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Hello! I'm looking for a way to boost my signal. I've noticed that when I have under 3 bars (and even if it bounces up to 3 and back down) my battery drains quicker than it can charge. At work as long as I have 3+ it will charge faster but if I'm at a different spot and its under 3 it drains. Also, it heats up (usually hangs out around 98.6 degrees but sometimes it'll go 105+). My main reason for wanting a boost at home is because I tether to play games when my sisters hog the house connection. So I'm looking for a cheap way to boost my signal. Small repeater sort of thing or something. To my understanding the little spots under the cover allow you to plug in external antennas, so where can I find everything for that? (And yes I saw that people can't get signal back after)
THANK YOU
Mechachu said:
Hello! I'm looking for a way to boost my signal. I've noticed that when I have under 3 bars (and even if it bounces up to 3 and back down) my battery drains quicker than it can charge. At work as long as I have 3+ it will charge faster but if I'm at a different spot and its under 3 it drains. Also, it heats up (usually hangs out around 98.6 degrees but sometimes it'll go 105+). My main reason for wanting a boost at home is because I tether to play games when my sisters hog the house connection. So I'm looking for a cheap way to boost my signal. Small repeater sort of thing or something. To my understanding the little spots under the cover allow you to plug in external antennas, so where can I find everything for that? (And yes I saw that people can't get signal back after)
THANK YOU
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Click to collapse
We used to live in an AT&T dead spot (yeah, yeah, who doesn't?) and ended up putting a powered wireless repeater in the house with an external antenna on the roof. I believe the manufacturer was Digital Antenna. They're not cheap, but the wired versions (if you can live with that) are a bit cheaper.
As long as you have high speed internet at home get an Airave. It puts up a tower in your house and processes everything over your home internet connection. 5 bucks a month i believe.
http://support.sprint.com/support/device/Sprint/AIRAVE_by_Sprint-dvc1230001prd/?id16=airave
Problem solved.
I thought about airwave but people ten to not pay the internet from time to time xD and does the signal crap out if people use the internet? Its only a 768 connection (country ftl) and people tend to netflix and cam -_-
Mechachu said:
I thought about airwave but people ten to not pay the internet from time to time xD and does the signal crap out if people use the internet? Its only a 768 connection (country ftl) and people tend to netflix and cam -_-
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The airrave uses your internet connection for 3G data and voice calls. If your internet is slow to begin with and ppl are hammering it all day long the airrave won't work well for you. Also, it doesn't hand calls off to the real cell network, so if you're on the phone and you leave your house the call will drop. If you have good signal outside and bad signal inside, one of those repeaters is the way to go - but it ain't cheap.
Dang ok. What about something like the Wilson Magnet Mount Cellular Antenna at Radioshack? (Its on the site. Id link it but you need 8+ posts >.<)
I'd just limit your sisters ip address/mac address with a QOS policy, so that she can't hog all the bandwidth. (would be done at your router)
I've heard and seen on this board some nasty results from connecting external antennas to the connection point behind the battery cover. Do a search in the forums to see, I can't remember exactly off the top of my head.
Ya I only saw a couple people mention problems and it seemed to be things that they had only heard
Whatever you do DO NOT CONNECT an EXTERNAL ANTENNA to the CONNECTION POINT.
So far, everyone on this forum who has tried so with a Galaxy S has ended up with some permanent baseband (or whatever is responsible for the gsm/cdma part) corruption. What ended up happening was that the internal antenna would turn off. In some cases it meant that they could only call with the external antenna plugged in, and in other cases is meant that neither the external or internal antenna would work. (note: This has happened only on captivate and vibrant so far, so I am not sure what will happen on CDMA but.... Better safe than sorry right!?).
oh and sorry for the large font.... It catches your eye... ~_~
krackers said:
Whatever you do DO NOT CONNECT an EXTERNAL ANTENNAto the CONNECTION POINT.
So far, everyone on this forum who has tried so with a Galaxy S has ended up with some permanent baseband (or whatever is responsible for the gsm/cdma part) corruption. What ended up happening was that the internal antenna would turn off. In some cases it meant that they could only call with the external antenna plugged in, and in other cases is meant that neither the external or internal antenna would work. (note: This has happened only on captivate and vibrant so far, so I am not sure what will happen on CDMA but.... Better safe than sorry right!?).
oh and sorry for the large font.... It catches your eye... ~_~
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lol I did that when i got my first smart phone, the htc touch. Thankfully back in those days sprint would fix any problem or give you a new phone no questions asked for 55 dollars. ( I used to find inventive ways to break my phone. Like the mentioned external antenna, or a homemade battery back)
I'm interested in a solution to this as well, preferably something that doesnt have a monthly fee attached.
In my basement, I get about 1-2 bars of service, and sometimes nothing at all. Is very frustrating to receive texts up to an hour late.
talk about ad placement
This came up right under the latest post in this thread:
Tri Band Yagi 700Mhz - 2500Mhz 9dBi
Our highest gain directional tri/multi antenna - for 700-2500mhz networks (including Verizon LTE, Sprint/Verizon/AT&T/Alltel 3G, and more).
LINK
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Thank jebus for adfree android and adblockplus for firefox...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Just got an email from AT&T saying that I'm eligible for a free 3G microcell - which supposedly will always give a set number of devices full service in the house it's placed in.
I normally get pretty good service in my house (even in Wisconsin), but that's not always the case everywhere I go.
At any rate, am I able to take this thing when I go places (say, to uni, which will happen once again in the fall) and use it where ever?
Thanks!
What's the email saying exactly and do you have a screenshot of that email? I work at att and don't know about that yet but different dept
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
cookw24 said:
Just got an email from AT&T saying that I'm eligible for a free 3G microcell - which supposedly will always give a set number of devices full service in the house it's placed in.
I normally get pretty good service in my house (even in Wisconsin), but that's not always the case everywhere I go.
At any rate, am I able to take this thing when I go places (say, to uni, which will happen once again in the fall) and use it where ever?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can take it anywhere that has high speed internet. But it needs to be registered to the location you are going to use it at, and it has to be placed near a a window to get GPS reception. If you take it from one place to another, you have to update the info on the website to reflect where it's located.
Also, it takes up to 90 minutes to activate when it's turned on.
harlenm said:
Yes, you can take it anywhere that has high speed internet. But it needs to be registered to the location you are going to use it at, and it has to be placed near a a window to get GPS reception. If you take it from one place to another, you have to update the info on the website to reflect where it's located.
Also, it takes up to 90 minutes to activate when it's turned on.
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Click to collapse
I have one thing to add to your post which was great. It does need to be near a window to get GPS HOWEVER once it gets GPS it can be moved. I put mine near a window with a long cord (router isnt near window at all) and it locked on GPS. I then unplugged it and moved it next to my router and it powered back on and locked GPS as it did prior. That's a little tip if you don't have a window near where your router is installed.
if you already have good service, 2 bars plus you dont need/want it; it will just make your phone go crazy.
Mustang302LX said:
I have one thing to add to your post which was great. It does need to be near a window to get GPS HOWEVER once it gets GPS it can be moved. I put mine near a window with a long cord (router isnt near window at all) and it locked on GPS. I then unplugged it and moved it next to my router and it powered back on and locked GPS as it did prior. That's a little tip if you don't have a window near where your router is installed.
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It doesn't always retain it's GPS info if it's unplugged. If you dont' have a window nearby, you are better off running a long cat5 and power cord to it, and then moving it without unplugging it.
Or, you can buy an external antenna for like $25 that gives you a 25 foot cord.
I imagine they will give you the microcell if you agree to the unlimited service they try to sell you with it. I can't remember exactly, but it was something like $25/month for all calls made through the microcell, and they don't come off of your minutes. I've got one at home because I live in a dead area and rarely have reception unless I step outside my house, plus I don't live in a 3G area anyway. Problem is, when I walk into my house, it won't automatically switch over to the microcell unless it loses the signal from the tower. Works pretty good in the house, though, but my phone will lose connection to it intermittently with it for unknown reasons. Not a perfect solution, but it's better than missing all of my calls when I'm home.
I dont know if anyone else has experienced this. I got a microcell last week and use it with an unlocked samsung vibrant. My apartment does not get very good reception at all (rarely even get one bar) and when connected to the microcell it chews through my battery. Previously, even with poor reception, I would go through 1-2% of the battery per hour with use. When connected to the microcell, i go through 4-6% of battery per hour without any use at all. I do not know a great deal about the microcell where this could be a firmware thing or it could be that I am using an unlocked phone from another carrier, but just something to watch for.
I have one of these. If you use it, don't expect H+ speeds off of it. You get 3G speeds on data. And if you don't have a good broadband connection, voice can get choppy. But there is a benefit to having and using it. For $20 a month (I think), you can get unlimited family domestic calls on it to any phone regardless of whether it is a land line or cell phone. But I have the $30 unlimited texting and cell phone calls now on my family plan, and make so few calls to land-lines, that I no longer use that service.
lol how weird, i work for an at&t shop and i just got a call by someone questioning an email they got about a free microcell.. i was browsing thru xda at the time and was on this thread, crazy..
i have one at my house, its cool if you really have absolutely no service where you live.. the only down side to this device is; if you are currently connected to the microcell and are in a call, if you leave your house the call will drop as you are leaving the microcell and reconnecting to the normal cell towers..
if you are never "in-call" while moving in and out of the area of your house than you wont notice this and it will be a cool device for you to have.
Don't take your MicroCell to the Grocery store!?!? Step away from the cell phone...
harlenm said:
Yes, you can take it anywhere that has high speed internet. But it needs to be registered to the location you are going to use it at, and it has to be placed near a a window to get GPS reception. If you take it from one place to another, you have to update the info on the website to reflect where it's located.
Also, it takes up to 90 minutes to activate when it's turned on.
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Click to collapse
What a huge inconvenience it would be to travel with this thing.. maybe if you're going to be somewhere for over a week (Still wouldn't take it with me) . but if you're just going to a buddies house for the afternoon... please leave your MicroCell behind.... lol
For some reason, I can't download while on Mobile Data and connected to the MicroCell. Upload appears to be fine, but as far as browsing the net at home when im too lazy to open my lap top.. No Bueno... Wifi still works so it really just irritating more than anything.
Mine seems to be hit and miss for calls. Sound great when they come through but seem to drop.after 10 min or so. Other than that I have no issues with it. Just that data speeds suck but when I'm at home.WiFi works just fine for that
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Got a free microcell where I moved into have no service so called in had then put a note on the account so I can pick one up, I had to speak to a manager but I just went on and on and finally got it done and picked it up in store free no contract extension, hope it helps
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Mustang302LX said:
I have one thing to add to your post which was great. It does need to be near a window to get GPS HOWEVER once it gets GPS it can be moved. I put mine near a window with a long cord (router isnt near window at all) and it locked on GPS. I then unplugged it and moved it next to my router and it powered back on and locked GPS as it did prior. That's a little tip if you don't have a window near where your router is installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do you get it to stay locked on to gps? ive taken mine outside multiple times and after a while it locks on to the location, but after i unplug it and place it inside it loses all the information
thanks
I have absolutely NO Service where I live and too have a Microcell- I have noticed as previously mentioned if while talking inside and then going outside- the call will drop.
Also there are some moments where I will receive a voicemail notification & the phone never rang. Other times- I am not connected so I put the phone in airplane mode for a few seconds and then back to reconnect to the Microcell.
The Microcell definitely improved the ability to talk to others when before I had to go outside to get some bars. It's hot outside- it gets old having to talk to anyone- outside- so I am grateful AT&T hooked me up with a FREE Microcell.
The rule to the Mcell is they drop calls going from micro to macro. Apparently its not a smooth transition like tower to tower..also speeds are veal but that's what you get limited speed but increases signal
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Friend of mine has one of these and his is hit or miss all the time he tells me. I would like to get the email offering me a free one! I would try it out just to see if he was doing something wrong! lol
I thought I had my weak wi-fi problem licked, by using "wi-fi best performance" in the settings.This is my second Sensation, I took one back for awful wi-fi and speaker, this one no better even after discovering the "best performace" setting.
I first took the sensation to a Mickey D's nearby, as I know they have wi-fi. Not a blip. I tried with and w/o "best performance", nothing, nada, I parked right next to where customers would sit, as well as tried a couple other areas in the lot. Nothing at all when I scanned.
I then went to another McD's. Pretty much same thing, even though one spot in the lot, I got 1 bar/poor, but not stable to make a connection. I assumed it was theirs, but maybe not,didn't say Wayport or attws. I also parked as close as I could to a sports bar that has wi-fi, again not a blip. I was inside that sports bar the other night, and even though it seemed to get a decent wi-fi signal inside, kept saying "page not found". If I used 2/3/4 G (actually only 2G was working in there), I could get web pages.
I came home after my first trip to McD's, grabbed my laptop, my Sensation, as well as my original HTC Dash, which I decided to try a unused SIM card in. I couldn't make calls of course, but I could connect to wi-fi at my house.
So I set sail with all 3 devices. I went back to the first McD's I tried a half hour earlier, and parked again right outside where the customers sit. Good to excellent signal on the laptop. A consistent 1 bar signal on the Dash, but stable and functional, and it definitely showed McD's sign in page - attws hotspot plus a Wayport icon showing also. The Sensation - not even a hint of wi-fi service again.
Any updates or hacks that will make the wi-fi more normal?
Or else the thing is going back. If I have to eat $50 for the T-Mo store restocking fee, so be it, but now I'm reading people are getting phones from Best Buy and Costo (I assume Sam's Club maybe too) and getting pretty long periods to try them out and no restocking fee. So I may do that. The T-Mo store is 14 days, and I had the first Sensation 7 days, plus the new one 4 so far. Thanks.
I agree 100%. My wife's Vibrant gets 3 bars strong from my bedroom (where the wifi is) to my living room, my Vibrant only gets one bar, and often just disconnects all together???? WTF???? Not so Sensational right? I hope a better ROM or some kind of fix becomes available soon.
Look guys, there are already dozens of threads on this. Can you repost this in one of those?
Just trying to avoid clutter
Thanks guys
BW
My phone has dropped data randomly two times this morning. I could only get it back by doing a switch to airplane mode. Anyone else with this problem? Is this a phone issue that I need to get a new one?
Sent from my HTC One X
Mine has dropped several times. when coming to and from work. It seems to always happen when it connects to wifi. when i leave work and its wifi, i lose all signal entirely.
I don't use wifi though that's the thing. I called ATT and they said it may need a new simcard......which this was. So I swung by and got one and the lady at the store said that my phone may be going bad! LOL wow I love how they train their people.
YES. Most definitely, this is the same problem I'm experiencing. I had another thread posted about how the 4G icon was lit but there was no signal. The icon now seems to be a little more accurate...But still.
At home I switch on WiFi so I don't run up my data but if I look at the settings for mobile network the status underneath in gray text keeps showing that it connects and disconnects. Endlessly. The phone isn't moving. My wife has signal on her iPad and iPhone (I know those are 3G).
I have to turn on airplane mode and then off...Then mobile network on and it seems to help a little. However it's still super spotty.
This is pretty much only indoors but I don't know. I'm going to go around town and try it out. On their coverage map I'm in a big zone of LTE coverage. Outside I have seen 30Mbps on LTE using speedtest.net app. So I don't know. I thought it was very odd given the houses here in CA don't exactly have super thick insulation and every other cell phone (Sprint, my wife's on AT&T, etc.) seem to be AOK. It's just this new One X that just can't stay connected to the 4G.
Going under settings > about > network ...
I see my signal strength....some readings are...
-109 dBm 4 asu
-101 dBm 6 asu
-107 dBm 2 asu
I have no idea what values I should be seeing - what is considered good?
Mobile network type says HSPA. Service state says in service. Icon up top is 4G with one bar. If I turn off WiFi I could not load a web page or anything. That's what annoys me. I usually see like 2 bars and that's fine...But if I see the damn bars and the 4G icon....I sure as hell expect the data to work, even if a little slower.
It's just SUPER flaky. Again outside seems to help but to be honest I haven't sat and watched it. For all I know it could be connecting and disconnecting over and over outside as well but just have a stronger connection when it is actually "on."
I'm annoyed and speechless. I'm not in the boonies. I've never experienced anything like this before. I'm actually at my desk in front of a window. Uh...WTF?
Just picked up lunch and watched the data while on the trip.
This phone is unusable. It's gotta go back. Well, I guess it's welcome back Sprint. Sooooo disappointed.
All I got was HSPA. The only time I get LTE and those fast 30Mbps down is at night time. AT&T is such a joke and their network is NOT ready for this phone.
I'm in Palo Alto, CA. It's not the middle of no where. This is embarrassing. Either that or somehow I have a defective phone or SIM card or something I have no clue here...It's really really bad and I'm obviously not the only one.
3 days and it's been horrible, the only reason why I didn't notice sooner is because I've been using the phone on WiFi most the time.
tom_m said:
Just picked up lunch and watched the data while on the trip.
This phone is unusable. It's gotta go back. Well, I guess it's welcome back Sprint. Sooooo disappointed.
All I got was HSPA. The only time I get LTE and those fast 30Mbps down is at night time. AT&T is such a joke and their network is NOT ready for this phone.
I'm in Palo Alto, CA. It's not the middle of no where. This is embarrassing. Either that or somehow I have a defective phone or SIM card or something I have no clue here...It's really really bad and I'm obviously not the only one.
3 days and it's been horrible, the only reason why I didn't notice sooner is because I've been using the phone on WiFi most the time.
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how fast is the HSPA you're getting?
1-3.56Mbps down and 0.04-1.03Mbps up.
Out on the street downtown.
Best I've ever had was at night on LTE 30Mbps down and like 17Mbps up.
All to the same test server. Trying servers several states away it varied, sometimes I'd even see 20Mbps down to a far away server.
Again this is all WHEN I'm actually connected to the data network.
The thing just can't hold a connection. Constantly dropped.
edit-- ok so right now same time of day, servers, etc. Sprint's 3G is a little slower, but at least I'm not getting dropped.
and on a side note, i got a REALLY helpful lvl1 tech support lady on the phone. much better experience than i thought. there was an issue in the area before. but basically i'm going to give it another shot. if no good tomorrow, swap for a new phone. they'll call me back friday and we'll see... crossing my fingers.
Any update on this? I've got a new One X and work night shifts twice a week. I've notived tonight that the data drops when the phone is idle and obviously nothing pushes.
There's got to be a way of turning this off. I can see why HTC would call it a feature, but there has to be a flag or a switch somewhere....
So I've been waiting to get internet at my apartment, and have been using my one m8 tethered as home internet (thanks to the help on this forum getting a ROM running on it that lets me use the mobile hotspot).
Its working great. However, i'm at 120GB with 5 days to go. Being that this would be, under most carrier plans, an insane amount of data... I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I definitely haven't seen any throttling or slowdown. Runs PS4 games, streaming, whatever. I was actually at 60GB 5 days into the month and have made a concereted effort to slow down lol, otherwise I might be in the 300-400GB range. That said, it really isn't too bad.
I actually just ordered time warner cable for $40/mo, so I guess I'm moving on anyway. But I'm curious if anyone has been doing this for an extended period and if Verizon ever made a stink.
Someone I know does. He canceled all wired tv, phone, & internet service to his home and has been using his verizon S4 for it all for over a year now. He's on the old unlimited data plan. It is apparently working well for him but he had to get a special wifi card for his PC to use the hotspot from the phone. He uses a wifi capable "smart" bluray player to get all his TV programming from youtube, netflix, and amazon prime. He said it was a learning curve to find all the tv programming he used to watch on cable but he has been able to get it all, albeit, at a later release date then the mainstream networks' prime time debuts.
I do it, but with T-Mobile.
Just one thing though....constant wifi tethering will destroy your phone. Specifically the battery, but all that heat and energy use can't be good for the rest of it either. I ruined 2 batteries on my Galaxy Light in less than a year. Ruined 2 Motorola Razr Maxxes this way too. You don't want to be doing this with a phone like the M8 that is practically impossible to repair.
If you choose to go this route, pick up a cheap (rootable, obviously) phone with a removable battery, like a Galaxy S3 to use as your "home" phone.
The S4 is better then the S3 in that regard because it supports that newer faster LTE (aws?), the wifi hardware is quite a bit more advanced (faster), and the repairs (if ever necessary) are easier. Wifi tether does use a lot of power but you'll be plugged in for that most of the time, especially at home. The circuitry holds up just fine in the S4 as long as you're not aggravating the situation with over-volting / over-clocking.
I had been using my old Droid 4 as a home gateway/router before I got the One working. Perhaps I could just use that as my home router.. it worked well enough but would cut out occasionally (annoying during games... the One doesn't do that). If anything the Droid 4 seemed to have a stronger wifi signal when it worked though... better range, just as fast as the M8.
Do you know how much data your friend goes through?
The Droid 4 does/did get really hot while tethering. To the point I'd usually rest it on a cold can of soda or something while using it, lol. The One doesn't get nearly as hot.
Keep in mind that the power consumption and heat generation of the screen still dwarfs that of the wifi module. While using the phone as a home internet gateway the screen will likely be off most of the time.
I don't know about his data useage quantity but he's almost always got something streaming video of some kind. Its probably not ideal for serious gaming because the signal does drop out from time to time. Toggling airplane mode on and off again reestablishes a full-speed connection pretty quick but it would be disruptive in a game.
well. my signal on the One hasn't dropped and I've been logging a lot of Destiny this month. Sometimes you'll get a little lag but it isn't bad.
Just saw that VZW is hiking unlimited prices $20/mo... wonder if that'll get challenged by the FCC (like throttling etc): http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/tec...ted-plan-increase/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
I have old UDP and use my phone hotspot to devices it in my motorhome. All was good until 2 months ago when I used 50-60gb and they throttled me since. No 4g at all from home tower. get 4g elsewhere .
How do I approach customer service to get un-throttled? New reports say they are not throttling anymore.
Thanks.
Try cycling airplane mode on/off to reestablish a 4G data connection.
0reo said:
Try cycling airplane mode on/off to reestablish a 4G data connection.
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Tried that 50 million times. She a no work! Others get 4g at my place not me.
This is my SOLUTION
Verizon 4G LTE Broadband Router With Voice
Works like a charm.
Born<ICs said:
I have old UDP and use my phone hotspot to devices it in my motorhome. All was good until 2 months ago when I used 50-60gb and they throttled me since. No 4g at all from home tower. get 4g elsewhere .
How do I approach customer service to get un-throttled? New reports say they are not throttling anymore.
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
i would just call them and explain your problem as you have here, and leave out the throttle part.
back up your data firs, they will likely have you factory reset at some point.
it could be a problem with your phone, or a problem with the towers in your area. they will determine which.
its very unlikely they are throttling. they wouldnt reduce the 4g signal output on an entire tower to do it, and they are actually prohibited from doing it by the fcc.
bweN diorD said:
i would just call them and explain your problem as you have here, and leave out the throttle part.
back up your data firs, they will likely have you factory reset at some point.
it could be a problem with your phone, or a problem with the towers in your area. they will determine which.
its very unlikely they are throttling. they wouldnt reduce the 4g signal output on an entire tower to do it, and they are actually prohibited from doing it by the fcc.
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Thank you. Ended up swapping Sim then got consistent signal a few days later. No idea what they did on their end. Swapped Sim to 6P and all is good now.
I did this when I was doing my internship. I mainly just streamed Netflix and only hit 256GB that month. There was a time Verizon was throttling my data even though they wouldn't admit it until I eventually got transferred to an engineer . None of their support tiers could answer my questions and kept telling me they didn't have the capability to throttle so the problem is my fault. I somehow eventually talked to an engineer at Verizon and the engineer didn't directly admit it but rather, he implied that they do have that capability and the support techs were lying. One tech blamed "tower service in the area" and another tech blamed the unlocked bootloader on my 2013 Moto X DEV for causing the connectivity issues even though I was running the stock ROM and even restored everything back to stock prior to calling. Hahaha.. The funny thing is that the connection went back to normal directly after that call ended. Weird how that works....