I've had my MiFi 2200 wireless card for many years. Recently, it's been disconnecting itself from the internet about every 45-60 minutes, like clockwork. I can reconnect but anything I was working on is lost and I have to start my downloads/uploads all over again.
I called in to Verizon Support about a few hours ago and was told nicely but bluntly that Verizon is basically doing this to all unlimited 3G users like myself with "higher than average" internet usage. Right now I'm at about 9 gigs for the month. He claims this started on my personal plan in particular back in July. Somehow he can see that this annoyance was added on by Verizon, lucky me.
When asked how I can get this issue fixed, I was told it wasn't possible.....unless I upgraded. The "upgrade" to 4G will give me faster internet (they say) and I'd no longer get disconnected every hour (they say). Though I'd pay more (of course) and no longer have unlimited internet (ditto).
I was polite and so was the operator but I let him know I was very irritated. He placed me on hold and said he'd talk to someone about a plan most people don't get offerred (huh??) that would allow me 4G access and 20 gigs per month of data for the same price I'm paying now and no more disconnects.
I say OK, sign me up. He puts me on hold again and when he comes back he says he was told they won't offer me that option.
So to summerize: I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years or more. I currently have 3 phones and an wireless card through them but until I "upgrade" (the quotes indicate my sarcasm) to 4G, I'm basically going to have to continue to pay for internet usage that comes in one hour chunks.
Does this sound acceptable to anyone else?
I am in the same situation. I was told I should upgrade last year because I was no where near the new usage cap. I have multiple phones and have had my mifi several years. It worked fine and then started getting worse and worse. Now the main website I go to daily will not load. I have to go to work to access it. My husband has a usb modem and has no trouble but I can't get even yahoo to load without waiting several minutes. I spend up to 3 hours a night just hoping to load my site with my game on it most nights to no avail. And we used to could connect up to 5 devices like they promote but I have to make everyone get off line when I get on just to check my email. I am tired of paying 65 dollars a month for crappy service but my unlimited is basically becoming useless. Am really considering satellite service. It is the only other option. The "optimizing" is not just durring the billing cycle because my cycle just restarted and I still have issues.
I agree it is unacceptable. I just don't know what alternatives will be better.
I don't know what your agent was getting at with "Verizon is basically doing this to all unlimited 3G users like myself with "higher than average" internet usage." But it is deffinitly isn't accurate in any sense of the word. Verizon isn't specifically "targeting" any of it's customers and really wouldn't be able to - at least not in that direct sense.
Average lifespan of most data devices is around 2-3 years. Less, if you have a user that really doesn't take care of it. Verizon more then likely does understand this, and know eventually you'll have to replace it. Most people would rather pay $100 for a new device then $600 at full retail - which means the unlimited data feature will be forfeit.
The bottom line here is that devices are streaming in data at drastically greater rates and volumes. This has as much to do with whats available on the net as with the devices utilizing it. Unlimited data was released at a time where data usage really didn't have the capacity to be all that severe - thats not the case anymore. Most individuals holding on to their unlimited data still are the super-data-users that wouldn't save any money on the newer plans that your average user would. Fact of the matter is there is no network out there that would be able to provide wireless broadband at Verizon speeds at unlimited volumes. Period. You'd be left with a crippled network that moves at snail speeds.
That is why Verizon is phasing out unlimited data. The only individuals really impacted by this are the ones that use particularly larger amounts of data. In THAT sense, you are being targeted. I'd recommend using WIFI wherever possible and avoid watching Netflix while your driving. One cell phone that opens a couple hundred websites, sends several hundred emails, downloads a hanfull of songs, and listens to streaming radio on a regular basis would still use under 2GB (which is the average) a month. If your using THAT much data, you need to start considering hardline internet options without allowances.
Two things can be occurring:
1. Your equipment is starting to give out on you..You can replace the MIFI2200 with another MIFI2200 from 3gstore with no contract.
2. You could be subject to throttling a lot of users have had this happen.
Solution: Upgrade to Verizon or use your Consumer right and change ...T-Mobile offers unlimited broadband
ames36075, I would be aggravated by this as well! I would love to help. Were you told by one of our representatives that you were being optimized? There may be other issues impacting your data connection and speeds. Let me know so I can further assist. Thanks!
AnthonyTa_VZW
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
I am not sure if this was directed at me or the person who replied to my original message but I would welcome the opportunity to fix this. The connection is still slow and today I was disconnected multiple times.
How do I contact you to get help in this matter?
I appreciate the info in this post. What you said made a lot of sense. However, the following is incorrect when you said,
ritsbits1212 wrote:
....In THAT sense, you are being targeted. I'd recommend using WIFI wherever possible and avoid watching Netflix while your driving. One cell phone that opens a couple hundred websites, sends several hundred emails, downloads a hanfull of songs, and listens to streaming radio on a regular basis would still use under 2GB (which is the average) a month. If your using THAT much data, you need to start considering hardline internet options without allowances.
I don't know if you were speaking in general terms but my specific problem isn't related to my phone but to my MiFi 2200 device. I certainly don't watch Netflix on my phone and especially not while driving. I do use my MiFi a lot and am frequently on YouTube or streaming music from sites like Pandora. My family uses it as well. Our daughter is home schooled and there are various curriculums that have to be done online. Where we live, a hardline internet option as you worded it, isn't available. My only option is satellite internet which my neighbors claim isn't worth at as they've used it in the past. It's heavily wooded in our area and the signal isn't very good. Plus, for the amount of money they want in addition to the $50 I now pay for a poorly working Verizon MiFi device, I'm not too inclined to throw good money after bad, especially when this device worked in the past and is now not doing so. Not to mention the 3 other cellular phones I have through Verizon that are also on this plan.
Technology and growth aside. The facts are that I HAD a perfectly working device on an unlimited data plan that I pay for every single month. Now that 4G is out, my speeds coincidentally have dropped drastically and I'm getting disconnected constantly. Plus, I've been told by two Verizon people now that it's simply going to continue until I upgrade to 4G (and of course, it'll be on a limited data plan that they'll gladly increase for nearly triple what I pay now). That just doesn't seem fair, or at the very least, make sense when combined with the other reasons and/or factors people mention when I make this complaint.
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