8 days with no internet data

[Mobilesport]

I did'nt refill my data this month to save $58.30.
I've been relying on wifi and its driving me nuts , it feels 
simular to quiting smoking

 

[One Awesome Inch]

So next time i guess is the $58 then?

 

[rvpopeye]

I came up with a name for this a long time ago when the internet was young........
WEBAHOLICS

 

[cyndi]

I feel ya. I just upped my data for the month.

 

[frater secessus]

I started a reply here that quickly ran too long. I converted it to a blog post.  

Here's the text.  The formatting didn't transfer totally but you can always see the original.

making the most of intermittent internet
RV folks without mobile data plans (or outside of cell coverage) have to deal with brief periods of wifi access followed by long stretches of no connection.  The impact of this restriction can be lessened by using some old-school tools.

web browsing
The impact of the outage will fall mainly on web browsing, since that is a real time, interactive activity.  It is also the area where we have the fewest tools to deal with it.

• save pages for later reading – your browser will allow you to save (non-interactive) pages to your device for later reading.
  
  • in chrome/chromium right-click the page and choose Save As.
  • in firefox right-click the page and choose Save Page As.
• [size=undefined]send pages to your kindle – there are plugins for your browser that will send a cleanly formatted copy of the webpage to your kindle.  Of course your kindle will have to connected at the same time so it can receive the file.  So bring your reader into that starbucks!  [/size]
• [size=undefined]download YouTube videos – Download YouTube videos with a tool called youtube-dl.  You can specify the quality (and therefore filesize).  Be nice to your wifi host and don’t download 1080p versions if you don’t need that resolution.  YouTube also has a service called Red that will allow you to d/l videos if you have a subscription.[/size]

[*][size=undefined]
email
Before the advent of “webmail” (email read from a webpage) people used email “clients” (programs) to connect to email servers and pull down their email.  They would write responses or compose new mail offline.  Next time they had a connection the mail would be sent/received. This original form of email access will serve you well in periods of intermittent access.[/size]

1. find the POP (sometimes called POP3) settings for your webmail provider.   Here are the settings for gmail and the settings for yahoo.  Others will be similar.  Google “your provider] pop3 settings”.
   
2. plug them into an email client
   
   1. windows – an Outlook variant probably came with windows.  You can also use clients like thunderbird, a free/opensource Outlook workalike.
   2. linux – thunderbird, etc

[*][size=undefined]
 
podcasts
If you listen to podcasts do your downloading when online and listen at your leisure.  Hours of entertainment for a quick download.
Some RV-related podcasts.
Newsgroups
Newsgroups have largely been forgotten as discussion moved to web forums.  But the functionality still exists and is built into Outlook/Thunderbird.  As with email, you pull down the new messages when online and reply/compose when you have a connection again.
The newsgroup most applicable to RVers will be rec.outdoors.rv-travel.  You could read it in google groups but you will want to use a newsreader so you can filter/killfile the spammers and obnoxious politics-obsessed.[/size]

 

[Sameer]

I don't think that there is anywhere that I travel that I don't have a signal. I look at the cost of voice and data as operating expense. Just like any other monthly expense. I am not one to deny myself the pleasure of music, movies, or the ability to communicate at my campsite. Hunting down free Wi-Fi is a pain in the butt.

 

[jimindenver]

8 days? Oh my.

Send co-ordinates and we will send the flight for life with a hotspot STAT!

Even with my plan of having all four carriers on the cheap, I expect there will be times when I am out of range. Good thing the trailer has wheels huh. With the plan I get unlimited Verizon 3G, unlimited Binge on with T-Mobile. 7 gigs on Sprint and 7 gigs on AT&T for less than $25 a month total. I may add a $14 a month unlimited Sprint plan if the signals pan out.

 

[BobBski]

Sorry for your pain MobileSport...I'm fortunate to still be grandfathered on Verizon's unlimited data plan, hope I never lose it. Only slight drawback is that only applies to my phone...not my iPad which I'm still thinking on.

 

[Oopslala]

Bob what happens if you set your phone to a hotspot then use the wifi with your iPad?

 

[BobBski]

Verizon has a check on that and charges additional as well. For those lots smarter than I there's probably a way around it.

 

[Sameer]

I will answer this.... I have Verizon and use the phone as a hotspot. I use the hotspot to broadcast Wi-Fi to my tablet and laptop. No additional charges, it just uses data that is part of my monthly plan, no different than listening to music using Pandora. 85 bucks a month and worth every penny.

 

[Mobilesport]

So next time i guess is the $58 then?

Probably , mostly because there's been many times i have a good 
internet session only to go back for more a few days later with no luck.

 

[Wanderer]

I did'nt refill my data this month to save $58.30.
I've been relying on wifi and its driving me nuts , it feels 
simular to quiting smoking

Don't know what your situation is like. I gave up all my internet buying and went freebie.

I get it at:

The Library
Walmart
McDonalds (Yeah if you're coming in for a cup of coffee you can get 2 hours of free...)
Community Center

I am looking at getitng a antenna so I can pull a better signal from some. but this is due to me living in a city and having available wifi...I'm not to sure when I retire how often I'll be getting online or how bad the withdrawal will be....

 

[bigsallysmom]

I also save internet time by typing in a wordprocessing program then pasting into the email or blog.

 

[Milk Hauler]

I use 25 gigs a month just on my phone alone. I do however travel 600-750 miles a day, 5 days a week. So most of my data is eaten up by my phone. It cost me $130 a month for that much data from Verizon.

I prefer the mapping software of Google Maps, vs my Rand McNally or Garmin gps units. It nice to get real time data from traffic and weather too. I drove trucks for 5 years, without even a cell phone. Dependent on pay phones and hand written directions, that some times were wrong. I just finished my 20th year of trucking, and with 5 more to go, the thought of not having data why I drive gives me a panic attack. I'd rather retire early than got without data.

Even after retirement I still wanna know whats going on out there in the world. I quit main stream media, so onto my Web Based News Site.. I love data. [emoji12]

 

[Milk Hauler]

Like Wanderer says, most Mickey D's and Walmarts have free hi speed Wifi. Don't forget Lowes, Home Depot's, libraries also have free wifi. If you dont need data while you drive, you can use the free Wi-Fi to download maps, news, weather, even movie. Once in a blue moon, I buy a new release movie from Walmart. Most movies they carry, come with a code to download a free digital copy. I have several on my tablet.

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Tapatalk

 

[USExplorer]

Paying a thousand dollars a year for a phone data plan when my entire yearly budget (including well over ten thousand miles of traveling) hovers around five thousand does not make any sense to me. I don't even have a smartphone to use it on either. I regularly go several days without accessing the Internet, and I still feel I spend too much time online. I don't want to be another hapless fly caught in the World Wide Web.