WiFiRanger was a small business brand focusing on mobile connectivity hardware specifically for the RV market, and was bought by Winegard, another well established name in the RV industry, in 2020. We have been tracking products developed by both these companies.
WiFiRanger's products are now sold on the Winegard website without any distinct WiFiRanger branding. Despite this change, these are still WiFiRanger products with different firmware and features than Winegard routers and products.
In 2022, they introduced their first combined product, and we expect more in the future.
RV Focused
Winegard (including WiFiRanger) specifically design their equipment and features with the RVer in mind. The combined company covers new RVs and after-market modifications for connectivity.
Historically (prior to acquiring WiFiRanger), Winegard focused on rooftop connectivity solutions usually installed at the RV factory or dealership, and were not as well suited for after-market installations.
Products developed by WiFiRanger focused on a modular mix of outdoor (rooftop) units and indoor mobile routers. WiFiRanger designed them to be used as standalone devices or connected together to create a more capable system by pairing an outdoor unit with an indoor router, letting them the components work together.
Today, Winegard sells "packs" that combine popular WiFiRanger products together - however, you can easily mix-n-match separately purchased components within the same generation of products.
WiFiRanger Product Shortage
Beginning in June 2023, WiFiRanger started moving its product manufacturing. The WiFiRanger store is also merging with the Winegard Store (Winegard acquired WiFiranger in 2020). This has caused a WiFiRanger product shortage during this transition. It's not clear when production and availability of products at the online store will resume.
Winegard and WiFiRanger Product Lineup
Winegard Products
Winegard has rooftop antenna solutions for TV, cellular, and Wi-Fi.
Their AIR 360+ is a product designed to offer an amplified TV antenna for RV manufacturers to build onto new RVs - but with an easy router upgrade path to allow RV owners to simply add cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity as well, without needing to drill any additional holes or pull additional wires to tap into the antennas on the roof.
Winegard's other rooftop combo solution is the ConnecT 2.0. This is a rooftop cellular antenna, router, and Wi-Fi Antenna. Some units are WiFi only, and some units also have TV, FM and AM antennas.
Winegard also offers two gateway routers - the Gateway 4G and Gateway 5G - and a RangePro cellular booster.
WiFiRanger Products
The WiFiRanger products currently offered by Wingard are two outdoor routers - the Denali and Everest, which both come bundled with the Spruce indoor router. They also offer two other indoor routers - the Poplar and Aspen.
Once paired, the outdoor and indoor units are controlled through a single user interface - with the interior router remotely controlling the long-range roof hardware. This allows the WiFiRanger roof unit to focus on pulling in Wi-Fi, cellular, and other connections, while the indoor router makes a private local wired and wireless network for all your devices.
In 2022, Winegard & WiFiRanger introduced its first router-antenna combo, the WiFiRanger Osprey router, specifically designed to pair with Winegard's external dome antenna, the Air 360+. For more information on the Osprey, see the Winegard Air 360+ Gear Center review.
All of WiFiRanger's original products can act as independent routers and include Wi-Fi-extending features. Several products offer integrated cellular modems as options.
The other Winegard and WiFiRanger-specific products in their current lineup that we cover are presented below. Click through to get more in-depth information on the specifications, features, and a review of each:
News, Videos & Status
We've received several WiFiRanger Converge products for testing and evaluation:
- Denali (Rooftop Unit) with a Cat-6 modem - Received October 2019
- Aspen (Indoor Unit) with a Cat-6 modem - Received October 2020
- Everest (Rooftop Unit) with a single Cat-12 modem and Spruce (Indoor Unit) - Received April 2021
- Everest (Rooftop Unit) with a single Cat-6 modem and Spruce (Indoor Unit) - Received June 2021
Additionally, in January 2022, we received a WiFiRanger Osprey for testing with the Winegard Air 360+.
We've done initial testing on all these products and continue to periodically test them as conditions warrant.
Members can track our impressions and testing data here:
- Everest / Aspen Testing Forum Notes
- Denali / Spruce Testing Forum Notes
- [Testing Lab Report] Pepwave MAX Transit Duo vs WiFiRanger Converge, MIMO Antennas (Fall/Winter 2019/2020)
- WiFiRanger Osprey and Air360+ Testing Forum Notes
Additionally, we have extensive experience with retired products that are no longer for sale.
First Look Video:
Other Related Videos:
Related News Center Articles
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Member Exclusive Content Below
- Thoughts & Analysis
- Favorite Features & Potential Downsides
- Deep Dive
- WiFiRanger Converge Overview
- WiFiRanger User Interface & Firmware
- Winegard User Interface & Firmware
- USB Tethering
- WiFiRanger Safe Surf VPN
- Captive Portals
- WiFiRanger Fast NAT Mode
- WiFiRanger Remote Support
- WiFiRanger Retired Lineup
- Summary: Should You Consider Winegard or WiFiRanger?
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WiFiRanger Product Shortage
Beginning in June 2023, WiFiRanger started moving its product manufacturing. The WiFiRanger store is also merging with the Winegard Store (Winegard acquired WiFiranger in 2020). This has caused a WiFiRanger product shortage during this transition. It's not clear when production and availability of products at the online store will resume.
Routers can serve as a central conductor of your local area network in your RV and boat. Mobile routers are different from residential routers in that they typically support multiple internet sources like cellular and Wi-Fi, can be powered off of 12v or AC and support external antenna for better receiving signal.
But you might not need a router in your setup. Here's a quick video overview the variety that routers come in:
For more on learning about mobile routers and how they might fit in your setup, follow up with our educational resources: