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Verizon: Using Phone's Data Plan To Connect Tablet To Internet?

PeteCress

PeteCress

Android Enthusiast
I've been Googling this for an hour now and still can't figure out what's happening.

Somebody I know wants to buy a device for quick "Internet Access" without pulling out his laptop.

Quotes because I am *assuming* he means web pages... which implies a certain minimum screen size to me.

He has a Verizon Android phone with data plan.

Is anybody with a Verizon account actually doing this without paying the extra twenty bucks a month?

PdaNet? FoxFi?

I'm seeing BlueTooth and USB as the only possibilities because I read that Verizon has cut off WiFi with Android 4.4.

I'm halfway to telling him to look at the Samsung Note 3 and the 5.9" HTC phones instead of a separate device - assuming he can live with the screen size for whatever he calls "Internet Access".

Anybody have real-world experience here?
 
??? Verizon phones and tablets certainly can access the internet via WiFi with or without a data plan as long as an accessible WiFi network is in range. IOW Verizon has not disabled WiFi on their devices.
 
Crashdamage said:
??? Verizon phones and tablets certainly can access the internet via WiFi with or without a data plan as long as an accessible WiFi network is in range. IOW Verizon has not disabled WiFi on their devices.
Click to expand...

I was thinking in terms of:

- The tablet being Wi-Fi only - and not necessarily a "Verizon" tablet.

- The phone being a Verizon phone and having a data plan.

- The user sitting somewhere that there is no WiFi and somehow
connecting the tablet to the phone so that tablet can get to the
Internet using the phone's data plan connection.
 
Wifi tethering is a part of stock android. It basically turns the phone into a router and works very well. Any wifi device can connect to it.
I'm in Europe but from what I read, Verizon make that very hard for their customers unless they pay through the nose for it :(
I'm guessing vzw remove the wifi hotpot setting (but not the capability) at a firmware level? I think that's where fox-fi comes in?
 
I think it may depend on the Verizon plan, but the Verizon family plans do allow wireless tethering. I do it quite frequently. The only extra charge would be if you use too much data.

Even though I create a wireless hotspot, I usually connect a USB cable just to keep the phone from using too much battery. That works particularly well when connected to a netbook.
 
Seeing how this is verizon specific, I've moved it to the Verizon forum where other member with that carrier can try to help you out.

If you have any issues with the move, shoot me a PM :)
 
If you have a shared data plan, IOW you pay for 6GB per month, then you can tether all you want and it is free until you run out of data. If you are still grandfathered into an unlimited plan, you are not supposed to tether without paying, but I understand it is still possible. IDK how, but I assume it is through root.
 
I have the 2GB shared plan and it authorizes the use of the Mobile Hotspot. (The only Verizon employee I deal with recommended it to me when I did my last upgrade. I never would have found it otherwise.)

(I am in my office 98% of the time and WiFi meets my needs unless I am traveling.)

... Thom
 
You need to download FoxFi from the Google Play store (make sure you have a compatible phone (link from play store description). It use to be you could use FoxFi for free for 30 minutes before it disconnected and you had to reconnect. The other option was to pay a small one-time fee and you could use it without restrictions.

If you run FoxFi on your phone it should allow you to connect your tablet, laptop , or any other device with Wi-Fi to the internet using your data plan.

FoxFi has done a good job of updating their app for new phones and any OS updates
 
FWIW, at the risk of sounding foolish, I must say that I have since discovered that the user in question has Sprint as their provider and not Verizon as I had assumed.

Accordingly, I will begin another thread in the Sprint sub-forum - as soon as I can find said sub-forum.
 
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