brocki Report post Posted July 29, 2017 First I must say I am looking for opinions here. I find opinions in the aggregate are usually pretty close. Here is my problem. We have been with Verizon for 5 years. We have a cell phone, hot spot and a home phone away from home. To save you the obvious question; the answer is that we often don't even carry the cell phone. First I must say that their footprint has been excellent over the years. But their speeds seem to be going downhill fast. I also have just about had it with their login system when trying to pay a bill. Their system seems to not know me. But it always takes my money once I finally get logged in. So I'm asking, who are many of you using, and specially the fulltimers, how are you finding the footprint and speeds of your carrier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted July 29, 2017 I have Verizon phones and use the hot spot feature when necessary. I also have a Sprint MiFi and an AT&T Mobley. I travel Nationwide and I can tell you that Verizon out performs both of the other by a long shot. There are, of course, specific locations where Verizon may not be the best but they are pretty rare. Guess my local Verizon tower is a bit overloaded on a Saturday afternoon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted July 29, 2017 I use Verizon, and their "footprint" far exceeds any other carrier in our area, other parts of the country may vary, I'm in the southeast. Your post states that you have been with them for 5 years, all cell phone, hotspot, and home phone. Have you upgraded any of your equipment since you first signed up with them. I've been with them for about seven years now, first service was 3g, then I upgraded to 4g, the speed tripled. I used a Mifi 4510 L for the last 5, and saw speeds of 17 to 19 meg per second. With the advent of Unlimited data plan, I thought that I could count of 22 gig of 4g then will revert to 3g, not completely true. After extensive research, what happens is that each device is a hotspot, and each device has a 10 gig limit at 4g, then it reverts to 3g, and 3g literally crawls, I measured .030 meg download and .045 upload this morning. I decided two weeks ago to beat the system and order a second hotspot, that uses another line, $20.00 per line charge per month. The new Mifi is a 7730 L, this gives me access to 10 more gig at 4g, now the kicker, the 7730L sitting side by side with the 4510L, the 4510 clocks still 16 to 19 mps, while the 7730L is clocking 33 to 42 mps, remember they are side by side on two different computers but twice the speed on the new equipment. Now please note that I live 300 yards from the Verizon tower, and on top of the same hill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mweiner Report post Posted July 30, 2017 Interesting....I just tested my Project Fi Network here at home, yes, I took it off WiFi in case you were wondering.... Actually, Project Fi over the air was faster.. surprise. On Project Fi the phone is the hot spot for tethering, no additional device is needed. Ironically, our AT & T house connection was slower by 8 Megs/sec on the download and almost equal on the upload. Maybe it's because I'm in LA. 😁😁😁 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted July 31, 2017 What good is all that speed if you can't afford or don't want to pay for the data used? At $10.00 per gig and at that speed if one requires that much bandwidth, then the bill per month will be astronomical. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mweiner Report post Posted July 31, 2017 Well, Wi-Fi is pretty ubiqutous nowadays, and who said I couldn't afford it? Besides, on balance, my average monthly bill for Project Fi is around $100 per month when I'm home or using a lot of public Wi-Fi... Compare and contrast that to the $180 including taxes that I was paying for T-MOBILE for an unlimited data where I left a lot of "unused data" on the table every month... And never got any benefit from this. So, the way I look at this, if I don't speed more than $2,160 per year on cell phones, I'm ahead of the game financially... The difference between $1,200 and $2,160 will buy a lot of data... In this way, I can control how much or how little I actually spend for the data I use.. do you see what I mean? Talk and text is unlimited. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted July 31, 2017 Project Fi sounds great for you situation. I can't imagine trying to use that service. My bill would exceed $4000/month. As long as you can afford it, that looks good but my bet was that if we were side by side I would see similar results with either my Verizon or AT&T service and my AT&T is $20/month. I also question your thought that WiFi is pretty ubiquitous these days. Free WiFi where your RV is parked in your profile is unlikely. If you like to do your surfing in a McDonald's parking lot that's different. "Free Wifi" in a campground is paid for in your camping fees. Have you noticed the rise in campground fees over the last 5 years? I sure have! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mweiner Report post Posted July 31, 2017 3 hours ago, BillAdams said: Project Fi sounds great for you situation. I can't imagine trying to use that service. My bill would exceed $4000/month. As long as you can afford it, that looks good but my bet was that if we were side by side I would see similar results with either my Verizon or AT&T service and my AT&T is $20/month. I also question your thought that WiFi is pretty ubiquitous these days. Free WiFi where your RV is parked in your profile is unlikely. If you like to do your surfing in a McDonald's parking lot that's different. "Free Wifi" in a campground is paid for in your camping fees. Have you noticed the rise in campground fees over the last 5 years? I sure have! YES, depending on where we go, I've noticed like everyone else that location is EVERYTHING when it comes to fees. Last week we took the rig out to Carpenteria, CA for a night on the beach, a CA State Park. It was $70 per night with electric and water. We don't need full hookups on our rig and it's really nice designed for that. We just need an available dump station nearby which they had and was included in the price. National Parks are really inexpensive, we're over 62 and have the senior discount, free entry and 50 percent off the rates. I think we paid $9 per night at the Grand Canyon. The big difference here is you're still working and the RV is your mobile office. Kudos to you for making that work. I don't know exactly what you do, but, when I was working, I had a regular 9 to 5 job and had to go to the workplace everyday. Your in a situation where your workplace, home and vacation are all in one, NICE. SO, you need high speed INTERNET wherever you are, I understand completely. YES, sometimes we just pick up Internet at McDonald's, or other places like that, but, just checking email or surfing the web is not that DATA intensive. I really don't worry about DATA unless I'm streaming something.. then, it can get expensive. I recently discovered that streaming an HD movie and tethering that from the phone to my tablet was around 4GB... next time I'll download it at someplace like McDonald's and water it later or download it home and bring it with me. There's workarounds. Remember, we're probably a lot more mobile than you are? Where do you "land" that 40 plus foot rig of yours when you are traveling on the road? I know you have the toad, but, you can't just unhook the car anywhere you want along the way and it's a accessory to your main rig everywhere you go EXCEPT when you dock at the campground. I can definitely see the benefit of the "toad" when you get there, but along the way it's a hindrance, just me... I understand that Wi-Fi is not generally free everywhere, but, in large Metro areas it's a lot more available... Businesses and competition for customers is very much in demand these days... just getting someone to shop in a brick and mortar store... most, if not all of them offer free Wi-Fi just for going there, there's free Wi-Fi at all the major shopping mall, many small merchants and restaurants we go to.. They want you to come to their business, so, free Wi-Fi is a lure and extra benefit. We use all of their services. Our phones, Nexus 6P, on the Google Network automatically setup their own VPN for security whenever we connect on a public network, another plus. And, the Project Fi Network is a tri-fecta combo of T-MOBILE, Sprint and US Cellular, a network that Google created for their clients.. They obviously resell these circuts to the people subscribed to this service. They can do it because they're Google..who else could have done that? Here's a photo of the beach we were at. I think it was worth the $70 fee... what do you think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brocki Report post Posted July 31, 2017 Verizon's footprint has never been an issue. True, their are some places nothing works. But footprint is the reason we picked Verizon. Just seems like I am getting slower service no matter where I go. Perhaps overworked infrastructure? And the pure aggravation of semi-monthly having to call them to reset my account and they never seem to have any idea why my account got screwed up. As far as equipment, our cell phone is a flip phone (you may laugh now) and Idon't know what the model of the jetpack is. Our first one finally died so bought this one 2 years ago. Guess I'll just stay where I am as none of you in the whole seem to have a better overall experience with other carriers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sydmargo Report post Posted August 2, 2017 We are leaving soon for a trip from NJ to Sisiters Oregon. I have had Verizon for years and had good coverage. I just switched to Unlimited Plan for 2 cell phones we use. I had planned on using the phones as Hot Spot for Notebook computer and I Pad. Verizon rep told us to only use Hot Spot for about 30 minutes because it will cause damage to cell phone. Has anyone else been told this or experienced any damage to their phones? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted August 2, 2017 Syd, I think you had a sales agent that wanted to sell you the Very Expensive MIFI unit. I think it is around $280.00 for the device plus a monthly charge (I don't think the monthly charge is that much, just the device) Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted August 2, 2017 I just purchased a new Mifi to add to my collection of hotspots, price was $99.00, and with a two year contract discounted to $49.00. The new model is 7730L old one 4510L, both are 4gLTD, the 7730L is more than twice the speed up and download side by side. I'm with Verizon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted August 2, 2017 Kay, good point. The $280.00 figure was a figure I had over heard. The person may have been with another carrier and was speaking of just purchasing the MIFI only. Thanks for clearing it up. Hope yours works as well as ours. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rlbarkleyii Report post Posted August 2, 2017 I love my ZTE Mobley from ATT. It provides unlimited high speed internet 4G/LTE at a price that can't be beat, $20.00 month plus tax. Use it everywhere throughout the south, great footprint in my turf. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted August 2, 2017 Me, too! I use the Mobley as my primary connection and for $20/month for 22GB of unthrottled data I'm pretty happy. If I needed more I would just buy a 2nd Mobley and get another 22GB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillAdams Report post Posted August 3, 2017 Quote The big difference here is you're still working and the RV is your mobile office. Kudos to you for making that work. I don't know exactly what you do, but, when I was working, I had a regular 9 to 5 job and had to go to the workplace everyday. Your in a situation where your workplace, home and vacation are all in one, NICE. SO, you need high speed INTERNET wherever you are, I understand completely. No, not at all. My RV is my HOME. I work a regular 9-5 job in a S&B building. I just happen to work at this job at multiple locations throughout the year. I need internet in my home for my home use. It's all personal and has nothing at all to do with work or the kind of work I do. Project Fi would be a non-starter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roadster27 Report post Posted October 27, 2017 On 2017-08-02 at 6:15 AM, sydmargo said: We are leaving soon for a trip from NJ to Sisiters Oregon. I have had Verizon for years and had good coverage. I just switched to Unlimited Plan for 2 cell phones we use. I had planned on using the phones as Hot Spot for Notebook computer and I Pad. Verizon rep told us to only use Hot Spot for about 30 minutes because it will cause damage to cell phone. Has anyone else been told this or experienced any damage to their phones? I have used my phone as a hotspot for many hours at a time with no damage Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
