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Family data plan throttling?

We have multiple devices on our family plan and it's not uncommon for 600GB+ to be used in a month. I often travel around the country on work and use 2 jetpacks for 20GB(10 each) of 4G LTE hotspot speeds for my laptop.

Now my concern is at the beginning of the month speeds aren't too terrible, but when one is getting close to or past 10GB it gets very very slow (10-70kbps) I will power it off and turn on my 2nd jetpack with 0GB used and speeds will not increase at all.

This leads me to believe that even though I have been blatantly told by numerous people that it doesn't matter if the family plan has 1000GB of data used, each device will have full 4G LTE hotspot speeds until 10GB... It's actually being throttled based on the family data used.

Which is why the first device will slow down before 10GB have even been used and the 2nd device that hasn't been used at all will provide no better speeds.

Can I get clarification on this?

PS- I have already been in contact with support troubleshooting both devices with no answers as to why the speeds are as they are. I can't think of any other conclusion.

Comments

Steve_Jep

My cycle ends tonight, I am currently using my jetpack with no data used and getting 65kbps download speeds. I will update with speeds when cycle resets and see if the total family data usage affects individual devices in regards to 4g LTE hotspot speeds.

If it does then this is a major issue that needs to be taken seriously as all of your representatives swear up and down that the data used by individual devices determine the hotspot speed and the total family data usage has nothing to do with it.

Steve_Jep

And now that the cycle has refreshed the same device that had 0gb of data used is getting 15mbps download instead of 50-70kbps.

So clearly this is an issue of Verizon throttling devices on family plan even if it hasn't used any data. This is wrong.

corysmc

Honestly I believe verizons satellites and ground antennas can't handle all the new data the unlimited plan brought onto their network. The reason I say this is because obviously at 3 am when everyone is sleeping I get fast speeds while during the day especially 2pm - 11pm it is super slow because the most people are on. Sadly no employee can fix this it's a upper level problem needing a better satellite and more power to antennas. I'm on unlimited plan I'm switching back to 10gb plan to see if I can get fast speeds up until I reach 10gb because I know the unlimited plan is being throttled. If that doesn't work I'm going to cricket which uses same verizon towers but has less stress on the system because they don't have as many customers as verizon. AT&T is last choice if all else fails.

Steve_Jep

I do notice speed decreases somewhat during certain hours of the day but not so much that my download speeds are under 1mbps.

What I notice is as my family total data usage rises my individual device speeds lower. Once it goes over 500gb my download speeds at any time of day or night are so bad that web pages won't even load properly because they time out. My best speeds and any time throughout the day is about 80kbps. I'm pretty sure my mid 90s dial up internet connection was faster than that. Lol

Verizon_Support

We never want to see you go, corysms. We understand the concern both of you have over our data speeds. Our Unlimited Data plan does have a Hotspot limit for 10GB of 4G LTE before going down to 3G data speeds, and data may be prioritized after 22GB of usage for any other device. Follow this link for more information on our Unlimited Data Plan, https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/new-verizon-plan-unlimited-faqs/. We want to make sure we address any discrepancies and continuous issues. What kind of device are you using? Are you experiencing any issues with any other services?

JavierMD_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the Correct Answer button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

Verizon_Support

This is very odd, and I appreciate all the details you have provided, Steve_Jep. A Jetpack line that has not used any data, should still have access to 4G LTE until it reaches 10GB of use. I'd like to take a closer look at your data logs, as well as provisioning to ensure that there is no underlying issue. I've sent you a direct message. Please reply to my message so I can continue assisting.

AndreaS_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

Steve_Jep

I am aware that after 10GB you get knocked down to 3G and after 22GB you get deprioritized, but that wouldn't apply to a jetpack with 0GB used which is what I was using and getting speeds of 65kbps until the next day when the cycle reset.

I have been testing this for the last couple months and the download rate always starts out fine in the beginning of the cycle and degenerates as the total data usage on the plan increases. Towards the end of the cycle when the total usage is around 500GB even when I pull out my 2nd jetpack and use it the speeds are just as slow as my other one with over 10GB used.

I bought 2 specifically so I could have that extra 10GB towards the end of the month just in case I run out of the 10 on my first one.

Also, I am pretty skeptical about this AndreaS_VZW asking for my number and pin, I have seen them commenting in several threads but there is always small grammatical differences between what you guys post and what they post. I just can't understand why she wouldn't be banned by this point if that's the case.

yarelim_vzw

Steve_Jep, it is alarming for us to hear that you are experiencing very low data speeds when switching jet-packs during your Bill Cycle. We appreciate the troubleshooting you have completed in efforts to get this resolved. Now we definitely need to take a closer look at your network coverage area and devices to determine what is going on. This is why AndreaS_VZW has sent you a Direct Message and is asking for account verification to better assist.

yarelim_vzw

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