Had the hotspot for my home since early summer last yr. The payments were supposed to be $80/month. I have yet to get a bill less than $250!!! I have called and complained since I got my 1st bill. The only answer I get is 'we looked at your bill and decided it is yours. You must pay it.' 2 months ago I suddenly got a bill for $530!!! I called immediately and was told 'we do not see anything out of the ordinary'. WHAT?!?! My bill usually fluctuated between $250-$340/month, now it nearly doubles and you don't see anything out of the ordinary??? Also, during that '$530' month my hotspot modem started messing up a LOT. It would have 3 solid white lights while working. Then, it would stop working and have 3 solid blue lights. I would have to take the device apart-remove the batt and sim card to let them sit for 1-2 hrs at a time. This would happen 3-4 times/day! So, how did my internet usage DOUBLE when I couldn't even connect as much as I normally did?!?! I received a new modem. Now as of this writing, I am 25 days into my billing cycle and my usage per the Verizon site is 8.5gig out of my 10gig allowance. So, I ask "doesn't that sound a little funny to anyone else?" I have also been getting disconnected about every 5 minutes or so for the past few weeks. Verizon says how great their service is but wants to charge you hundreds of dollars in made up overages and can't even keep you connected! I wanted to write Verizon this info in an e-mail so I could get my complaints to them in writing, as if that could possibly make a difference, but I could not find any 'email here' type of area. So, I guess I must 'air my dirty laundry' about this issue to anyone who wants to look. I am guessing that Verizon probably won't even look at this, or if they do, they won't care at all-except to email me to keep paying my 'overage' bills and maybe even to shut up. If asked by friends, I would NOT recommend this service to others!!! I am VERY unsatisfied!
Hello,
You did post on a user forum, which is intended for user to user communication. However, VZW does poke it head in every now and then so you might be surprised.
This sounds like a typical overage scenario. You pay for 10GB/mo and you consumed more. Without any evidence to prove it one way or another the advantage lies with VZW on this one. Tech support should have been able to review logs and things to proove they are billing correctly.
I'd request a data log from VZW. They should be able to provide you with a detailed summary of your usage for the questionable months. Now, the report doesnt show where the data went or who requested it, but it does show how much data was moved onto your device and at what time. If you can prove the spikes are in timeframes where the MiFi is powered off or not used then you have a case. Most who get anything out of VZW can take the overages that have been payed as part of or the complete Early Term Fee.
Also to the OP, if you are the account owner, log into you MyVerizon account and look at the amount of data you have been using.
I would also change the password for the default 0123456789 to something that would be hard for others to figure out AND set up the hotspot to only allow the MAC address' you want to use the hotspot. Even if others know the passcode, if not on the list, they are not allowed into the party!
My point is: since I have got my new hotspot device, I have only used 8.5gig/10gig allowed/month 25 days so far into the billing cycle. My old hotspot was telling them I was using between 30-52gig! I had 1 tech guy from Verizon tell me 'wow! You would have to download info on all of your computers all day long for a month and still not be able to download that much info. But, it's still your bill. You need to pay it'. What?!?! Even the tech guys at Verizon agree it isn't right, but they do NOTHING about it. The longer I am w/Verizon, the more I think they are just running a big scam. Because I report the problem time after time on the phone and they do NOTHING about it. I don't even get any help w/the disconnects-which would give them more $$$ because I'm online more! Their customer service SUCKS!
There are theories out there that network problems and defective devices can account for inflated data useage. None of those theories have ever been confirmed. However, I have not heard of any cases where a technical issue has caused over 3x the allowed usage. Your scenario seems extreme even for a heavy user. While its not hard to rack up 50 Gb of data on a 4G LTE connection, I'd say its very rare that anyone ever gets that high, especially without knowing about it.
If the new device is working for you then thats great. Perhaps your old device was compromised or defective and consistently downloading content from VZW even when you were not using it. Now that you have replaced the old device we will not be able to get to the bottom of it.
Just make sure to check in on your data habits from time to time. You can always check your data usage over the phone by dialing 1(800) 922-0204 and working through the menus. When you notice the usage getting high then shutdown the hotspot and investigate to see if your data continues to go up or not.
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