4G phone sim card in MiFi

[netmizor]

No contracts, 3 unlimited lines, 2 limited lines.

I've been reading the forum posts...lot's of them...but am still not sure on this situation. All my chats and phone conversations with Verizon over the past week have ended up with the rep saying you cannot use the sim card in the MiFi because it will not fit, not that it will not work or result in plan changes.

I've tested the phone's sim card successfully in the MiFi. The performance increased from ~1 Mbps download to upwards of 14 Mbps allowing me to stream HD videos from youtube without buffering.

So, my question is if there really is an FCC ruling that allows...or prevents...moving sim cards from phones to Mifi's, and if I can use my Galaxy Nexus' 4G sim card in my MiFi without violating Verizon's terms and losing my unlimited data?

Thanks much!

 

[netmizor]

Did some research on the FCC site and found the ruling on Verizon's improper billing for unlimited lines. Also found a statement Verizon made that says plans are associated with sim cards and follow the sim cards when they are moved between devices. Has anyone that has moved a sim card from phone to MiFi ever had a problem with Verizon changing their plan or billing? Someone's bound to have done this.

BTW, Spoke with Verizon reps again this week and referenced the FCC ruling. I asked if they could provide me with any documentation that states I cannot move my sim from a phone to a MiFi. After a short chat I was eventually referred to the Customer Care group. Has anyone broached this topic with VZW CC?

Lastly, out of desperation I decided to try the hotspot option on my Galaxy Nexus to see if it would provided any better performance than tethering. I added the feature online for $30 per month but only after talking with a good friend who works at a Verizon store. The unlimited data on that line was not affected (so far). The performance, however, fell far short of the MiFi...2.3 Mbps vs. 14 Mbps. I will keep watching the line to make sure the unlimited data is not affected.

 

[RickWood427]

I looked at this right after 4G LTE lit up in my area almost 3 years ago.

I have 2 unlimited data lines and seriously thought about buying a 4G mifi to use on the 2nd line.
My sales rep, that knows his stuff and is still there, said it would work to use a phone sim in the mifi. BUT, using a mifi sim in a phone would NOT work because it isn't provisioned for voice.

I ultimately went with a 4G phone. It allowed me to connect more devices than the mifi and ran at the same speed.

I don't think any of the current mifi units will work with AWS as it rolls out.

YMMV. I would make sure I was paying the tethering option, even on the mifi. I don't see how they could say anything then.

 

[netmizor]

Thanks for the reply. Apparently my Galaxy Nexus hotspot or tether will not perform at my home as well as the MiFi does. Maybe it's a problem with the phone itself. I'm going to try the 4G sim in the MiFi and see where this takes me.

 

[RickWood427]

Good luck.

I hope you will post the results.

 

[netmizor]

I Did some more testing with the Smartphone/hotspot vs. MiFi. The hotspot still operates at about half the bandwidth of the MiFi, although the performance of the $30-per-month hotspot is better than the old tethering method I was using.

I also did some cost comparisons for an AOL'd account. I just can't justify the costs. I bid on several accounts on ebay but the lines were going for $250-$350 each, depending on the auction. Combined with the cost of maintaining the acquired plan/lines...even with the unlimited data...is just to high and would take a long time to see a return on investment. So, for now I'm going to just keep using the hotspot and maybe swap the sim in the MiFi when I need more BW. Not a good solution...yet.