SWC Wifi

Traveling SWC today and discovered they have Wifi (Mifi) on board. Suprised me because Amtrak web site does not ID the SWC as a Wifi equipped train. However it has not been useful because I never could get my computer to link up. My iPhone would link up but not my computer. I have been using my iPhone as a hot spot to hit the internet with my computer.

It this typical performance for Amtrak Wifi performance?

MiFis often have a low limit on the number of devices that can connect to it, which may be why one device works and another doesn't. Amtrak has sometimes issued MiFis, especially to sleeper car attendants, for use in sleeper cars to provide a makeshift wi-fi network where the train itself doesn't have the equipment to provide the official Amtrak wi-fi.

Amtrak's on-board wi-fi performance is generally hit-or-miss, even with the official equipment. Sometimes it works well, especially on the NEC or where cell signal from multiple providers is good. In more rural areas, the service tends to be slow and spotty. Outside of the NEC, Amtrak relies exclusively (as far as I'm aware) on cell towers for internet access, and in rural areas there isn't many cell towers to share the load between. They also have to share bandwidth with cellular users in the area (both on and off the train) so it winds up being a small-ish amount of bandwidth shared among a couple hundred devices if the train is busy. It's better than nothing, especially if you have Sprint, T-Mobile (though less so these days,) or a regional carrier, but it's not as good as even most coffee shop or hotel wi-fi.

The SWC traverses many areas that have poor or no signal They don't advertise the service as available, so it is hard to take them to task for performance. I've been on a few trains where the SCA had his own and gave us a little slip with the password, but again pointed out "no guarantee" My new phone offers tethering, and I have ample data for my uses, so outside of the NEC, I no longer sweat it.

PVD said:

The SWC traverses many areas that have poor or no signal They don't advertise the service as available, so it is hard to take them to task for performance. I've been on a few trains where the SCA had his own and gave us a little slip with the password, but again pointed out "no guarantee" My new phone offers tethering, and I have ample data for my uses, so outside of the NEC, I no longer sweat it.

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Yeah I had the same exact experience on the Sunset Limited. It technically had WiFi but basically the whole time in New Mexico and Arizona, we didn't have a signal.

On occasion, I could connect to the MiFi but it did not do me any good because the MiFi did not have internet connection. In the end, I hooked my IPhone directly to my computer via USB and was able to have internet as long as my iPhone could hit a tower. Had good coverage as long as we were in a town or along the interstate . Would like to use Amtrak MiFi where possible to avoid using my iPhone data limits.

Tomorrow I will be on the CS from LAX to SEA. I suspect I will still need my iPhone to stay connected.

Most likely you'll still need to use your iPhone to connect. The Coast Starlight doesn't officially have wi-fi either.

The double-decker long distance trains are the only routes where Amtrak doesn't offer wi-fi officially. That's any long-distance train that runs west of Chicago (including the City of New Orleans,) along with the Capitol Limited and the Auto Train. All other trains should have official Amtrak wi-fi on board, although performance can be hit-or-miss.

jebr said:

Most likely you'll still need to use your iPhone to connect. The Coast Starlight doesn't officially have wi-fi either.

The double-decker long distance trains are the only routes where Amtrak doesn't offer wi-fi officially. That's any long-distance train that runs west of Chicago (including the City of New Orleans,) along with the Capitol Limited and the Auto Train. All other trains should have official Amtrak wi-fi on board, although performance can be hit-or-miss.

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From riding the Coast Starlight almost every year for the past 7-8 years, I'll say that at best, wifi availability is a 'maybe'. it was either 2 or 3 years ago when I rode, and the Pacific Parlour car had been replaced by a Superliner lounge, they had really small mifi unit sitting on the upper bar counter that provided incredibly slow wifi while not 'in the middle of nowhere' (mountains, mostly). Then last April on the northbound CS, there was a cardboard sign in my sleeper at the top of the steps that indicated the wifi password was <whatever it was>. But there was no wifi signal to be found, according to my cell phone wifi utility app. I mentioned the fact to who I knew was an Amtrak official while 'waiting time' at Jack London (there was an Amtrak big honcho meeting out there that day!) and as if by magic, I had wifi all the way to Portland, where I got off.

But, as noted previously, the CS does not officially offer wifi. Maybe they could put a mifi on the Capitol Limited some day...

Rode the CS from LAX to SEA last two days. Very different experience from SWC. The MiFi link to internet worked consistently as long as were were within range of a cell tower. Did not need to use my personal iPhone a single time.

I was on #2 week before last and just got off #3 this morning. Both had "wifi". Yes, as pointed out, it requires cell service to access the outside world, just like your phone. On both trains, if I didn't have service, the hot spot didn't have service.

On both trains, logon info was provided so you could use it if you wish.

Bought myself a mini-router to connect to wi-fi places. Haven't used it on the train yet as the last trip wasn't long enough (got on at midnight - off by 1PM) but used it at hotels. Great! Especially with the open-VPN it uses and TorGuard VPN. Allows me to connect one device to the site's internet then allows me to connect any devices to it w/o having to configure them or login to the site with each one. Great for switching back and forth between phone and computer. Better yet is the VPN privacy. No need to worry about site owners learning where you connect to.

jebr said:

Most likely you'll still need to use your iPhone to connect. The Coast Starlight doesn't officially have wi-fi either.

The double-decker long distance trains are the only routes where Amtrak doesn't offer wi-fi officially. That's any long-distance train that runs west of Chicago (including the City of New Orleans,) along with the Capitol Limited and the Auto Train. All other trains should have official Amtrak wi-fi on board, although performance can be hit-or-miss.

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Auto train has the official Amtrak WiFi and is officially listed as having it. - although on my recent trip on the southbound I was in a superliner I sleeper car that is not normally used on AT (the SCA said it’s from the western fleet and I heard multiple AT crew members commenting about how the car was different from what they were used to) and that car did not have WiFi as a result (or the coffee/beverage station in the car.) all the cars forward of me and the lounge and diner had the WiFi. on my return northbound leg a week later I was in one of the normal superliner II auto train sleeper cars and I did have the WiFi.

jebr said:

It's better than nothing, especially if you have Sprint, T-Mobile (though less so these days,) or a regional carrier, but it's not as good as even most coffee shop or hotel wi-fi.

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On the last several Amtrak trips my T-Mobile phone and Verizon Jetpack lost and regained service within a few minutes of each other. So long as your baseband chipset was manufactured in the last couple years the experience is probably going to be rather similar across most providers.