kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Our internet provider is charging us per GB we use of data. So we started looking for other options. There are no other internet providers that service our area, except for maybe DISH (but we were nervous going satellite). So, then we came across this idea....but we just aren't sure if it's a good idea or not and we are hoping maybe you guys can give us some guidance. We have 3 kids oldest Freshman in college (obviously currently home), middle kid is a senior in High School and youngest is a Sophomore. We are homeschooling both kids that are still in high school and they are doing some online classes. We are not gamers, but we do like our internet. We like watching you tube videos, streaming netflix, hulu and amazon, and just doing regular internet things all day long....checking emails, facebook, etc. We are also paying for cable. Currently we use tracfone for our cell phone service and for the most part it's been really good. We are toying with this idea....please give us your opinion. Switching our tracfones to a regular cell phone that works off of local tower in our town that offers unlimited everything. We would then turn our phones into hotspots whenever we want to use the internet on a device that is not our phones. So that would mean, streaming on our TV, the kids using their computers for school, me on my desk top doing whatever. We know that when we are "out of network" our unlimited switches to 10 GB a month. One thing we are thinking is this option might be kind of nice when we are camping out of network or visiting my husband's parents who do not have internet in their home. Also, my husband works next door from our home (he is a Pastor of a small church and his office is in the church.). We have been shooting our internet signal to his office from our home and most of the time it works, but it isn't always super strong....but the signal doesn't go any further than his office...so if he wants internet in the church, lets say, we don't have it. With this option....he could take his phone and have internet. If we would do this, we are locked in for 30 months...so we want to make sure this is a good idea. Right now we have a demo phone from the company to test out the hotspot option in our home. We have this until Sunday. Right now because we are paying per GB we are limiting our viewing and lowing the quality of our videos (both are not a horrible thing) but sometimes it is inconvenient. And when we lay it all out, dollar per dollar, it comes out pretty equal because we are looking at dumping our cable too and using You Tube Live instead (we were told Hulu Live wasn't an option for that cell phone carrier). These are our questions: 1) will using our phones at a hotspot be really bad for them over time? 2) when our 2 older kids go off to college in the fall and they are on campus using the campus internet, why would they need unlimited data? (their tracfones currently have a fair amount of talking minutes and texts on them that we already paid for). 3) what other benefits does this option have for us? We have never owned cell phones that weren't tracfone so we don't know if there is a true benefit to this or not. Thank you for reading this and giving us your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 We live in a rural area. Our main use of internet is things for school, email and browsing type things, youtube, and we do Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming. I've used my phone as a hotspot from time to time when the internet is down. It uses tons of battery and the speed isn't wonderful, but is adequate. However, once a limit is hit and it slows down, it's not adequate for streaming video. I don't know about any long-term affects on the phone itself. I personally refuse to enter into cell phone contracts anymore. 2-3 years is a long time to be tied down to a service. Things can change rapidly when it comes to internet choices and needs. We had unlimited satellite internet for a long time and it worked reasonably well. I can't remember offhand the name of the company . . . it was expensive, but we stream so much that it was worth it for us. Not sure if any of that is helpful or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Oh, as for numbers 2 and 3, I use my phone for a lot. When I'm home I use wifi, but out and about (in normal times) I use gps when traveling, look up coupons, use my budgeting app, check email for receipts, etc. I *could* go back to just phone and text, of course, but having data is really convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 according to the sales reps with this company, they said they will not slow down the speed once we hit a certain number of GB. Yeah, the contract thing is a consideration....but we also thought if we would drop our cable and go with DISH or something, we would have a contract there too. And since we dont' have a crystal ball (wish we did), we have no idea what will pop up in the future and whether we will be glad we did this or not. It is so hard to know. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 If they won't slow down the speed, then it might work pretty well for your purposes, I would think. Is the only way to get it with a contract? No pay-as-you-go option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 yeah....no pay as you go option... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Your cable company doesn't provide Internet? The only reason we have cable is that our provider charges the same rate for very basic cable plus Internet as for Internet alone. You and your husband could go with the cell service, but keep the teens' phones as Trac phones. Use your phone as the hot spot for Internet use in the home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 Just now, Sherry in OH said: Your cable company doesn't provide Internet? The only reason we have cable is that our provider charges the same rate for very basic cable plus Internet as for Internet alone. You and your husband could go with the cell service, but keep the teens' phones as Trac phones. Use your phone as the hot spot for Internet use in the home. yeah....our cable offers our cable, landline phone and internet (the one that is charging us per GB). If we would keep the teens on tracfone, then when my husband and I weren't home, they wouldn't have internet at all...at home. And my youngest son next fall will need internet to do is online classes. I have a part time job that takes me away from home....and the days I don't work, are often my errand running days and so I am still home often. We could keep the college students on tracfone...and we are considering that for now...that is one thing we are trying to figure out. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, kfeusse said: yeah....no pay as you go option... Well, since it sounds like it will work otherwise and you'd be in a contract no matter what you do, it may very well be worth it. You have my sympathies; it is so very hard to secure decent internet, decently priced, rurally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) 26 minutes ago, kfeusse said: according to the sales reps with this company, they said they will not slow down the speed once we hit a certain number of GB. I highly suggest that you verify this statement to be absolutely true without caveats. If you live rurally, perhaps one of your students attending a school in a city can start a phone plan and put everybody on it, which would at least give you a wider range of companies to choose from? if you end up with a contract, make sure there’s a reasonable buyout option! Edited April 22, 2020 by Ailaena 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Do test it if you go with the idea of using one phone for a hotspot. I don't seem to be able to stream with multiple devices very well with mine. You might check if the company offers a hotspot device separate from the phones. Some friends of ours used to use one at home. It meant they didn't have to have contracts on all their phones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, kfeusse said: yeah....our cable offers our cable, landline phone and internet (the one that is charging us per GB). If we would keep the teens on tracfone, then when my husband and I weren't home, they wouldn't have internet at all...at home. And my youngest son next fall will need internet to do is online classes. I have a part time job that takes me away from home....and the days I don't work, are often my errand running days and so I am still home often. We could keep the college students on tracfone...and we are considering that for now...that is one thing we are trying to figure out. thanks You could put your phone and your dh's phone on the plan plus one additional phone for the 'house.' Teens continue to use their tracphones outside the house. When your older teens go back to college and youngest's tracphone runs out of time, consider whether you want the house phone to be that child's phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Ailaena said: I highly suggest that you verify this statement to be absolutely true without caveats. If you live rurally, perhaps one of your students attending a school in a city can start a phone plan and out everybody on it, which would at least give you a wider range of companies to choose from? if you end up with a contract, make sure there’s a reasonable buyout option! how do I go about verifying the statement. The college my kids are going to is not is a big city...I don't know if that will work or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Jentrovert said: Do test it if you go with the idea of using one phone for a hotspot. I don't seem to be able to stream with multiple devices very well with mine. You might check if the company offers a hotspot device separate from the phones. Some friends of ours used to use one at home. It meant they didn't have to have contracts on all their phones. each of our phones would act as a hot spot...so it wouldn't just be one phone. I will check about a separate hot spot....didn't think about that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said: You could put your phone and your dh's phone on the plan plus one additional phone for the 'house.' Teens continue to use their tracphones outside the house. When your older teens go back to college and youngest's tracphone runs out of time, consider whether you want the house phone to be that child's phone. this is an interesting consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 One thing I didn't mention is that all of us would be getting a huge upgrade on our phones if we did this plan. My phone and my daughters phone (Oldest child) need new phones anyway....because they are acting up. If this changes anything for your opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, kfeusse said: how do I go about verifying the statement. The college my kids are going to is not is a big city...I don't know if that will work or not. Call the company and talk to a different salesman. Then have spouse call and talk to an even different salesperson. Ask a direct question like, “if I’m using a hotspot, how many GB can I use before speeds slow?” Or ask for a copy of the contract and go through it thoroughly. Look for reviews or complaints online. Ask a neighbor. Ask your kids’ friends. I’m sure somebody else will have more idea 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, kfeusse said: One thing I didn't mention is that all of us would be getting a huge upgrade on our phones if we did this plan. My phone and my daughters phone (Oldest child) need new phones anyway....because they are acting up. If this changes anything for your opinion. Absolutely changes if you want an iPhone. Use the iPhone upgrade program, then You own the phones and don’t have to have a contract with a cell company. It also comes with AppleCare, has no interest, and you don’t end up paying more than the price of the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, Ailaena said: Absolutely changes if you want an iPhone. Use the iPhone upgrade program, then You own the phones and don’t have to have a contract with a cell company. It also comes with AppleCare, has no interest, and you don’t end up paying more than the price of the phone. we are android people....but the phones we are all using are pretty basic and old. But these phones will be a serious upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, Ailaena said: Call the company and talk to a different salesman. Then have spouse call and talk to an even different salesperson. Ask a direct question like, “if I’m using a hotspot, how many GB can I use before speeds slow?” Or ask for a copy of the contract and go through it thoroughly. Look for reviews or complaints online. Ask a neighbor. Ask your kids’ friends. I’m sure somebody else will have more idea 😉 good idea. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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