Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connection

[belltown]

I'm thinking of signing up for the Verizon wireless unlimited data plan and purchasing a Droid Charge, which I'd like to set up as a mobile hotspot and use as my primary internet connection, getting rid of my DSL line.

I understand that the unlimited plans will no longer be offered after July 6, and that there will most likely be a $30/mo charge for unlimited tethering, but I assume that if I sign up for the unlimited plan soon enough I'll be grandfathered for the remainder of my 2-year contract.

Does anyone have any input on the feasibility of using the Droid Charge as my primary (only) internet connection? I'll probably have quite high data usage. I watch Netflix a lot, and stream a lot of online music, and I've been experimenting with various Linux distributions, which involve downloading multi-gigabyte ISO images.

 

[noobsickle]

Re: Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connect

Sounds okay, as long as your paying for the tethering...

I know my comcast cable has a hidden 250GB per month cap to combat torrenting and they purposely slow my internet down if I upload too much.

 

[kraisydave]

Re: Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connect

Belltown,

Just for info the "unlimited data" charge which is ending on 7th is for "phone data". Not included in that price is "tethering data". Tethering or "hot spot" is a paid service of another $30 or so depending on your carrier. So your "phone data" plus "tethering data" plus "phone calls/texting" will likely be much higher priced than DSL and slower unless you are in an LTE area.
When you see people on message boards talking about "tethering" after "rooting" they are doing something that is not normally permitted or maybe is in a questionable area. "Tethering" is normally blocked except for the paid version. "Rooting" fixes that. So after "rooting" you get to use your "unlimited phone data" as "tethering". Verizon can see the data usage. From what I have heard they ignore casual use, but it is possible they may give you a bill or the boot if you abuse it in their eyes.
At Sprint I got the boot. I paid for "unlimited roaming" and used it to a point that made them unhappy. As of today I am on Verizon. My point of sharing that is only to show that they do what they want.

Good Luck,
Dave

 

[belltown]

Re: Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connect

Belltown,

Just for info the "unlimited data" charge which is ending on 7th is for "phone data". Not included in that price is "tethering data". Tethering or "hot spot" is a paid service of another $30 or so depending on your carrier. So your "phone data" plus "tethering data" plus "phone calls/texting" will likely be much higher priced than DSL and slower unless you are in an LTE area.
When you see people on message boards talking about "tethering" after "rooting" they are doing something that is not normally permitted or maybe is in a questionable area. "Tethering" is normally blocked except for the paid version. "Rooting" fixes that. So after "rooting" you get to use your "unlimited phone data" as "tethering". Verizon can see the data usage. From what I have heard they ignore casual use, but it is possible they may give you a bill or the boot if you abuse it in their eyes.
At Sprint I got the boot. I paid for "unlimited roaming" and used it to a point that made them unhappy. As of today I am on Verizon. My point of sharing that is only to show that they do what they want.

Good Luck,
Dave

Thanks, Dave. However, I was assuming based on articles in Droid Life and Engadget that I would be able to sign up for the $29.99/mo unlimited data (excluding tethering) plan before July 7, then on July 7 add the unlimited $30/mo tethering plan. I live in a 4G coverage area where users have reported 20 Mb/s download rates. I currently pay $47/mo for 7 Mb/s DSL, which I can only use at home. I figure for an extra $13/mo I'll get a huge increase in speed and have the option of being able to connect my laptop to the internet anywhere I travel, not to mention having all the other benefits of having a smartphone compared to my old non-smart Nokia phone.

What I'm really curious to know, however, is whether there is anything else (cost aside) I should be concerned about regarding my plan to ditch my DSL modem and use the Droid Charge as my only internet connection. For example, are there any issues with limits on file sizes of downloads, certain web sites being blocked or throttled, problems with leaving the phone on 24/7 running the mobile hotspot app, is the battery use so much that even with the charger (or USB plugged into my laptop) in use the battery will still get depleted, etc, etc?

 

[Droid800]

I'm thinking of signing up for the Verizon wireless unlimited data plan and purchasing a Droid Charge, which I'd like to set up as a mobile hotspot and use as my primary internet connection, getting rid of my DSL line.

I understand that the unlimited plans will no longer be offered after July 6, and that there will most likely be a $30/mo charge for unlimited tethering, but I assume that if I sign up for the unlimited plan soon enough I'll be grandfathered for the remainder of my 2-year contract.

Does anyone have any input on the feasibility of using the Droid Charge as my primary (only) internet connection? I'll probably have quite high data usage. I watch Netflix a lot, and stream a lot of online music, and I've been experimenting with various Linux distributions, which involve downloading multi-gigabyte ISO images.

It depends on how much data you use. If you're using more than 100 gb a month Verizon will cancel your service. You also have to realize that what you can do will be extremely limited. If you download a lot, or do anything data intensive, Verizon can use that as a justification for canceling your service.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

 

[belltown]

Re: Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connect

It depends on how much data you use. If you're using more than 100 gb a month Verizon will cancel your service. You also have to realize that what you can do will be extremely limited. If you download a lot, or do anything data intensive, Verizon can use that as a justification for canceling your service.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

Are you suggesting that this will apply even to users that have PAID for the unlimited data AND tethering plans, or just for those who have ONLY paid for the data plan but NOT tethering and have rooted their phones so that they can tether them without paying the extra tethering fees?

 

[BlueBiker]

Re: Feasibility of using Droid Charge as primary internet connect

Are you suggesting that this will apply even to users that have PAID for the unlimited data AND tethering plans, or just for those who have ONLY paid for the data plan but NOT tethering and have rooted their phones so that they can tether them without paying the extra tethering fees?

In general, server resources advertized as unlimited never actually are. In another thread someone confirmed that Verizon's TOS reserves the right to throttle anyone consuming enough bandwidth to be in their top 5% of users. I believe that was about phone data usage, but tethering is probably the same.

So in theory your idea would be great, but I think in practice you're likely to get your data pipe strangled or potentially even cut off.