The Great Outdoors
The 8 best unlocked portable Wi-Fi hotspots for travelers and digital nomads
An unlocked portable Wi-Fi hotspot is a must for travelers, digital nomads, or backpackers. Here are our top picks for portability, speed, and network coverage.
As a digital nomad you’re either strapping up your hiking boots to hit the local trails, or flying to Mexico for a week of margaritas and sunshine. And with remote work becoming more common, a life spent hopping between countries is finally within reach for many of us. But life on the road, or in the woods, lacks one necessary modern convenience: an internet connection.
Fortunately, portable Wi-Fi hotspots are the perfect solution for travelers and digital nomads to stay connected. These compact devices provide a high-speed connection wherever you go, so you can get your work done (and pay the bills) while exploring new locales or camping beneath towering evergreens.
How do mobile Wi-Fi hotspots work?
A portable Wi-Fi hotspot is a pocketable device that uses a cellular signal to create your own Wi-Fi network. These hotspots typically output both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connections, and connect to the internet through mobile networks that transmit cellular data through radio waves, called frequencies. This means that you can connect your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to the internet even if there is no public Wi-Fi available. Portable Wi-Fi hotspots are sometimes also called "Mi-Fi" devices.
