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I need some expert suggestions.  We will be looking at a mobile hotspot for a five-six month trip.  The two we have looked at and are good for the area we will be in are A T & T Unite Explore or the  Verizon Ellipsis Jet Pack.  Either one requires the purchase of a data card that expires in 30 or 60 days.  If anyone has some experience with either of those mobile hotspots and a data card or something completely different we'd appreciate the insight.  It must be either A T & T or Verizon.  Thanks.

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We had a Verizon jetpack with a monthly plan.   It allows for the plan to be put on vacation 5 mo out of the year.  Depending on how much data you need it can be expensive.   We now have the AT& T Mobley.  If you scroll down under this topic you will find discussions regarding this device.  It was meant to be plugged into the OBD board of your vehicle but most of the RVers who have them have alternate power plugs to run them either off 110 when plugged in, or the 12 volt system of the RV.  We have an unlimited data plan.  I understand the cost of this has gone up to $40 mo since we purchased our device, but there is no contract when you purchase the device outright  The price was $99.  The units sell out almost as fast as AT&T has them available on their website.  It's the Mobley ZTE.   

Pat DeJong

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I am only familiar with post paid plans where the card does not expire  I think the Verizon Elliipsis is 4G only, so it won't work in some areas with only 3G and some roaming areas.  We have a 7730L and it works about everywhere.  The Unite Explorer is about the best choice for AT&T.  People like ourselves and LFDR3116 are happy with the ZTE Mobley, but the unlimited deal we got is no longer available and I would not recommend it for a new customer.  The current plan is $30 for 3GB, not unlimited.  You can also hotspot a phone instead of getting a mobile hotspot and that can be a cheap phone you add to an existing plan instead of getting some kind of prepaid plan.

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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I have a Cricket prepaid phone with a hotspot! For $70.00 I get 12 GB of high speed data then goes to 2g of turtle unlimited data. My Calls and texts are unlimited. AT&T is the carrier! Streaming videos eats data so I try and avoid it! 

Verizon doesn't work well in my area!

:) Living Life One Day At A Time!

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On 1/11/2018 at 9:37 AM, Bobi and Dick McKee said:

If you are with Verizon and have a I Phone phone you don't need  a Jet Pac.  Just turn on the Personal Hot Spot and log on.  We have used  it for years and it is great.

How many GB for iPhone hot spot and $$$?

On my Sprint for $60 I have unlimited voice, text and data on the iPhone but only 3GB to use as a hot spot.
Add on GB for hot spot cost.

Sprint now has changed my service to a 10GM hotspot with no additional $$
 

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If you already have a smart phone you can just use it for a hotspot. The big companies, AT&T and Verizon, have it. When I checked the Walmart plans didn't allow it and the other companies mostly use Verizon or AT&T towers. Sprint can be problematic and I have had issues with service when you get away from metro areas with them. Good Luck

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48 minutes ago, Bobi and Dick McKee said:

The hot spot is included in my unlimited Verizon plan at no additional cost with no GB limit on the hot spot.

There is no limit to how many gb you use but there is a possibility that once you cross (I believe) 22gb you will be subjected to data speed capping if you happen to be on a congested tower with a lot of users who have not reached that threshold. You'll never get a message saying your data cupboard is bare but if they slow you down to 600kb speeds you will notice it if you stream. And depending on how you use your data you may never see this happen.

Just my dime. The other threads about this topic covered it in real detail.

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On our AT&T unlimited data plan, if/when we are "deprioritized" after 22GB, it simply means that non-deprioritized users data gets priority over our data, not that we get "capped" at a specific slower speed. Our speed reduction is proportional to the traffic volume on that specific tower, and varies as the traffic volume varies. In reality, when a tower is that congested, everyone sees slower speeds, so the deprioritization may not even be noticed. That's been our experience anyway. We have seen slow downs on congested towers, but whether it was due to deprioritization or not, I couldn't say, since we've also seen slow downs on congested towers before we hit 22GB.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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22 hours ago, Mr. Camper said:

I need some expert suggestions.  We will be looking at a mobile hotspot for a five-six month trip. 

Just for your sake of clarity as you go forward with this research, the term "hotspot" is generally applied to the ability inside your phone to become the data distribution method. Meaning your other devices log into your phone and your phone is what is using the data. The external devices are a different situation completely. Unity, Jetpack.... They are a separate SIM card, pretty much a second line, for another fee. It's like having a second line that you can only use for data, not for making calls, where the hotspot is still your phone that you can make calls with.

You nay have already known that but often in threads like this those terms get used as if they are the same thing, and they are not.

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You might want to let AT&T and T-Mobile know about the difference. Apparently they didn't get the memo... ;)

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/att-prepaid-mobile-hotspot.html

https://www.t-mobile.com/landing/mobile-hotspots-and-connected-devices.html

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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We have both AT&T and Verizon service, and at least east of the Mississippi, we've yet to find anyplace we didn't have AT&T service. Sometimes one is stronger than the other, but that's about the only difference we've seen so far.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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3 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

There is no limit to how many gb you use but there is a possibility that once you cross (I believe) 22gb you will be subjected to data speed capping if you happen to be on a congested tower with a lot of users who have not reached that threshold. You'll never get a message saying your data cupboard is bare but if they slow you down to 600kb speeds you will notice it if you stream. And depending on how you use your data you may never see this happen.

Just my dime. The other threads about this topic covered it in real detail.

I thought the unlimited plan only gave you 10GB through a hot spot and they could throttle you after 22GB from you phone.  A lot of people have gone way over but they have the option of doing it Incase you are on a congested tower.

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5 hours ago, rynosback said:

I thought the unlimited plan only gave you 10GB through a hot spot and they could throttle you after 22GB from you phone.  A lot of people have gone way over but they have the option of doing it Incase you are on a congested tower.

That is AT&T for a phone hotspot , where they slow you down a lot at 10GB of hotspot usage, but with a mobile hotspot (Mifi), you get to 22GB before network optimization, where you might or might not notice any slowdown.  With Verizon they give you 15GB of hotspot usage, either phone or mobile hotspot (Jetpack), and then slow you down a lot.  These are with current plans.  Remember some have older plans that are no longer available, or cost money to take over from someone else,

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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On ‎1‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 7:37 AM, Bobi and Dick McKee said:

If you are with Verizon and have a I Phone phone you don't need  a Jet Pac.  Just turn on the Personal Hot Spot and log on.  We have used  it for years and it is great.

That doesn't apply only to iPhones...I use the mobile hotspot feature on my android phone and have been for years.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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35 minutes ago, LindaH said:

That doesn't apply only to iPhones...I use the mobile hotspot feature on my android phone and have been for years.

Same here! Haven't been across the Mississippi yet, but works well everywhere else I've been with it!

:) Living Life One Day At A Time!

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I suspect Mr. Camper was hoping for a simple answer and mobile internet is not simple.  That is why the Technomadia people have a job running https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ just trying to keep up with the ever changing options.  

Edit: Another option is since now FMCA accepts members with towables, they have a deal with Verizon for $49.99/month for 25GB/month, https://www.fmca.com/benefits/verizon.html .  This might be just the ticket if you are an FMCA member.  

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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And the latest hot Spot from FMCA is on Sprints network.

FMCA now accepts towables.

 

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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Howdy!

We have AT&T unlimited service on our iPhones and iPads. Problem is here at the Escapees in Livingston the AT&T Service is slim and none. I signed up for the FMCA Verizon unlimited plan yesterday should receive it in a couple of days. I know Verizon works at the Escapees in Livingston as we had and old 3g MiFi unlimited plan but gave it up a couple of years ago when they refused to upgrade us to 4G. So we will now have fuel coverage in our travels AT&T and Verizon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I hope this is ok to post, just wanted to share.

I actually live in a very rural area and came across a Verizon data solution that doesn't fall under any throttling or data caps. We needed something faster than satellite but couldn't have data caps cause my wife works remotely. This was the perfect solution. If you want more info about this, message me, I can give you more details

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Wld you consider buying another inexpensive phone  and using it as the hotspot.   We used to have a Verizon jetpack - it would get red hot if we used it too long and freeze up.  We purchased two new phones (long overdue) , Verizon gave us the third phone which we use for our hotspot, plus it gives us an additional 20 GB of data for a total of 60GB for the month spread over the 3 phones.   They will throttle each phone as it reaches 20 GB, not all 3 at once just because they are on the same account.   The bonus is you have a backup phone if one gets damaged/lost.   We figured it to be cheaper than a hotspot, even paying for the extra line per month, and it has perks.   Verizon never offered this to us  - they pushed the jetpack only.

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