Mobley vs. Jetpack

[Bill Joyce]

Yes, as avvidclif says, if you already have two devices on an AT&T unlimited plan, adding a mobile hotspot is $20 more a month (from $145 to $165).  AT&T does give you the full 22GB before prioritization on a mobile hotspot, unlike the others who throttle at 10GB of hotspot usage.  

[DuffMan]

Bought used ATT AirCard 815S (About same size as Verizon MiFi) off Ebay for $87.00.  Just received.

Took Sim Card out of Mobley and inserted in AirCard - Booted & operates flawlessly.

It has two external Antenna Ports on the bottom (1 Xmit 1 Receive) to boost range.  It also has a WiFi boost function to turn up the power on the internal WiFi xmtr.  It also has dual band (2.4GHZ & 5 GHZ).

Quick Speed Test was 10 Mbps  down and 3 Mbps up.  (My other Mobly only got 5 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up at the same time)

Will test external antenna and see if it helps.

[Dutch_12078]

I've been running my Mobley SIM in a Netgear AT&T Unite hotspot for about a month now, with no issues at all. This is a Unite 770s I had on hand left over from another plan. It typically sees a stronger signal than the Mobley, allows 10 devices to connect, and also has the two antenna ports with MiMo support. I'm trying to decide if there's enough to be gained from a Unite Explore 815s to justify upgrading.

[eddie1261]

Doesn't your carrier pretty much decide for you what kind of hotspot you are going to be able to use? Is Mobley specific to AT&T? I think Verizon calls theirs MiFi, and the terms "hotspot" and "jetpack" seem to get tossed around interchangeably.

What I know about it so far is that to buy Verizon's device (MiFi) it is essentially buying a second line for that connection sharing device, and after 22gb you are deprioritized on the tower you are hitting. Not necessarily throttled as many say, so if you are on a tower that has a lot of capacity and is not busy, you should see no slowdowns. I mean, in the middle of a stadium during an NFL game when 70,000 people are hitting a tower, if you are over 22gb you're likely to see speed issues.

This aspect of cell usage is new to me. When I got that first Motorola brick phone in 1990, it was 32 cents a minute and none of this sharing was in place.....

[Jack Mayer]

9 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

I've been running my Mobley SIM in a Netgear AT&T Unite hotspot for about a month now, with no issues at all. This is a Unite 770s I had on hand left over from another plan. It typically sees a stronger signal than the Mobley, allows 10 devices to connect, and also has the two antenna ports with MiMo support. I'm trying to decide if there's enough to be gained from a Unite Explore 815s to justify upgrading.

Dutch, if you upgrade I'll buy your current one from you.....just a thought.

[Jack Mayer]

6 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

What I know about it so far is that to buy Verizon's device (MiFi) it is essentially buying a second line for that connection sharing device, and after 22gb you are deprioritized on the tower you are hitting. Not necessarily throttled as many say, so if you are on a tower that has a lot of capacity and is not busy, you should see no slowdowns.

The way Verizon works their "unlimited plan" is that with a hotspot like the Jetpack you are  Throttled to 600 KBPS after 10 GB. Irrespective of tower traffic. The plan is that you are throttled. And that is what is happening to most people that track it. This is on an unlimited hotspot, NOT a phone operating as a phone.

ATT   will network manage the Mobley at 22 gig. Meaning if the traffic on the individual tower reaches a certain level you will be slowed down for some duration. Not forever, but some period of time while the tower is busy. It is reported that the "managed" timeframes are in chunks of 10 minutes. So every 10 minutes you have an opportunity to be sped back up. This is totally different than Verizon where once your "unlimited" jetpack reaches 10 gig for the month you are put at 600 KBPS for the rest of your monthly plan period. 

There have been some exceptions to the slowdown on Verizon, but "most" people are now experiencing it....irrespective of tower traffic. This is with the unlimited data plan only. If you have an older plan then you see not throttling....

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, Jack Mayer said:

Dutch, if you upgrade I'll buy your current one from you.....just a thought.

I'll keep that in mind, Jack. So far, I haven't found any pressing reason to upgrade though...

[Dejae]

On 8/6/2017 at 10:17 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

John, did they offer you the Unite with the same $20 unlimited data plan as the Mobley Connected Car setup?

Its Judi and yes he did. I guess he did because I was being so pissy about no one having them...why advertise it when they can't even keep stock. blah blah blah. He went and talked to his supervisor and they told him I could have the Unite (if I pay $99.99 cash for it on my bill) and get the $20., 22gb/Unlimited plan, so I said I would have to think about it, he said he would call me back the next day, when he did, I took it.

[Dejae]

On 8/6/2017 at 10:27 PM, Yarome said:

In the "fine print" for the unite it says, "DataConnect or Mobile Share plan required".

I have a mobile share plan already on my phones but this won't share with it.

[Dejae]

On 8/6/2017 at 10:30 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

I'm aware of that, Yarome, I'm just curious what was offered for a data plan in John's case, since they seemed to be offering the Unite as a substitute for the Mobley.

I don't know that that is what they are doing Dutch, it wasn't like he just said well because we are out this is what we are offering. I was being cranky with him and did the sorry I ever left sprint, I think I might go talk to Verizon instead. This is typical of what I heard of AT&T but thought it would be better for me because I am a directv customer since 2001. BUT there is more than directv out there so I can move that too. So then it was, can you hold on a few minutes while I talk to my supervisor. Then you know the rest.

[Dejae]

On 8/7/2017 at 7:52 AM, avvidclif said:

No I have 22gb each per the plan. I just signed up for the military discount which is 15%. Didn't know it existed until the VFW National Convention and they had a booth there.

My husband is a vet and they told us Vets don't get discounts...only retired or active military. BUT, they gave him 15% for being a retired police officer.

[Dejae]

On 8/7/2017 at 10:40 AM, Bill Joyce said:

Yes, as avvidclif says, if you already have two devices on an AT&T unlimited plan, adding a mobile hotspot is $20 more a month (from $145 to $165).  AT&T does give you the full 22GB before prioritization on a mobile hotspot, unlike the others who throttle at 10GB of hotspot usage.  

Mine is different as it is grandfathered. I have 2 phones sharing 30gb/unlimited that cost me $20.00, it also has roll over on the 30gb. But the addition of the Mobley would be an additional $20 and would have its own 22gb/unlimited (no rollover) same as the Unite. That is what I was given.

[Dutch_12078]

That's terrific, Judi! Maybe I'll have my wife order one. She's good at that sort of thing. Sometimes I'm glad we don't have video phones, so they don't see her laughing while she's "crying"...

[avvidclif]

3 hours ago, Dejae said:

My husband is a vet and they told us Vets don't get discounts...only retired or active military. BUT, they gave him 15% for being a retired police officer.

They need to study a little longer. I'm not retired military, a 2 year draftee and I got it. I specifically asked the ATT folks and an Honorable Discharge is all it takes. Didn't know about the retired PO, wonder if I can get another 15%       GRIN

[Dejae]

3 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

That's terrific, Judi! Maybe I'll have my wife order one. She's good at that sort of thing. Sometimes I'm glad we don't have video phones, so they don't see her laughing while she's "crying"...

Double Ditto Dutch on the video phones! lol

[Dejae]

19 minutes ago, avvidclif said:

They need to study a little longer. I'm not retired military, a 2 year draftee and I got it. I specifically asked the ATT folks and an Honorable Discharge is all it takes. Didn't know about the retired PO, wonder if I can get another 15%       GRIN

Doubt it on the double dipping there avvidclif

But again, it is like everything else....left doesn't know what right is doing or saying.

My son works for Fraud Prevention for Barclay Bank Credit Card Division. When he started, he was in customer service.

Now they have CS in Nevada, Delaware and South America. When I call about my credit card, I ask for America, cause South America is the first to answer always. I know I will get Nevada or Delaware. Then if I push hard enough, I can get to Nevada. If I call after 5pm Eastern Time, I am guaranteed when I ask for America that I will get Nevada. I do that cause South America CS people for Barclay are dumber than a box of rocks. But Delaware will tell you something totally different than Nevada. I try to get Nevada cause if something doesn't click right with me (which has been rare) I will file a complaint and I know the procedure there. I WILL get a call from a superior. If you file a complaint in Delaware, who knows what year someone will look at it.

Biggest reason for the difference is....most jobs in Vegas Valley have a big turnover and so even though they are constantly having to train. Just about everyone is on probation and wants to do it right!  Would be nice if I could have company insight to a bunch of other companies, STARTING WITH AT&T and DIRECTV!

[Dejae]

So being I made statements, asked questions and so forth on this thread, I thought I would post my results.

According to 2 AT&T stores, sales person at one, manager at the other. They believe the Mobley will not be coming back because the plug that the Mobley connects to is mostly in GMC cars, mostly with OnStar. But some other cars like my Ford Taurus has the plug in, even though I am not an OnStar customer. The Mobley was sort of a deal between AT&T and OnStar but it didn't go over to well. So they decided to sell the Mobley with the $20 plan through their car connect division until they were gone. The likely they will restock is more not than will. If you call Best Buy online ordering, they will tell you they will not be restocking this item.

So, I was on AT&T website looking around and the chat popped up. Was talking a guy name Jin, he couldn't answer ANY questions, he transferred me to Robert, Robert is with U-Verse....when I discovered that, we both knew he couldn't help me, so then it was transfer to Anna (this is as bad as when you are on the phone). Anna couldn't help me, I told her I was done and was disconnecting, she begged me to stay on and she would get a manager. Well this manager, who gave me his ID# and that is not allowed (so I figured it was a bogus one). Promised he had Mobleys in the warehouse that are for in the event someone has one that fails or is received damaged etc. He is going to send one to my local store here tomorrow, this was on the 9th. And he said the best plan for me was the $11.99 for 50gb. We all know there is no such plan and I stated you are quoting a service plan, he said no, they look similar but trust me, that is what you will get. I said...hook me up!

He said he would have it sent to the store nearest me, it would be here at 430pm the next day and he would call me in the morning to tell me who to ask for at the store. Getting suspicious, I printed out the convo and had it sent to me via email.

 

So, next day comes, no call, 430 I call store, no Mobley, 530, 630, no Mobley.

So now I call CS and say, who is going to make good for this, I have it in writing. So they connect me to customer Loyalty (they are the department that is suppose to jump through hoops to try and keep you from giving up AT&T or Directv service. So now I have learned, when I call AT&T, I tell the auto voice, I want to disconnect one of my lines, he asks temporarily, I say no, then he asks if I am calling about blah blah phone number, I say yes, he says just one moment and then you are connected to customer loyalty.

So, now I tell the whole 4.5 hrs convo I had with this Tomas who has lied about 8 -12 times in this chat. They ask me for what he gave me as his ID #, they look it up, his name is Tomas, he IS infact a manager, he told me he was from USA but is actually from India.

So now CL says, we can't see any online conversation you had on your acct. I said I thought something fishy might happen so I emailed it to myself and printed it out. They told me to take it to a store so a manager could verify and notate on my account what he read. I did that. Got back to CL and said what are you going to do for me. They asked what do I want. I said a Mobley, not available...So I said ok. Then I want A Unite Explore for FREE, with the unlimited plus (22gb/unlimited), no 2 year contract and no activation fee. And I want the year that is left on my one phone paid off. She agrees and says I am also going to give you $25.00 off your directv and free HBO for as long as you keep directv and the unlimited plus active.

So in the long run....just my AT&T bill  alone dropped $38.00 a month before taxes, and I added a Unite Explore that cost me nothing, nothing and nothing.....except the $20 plus tax for the monthly plan. Both my phones are paid off. They were bought on a buy 1 get 1 free. So only owed on one but no longer.  And my directv bill dropped $25.00 and has HBO for free. (not that we watch HBO). And didn't have to have the Unite Explore mailed to me, I got to pick it up at the store today!

The Unite Explore charges with a USB cord plugged into wall that comes with the wall plug you plug the usb cord into. I love these because I have a Ravpower bar that can charge 3 devices up to 3 times on the fly and my car has 2 usb ports in it. also. So the Unite Explore without me knowing it originally, just became portable for me alot like the Mobley. Unite Explore battery has 22 hours use time/24hours standby time. It has dual band which is really nice. I had read somewhere to just keep it on 5 any thing that is 2.4 will still run but if you let the UE bounce back and forth from 2.4 to 5, it slows it down, so if you leave it on 5, it will run as fast as it can. Then the manager that I was dealing with at the store said its true. It also can charge your phone too.

As much as it was a PITA with having to involve 4.5 hours of chat, talking to 5 different people and 2 different stores. It wasn't all in vein. Would I do it again. Hmmm, maybe....but probably not.
 

[spindrift]

 Oh   My   Gawd!

[DuffMan]

2 hours ago, Dejae said:

They believe the Mobley will not be coming back because the plug that the Mobley connects to is mostly in GMC cars, mostly with OnStar. But some other cars like my Ford Taurus has the plug in, even though I am not an OnStar customer.

 

Hate to burst their bubble but OBDII (The plug that the Mobly plugs into) is an industry standard diagnostic port and is on all cars and has nothing to do with On Star or any specific manufacturer.  It is a diagnostic port used to access the ECM and all its information.   It's not going anywhere and is on all newer cars.

 

 

 

[Dutch_12078]

31 minutes ago, DuffMan said:

Hate to burst their bubble but OBDII (The plug that the Mobly plugs into) is an industry standard diagnostic port and is on all cars and has nothing to do with On Star or any specific manufacturer.  It is a diagnostic port used to access the ECM and all its information.   It's not going anywhere and is on all newer cars.

Exactly... The OBDII diagnostics port the Mobley plugs into has been mandatory on all cars built since 1996. The Mobley only draws its power from the port, and has no capabilities for performing any of the OnStar type functions such as summoning emergency aid, unlocking doors, etc. The Mobley's sole function is to provide Internet access to the vehicle's occupants via WiFi.

[Lou Schneider]

AT&T's Connected Car Unlimited plan (the $20 per month unlimited data plan) started out to service the new generation OnStar equipped cars that included a mobile hotspot as part of the OnStar device.

If you have a GM car with the new generation OnStar, you don't need anything else.  Just sign up for the Connected Car plan and the OnStar provides the hot spot.

Next AT&T found the Mobley device and began selling it so the Connected Car Unlimited plan could expand to cars without the OnStar hotspot.

Then the power cords that freed the Mobley from the car's OBDII port became available and demand for the Mobley skyrocketed. To AT&T's great credit, they picked up the ball and ran with it, scooping up as many Mobleys as ZTE could crank out to try and meet the demand.

We'll have to see what happens now that AT&T has exhausted their supply of Mobleys again, whether they order more from ZTE, if they substitute another device, or decide to drop or modify the Connected Car plan.

[Dutch_12078]

Thanks for clearing up that the OnStar tie-in is only to the unlimited data plan, and not to the Mobley itself, Lou...

[rynosback]

Has anyone tried this hot spot with a Mobley SIM card?

https://www.amazon.com/AT-MiFi-Liberate-Mobile-Hotspot/dp/B00A42N9TI

it was reviewed really well hear.

https://www.cnet.com/products/novatel-mifi-liberate-at-t/review/

[KodiakJack]

Just spotted this Mobley on eBay in case you are interested. http://www.ebay.com/itm/At-T-ZTE-Mobley-4G-LTE-Wi-Fi-Hotspot-with-FREE-USB-Power-Adapter-/322656926876?hash=item4b1fd9fc9c:g:~vMAAOSwRztZlTuh

Later

J

[Dutch_12078]

3 hours ago, rynosback said:

Has anyone tried this hot spot with a Mobley SIM card?

https://www.amazon.com/AT-MiFi-Liberate-Mobile-Hotspot/dp/B00A42N9TI

it was reviewed really well hear.

https://www.cnet.com/products/novatel-mifi-liberate-at-t/review/

The Liberate should work ok, but they are a little bulky compared to other hotspots. I don't think it supports MIMO dual antenna use either, like the Unite series hotspots do.