In-house wifi network

[hemsteadc]

I want to get my Verizon data costs down, but not lose speed, coverage or data allotment.

I'm on an antiquated XXL plan, 28G a month, with carryover which doesn't always carry over.  There's never any throttling, which is great, but it's getting pretty expensive.  I see these "unlimited" plans, but that mostly pertains to just the phone data, not the hotspot.. which *is* limited, and what I've been using for streaming TV.

I've recently discovered casting, or, mirroring, but, I believe that requires an in-house wifi network which both the phone and the TV must share. I do already have a CCrane wifi antenna/booster system which I haven't tried but I hope would work.  If not, I guess I need to buy another unit.

Your thoughts are appreciated.   

Edited June 3, 2022 by hemsteadc

[Chalkie]

You do not have to have WiFi to mirror if you have a smart TV or streaming stick that supports it. It uses a direct wireless connection to the TV or device. I don't know your age or if you want to change plans but we have TMobile 55+ plan which has unlimited talk, text and data including the hotspot. Now, if it is a 5G phone on a 5G connection the speed is usually 4G but even at 3G speeds it is adequate for watching TV so long as you don't demand HD quality. Where are currently located I have to take my Starlink antenna up while they mow on Fridays, we use our phones and I really can't see much quality difference but then I am not a purist.

[trailertraveler]

1 hour ago, hemsteadc said:

I've recently discovered casting, or, mirroring, but, I believe that requires an in-house wifi network which both the phone and the TV must share.

Not an expert but In my experience with a Samsung Android phone, casting and mirroring are different. Casting does require a wifi connection to which both the phone and the smart TV must be connected. The phone directs the TV to connect to the url of the content you want to stream. On my plan, this results in data usage that counts toward the monthly hotspot data allotment.

Mirroring is a different process. I can mirror from my phone to TVs connected to my Roku devise(s). The Roku, TV and Phone do not have to be connected to a network. The data used counts as on devise data not hotspot data. Mirroring is not as stable as casting and may disconnect from time to time. It seems to need a faster connection then that required to just stream to the phone. It also seems to deplete the phone battery pretty quickly. Plugging the phone into charge while mirroring on occasion causes the phone to shutdown to prevent the phone from overheating.

Some phones (I understand all iphones) can be connected directly to a TV HDMI input with an adapter cable.

[oldjohnt]

When I'm in my sticks n bricks I have Fiber Optic 300MHz unlimited in one end of the house and a Netgear Range Extender in the middle so my laptop or any phones or my ROKU (plugs into TV's HDMI) receive net or I can stream TV anywhere inside and most places in the yard.  When on the road I have BOTH AT&T unlimited and Verizon unlimited Jetpack Hotspots with external amplified MIMO antennas, plus the same ROKU in the RV's TV. Fortunately I'm grandfathered in on ATT and Verizon older plans so its affordable. I can do cast or screen mirror but it seems cast is best at least with my equipment ?? I though BOTH phone and ROKU have to be connected to the same internet (as they are anyway) for cast or screen mirror I will have to experiment with that...

 John T

[hemsteadc]

1 hour ago, trailertraveler said:

a) The phone directs the TV to connect to the url of the content you want to stream. On my plan, this results in data usage that counts toward the monthly hotspot data allotment.

b)Some phones (I understand all iphones) can be connected directly to a TV HDMI input with an adapter cable.

a) I don't like the sound of that

b) that sounds better, but not hotspot data?

[hemsteadc]

26 minutes ago, oldjohnt said:

 When on the road I have BOTH AT&T unlimited and Verizon unlimited Jetpack Hotspots with external amplified MIMO antennas, ... Fortunately I'm grandfathered in on ATT and Verizon older plans so its affordable.

So your grandfather plan mean truly "unlimited" with no throttling?  If so, kudos, because from what I read that's either not available or just incredibly expensive.

I've read many posts, both here and other places, where people talk about their unlimited plans, using 50, or 100 gigs or more, and not ever being throttled.. or at least not to anything noticeable.  I take these reports with a grain of salt.. but, for all I know they're true.  I just don't want to change plans and find the gotchas later on, because once I change I can't go back.

Edited June 3, 2022 by hemsteadc

[Second Chance]

4 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

So your grandfather plan mean truly "unlimited" with no throttling?  If so, kudos, because from what I read that's either not available or just incredibly expensive.

I've read many posts, both here and other places, where people talk about their unlimited plans, using 50, or 100 gigs or more, and not ever being throttled.. or at least not to anything noticeable.  I take these reports with a grain of salt.. but, for all I know they're true.  I just don't want to change plans and find the gotchas later on, because once I change I can't go back.

Yes - our grandfathered VZW 4G MiFi unlimited plan is unthrottled. The plan was only available pre-paid and for a short window of time. I think once the word got out in RV World, VZW realized they were giving away too much bandwidth for too little money. I just did a speed test where we're staying here in the SE Cincinnati area and the download speed is currently 67.4 Mbps. We stream TV and movies on it several nights a week without issues (and have for some years).

 

Rob

[oldjohnt]

I've never observed any slow down or throttling whatsoever on either of my Verizon or AT&T unlimited hot spots, but I got those plans yearssssss ago. I follow Mobile Internet Resource Center and have attended their seminars where I got some tips way back that got me locked into my good rates THANKS CHRIS & CHERIE...   I use auto pay never missed a payment pay early and keep my fingers crossed lol. I was told to NEVER change the plan or add or subtract or even change my payment method or ever be late cuz they would drop me like a hot potato........  

 John T

 

[trailertraveler]

15 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

b) that sounds better, but not hotspot data?

The TV is connected directly to the phone's USB port with a cable that connects to the TV HDMI input. What shows on your phone displays on the TV, The data counts as on device data which depending on your plan may result in slow down during high use periods. I have used over 200 GB in a month and not noticed any real streaming issues provided that the connection is fast enough to support streaming in the first place. I have been in some areas where the cell system seems to be overloaded at certain times and speeds are extremely slow preventing streaming or sometimes any internet access.

[hemsteadc]

3 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

The TV is connected directly to the phone's USB port with a cable that connects to the TV HDMI input.

I stop in at Walmart today and see if I can find that cable.  Thanks

[trailertraveler]

33 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

I stop in at Walmart today and see if I can find that cable.  Thanks

If you do not have an iphone, do an internet search to see if your phone supports HDMI. Not all android phones do. My current Samsung A42 does not. Sometimes this information can be found in the specifications for the phone or product reviews.

[hemsteadc]

37 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

, do an internet search to see if your phone supports HDMI. 

Samsung Galaxy A42.  Looks like it does.

[hemsteadc]

My phone has a utility called Smart View, which sounded like the ticket, but it won't connect to my Sony TV.

[D&J]

5 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

I stop in at Walmart today and see if I can find that cable.  Thanks

Be advised that not all phones will let you do that and Walmart doesn't carry that cable, USB to HDMI adapter.

Denny

[D&J]

What we are doing is casting with two Chromecast devices one for each phone. Our Moto 5G phones will not mirror through the USB port but we changed our plans to two single 5G planes with 50GB phone data and 25 GB of hotspot premium data so for now we have 50GB of premium hotspot and for $20 more a month we can raise our premium hotspot to 50 on each phone 100 total. The premium hotspot data works and you don't get slowed down during busy times, we tried it over Memorial weekend and it works as advertised.

Denny

 

[trailertraveler]

19 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

Samsung Galaxy A42.  Looks like it does.

I also have a Samsun A42 and what I found in this review indicates it does not support HDMI. 

Quote

Many Samsung phone has MHL to HDMI support. Unfortunately, the Galaxy A42 does not have MHL support. 

Do you have a link to what you found? 

[hemsteadc]

9 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

I also have a Samsun A42 and what I found in this review indicates it does not support HDMI. 

 

Bummer.   It's a cheap replacement phone so I guess I get what I pay for.  Casting or mirroring works fine to my Samsung tv, but not Sony.  

[Chalkie]

17 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

Casting or mirroring works fine to my Samsung tv, but not Sony.  

You should able to mirror to a Firestick, Roku or Chromecast device if the TV itself isn't capable on its own.

[hemsteadc]

10 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

You should able to mirror to a Firestick, Roku or Chromecast device if the TV itself isn't capable on its own.

Good idea.  I may just stop by my nearest Best Buy and see if a Samsung TV will work.  I have been wanting to dump the Sony for a while now.  Small TVs are pretty cheap.

Edited June 5, 2022 by hemsteadc

[hemsteadc]

Smartview from the phone to Samsung TV isn't all that great.  I couldn't full-screen the picture. 

 

[RV_]

Here I just made this video for you. I connected my Windows Surface Go 2 LTE which only has a USB C connector to a J5 create connector. I was using a 28" TV for a Monitor with HDMI inputs.

The Surface Go2 has a US Mobile sim card in it, the third of our three lines unlimited with them which was unlimited lasy year but now they throttle at 75GB. And their prices have doubled to almost Verizons costs for new subscribers. I am grandfathered for the prices but if I change my plan I am screwed too. I pay $11 a month for that LTE data only card after deducting the cost of my Hulu, which they deduct from my Our three unlimited lines are $61 a month!

So in the following video I made I turned off the WiFi on the Surface and turned on the LTE only. Then I connected the adapter cable to the USB port on my tablet, and then the HDMI to the TV on the other side of that adapter. So it is a terrible video and next time I will turn the volume down on the TV if I am going to talk. No problem. Now it be best to get one locally so if your phone or whatever won't pass along a TV signal you can return it. Since we have a house and broadband Internet and Fire TV devices and all the major streaming services I don't use cables or casting. You can especially do this with older Surface Pro machines that had mini SD ports in them and all you need is a mini DP (Display Port) to regular HDMI pot cable.

So no WiFi, LTE only on my LTE Surface Go2 (4G) and it works great as you can see.

 

[RV_]

Here is a cable I would buy to do that and it is 10 feet for $13 - Amazon cable USB C to HDMI

I have not used that cable, I used it for an example but the pics there are very good and it supports two systems. Heck I may just order one just in case. There are a plethora of choices. EZPZ

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by RV_