My situation and Verizon's data plans...

[nickodonoghue]

Considering moving to Verizon or AT&T from Sprint (more likely Verizon) but I want to know how much data I'll actually need.
The one thing I am going to miss about Sprint is the Unlimited Everything, but I can sacrifice that for LTE in my city.

In my situation, I will be upgrading to the iPhone 5. I am a big social network user. Facebook, Twitter, among others, as well as Fantasy Sports, Sparknotes, Gmail, Kindle and using iCloud to download music and other stuff like that. Right now my Nexus S 4G is reporting I have used 5.93gbs of data during the cycle of 10/21-11/21, BUT... this is due to the fact that I had to download my music library over Sprints network through Google Play (5.04gbs of data used). I do have WiFi at my house but it shuts off at 10:30pm and that won't be changing anytime soon. So basically I am only a data consumer from the hours of 10:30pm-5am and whenever I am out to places that don't have WiFi available.

The other thing to consider is that this plan will consist of 4 phones (probably 3 of them iPhones and the other one an Android). I am the only "data-hungry" person in my family.. one of the phones will get next-to-no data usage, and the other 2 will get somewhat data usage.

TL;DR: Basically all I'm asking is how many GBs of Data will I need for a family of 4 smartphones (1 heavy data user, 2 moderate data users, and 1 rare data user)?

Also, If anyone knows if Verizon will pay my ETF with Sprint.. let me know.

Thanks

 

[ILove2EducateU]

In your case i would say go for the 8GB. Usage could be relative in many instances. So for example in your descriptions i would defin a heavy user as a 3-4gb, the average users as maybe 2gb each, and the least user as maybe a 1gb so to be safe possibly 8gb would be a good way to cover the heavy user and still have more so that the moderate and light users keep from contributing to overages.

Hopefully this contributes to your thoughts.

 

[TheAutoMomma]

I can't help with the data usage question but I can tell you VZW does not pay the ETF for you. Best of luck on your data decision!

Sent from my Rezound using Android Central Forums

 

[johnriii]

8GB sounds about right to start. I believe you can add more if needed, but don't quote me. I've still got unlimited data.

 

[cgardnervt]

Just look at your Sprint bill online for the past 6 months and that will tell you how much data you have used. Using that will be a lot better than guessing or spending way to much!

 

[natehoy]

Just look at your Sprint bill online for the past 6 months and that will tell you how much data you have used. Using that will be a lot better than guessing or spending way to much!

This would be the ideal - figure out what you were using, and that will give you some indication of what you might use in the future.

I'd go with this or buying a slightly lesser data plan to start with and watching your data usage very carefully to start with (or set up an alert at 75% usage or something).

My understanding is that you can always upgrade the plan mid-month and backdate the change as long as you do so before you actually go over your monthly allowance.

On the other hand, you can supposedly also downgrade your monthly allotment later, so you could "overbuy" for the first couple of months and see how it goes, but as long as you are watching it closely, you're good either way.

 

[natehoy]

Also, If anyone knows if Verizon will pay my ETF with Sprint.. let me know.

I haven't heard of Verizon paying an ETF in a long time. But you can always stop by a store (an actual Verizon store, not a reseller) and ask.

If you go through a reseller, by the way, they may offer deals of their own. So by all means do some comparison shopping. Just be aware that you might need to go to that reseller for some of your support needs rather than Verizon directly.

 

[Jude526]

Why the iPhone? I am hearing lots of complaints. But that's your choice
I have 6gig but won't lower to 4 cause I have come close to going over. I prefer the safety net cause I know I have it.

sent from either my HTC Rezound or my Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet