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I no longer have home internet. I was paying $35, then $50 a month, for home internet with a DSL company, which I won’t mention its name… but they’re nationwide. Internet was slow at 3 mbps, but it was fine for what I was doing. I wasn’t streaming HD videos (I still buy Blurays) or doing live streams.
For the first time, I decided to abandon home DSL internet. All this was made possible when I was getting unlimited data on my phone, via Visible, a company by Verizon. I know many people have problems with Visible, but I’ve been using them for over a year, and it works for me.
Of course, leaving home internet, there will be some drawbacks. None of my “internet of things” devices will work correctly now. For example “smart screens” or internet security cameras. You can still access the camera using a local network (that’s not connected to the internet), as long as you are signed into that local network. Still, it’s not convenient and these constantly connected devices won’t work properly.
The other drawback is that Visible only allows you to connect one device to your phone, using your phone’s hotspot or tethering method. I suggest you read Visible’s website for details about its hotspot restrictions…. however, you can get around the one device limit by using an iPhone (Apple uses a different method to connect devices that bypass Visible’s restriction). So in November 2021, I purchased the iPhone 13, and have been very happy with both the device and my ability to connect multiple devices.
Speaking of hotspot, there is a 5 mbps cap when you tether. That’s still faster than my old DSL service! I found that, especially when I upload files, it’s much faster than DSL.
Pricing for Visible, right now, is $25 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Starting in October, they are changing their prices to $30 or $45, which I previously mentioned in Sep 2022. Hey, even at the more expensive $45 (which promises a faster network and expanded network), I might be willing to pay more, especially if now I am paying for both a phone and personal internet combined. Even at $45, it would still be cheaper than my ex-DSL service.
My other concern is that my Xbox always want a connection. I’ve taken precautions and have ended my Xbox Game Pass in August 2022. All the games I want are on the system, and if I need to buy new games, I will have to buy a disc. Besides, it’s been proven that buying discs (especially used games), they are much, much cheaper than buying a digital copy.
In a few months, I’ll keep you updated if my experiment goes horribly wrong or if this is be the right move for me. I sometime feel like I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I will have to look around for some other alternative solution to home internet. Any suggestions?
If I’m really desperate to have my internet photo frame or home security cameras to connect to the internet, I would probably buy a Tello line and leave that phone at home, plugged in with the hotspot turned on. Tello doesn’t have restrictions on how many device can connect to the hotspot... so that might work. Those home security cameras probably won’t even go over their 25GB limit. Perhaps I will look into buying a Tello line in the future to see if that might work out for me.
For the first time, I decided to abandon home DSL internet. All this was made possible when I was getting unlimited data on my phone, via Visible, a company by Verizon. I know many people have problems with Visible, but I’ve been using them for over a year, and it works for me.
Of course, leaving home internet, there will be some drawbacks. None of my “internet of things” devices will work correctly now. For example “smart screens” or internet security cameras. You can still access the camera using a local network (that’s not connected to the internet), as long as you are signed into that local network. Still, it’s not convenient and these constantly connected devices won’t work properly.
The other drawback is that Visible only allows you to connect one device to your phone, using your phone’s hotspot or tethering method. I suggest you read Visible’s website for details about its hotspot restrictions…. however, you can get around the one device limit by using an iPhone (Apple uses a different method to connect devices that bypass Visible’s restriction). So in November 2021, I purchased the iPhone 13, and have been very happy with both the device and my ability to connect multiple devices.
Speaking of hotspot, there is a 5 mbps cap when you tether. That’s still faster than my old DSL service! I found that, especially when I upload files, it’s much faster than DSL.
Pricing for Visible, right now, is $25 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Starting in October, they are changing their prices to $30 or $45, which I previously mentioned in Sep 2022. Hey, even at the more expensive $45 (which promises a faster network and expanded network), I might be willing to pay more, especially if now I am paying for both a phone and personal internet combined. Even at $45, it would still be cheaper than my ex-DSL service.
My other concern is that my Xbox always want a connection. I’ve taken precautions and have ended my Xbox Game Pass in August 2022. All the games I want are on the system, and if I need to buy new games, I will have to buy a disc. Besides, it’s been proven that buying discs (especially used games), they are much, much cheaper than buying a digital copy.
In a few months, I’ll keep you updated if my experiment goes horribly wrong or if this is be the right move for me. I sometime feel like I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I will have to look around for some other alternative solution to home internet. Any suggestions?
-- Weekend Gamer
PS, by the way, Visible is not the only unlimited data in town, there’s Tello, at $30 a month for unlimited data. Tello’s restrictions is that if you go over 25GB, they throttle you to 2GB. Mint offers unlimited for $30 a month, but you have to pay 3 months in advance ($90) and they cap your hotspot to only 5GB.
If I’m really desperate to have my internet photo frame or home security cameras to connect to the internet, I would probably buy a Tello line and leave that phone at home, plugged in with the hotspot turned on. Tello doesn’t have restrictions on how many device can connect to the hotspot... so that might work. Those home security cameras probably won’t even go over their 25GB limit. Perhaps I will look into buying a Tello line in the future to see if that might work out for me.
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