Consumer Cellular ZTE MOBILE HOTSPOT $80

[lorance el]

Hello all,

Anyone have any experience with this product? 

I have CC as my phone carrier and wanted to do a hotspot for internet service while on the road. CC requires that you purchase their Hotspot device known as ZTE Mobile Hotspot for $80. My concern is what is the quality of the device? 

I am also concerned about running up my data plan which works out to about 10$ a gig.  I've been very pleased w/ the plan that I currently have even though we seem to do fine w/ 1 gig per month in data usage.

Any thoughts on the device and the plan? Thanks!
-lorance el

 

[John61CT]

CC is a fantastic company. I bet if there was any issue with the device they'd let you return it.

And $10 per GB is going rate for PAYG no contract. Great thing with CC I believe you can cheaply add multiple devices and they all share the same data pool.

Only advantage TracFone offers is unlimited rollover of unused MB, but their CS stinks, and hotspotting requires techie shenanigans.

With CC make sure you're on AT& T which has great geographic coverage. Some areas, especially dry rural West interior, Verizon is better, consider their $5 per month 3G hotspot plan as a supplement.

Sometimes CC will put you on T-Mobile if you don't specify.

Also note once your service is working you should be able to swap the SIM to a different router if you like.

 

[RVTravel]

I would go with Verizon coverage, not ATT.

 

[user 423]

Is that model # sold on eBay? Check reviews. Or google the model # for reviews. Add grain of salt.

 

[shadowmoss]

I bought 2 of those. I quit using them because the Consumer Cellular data is so expensive. The deices themselves are fine. I deactivated mine. They are around here somewhere...

 

[John61CT]

Yes I bet CC would accept a member using secondhand hotspots long as they were the right model.

The company is very competitive for certain usage patterns, but their real USP is excellent customer service, something many appreciate but rarely found among low-cost MVNOs these days.

 

[galladanb]

If this reply is not in line with the OP, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DELETE IT OR MOVE IT,

Here is my question...
Let's say I have a Verizon mifi using the 5 buck plan from the other thread.
Can I also get a sim kit from Consumer Cellar and use it when ever I need 4g data?

I mean the Verizon sim would come out and the CC sim would go in.

Would that work? Can it be that simple?

I like the way you can adjust the CC plan as needed up and down. I realize they are kinda pricey for their data, but when speed is needed for whatever reason, it makes sense.

Or when coverage may be an issue...

I'm liking my plan so I wouldn't have to have a second device, and put the bulk of the usage on the less expensive 3G plan...

What do ya think?

 

[John61CT]

No, equipment designed for Verizon will not work well for other networks.

Only some recent models of very high-end smartphones work with all four networks bands.

ATT network is closest to the international standards, then T-mobile.

All of them have their special bands for LTE, especially for someone travelling you want a separate mifi designed for each target network.

 

[lorance el]

To answer my own question, this is what I learned.

I sent email to CC and they told me that if I wanted to use a hotspot with CC they would have to turn it on for me and then i could use my iphone as the hotspot and it would use my existing data plan. Easy - peasy. 

This hotspot works if you are an existing customer. If not then you need the ZTE.

The salesperson suggested that i get a dedicated line for 15$ and that way i could keep track of my data usage and wouldn't tie up my line so i can receive calls while on line.

We'll see. The nice thing about it is i only get charged for data when the hotspot is in use. No extra charge for just having it.

On another note:  I've been very pleased w/ CC, I pay 59$ a month for 2 lines, have terrific service, and most always have at least 3 bars here in rural New Mexico. Admittedly, the wife and I are old so we don't use our phones as much as when we lived in the big city, I did all the setup online, even got "reasonable" prices for the new cell phones 2 years ago.

Hope this helps.
-lorance el

 

[galladanb]

We also have CC, and are very happy with them.

By dedicated for $15, was he suggesting that you add a third line to your existing two line account, or create a new line/account for the got the data device???

And then the cost per month would be 15 plus the data coats? That seems very reasonable!

I was thinking if I added another line, say for the mifi, it would count against my regular plan?
Just curious...

 

[John61CT]

Your choice.

Adding a line to an existing plan shares in the same data pool, therefore makes most sense, least left over each month since CC doesn't roll data over.

But if my teen kid wanted a line, I'd create a separate account and contribute a certain amount, after that they pay for it. Teach responsibility, cut down on having to monitor things every month.

But $10/GB quickly gets expensive for users streaming a lot of media, better off paying a fixed rate every month for a big-data plan in that case, assuming heavy usage every month.

PAYG then only makes sense when your high usage is only a few months per year.

There are plans out there to suit each person's usage patterns, just need to crunch the numbers.

And how much of a premium are you willing to pay to get stellar customer service from native English speakers, that will never be the cheapest MVNO