Wifi hotspot

[koralyne]

Hey guys, just got home from the verizon store, and i just retired my old droid, and got the Droidx

I noticed it had a mobile hotspot feature, and i was like, oh sweet.

So i used it, connected my computer to it, and loaded up google. pretty fast.

Then i realized, oh crap, isnt there supposed to be an extra fee for this?

so... is there? it didnt stop me, so... idk, i would love to use the mobile hotspot feature, but i dont wanna make our bill ten thousand dollars (me and my roommates used up 1.1tb bandwidth in the last month D: )

So is there a flat fee for usage, or is it by how much i use it, and what are the prices?

 

[kingsway8605]

Yes there is supposed to be an extra fee. I would call Verizon and see what's up or you may find an unpleasant surprise on your bill one day.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[koralyne]

Ah, unfortunate. do you know what the pricing is? i may just end up paying for it, the speed is decent enough.

 

[kingsway8605]

I think its betweem 10 and 20 dollars a month. But beware, I believe adding the tethering capability also introduces a 5gb data cap to your account. Not sure on that, definitely check with Verizon though.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[Droid DOES!!]

Hotspot is $20 per month for 2GB...data on your phone itself is still unlimited.

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[koralyne]

Not bad. I think ill activate the service, after talking to the account holder

 

[Maximus205]

Love the hotspot! Its fast enough for me to play Cod black ops on the 360 with no lag.

 

[Dustin.]

That's right is it 20$ for 2GB.

But if you plan on using it a lot, you may look into rooting your phone. From there on out you can use WiFi Tether from the Market and tether for free.

That's what I was using for my Xbox and my uncle's laptop when he didn't have internet and I'm still seeing no change in bill even when I use over 5GB.

 

[str0ntium]

That's right is it 20$ for 2GB.

But if you plan on using it a lot, you may look into rooting your phone. From there on out you can use WiFi Tether from the Market and tether for free.

That's what I was using for my Xbox and my uncle's laptop when he didn't have internet and I'm still seeing no change in bill even when I use over 5GB.

The funny thing is I wonder how many people that work for Verizon (not store reps, but actual corporate suits) read these kinds of posts...

I know it's probably almost impossible to restrict tethering in a way that would differentiate between a valid paying user and a non-paying user. However, you can bet your caboose that they are working day and night to find a way.

And, in the end, whatever the result is we will have those that chose to steal bandwidth like yourself to thank for it.

I really dislike this attitude of "just because I can, I will". Bandwidth is not free. If you say that it doesn't hurt anyone, you are lying to yourself. If it were free, they wouldn't have these plans in the first place. We would all have EVO 4G's and bandwidth, for life, free.

 

[koralyne]

Love the hotspot! Its fast enough for me to play Cod black ops on the 360 with no lag.

Interesting.... Can you connect directly to the phone from the xbox? I tried and connected but it couldn't log on.is that a problem with the phone or the xbox?


Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

 

[MysticalDreams]

That's right is it 20$ for 2GB.

But if you plan on using it a lot, you may look into rooting your phone. From there on out you can use WiFi Tether from the Market and tether for free.

That's what I was using for my Xbox and my uncle's laptop when he didn't have internet and I'm still seeing no change in bill even when I use over 5GB.

The funny thing is I wonder how many people that work for Verizon (not store reps, but actual corporate suits) read these kinds of posts...

I know it's probably almost impossible to restrict tethering in a way that would differentiate between a valid paying user and a non-paying user. However, you can bet your caboose that they are working day and night to find a way.

And, in the end, whatever the result is we will have those that chose to steal bandwidth like yourself to thank for it.

I really dislike this attitude of "just because I can, I will". Bandwidth is not free. If you say that it doesn't hurt anyone, you are lying to yourself. If it were free, they wouldn't have these plans in the first place. We would all have EVO 4G's and bandwidth, for life, free.

I am on the fence. I think people would pay for the service if prices were more reasonable. On the other hand for someone like me who would only use it a few hours a year when the power goes out to check updates on the situation. (much easier to see the laptop screen in pitch blackness.) I don't see why I should have to pay a monthly fee for those few hours.

Then the other questions come into play. Who is getting hurt by people using the free tethering? It is not a product that people worked on to produce, there is no assembly line for it, it's not taking an object from anyone. I don't know...

 

[Maximus205]

Love the hotspot! Its fast enough for me to play Cod black ops on the 360 with no lag.

Interesting.... Can you connect directly to the phone from the xbox? I tried and connected but it couldn't log on.is that a problem with the phone or the xbox?


Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

I hop it from my laptop. Get your laptop running off the hotspot, then connect the ethernet cord from xbox to laptop.then go into the xbox network settings and connect. It will probably give you a
! Sign and say you won't have access to all xbox live features but you will. Hope this helps.

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

 

[maderschramm]

In response to str0ntium's post:

It may be true that bandwidth isn't free; however, if you're paying for an unlimited bandwith plan on your phone, shouldn't you be allowed to utilize it?

The real problem with vzw (and other mobile companies) is that there's this general fear that with smartphones coming to the forefront, data usage will go up.

This is absolutley true, like it or not, data usage is going to go up.

Welcome to the future.

The problem lies in the fact that the companies are fighting this change. They take our money and, instead of using it to improve their network to embrace this change and make their networks capable of handling this increased traffic, they make minimal changes and instead cap our bandwidth usage.

I honestly hope a vzw rep reads my post and takes it to heart. This customer is satisfied for now but if their grip gets tighter I (and probably many others) may seriously consider a new provider (I only switched to vzw in the first place because AT&T discontinued their unlimited plan).

These communities are vital in telling mobile companies how we want their service to work, the customer is the most imortant thing in business, without us, they can't survive. Mobile companies need to remember this fact of life. Whether it's unlocked bootloaders or bandwidth usage, they need to hear our concerns and adhere to them if they want to survive.

 

[Droid DOES!!]

VZW rep here and I COMPLETELY agree with you! "Minimal changes" could certainly apply to other carriers as far as network is concerned but not Verizon. They invest around $5,000,000,000 annually back into the network, no other carrier does that. I'm also in 100% agreement with you on data and companies putting a limit on it! We can lose our jobs for not having a high enough % of PDAs sold per month, yet the grip on data usage is getting tighter! Makes no sense but time will tell where things go. DEF not trying to start a debate at all! As I said, I agree with you 100%!

In response to str0ntium's post:

It may be true that bandwidth isn't free; however, if you're paying for an unlimited bandwith plan on your phone, shouldn't you be allowed to utilize it?

The real problem with vzw (and other mobile companies) is that there's this general fear that with smartphones coming to the forefront, data usage will go up.

This is absolutley true, like it or not, data usage is going to go up.

Welcome to the future.

The problem lies in the fact that the companies are fighting this change. They take our money and, instead of using it to improve their network to embrace this change and make their networks capable of handling this increased traffic, they make minimal changes and instead cap our bandwidth usage.

I honestly hope a vzw rep reads my post and takes it to heart. This customer is satisfied for now but if their grip gets tighter I (and probably many others) may seriously consider a new provider (I only switched to vzw in the first place because AT&T discontinued their unlimited plan).

These communities are vital in telling mobile companies how we want their service to work, the customer is the most imortant thing in business, without us, they can't survive. Mobile companies need to remember this fact of life. Whether it's unlocked bootloaders or bandwidth usage, they need to hear our concerns an adhere to them if they want to survive.

DroidForums junkie!!

 

[maderschramm]

I love you DD.

Lol seriously though, im glad my view is shared, especially in the company im currently (and happily I might add) giving my money too. It's very heartening to hear that vzw takes my concerns about network usage seriously. I hope they continue to improve the network so one day unlimited (real unlimited) bandwidth is not only possible but easy and affordable.