Verizon

[spower]

Hi All, 

My first post here....I'm currently getting ready to be a full timer, just waiting for the restrictions to be lifted. I have spent some time researching what would be best for me as far as the internet while on the road. I came up with possibly going with this Verizon plan ( I am currently a VZW customer) --> Unlimited Get More Data Plan $90 month

This is what it offers:

With our Get More Unlimited phone plan you get:

• Unlimited 4G LTE (+75 GB premium data)*
• Unlimited domestic talk and text
• HD-quality streaming on 4G LTE (720p)
• Unlimited mobile hotspot (30 GB)*
• 50% off an unlimited plan for a connected tablet or Jetpack®
• 500 GB Verizon Cloud storage
• Talk, text and data in Mexico and Canada
• Unlimited international texting from the US
• Apple® Music
• Verizon Up Rewards

I would use my phone as a hotspot for Netflix, Hulu or Prime video.

I am wondering if any of you have gone this route? I hope to mostly boondock, which I usually do where I have cell signal.

Thanks!!

[GlennWest]

You are not gong to do a lot of streaming with that data. I am grandfather in the truley unlimited data post pay plan. We stream all tv. Some on here will get you some more options. Actually if you read a little you will find it.

[Tom_M]

Check out Visible. It is a Verizon owned company and offers unlimited everything for $40/month, taxes and fees included. This also includes hotspot use.

https://www.visible.com/

You can check if your present phone is compatible on their site. If you need to purchase a new phone, their cheapest model is a ZTE A7 for $49 (Free if you trade in an Android phone). Unfortunately that model is currently out of stock. I've been a customer since last June and my ZTE R2 has worked great. One thing to note is that you can only connect one device at a time to the hotspot. If you need to connect multiple devices you can purchase a router.

But wait! There's more. If you join a "Party Pay" you can bring the monthly total down to $25.

[Bill Joyce]

Each hotspot will only give you 30GB, of high speed before slowing down to unusable speeds.  Depending on resolution you could use that data up in 5 to 20 hours of viewing.  Check out https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/guides/top-cellular-data-plans-for-rvers-cruisers-verizon-att-t-mobile-and-sprint/ for other plans that might work better for you.

[hemsteadc]

5 hours ago, Tom_M said:

Check out Visible. It is a Verizon owned company and offers unlimited everything for $40/month,.

It's hard to imagine that's the "same thing" as I get now for $100, but I'll check it out.

[johndeerefarmer]

56 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

It's hard to imagine that's the "same thing" as I get now for $100, but I'll check it out.

Visible data speeds are limited to 5M I believe. Also Verizon has priority over Visible so you might get even slower. Also have read but not sure that Visible won't work on non Verizon towers (that Verizon has agreements with). I just got into this with ATT Prepaid which didn't work on out of network towers but ATT postpaid did

 

[Zulu]

58 minutes ago, johndeerefarmer said:

Visible data speeds are limited to 5M I believe. Also Verizon has priority over Visible so you might get even slower. Also have read but not sure that Visible won't work on non Verizon towers (that Verizon has agreements with). 

Visible is hard to beat says someone who has had it for several months.

Current speeds: 49.91 Mbps down, 44.78 Mbps up, 74 ms latency. This varies of course but download speeds have consistently averaged above 5 Mbps.

OP, check out MIRC for the best info -- also pay for premium subscription.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Zulu

[mrschwarz]

Visible removed their speed restrictions months ago. I have both the grandfathered Verizon postpaid plan and the Visible prepaid plan. From a performance perspective, they are the same. There are routers that accept a USB tethered connection for not a lot of money. Combined with a Visible phone, you get great unlimited service.

[Lou Schneider]

5 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

It's hard to imagine that's the "same thing" as I get now for $100, but I'll check it out.

Visible is US only, and only on Verizon towers.  Check the Verizon and Visible coverage maps carefully, there are several areas in the US (the largest are in OK and MT but there are also areas in several other states) where Verizon uses third party towers and Visible has no coverage there. Any areas that are pink instead of dark red on the Verizon Expanded Coverage Map are white no-coverage zones on the Visible map.

All in all Visible works well, especially for the price.  But be aware you're first in line to be deprioritized on a crowded tower and the no-service zones if these are issues for you.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Lou Schneider

[Zulu]

25 minutes ago, Lou Schneider said:

All in all Visible works well, especially for the price.  But be aware you're first in line to be deprioritized on a crowded tower and of the no-service zones if these are issues for you.

That's why you better have a Plan B (C, D, etc) data plan for those times.

[Lou Schneider]

Yep, my Plan B is a grandfathered AT&T Mobley.  Actually the other way around, the Mobley is my primary hotspot and the Visible phone's hotspot is the backup.

$20 a month for  the Mobley and $25 a month (Party Pay) for the Visible phone gives me two unlimited data hotspots on seperate networks - more than enough for my needs, at least so far.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Lou Schneider

[Beerboy]

Valuable comments on Visible. I was unaware of a few of those limitations.  I have the VZW "Do  More" plus a Jetpack.  If you stream extensively you will quickly burn through your data.  I've seen estimates that it is up to 1Gb per hour.  But lower resolution can drop it down substantially.  

What I have started doing is downloading Netflix shows onto my smartphone using free wifi I come across.  Plus at the end of the billing cycle I will make sure to use up my allocation on the smartphone and Jetpack.  I then link my phone through my computer to my TV to watch the shows on the big screen.  That part is quite specialized (android -> linux using USB debugging and scrcpy) but I've heard it's more straightforward with an iPhone.  This does not work with Amazon Prime and I can't comment on Hulu.  Anyway, that's the way I've been able to get around the absence of truly unlimited data in addition to sketchy reception in remote areas.

[Dutch_12078]

Like Lou, our AT&T Connected Car (Mobley) plan is our primary provider, and our Visible plan is our "Plan B" provider. We did find a few locations while we were in Florida for the winter where Visible was the better service though. We have our Mobey SIM installed in a Netgear Unite Explore 815S hotspot, and our Visible SIM in a Verizon 6620L hotspot. One nice feature of having the Visible SIM in a hotspot is that the one device connection is over ridden by the hotspot's internal limit..