Somebody educate me on iphone as a hotspot please!!!

[Skcbb]

Hi guys,
I'm new here so be gentle. I'm with Verizon and currently use a wifi hot spot for my home Internet. There's a story but I'll spare you the details. I am thinking about going to an iPhone on my next upgrade and am hoping you guys can clear something up for me.
If I get the iPhone, I know I can use it as a mobile wifi hotspot. I also know I will have an unlimited data plan. Does this unlimited data also apply to data that used as a hotspot? If not, how do they bill you. Please don't give me a link to Verizon's website, I've read it and it's as clear as mud. I'm hoping you can break it down so a 58 year old dummy understands it. I want to do this so my wife and I can use our laptop and tablet cause the iPhone itself is too small for our old eyes. Also so we can use it while taking cross country driving excursions.
I have a feeling it's going to be prohibitively expensive or everybody would be doing this.
Thanks in advance for the help, these forums are great

 

[zig9449]

Okay I see.

The only thing that should change in your bill is the added $30 a month for the hot spot.

So whatever you have been paying...plus $30 for the hot spot.

I find it rather strange to solely rely in your iPhone as your full source of Internet through your laptop/desktop computer.

I imagine the heat that builds up in your phone from keeping its tethered all the time would definitely do some damage to the battery.

Tho...I suppose it wouldn't be too bad as long as you very rarely use your computer.....to each his own I suppose.lol.

But to answer you question...all that gets added to your bill is the $30 it cost per month to keep the hot spot enabled.
Supposedly anyway.

I don't see how they could charge you anymore that that.

 

[Chris951]

Verizon will not allow unlimited data on a hotspot/tethering plan. You will be dropped down to 5 gigabytes of data usage per month and will be charged extra if you go over that amount, on top of the new $30 added to your bill for hotspot/tethering.

I don't think it's worth it honestly. As I use a good amount of data every month. If I were you, i would read up on how to jailbreak your iPhone, when you get it. After you jailbreak you can download a tether/hotspot app for $5 and never have to pay a monthly fee and keep your unlimited data plan.


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

 

[zig9449]

Verizon will not allow unlimited data on a hotspot/tethering plan. You will be dropped down to 5 gigabytes of data usage per month and will be charged extra if you go over that amount, on top of the new $30 added to your bill for hotspot/tethering.

I don't think it's worth it honestly. As I use a good amount of data every month. If I were you, i would read up on how to jailbreak your iPhone, when you get it. After you jailbreak you can download a tether/hotspot app for $5 and never have to pay a monthly fee and keep your unlimited data plan.

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

You only lose your unlimited data plan if you add the tethering plan online.

If you actually call customer service or go to the store...you can get unlimited tethering plan along with keeping your unlimited data plan.

But I agree...jailbreaking and installing TetherMe for a one time $5 fee would be a better way to go..and that is what u would do...tho I would never have an iPhone that is not jailbroken either.

 

[Chris951]

You only lose your unlimited data plan if you add the tethering plan online.

If you actually call customer service or go to the store...you can get unlimited tethering plan along with keeping your unlimited data plan.

But I agree...jailbreaking and installing TetherMe for a one time $5 fee would be a better way to go..and that is what u would do...tho I would never have an iPhone that is not jailbroken either.

I've never heard that.. Not gonna argue with you though lol I've only ever heard of people getting dropped down to 5gb. A rep for sprint even told me it would drop to 5gb no matter what on the phone which is why I didn't do it. It doesn't make sense that they would keep the unlimited if you tether. They would miss out on a lot of money.


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

 

[zig9449]

I've never heard that.. Not gonna argue with you though lol I've only ever heard of people getting dropped down to 5gb. A rep for sprint even told me it would drop to 5gb no matter what on the phone which is why I didn't do it. It doesn't make sense that they would keep the unlimited if you tether. They would miss out on a lot of money.

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

I know it make no sense.

But surely you know that if something doesn't make any flippin sense at all....then phone companies go for it anyway.

God forbid they do something that would perfectly logical.

 

[jennaleigh226]

I called Verizon in March to activate the hotspot on my iPhone and they put me in a 5GB mo plan for $30. Luckily I only needed it for a short time (I had just moved into my condo & didn't have an ISP yet).
It was a good short-term fix but I definitely wouldn't look at it to solve a long-term problem.

Have you looked into getting a Mobile Hotspot MiFi device from Verizon? It's portable so you can take it anywhere.

 

[Chris951]

I called Verizon in March to activate the hotspot on my iPhone and they put me in a 5GB mo plan for $30. Luckily I only needed it for a short time (I had just moved into my condo & didn't have an ISP yet).
It was a good short-term fix but I definitely wouldn't look at it to solve a long-term problem.

Have you looked into getting a Mobile Hotspot MiFi device from Verizon? It's portable so you can take it anywhere.

But then he would lose his unlimited data plan if he did that. Like I said above, the cheapest and best way to do this is to jailbreak and download Tetherme for $5 and never have to pay a monthly fee.

Those mifi devices cost $50 a month and are limited to 5gb also.




Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

 

[zig9449]

But then he would lose his unlimited data plan if he did that. Like I said above, the cheapest and best way to do this is to jailbreak and download Tetherme for $5 and never have to pay a monthly fee.

Those mifi devices cost $50 a month and are limited to 5gb also.

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

No he would not have.

YOU ONLY LOSE THE UNLIMITED DATA IF YOU ADD THE TETHERING PLAN ONLINE.

 

[Chris951]

No he would not have.

YOU ONLY LOSE THE UNLIMITED DATA IF YOU ADD THE TETHERING PLAN ONLINE.

Do you have personal experience with this or are you just going off something you heard? Because according to Jenna a couple posts above, she CALLED and they put her on the 5gb tethering plan.


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

 

[zig9449]

Do you have personal experience with this or are you just going off something you heard? Because according to Jenna a couple posts above, she CALLED and they put her on the 5gb tethering plan.

Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

No first hand experience....He was going to add a tethering plan...he got in Verizon..brought up that chat thing..and asked how to keep unlimited data and still have the tethering plan.

The reply was pretty much like this:

"you can add an unlimited tethering plan for $30 a month if you call customer service at(number) or visit a retail store near you".

Perhaps not that exact wording...but that is what she said...and that was about a month and a half ago.

 

[Skcbb]

Thanks for all the input guys. To be clear I now have a mifi wifi hotspot with Verizon at $50 for 5gigs. I did this because a family member with an iphone got out of our plan and I got this to avoid paying a penalty to cancel her phone from my plan....complicated and a long story, I'll spare you the story.
So if I understand correctly.....if I buy an iPhone and have the unlimited data plan, that DOES NOT apply to tethering?
But I can "jailbreak" the phone and by a $5 app and then tether for free? We don't download movies or anything big. We currently stay right at the 5 gig were allotted each month.
Sooooo, jailbreak....is that something a dummy can do? Or will I screw up the phone and have to take it back and get busted for trying to hack it? Lol like I said I'm not real sharp on this stuff.
Thanks again for all the help

 

[Chris951]

Thanks for all the input guys. To be clear I now have a mifi wifi hotspot with Verizon at $50 for 5gigs. I did this because a family member with an iphone got out of our plan and I got this to avoid paying a penalty to cancel her phone from my plan....complicated and a long story, I'll spare you the story.
So if I understand correctly.....if I buy an iPhone and have the unlimited data plan, that DOES NOT apply to tethering?
But I can "jailbreak" the phone and by a $5 app and then tether for free? We don't download movies or anything big. We currently stay right at the 5 gig were allotted each month.
Sooooo, jailbreak....is that something a dummy can do? Or will I screw up the phone and have to take it back and get busted for trying to hack it? Lol like I said I'm not real sharp on this stuff.
Thanks again for all the help

Jailbreaking is very easy. All you do is download the jailbreak program (Absinthe or Redsn0w) onto your computer, plug the phone into the computer, restore the phone on iTunes, open the jailbreak program and click the "jailbreak" button, let it work for a minute and your done. Once it's jailbroken, you will have an app called Cydia. It's like the app store but it's full of jailbreak apps. You go in cydia and download an app called Tetherme. It costs $5 and you will not ever have to pay anything except the $5 to buy it.


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

 

[Skcbb]

Jailbreaking is very easy. All you do is download the jailbreak program (Absinthe or Redsn0w) onto your computer, plug the phone into the computer, restore the phone on iTunes, open the jailbreak program and click the "jailbreak" button, let it work for a minute and your done. Once it's jailbroken, you will have an app called Cydia. It's like the app store but it's full of jailbreak apps. You go in cydia and download an app called Tetherme. It costs $5 and you will not ever have to pay anything except the $5 to buy it.


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4

Chris, thanks much. I bet I can handle that. If the phone breaks and I return it for warranty, can I return it to its normal mode and can they tell it's been jail broke. Thanks again

 

[Chris951]

Chris, thanks much. I bet I can handle that. If the phone breaks and I return it for warranty, can I return it to its normal mode and can they tell it's been jail broke. Thanks again

Yep all you have to do is restore it in iTunes to return it to factory. No problem


Sent from my Sprint iPhone 4