cell phone & streaming

[D2Reid]

Oh I forgot something, Canada and Mexico. We visit both from time to time but the cost/plan/coverage change each time we have gone. This last trip into Mexico we had 1 or 2 gb per day data, unlimited calling and text. Our Canada trip got Covid cancelled.

[dryfly]

A lot of Texas is ATT country, Verizon doesn't work as well. My daughter has ATT, I have Verizon.

I tried the Iphone to HDMI thingy. There is a security protocol that has to be overridden. It seems they are attempting to keep someone from playing a subscription movie to a recording device, anti-piracy thing. Of course that was two years ago for me, so things may have changed.

Unlimited plans, what a crock. It's like saying you can have all the water from the faucet you want, so long as it is one drop at a time. After your GB monthly limit you're throttled to 640K or .65 MBS it takes about 2 MBS to stream, slowly, with buffering.

Finding Verizon plans. The plans change frequently. The discounts are hidden. The VZ stores get different information than the VZ telephone staff. Neither know what is on the VZ web site. I've used VZ for over 15 years. Up until about 5 years ago streaming wasn't very viable, just not enough fast throughput, so I rarely got close to using my GB Monthly Hot Spot allotment. When we did start streaming I very quickly exceeded the allotment and had to put up with very slow web page loading. But things are better now. In most places I get at least 2 mbs throughput, and near cities I can get 50 mbs throughput. So we started streaming, which meant that I had to upgrade my plan.

That's when I started finding out about the hidden discounts. I am a vet, discount. I am a senior, discount. I have 2 Iphones, 2 Apple watches, Ipad, 2 laptops, and an Xbox. The watches share with the Iphones, $8.50 each per month. I Ipad has an Unlimited Plan, $8.50 per month. My wife watches a TV show on it that I don't like and reads her book on it. It has a 15gb per month cap. Both the Iphones are on the 5 Get More plans, $80 a month each. They have 50 gb Hot Spot Limit, unlimited on device data. I exceeded the phone hot spot limit one time and got throttled, don't know if that was a mistake or what, it was weird. I have a discount for automatic payment. Inlcluded in this plan is Hulu, Disney +, Apple Arcade, Apple Music. Lesser plans they charge around $10 per month. I expect this will change, it looked like a promotional thing, but we are enjoying Hulu and Disney +. This plan also gives me a 50% discount on watches/tablets/mifi devices. Which brings me to the last device, our Mifi wireless router. A little dohicky that acts like an computer wireless router but gets it's internet connection through cell towers. I have the Pro plan that gives me 100 gb per month of hot spot. But with the high end cell phone plan it's 1/2 off, or $17 per month.

Total bill runs me around $250 a month. Getting all this together was very painful and time consuming. I talked with at least a dozen VZ persons and none of them had all the correct information, or maybe they were throttled also and only allowed to give out a little bit of information at a time.

Coverage. In 2011 when we started full timing you could usually make a cell phone call near most cities, not in the rural areas, not much data. Now, we can stream most places we go. When T-Mobile and Sprint merged there coverage improved quite a bit. Since I don't use them I can't really speak to their coverage. ATT has come a long way also, at one time I had my wife on ATT because there was a big location difference in the services. Some places we went ATT was the only thing working. But then we were going places ATT didn't work, so back to VZ. VZ works everywhere we go, where there is any kind of cell service. And we still go places where there is no cell service at all. A lot of the coverage thing is location, some stuff works really great in the east, not at all in the west. Some works around cities, never in the rural areas. The coverage maps are a general guideline. There are web services that show cell tower strength, they are hard to find. I used them when I was spending a whole summer in an area with poor service to optimize my cell service. I haven't had to do that in a couple of years.

Claims about the best. Myself included. I have read many stories about how great this or that service program coverage plan is. You have to be careful, becuase these claims work for the person telling it. What's not included is location. Where do these people travel and stay. Is it just one area? One route? or do they (like me) rove all over the country. Just this last year I have been spent weeks in Washington, Utah, and South Dakota. In the near future Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, then Florida. Next summer Vermont and NH. My VZ is poor in north TX.

There is a lot to this connectivity thing. And more coming out every day. Good luck in your hunt.

Regarding the iPhone to HDMI adapter and the security protocol that has to be overridden; this mainly appears to be a problem with third party adapters. From everything I've read using the Apple adapter corrects the issue. I will soon find out as my adapter just arrived today.

I just came back from the Verizon store trying to get some info on my account, and determine what my "unlimited" data plan really is. Honestly, I'm not sure the guy I talked with had a clue. He stated I had both unlimited data (no throttling after high usage) on cell service data, as well as when using the phone as a hotspot. Needless to say, I'm going to check with another store.

With all this said, DirecTv will remain my main source for TV. I simply want to have streaming available when camping in spots where trees present a problem in getting a signal. Even if I have limitations on my plan I doubt it will be an issue. I just need to monitor the usage.

By the way, how can you check download speed on the iPhone?

[Scousers]

Regarding the iPhone to HDMI adapter and the security protocol that has to be overridden; this mainly appears to be a problem with third party adapters. From everything I've read using the Apple adapter corrects the issue. I will soon find out as my adapter just arrived today.

I just came back from the Verizon store trying to get some info on my account, and determine what my "unlimited" data plan really is. Honestly, I'm not sure the guy I talked with had a clue. He stated I had both unlimited data (no throttling after high usage) on cell service data, as well as when using the phone as a hotspot. Needless to say, I'm going to check with another store.

With all this said, DirecTv will remain my main source for TV. I simply want to have streaming available when camping in spots where trees present a problem in getting a signal. Even if I have limitations on my plan I doubt it will be an issue. I just need to monitor the usage.

By the way, how can you check download speed on the iPhone?

We dumped the MIFI and VZ and DirecTV, went to Starlink/ YouTube TV and Visible...so far so good.

Download the OOKLA app to check internet speed.

Len

[ajg617]

We found a gotcha with both the Verizon ret mil and T-Mobile Magenta 55 "unlimited" plans. The unlimited worked only if you did not use your phone as a hot spot. If we wanted data via a hot spot, we had to up our plans (and costs). If I recall, T-Mobile gave us a whopping 2GB/month hot spot data initially with the "unlimited" Magenta 55 plan but unlimited if streaming on the phone itself. VZ was a tad more but not much. Still, through our trips over the northern/mid tier of US this year from New England to Montana, T-Mobile became the go-to data hot spots for us - VZ was pretty much non-existent at the sites we stayed at.

[D2Reid]

By the way, how can you check download speed on the iPhone?

I have Google Chrome App on my Iphone, I simply search for Speed Test, the google speed test page comes up and I click on the button.

[Ynot4me2]

I have Google Chrome App on my Iphone, I simply search for Speed Test, the google speed test page comes up and I click on the button.

You can do the same online with any devices. Open any web browser and do a search for speed test. Some will take you to a page some will run live.

[Jims94vmx]

Anyone figure out a way to download Netflix or Paramount+ to a NAS or other hard drive so phone doesn't need to be used.....?

[dryfly]

I have Google Chrome App on my Iphone, I simply search for Speed Test, the google speed test page comes up and I click on the button.

OK. I use Speed Test on the computer but for some reason questioned how accurate it would be for cell signals. I guess download/upload speed for internet activity is the same regardless of the device used.

[trailrydr]

The trouble with many "unlimited" plans is that after a certain number of gigs used, you will get throttled....usually in the 600Kb range of throughput. That's not even enough to load a webpage with any degree of speed, much less trying to stream video. The little circle that goes round and round will drive you crazy within a matter of minutes. I am grandfathered in with a pre-paid Verizon unlimited Hot spot on my Jetpack 8800L and even though it is truly unlimited......think hundreds and hundreds of gigs, there are still occasional times (not very often) that they will de-prioritize the line. This normally happens if there are somewhat limited cell towers in the area and the cell phone traffic will take precedence over my hot spot. We experienced it most recently while in Bryce Canyon city at Ruby's Inn campground. I had a full 5 bars, but the streaming just wasn't happening unless you wanted to wait out the buffering...and then get another 45 seconds or minute of the show you were watching.

So my point in all of this, be very thorough in researching what you end up getting and realize that "unlimited" may or not be truly unlimited. From what I understand, Starlink is truly unlimited.....as is my Comcast Business line into the house.

I agree with the comments of throttling even for the "grandfathered" VZN unlimited plans, cause I have one and have been throttled after 22gbs, and 15gbs of hotspot too - unless VPNing, which for some reason VZN doesn't throttle once you go past your limits (or its not noticable anyways).

As for Comcast, I too was a customer - but residential. And, unless you have your own dedicated line, you may still be sharing band width with other customers. So, its possible that other customers using the available bandwidth associated to your area could degrade your service during heavy traffic. But agreed, that a cable provider line should ensure no direct "throttling" in and of itself, just possible "slightly" slower, possibly undetectable unless running a speed test, during heavy usage. Also, because of the need for cable modems, it does require the occasional modem reboot (my own experience) to ensure good connection and speed to the providers server, especially after any provider software/hardware upgrades (including to your own modem) and for any unresolved line errors which may occasionally occur. Would recommend a privately purchased provider compatible modem with the ability to schedule an occasional reboot for cable and/or DSL service.

[trailrydr]

OK. I use Speed Test on the computer but for some reason questioned how accurate it would be for cell signals. I guess download/upload speed for internet activity is the same regardless of the device used.

When using a hotspot connection from a PC to your cell, it is possible to get fairly good and reliable speed test results. However, it really depends on your wireless adapter connection via WIFI. If using this type of connection, which I do with my VZN phone, I always ensure that I install the latest and greatest WIFI adapter software (including purchasing a fairly high speed adapter compatible with my phones AC protocal) and delete/install/reboot to get the best/highest connection speed from my PC WIFIs adapter.

I also recommend rebooting your cell phone once you get back to your RV to ensure best tower connectivity and performance in your area. And the last recommendation would be to run a internet optimizer (i.e. System Mechanic) on your PC.

If you have decent cell strength (and not being throttled), you should be able to get a fairly good speed test result equitable to your phone depending on your adapters ability to transfer/receive data to your phone