Site WiFi media download

Hi been Callying for just over a yearly in it!
But why can’t I connect my MacBook or phone to the campsite Even when buying the upgrade I still can’t connect? It says there are to many IOS items so need to turn the IOS off? I am quite a techy but this has me stumped!
Question is then what’s the best way to download and use media via my MacBook? Or is there a gadget to allow me to watch tv sky etc without putting a dish up?

4d

Fordiesdocamping said:

Hi been Callying for just over a yearly in it!
But why can’t I connect my MacBook or phone to the campsite Even when buying the upgrade I still can’t connect? It says there are to many IOS items so need to turn the IOS off? I am quite a techy but this has me stumped!
Question is then what’s the best way to download and use media via my MacBook? Or is there a gadget to allow me to watch tv sky etc without putting a dish up?

4d

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This is a question for the Campsite, but are you trying to connect more than 1 IOS device? Do you have some IOS devices connected to your MacBook?
Some sites only allow 1 connection / account.

Yes have 2 phones linked to it. I unpaired them but it didn’t help

Fordiesdocamping said:

Yes have 2 phones linked to it. I unpaired them but it didn’t help

Click to expand...

Just a chance. Switch off WiFi on laptop and then On and try reconnect to site wifi. If that fails, restart MacBook then try to reconnect .

Personal opinion - campsite wifi is like plastic baked goods in a bakery's window display; it's all for show. Most camp wifis barely have enough strength to make it past the log-in screen, much less do anything productive.

CamperFam said:

Personal opinion - campsite wifi is like plastic baked goods in a bakery's window display; it's all for show. Most camp wifis barely have enough strength to make it past the log-in screen, much less do anything productive.

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Ok so what do yo do? Is a 4G router the way forward?

CamperFam said:

Personal opinion - campsite wifi is like plastic baked goods in a bakery's window display; it's all for show. Most camp wifis barely have enough strength to make it past the log-in screen, much less do anything productive.

Click to expand...

Never had a problem when using campsite wifi, but tend to use a MiFi dongle with a “3” data sim.
Normally campsite WiFi will only allow 1 connection/account but no problems with my iPad when using.

Ta

I just tether off my mobile phone.

CamperFam said:

Personal opinion - campsite wifi is like plastic baked goods in a bakery's window display; it's all for show. Most camp wifis barely have enough strength to make it past the log-in screen, much less do anything productive.

Click to expand...

Obviously it depends on the campsite but I tend to agree.
It’s often not the WiFi (LAN) connection speed that’s the problem but the Internet (WAN) connection. If it’s a big site with lots of pitches and each user is sharing the external bandwidth, then uploads/downloads can be very slow.
Like others, if campsite internet is rubbish I’ll tether to my iPhone or use my Blackvue dashcam as a hotspot.

GrumpyGranddad said:

Obviously it depends on the campsite but I tend to agree.
It’s often not the WiFi (LAN) connection speed that’s the problem but the Internet (WAN) connection. If it’s a big site with lots of pitches and each user is sharing the external bandwidth, then uploads/downloads can be very slow.
Like others, if campsite internet is rubbish I’ll tether to my iPhone or use my Blackvue dashcam as a hotspot.

Click to expand...

Absolutely - we generally use CAMC sites due to the facilities and young kids - a godsend during C19 days when we were in the midst of infant ages, but we've always been in rough parts of the site with little/no signal, and when we do, it's just enough to validate credentials and then never see it again

Fordiesdocamping said:

Ok so what do yo do? Is a 4G router the way forward?

Click to expand...

Theres three options I guess.

1. Go all out - Starlink. But really - it's only worth considering if you're not shy of a few bob, use the van intensively, often out of range of 4G or similar and have a real need for fast internet. You're looking at about £80 a month on fees, let alone the equipment cost.
2. 4G dongle - standalone Wifi unit that you can leave in the van and connect up for all passengers to use at any one time.
3. Phone tether - much the same as the above, just more reliance on you to give people access and be in range of others etc. This is generally our route - but i've caused many a drama with the kids when i've wandered to the toilet block with phone in pocket, and Bluey stops streaming

We always try to download some stuff to watch before we go away, if it's going to be cold/wet stuck inside evenings. Site wifi is always hit & miss, so I think of it as a bonus rather than relying on it.

BigJohn said:

We always try to download some stuff to watch before we go away, if it's going to be cold/wet stuck inside evenings. Site wifi is always hit & miss, so I think of it as a bonus rather than relying on it.

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Same here.

Ditto to poor bandwidth for most sites wifi and have often found its single access per pitch.
We also try to have most tv/film downloaded before we leave home although I thought at least one streaming service didn’t used to allow repeated downloads although I’ve not tried recently.
We also have a 4g mobile WiFi router that we secure up as high as possible when really struggling for signal with a different network provider for a belt and braces approach.
When planning our travels in out of the way &/or mountainous terrain I try to remember to pop the postcode in our network provider’s signal strength coverage map which shows whether there’s likely to be issues.
Generally signal and bandwidth are improving year on year, but if you’re camped in a dipped portion of a site &/or in a forest a decent 4g mobile router can be really handy.
Hope that you find a solution that generally works for you.