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Verizon Unlimited Data Plan for Jetpacks


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     I have had an ATT Mobley account since they came out.  I am using it more and more as I learn how to better use my allocated internet space.  When I got my new coach, I didn't put on a dish with the intent of using only internet TV.  So far that has worked well but my monthly data usage is going up.  So i have some concerns that I may eventually fall into an abuser category and lose my unlimited status.  So the release of the VZW unlimited plan was good news for me.

Took my unused Jetpack to the Verizon store and I was in and out with my Unlimited plan in under 10 minutes.  Never got out of a phone store that fast!  The Jetpack works well and so far I am happy.  I have a WiFiRanger Go so I will set that up to load balance between the two account, plus any "free" WiFi it can find.  So far, so good...

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I was in and out with my Unlimited plan in under 10 minutes.

That was about how long it took me too.  I also purchased their new hotspot (8800L) and had them activate it along with the new prepaid unlimited plan.

BTW, the new hotspot looks very similar to the 7730L except it has a light gray case instead of a black one.  It's also slightly larger and has a much cleaner design.  The only external ports are the USB C port and the 2 antenna ports.  Minor difference is that the caps for the antenna ports pop-off rather than having a slender thread of plastic retaining them. 

The antenna ports are of the same type as the 7730L and the batteries are identical (same part number).

I verified that my new 8800L works, but haven't taken the time to configure it or play with it yet.  I'm hopeful that I can tether it to my Synology router.

 

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On 11/10/2018 at 6:25 PM, chiefneon said:

I contacted Verizon today and switched our postpaid MiFI hotspot to the new Unlimited predaid Account. I thought it went smoothly until I tried to use the Jetpacks and it was still slow as we have used up our allotted unlimited data for the month on our postpaid plan. Another call back and they straightened it out and sending out a new sims card on Tuesday. So just a word to the wise it might be easier to go into a Verizon store to get it done even if you have to educate them about it.

It's not necessary to change SIMs to transfer an existing Jetpack from a prepaid plan to the new post-paid one.  All it takes is a CSR with a sufficient knowledge base.  I'm currently using the same SIM and phone number on my Jetpack as I did when it was post-paid.

Sandie & Joel

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58 minutes ago, docj said:

It's not necessary to change SIMs to transfer an existing Jetpack from a prepaid plan to the new post-paid one.  All it takes is a CSR with a sufficient knowledge base.  I'm currently using the same SIM and phone number on my Jetpack as I did when it was post-paid.

This is correct information. We moved both smart phones and the 6620L MiFi from a post-paid account to the new prepaid account using the same phone numbers and SIM cards. A CSR that knows what they are doing is essential.

Rob

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Howdy!

I was told that I new sims card to activate the new prepaid plan. When it didn’t come in the mail today I contact Verizon and they activated the old sims car in my 7730L. The next problem was when I pulled up my account I found the following information regarding the new plan.

Data

UNLIMITED1

Full HD Streaming (720p)2

1 Once high-speed data allowance is used, you will have 2G speeds for the remainder of the month. Your data experience and functionality of some data applications, such as streaming video or audio, may be impacted unless you purchase additional data.
2 HD-quality streaming (up to 780p) on devices connected to Jetpacks. In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
You must have sufficient account balance at time of renewal to cover the Monthly Access to use the service.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
I contacted them via online chart and they assured me it was the plan 28366 unlimited no throttling with 1080p streaming.
 
Has anyone else with this new plan had this problem viewing your account and it not reflecting the correct plan information?
 
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From what I can see of the fine print on my account, it does say that streaming is limited to 780p.  That doesn't bother me; it's a lot better than the 480p that many plans limit streaming resolution to.  

Sandie & Joel

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2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
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Joel,

I've been posting about this plan here for a while but suddenly others are hearing it from others and going prepaid too. My plan is the "GO" plan with 480P phone resolution. Tablets get 720p HD:

This article is current from Nov 6, 2018

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/6/18068790/verizon-prepaid-unlimited-plan-discount-autopay

https://www.businessinsider.com/unlimited-plans-comparison-verizon-att-sprint-tmobile-2018-2/#the-big-caveat-no-unlimited-plan-is-really-unlimited-1

Edited by RV_

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3 hours ago, RV_ said:

Joel,

I've been posting about this plan here for a while but suddenly others are hearing it from others and going prepaid too. My plan is the "GO" plan with 480P phone resolution. Tablets get 720p HD:

This article is current from Nov 6, 2018

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/6/18068790/verizon-prepaid-unlimited-plan-discount-autopay

https://www.businessinsider.com/unlimited-plans-comparison-verizon-att-sprint-tmobile-2018-2/#the-big-caveat-no-unlimited-plan-is-really-unlimited-1

Derek:

With all due respect, your first link is for a prepaid plan that has no hotspot provision.  It was, indeed, the current state of prepaid plans until 11/6/18.

Your second link is for the "normal" postpaid Verizon plans that have a "hard cap" on their hotspot usage at either 15GB or 20GB (depending on the plan).  I have one of those plans on our phones and that's what I used to have on my Jetpack.  The hard cap on Verizon is <600kbps which brings you down to 3G speed.

The buzz over the past couple of weeks has to do with the fact that there is now a new prepaid plan, with a plan number of 28366, that is only for Jetpacks and which doesn't have a hard cap.  When I called to get it I had to argue with a CSR who told me that there was no such plan, but, after he looked at his own resources, he eventually apologized and said that I had taught him something.

The plan does have a 780p streaming resolution limit, but, for the TV screen sizes we have, that's acceptable.  I think that all Verizon prepaid plans have a lower network prioritization than do its postpaid plans, so one might experience deprioritization slowdowns, but so far that hasn't been an issue.  Furthermore, at present I have another 100GB/mo of unthrottled AT&T data which I will probably retain as a backup and for locations where AT&T is better than VZW.

Joel

Edited by docj

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2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
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20 hours ago, docj said:

From what I can see of the fine print on my account, it does say that streaming is limited to 780p.  That doesn't bother me; it's a lot better than the 480p that many plans limit streaming resolution to.  

Indeed, MyVerizon is showing a 720p cap. However the advertised cap is 1080p on Verizon's prepaid website and FAQs ("Video streams up to 480p for smartphones and 1080p for tablets and Jetpacks."), and in our extensive testing over the past couple of weeks we have confirmed we are actually getting 1080p when using Netflix's test pattern videos.   

When doing a speedtest on fast.com (which is Netflix's speed test service, which uses a video file for testing - so you can see any video throttling in place) - we regularly get results between 8-10 mbps.  Which is plenty for 1080p, but not 4K. 

For comparison, when testing on other speed test services - our speeds are consistently 30-40 mbps down. 

 

We have an inquiry into Verizon corporate as to why 720p is showing in MyVerizon. We suspect it's an artifact of their past prepaid plans or smartphone lines. 

 - Cherie

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5 hours ago, RV_ said:

 

I've been posting about this plan here for a while but suddenly others are hearing it from others and going prepaid too.

This plan is brand new as of Nov 6 - and in fact, we stumbled on it even before Verizon's own press release came out later that day announcing the general prepaid plan overhauls. And even their press release (and The Verge article you linked to, which is based on that release) made absolutely no mention of this $65/month Jetpack plan without any hard data caps.

To date, we've not seen another source cover this plan that isn't referencing our article on it. 

So I'm not sure how you could have been sharing about this specific plan 'for a while'. Maybe you're thinking of past prepaid plans?

 - Cherie

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Sorry guy I was sharing the 65 dollar plan prepaid unlimited not the Jetpack plan. I usually stay away from the jetpack hotspot discussions because the AT&T device was a fiasco for us.Everything is the same for phones as the plan we have which required us to switch from postpaid to prepaid.

My links above state that the caps are as you stated. Some folks believe that they get 1080 or 720p HD on phones others understand it is different depending on device.

I see no difference in this plan for a "phone only" unlimited user and the one I switched to in August.

My apology. Thanks for clearing that up.

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Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

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7 hours ago, Technomadia said:

When doing a speedtest on fast.com (which is Netflix's speed test service, which uses a video file for testing - so you can see any video throttling in place) - we regularly get results between 8-10 mbps.  Which is plenty for 1080p, but not 4K. 

I've also been using fast.com to check download speeds and my results are totally consistent with yours, typically in the 5-10Mbps range.  We've streamed several hours of video using it, but we tend to watch older European shows and the image quality is often <1080p to begin so those aren't good ones to make judgments about! 😄 

Sandie & Joel

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2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
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3 hours ago, RV_ said:

 

I see no difference in this plan for a "phone only" unlimited user and the one I switched to in August.

 

There actually is a MAJOR difference between the pre-November unlimited prepaid plan and the new prepaid plan for smartphones.  On the old plan you got unlimited hotspot at 600 kbps. On the new plan, you get none.   

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looks like a good time to get this. We have the Samsung unit we bought from Millilicon, see no numbers on it though. Also a Mifi4620LE in our arsenal. Would either of these be good for today? Know both of these will do old 3g if that is all we get sometimes. Some of the newer ones won't.

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18 hours ago, Technomadia said:

There actually is a MAJOR difference between the pre-November unlimited prepaid plan and the new prepaid plan for smartphones.  On the old plan you got unlimited hotspot at 600 kbps. On the new plan, you get none.   

Cherie,

That's good info. I just called to confirm and indeed it does have unlimited hotspot @ 600 kbps and standard definition on my phone which is the only device I have with cellular access. For us, with 200/20Mbps asynchronous unlimited cable Internet service, we use virtually no data to watch streaming of TV/movie/entertainment programming/music, maybe a few times a month or less. But since I do keep the ability to hotspot albeit sloooooowly with this plan, and it costs so little compared to others with the $20 a month permanent family discount they gave us when we switched to the prepaid plan ($102.00 after taxes etc. for my unlimited and Lynn's 3GB service.) But as said earlier with no contract they are not locked into it, however I think the loss of customers for them taking away or charging more will keep it close for the foreseeable future. Soon we will be moving to an area with $70 GB Internet subsidized by the state for installation of fiber and set up. They sell lower speeds.

However with 5G soon to happen starting with Verizon I believe, we are looking for the best deal on the Moto Z3 or Z3 PLay phones. THey will convert to 5G with a Moto Mod. We have first Gen Moto Z play Droid phones now. But only the Z3 will be compatible with our battery, projector, JBL speaker and Hasselblad camera mods we already have All the Moto Mods. So by upgrading cash to the z3 we keep our plan, our Mods, and will be ready for 5g with Motorola sets.   Look here: 5g Moto Mod

The definition of streaming on our phones is fine as it is and looks like HD, but on a big screen or bigger, like a tablet or casting to a TV, I I would need 720p at a minimum. At home we have 4K Fire TVs with HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2. However for our upscaling 4k BlueRay player we connect with an HDMI 2.1 cable. The rest are 2.0 HDMI. So regardless of the signal resolution most are OK with HDMI 2.0 cables. Here is a chart with the different designations and cables: HDMI ad HDCP Charts

Also bear in mind I have the mini projector for evening screenings, as although watchable in daylight, it is great with the lights down low. And a 19" folio screen for the RV.

I have our phones set for WiFi and thus use little mobile data. We are just playing with it should 5g turn out to be a cable/fiber substitute, at the same or lower pricing.

 

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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6 hours ago, GlennWest said:

looks like a good time to get this. We have the Samsung unit we bought from Millilicon, see no numbers on it though. Also a Mifi4620LE in our arsenal. Would either of these be good for today? Know both of these will do old 3g if that is all we get sometimes. Some of the newer ones won't.

Those older units only support a few frequency bands.  I know the 5510L, newer than your devices, I replaced with a 7730L had only a few bands (LTE 700/1700; CDMA 800/1900), while the 7730L had many more and included GSM/HSPA (LTE 700/850/1700/1800/1900/2600/AWS-3, HSPA 850/900/1900/2100,CDMA 800/1900), so it worked in Canada.   (https://www.comparecellular.com/mobile-internet/novatel-mifi-7730l-mobile-hotspot/specifications.asp for specs).

Edited by Bill Joyce

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FWIW I may have experienced my first deprioritization on the prepaid plan.  This afternoon during a severe rainstorm I noticed that my internet response seemed slow.  I checked the download speed and found that it was ~2Mbps rather than the 5-10Mbps that I had been experiencing.  I did several tests and the results were consistent.  Of course, rain fade could have contributed to the speed reduction but one explanation was that everyone was home using the internet because of the rain!  This evening, with the rain having let up the speeds are back to normal.  I can't prove this was deprioritization but that's what it seemed like.

Sandie & Joel

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It might be something else.  Here is Retama I have a 50 MBps cable modem connected to the router.  At times my PC drops its speed down to about 5 MBps.  All I have to do is disconnect from the router and reconnect.  It is a Windows 10 WiFi issue and I haven't come up with a solution yet.

The wired to the router PC doesn't have this problem.

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First, many thanks to our Technomadia friends for this post.  Needing reliable Internet for our business on the road requires good, reliable bandwidth.  I have a couple Mobley's, an older Unlimitedville Sprint plan and a "just in case" Verizon tied to our phone plan and the Verizon is some kind of expensive.  This pay as you go plan could not come at a better time.  We're heading west this winter and knowing the Sprint service was going to be a bust, I needed a reasonably priced alternative to the Mobley....."just in case".

I'm betting, starting from scratch with a new MiFi is the way to go.  I purchased the plan online and Verizon stated I required a new SIM with the pre-pay plan.  Without going into the mess, I spent a number of hours on the phone trying to straighten out old service to new.  Then 2 trips to the local Verizon store.  Here's the tip. If converting from a phone/data plan, take the Internal Plan Number provided by Technomadia to the Verizon store.  The Verizon rep was happy to help and had me on the way in 15 minutes.  Oh, the second trip?  The online folks, one of the 6 I was transferred to, lost my initial $70 to start the pre-pay.  The Verizon rep fixed that too in about 10 minutes.  

For the area I'm in, I'm getting 6 to 8 meg down and 5 up.  Good enough for uploading big files and a little entertainment on the side.  Thanks again Chris and Cherie.

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19 minutes ago, jbh said:

  Are the "test ports" in fact antenna ports? And if so, can one or two ordinary antennas be used or is a MIMO antenna necessary?

Novatel/Inseego has always called them test ports - and they in fact work as antenna ports. 

A MIMO configured antenna is better, but two single antennas can be utilized as what we call 'mock-MIMO'.  However, keep in mind the 8800L has internal 4x4 MIMO, which in many cases may outperform external 2x2 MIMO.  

So with this one, it's best to test at each location for what is optimal. 

 

For our guide to antennas available: www.rvmobileinternet.com/cellularantennas 

Cherie & Chris (and Kiki *meow*) / Personal Blog: Technomadia.com
Technomads (technology enabled nomads) since 2006

Our Nomadic Fleet:
RVs:
Zephyr: 1961 GM 4106 bus conversion / Blooper: 2020.5 Winnebago Travato GL Boat: Y-Not: 1999 Bayliner 4788

Hosts of the Mobile Internet Resource Center
Mobile Internet Information for RVers, Cruisers & Nomads
Proud to be recognized as Escapee's Commercial Partners #773 / Escapees RVOU Instructors

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On 11/18/2018 at 6:26 PM, Bill Joyce said:

Those older units only support a few frequency bands.  I know the 5510L, newer than your devices, I replaced with a 7730L had only a few bands (LTE 700/1700; CDMA 800/1900), while the 7730L had many more and included GSM/HSPA (LTE 700/850/1700/1800/1900/2600/AWS-3, HSPA 850/900/1900/2100,CDMA 800/1900), so it worked in Canada.   (https://www.comparecellular.com/mobile-internet/novatel-mifi-7730l-mobile-hotspot/specifications.asp for specs).

Well, you were right. It only gets 3g at the park we are in now. Phones get a weak 4g. But I just don't see putting a lot of money in a mifi at this time. I would have to buy out my contract, buy a new mifi and that would not be money ahead.

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Cherie or Chris, when I signed up they gave me a free hotspot...an Ellipsis basic, no frills, jetpack. Would it be worth the money to buy an 8800L? I retire soon and will start traveling fulltime.  While traveling  I can't guarantee the great reception I'm getting now on the freebie jetpack. I really don't want to do the external antenna (7730) thing if I can avoid it but I will if that's the best way to pull in a better signal.

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