Verizon data plans/hotspot

Overage charges are very planely posted all over their web site. Sorry you did not read it.
Unless you have one of the old plans, unlimited is probably your best option. Either that or reduce the number of movies you stream.

2oldman wrote:
Due to my streaming youtube videos, I went over my Verizon data allowance this month to the tune of $30 (2 gigs at $15 each). I was notified of only ONE overcharge, and warned another was close. I stopped using the phone immediately, for 2 days. I chatted with them today, suggesting it might be polite of them to notify customers correctly about overage charges. They claim I was, I say I wasn't. The charges stick.

I then inquired about getting more data. The plans available to me are 'go unlimited' and 'beyond unlimited', which sound good, but the hotspot feature is either non-existent or throttled at 15g. The salesman who tried to sell me the 'go' plan neglected to mention that. He also said I could go back to my 24 gig plan. Also not true - according to the website.

So, if you're a hotspot user, beware.

You can set up your phone so that you get text alerts when you hit 50, 75, or 90% of your data. You can also check your data usage on a phone if you put the MyVerizon app. When you get close to the limit, simply go on the app and increase it. Much cheaper than overages.

Once you get past 5 GB, you might as well go to unlimited. Then you can change it back down any time you want, or back up. You are never stuck forever with a plan.

You should get set up on the Verizon website with a log in so you don't have to talk to people about this, and can simply do it yourself.

I really don't see why people have a hotspot anyway. It's just as easy to get an old cheap smartphone and use it as a dedicated hotspot. Or if you don't mind switching the hotspot off and on, you can just use one of your regular phones.

The best way to steer clear of headaches with Verizon is to buy a good refurbished smartphone outright--either from Verizon, or another reputable site such as Swappa.com. That way you are never stuck in a contract, or paying by the month for a phone.

I have a Pixel phone that is awesome--it doesn't have any of the bloated software that Samsung puts on their phones. I bought it used off Swappa.com.

So far as throttling, my experience is that when you are on unlimited data, and over some limit (I think 22 GB but am not sure) you will be throttled IF you are in a high-traffic area. This happened me once--super speed going down I-40, on rural towers, with grandkids streaming video. But then I got off at an exit right by a college campus and the speed went to a crawl. I was well over 22 GB usage at the time.

Thanks for the scoldings, but I'm aware of all this. I think my points were completely missed.

coolmom42 wrote:

I really don't see why people have a hotspot anyway. It's just as easy to get an old cheap smartphone and use it as a dedicated hotspot. .

That appears to make no sense.

Reason for a hotspot rather than just using the phone is because if Iwant to go somewhere, my smartphone will go with me, leaving DW without any internet service for whatever she might be doing. I like the $100 pay as you go plan, gives me 10 Gb for up to two months, plus rollover if I decide to buy more. Works well for us, but we do very little streaming or long videos. I have enoughto do a bit of youTube, plus any videos sent to me.

I was doing the add data thing and would be notified. My lowest bills for two smart phones when we were on wifi a lot was about $145.

This winter I must have been up around the max where it got much more expensive than $10 per G so I went to the unlimited plan. It was worse than being on the add data plan and the woman told me it's because there were so many people in my area that were on it. I said well it's sort of useless to be unlimited then and she laughed I laughed and I ended up on the Beyond Unlimited for $188.

I don't know how much data I have used but I've been on Youtube a lot and it never seem to slow down. Although I'm on the edge of town now I'm in a weak area so I figure if I'm able to go on YouTube here I should do really well in most places that I go.

At times when I was on the add data plan I would go over $200 a month I think I had a $240 bill some months. I like it to be like my toaster and just work I don't want to fiddle with it I just want it to pop up and give me toast.

They have us hooked on crack with cheap products that break all the time and now we're on crack for 200 a month for this stuff.

azrving wrote:
...I went to the unlimited plan. It was worse than being on the add data plan and the woman told me it's because there were so many people in my area that were on it. I said well it's sort of useless to be unlimited then and she laughed I laughed and I ended up on the Beyond Unlimited for $188.

I don't know if they offer different plans to different tiers of users, but those two unlimited plans I've been offered don't seem unlimited at all with respect to data, and that's what the word 'unlimited' usually refers to.

My phone hotspot usage is very important to me, but those two plans curtail that, quite a bit. For now I'm sticking with what I have, overage and all. If I need to I'll cut back on the streaming.

As with all salesmen, you have to be very wary of what these guys on chat are trying to sell. This guy was claiming I could have unlimited data for less money. Sure. Uh huh.

I recently noticed that the cloud thing capacity is almost used up. I reluctantly dug into it and of course it was set to save everything I did from pics to message etc. Of course they want us to use it all up so we buy more capacity. Crack.

While I'm typing all this it's changing it. I know the voice to text is terrible for getting things wrong but now even when I know good and well that I spelled everything correctly it messes it up.

I was texting an old work friend with voice to text and whatever I asked him it ended up typing something about "I want to feel you".

azrving wrote:
I was texting an old work friend with voice to text and whatever I asked him it ended up typing something about "I want to feel you".

A couple days ago on here I was reading about Newfoundling (in Canada.) Hilarious.

2oldman,

Thanks for the "heads up".

Have you thought about the 55 plus on T-Mobile?

Another source may be "unlimitedville" https://unlimitedville.com/