Help Data Plans, is unlimited... unlimited ?

[cynkrzy]

So I have a "Unlimited" data plan, does that truly mean unlimited ? If I use the phone as a WiFi hotspot for my desktop at home and get rid of the crappy satellite service I have, will I have an unpleasant surprise when I get my bill ?

I've only had the phone for a few weeks, so can't tell from my usage yet.

 

[ECFfighter7232]

So I have a "Unlimited" data plan, does that truly mean unlimited ? If I use the phone as a WiFi hotspot for my desktop at home and get rid of the crappy satellite service I have, will I have an unpleasant surprise when I get my bill ?

I've only had the phone for a few weeks, so can't tell from my usage yet.

I believe the member sund0wn could answer this best but I think he has said in the past that there is actually a 5gb cap on our "unlimited" plan but that they dont normally charge you if you go past it, it just kinda throws us a "flag" and if you repeatedly go over 5gb you MAY incur some charges

 

[quickaudi]

if you use VZW's wireless tether plan, there is a cap

i assume you are talking about using the rooted wireless tether app, though

 

[Napalm]

well no you you see there is this Anticipated Usage, and well you need to make sure you stay within it. They won't tell you what it is, as its not in any paperwork you received with your phone or plan contract. But you don't need to know anyway.

So you don't really need to use your device to download apps, get book, read internet, get maps, etc. I mean just becasue your device can download powerpoint files and display them doesn't mean you need to connect your device to a projector, and use your DX for corporate E-mail and make presentations on the road. And hey, don't bother uploading that HD video you just took, that shows an aircraft engine destroying itself that is 20 minutes long. Just because your DX can hold 32gb of HD video.

 

[swagner53]

Unless you purchase a tethering plan- which is limited to 5gb - you are violating the terms of service by tethering your computer. Verizon will flag your account if you go over 5gb of regular use- without the tethering package- and watch that account to see what kind of traffic you are using. They can tell when you are using desktop browsers, netflix, playing warcraft, etc.

All of that said, I haven't heard of anyone being terminated.

 

[cynkrzy]

So "They Lie" - I pay for the WiFi HotSpot. Why the Hell would I pay for it (It can support multiple concurrent connections) and then not use it. And no I didn't see anything about a 5gb limit. In fact I asked the rep when I got the phone if it was unlimited and wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any additional charges. I give them a whole lotta $$ every month. I pay for 5 phones and 3 have data plans.

Well we'll see what happens when I blow it out, may have to match a movie or 2 this week

 

[quickaudi]

2 different things there. The phone data plan is unlimited data. The wireless tether feature that you pay extra for is limited to 5 gb.

 

[rehpyc]

As others have said, using the data on your phone is unlimited, whereas the plan paid for to tether is limited. However, as long as you stay at a low usage level while tethering (5-6gb/mo), they're not really even going to bother you. This still allows you to use the phone to tether to your computer and check emails, browse, stream music, and play some games (they don't use terrible amounts of data), but I wouldn't go torrenting or downloading/uploading large files.

 

[Legato]

The personal phone use isn't really unlimited though...it really is capped at 5GB. Having seen this NUMEROUS times on Crackberry.com when people would tether from their blackberrys (not paying for tethering service, just using an app) and go over the 5GB amount and get bills of over $1,000. Was not funny for them, and rarely did the VZW rep cut down the bill for them no matter how much crying and pleading was done. It is made to use as a phone, if you tether wiht it, and lets face it, you aren't pushing GBs of data across a phone unless you are tethering, then you violated your TOS with them and tehy will charge you accordingly

Just tether for a bit and keep the usage low. At most i went up to 3GB and never had a problem, usually i keep mine at less then a GB of usage

 

[scotthanna]

As others have mentioned, the data plan on the phone is unlimited. Using your phone as a mobile hot spot is NOT included in that.

You can add that feature for $20 a month on a smart phone that has the capability. That includes 2gig worth of data per month, not 5 gig as some have mentioned. I didn't see any lying. I simply got the information off of their website.

verizon mobile broadband plans

 

[Tmose04]

What if im using the TBH 3gmh? Does that go towards my phone data usage?

 

[ekyle]

I believe the member sund0wn could answer this best but I think he has said in the past that there is actually a 5gb cap on our "unlimited" plan but that they dont normally charge you if you go past it, it just kinda throws us a "flag" and if you repeatedly go over 5gb you MAY incur some charges

if you use VZW's wireless tether plan, there is a cap

i assume you are talking about using the rooted wireless tether app, though

From what I've been told by several VZW CSRs there is no cap on the data that is used on the phone. If you use extremely high amounts they do throw up a flag. I imagine this is to catch people tethering without the service on their plan. If you have signed up for tethering with VZW then there is a 5GB cap.

 

[Knewz]

If you use extremely high amounts they do throw up a flag.

Absolutely correct here. There is not a cap on data usage but there is a "limit' of 5g. if you push that limit you will be flagged. Enough flags will warrant an audit and possible data/account suspension. But this very very rarely happens.

And actually there is a 2g limit on wireless thethering.

 

[rehpyc]

The personal phone use isn't really unlimited though...it really is capped at 5GB. Having seen this NUMEROUS times on Crackberry.com when people would tether from their blackberrys (not paying for tethering service, just using an app) and go over the 5GB amount and get bills of over $1,000.

Congrats, you made a false claim and further provided misrelated evidence to back up the poor claim.

 

[scotthanna]

The personal phone use isn't really unlimited though...it really is capped at 5GB. Having seen this NUMEROUS times on Crackberry.com when people would tether from their blackberrys (not paying for tethering service, just using an app) and go over the 5GB amount and get bills of over $1,000. Was not funny for them, and rarely did the VZW rep cut down the bill for them no matter how much crying and pleading was done. It is made to use as a phone, if you tether wiht it, and lets face it, you aren't pushing GBs of data across a phone unless you are tethering, then you violated your TOS with them and tehy will charge you accordingly

Just tether for a bit and keep the usage low. At most i went up to 3GB and never had a problem, usually i keep mine at less then a GB of usage

I have never heard of an instance like this. I believe Verizon would suspend your service if you violate the terms of their agreement, but I don't think they will just start charging you for tethering.

Plus, someone would have to be doing some major major usage to ring up bills of over $1,000.

Now, what I have seen is people using data INTERNATIONALLY, and get bills over $1,000. They have plans for people that need data access in other countries. But if someone just takes their internationally capable device overseas and uses it without changing plans, a 1k bill is very doable.

I rarely use 1g on my tethering. It's designed for people that use wi-fi, but need something to fill the gap in instances when wi-fi is not available. It is not, and has never been designed to be someone's sole source of internet.

I think it's a great bargain for $20.

 

[jreed2560]

LOTS of MISINFORMATION in this thread. The 29.99 unlimited data plans are just that. UNLIMITED. I have used upward of 13gb of data in a month and never been charged data overages.

As for tethering. There are three ways you can tether. If you aren't rooted, you can download easy tether or pdanet and physically connect your phone to the computer. They are both free in the market, have been for a long time. You can pay for verizons mobile hotspot app. The app cost 20 bucks a month AND THERE IS A 2GB CAP. I'm not sure where people are getting 5gbs. Those are aircard and mifi plans. The third way is to root your phone and use either TBH's hacked mobile hot spot or use Wireless Tether which is free from the market. Both of those violate the TOS .