Verizon Unlimited Data Plan for Jetpacks

[oldbutspry]

3 hours ago, Second Chance said:

I just logged on to my on-line account and I was off by $11, so I stand corrected - sorry about that. It's $105 for the two smartphones (3GB/month each) and the MiFi (unliminted data). All three lines are on the same prepaid plan with auto-pay, multi-line, and military discounts. 

Rob

Wow, that is a good deal!  Thanks!

[jbh]

  The jetpack showed up this afternoon and in a short time I was again online with Verizon.

  With the thing sitting right here on the desk it reported -112dB. Fairly usable but pretty slow, definitely slower than the Pepwave BR-1 w/BoatANT. I anticipated this so got an antenna-connector adapter and connected it to the BoatANT. Signal strength popped up to -103dB and it got way faster. Multiple Speedtest runs varied between 1Mbps to 4Mbps. It's definitely faster than the Pepwave in this location.

  When the other antenna adaptor shows up I'll plug in the other BoatANT. I expect that to help at least a little.

  Two BoatANTs? They cover 700mHz to 2.5gHz; one was used for cell and the other for wifi. Wifi performance was phenomenal for an omni antenna but it's not needed for that anymore.

  BTW, the phones don't work here at all for voice or data.

Edited November 26, 2018 by jbh

[CincyGus]

 

UPDATED TODAY

[edatlanta]

On 11/24/2018 at 8:57 AM, edatlanta said:

I have 1 smartphone and 2 7730L jetpacks.  My smartphone has a unlimited data, but 15gb limit as a hotspot.  My 2 jetpacks have the 15gb limit also, but I pay $20.00 each/month for them. 

I am interested in the prepaid jetpack program, but for two concerns:

1.  Both of my Jetpacks have static IP's which I need and wonder if prepaid will allow this and if the static IP's will migrate to the new plan.  I have already paid for the static IP's on these two devices and don't want to have to do it again.  If you walk into a Verizon store and even utter the words "static IP's" they look at you like you have 2 heads.

 

2.  The cost.  I don't see from the info at Verizon.com anyway other than each prepaid plan will cost me an additional $45.00/month - $65.00-$20.00.  Would it be worth it to me to have a jetpack with unlimited data when I have unlimited data on my smartphone that I connect to my TV (Samsung Smart View) and can and do stream a lot?

I went to a corporate Verizon store yesterday and got an answer to my questions.

The static IP will have to go away with the prepaid plan.  Since I can't live with that my options for the current prepaid jetpack plan is off the table.  They did say that if the IP issue wasn't an issue I would have to have a separate account for the prepaid jetpack.  It can't be on the same account as an unlimited postpaid smartphone.

[Dutch_12078]

Would one of the dynamic IP services work for your application?

https://dyn.com/dynamic-dns/

https://www.noip.com/remote-access

[docj]

3 hours ago, edatlanta said:

They did say that if the IP issue wasn't an issue I would have to have a separate account for the prepaid jetpack.  It can't be on the same account as an unlimited postpaid smartphone.

That is what we have.  I can check both accounts online.

[Big5er]

9 hours ago, docj said:

That is what we have.  I can check both accounts online.

X2

[edatlanta]

13 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Would one of the dynamic IP services work for your application?

https://dyn.com/dynamic-dns/

https://www.noip.com/remote-access

Don't know at this point.  I will definitely take a look.  Thanks.

[jbh]

  Will it harm the jetpack battery to always have it plugged in? Or is it "smart?"

[BlueLghtning]

40 minutes ago, jbh said:

  Will it harm the jetpack battery to always have it plugged in? Or is it "smart?"

Which model jetpack? Some of the older ones are known to have "swelling" battery issues if left plugged in all the time. Some of the later ones they are making them where you can remove the battery and plug them in and they work fine thus not having to worry about over charging the battery or anything. 

[remoandiris]

10 hours ago, jbh said:

  Will it harm the jetpack battery to always have it plugged in? Or is it "smart?"

My 4510-L (it is an older model) will cycle off and on once it is fully charged and still plugged in.  I plan to buy a new jet pack in the not too distant future.

[docj]

12 hours ago, jbh said:

  Will it harm the jetpack battery to always have it plugged in? Or is it "smart?"

The 7730l doesn't like being plugged in continuously.  But it only cost me ~$20 to buy a replacement battery on Amazon.  I'll probably put it on a timer so it gets charged for a number of hours then have the timer turn off.

[jbh]

  This is the newest 8800L. It's plugged into a low-power 12v-5v USB source, which it did correctly identify, rather than the high-power wallwart that comes with it. I felt the thing and it's hardly even warm, certainly not overheating the battery, so I suspect it's ok. I need to run it on the 12v source.

[docj]

I just purchased a ~$12 "smart outlet" on Amazon.  It's designed to turn things on and off and doesn't even need a "hub" in order to operate.  Instead of tethering the 7730l to my WiFiRanger I'll use a wallwart plugged into it.  All I need to do is figure out how many hours it needs to be charged and how often.

[jbh]

  I found a USB timer on Amazon; it can be set to turn on after X hours and stay on for Y hours.

[mkc]

3 hours ago, jbh said:

  This is the newest 8800L. It's plugged into a low-power 12v-5v USB source, which it did correctly identify, rather than the high-power wallwart that comes with it. I felt the thing and it's hardly even warm, certainly not overheating the battery, so I suspect it's ok. I need to run it on the 12v source.

Might I ask where you obtained the USB cable for it?  Accessory spec'd for it from VZW or simply a standard (with appropriate current rating) USB cable?

 

Thanks!

 

[BlueLghtning]

2 hours ago, mkc said:

Might I ask where you obtained the USB cable for it?  Accessory spec'd for it from VZW or simply a standard (with appropriate current rating) USB cable?

 

Thanks!

 

Most new devices are coming with a USB-C cable and I looked at the specs and that appears what the 8800L uses. - https://www.verizonwireless.com/internet-devices/verizon-jetpack-mifi-8800l/

"The MiFi 8800L lets you connect with up to 15 trusted devices at a time. You can even share files over your local Wi-Fi connection by using a storage device with a USB-C connector."

So basically any USB-C cable will work fine. Something like this. - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZTZLB8/ref=twister_B07KJXWCQQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Edited November 28, 2018 by BlueLghtning

[jbh]

The 8800L comes with a USB cable, I just plugged it into an ordinary 12v-5v USB adaptor rather than the AC wallwart.

  BTW, it's the same temperature to my hand  when it's not plugged in  as when it's plugged in to low power. The only time it got warmer was when the cat sat on it.

[hatrack]

 I want to Thank all of you for sharing this information on the unlimited plan and the 8800l jetpack. I got one today at a local store and it took a while to convince them that this plan was in effect. I had to come to this forum and get the plan number so they could find it. Thanks for posting the plan number or it would not have happened.

Thanks,

Ken....

[edatlanta]

On 11/27/2018 at 8:11 AM, docj said:

That is what we have.  I can check both accounts online.

I took the plunge and ordered another Jetpack and plan on keeping my existing 2 7730's and see how the new one does before I give up one.  Neither is on contract so I can drop one of them easily.  I did decide to get the unlimited/prepaid with their new 8800L and wow what a difference in d/l and u/l speed.  I know this isn't a scientific test, but with the two 7730's sitting right by the 8800 the d/l speed of the 8800 is 40-50% faster and has been every time I tested them.  

Now time will tell how it all goes.  I did watch a couple of movies last night with the new 8800L and zero buffering.  We will see over coming days.  I plan to work it hard initially.

How are you able to monitor the usage of your new prepaid unit?  It doesn't show up on the verizon app that I have I guess since the new one is on another account.  I know I can look at the 8800 when I sign on to it at 192.168.1.1, but that only shows zero usage with a 10gig plan.  I'm not sure that that means, but zero usage obviously won't ever get to any upper limit.

[mptjelgin]

I don't have a Verizon Jetpack, and would like to order the 8800 along with the Prepaid Unlimited Data Plan.  Online you appear to be limited to either an MHS900L or a 7730L with the prepaid plan. 

Has anyone figured out how to directly online order the 8800 along with the new plan?

[jbh]

Sign in and look under About for your session . Looks like it's showing overall under Data Usage. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by jbh

[jbh]

  I connected the other BoatANT and got a surprise.

  With one antenna the fastest I could consistently get was 4 Mbps; now it's 20 Mbps!

  Unfortunately tower overload kills the speed from late afternoon through the evening; everyone gets home and cranks up their devices.

[docj]

2 hours ago, edatlanta said:

How are you able to monitor the usage of your new prepaid unit? 

My WiFiRanger keeps track of usage by each device on my network.

[docj]

5 minutes ago, jbh said:

Unfortunately tower overload kills the speed from late afternoon through the evening; everyone gets home and cranks up their devices.

I'm also seeing periods of slow service for brief periods of time in the afternoon and evening.  The last time it happened I switched to my AT&T hotspot for a while.  The next time I notice it I'll try to remember to see if my post-paid phone is suffering anything similar.

Verizon's website seems to say that pre-paid plans are lower in the prioritization scheme than post-paid ones, which would result in them being slowed more than postpaid during times of network or tower congestion.  When I use Fast.com to speedtest I notice that it takes quite a bit longer and "jumps around" a lot before reaching a "decision" as to what the speed is.  I'm wondering if the speed is more erratic because it's being throttled a bit?