- Apr 23, 2011
- 30,106
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VZW Mobile Hotspot for Those With Unlimited Data
- Thread starter AspenQn
- Start date
I have been a Verizon customer since 2001. I am not an employee of Verizon or any cellular service related company or store. I have unlimited data and I have made use of Verizon's official mobile hotspot feature since probably 2010.
There are two different mobile hotspot features, but only one or the other is available to you at any one time, depending on what type of device you have.
If you have a 4G LTE device the hotspot option you get is $30 per month with unlimited hotspot usage. If you are receiving an affiliation discount (typically for where you work) the discount is applied to this feature. The hotspot data will never be throttled, regardless of how much you use. Verizon used to throttle 3G devices when network traffic was high but has discontinued this practice.
If you have a 3G device the hotspot feature is $20 per month and includes 2GB of hotspot data. If you exceed the initial 2GB of hotspot data it will charge you an additional $10 for each additional gigabyte or portion thereof. All data counts as hotspot data while you have the hotspot live, regardless of whether it is used by your handset or a device tethered to your device. You should therefore go to your device's settings to turn the hotspot off when you're not actually using it (it's still active on your account, just you turned it off for the moment, much like you might turn Bluetooth on or off). The affiliation discount may or may not apply to the $20 monthly charge.
If you had a 4G LTE device but then activate a 3G device on your account (say you lost your old device and a friend gave you his old phone) you will change from the 4G LTE $30 version of the hotspot feature to the 3G $20 version, and the two versions of the hotspot feature will be prorated for the current cycle; the 2GB hotspot limit will be prorated as well. So if you have seven days left in a 28-day cycle you may use 0.5GB of hotspot data during that time before you will start to incur hotspot overage charges. The proration issue can also be a problem if you have a 3G device and switch too soon to a 4G LTE device. Note that all iPhone models prior to the iPhone 5 were 3G.
Even users of 4G LTE devices may wish to turn off the hotspot when not in use since it drains the battery.
Anyone who has a grandfathered unlimited data plan can activate the mobile hotspot feature, regardless of whether the person has ever had the feature active before. You can add or remove the feature at will and charges will be prorated but it's probably not worth the hassle to do this repeatedly.
A recent FTC ruling stated that Verizon may not charge extra for tethering. However, that ruling explicitly exempted grandfathered unlimited data plans; Verizon is allowed to continue charging such customers.
Be glad that you have access to portable Internet that is unlimited, high-speed, unthrottled, and secure, and on a quality network besides. No other U.S. cellular company makes this possible. (Sprint used to but retired it, even for existing customers.) It's well worth the higher cost.
Be very vigilant when making any changes to an unlimited data account whatsoever. There is a very limited time frame within which a mistake can be rolled back, regardless of how or why it occurred (even if due to a Verizon employee's mistake or giving misinformation), and it is a giant pain. When I bought a new device at full retail price I stood next to the in-store staff member and watched on the screen to make sure everything remained as it ought to be. In that case, it was.
If you have unlimited data you cannot get a discount phone upgrade ever. They will often notify you that you are eligible for one but if you actually use it you will lose unlimited data. You can buy a phone from Verizon at full retail price or bring one from anywhere else and retain unlimited data.
Some unscrupulous or incompetent Verizon salesmen (at corporate stores or third-party authorized retailers) induce unsuspecting subscribers to use their upgrade and sign a new contract. They do this because they get a commission when you sign a contract but not when you buy a phone at full retail price with no contract. This cannot be undone after a very short window has passed (I don't know exactly what the window is, just don't let it happen to begin with).
There are two different mobile hotspot features, but only one or the other is available to you at any one time, depending on what type of device you have.
If you have a 4G LTE device the hotspot option you get is $30 per month with unlimited hotspot usage. If you are receiving an affiliation discount (typically for where you work) the discount is applied to this feature. The hotspot data will never be throttled, regardless of how much you use. Verizon used to throttle 3G devices when network traffic was high but has discontinued this practice.
If you have a 3G device the hotspot feature is $20 per month and includes 2GB of hotspot data. If you exceed the initial 2GB of hotspot data it will charge you an additional $10 for each additional gigabyte or portion thereof. All data counts as hotspot data while you have the hotspot live, regardless of whether it is used by your handset or a device tethered to your device. You should therefore go to your device's settings to turn the hotspot off when you're not actually using it (it's still active on your account, just you turned it off for the moment, much like you might turn Bluetooth on or off). The affiliation discount may or may not apply to the $20 monthly charge.
If you had a 4G LTE device but then activate a 3G device on your account (say you lost your old device and a friend gave you his old phone) you will change from the 4G LTE $30 version of the hotspot feature to the 3G $20 version, and the two versions of the hotspot feature will be prorated for the current cycle; the 2GB hotspot limit will be prorated as well. So if you have seven days left in a 28-day cycle you may use 0.5GB of hotspot data during that time before you will start to incur hotspot overage charges. The proration issue can also be a problem if you have a 3G device and switch too soon to a 4G LTE device. Note that all iPhone models prior to the iPhone 5 were 3G.
Even users of 4G LTE devices may wish to turn off the hotspot when not in use since it drains the battery.
Anyone who has a grandfathered unlimited data plan can activate the mobile hotspot feature, regardless of whether the person has ever had the feature active before. You can add or remove the feature at will and charges will be prorated but it's probably not worth the hassle to do this repeatedly.
A recent FTC ruling stated that Verizon may not charge extra for tethering. However, that ruling explicitly exempted grandfathered unlimited data plans; Verizon is allowed to continue charging such customers.
Be glad that you have access to portable Internet that is unlimited, high-speed, unthrottled, and secure, and on a quality network besides. No other U.S. cellular company makes this possible. (Sprint used to but retired it, even for existing customers.) It's well worth the higher cost.
Be very vigilant when making any changes to an unlimited data account whatsoever. There is a very limited time frame within which a mistake can be rolled back, regardless of how or why it occurred (even if due to a Verizon employee's mistake or giving misinformation), and it is a giant pain. When I bought a new device at full retail price I stood next to the in-store staff member and watched on the screen to make sure everything remained as it ought to be. In that case, it was.
If you have unlimited data you cannot get a discount phone upgrade ever. They will often notify you that you are eligible for one but if you actually use it you will lose unlimited data. You can buy a phone from Verizon at full retail price or bring one from anywhere else and retain unlimited data.
Some unscrupulous or incompetent Verizon salesmen (at corporate stores or third-party authorized retailers) induce unsuspecting subscribers to use their upgrade and sign a new contract. They do this because they get a commission when you sign a contract but not when you buy a phone at full retail price with no contract. This cannot be undone after a very short window has passed (I don't know exactly what the window is, just don't let it happen to begin with).
Hi everyone,
My wife has a grandfathered verizon UDP plan and we did not know about the tether until she switched to Nexus 6P. There is no need to install any 3rd party software, the built in tether just works and we have not enabled tether account on verizon. I believe this is because it is a truly unlocked phone without any verizon influence on s/w. A buddy of mine has the same setup and it works great. He could not do it on the Note 3 that he had before.
I have 2 questions
1. She finds the 6P too big and would like to go down a notch. Which other phone would work just like the 6P. I can no longer find a US Nexus 5X.
2. I have limited data of 4Gb and our total shared plan minutes are 1400 with 10 friends and family numbers. I would like to get out of this and move to a unlimited talk/text plan with capped data but leave her on the UDP plan with 450 mins of voice. She can use google voice for calls. Is it still possible to do this? I do use a lot of minutes.
Thanks
My wife has a grandfathered verizon UDP plan and we did not know about the tether until she switched to Nexus 6P. There is no need to install any 3rd party software, the built in tether just works and we have not enabled tether account on verizon. I believe this is because it is a truly unlocked phone without any verizon influence on s/w. A buddy of mine has the same setup and it works great. He could not do it on the Note 3 that he had before.
I have 2 questions
1. She finds the 6P too big and would like to go down a notch. Which other phone would work just like the 6P. I can no longer find a US Nexus 5X.
2. I have limited data of 4Gb and our total shared plan minutes are 1400 with 10 friends and family numbers. I would like to get out of this and move to a unlimited talk/text plan with capped data but leave her on the UDP plan with 450 mins of voice. She can use google voice for calls. Is it still possible to do this? I do use a lot of minutes.
Thanks
1. FYI the Nexus 5x checks for a mobile hotspot subscription. The Nexus 6p, Moto G4(unlocked), Moto X 2015 pure does not. I am not sure about the unlocked Pixel.
2. You can put her line on the $15 30 minute plan and she can use Google voice for texting and calls. Works good for some not so good for others. You can then put your line a sub account with what ever plan you want.
- Apr 17, 2012
- 32,273
- 23
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If a mod wants me to delete my post as violation, I will.
I did not name a program that bypasses the check. As mentioned in your link most phones check for a subscription. I simply named the phones they do no do this check. I did not mention any app or root method to avoid the check.
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