We have been SO impressed with Verizon’s 4G service this summer! As I write this, we are in the small town of Celina in northeastern Ohio. There are NO major metropolitan areas anywhere near us, and we have blazing fast 4G LTE from Verizon.
Earlier this summer, we were parked in a Thousand Trails campground called Carolina Landings, near the mountains in S Carolina. When we first arrived we had a good 3G connection and since these Thousand Trails parks pride themselves on being in natural surroundings far from big cities, we counted ourselves lucky to get online at all. While we were there, Verizon ‘flipped the switch’ on 4G in the area. Wow! Instead of clicking on a Youtube video and watching it painfully start and stop, the whole video would be loaded before I even decided whether or not I wanted to watch it!
Fast Speeds = More Data Used
With those kind of speeds, you can go thru a lot of data in a short time. Luckily, we have an unlimited data plan, so we don’t worry, but if you have a 2GB, or even a 5GB plan, you need to keep a watch on it. Every phone will have some way to check your data usage. On my Motorola Droid Razr Maxx from Verizon, there is a Verizon widget right on my home screen that displays my current usage. Your phone also has an app from your Provider (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) that gives you a way to see your overall usage.
You may also want to dig a little deeper to see exactly what is using the data. On the Android 4 system, you can visit your System Settings, Wireless and Networks, Data Usage, and see the screen pictured above. It sorts your data-using apps by the greatest usage. You can see that Google+ is on the top of my list. That’s because I have it set to automatically upload all pictures taken by my phone. You may also have that feature turned on – it’s a wonderful feature!
Use Wi-Fi When Available
If you have data limits, you can also change a setting so that Google+ only performs these uploads if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot and therefore, not using the limited data from your provider.
The screen at left shows what you see when you touch Google+ on your data usage screen. At the very bottom is the option to ‘Restrict background data.’ You check the box for ‘Disable background data on mobile data network only. Wi-Fi will be used if available. To use Wi-Fi, you must be in a Wi-Fi hotspot, then go to your Wireless and Network Settings, Turn Wi-Fi on, and choose the name of the Wi-Fi hotspot that you have available to you.
Check your plan to see what you’re allowed and how much you pay for overages. It’s not as bad as it used to be. Most Verizon plans charge $10 for each Gigabyte of data over your limit. So, even if you go 5GB over, that’s only $50. It used to be hundreds of dollars for that kind of overages.
Not that it matters since it is not directly related to the subject, but I believe that Celina, Ohio is in northWESTERN Ohio rather than north EASTERN as you stated–
I have a Razr Maxx and love it. I sure can tell when we are in 4G country because it’s really really fast. We also have a 4G card and I was shocked at how fast we ran the data allowance up, after paying about $80 extra on the bill we have started using my phone via FoxFi and it is great. We still go to our limit most months but it works just fine through my phone for the rest of our data and since I have unlimited on the phone it’s much less expensive.
Wish I could say the same about Verizon and their 4G coverage. I live in West Valley City, Utah which is not a little out of the way town. It is on the west side of the Salt Lake valley and is the second largest city in Utah. I had a Motorola Droid X. Their 3G coverage was horrible. After seeing how fast my co-worker’s Samsung S2 with T-Mobile was, I upgraded to a Samsung S3 with 4G LTE. Unfortunately, the 4G wasn’t any better. With our phones sitting side by side, he consistently has 4 bars and if I can get a signal at all, it is 1 bar at most. Usually I can only get 3G. I’ve pretty much given up on using my phone for any kind of data access other than when I’m connected to WiFi.
I’ve complained several times to Verizon but they tell me nobody else has the problem. I was able to convince them to replace the phone (my 3-month old phone with a refurb) but that didn’t help. I’m not sure if the problem is inherent with the S3 or if Verizon’s coverage is sorely lacking. I suspect the latter.
Only 21 months left and I will be out of my contract with Verizon and I can switch to a carrier that actually works.
I have a simple problem with trying to transfer a cd with MS Word folders and documents over to MS
Word 2010 and set up under one main folder heading under documents. I am unable to transfer at all.
The cd was made by someone else using older MS Word
kic
I’m still having trouble keeping 4G and 3G LTE with my Motorola Droid Bionic. Even though I live in a strong 4G area, there just seems to be a problem with the Bionic. Very sorry I didn’t wait a little and purchase the Razr.
Looking like Verizon and myself will have to start speaking about this and see if I can’t get a Razr in place of the Bionic. Time will tell.
I’m so glad you are getting great 4G service Chris. Makes me feel good I’m with Verizon!
You need to complain AND file a trouble ticket EVERY time you can not connect. Thats what I have been doing. The trouble ticket seems to be the only thing that leaves tracks.
After being unable to make calls from most campgrounds since April when I got my new Samsung Nexus, Verizon agreed to terminate service with NO early termination fee.
Now I have a 4.7″ Nexus WiFi pad.
I would be constantly on the phone filing complaints and trouble tickets. I have filed trouble tickets in the past. I did get one return call and was told someone would get back to me that afternoon. Never did get that call. The other complaints I made went unanswered.
I tried getting out of my contract and return the phone but I was two days past the 15 day return period. BTW, Verizon’s return policy is 15 days. The other carriers are 30 days.
I didn’t mention, we purchased a Samsung S3 for my wife too. Her phone has the same issues that mine does.
I was told that it would cost me $700 to get out of my contract with them. I’ve been with Verizon since 2000 and have never missed paying my bill on time. Apparently being a long-term customer doesn’t mean a thing to them.
I have unlimited data on my Droid Razr Maxx and can use PDANet and foxFi. My Verizon aircard is on a 10 GB plan. I have alerts set-up for text msgs when I reach 50%, 75%, and 90% usage on our billing cycle. Also, Verizon rounds up so 2.01 rounds up to 3.0 GB.
Was traveling back home to Oregon recently & was at Lake Mccoughly northwest of Ogalala, NE and i HAD Verizon coverage, i was astonished. Was way out in no where, USA. Previously had Sprint & could not even get coverage in my house at home!!! So i was really pleased to have that connection to home!!