network and WiFi capabilities of your hotspot plan. If you’re planning to use the hotspot for a big road trip, you still may end up experiencing dead zones in remote areas where no cell service is available.

 

Use a travel router

A travel router isn’t quite as convenient as a mobile hotspot. It’s not something you can use to access Wi-Fi in a car—you need an Ethernet connection to make it work, and those connections aren’t always readily available on the go.

But a travel router is more affordable than a mobile hotspot, and it comes in handy when you’re making occasional pit stops to use the internet. For example, you can use it while spending the night at a hotel. By plugging directly into the Ethernet port of a hotel’s router or gateway, you can bypass password and payment requirements and build your own network to connect a multitude of devices. We recommend this more as an RV internet option.

It works kind of like the old hacker practice of wardriving, but for regular folks and without any actual hacking involved!

Here are our four favorite travel routers:

TP link imageRav power imageHootoo imageGL iNet image
RouterTP-Link AC750 Wireless Portable Nano Travel RouterRAVPower FileHubHooToo FileHub GL.iNET GL-MT300N-V2 Wireless Mini Portable Travel Router
Price*$39.99$49.99$39.99$20.49
WiFi bandsDual-band, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHzDual-band, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHzSingle-band, 2.4 GHzSingle-band, 2.4 GHz
Max speed733 Mbps433 Mbps300 Mbps300 Mbps
Get it

Amazon.com Price (as of 6/15/20 10:49 MST). Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Satelliteinternet.com utilizes paid Amazon links.

Travel routers also work as portable chargers for mobile devices, range extenders to boost a weak WiFi signal, and cloud-sharing hubs for external hard drives and memory cards. They’re a handy travel tool all around.

Buy a new car

Wi-Fi probably isn’t the number-one reason to justify investing in a new set of wheels. But if you are shopping around for the combustible conveyance of your dreams, go ahead and check to see if the model you’re looking at has a built-in hotspot. It’s quickly becoming a standard feature in many new vehicles. Subaru's new vehicles, for example, often feature a built-in T-Mobile hotspot for connecting on the go.

Related resources

Family using internet outside
Best Mobile Hotspot Devices and Plans
Best Verizon hotspot Ellipsis® Jetpack® MHS900L Supported with widest coverage area Lightweight and portable Expensive...
Man using phone by tractor
Best Cell Phone Boosters for Your Home, RV, or Car
Bring your cell phone service into the wilderness—or out to the farm—with a signal booster....

FAQ about Wi-Fi for cars

Why get Wi-Fi for your car?

Wi-Fi for cars comes in handy if you spend a ton of time in your car and frequently need an internet connection on the go. Having a built-in hotspot for your car lets you preserve your phone’s data and battery power since you won’t have to use your phone’s hotspot, and it also gives you the option to connect more devices and get faster speeds than you would on a phone hotspot.

You can use Wi-Fi in the car to keep your kids entertained on long drives and road trips, to do work when you’re away from home or the office, and to get in touch with emergency services if your car breaks down or you’re experiencing other difficulties.

How can you get W-iFi for your car?

You can get Wi-Fi for your car in a few ways. Here are your options:

  • Use your cell phone’s hotspot feature.
  • Purchase a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot with a monthly data plan.
  • Connect a travel router to an Ethernet source in between drives.
  • Buy a new car with a built-in hotspot (the most expensive option).

What’s the cheapest way to get Wi-Fi in your car?

The cheapest way to get Wi-Fi in your car is by using your cell phone’s hotspot and tethering feature. All you need to set it up is your smartphone (most of which come with built-in hotspots) and a monthly cellular plan that allocates data for hotspots and tethering.

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.