Kin TwoM WIFI
daarnold82
Newbie

I upgraded to a Kin TwoM recently and I kept the old America's Choice II calling plan for the sole fact that data usage deducts from your monthly minute allotment versus charging you per megabyte.   Has anyone noticed that when you are connected to a wifi service totally outside of anyone Verizon mobile web connection, it STILL deducts from your minutes?!?  Is anyone else noticing this? Thanks in advance for any help!

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
daarnold82
Newbie

Ok so I solved my own problem as I have nearly every time with Verizon.  Why I am a  10 year customer I will never know...TERRIBLE customer service, you never get the same answer twice. 

 

SOOOO I was again "lied" to by customer service before I upgraded to this phone.  With my previous Envy2, when I would connect to mobile web, it would simply deduct from my monthly minutes for however long I was online, becasue I have the Amercia's Choice II plan.   This is what I was told would happen with the  Kin TwoM which is true for straight mobile web usage.  HOWEVER,  if you connect to a wifi service it STILL deducts from your minutes regardless of the fact that you are not on the verizon network in any fashion. Theft much?  Im taking this phone back.

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
SydneyK
Master - Level 3

Hmm, odd ... using Wi-Fi has nothing to do with cellular data, but I'm not familiar with ACII. Can you put a data block on this line, so you only have data through Wi-Fi? Would that prevent you from using minutes? What happens if you put your phone in airplane mode, essentially blocking your network connection, then connecting via Wi-Fi? Not that that is a long-term solution, because most people don't want to block calls and texts for any period of time, but I'm curious as to whether it would use minutes.

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
melzywi
Contributor - Level 1

I have the same old America's Choice plan myself.  I've only had the phone for two days but I've always been putting my phone in Airplane Mode and so far I have not noticed it coming off my minutes.  But then again I always have 300+ minutes we don't use every month so maybe I'm just not noticing it.  But I try to make sure that when I do use the web aspect of it, that I am in airplane mode or it is after 9:01pm week days or a Weekend if I don't use airplane mode.

 

Mel

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
daarnold82
Newbie

That was the only solution Verizon provided me was to a data block on, but I still find that an offputting solution. Assuming  I am on the road and need to google something I would not be able to because of the block.  I would only have wifi access. Thanks for the input though, you know more than the people who work there.

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
melzywi
Contributor - Level 1

Yeah Verizon's customer service reps don't know much.  When I originally wanted to upgrade to this phone, I asked like 4 different reps if I could save ringtones through the web browser and was told that I could no problem.  Get the phone and try to download a ringtone or wallpaper and it won't allow me to.  Not a totally big issue, but it would have saved me some txt minutes.

 

I always wonder why I'm still with Verizon.  But the only reason I am is because of where I live.  They get the best reception since I live in a rural area, plus I like to go camping.  Even in the most remote places I get a signal.  That is the only reason I'm still with them. 

 

Mel

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
fisharefriends
Contributor - Level 3

Well, i can tell you from personal experience, verizon has the best reception. And from what i've heard and read, especially from other people who have switched between Verizon and other services (esp AT&T, which is the only other one out there that i would put in the same category as verizon in terms of reception quality, although it depends on location), Verizon's customer support is MUCH better. In the words of many of those comments, Verizon's customer support isn't appreciated until you try another's and see the difference. That isn't saying there isn't any room for improvement, but me personally, i wouldn't want to find the truth in that statement first-hand. I love verizon, with the exception of their poor phone selection, and now their continuing trend of pushing any decent phone to a data plan. The Kin was the one exception, in my mind.

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
skim104
Newbie

can't u use the ##programnitt option to data block manually?

in other words, don't block data from verizon service. only block it from the phone itself. and whenever u need to use the data on the road as u mentioned, u just turn the data block off from the phone.

i haven't tried it myself, but i think i should work.

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
Wahku
Newbie

I'm having problems connecting up to a wifi connection when the phone does it search it cames up with no network in the area and I know for sure there is four networks up and running I even connected my laptop  to my main network. I have data blocked on the phone. I even tried inputting the network info into the phone and all I get is can not connect to the network right now try again later. Anyone else having any problems of this sort. Does the Wifi still work on the Kin TwoM

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Re: Kin TwoM WIFI
fisharefriends
Contributor - Level 3

From what i've read and experienced, it could be a number of different reasons.

 

1. The phone's signal reception for wifi is somewhat weak. While my laptop picks up ~10 networks from home, the phone only picks up 3 of them. However, at times when i'm at places i know has a signal, but it isn't detected on the phone (happened at school, as well as at a friend's house), i've manually connected to the network just fine.

 

2. The phone only picks up b & g wifi signals. There are 3 standards: b/g/n. the network you have may happen to be the n type.

 

3. various security issues: it could happen to be some security setting from the network you are connecting to. I do not know that much about networking, but there are various settings that are set up from each individual router/network that can inhibit the phone from being able to connect.

 

From my experience, the wifi works fine on the Kin. Short and simple, it opens most pages (all sites that have created mobile sites work..and many that don't have mobile sites still work), does not work with skype/online radio/video streams, does play youtube, does not open pop-ups, does not have the ability to install plugins/addons. Of the networks i have tried connecting to, between my home, school, work, and a few friends' home networks, it has been able to connect to all of them but 1 (my work network). I think there are some security settings at work that restrict the phone from connecting. It has been able to auto-detect all of the other networks automatically, except for 1 (a friend's network), but i was able to manually connect to that same network. all in all, i must say it is as good as you're going to get on a feature phone. If you have hte extra cash to fork out, get a data plan and get a smartphone if you're going to be relying on it heavily. If it is just for the 'here and there' check this, and check that, then i think it does just fine. I have heard that people have been able to connect to some networks with iTouches that they weren't able to with the phone, but i don't really have an explanation for that.

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