I switched to Share Everything

[anon62607]

This is a little more bloggy than I would normally post.

For some reason I'm not 100% sure of myself, I switched a set of my family's phones to Share Everything. Here's what I had:

1) Samsung Galaxy S III, Unlimited Data
2) iPhone 4S, 2 GB data (wife's phone)
3) iPhone 4S, 2 GB data (stepson's phone)
4) Jetpack Hotspot, 5 GB data

All of them were sharing unlimited messaging and 700 minutes per month.

additionally I have a ipad 3 on a 2 GB/month plan that is independent of the others.

I've been watching my SGS3 (which was a Galaxy Nexus up until a few days ago) as it's by far the most heavily used mobile data device and up until this month I never used more than 2-3 GB. This month I hit about 12 GB and part of the reason for that is I've started running outside rather than in the wifi equipped gym and google play streaming music is kind of heavy on the data.

(incidentally, a SGS3 is on the outside limit of how big a phone can get that you carry with you while you run without becoming completely unwieldy and people thinking you're carrying the phone around as part of some kind of physical training)

So why switch now?

I'm paying for 5 GB per month on the jetpack and I rarely use more than a few hundred MB. My wife is one of those ~500 MB/month users and my stepson usually has around 1500 MB - I have been paying for at least 7 GB a month that I never use. I also don't use much data on the ipad but I haven't moved it over yet, it seemingly requires a new, unactivated sim to get it on the plan.

So I moved us all to a share everything 10 GB plan with an eye to reducing the data allowance if I get by this month without getting near it. I've cached my music on the device itself now but this is going to be saving at least $10 / month now (not a big deal) but if I can back down on the data allowance to what I think it will be I'll be saving $40 / month. Also since hotspot is now included for the phones I can probably drop service on the jetpack which is another $20 / month.

It's not a huge savings - maybe $50 / month but that's a new smartphone every year when you think about it.

The loss is in giving up the coveted Unlimited Data on the SGS3 which I am worried I'll regret as soon as I'm on a business trip and otherwise stuck with crappy hotel wireless for a month or so. This takes away things like Netflix and Youtube, not because you can't get a little Youtube time in on 10 GB a month but because I'm constantly thinking about how much data I'm using when it's not unlimited.


I'll post a follow up after a billing cycle with how much I regretted the decision.

 

[OhioG]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just get a tethering app and drop the Hotspot and the iPad data plan...

 

[Malgus]

Sent from the apple store using my Gs2

 

[Droid3r]

youll be regretting once the iphone 5 LTE hits this fall ...your wife and her son will eat those measly GBs of data while eating breakfast.

The overages will rape you.

On a sidenote ....Verizon reps are trained to check data usage of 3g users and telling them " hey it seems you dont use that much data why dont you go into the share everything plan and save some money."

Little do they know is when they upgrade to a 4g phone with an hd screen youtube alone with its HD feed will eat the whole data plan.

Sent from my VERIZON GALAXY S 3 LTE

 

[anon62607]

youll be regretting once the iphone 5 LTE hits this fall ...your wife and her son will eat those measly GBs of data while eating breakfast.

The overages will rape you.

On a sidenote ....Verizon reps are trained to check data usage of 3g users and telling them " hey it seems you dont use that much data why dont you go into the share everything plan and save some money."

Little do they know is when they upgrade to a 4g phone with an hd screen youtube alone with its HD feed will eat the whole data plan.

Sent from my VERIZON GALAXY S 3 LTE

When I talked in person to the Verizon store rep in was able to point to times in the past where I've been on travel and have gone through 20 or more gb, and they don't really have an answer for those situations.

My wife doesn't use YouTube at all on her phone and I have usage controls enabled for my son's phone, but they weren't on unlimited data anyway. I'm more worried about my own YouTube usage.

Also if an LTE iphone does hit in the fall I can't imagine Verizon will be able to afford to keep its unlimited users truly unlimited with no throttling, they will have to do an AT&T style throttling at some level.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ry]

youll be regretting once the iphone 5 LTE hits this fall ...your wife and her son will eat those measly GBs of data while eating breakfast.

The overages will rape you.

On a sidenote ....Verizon reps are trained to check data usage of 3g users and telling them " hey it seems you dont use that much data why dont you go into the share everything plan and save some money."

Little do they know is when they upgrade to a 4g phone with an hd screen youtube alone with its HD feed will eat the whole data plan.

Sent from my VERIZON GALAXY S 3 LTE

Do you have any evidence where Verizon sales reps are trained to specifically check data usage of 3G-only users?

Sounds like they're trained to check for everyone, not just 3G users. If it can save people money, I don't see why people are so upset. Sure, they'll have to monitor their usage but that isn't any different than when calls and texts were where the money was at for the carriers.

If it doesn't save you money, you don't ever have to switch.


Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

 

[aokusman1]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just get a tethering app and drop the Hotspot and the iPad data plan...

This here. I am on att (3gb ) plan and tether to my iPad. I go over by 2gb and just pay $20 extra.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon62607]

Update. I think that switching was a mistake. I would have been ok but I stream audio enough when running or otherwise outside and video occasionally when on travel that I keep getting really close to the 10GB plan, and the simple fact that it isn't unlimited has changed dramatically how I use the phone.

In short, if you have unlimited, keep it. I think I'd be comfortable enough in 20GB that I wouldn't think about it as much and just use the phone as I like but the price tag on 20GB is too high.

I've started toying with the idea of moving over to tmobile and getting unlimited back that way.

LTE here isn't wicked fast anymore, just comfortably fast and HSPA+42 seems close enough that I wouldn't really notice the loss.

 

[anon(3653)]

Update. I think that switching was a mistake. I would have been ok but I stream audio enough when running or otherwise outside and video occasionally when on travel that I keep getting really close to the 10GB plan, and the simple fact that it isn't unlimited has changed dramatically how I use the phone.

In short, if you have unlimited, keep it. I think I'd be comfortable enough in 20GB that I wouldn't think about it as much and just use the phone as I like but the price tag on 20GB is too high.

I've started toying with the idea of moving over to tmobile and getting unlimited back that way.

LTE here isn't wicked fast anymore, just comfortably fast and HSPA+42 seems close enough that I wouldn't really notice the loss.

The best thing I ever did was put my music on my 32 gb sd card. I went from being close to 2 gb per month to well under 1 gb.

Geeks Unite

 

[anon62607]

The best thing I ever did was put my music on my 32 gb sd card. I went from being close to 2 gb per month to well under 1 gb.

Geeks Unite

So how do I cause Google Music to cache music on the sd card? Short of rooting and symlinking I haven't found a way to do it

 

[tennvol]

Why anyone would give up unlimited data is beyond me. Granted my employer pays for my entire bill (unlimited everything and hotspot) and a 10gb mifi but even if I had to pay for it I'd keep unlimited at all costs

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[anon(3653)]

So how do I cause Google Music to cache music on the sd card? Short of rooting and symlinking I haven't found a way to do it

I don't cache. I dragged and dropped my music from my computer to my SD card.

Geeks Unite