New Verizon Data plans, mobile hotspot?

[Eric8199]

Hey guys, I have a question about Verizon's new data plans, as I've been unable to find the answer. I know unlimited is grandfathered in if you already have it. But I'm wondering about mobile hotspot. Will I still be able to turn it on and off as I wish on the unlimited plan (with the two-gig allowance like now)? Will I need to keep mobile hotspot all the time in order to keep it with unlimited? Or will I no longer be able to use mobile hotspot unless I use one of the new tiered plans?

Anyone know?

 

[jav6454]

Call Verizon instead. They will know the answer. Here, we can help you with what we know, which is limited in essence and repetitive of what we gather from reps (and some times, if not many, conflicting reports).

That said, I state again, call Verizon directly.

 

[Travisimo]

This is still unknown. I have been asking in various forums and there appears to be nothing but a wild guess at this point. Obviously, it's important to know the answer before the July date, so hopefully Verizon will make it's official announcement soon.

I've been reading both sides. A couple of podcasts I listened to (TIPB and Mobile Nations) seem to think you will not be able to have tethering enabled if you keep your Unlimited plan grandfathered. Others seem to think that you'll still be able to add/delete the tethering plan at leisure without affecting your Unlimited plan.

I'm hoping for the latter, but the former would be more in line with what AT&T does. They do not allow you to add tethering if you stay on Unlimited. I'd like to think we'll be able to on Verizon, but we won't know for sure until Verizon officially announces their plan (or more leaked documents are available).

 

[Eric8199]

Tethering was never an option officially on AT&T prior to tiered pricing though, so yeah. Who knows. I'm kind of hoping that you can keep mobile Hotspot but if you shut it off, you lose it, because it will give me an excuse to keep it. Haha

 

[HappyDude20]

Do what I did, and jailbreak it. I purchased TetherMe which lets you use that same "Personal Hotspot" pane under Settings in your iPhone..

I purchased my iPhone about 4 days ago and have been tethering like crazy.

Just a thought.

 

[Eric8199]

Nit a big fan of jail breaking. I'd prefer to be able to update right away and not have to tinker with my phone all the time.

 

[Travisimo]

Do what I did, and jailbreak it. I purchased TetherMe which lets you use that same "Personal Hotspot" pane under Settings in your iPhone..

I purchased my iPhone about 4 days ago and have been tethering like crazy.

Just a thought.

Yeah, but I'm running iOS 5 and currently there's only a tethered jailbreak. And when the official version comes out, it may take some time to get an untethered one.

 

[mikelegacy]

Hey guys, I have a question about Verizon's new data plans, as I've been unable to find the answer. I know unlimited is grandfathered in if you already have it. But I'm wondering about mobile hotspot. Will I still be able to turn it on and off as I wish on the unlimited plan (with the two-gig allowance like now)? Will I need to keep mobile hotspot all the time in order to keep it with unlimited? Or will I no longer be able to use mobile hotspot unless I use one of the new tiered plans?

Anyone know?

This is correct. The mobile hotspot will be like it is with AT&T. You will have to lose unlimited and pay $20 more a month if you wish to use it. It's garbage really.

 

[Krevnik]

This is correct. The mobile hotspot will be like it is with AT&T. You will have to lose unlimited and pay $20 more a month if you wish to use it. It's garbage really.

Is there a citation for that? Unlike AT&T, Verizon has the 20$/month hotspot addon for data plans now, prior to going tiered. I'm not certain we can use AT&T as anecdotal evidence at this point without further evidence, as the starting condition isn't the same.

 

[tdar]

Is there a citation for that? Unlike AT&T, Verizon has the 20$/month hotspot addon for data plans now, prior to going tiered. I'm not certain we can use AT&T as anecdotal evidence at this point without further evidence, as the starting condition isn't the same.

We don't know yet. I would believe that VZ will follow ATT's lead there. I'll be adding Tethering to my plan before the 7th to make sure I'm covered ether way.

The one thing we do know is that if your running a tethering app and using that data to other devices, they can and will know, so ...don't be surprised if you get well a surprise.

 

[nateo200]

Paying $30 for 2GB's should include some amount of mobile hotspot data allowance...

 

[HappyDude20]

Yeah, but I'm running iOS 5 and currently there's only a tethered jailbreak. And when the official version comes out, it may take some time to get an untethered one.

I wholeheartedly agree that having to wait for an untethered JB is a con to JB'ing itself, though at the behest of the cell phone companies screwing us with fees and data plan changes I feel forced to take matters into my own hands, regarding my own iPhone.

I specifically went out of my way to purchase an iPhone 4 five days ago to get the unlimited data plan. I need it. I have a friend on AT&T and on his phone it shows he's only used 250MB's worth of data the entire life of his iPhone (about 2 months he's had it). I've had it for 5 days and am already at 500MB's.

I use the internet quite a bit. Besides, I don't want to limit myself at all. I stream Pandora when driving, GPS maps and can't help myself but love watching movies on Netflix and Hulu when not at home. That, and there has been so many times in the past when I had my MacBook Pro and/or iPad and needed to get work done, without any Starbucks or Home Base nearby...I feel I now have come to a solution regarding my situation.

Sucks when iOS5 comes out; I really wanna try all the new features. But I may just restore and use iOS5 and forego my JB for the month or two till the JB comes out; afterall, I can always re-download (for free) my tetherme app.

 

[mikelegacy]

Is there a citation for that? Unlike AT&T, Verizon has the 20$/month hotspot addon for data plans now, prior to going tiered. I'm not certain we can use AT&T as anecdotal evidence at this point without further evidence, as the starting condition isn't the same.

Verizon doesn't want people on Unlimited anymore. They aren't going to allow tethering on Unlimited because they want to force people to switch. If you already have the tethering for the extra $20 or whatever, you will be able to keep it till the end of your contract, though.

 

[Travisimo]

Verizon doesn't want people on Unlimited anymore. They aren't going to allow tethering on Unlimited because they want to force people to switch. If you already have the tethering for the extra $20 or whatever, you will be able to keep it till the end of your contract, though.

So basically, you're talking out of your @$$ and just guessing, right? ;-) I'm been trying to get a clear anawer to this question for some time now, and there just isn't one yet. Some people speculate that it'll be like AT&T where you can't have tethering with the Unlimited plan. Some say if you already have it, you can keep it after the July date. And some say you'll still be able to add it and remove it at will, all while keeping your Unlimited data plan.

We simply don't know yet. And until Verizon officially announces these changes, they probably won't even give you a straight answer if you ask right now.

 

[Eric8199]

So I e-mailed Verizon about this issue, and while I didn't receive a complete answer, I did receive a partial one which eases my mind some.

Apparently the new data pricing is not official yet? She said she could not comment on future pricing options, however:

"Historically, we have not forced customers to move from an old plan to a new plan and we do not foresee this being the case with this change. Since we exist in a highly competitive market, plans and pricing are subject to change. Verizon Wireless is always looking for ways to better meet the needs of our customers and the decisions we make are based on this philosophy."

In other words, if you have mobile hotspot enabled and unlimited data, you should STILL have it when the new plans go into effect. However, it is still unknown if you will be able to stop mobile hotspot and then turn it back on later without changing to a tiered data plan.

So my advice, if you want Mobile Hotspot and to keep unlimited data, you'd better activate it prior to the new plans going into effect, just in case.

 

[Eric8199]

New plans were announced today. But still haven't seen any mention of Personal Hotspot for iPhone. I see that on the 4G phones, you can get grandfathered into unlimited, but no mention of iPhone. Especially wondering if I'll be able to add it and take it away without switching to a tiered plan. Anyone know?