Link to home
Create AccountLog in
Avatar of camtz
camtzFlag for United States of America

asked on

Hardware to find Hotspots for Galaxy tablet while traveling

Hi, Is there any hardware (wifi receiver) that I could connect to my Galaxy Tablet to help me find Hotspots while I'm on the road?  I see many items on Amazon but they all require drivers which would work well on a computer but don't know how I could install drivers on a Tablet.  Could I install the drivers on the computer and then transfer them to the Tablet?  So to be clear, I am asking two questions here.
One - Is there hardware that doesn't require software
Two - Could I transfer drivers from computer to Tablet
Thanks
Avatar of Mal Osborne
Mal Osborne
Flag of Australia image

How about just wearing one of these?

https://www.latestbuy.com.au/wi-fi-shirt/
Why do you need any other device for that? Your tablet should be able to see the wireless access points when you open the settings tool.
Avatar of camtz

ASKER

As a traveling salesman, I know that certain hotels/Walmart/restaurants offer free hotspots.  I've seen on Amazon where people buy devices (that come with software) to attach to their laptops which gives them much longer range than what you would normally get.  This works out great for someone like myself and or motor homes.
Problem I have is that I can't install the software on my tablet so I have to physically drive up to one of the places to check and see if they are one of the places that offer free wifi.  All I am looking for is a way to extend the range to 3/4 of a mile so I won't waist a lot of time looking for a place.  I have downloaded several Apps that claim they can identify free hotspots but haven't found one that is reliable.
SOLUTION
Avatar of Mal Osborne
Mal Osborne
Flag of Australia image

Link to home
membership
Create a free account to see this answer
Signing up is free and takes 30 seconds. No credit card required.
See answer
Avatar of camtz

ASKER

Thank you so much for this information.  Please stay with me as I'm a little slow.  So you are saying 1) find a USB wireless land card that has a connector on it to connect to the antenna.  2) Does the card have a USB port that would allow me to connect it to the Tablet?
He's talking about a laptop. I doubt USB wireless LAN dongles will work on a tablet.
Yep, probably not going to work on the tablet.

I guess it would be POSSIBLE to throw a USB wireless NIC into a laptop, set up Internet Connection Sharing and relay to the tablet, but that would be a lot of complexity and stuff to carry around.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Link to home
membership
Create a free account to see this answer
Signing up is free and takes 30 seconds. No credit card required.
Avatar of camtz

ASKER

Okay, convinced.  Looks like the only way to extend wifi coverage (to bring in a wifi signal from a long distance), is going to be through an antenna and there is no way to connect an antenna to my tablet.  Everything else that I've looked at requires software installation (which I can't do on a tablet) so the only other tough is to buy a Hotspot device from one of the major carriers which would give the tablet immediate coverage no matter where I am.  Does everyone agree?
Avatar of camtz

ASKER

Thanks to all