How much data?

[jimindenver]

How much data do you get and go through?

In looking at the plans I see more is always better and unlimited is best but for me it would be like going to a all you can eat buffet and having one plate. Unless I start streaming a lot we use less than a gig a month.

 

[TMG51]

When I had a conventional residence and a land line, I was using over 100 gb of data each month. For my mobile hot spot I bought 12 gigs. If I use the jetpack exclusively for work and non-frivolous web browsing (no streaming) I come in right around 10-12 gigs each month.

However I typically supplement this with public wifi. Today is the 10th, my jetpack data renews on the 18th, and I'm at only 4 gigs used out of 12 for this period, because I've been connecting to wifi networks frequently.

 

[Almost There]

Interesting question!

I'll be looking at data plans for my time in the US starting next week and have no idea what I am going to need.

Currently I only use my internet for reading forums and blogs, researching things and playing a couple of games on line. I think I've sent a total of 6 text messages in the last 5 months.

I don't listen to music nor watch movies although if someone links to a youtube video, I'll watch it.

While I don't want to end up going over my limit I have no idea what I will actually be using!

 

[jimindenver]

Lady A

Your usage sounds much like mine. Forums, researching, a handful of pogo games a week. While I have the cable I enjoy watching hockey but I enjoy listening to it too and that takes much less band width. I was worried about the pogo games but they don't pull much data either.

The one thing I am worried about is when the computers want to update. I suppose I can take them somewhere with public wifi, easy to do with the laptop, not so much with the desktop.

To run the pogo games I need a computer, otherwise I wouldn't need a hotspot or tethering at all. Just use a adapter to put the phones screen on a monitor and plug in a keyboard and I can cruise the forums all day with the same feel as if I were on the computer.

I was going to use PDAnet+ to run the games but I like to sleep well and even though the usage would fly under the radar I am told, it is against the terms. So before I found the hotspot feature on Cricket, I bought a freedompop hotspot. I would be happier if it ran on the Verizon network instead of Sprint but here at the house I should get good signal. It came with 2 gigs and you get a half a gig for free a month. You can go with no charges and the 500 MB's a month but I'll probably pay the $4 fee to let the data roll over and build up as a back up to the Cricket plan.

So the cable goes off at the end of the month and I will start out with 12 gigs to see where I am. I would like to find a inexpensive Verizon solution before hitting the road to have the best coverage. Something I could set up with data and use only if I needed too like the freedompop. Add in a Wilson Sleek and I think I have covered my bases as well as I can.

This is how I am preparing for the transition. Save $1600 a year and understand my needs just like setting up the solar and water systems. When it is time to hitch up, I plan on being ready.

 

[rvwandering]

We use 5-6 gigs a month so that means we often go over our 5 gig limit which costs us an extra $10.00. Our plan is $50.00 a month and I have contemplated going to the next level which would give us 10 more gig for an additional $45.00 but since we never use that much it's more economic to just pay the extra $10.00 or even $20.00 when we go over. I have no doubt that if we had 15 gig we would use it all. :-D

We don't listen to music, watch movies or youtube videos unless they're very short. Mostly our data gets used up writing blog posts, researching places to go, reading blogs and general browsing. We could get by with much less if we just used it for reading forums and emails.

 

[Almost There]

We use 5-6 gigs a month so that means we often go over our 5 gig limit which costs us an extra $10.00. Our plan is $50.00 a month and I have contemplated going to the next level which would give us 10 more gig for an additional $45.00 but since we never use that much it's more economic to just pay the extra $10.00 or even $20.00 when we go over.  I have no doubt that if we had 15 gig we would use it all. :-D

We don't listen to music, watch movies or youtube videos unless they're very short. Mostly our data gets used up writing blog posts, researching places to go, reading blogs and general browsing. We could get by with much less if we just used it for reading forums and emails.

Thanks, that gives me some real life experience to go by.

Some day real soon I have to get a blog up and running so that my friends and family can keep track of me! I'm glad I didn't get it started already though, since it would be nothing more right now than a lot of complaining about people not operating on MY schedule and a long list of what is still to do before I can lock the door for the last time and get my butt out of here.

 

[rvwandering]

I was worried about the pogo games but they don't pull much data either.

The one thing I am worried about is when the computers want to update. I suppose I can take them somewhere with public wifi, easy to do with the laptop, not so much with the desktop.

  Pogo games do use very little data. If we're getting towards the end of our billing cycle I can still play games without worrying much about going over.

 Turn all of your automatic updates off. This is really important if you're running Windows 10. The easiest way to update is to drive to a Home Depot, Lowes, Panera Bread or some other retailer who provides a strong WiFi signal for customers. You can sit in the parking lot and get all of your updates in a very short period of time. We try to do this at least once a month, more if the opportunity is there.

 

[jimindenver]

Thank you

So what is it about the blogs that takes up the data? Pictures maybe?

 

[WheelEstate USA]

We have 5gigs on a StraightTalk cell. We hardly use 1/3 of that barring the use of YT. Toward the end of the period we'll sorta waste a bunch watching Toobers.
Margie plays games but that's hardly noticeable.

It's hard to use 5gigs on a cell unless you upload a ton of pics

 

[LeeRevell]

The only time I exceeded 1Gig was the week my home DSL box was down, awaiting a new one.  And I did not even do any videos.  Using the SIII as a hotspot for my laptop ate data like a fat gal munching bonbons.  :dodgy:

 

[rvwandering]

Thank you

So what is it about the blogs that takes up the data? Pictures maybe?

  Some blogs are very picture heavy so I think that's what uses up the data. Text only sites or ones with small pictures don't really don't use much.

 

[NeedAnEscape]

I have a unlimited data-only plan on AT&T for $30 a month. I used 34gb last month on my mobile hotspot. It would be higher if I didn't know where there's a datacenter with free wifi that does 230mbps which I use to download games.

 

[SoulRaven]

I use about 100 gigs per month. Read and post to a number of forums, and moderate a few. Some of them are picture and/or video heavy. I occasionally watch some on YouTube or Hulu. Finally, I answer an average of 40-50 emails a day, sometimes with replies that need to be as long as books and very picture heavy.

 

[Damian Rolling]

I have a 10GB data plan with Verizon and a Jetpack.

I started the plan much lower - maybe 2GB. But I went through that early in the 30 day cycle. It was watching videos on YouTube and Amazon Prime that ate it up. I gradually increased the data plan until I got up to 10GB and saved watching videos for when I was connected to other WiFi.

I find that at places such as a public library I can usually get a connection from the parking lot (need to be facing windows). This keeps me from annoying others if I am cracking up over Big Bang Theory episodes (or presidential debates).

 

[RVTravel]

Holy smokes those are some huge data usage numbers.

 

[rgs80074]

i'm on traditional cable internet I use probably 200-300 gigs a month.

although I'd suspect if I was van dwelling I might not use nearly that but since I download or stream everything I watch its possible I still would maybe even more if van dwelling gave me more free time.

but who knows

i'd love to van dwell or tiny house live and travel the country so much to go and see.

 

[Matlock]

I'm on Verizon w/cell and JetPack WiFi. My total data  package is 12G. This is the only connection I have for Laptop/Ipad/cell.
I don't do YouTube video's or photo- heavy web sites. That's what really sucks up the data. I am on-line for 3-4 hours every day and I've about maxed out my 12G limit for the third month in a row and still have a week to go before I refresh.

I'm probably going to upgrade to the next level which is an additional 6G for another $20. That will bring me to 18G for $135.00 a month. (voice/message/data/tax).
In my area I have a weak 4G connection, 1-2 bars with Verizon, but it's much better than anyone else can provide in my neighborhood.

Since I'm out of contract with Vz I am always looking for more data for less $ but until I move into a larger metro area I'm never going to see more bars. And the Microsoft free upgrade to Win10 with their auto-updates isn't going to happen until I have an additional 10G of data either.

As a FWIW, the JetPack MiFi that I have lets you monitor how much data you use in real time. It's easy to see what sucks data and what just sips it.

 

[jimindenver]

Since I have days to burn up the 9 gigs I had left this month I watched the Michigan State game, the U of M game and then the Red Wings after that. Now that went through some data.

 

[Reverse Engineer]

We use 5-6 gigs a month so that means we often go over our 5 gig limit which costs us an extra $10.00. Our plan is $50.00 a month and I have contemplated going to the next level which would give us 10 more gig for an additional $45.00 but since we never use that much it's more economic to just pay the extra $10.00 or even $20.00 when we go over.  I have no doubt that if we had 15 gig we would use it all. :-D

We don't listen to music, watch movies or youtube videos unless they're very short. Mostly our data gets used up writing blog posts, researching places to go, reading blogs and general browsing. We could get by with much less if we just used it for reading forums and emails.

I ran my websites on just my 4G cell phone connection for about 6 years.  5 Gigs before I started over-running and paying the $10 extra per gig, which only started occurring as I added a whole lot of sites and more audio/video.  I used free wifi for uploads of vids and audio at a local internet coffee shop.

I moved and invested in a cable connection for $60/mo, which gives me 60GB/month bandwidth.  I usually use about 30 of it.  This with running a dozen different websites as Admin, many of which have quite a few vids on them.  However, mostly short vids, not movie length.  I also don't watch long ones that other Diners drop on usually.  I don't play games or  do any other high bandwidth stuff, mostly text and pics, and with the pics I mostly embed, I don't upload/download too many, and those I do I reduce in size so I get into the KB range.

Obviously though, if you are mobile all the time, you can't have a land line connection, so either you are using 4G or you are using free wifi scarfed up somewhere.  Forget a sat connection, that costs a fortune.  I looked into that for our Convocation, similar to you RTR here in a nabe with poor 4G.

 

[jimindenver]

I wanted to say thank you to all that have replied. My cable isn't unlimited but with a 250 G limit it might as well be. I really had no idea of how much data I was using until I started using the phone and hotspots. Both allow me to see the data usage in real time. Luckily I am finding I use very little unless like yesterday I stream sports all day and burn up 5 gig.

The other thing is with every thing that I get worked out I get closer to escape velocity and have one less thing to worry about. What would be nice is a phone that could switch back and forth between the carriers.