Forum Discussion

david1601's avatar
david1601
Explorer
Apr 14, 2019

Canada and a Jetpack

We will be traveling for about two weeks in June through Canada. We have purchased a Verizon Jetpack to use in our RV during this trip which will include about 100 days on the road in the western USA. I know the jetpack will work great in most of the USA but had a question about Canada.

The unlimited prepaid plan does not cover data in Canada from what I have been told by Verizon. For those of you who have traveled in Canada with a Jetpack..... What, if any, plan did you use while there? I have been told we can purchase data at a rate of $5 a day for 1/2 gig and just prepay it. Is that the best way to go? Or is there another option the salesperson might not know about?

Thanks for any advice.
  • david1601's avatar
    david1601
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    GordonThree wrote:
    AT&T, no extra charge


    That is not entirely true. We are grandfathered in on our AT&T wireless plan for 2 gig a month which is more than we use normally for the phones. I do not wish to change to an unlimited plan, which is required for data access in Canada. No need to go from $70 a month to $125 or so just for a couple of weeks in Canada. Since our plan is no longer available I could not switch back when we return. Besides AT&T offers nothing comparable to the Verizon jetpack.

    We use the jetpack for laptops and IPads. I like the thought of having the jetpack and AT&T hotspots as a backup so we will have internet access most everywhere. We prefer National parks, State parks, COE type campgrounds.

    Thanks
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Apr 14, 2019
    You can get a Canada feature added from Verizon. It is charged only when in Canada.
  • K_Charles's avatar
    K_Charles
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    with ATT prepaid plan we get 8 GB of data a month unlimited talk and text, and you can use that in Canada and mexico, $40 a month and comes with hotspot.
  • almcc's avatar
    almcc
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    K Charles wrote:
    with ATT prepaid plan we get 8 GB of data a month unlimited talk and text, and you can use that in Canada and mexico, $40 a month and comes with hotspot.


    We use that plan when in the US. I got a text from AT&T that said we "may" have the data speeds reduced to 2G when in Canada. FYI.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    almcc wrote:
    K Charles wrote:
    with ATT prepaid plan we get 8 GB of data a month unlimited talk and text, and you can use that in Canada and mexico, $40 a month and comes with hotspot.


    We use that plan when in the US. I got a text from AT&T that said we "may" have the data speeds reduced to 2G when in Canada. FYI.


    I wonder if that's more of a disclaimer regarding network capabilities versus intentionally downgrading speed?
  • obgraham's avatar
    obgraham
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    My 12gig/month plan includes 2 phones and a jetpack. I added the Travelpass, at no extra charge.
    In Canada, each day any of the devices is used costs $5. (It used to be $2.) The conditions of my original plan apply, so all 12 gig are available same as in the US. My devices work fine in most of Canada.

    The problem with Verizon, like others, is that the plans change, and what I contracted may not be what is available now. Being lazy, I just keep what I've got and don;t switch every second month like some do.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2019
    There's no benefit from loyalty to any of these big companies, they have no loyalty to you the customer.

    Numbers are portable, have been so for a long while now. Subsidized devices are a thing of the past, so buy an agnostic phone and change carriers until you find one that meets your needs and your budget.

    The "jetpack" is an outdated piece of technology. An agnostic phone offers the same capability and likely has a better radio. An agnostic phone also avoids the carrier from blocking your hotspot capabilities. The _only_ benefit to a "jetpack" is if you have one directly connected to external antennas... the external ant connector has gone away on all modern handsets.

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