Straight talk zte z288l hotspot experience

Duramax1 wrote:
StraightTalk confirmed to me that they do not have a 4GLT data plan available, only 3G. So basically you are buying a 4GLT capable device but you are unable to purchase a plan that will take advantage of that capability.

In Canada that may be true, in the USA it is 4G LTE heavily throttled to 5mbs down / 2mbs up.

StraightTalk confirmed to me that they do not have a 4GLT data plan available, only 3G. So basically you are buying a 4GLT capable device but you are unable to purchase a plan that will take advantage of that capability.

I currently have two ZTE Z289L (blue map/AT&T) that are paper weights!

I found the ZTE Z288L (red map/Verizon) at my local Wal-Mart. Since I need a hotspot for my RV trip in May, I decided to pop and buy the 288L.

I set it up tonight and it runs very well. I did get similar speedtest results (4.98 down, 2.27 up) which is faster than the hotel I stay at and certainly suitable for my needs.

It does work with my company VPN so I can work remotely using the hotspot! So far, I am pretty pleased with the performance of the Z288L.

It DOES NOT have the data balance meter like the Z289L had so I guess I'll have to monitor it online. Everything else was pretty much the same.

Now I am just going to watch for reviews of the Z289L and see when Straight Talk gets that fixed. I'd prefer to run in the RV with both (AT&T and Verizon) just to be sure I have a connection since I'll be working remotely.

This is long, so first a summary.

The good: Verizon LTE for $10.31/GB, a la carte. Good hardware that works well with a Wilson Sleek 4G-V.

The bad: Straight Talk customer service, no on-network activation or refill, no easy way to monitor usage, erroneous cutoff, permacookies.

The meh: throttling.

The long story:

I bought a Straight Talk ZTE Z288L Mobile Hotspot in 2014 November from a Walmart in Alexander City, AL. I had to phone several Walmarts to find one with the right model in stock.

It's not possible to activate from the hotspot itself, nor is it possible to buy more data from the hotspot itself once the data have run out or expired. One must get Internet access some other way, or phone customer service. Verizon on-network activation and refill is clearly possible, because the iPad does it, so it's very annoying that Straight Talk can't. After the data expire, the hotspot shows LTE as unavailable, so it's not even possible to use the hotspot to check LTE signal strength.

I was able to run a speed test on the ZTE and a Millenicom Pantech MHS291LVW from the same location and only a few minutes apart. ZTE: ping 60 ms download 4.98 Mbps upload 2.08 Mbps. Pantech: ping 53 ms download 19.91 Mbps upload 10.95 Mbps.

This is consistent with very heavy-handed throttling, but for my purposes Straight Talk is fast enough.

When I log in to the Straight Talk web site and check my balance, it always says "Data: 0.0 MB of Web Browsing" regardless of how much data I've actually used.

I bought 4GB of data, advertised as expiring after 60 days. Exactly 30 days later, every web browsing attempt redirected to http://www.datareplenish.com/bbportal/vendor/processPleaseWait.do which said "We apologize but at this time your data services has been exhausted." Because I used a single computer running SurplusMeter (on OS X), I knew exactly how many bytes I had used (about 1.5GB).

Straight Talk offers customer service by email, chat, and phone. I first tried email. The reply I got was to reset the ZTE hardware, and if that didn't work to contact them by chat or phone. I really did reset the hotspot, even though I knew it wouldn't help. Then I tried chat. After a long time searching for records, the agent typed "Please dial *22890." I had to explain that a hotspot can't dial anything. After a lot more time, the agent typed "You have to manage the configuration settings of the device." and then disconnected before I could explain that the configuration was fine.

So I phoned customer service. I explained the problem, and a very polite man told me how easy it was to run out of data streaming video, and did I have a WiFi password (yes, very long and random). He offered me 1GB as a one-time "courtesy," but I was unable to convince him that I had used only 1.5 of the 4GB I'd paid for. Eventually I asked for a supervisor, who reset something, and I had service again.

In a situation like that, there's absolutely no evidence that one didn't run through all the data. The customer service agent is seeing 0 on his or her screen.

In future, I think I'll only buy what I expect to use within 30 days. That's less of a pain than dealing with Straight Talk customer service.

Browsing http://lessonslearned.org/sniff shows a UIDH (permacookie). Verizon says it will be possible to opt out. When it is, I'll ask Straight Talk about opting out.

The ZTE hotspot works well. The web interface works with Firefox. It has a setting for "Short Wi-Fi Range" that saves the battery by reducing WiFi power. The hotspot fits nicely in a Wilson Sleek 4G-V (now a WeBoost). It beeps on each new WiFi connection.

Conclusion: consider a Straight Talk ZTE Z288L if you're cheap, don't need a lot of data, have data usage that can vary a lot from month to month, prefer prepaid to postpaid, can tolerate poor customer service, can monitor your own data usage, don't need really high speed, want access to the Verizon network, and don't mind having your web browsing tracked (or use a VPN).

We bought two new ZTE phones for use on Tracfone. In 6 months both phones would loose the dial pad after making a call. Ever try pressing one for English with no dial pad. LOL. Bought refurbished iPhones. Older but much, much better than the ZTE.

My Z289L units still do not work. Since I was past the 15 day return window and I also lost the receipt, I am stuck with the two units. At least I bought them at the Black Friday price. Lesson Learned!

Straight Talks service stinks. Their solution seems to be turn it off and back on again. Did that solve your problem? Duh! No!

I can connect to the tower and get strong signal. I can go to Gmail and Google but it really won't pull up any other pages. It pulls up 1/2 of a page and seems to freeze.

Anyone out there actually have a working Z289L? Just curious.

I plan on bugging them until my 30 days of data runs out!

GoPackGo wrote:

Is this 2 year contract at $50/month thru Straight Talk or thru Verizon ? How much data per month do you get ?

Thanks.

I had a Version MiFi with 5GB/month for $50. Great service just about everywhere. ($50 x 24 month contract = $1,200)

Straight Talk is a non-contract service. You buy the hotspot for roughly $100 and then pay as you go for data (between $10 and $15 per GB depending on the plan in 30 or 60 day durations).

1985air345 said 'Like everything in RVing, there are trade-offs. Yes, you can get the un-throttled Verizon unit for $50 per month with a two year contract ($1,200). This is great for a full-time and my recommendation. I had it and it was fabulous but it was overkill for me.'



Is this 2 year contract at $50/month thru Straight Talk or thru Verizon ? How much data per month do you get ?

Thanks.

lryrob9301 wrote:

The question is are you getting the full 4G LTE bandwidth or are you being throttled like the rest of Straight Talk's 4G LTE equipment??

Like everything in RVing, there are trade-offs. Yes, you can get the un-throttled Verizon unit for $50 per month with a two year contract ($1,200). This is great for a full-time and my recommendation. I had it and it was fabulous but it was overkill for me.

Many RVers, like myself, only need mobile Internet for certain travel periods and a no-contract, refillable service makes sense. I know I am looking for a happy compromise.

As for ST throttling, my ST GSM phone (Moto-X) just pulled 22.90Mbps download on a speedtest. I guess it may throttle after 2GB of data but I rarely reach that. I don't watch video on the phone.

ctpres wrote:
Returned 289L that would not activate and bought 288L. Life is good - it works! Getting LTE service right now. Happy camper. Only problem - if you could call it a problem - is after a period of inactivity it goes to sleep and you must touch power button to wake it up. Probably designed to save battery. Other than that I am happy with it and find it much better than old mifi.

The question is are you getting the full 4G LTE bandwidth or are you being throttled like the rest of Straight Talk's 4G LTE equipment??