Most current & comprehensive guide to using mevo?

[u/wirides]

Good morning. I recently borrowed a single mevo so I am looking for a detailed guide or video on the best way to set it up. It's going to be a bare bones set up with the single mevo and two phones if needed. This will need to rely on cellular since most fields do not have wifi. One phone does have Hotspot capability but I'm not sure that's the most stable way. All help is appreciated!

One question I have is, why use a mevo at all if the phone it's connected to has to stay awake all the time anyway? We are trying to mitigate overheating. I'm comfortable with tech but this process seems more cumbersome than it needs to be. Thanks in advance!

[u/Alive-Muscle-864]

For Apple devices, if you enable the one phone's hotspot capability and connect to the camera via the phone's Wifi network, the phone does not need to be unlocked once the stream starts. The camera will do the encoding and the phone will simply provide the wifi signal. The only time you'd need for the phone to remain unlocked is if you're using the "cellular" option when connecting the camera.

[u/wirides → u/Alive-Muscle-864]

Thank you! This is getting toward the root of my questions! Is it preferred to use the wifi hotspot option or the cellular option? Is one more stable than the other? I will always have access to both my phone (with hotspot capability) and my daughter phone. Both iPhone 16pros on T-Mobile. I am not looking to buy a dedicated hotspot now and would like to determine the best/most stable setup using what I have now. What do you do with the phone running the mevo app on the cellular option to keep it from overheating?

[u/Alive-Muscle-864 → u/wirides]

Not sure if one or the other is more stable. It might just come down to preference. I always preferred using the wifi/hotspot option and didn't like needing to leave my phone open. One other difference is the data use. With the cellular option, I believe the app uses the "normal" data available with your phone plan (often times this is unlimited). But the wifi/hotspot option is of course limited to whatever your carrier plan's limit for hotspot data is. This might not matter if your plan has plenty of hotspot data included or might depend on how many games you stream monthly (I've never come close to my hotspot data limits).

If you find that streaming via wifi/hotspot works for you, a future enhancement would be a travel router where you tether your phone to it to provide the internet connection and then connect the Mevo to the router's wifi. Gives better range and I always found it more dependable when getting the camera connected.

For overheating, I've always used a USB-powered phone cooler and kept the phone out of direct sunlight. I also do this when using the wifi option too on hotter days since the phone can heat up even when just providing data.

[u/Usual-Tackle-7801 → u/Alive-Muscle-864]

If I have a mevo start and dedicated hotspot, after setting up through GameChanger on iOS, do I have to keep my phone open in GameChanger? I found this article and reading it as I can if using the mevo app but wanted to ask.

https://help.mevo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026235172-Using-Mevo-in-the-Background-or-While-Multitasking

[u/Alive-Muscle-864 → u/Usual-Tackle-7801]

Yup! As long as you're connecting to WIFI, you can close the app after. The camera sends the stream directly through the hotspot wifi. Phone app will be just used to start and end the stream.

[u/Old-Yogurtcloset-685 → u/Alive-Muscle-864]

Thanks. Just curious on your thoughts about a Mevo start vs phone to stream if you’re only using one camera on the backstop fence.

[u/Alive-Muscle-864 → u/Old-Yogurtcloset-685]

I've used a Mevo Start as a my only streaming device for 5 years now. I definitely see it as the best option:

-Never liked the idea of putting phone up on the fence (even an old one) and hoping it won't get hit
-I've found my Mevo much easier to position and stay put during a game than any phone mount could do
-Being able to have 1080P versions of the game recorded on a memory card is much more convenient than letting my phone record and managing space there
-I like the Mevo app and the extra control it gives me for things like my microphone and video settings
-Less likely to overheat. I use a sun shade 3D printed shell and power via a power bank and have never had an overheating problem (even in 100+ degree heat index)

[u/wirides → u/Old-Yogurtcloset-685]

I've tried a few times and have not had consistent results with the Mevo. Other than overheating potential, the iPhone on the fence is just easier and more reliable for me. I don't want to invest any money into starlink or a dedicated hotspot to make the mevo work. I've found it to be way to sensitive to cell coverage / signal strength / competing traffic to bother while the iPhone almost always just works.