MiFi - a way to block my access when 5 gig cap is reached?

[travist67]

Hi all.  I just installed the MiFi card at home yesterday and it seems to work fine for my wife and son and I for internet access.  We're moving from an unlimited internet connection over to this connection and so I'm really concerned about us hitting that 5 gig data cap.  I plan to monitor our usage every day on the Verizon site but I have a few questions and was wondering if any of y'all could help me with them.  First, does unused data roll over from month-to-month?  My guess is no but figure it can't hurt to ask.  Second, is there a way I can set something up to send me a warning email or text message to my cell phone when I hit a certain threshold like say 4.5 gig so that I know I need to be extra careful to not cross the 5 gig line?  And lastly and most important, is there a way to set it up so that if I *do* hit that 5 gig cap that all of my data traffic will be 100% stopped so that I don't get charged for going over the cap?  I would much prefer for my internet connection to just stop working if I hit the cap rather than get billed for going over my limit.  Thanks in advance for help with any of my questions! 

[#2]

I don't know, but I doubt there is any way to automate what you're trying to do. Just keep an eye on your usage and turn the MIFI off when you get close to 5 GB. You can download and install NetMeter on your computers for a real-time usage meter, but you'll have to add up the usage on all three computers.

[MorganB]

travist67 wrote:

Hi all.  I just installed the MiFi card at home yesterday and it seems to work fine for my wife and son and I for internet access.  We're moving from an unlimited internet connection over to this connection and so I'm really concerned about us hitting that 5 gig data cap.  I plan to monitor our usage every day on the Verizon site but I have a few questions and was wondering if any of y'all could help me with them.  First, does unused data roll over from month-to-month? No, unfortunately the data usage will not roll over.  My guess is no but figure it can't hurt to ask.  Second, is there a way I can set something up to send me a warning email or text message to my cell phone when I hit a certain threshold like say 4.5 gig so that I know I need to be extra careful to not cross the 5 gig line? Not at this time, you can check your usage through your VZ Access Manager or by logging into your My Verizon account.  And lastly and most important, is there a way to set it up so that if I *do* hit that 5 gig cap that all of my data traffic will be 100% stopped so that I don't get charged for going over the cap? No, I would suggest to turn your MiFi card off once you hit the 5 gig cap. I would much prefer for my internet connection to just stop working if I hit the cap rather than get billed for going over my limit.  Thanks in advance for help with any of my questions! 

Hope this helps!

[travist67]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.  The answers I got are about what I expected.  I'm sure verizon would rather me just go over the 5 gig limit and bill me for my over-usage than to cut me off.  They're about making money.  No surprise there.  Thanks again for the responses.