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lemodrop9344 · 07-30-2021, 09:43 AM

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/v...-hotspot-plans

This was announced by Verizon yesterday.

jrollf · 07-30-2021, 10:43 AM

Ugh... still really expensive for what you get, even the "pro plan" is only 150GB a month, that really isn't much, especially for $80/month.

rk911 · 07-30-2021, 10:45 AM

mifi devices exclused?

Stevegd007 · 07-30-2021, 10:53 AM

I just updated 1 devise with Verizon. A Jet Pack was failing so I got a new one. Now I hit with a new bill for a connect fee and a data plan. I have a Home phone on my account also. Did not update this. So my HOME PHONE was also charged a new line fee and data plan, for just a HOME PHONE that does not use any data. Total fees come to $370 for the first month.
I called talked to 3 Verizon CSR and that ALL said to ignore this, they have issues with their system. NO ****. Anyway 3 weeks later there is NO change yet in the next months billing for $370. I am concerned there lying to me.

lemodrop9344 · 07-30-2021, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrollf

Ugh... still really expensive for what you get, even the "pro plan" is only 150GB a month, that really isn't much, especially for $80/month.

Agree the Verizon data only plans are a little pricey. However, these plans are less expensive per GB than what they were offering. Unless one is lucky enough to have one of the 'real' grandfathered unlimited data plans, you have to accept what you can get.

lemodrop9344 · 07-30-2021, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevegd007

I just updated 1 devise with Verizon. A Jet Pack was failing so I got a new one. Now I hit with a new bill for a connect fee and a data plan. I have a Home phone on my account also. Did not update this. So my HOME PHONE was also charged a new line fee and data plan, for just a HOME PHONE that does not use any data. Total fees come to $370 for the first month.
I called talked to 3 Verizon CSR and that ALL said to ignore this, they have issues with their system. NO ****. Anyway 3 weeks later there is NO change yet in the next months billing for $370. I am concerned there lying to me.

The 'issues with their system' excuse sounds sort of lame. I suspect the issue was whoever keyed in the information messed it up. If possible, see if you can connect with a 2nd level support person. I have found them very helpful if you talk nice to them (will even waive set up fees sometimes).

Were you aware of this?

Verizon has issued a recall in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot devices (model numbers MHS900L, MHS900LS and MHS900LPP) after the company was made aware that the lithium-ion battery in the hotspots can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard.Apr 12, 2021

tetranz · 07-30-2021, 12:00 PM

This is good if you're a Verizon customer and/or Verizon is the only one that works well for you and you've been waiting for them to match the others but there's nothing here for me as a part-timer compared to the AT&T prepaid plan.

I don't use Verizon directly for my phone (I use Visible for $25/mo) so my only real options from this are $90 for 100 GB or $110 for 150 GB.

AT&T is $55 for 100 GB or, if you buy two, $110 for 200 GB. That's available with no other requirements, commitments or confusing complications. I like to keep things simple.

And ... the big one for me is that with AT&T prepaid, you can effectively put it on hold and pay nothing when you're not using it. I don't think you can easily do that with these Verizon postpaid plan. Well, I haven't really checked that so maybe it's possible.

But still ... slowly moving in the right direction I guess.

Massparanoia · 07-30-2021, 12:04 PM

FYI T-Mobile’s 100GB $50/mo plan is back. Includes a 5G mifi

smiller · 07-30-2021, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tetranz

This is good if you're a Verizon customer and/or Verizon is the only one that works well for you and you've been waiting for them to match the others but there's nothing here for me as a part-timer compared to the AT&T prepaid plan.

I don't use Verizon directly for my phone (I use Visible for $25/mo) so my only real options from this are $90 for 100 GB or $110 for 150 GB.

AT&T is $55 for 100 GB or, if you buy two, $110 for 200 GB. That's available with no other requirements, commitments or confusing complications. I like to keep things simple.

And ... the big one for me is that with AT&T prepaid, you can effectively put it on hold and pay nothing when you're not using it. I don't think you can easily do that with these Verizon postpaid plan. Well, I haven't really checked that so maybe it's possible.

But still ... slowly moving in the right direction I guess.

Verizon still wants to believe that they are worth a significant premium over their competitors but that value proposition is rapidly changing (you know it's bad when even AT&T has better deals

) And if you can even a find a place anymore where VZ is the only carrier with coverage then a $25 Visible subscription will cover it. Until VZ finally gets the memo and becomes truly competitive there are just better ways to go these days.

tetranz · 07-30-2021, 01:35 PM

Of course people doing this for $50 per month with a phone plan in a router (pretending to be a phone) are laughing at us for being honest.

lemodrop9344 · 07-30-2021, 02:25 PM

I will be the 1st to admit there are better deals out there. What is encouraging to me is Verizon appears to be responding to their competitors & the market by offering data plans with higher GB limits.

brandss · 07-30-2021, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tetranz

Of course people doing this for $50 per month with a phone plan in a router (pretending to be a phone) are laughing at us for being honest.

I see this on various sites and I have to say I just don't understand it. I think, people are using a phone or tablet with unlimited data (I guess data on the phone is different than data from a hotspot) and then use that phone or tablet to get to the internet. Maybe that same device is connected to the tv to watch shows?

tetranz · 07-30-2021, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandss

I see this on various sites and I have to say I just don't understand it. I think, people are using a phone or tablet with unlimited data (I guess data on the phone is different than data from a hotspot) and then use that phone or tablet to get to the internet. Maybe that same device is connected to the tv to watch shows?

You can do with you suggest, i.e., connect a phone or tablet to a TV with an HDMI cable. That's a good legitimate way to use a device with unlimited data but that's not usually what they're doing.

Most of the time they're simply putting a SIM intended for a phone into a router. You're not supposed to do that but plenty of people do it without a second thought. Some get caught and their accounts cancelled but most get away with it, especially if they take certain technical steps to make the router identify itself as a phone which is quite difficult for the carriers to detect.

Its not exactly crime of the century but I find that it does present a bit of a moral dilemma when looking at these hotspot plans which are relatively expensive and limited when there is a cheap but not quite honest alternative.

I just wish the carriers would make things easier. Clamp down on that sort of abuse (if they had the technical means to do so) and then use to the bandwidth they'd free up to sell an attractive legit hotspot plan.

smiller · 07-31-2021, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tetranz

I just wish the carriers would make things easier. Clamp down on that sort of abuse (if they had the technical means to do so) and then use to the bandwidth they'd free up to sell an attractive legit hotspot plan.

Only the carriers know for sure why there isn't heavier enforcement but after a career in network operations I can tell you that such mechanisms always have a cost as well as a benefit (cost being in the development effort, added network complexity, possible unintended consequences and their effect on the larger customer base, etc.) Considering that in reality only a minute percentage of total subscribers actually employ these techniques then at some point it becomes questionable as to whether a rigid enforcement effort is really cost-effective in the long run. It could be that it makes more sense for carriers to target the 1% abusers individually than muck up the network with technical restrictions that can potentially end up affecting users and abusers alike.

I would expect that significant abuse (meaning top few percent of usage) will eventually get on someone's radar and that kind of targeted enforcement may be more practical (when a carrier bothers at all.) This is why it is probably a good idea for the 'terabyte a month' crowd to spread such high usage over multiple carriers or accounts so as not to be too absurdly obvious.