Straight talk zte z288l hotspot experience

swphotobug wrote:
I have an ATT phone via Straight Talk and have been happy with is service. We travel a lot and have always had service.

I am interested in the Verizon Hot Spot service, I ordered it today(Black Friday).

If you ordered it through Verizon, you'll be very happy. I had a Verizon Jetpack under contract and it worked everywhere I went.

I have heard that the Straight Talk Verizon Hotspot also works on the pre-pay network but I have not confirmed that.

I ordered the Straight Talk Hot Spot(Verizon service). Since I have an ATT phone I felt a different vendor would cover all bases in access.

Most CGs now have a version of wifi but some are very slow. We are in one now for 3 months and service is dicey. Saw the Straight Talk and figured it couldn't be any worse and the service should stay up rather than crashing several days a week.

swphotobug wrote:
I ordered the Straight Talk Hot Spot(Verizon service). Since I have an ATT phone I felt a different vendor would cover all bases in access.

Most CGs now have a version of wifi but some are very slow. We are in one now for 3 months and service is dicey. Saw the Straight Talk and figured it couldn't be any worse and the service should stay up rather than crashing several days a week.

Did you get the 288l or the 288c? I ordered the the 288c yesterday.
Any experience with either one?

I ordered the 288c. There is also a G version, not sure what carrier. Haven't heard anything bad which would show up first on a forum. As I said before, I am very happy with the ATT service on my phone(Net 10, same company). You really want Att or Verizon as Tmobile and Sprint don't have as large of a network and there is no roaming on these pay as you go plans.

I wrote to Straight Talk and here is there response:



Please be informed that the ZTE Z288L and ZTE Z288C are the same model. It is a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) or non-SIM card device. Meanwhile, the ZTE Z289L is a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) or SIM card-capable device. Please see below specifications.



ZTE Z288L
• Cellular Access: 2G, 2.5G, 3G, and 4G LTE hotspot device, working on 1X/HRPD/eHRPD/LTE networks
• Wi-Fi Technology: 802.11b/g/n
• Device supports up to five connected users. However, for optimal performance, one (1) user limited is recommended

• USB connect to PC/laptop (charging only)



ZTE Z289L
• Cellular Access: 3G HSDPA, 3.5GHSDPA+ and 4G
• Wi-Fi Technology: 802.11b/g/n
• Device supports up to five connected users. However, for optimal performance, one (1) user limited is recommended
• USB connect to PC/laptop (charging only)

There was a report on another forum site that reported Straight Talk was throttling the 4GLTE connection of the ZTE Z288L/C to 3.5mbs download and 1.5mbs upload. Does anyone know if this is system wide or just this one user's experience?

I only saw the one post on the throttling and decided to disregard it. I believe they throttle on the unlimited plan after you have reached a certain amount(2.5G on the unlimited). I believe most pay as you go carriers do some throttling on their unlimited plans. Once you pay for another cycle the throttling is lifted.

In most of the plans I have researched, if you read the plan detail or user agreement pages you will find that after a certain amount of data use, the speed will be throttled. You will still get the amount you paid for, just not the better speeds. I have read many comments from users saying once they hit that throttled speed it was no better than having the old dial up.

Just went into the Black Friday Walmart Straight Talk deal and for the unlimited talk,text,data plan at $45 for 30 days, it says that after 3gb of data the speed will be throttled to 2G speed for the remainder of the month.

Just to add some more confusion to the Straight Talk Hotspot confusion here is what I am seeing on the Walmart site.

This Link is the $49.00 Black Friday special.

Straight Talk Mobile HotSpot 4G LTE w/BONUS $15 airtime card

Connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to the Straight Talk ZTE 288C Hotspot device ...

scroll way down the page and you see:

Model No.: STZEZ289GP4PAN Walmart No.: 553040688

( The P4P indicates an AT&T SIM )

This Link is the $99.88 version that was on the Walmart site now and before Black Friday.

Straight Talk ZTE 288C LTE Hotspot

Connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to the Straight Talk ZTE 288C Hotspot device ...

scroll down and you see:

Model No.: STZEZ288CPWP Walmart No.: 553136462

I did order the $49 one from the Walmart website. Two stores near me have them in stock marked on the box as ZTE Z289L with GSM in the lower left corner of the box. The sticker on the bottom shows STZEZ289GP4PAN.

I've been researching these since they were announced and have posted threads on HowardForums among others. I now have also talked with several who have purchased either the Verizon or the AT&T version.

My conclusion is that they are in fact "throttled" ...not a soft-cap throttle as a Straight Talk smartphone plan has but a general transparent throttle.

Explanation:

General transparent throttle-- Both the Verizon and the AT&T versions of the Straight Talk 4G LTE hotspots are not delivering true or full 4G LTE speeds but are providing substantially lower speeds. For instance, our Millenicom 4620LE JetPack (now being paid through Verizon) averages 20 Mbps down and about 10-15 Mbps up with a ping below 50 ms. However, all the reports I've heard about the Straight Talk 4G LTE Hotspot on Verizon (the Z288L), is at maximum about 4 Mbps down and about 2 Mbps up ...but with still relatively good ping times at below 50 ms. The AT&T model is reported to be even worse. The one person I talk to that had the Z289G was getting less than 2 Mbps down, if they could even get reception. They were frustrated.

Soft-cap throttle-- The soft-cap throttle does not apply to these hotspots as you are paying for a predetermined amount of data. There is no soft-cap. However, Straight Talk's smartphone plan (their $45 Unlimited Plan) has a soft-cap at 3.0 GB where once you use 3.0 GB of data, your speeds can get throttled down to 2G speeds until the start of the next 30-day cycle. But again, this soft-cap throttle obviously does not apply to the hotspots.

I have had pay as you go hot spots for years. I use them as my primary source unless a CG has really good internet(rare). I don't do any streaming and use generally 1-1.5G per month. The hot spots meet my needs fine and I just am looking for a lower cost. I have the time if it is a little slow. The CG I am at now runs very slow and drops out for days at a time. The current hot spot I have is pricey so I was holding off on starting it when I saw the Straight Talk one for Black Friday.