[Q] Thinking of switching from Sprint, but have a question

jejb

Senior Member
Nov 24, 2008
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Rogers, AR
Hi folks,

First post on the Verizon side. I've been on Sprint forever but am looking at converting to Verizon for their better coverage and better customer satisfaction (at least according to Consumer Reports). We went to the local Verizon store and it seems like we could save money by switching to their 2 year contract. But I want to confirm a couple of things with the forum, as I know sometimes you get, um, incomplete info from the sales folks. ;)

On Sprint, you have to pay an additional charge to make the phone a hotspot. It is THE reason I rooted my S4, to be able to do that for free. I was told it is a free include on the Verizon smartphone plans. So can y'all confirm that is true, and talk about any issues/details I should know about? It would sure make the deal pretty sweet if that is included and pain free!

It sounds like it's easy to change the plan we are on for anticipated data usage. Most of the time, we have very little data usage during the month as we're almost always on a wifi connection. But we own an RV and can use a lot of data (hotspot) when on the road, for up to 2 months at time. Is it as easy as they say to call and bump it up for a couple of months, and then back down when done? Any pitfalls or costs associated with it?

How about roaming data usage? I was told at the store that as long as 50% or less of the data usage is roaming, they don't care. True? Horror stories?
 

Savagerun

Senior Member
Jun 29, 2011
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Yes Hotspot usage is included in the plans for everyone except people like myself who still have unlimited data plan. You can also bump up your data if you expect to go over your limit and also bump it back down whenever needed without any problem or extra charges. Your roaming question im not sure about.

Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 
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joshua.justice

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2011
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Cincinnati
Yes Hotspot usage is included in the plans for everyone except people like myself who still have unlimited data plan. You can also bump up your data if you expect to go over your limit and also bump it back down whenever needed without any problem or extra charges. Your roaming question im not sure about.

Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
That's technically incorrect. It's not free on the $60 2gb unlimited talk and text plan, it's $15 each device(not a more everything plan). In a more everything plan it'll be included.

OP say you get 4gb of data.

1. On more everything it would be $70 for data and $40 for each smart phone so $150 total. The data is one allotment.

2. You do it on the individual plans on a family account, it can be done, but it would be $60 for 2gb per line and unlimited talk and text, so $120 for two with 4gb total. Add $15 per phone for hotspot, if it's on both then the plan cost is equal.

3. Edge, a bit more complicated but if you 4gb just get 10gb as the cost is the same because of the access fee discount per line.
 
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jejb

Senior Member
Nov 24, 2008
537
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Rogers, AR
That's technically incorrect. It's not free on the $60 2gb unlimited talk and text plan, it's $15 each device(not a more everything plan). In a more everything plan it'll be included.

OP say you get 4gb of data.

1. On more everything it would be $70 for data and $40 for each smart phone so $150 total. The data is one allotment.

2. You do it on the individual plans on a family account, it can be done, but it would be $60 for 2gb per line and unlimited talk and text, so $120 for two with 4gb total. Add $15 per phone for hotspot, if it's on both then the plan cost is equal.

3. Edge, a bit more complicated but if you 4gb just get 10gb as the cost is the same because of the access fee discount per line.
Thanks for the break down. I think I get it.

Another question about the hotspot. When hooked to the Hotspot, can the phone still make/receive calls? Assuming S5 and Note 3.
 

joshua.justice

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2011
634
42
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Cincinnati
Thanks for the break down. I think I get it.

Another question about the hotspot. When hooked to the Hotspot, can the phone still make/receive calls? Assuming S5 and Note 3.
You're welcome, unfortunately I understand it all too well as I work at Best Buy and I'm fairly certain it wouldn't as voice is still a separate network frequency and CDMA can't use voice and data simultaneously. When they do VoLTE (voice over lte) it will work. They're suppose to be rolling out anytime.
 
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quantumalpha

Senior Member
Jan 4, 2012
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You're welcome, unfortunately I understand it all too well as I work at Best Buy and I'm fairly certain it wouldn't as voice is still a separate network frequency and CDMA can't use voice and data simultaneously. When they do VoLTE (voice over lte) it will work. They're suppose to be rolling out anytime.
Mostly right.

If you're in a 4G area, you can make/receive a call and still use 4G data at the same time.
 
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