Skyroam - Solis Lite Wi-Fi Hotspot

I love this portable WiFi device. It is perfect for travel or even when I am working in my backyard - my new work from home office. It is easy to set up using the Solis App. I use the pay-per-day option for data so that I am only paying when I need to use it. It saves me money when I travel internationally too. I no longer need to purchase my cell service's international travel plan. The Solis connect up to 10 devices so in addition to my laptop I use it with my phone and then use WiFi calling. It is so light and portable I just stick in my bag or back pocket.

I live in the country and thought this would be a worthy replacement for my horribly unreliable satellite internet, but I was wrong. It works ok for working from home and streaming movies (yay!) but because of cell carriers’ “fair use policies,” it’s unable to process large downloads, and I was unable to connect my gaming consoles to the hotspot. This is not mentioned anywhere on Skyroam’s website, and I had to contact customer support three times before I could get an answer about it, and even then their response was “it seems like it won’t work,” which isn’t exactly definitive... Their “solution” was to recommend that I pay for their pay-as-you-go plan, which offers full speed downloads at a rate of $6 per gigabyte. That’s just outrageously unrealistic if I’m downloading large files. I fully understand the limitations at play here, but some more transparency upfront would have been much-appreciated before I spent the money on this device and an extra $99 on the “unlimited” data plan. (Please note that because this device is pre-packaged with a free GB of data, you’ll either have to use the full 1GB or contact customer support to in-bundle it if you want to switch to the unlimited plan).

This little device allows me to stay connected while we travel. I am updating from their old version because we love it so much! We have used this device in multiple foreign countries (no, it doesn't work on cruises though). The simplicity of having an extra boost in your pocket is unmatched by any other device I have tried!

I bought this for a temporary internet connection. I live in the Los Angeles, County and always got a strong signal. Not good for gaming, streaming, watching Netflix or youtube you should probably just install regular internet at home. This will cost way more to run.. for example $6 per GB Works great for checking email and internet sleuthing. The battery power depends on usage but for now I can probably get 10-12 hours of battery power. Customer service has been helpful. I reached out through the online chat messenger and got help within minutes. There was some trouble shooting and resetting that came up but they walk you through it . .

two quirky things: if you want pay as you go bandwidth, you need to ask Skyroam first to lower you to US-only if you don't plan to travel outside of the country to save you the $3/GB (can't do that on your end), also if you have devices that are 5ghz and 2.4ghz, let the devices that only connect on one of the bands connect first, the device will then stop transmitting on the other frequency.

When you turn it on, you have to install an app on your phone on which you buy the data. The hotspot uses that connection to give you internet on any other devices. You can buy it up-front in small packages or have it auto-charge. I did both options at different times - did you want to watch a movie on Netflix? My paypal was dinging so much that I didn't even get through a movie without my balance being at $45. I live in SF and my cell service is Verizon. I must've used it twice successfully, and all other times unsuccessfully, and I needed it to do my work! The Solis people were unresponsive to my emails for help or through the app. What a disappointment, and when I needed it to do my work, too.

I bought this device to work from the beach in Miami. It worked perfectly. The reviews kind of scared me because people were saying it’s not the best device but I had no issues getting service anywhere there was cell service. I choose this particular device so I can work internationally (after covid when it’s safe) without having to search for another SIM card. I highly recommend for people working from home and want to be able to travel and work from wherever you are.

kind of pricey to refill the subscription for GB but probably worth it in the long run. not sure i could afford if my job wasn’t reimbursing me.