[ilgal]

Hi, everyone. When I switched from my Droid X to the S3 (love) I lost my unlimited data plan. I am by no means a heavy data user (average about 500 MB per month) so it was not of concern to me.

I thought that now that my data is shared, I could use the VZW hot spot and tether to my laptop or tablet for free, but every time I click to launch, it asks me to sign up for an account.

Am I mistaken in my understanding?

[minnieusa]

dreamer. have to pay $20 mo. if you use 3rd party free tethers they will accelerate your data so fast you will use it all up in 30 min.

Sent from my AT100 using Android Central Forums

[Kennyb123]

Wireless hotspotting is free with the shared data plan you have. Call 611 and get it fixed and enjoy!

[mesocyclonic]

Yes, you can tether for free. You have to use one of the third party apps from Google Play though. Essentially, this comes out of a settlement with the FCC where VZW wasn't abiding by rules associated with some wireless spectrum it purchased that stated that the owner could not prevent usage of apps by customers. According to the settlement, this only affects tiered plans, though why unlimited users aren't covered by the same stipulation is beyond me (another topic for another thread though )

If you switched to a Share Everything plan instead of just a tiered plan, the VZW hot spot should be free, period. But I suspect you were simply put on a 2 GB/month tiered plan if the hot spot isn't working. Either way, you can tether for free.

[dpham00]

The share everything plan includes shared data and free mobile hot spot. I you are having problems, just call Verizon to troubleshoot.

If you are on a legacy plan with tiered but unshared data, then you will have to pay $20/mo for mhs, or use a 3rd party app or use the stock mhs app, but activate it with a 3rd party widget.

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S3

[worwig]

Hi, everyone. When I switched from my Droid X to the S3 (love) I lost my unlimited data plan. I am by no means a heavy data user (average about 500 MB per month) so it was not of concern to me.

I thought that now that my data is shared, I could use the VZW hot spot and tether to my laptop or tablet for free, but every time I click to launch, it asks me to sign up for an account.

Am I mistaken in my understanding?

I went through the same thing. It is not related directly to the unlimited versus limited data plan. It is associated with the voice plan. When I upgrade to the S3, I lost my unlimited and got 2GB of data. Everything else stayed the same. I did NOT get the free hot spot. Recently I switched from the old 1400 minute voice plan to the unlimited everything plan, staying at 2GB of data. That gave me free hot spot.

[Ryano89]

Yes, you can tether for free. You have to use one of the third party apps from Google Play though. Essentially, this comes out of a settlement with the FCC where VZW wasn't abiding by rules associated with some wireless spectrum it purchased that stated that the owner could not prevent usage of apps by customers. According to the settlement, this only affects tiered plans, though why unlimited users aren't covered by the same stipulation is beyond me (another topic for another thread though )

If you switched to a Share Everything plan instead of just a tiered plan, the VZW hot spot should be free, period. But I suspect you were simply put on a 2 GB/month tiered plan if the hot spot isn't working. Either way, you can tether for free.

The Verizon hot spot app that's included on the phone works fine. I have a stock s3, Nexus 7, and tiered plan.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

[ilgal]

Thanks, everyone. Looks like a visit to Verizon is in order. I appreciate the additional info!

[HalizDad]

The Verizon hot spot app that's included on the phone works fine. I have a stock s3, Nexus 7, and tiered plan.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

My verizon hotspot widget used to work until Jellybean....I just downloaded a different widget from the market and it works again.

[AxlMyk]

When our power went out, I used portable WiFi Hotspot so my wife could use her laptop. Didn't really chew up a lot of data.

--Tapatalk 2 on SGS3.

[edistopre]

My verizon hotspot widget used to work until Jellybean....I just downloaded a different widget from the market and it works again.

Which widget did you download that is working?

[dpham00]

Which widget did you download that is working?

Elixir widget works for me. Others should work too.

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S3