VERIZON UNLIMITED 9 MONTH REVIEW

[NDNOMAD]

Anyone else using Verizon Unlimited and liking it? Yeah it's not truly unlimited in every way, but it still is a home internet replacement for me without issue. 

I made this video in my apartment, but I am weekender currently when it comes to RVing, and am out every weekend primarily at the same campground, but out to different parts of the country around me regularly.

 

 

[Mtn.Mike]

I have the unlimited plan on my phone but I need the MiFi (also unlimited but throttled after 15 gigs and the speed drops dramatically) device for my internet. Verizon, like any other provider has good and bad depending on your area. I'm currently in an area that has "good" coverage with Verizon but I get very poor connection speeds. Verizon now tells me I'm in a "fringe" area and there is nothing they can do about it. This "fringe" area was great about 5 years ago but has gotten worse and worse as time goes on.

If you're in a good area they are OK but I suggest trying them out before you buy.

[docj]

Our "home park" is in an area with exceedingly good Verizon service with download speeds that routinely exceed 25Mbps.  We have two smartphones and a MiFi but find it very difficult to stay within the 45GB/mo combined hotspot limit of the 3 devices.  When a device reaches its monthly limit its download speed drops to <600kbps but it is a reliable speed which is far better connection than I was getting when my AT&T rural cellular was being deprioritized (without a hard limit).   

Even though we've "extended" the hotspot limit by using Miracasting between the phones and the TV while streaming, we're in the process of having a local WISP install a link to our site.   Even though the WISP is only 5-10Mbps, there's no monthly data limit.  Not having to worry about which device had available hotspot data remaining will make things easier.

[richfaa]

It did not work for us to much throttling.

[Yarome]

On 11/19/2017 at 4:39 AM, NDNOMAD said:

I made this video in my apartment...

I don't mean to be stick in the mud but I, for one, would really appreciate it if information relative to the thread title were to be actually within the thread... as opposed to simply being used as a link for external content.

I don't mind external links (preferrably text) that can be followed for additional information or as a reference, if one so chooses, but it's a little aggravating to spend bandwidth on a large image with no actual forum content or value.

Especially for those of us with limited data or expensive sat connections, we don't always have the luxury or desire to only view content in the form of streaming video.

I'll step off my soap-box, now. TIA

[Barbaraok]

Yarome,

You are not alone.  I also move to other threads if all that is there is a link to another web site.

[richardbetsey]

Overall Verizon works the best for us. We do a lot of traveling in rural areas and without doubt Verizon has the best rural coverage.

If you do any streaming or a lot of large downloads the 15GB limit goes very fast. But even though the throttled down speeds are still better than no ser5vice at all.

We have had experience with AT&T and T-Mobile and their coverage in rural areas weak to non existent.

Unfortunately Verizon is the best and they know it.

 

[NDNOMAD]

3 hours ago, Yarome said:

I don't mean to be stick in the mud but I, for one, would really appreciate it if information relative to the thread title were to be actually within the thread... as opposed to simply being used as a link for external content.

I don't mind external links (preferrably text) that can be followed for additional information or as a reference, if one so chooses, but it's a little aggravating to spend bandwidth on a large image with no actual forum content or value.

Especially for those of us with limited data or expensive sat connections, we don't always have the luxury or desire to only view content in the form of streaming video.

I'll step off my soap-box, now. TIA

Hey that is a great idea! I’ll have to learn how to keep it as a link and not a big picture. I’ll be honest I sometimes post early in the morning and may not be fully conscious. I will try to write more in the future. Thanks for the tips I appreciate the feedback. 

[NDNOMAD]

3 hours ago, Yarome said:

I don't mean to be stick in the mud but I, for one, would really appreciate it if information relative to the thread title were to be actually within the thread... as opposed to simply being used as a link for external content.

I don't mind external links (preferrably text) that can be followed for additional information or as a reference, if one so chooses, but it's a little aggravating to spend bandwidth on a large image with no actual forum content or value.

Especially for those of us with limited data or expensive sat connections, we don't always have the luxury or desire to only view content in the form of streaming video.

I'll step off my soap-box, now. TIA

Hey that is a great idea! I’ll have to learn how to keep it as a link and not a big picture. I’ll be honest I sometimes post early in the morning and may not be fully conscious. I will try to write more in the future. Thanks for the tips I appreciate the feedback. 

[Big5er]

9 hours ago, richfaa said:

It did not work for us to much throttling.

What did you find that works better for a traveling full timer? docj's suggestion about a wired ISP won't work for some of us. 

[docj]

21 minutes ago, Big5er said:

 docj's suggestion about a wired ISP won't work for some of us. 

We also travel for 4-6 months.  For those months I figure we'll live with the 45GB/mo of hotspot from our two phones plus MiFi combined with Miracasting (Samsung SmartView) for streaming.  Miracasting works well from my Galaxy S7 to my Roku Premier and doesn't count against the hotspot limit.

[eddie1261]

I read a lot of these posts and it sometimes gets blurry because not everybody is using the same terminology. A lot of people refer to the Jetpack type devices as a "hotspot". When YOU say "hotspot" Doc, do you mean it as "my phone is the data distribution device and other things are logging into my phone", because from my experience that is the correct way to use it.  What I DON'T quite get, again because of so many posts all saying different things, is the distinction between hotspot data, "normal" data use just on your phone, and Jetpack data. (And again, do you say Mifi as the older day term for the current term Jetpack?)

From what I gather, your plan has 15gb of data PER line and another 15gb on the Jetpack? Again, my confusion comes from the garbling of the terminology.

I too have Verizon unlimited, which we all need to agree means nothing more than "We won't shut you completely off, though we will turn you down to a trickle once you hit the threshold". I do not yet have the Jetpack, which I will buy when I hit the road in spring. I will check but I thought I had 22gb on my phone and 15 more on the Jetpack I do not yet own, but that is still only 37gb and I could easily go through that in a couple of days of TV if not one day. Thus I am likely going to bite the bullet and get Dish, albeit kicking and screaming the whole time. I don't go out much at night, and there are things I simply don't want to miss, like sports, Big Bang Theory, and Live PD.  Even my daytime activities are limited by physical issues, and I doubt if I will ever just sit outside in a lawn chair and stare. A lot will depend if I am in a park or boondocking. For my RVing tastes, I have no problem with being a Walmart guy, where I know I can get wifi to stream TV, though the presence of Dish would render that consideration moot. Hopefully I can cobble together a Dish system from second hand parts and not have to pay them a million bucks for equipment. I do NOT want a dome on top of my RV. I know how to use a compass and by finding the correct azimuth and declination online I can aim a dish. Just need a southwest exposure and a tripod.

[LFDR3116]

We have the AT&T Mobley and left north central illinois where in a small farming community it worked great, have gone south down thru Missouri, Arkansas, West Texas and across I-80 in Texas, N Mexico and now in AZ - there are some pretty remote areas with absolutely nothing around - the Mobley has worked wherever we have been so far.  It truly has been unlimited with no slow down, but we are modest users also.  We do not stream .

[Bill Joyce]

Deprioritization, when you hit the 22GB limit on Verizon and AT&T, is not that bad.  I have used 40GB on AT&T and it still worked.  The hard limits on hotspotting of 15GB on Verizon with either a phone or Jetpack/Mifi/Mobile Hotspot, is a problem for most of us.  Currently AT&T just deprioritizes mobile hotspots (Mifi) at 22GB, but has a hard limit of 10GB on phone hotspotting before slowing them down to a trickle.   I am waiting for T-Mobile to get further along on their build out, since you can pay $25 extra and get 50GB with hotspotting before deprioritization.

[BlueLghtning]

We left full time in August and I work online for my job so internet was paramount so I could do my job Mon-Fri and not have any issues. I had considered myself a pretty techy guy, but decided to subscribe to Technomadia's "RVMobileInternet.com" about 6-8 months before we left and was so glad I did. I learned so much from them and the timing of me joining could not have been better because so many of the new unlimited plans came out during that time. At first I always figured I'd be buying one of tht GUDP Verizon plans that at the time were still going for hundreds to thousands of dollars depending if you used a broker but decided to wait until we hit the road until I even considered one of those and so glad we did because so much happened in that time frame and now I don't feel like I'd really need one of those not to mention the hoops you have to jump through to keep one in contract.

The first thing I did was grab one of those 3g unlimited Verizon hot spots for $5/mo, then I think it went to $10/mo . There were a few of us on here that bought them from some guy and they were flashed to use 3G only. I usually got 1-2mbs on it and I figured at the least we would always have a basic internet connecton with that. I ended up letting it go before we even hit the road though as we ended up with so much better options and the 3g service was always going to be declining.

From Technomadia's site, I had learned that Tmobile would be discontinuing their Simple Choice plans and if you wanted one, that was the time to get one. You could get a 6gb hot spot with roll over data up to 20gb for $35/mo which isn't alot, but these plans incuded the binge-on feature which allows you to stream a lot of services like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc without it counting against your data. I figured when we had T-mobile service this would be a great option to stream TV which we were doing a lot of already before we left in our RV. At this time the other unlimited plans hadn't come out yet, so seemed like a good option and I still keep it because in areas where Verizon or AT&T might be congested, I can usually fall back to Tmobile with great speed as long as I have service. 

The next big thng I jumped on was AT&T's rural home base plan when it came out and I was one that managaged to snag one of those before thtey started really enforcing the locations they had meant for it to be used. That gave us 250gb at $60/mo. That became my main work interned even while we were still in our S&B home and it worked great. The AT&T Mobley followed not long after that and was a much cheaper plan so the home base quickly got forgotten about by many people. I was almost tempted to give up the HomeBase, but I felt it was more secure to hang on to it since the Mobley was getting abused so much. I didn't get the Mobley right away, but once they started selling out, I snagged 2 different ones. I activated one and ended up selling the other one for a during their high demand. Between the homebase & Mobley,I pay $88/mo and I pretty much have all the bandwidth I need as long as I have AT&T service.

Our final step before we left was to move both myself and my wife's phones from Sprint to Verizon. I knew Sprint had the least amount of coverage and once Verizon brought back their new unlimited plans, this seemed like a great option. We would have unlimited on device usage with only the 22gb network management and the 10gb of hot sport per line. They have since bumped the hotspot to 15gb per line and we ended up taking that 3g hotspot we had and just adding it to our Verizon unlimited plan for $20/mo with full LTE service. Now we have the 45gb per 3 lines of hotspot data. 

So having been on the road since August, I can say I'm well setup with internet and bandwidth. I rely on the  AT&T Homebase for our primary internet since we have 250gb and it can be network managed at any time, although I think that's only happened once so far. We generally run through 140-150gb a month on it. I keep the Mobley as a backup incase we get into a congested area where the homebase might get deprioritized and then I'll have 22gb of primary data on the Mobley before we get deprioritized. Our Tmobile hotspot hasn't been used a ton, but I have found a few locations where it's worked awesome and I generally use it when I get near the end of my billing cycle. It works great for streaming too and not eating through my AT&T data. Our Verizon phones have been great and my wife pretty much hotspots her phone to use her tablet and watch her shows and she's yet to hit the 15gb limit. I keep the Verizon hotspot for work incase AT&T doesn't work and I need to fall back to it and finally my phone would be the last fall back, but I rarely hotspot my phone. I also purchased a WeBoost before we left and I haven't even hooked it up yet. I'm sure as we head West though, it will come in more handy. 

We pay right at $250/mo for all our internet and it's been working great. 

[eddie1261]

8 hours ago, LFDR3116 said:

The Mobley has worked wherever we have been so far.  It truly has been unlimited with no slow down, but we are modest users also.  We do not stream .

It's not the Mobley that would cause a problem. ATTs Mobley vs Verizon's Jetpack is like saying "My D-Link router works better than your Netgear". They are just data distribution devices. What makes the Mobley work so well for you is "We are modest users. We do not stream." Exceeding a plan's threshold is going to potentially result in their throttling your service no matter what device you have. If you are on a busy tower and you are the ONE user over threshold and the rest are not, you will see deprioritization (As they like to call it because they believe in their mind that they do not throttle. But it janitor/custodian, or ghost/spirit, or home equity loan/2nd mortgage....)

I will be through my 45gb in a day or 2 if I have no wifi or satellite TV service, particularly with the park's rules about "no streaming". So it really is a case by case thing.

[eddie1261]

25 minutes ago, BlueLghtning said:

We pay right at $250/mo for all our internet and it's been working great. 

I snipped all of that mainly to keep my reply brief yet still make sure I was responding to your post.

Can you go into a little more detail about your specific use? I deduce that you work as a telecommuter but you say nothing as far as whether you also use data for TV viewing. Assuming a 40 hour work week, thus 40 hours a week of data connection, that is probably not as intensive as streaming TV programming, so I get that what you have works for your work usage. My data will be 99% for streaming TV. Not youtube videos, actual TV, like on SlingTV or a similar streaming service that delivers the programming I want. I will chew through 45gb of data in a day if I have to use data. Do you have satellite TV as well as your internet that you state costs you $250 a month? (You are also working and have income to offset that. I am an OLD retired IT guy.)

And as I said in an earlier post, this becomes moot if I get Dish Network. My typical month of data usage now is like 150mb. I just don't use my phone. I don't even know why I have this expensive phone with all these features I never use. Well, yeah I do. It's because I'm a nerd and have to have the latest greatest and shiniest.

[docj]

9 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

I read a lot of these posts and it sometimes gets blurry because not everybody is using the same terminology. A lot of people refer to the Jetpack type devices as a "hotspot". When YOU say "hotspot" Doc, do you mean it as "my phone is the data distribution device and other things are logging into my phone", because from my experience that is the correct way to use it.  What I DON'T quite get, again because of so many posts all saying different things, is the distinction between hotspot data, "normal" data use just on your phone, and Jetpack data. (And again, do you say Mifi as the older day term for the current term Jetpack?)

From what I gather, your plan has 15gb of data PER line and another 15gb on the Jetpack? Again, my confusion comes from the garbling of the terminology.

I didn't think my terminology was garbled, but let's start from scratch.  A phone can use data in one of two ways.  Data can be delivered to its screen and speakers to be seen or heard by the person holding the phone or data can be distributed to other devices using the phone as a router.  It is this latter usage that I, and many others, call using the phone as a hotspot.  The Verizon Jetpack MiFi is essentially a phone with no organic display or speakers of its own, therefore, it is always used as a hotspot.  (BTW, the name MiFi is an older terminology but both are in common use and are registered trademarks of Verizon as can be seen here: Jetpack MiFi 7730)

I have a multi-line Verizon unlimited account under which we currently have two Galaxy S7's and a MiFi 7730.  The phones have unlimited data but are subject to possible network deprioritization at 22GB/mo.  They are also subject to a "hard limit" of 15GB/mo of hotspot usage at which time speeds are reduced to <600kpbs.  Since the MiFi is exclusively a hotspot, it doesn't have the 22GB issue, but it is also subject to the 15GB limit.  To be very clear these limits are per line and not for the account total.

So, as I stated in my previous post, I have 15GB/mo available for hotspot use from each of the two phones plus the 15GB on the MiFi for a total of 45GB/mo.  In addition, by using Miracasting (also known as Samsung SmartView) I can effectively increase that limit for streaming since Miracasting doesn't count against the hotspot data total.  

FWIW we also have DirecTV since there are a number of things we watch that are not available in real-time via streaming.  Some day we may be able to dispense with this, but IMO it is still necessary (for us) at the present time.

If I've continued to be garbled, feel free to ask additional questions.

Joel (AKA docj)

[richfaa]

14 hours ago, Big5er said:

What did you find that works better for a traveling full timer? docj's suggestion about a wired ISP won't work for some of us. 

We have a verizon Hotspot 40 G .It is not exactly cheap but it is what we need and it serves us well.We have 4 devices on the  hotspot and we have never gone over the 40G.We find that it works well all over the country.We use it for all our communications and bill paying.Our verizon bill is 253.18 that is for 2 smart phones and internet.

[eddie1261]

35 minutes ago, docj said:

I didn't think my terminology was garbled, but let's start from scratch.

YOUR terminology is fine. In other posts by other people the term "hotspot" is often used to mean "That black plastic thing that has a SIM and acts like a wireless router" when th real use of "hotspot" is "using my phone to distribute data".

Quote

So, as I stated in my previous post, I have 15GB/mo available for hotspot use from each of the two phones plus the 15GB on the MiFi for a total of 45GB/mo.  In addition, by using Miracasting (also known as Samsung SmartView) I can effectively increase that limit for streaming since Miracasting doesn't count against the hotspot data total.  

I have the same phone you do but I cast using Chromecast rather than a Samsung Smart TV. I will assume here that the use of the Chromecast is not the same thing, which I deduce from the phone and TV both being Samsung devices. Can you shed some light on how Verizon knows where I am casting to and what I am using to do it? Is Miracast a Samsung exclusive app? I don't have it because I don't have a Samsung TV and thus never had reason to explore it. It may be in the Samsung folder on my phone and I just don't know it's there.

As I have said elsewhere, just on Friday and Saturday night I watch hours each of Live PD. That alone might blow my data limits. Add in Sunday football, Monday night football, Thursday night football, The Big Bang Theory on Thursdays.... also The First 48, COPS..... I am going to need that satellite TV. It may also be worth investing in a Samsung Smart TV that I can stream to and not have it charged against my data. My pans now are for a 32" ProScan to go into the RV, but I can change those plans any time.

[BlueLghtning]

1 hour ago, eddie1261 said:

I snipped all of that mainly to keep my reply brief yet still make sure I was responding to your post.

Can you go into a little more detail about your specific use? I deduce that you work as a telecommuter but you say nothing as far as whether you also use data for TV viewing. Assuming a 40 hour work week, thus 40 hours a week of data connection, that is probably not as intensive as streaming TV programming, so I get that what you have works for your work usage. My data will be 99% for streaming TV. Not youtube videos, actual TV, like on SlingTV or a similar streaming service that delivers the programming I want. I will chew through 45gb of data in a day if I have to use data. Do you have satellite TV as well as your internet that you state costs you $250 a month? (You are also working and have income to offset that. I am an OLD retired IT guy.)

And as I said in an earlier post, this becomes moot if I get Dish Network. My typical month of data usage now is like 150mb. I just don't use my phone. I don't even know why I have this expensive phone with all these features I never use. Well, yeah I do. It's because I'm a nerd and have to have the latest greatest and shiniest.

Hey Eddie. I'm a manager of a software testing team. The majority of my data for work is basically VPN'n into our network for e-mail, chat, web conferencing. I frequently do RDP (Remote Desktop)  into other servers on our network. If I'm testing it's between a database and GUI connection. Now I do find myself on FB and social media quite a bit I don't hesitate to watch videos or watch a YT video. Now on a rainy day where my wife and I both stay inside all day, we both will be on FB or browsing our other favorite forums. I do leave my ATT Homebase on 24/7 and never disconnect devices from it. 

You are correct though that actual streaming as in Sling or similar services is basically about the heaviest usage you could have and will certainly chew through some data very quickly. I do some streaming over our AT&T connection, but if I can, I do fire up the T-mobile hotspot for that and I've used several gigs of data over the course of the month that didn't count towards my actual usage since it has the binge on feature. My wife does stream a few of her shows from her phone to her tablet, but suprisingly she hasn't been using a ton of data either. I will say my TV watching has subsided a lot since starting to RV. I used to spend a few hours a day watching TV and now I spend maybe a few hours a week at the most. Sometimes I watch over the air stuff if we are in a good reception area. 

[eddie1261]

2 minutes ago, BlueLghtning said:

Hey Eddie. I'm a manager of a software testing team. The majority of my data for work is basically VPN'n into our network for e-mail, chat, web conferencing. I frequently do RDP (Remote Desktop)  into other servers on our network. If I'm testing it's between a database and GUI connection.

That being the case, does your employer expense your work related data fees?

I remember once being brought into a video conference on a Saturday when there was a somewhat significant amount of data corruption and they wanted some suggestions as to the fastest way to do the disaster recovery. The first thing my boss said was "Eddie, either promise me you will remain seated during this conference, or go put on some pants."

How well they knew me.....

[docj]

17 minutes ago, eddie1261 said:

I have the same phone you do but I cast using Chromecast rather than a Samsung Smart TV. I will assume here that the use of the Chromecast is not the same thing, which I deduce from the phone and TV both being Samsung devices. Can you shed some light on how Verizon knows where I am casting to and what I am using to do it? Is Miracast a Samsung exclusive app? I don't have it because I don't have a Samsung TV and thus never had reason to explore it. It may be in the Samsung folder on my phone and I just don't know it's there.

In Chromecasting, once casting has started the "target device" (the TV) creates its own connection (via wifi) to the internet "source" of the data stream.  That's why you can use your phone or tablet for other activities once the casting has begun.  You can still pause or stop the casting from the phone or tablet but the data being displayed on the screen is not going "through" the device.  (It's worth noting that AppleTV works in essentially the same manner.)

In contrast, Miracasting is true screen mirroring.  A two-device wifi connection is made between the phone and the TV.  You cannot have "regular" wifi on nor can you have a hotspot running while casting is taking place.  Whatever is displayed on the screen is what you see on the TV.  The phone or tablet cannot be used for anything else while you are casting if your usage affects what's on screen.  The phone will still receive calls just fine, but when you take them your screen display will get messed up. 

Miracasting is NOT exclusively a Samsung thing; my understanding is that it has been around a long time but has been underutilized because of compatibility issues.  My S7 calls Miracasting "Samsung SmartView" but it works quite well with my Roku Premiere as well as with my Samsung SmarTV.  I'm pretty sure that Amazon and others sell dongles that provide casting capability, but I would caution that casting between some devices works better than between others and there's no way to know in advance how well it will work with any two devices.

Since Verizon is now limiting the screen resolution of video streamed on phones to 720p, I presume that what I am watching on my TV also has that resolution.  But it is a darn good-looking picture nonetheless.

[Five Wood]

I'm on the unlimited plan and have noticed that in the past several months some stops that I've made that used to have good Verizon speeds now do not.  That takes into account, not being over my 15gig limit and a strong signal.  I attribute it to Verizon marketing this unlimited plan very well, but not having the infrastructure to support the demand.  I don't stream much so even the slower speeds work fine for me.  I'm happy with the plan. 

Jim

[docj]

19 minutes ago, docj said:

In Chromecasting, once casting has started the "target device" (the TV) creates its own connection (via wifi) to the internet "source" of the data stream.  That's why you can use your phone or tablet for other activities once the casting has begun. 

To be very, very clear, Chromecasting requires that there be an active wifi network to which both the phone and the Chromecast device are connected.  Because the Chromecast device connects directly to the internet source it needs a hotspot to connect to.  This is why Chromecasting doesn't get you out from under the hotspot limits of either Verizon or AT&T.