Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ant
Contributor - Level 2

Hello.

My small family and I have multiple desktop computers and laptops/notebooks (Linux/Debian stable, 2008's MacBook Pro's Mac OS X, and very old Windows XP Pro. SP3) and mobile phones (an Apple iPhone 4S and two LG Cosmos 2). We want to get a back up fast Internet connection in case Time Warner Cable (TWC) goes down which does happen once in a while for hours and is quite annoying. Currently, we use dial-up Internet through Verizon's old copper phone lines on one Windows computer but it is too slow (3 KB/sec average even on various 56k modems -- it has been like this since the mid 1990s/90s)!

I assume I need an USB wireless modem if needed for emergencies, but 4G type. iPhone 4S uses 3G. Do we connect it to these mentioned phones? How will that work? Are these modems backward compatible? Do we need new phones that we just bought earlier this year?

Thank you in advance. Smiley Happy

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

The LG Cosmos 2 is a feature phone and don't support the mobile hotspot.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

Ant,

If your goal is to connect computers to the internet over 3G or 4G then look into the JetPack products.  A single MiFi can wirelessly connect multiple computers.  The new 4620L can even tether a connection via USB.

If your computers do not sit close enough then you can team up the JetPacks with a PepWave Surf to provide cable ethernet connection to the distant computers or a more powerful router/access point.  There are many possible combinations that would work much better than the hotspot services offered from the Verizon smartphones. 

Otherwise you will need to have a smartphone that supports a mobile hotspot feature.  Any computer you try to connect to the smart phone will need a wireless adapter.  Wireless adapters can be internal network cards or external USB attachments.  All wireless is backwards compatible, its the newer technologies that are not always detected.  If your phone does not provide mobile hotspot then it will need to be replaced.

Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ant
Contributor - Level 2

If your goal is to connect computers to the internet over 3G or 4G then look into the JetPack products.  A single MiFi can wirelessly connect multiple computers.  The new 4620L can even tether a connection via USB.

If your computers do not sit close enough then you can team up the JetPacks with a PepWave Surf to provide cable ethernet connection to the distant computers or a more powerful router/access point.  There are many possible combinations that would work much better than the hotspot services offered from the Verizon smartphones. 

Otherwise you will need to have a smartphone that supports a mobile hotspot feature.  Any computer you try to connect to the smart phone will need a wireless adapter.  Wireless adapters can be internal network cards or external USB attachments.  All wireless is backwards compatible, its the newer technologies that are not always detected.  If your phone does not provide mobile hotspot then it will need to be replaced.

So I can't reuse the current iPhone 4S (3G) and the two LG Cosmos 2 phones and Verizon's 3G data plans it seems like. Am I correct? I was hoping to connect my computer to these mobile phone to use Verizon Wireless' 3G data plan. Smiley Sad

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

The iPhone 4S does support a mobile hotspot. You do need to add the mobile hotspot feature to your plan. It is either $20 or $30 for 2 GB per month for mobile hotspot data. The smartphone data plan is for phone data only.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ant
Contributor - Level 2

Ann154 wrote:

The iPhone 4S does support a mobile hotspot. You do need to add the mobile hotspot feature to your plan. It is either $20 or $30 for 2 GB per month for mobile hotspot data. The smartphone data plan is for phone data only.

Yes, iPhone has it (2 GB). So I cannot connect the computers and other devices to it with an USB modem? What about a LG Cosmos 2 phones? These are all under the Verizon Wireless shared family plan.

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

The LG Cosmos 2 is a feature phone and don't support the mobile hotspot.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

I'm not sure if you understand the post correctly. You have a smartphone data plan that is either the old unlimited data plan or one of the tiered data plans starting at 2 GB per month. The mobile hotspot feature is an additional 2 GB per month and a separate charge for that feature if you have the unlimited data plan. If you have one of the tiered data plans, you NEED to change the plan to a data plan (starting at 4 GB per month) that includes the mobile hotspot.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ant
Contributor - Level 2

Ann154 wrote:

The LG Cosmos 2 is a feature phone and don't support the mobile hotspot.

Ah, so I will need to use iPhone 4S or some other compatible/supported phones then to be able to connect to computers. Darn. What do I need to connect computers and other devices to it?

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ant
Contributor - Level 2

Ann154 wrote:

I'm not sure if you understand the post correctly. You have a smartphone data plan that is either the old unlimited data plan or one of the tiered data plans starting at 2 GB per month. The mobile hotspot feature is an additional 2 GB per month and a separate charge for that feature if you have the unlimited data plan. If you have one of the tiered data plans, you NEED to change the plan to a data plan (starting at 4 GB per month) that includes the mobile hotspot.

IPhone's data plan is not unlimited. It's only 2 GB cap per month. Verizon doesn't even have unlimited anymore. Smiley Sad

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Re: Newbie for Internet data plan for Verizon Wireless user.
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

Like John mentioned above when you turn the iPhone hotspot on, it becomes a wifi hotspot. The computers can connect to the hotspot with a wifi connection. You need the Wifi antenna hardware installed on the computers.

You also need to change your data plan to the 4 GB with hotspot for $50 per month to use the hotspot feature on your phone.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.