Data usage with Verison 4G LTE hotspot
Butterstories
Enthusiast - Level 2

This situation has put a strain on my marriage; my husband has not changed his computer habits, so he looks to me for a reason to our problem!  We live in the boonies and are totally reliant on our MiFi.  I am a writer/researcher, and my husband is a "working" retired professional.  We were frustrated with slow downloads and frequently having to reset our unit.  Verizon suggested we upgrade from our four-year old MiFi 4GLTE to the Jetpack 4GLTE to get better reception--and "...based on our previous usage, 10 gig should be sufficient."  We did this...and began running through the gigs.  A visit to Verizon had me combining the account for my IPhone and my husband's flip phone (with no privileges other than send/receive), with the new Jetpack, into one account, so that the under-used units on the phones could compensate for the over-usage on the Jetpack....the idea was that they could "borrow" from each other.  That didn't help and we were hit with a barrage of notices about being at 75% used...and immediately 80%, and before I could even check the situation out...we were over and being charged 1 gig at $15.  I complained to my IT-smart son, and he suggested that if our new smart-TV were hooked to the Internet--perhaps downloads to that were causing the problem.  Got instructions from DirectTV and removed the automatic connection ability; haven't used our notebook since it was hooked to the old MiFi; do not watch movies, do not play games, only have our system files on automatic updates (Windows, Security, etc.) as before...we still were going through practically a gig a day, and now had used up the gigs with 10 days to go for the period! Went back to Verizon...got hooked up to an IPhone app to check usage daily...and all I see is the gigs passing on by. We upped our plan to 20 gig (backdated eight days so we wouldn't have to pay two overages ($30 for 2 gig) and since we stream NOTHING, only have two Dell computers, an IPhone, and a flip phone, figured 8 gig would see us through...but it did not...and we were hit with another $30 for 2 gig to carry us to the end of the billing cycle.  I need to stop the bleeding of gigs...but am not a computer-electronic savvy person, and some of the responses to this problem are waaaaay over my head!!

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Re: Data usage with Verison 4G LTE hotspot
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Butterstories, we don't want this matter to affect your marriage. Let's take a closer look into your data usage. Are you streaming music, videos, or movie with that data connection? Are your computers updating software when connected? Click the link below for a better understanding on how data usage is calculated:


http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/dataShareCalculator.jsp



LasinaH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
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!!

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Re: Data usage with Verison 4G LTE hotspot
Butterstories
Enthusiast - Level 2

While sending me to a site to help determine my usage was helpful...it only showed me that I have a problem.  We began this cycle on the 29th...and today (the 31st) it shows we've used 21% of our 20 gig.  Yet...my IPhone (with unlimited texting) used 0.03; my husband's (bare bones flip phone) used 0 , but the Jetpack used a whopping  4.09g!!!

The usage chart doesn't show computers...but I would like to know what is happening, given that we have not changed our computer habits and have actually removed a tablet and access to our grandchildren since acquiring the jetpack.

Please provide me with a breakdown for the Jetpack usage!

Thank you.

MaryAnn

Personal information removed as required by the

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

Re: Data usage with Verison 4G LTE hotspot
Precious1234Dad
Enthusiast - Level 1

I would be interested in knowing their response

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Re: Data usage with Verison 4G LTE hotspot
Weth
Legend

Based on this, it is one of the 2 Dell Computers since you never to the notebook on.  Also confirm the iPhone does not wifi link to the mifi. 

TO isolate, turn off one of the computers and see if data use stops.  If it does, turn off that computer and turn on the other one. Once you figure out which computer is causing trouble, you can start looking only at that computer to figure it out.  Also turn off automatic updates for now. 

You you can also put a program on each computer to figure out data use.  Look at Glasswire as an example. 

This dan be figured out, but it does take time, logic, and tools. 

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