Verizon Offered Me 999Gb for $5/mo.

BobC · 11-09-2021, 11:44 PM

I received an email today from Verizon offering me an additional 999Gb of data for $5/mo for as long as I'm on my current plan (4Gb). There wasn't much information but I couldn't pass it up. I don't know why it was offered. Here's what the email said:

"To thank you for being a loyal customer, we're offering you an additional 999 GB of data each month for just $5/mo more.
Enjoy this extra data as long as you stay on your current plan. So you can stream, game or video-chat—and worry less about overages."

And here are the details as they appear on my account after I agreed to it:

"You're getting 999GB of extra data for $5* each month, for as long as you remain on your current plan.
If you change plans, you will permanently lose the 999GB of monthly data and no longer be charged $5 each month. This is not a qualifying plan for any Verizon promotions that require an Unlimited plan.

*Taxes and fees not included."

And, yes, it was really from Verizon. Anyone else get this?

I did find this online along with a couple of other references:

https://www.droid-life.com/2021/11/0...us-data-for-5/

**ThomB** · 11-10-2021, 05:58 AM

That sounds like a pretty good deal assuming that you need it.

**creativepart** · 11-10-2021, 06:17 AM

They are tracking this at www.RVMobileinternet.com and so far have limited info. They believe it was offered to a select group that had old “legacy” data plans.

It is odd there is no mention of whether or not this is high speed data or not.

BobC · 11-10-2021, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomB

That sounds like a pretty good deal assuming that you need it.

I won't come even close to needing it. We seldom even get close to our current 4Gb limit. We were in our MH for a week in Oct and the campground's internet was down. Even when up, campground interned leave something to be desired.
Had we used our phone as a mobile hotspot, we'd have definitely exceeded our current limit and it would have cost us something like $10 or $15/Gb so it will be nice to have on trips as long as we have coverage.

I guess from Verizon's perspective it's pretty much 100% profit based on our current usage. It'll be nice to watch a video on my phone or surf the net without worrying about my data limit when I'm waiting somewhere. I checked our Comcast monthly internet stats and we run in the high 400s even though we watch a lot of streaming. It'll also be nice to have during those pesky Comcast outages.

**creativepart** · 11-10-2021, 06:54 AM

Bob, get a Roku or similar device and stream your TV in the RV, too. And give up using lousy campground internet.

BobC · 11-10-2021, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

It is odd there is no mention of whether or not this is high speed data or not.

I just ran a speed test and it was 46.0Mps down/3.51 up, which I think is in the ballpark for Verizon internet. It does seem to vary quite a bit from test to test but that may be normal. The up speed isn't very important to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

Bob, get a Roku or similar device and stream your TV in the RV, too. And give up using lousy campground internet.

We already have a Roku and don't plan on using campground internet anymore unless there's no Verizon coverage. Our MH's TV is a smart TV but I prefer Roku.

Verizon may have an ulterior motive but I can't figure out what it is other than me paying $5/mo for not using much data most of the time.

**creativepart** · 11-10-2021, 08:44 AM

That speed is very good. If you have a newer phone that could be playing a part as well. The new iphones and Android phones have very fast modems.

I personally wouldn't want to use a phone as a hotspot - I use multiple MiFi devices and a WiFi Ranger router to provide internet in our RV.

But internet is pretty vital to us so we don't mind paying for separate phone and MiFi data plans.

When we travel in the RV we use 200 to 300 gbs of data per month.

Jdhargis · 11-14-2021, 06:53 PM

I switched to Verizon in Sept. I was with them for 2 weeks, they lied to me from day one. I signed up for 2 phones and a mifi hotspot. The mifi was supposed to have 150gb per month and the phones 40gb each. The plan was supposed to cost $140 per month as promised by the sales person. At the end of the first to week, I found that the plan was going to cost 168 and I was only getting 50gb on the mifi. If I wanted the 150gb promised it was going to cost another $40 per month. I told them they could the take there phones and stick it. I don't deal with liars.

golden13 · 11-14-2021, 07:56 PM

That's a very important question - how much of that 999GB can be used as hotspot or tethering data? I have T-Mobile, and my data on the device is actually unlimited. The hotspot data, however, ls limited to about 18GB per device. I have a reseller plan off Ebay that gives me true, unlimited, unthrottled high-speed hotspot data from AT&T for $99/month. With a proper Nighthawk 5G router, it gets between 25-150 MBPS speeds, and I could use it as our regular internet provider.

Randyn1 · 11-15-2021, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golden13

That's a very important question - how much of that 999GB can be used as hotspot or tethering data? I have T-Mobile, and my data on the device is actually unlimited. The hotspot data, however, ls limited to about 18GB per device. I have a reseller plan off Ebay that gives me true, unlimited, unthrottled high-speed hotspot data from AT&T for $99/month. With a proper Nighthawk 5G router, it gets between 25-150 MBPS speeds, and I could use it as our regular internet provider.

I just signed up for the TMobile 5G Home Internet. It is basically a Hot Spot. Unlimited data. You can hook all your devices to it, phones, tablets, roku’s. Tried it out last night and works perfectly. $50 flat per month includes the device (not purchased) and it is a month to month so can quit at any time.

BobC · 11-15-2021, 08:27 AM

I just checked out the mobile hotspot function. It works with a speed of 40.2/6.41. This is a step up from Verizon's current, basic unlimited plan, "Start Unlimited", which doesn't include mobile hotspotting.

In order to get the mobile hotspot function with a new unlimited plan, I'd have to move to one of Verizon's higher priced unlimited plans.

As near as I can tell, aside from 5G, most, if not all, Verizon's plans with mobile hotspotting are limited to 15Gb/mo mobile hotspotting, and throttled thereafter. Hopefully this is a per device limit, in which case it won't be too limiting for us, even while traveling.

Alternatively, we could just connect my phone to the TV via a USB-C to HDMI adapter and bypass the 15Gb limit.

BobC · 11-15-2021, 10:56 AM

I just watched a Prime Video 1 hr show on my TV via mobile hotspot. It worked fine, using a little over 1Gb.

Camper Ken 2 · 11-15-2021, 11:40 AM

I received a similar email a couple of months ago, but with NO additional charge. The email said something about a reward for being a long time customer. My plan is for 2gb a month, so the additional is welcome especially when I'm motorhome camping. Most of my use is with home WiFi so I would never use 999gb, but it's nice to have knowing I'll never go over the limit.

BobC · 11-15-2021, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camper Ken 2

I received a similar email a couple of months ago, but with NO additional charge. The email said something about a reward for being a long time customer. My plan is for 2gb a month, so the additional is welcome especially when I'm motorhome camping. Most of my use is with home WiFi so I would never use 999gb, but it's nice to have knowing I'll never go over the limit.

I guess mine was $5/mo since I had 4Gb. Have you experimented with it at all, experienced any throttling, etc.

I'm with you in that I'll never use very much of it but it's nice to have.

Camper Ken 2 · 11-15-2021, 04:12 PM

[QUOTE=BobC;3908837]I guess mine was $5/mo since I had 4Gb. Have you experimented with it at all, experienced any throttling, etc.

I'm with you in that I'll never use very much of it but it's nice to have.[/QUOTE}

I've only had the extra data allowance for a couple of months and this past month is the only month I've gone past my previous 2GB allowance. More than 90% of the time I'm on my home WiFi so I can't comment on any throttling. My home WiFi is slower than over the air data, so since I have virtually unlimited monthly data I may turn of WiFi on my phone and see how it goes.

BobC · 11-15-2021, 05:30 PM

I'm glad there's someone else who can give us some input. I was thinking Verizon did this just to get the $5/mo but your's is free. I wonder if there is a catch somewhere and, once we get used to using data, the "catch", whatever it is, convinces us to convert to one of their unlimited plans. It would be sort of like a drug dealer giving someone a free hit.

BobC · 11-15-2021, 06:01 PM

The droid-life.com link in my initial post links to another discussion from two weeks ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/verizon/com...of_bonus_data/

Apparently, even if you didn't get the email, if you're on one of the older, qualifying plans (whatever they are), it may be offered to you via your online account. Xealot42 posted the following comment on reddit.com:

"Try going a bit deeper in the menus. On the My Verizon website I believe I went to View Usage, Get More Data, click Change My Plan then continue, then at the top of the Manage Plan screen there was a new data upgrade option (for me it was 999GB for $10/month)."

**creativepart** · 11-15-2021, 06:45 PM

According to rvmobileinternet.com as far as they can ascertain this deal is only available to a select few and not everyone can just try and get approved for this.

It's a great deal, no matter if it's free, $5 or $10 a month and if you can get it you need to never give it up. If you don't use that much data then change the way you use data for TV, videos, etc and use it. You're being offered a great resource and there are a great many that pay a lot more for a lot less.

One more thing - do not think that any "unlimited" plan is unlimited. That's a lie and is not a better option that this 999gb for $5 deal.

Clotus · 11-15-2021, 06:59 PM

One thing to check. Are you giving up a guaranteed plan they can’t make any changes to, including the phone/text service. They may be trying to get you out of a “for life” type contract that will allow them to make changes to your account in the future. They are a for-profit business so somehow they are benefiting from this offer, but that doesn’t mean you won’t benefit as well.

That being said, if you need the data go for it, seems like a good deal. We are only going to be more and more reliant on internet and internet connected devices.

catmandoo62 · 11-15-2021, 07:21 PM

clotus,thats my thinking too.i have had verizon since 1995 and my last plan change was in 2015 and that plan pays me a 25 dollar credit per line per month,after i got my phone paid off after the 2 years i was "up for an upgrade".i still have the same phone and every 3 months or so i get txts and emails trying to get me to change my plan.hate to tell em but i will have this plan til i die.