Verizon Jet Pack Data Usage

[Roadlover]

I have a Verizon Jet Pack we use for our laptop but in recent months, the data usage has gone nuts. We also have three iPhones on the account but we have been forced monthly increase data plans to the point we are now on a 18gb plan. The problem is not the phones but the laptop. It has gotten to the point, we can no longer use the laptop because it uses about 1gb per half hour and this is only using web surfing and emails. No videos. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Monaco_Montclai]

What we did after we found out we were over, we started. Cutting the desk top off at nite, some times the machine will do an update during the nite , works for us happy-camping

[ryoung]

The Texan wrote:
Did anyone read this post or are you just shooting from the hip because it has not affected you, yet .... believe me, if you are using a jetpack and a Verizon customer, your day is coming, as thousands of others have found out.

Since you are able to make this prediction, certainly you must know the cause, so please tell us.

Oh well, guess it's just something else to look forward to, like the Maya prorhecy of the end of the world that didn't happen last December.

ryoung

[Us_out_West]

We have Verizon for cell and a 5510L for MiFi...$20/mo with 4GB which is plenty for our use.

Reason for the 5510L when on the road is for security when doing personal things online. Not concerned with bandwidth as we use CG WiFi, if good enough, for casual surfing.

[Learjet]

The Texan wrote:

wintersun wrote:
If you check out the Verizonwireless.com community forum you will find many customer complaints about sudden increases in usage and very large phone bills. It has been going on since the introduction of the new Mifi devices.

Did anyone read this post or are you just shooting from the hip because it has not affected you, yet ..:s.. believe me, if you are using a jetpack and a Verizon customer, your day is coming, as thousands of others have found out.

Yes, I read your post. I don't consider that "proof" of a Verizon problem. People love to complain! Not that I'm saying they don't have one, but they would have a big problem if they have been over charging customers. Think of the lawsuits.

Now... if you have a bandwidth monitor on your device and can show that they have errors, then that is different.

I believe more that it's an individual issue. That being said almost 2 years ago we started out with the 5 gig plan, after a few months 10 gig plan and now I need something more since we are nearing 15 gigs. That is why I went with Millenicom. This is our home internet too.

[havasu]

OK, I am not saying that there is or is not a problem with Verizon, however I run 3 web servers and I have software running that detects attempts by remote computers to access them. Every day, I have hundreds of new IP addresses that are attempting to gain access and my firewall blocks them. The data I get from the software does a reverse lookup on the IP address and I can see that they are all regular joe computers spread across the world.

What in fact they are, are trojan attacked computers and laptops that are running programs that constantly probe the web servers for loopholes.

One of the servers passwords was discovered (it wasn't a very strong one) and in a matter of days, 18 million emails were sent from it. I'm still cleaning up the mess.

In that situation, laptops and desktops would have been churning out data that in most cases would not be noticed - Cable Internet and DSL users don't typically monitor bandwidth. However in the case of Mobile Internet, if this happens then all of a sudden you find the costs running away from you and unfortunately the providers don't cut you off at the limit - they just charge you for the overuse.

So do make sure that your laptop isn't compromised with a Trojan Virus.

There are also bandwidth monitoring tools available so you can see what is happening in real time.

[The_Texan]

wintersun wrote:
If you check out the Verizonwireless.com community forum you will find many customer complaints about sudden increases in usage and very large phone bills. It has been going on since the introduction of the new Mifi devices.

Did anyone read this post or are you just shooting from the hip because it has not affected you, yet ..:s.. believe me, if you are using a jetpack and a Verizon customer, your day is coming, as thousands of others have found out.

[ryoung]

The OP states "because it uses about 1gb per half hour", I doubt very much the problem lies with Verizon. That is a phenomenal rate of data just for surfing and emails. If Verizon was going to overrate your usage,as some have claimed, they would certainly be smart enough to do it in smaller increments and not to the point that your monthly amount is consumed in a matter of hours. How dumb to think otherwise.

Have you contacted Verizon about the problem?

I have a Jetpack 4260L on Verizon 4G LTE network and only use around 3.5GB in 30 days of surfing and emails.

ryoung

[Learjet]

The Texan wrote:

This is a KNOWN problem with the Verizon metering system.

If there is any proof of this? I'm sure there are many law firms waiting for a class action lawsuit if so.

I just ordered the Millenicom hotspot plan. Luckly my Verizion plan is up in a few weeks.

I think Verizion and the other players are losing customers, or not gaining new ones due to there pricing plan with the devices. But, maybe that is the plan... keep the price up just engough to maximize profit and not overload their system with a bunch of Mifi units.

[The_Texan]

wintersun wrote:
If you check out the Verizonwireless.com community forum you will find many customer complaints about sudden increases in usage and very large phone bills. It has been going on since the introduction of the new Mifi devices.

I paid $170 to buy out my contract and switched to Millenicom taking my Verizon mifi device and using it on the same towers only with the billing done by Millinicom. Payback was less than 3 months by making the switch.

The naysayers don't want to hear the truth, as they loudly said when I posted this same info earlier. Like I told rr2254545, it is only a matter of time till those using the jetpack will suffer the same as the thousands that have already have reported the problem.

This is a KNOWN problem with the Verizon metering system.

[wintersun]

If you check out the Verizonwireless.com community forum you will find many customer complaints about sudden increases in usage and very large phone bills. It has been going on since the introduction of the new Mifi devices.

I paid $170 to buy out my contract and switched to Millenicom taking my Verizon mifi device and using it on the same towers only with the billing done by Millinicom. Payback was less than 3 months by making the switch.

[coolmom42]

havasu wrote:
I would suspect that you have a trojan virus on your laptop. I run several servers and one was hacked recently - it was sending out over 1 million emails per hour! I am now trying to clean up a log folder that has over 18 million tiny files in it - will take several days to delete.

Time to clean the laptop and find out what's causing the issue. If you have Win7 or 8 then the Task Manager has a 'performance' tab that allows you to see the volume of data traffic on your WiFi or Ethernet connection - when connected, check the numbers - you will see then if it's your laptop generating the traffic and if it is high and constant then it's more than likely a Trojan.

I agree, you have some type of virus or malware.

[mda]

With any type of external hotspot such as a Jetpack, it is advisable to turn it off when not in use. Phones, tablets and computers have a myriad of programs, updates, etc. that can use data unbeknownst to you. When it is on, set up a password for access.

[wittmeba]

We also have Verizon 4620L JetPack.

There are a few things you can do to reduce the usage.

- Use FlashBlock addon for Firefox - then turn it off. It wont start until you click the (F) circle F to initiate the flash program. This keeps the video from downloading until you say so. If you dont view the video (we dont view them all) it doesnt download.

- Use AdBlock addon for Firefox - same situation - stops ads that you may not need to see. You can control AdBlock by a per-page basis. Use when you think there is something of interest.

These are two big users of bandwidth. It may help.

Be selective about watching any YouTube videos. They are usually 3+ MB per file. It quickly adds up.

With Firefox and tabs you can select not to load the tab until you click to open the tab.

Never leave your PC on with the browser running! Pages like NASCAR.com will update continuously without your intervention.

[havasu]

I would suspect that you have a trojan virus on your laptop. I run several servers and one was hacked recently - it was sending out over 1 million emails per hour! I am now trying to clean up a log folder that has over 18 million tiny files in it - will take several days to delete.

Time to clean the laptop and find out what's causing the issue. If you have Win7 or 8 then the Task Manager has a 'performance' tab that allows you to see the volume of data traffic on your WiFi or Ethernet connection - when connected, check the numbers - you will see then if it's your laptop generating the traffic and if it is high and constant then it's more than likely a Trojan.