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All reviews of Verizon Wireless Broadband (wireless)


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Six Month Rating

Reviews:
197 reviews (70 good) (62 bad)
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Review by boosterP See Profile
member for 9.5 years, 178 visits, last login: 1.8 years ago
updated 1.8 years ago

  • La Porte,Harris,TX
  • $114 per month
  • (10 month contract)
  • about 1 days
  • "Fast LTE, unlimitted"
  • "Mobile hotspot costs, PDANet taken off market"
  • "Great"
Pre Sales Information:
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Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

On the phone it is amazingly fast. I have a steady 10Mbps home internet through another company and VZW's LTE is consistently 2 Mbps faster. Using PDANet I get a good solid connection through my networked computers. Love it.

Comments:

Shimanek

@charter.com

Broadband ripoff

Verizon convinced me to convert from 3g to 4g. They didn't tell me that there was a $300 penalty for doing so. I've called them many times and they will not refund any of the $200 that I have paid the past two months. I expected a refund because on my last vacation, 4g did not work in North Texas, New Mexico, Kansas (not even Kansas City), Missouri, nor Arkansas. This is the biggest rip off in telecom history, do not fall for their lies.






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Review by davidhoffman See Profile
member for 3.5 years, 1586 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1.8 years ago

  • Warner Robins,Houston,GA
  • $70 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • about 7 days
  • "I get to use the internet when there are no public use WiFi APs available."
  • "Low usage cap. No way to buy more GBs at reasonable cost. No linux support."
  • "Extremely useful tool for web browsing."
Pre Sales Information:
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(ratings match consensus)

My Other Reviews

·Millenicom
·AT&T Southeast
Service is still very good. I have gotten 1.5Mbps downloads on about 6 occasions. External antenna port on USB760 is extremely valuable. It helps me when I am way out or in tough reception areas to just hook up an external antenna. The contract is up and I looked into Verizon LTE. The LTE modems have bad reviews and the 4G tethering option is confused. We do not have LTE here in middle Georgia yet, so I will stay with 3G another year. I will probably switch to the Millenicom Advanced plan to get more value.

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Review by cbradioman See Profile
member for 11.8 years, 234 visits, last login: 357 days ago
updated 1.8 years ago

  • Jacksonville,Calhoun,AL
  • $60 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • about 1 days
  • "Speed is now terrible....."
  • "If this is all you can get, then it will work, but I dont recommend it at all."
Pre Sales Information:
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(ratings below consensus)

I have had this for over 4 years now and when I first got it, it was excellent. Now the service most of the time is worse than dial up, if it even loads the page. So bottom line is if you can get anything else DONT get Verizon Broadband. My cell phone coverage has decreased also. With several calls to verizon they always tell me its the terrian. The real problem is they are very overloaded here and cant keep up with the demand.

[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]»www.speedtest.net/result/1393300···G][/URL]

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Review by Rockin4D See Profile
member for 5.6 years, 314 visits, last login: 221 days ago
updated 1.8 years ago

  • Beggs,Okmulgee,OK
  • $80 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • "I can at least play some popular games."
  • "Impossible to download large updates. Your TCP instance will get snipped if on too long. Chat programs unstable connection"
  • "pretty much all i can get. Big companies have all but abandoned rural areas. (we are have nots) Would love good cable or dsl"
Pre Sales Information:
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Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

My Other Reviews

·AT&T Wireless Br..
Its not DSL but for what i can do i'm happy with what i've seen so far.
Purchased Verizon wireless MiFi2200
Got the highest plan possible (has 5 gig cap)
Still have to go into town for major operating system updates
and especially game or other huge software upgrades. If one is not careful
you can suck up the 5 gigs way fast before the 30 day window is up.
I just started with the service today and am counting numbers and usage.
I just need to keep it under an average of 170 mbytes a day.
The lower rating for value for money i think is accurate. Its expensive
and makes me jealous that folks with dsl or cable can download way beyond
gigs a month for 1/3 the service cost. Overall.... i'm back online and happy.
WoW plays nicely.
Been a long 18 month wait.

Updates as time goes on.

may 26th 2010
The service is beginning to demonstrate that it uses/depends on software
traffic control. I 've noticed many times i get knocked down from higher speeds
to about 14k per second (128K connection) This has been happening
alot more often as the months have gone on. Normally i wouldn't mind this but
i've also noticed alot of service hiccups where i get disconnected
about 5 to 10 times in an hours time. My chat programs suffer the worst of this.
Many times i've been logged off and didn't even know it and lost about 5 lines of text i typed
and uploaded. Hopefully this improves as 4G begins rolling out across the country.
If verizon simply left me capped at 128K connection speed without the hiccups i would not complain.
my two changes to the ratings drop service to a 3 and connection reliability to a 3 from higher numbers because of my recent experiences. Verizon improve on these please.

Update April 1, 2011
I've since upgraded to the 10 gig plan hoping for a less cramped experience.
its a bit more tolerable. Can still Play WoW and Eve Online plus a few other games.
Major downside on getting updates that wont resume. If you have a large download to complete i suggest that you pack up your whole computer and drive to town and use a friends cable or DSL connection. This service has some unwritten fair access policy rules that will slow your connection down to 14k bytes a second from the ranging 100 to 220k a second and once it happens it will not speed up again unless you restart the Mifi or stop the download. Very irritating if you have a large download to complete. I wasted over an hour downloading an Iphone update using this device. After roughly that time if you've not finished your download Verizon says your done. Thats it no resume. I fired off a complaint via email demanding this wasted data download not go towards my monthly limit but i'm sure it will fall on deaf ears. I'm on a mac pro 64 bit system using AdiumX multi client chat program, and also have the regular versions of other chat programs installed. Using the mifi wirelessly (which is the only way i can use it since its not compatable with 64 bit OSX) i've experienced utter unreliable connections to my chat programs. Every few minutes i get constant disconnects and worst of all i dont know i'm disconnected. Messages are constantly lost incoming and outgoing.

Given these latest experiences i have dropped service and connection reliability to 2's from 3's. Verizon needs to let users use their data bucket as they see fit without TCP cut offs or slowdowns.

Update July 11, 2011
Tech support has improved for me as i call them quite alot to complain of connection and contuinity of connection issues. Still unable to do a full download update on my iphone unless i save the data as a file instead of direct update.
The download will usually begin slowing after 300 or so megs and i'm fully cut off
right at the 500 meg mark. If unable to resume a download you lost it all.

The Mifi style devices such as the 2020, 5 spot, and samsung 4g device are overall unreliable if you intend to use them as a full time modem all day for long periods of time like internet should be used. I've exchanged the mifi 2020 twice, been through one 5 spot, and on my 3rd samsung device now already. Batteries
tend to get hot when your surfing or gaming for long periods (because i leave it plugged in to avoid getting disconnected when it goes dead) Verizon could really do alot better.

Began noticing that while on youtube or any streaming video sites i get smacked back to slower speeds quite frequently. This is very frustrating. Apparently the customer base is getting crowded now and i expect to see alot more of this network behavior in the future. Still wishing and wishing and waiting for a wired internet solution to come to my home.


Comments:

Reveriefairy

@myvzw.com

Signal

I'm actually trying to get the verizon internet to get good enough signal for WoW to work. I can't even get it to keep one bar? Completely unplayable, atm. What kind of signal are you getting?
Rockin4D

join:2007-10-11
Beggs, OK

Re: Signal

I got about 2 to 3 bars 3g and 1x

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Review by padre44 See Profile
member for 13.2 years, 1313 visits, last login: 1.3 years ago
lodged 1.8 years ago

  • Powhatan,Powhatan,VA
  • $50 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • about 1 days
  • "Good backup"
  • "No 4G here yet"
  • "Better than nothing"
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

My Other Reviews

·Comcast
Got a MiFi from Verizon to use primarily while traveling in our motor home. Verizon is available most everywhere and the service is better than the available free wifi in many RV parks. Of course it is not like our Comcast cable at home, but the Comcast cable seems to go out at times so I use the MiFi as a backup. I have the 5 gig a month for $50. I'm told that is plenty unless you stream video or download large amounts of music. We'll see. 2 laptops share the connection. Two desktops on another floor have trouble getting on it, so signal must not travel as far as the wireless router we have. If they did I'd consider dropping Comcast - it is getting more unreliable. As with other Verizon services, you hope you don't need tech support because it is a pain.

Comments:

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Review by Smokey See Profile
member for 10 years, 4285 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1.9 years ago

  • Wild West
  • $54 per month
  • about 1 days
  • "Great coverage"
  • "High cost for low caps"
  • "Best national data choice, but you pay for it."
Pre Sales Information:
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Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

I have had Verizon wireless data on my business laptop for just over two years now, and it has worked out great for my needs. While driving on the highway at 55 or faster, it holds a rock solid signal and seamlessly transfers between towers. With rare exception, I have had coverage at locations I have visited. The service is on the expensive side, but with discounts available can be tolerated and written off as a business expense.

Update: 6/25/2011

Verizon wireless data service continues to be the best mobile data service I have used to date, in coverage area. What I have found lately in my travels is that while you may have EVDO coverage in the more remote locations, it can still be as slow as dial up. My NM travels showed VZW to be over populated on the cells I used, as during the week it was almost unusable, but on weekends it was blazing fast an no timeouts. My use of the network in NV is similar, but at far slower speeds all around and dropped signals from time to time. Given the remote areas I operate in, I can not complain too much. The efficiency of having the ability to access the network with the laptop card is hard to replace, even with wifi becoming more prevalent in hotels.



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Review by dataice See Profile
member for 10.5 years, 1961 visits, last login: 139 days ago
updated 1.9 years ago

  • Crisfield,Somerset,MD
  • $80 per month
  • about 1 days
  • "Excellent Nationwide 3G Coverage"
  • "Expensive. 5 GB monthly data cap."
  • "Unbeatable 3G coverage. The 5 GB data cap is an insult, but otherwise am pleased with the service"
Pre Sales Information:
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Connection reliability:
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Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)

05/21/11: I just started service today and I will provide a more detailed review once I run it through its paces. So far 3G coverage area has been excellent, even in rural areas. I purchased the Verizon branded Novatel Wireless USB760 USB modem at Wal-Mart for $130. I didn't want to commit to a 24 month contract so I decided to go with their prepaid offering instead. The service cost $80 for 30 days of service and 5 GB of data usage. The software required to connect is stored on the device itself, making setup foolproof. The software allows you to keep track of usage, and also allows you to purchase an additional 30 days of service. If you go over your allowed usage before your 30 days are up you can purchase a new card from the software and the clock starts over.

06/16/11: So far I am very impressed with the coverage and speeds in my local area. The speeds are far more consistent than they were when I was using AT&T Wireless Broadband. Not to mention AT&T has a 2GB cap for the same cost. Verizon Wireless Broadband is comparable to a entry level DSL connection. The 5 GB data cap is a disappointment. I have been averaging 1.1-1.4 Mbps down and 500-800K up here at home. This is my only option for broadband at home because my local Verizon central office has been oversold and Verizon has no interest in upgrading it to allow for more capacity. This will do for now until I move next year. It's certainly better than dial-up. I feel the cap should be increased to at least 10 GB which is what it is for their post paid customers. Their prepaid customers are paying the full unsubsidized price for the USB modem after all. I'm patiently waiting for Verizon to upgrade my area to 4G LTE. However, being in a rural county we are probably far down at the bottom of the list. They didn't upgrade our area from 1x-RTT speeds until 2009. I don't expect 4G coverage for at least another 12-18 months. Otherwise I am very pleased with the service so far.



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Comments:

Mike_

join:2003-06-24
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Made the right choice I see..

Glad you're enjoying it.. I am too.

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..

1 edit

Re: Made the right choice I see..

So far I am very impressed. Much better than what I just came from over at AT&T. The customer support rep I spoke to to activate my USB device was actually here in the USA. Go figure!
BigVe

join:2005-07-15
Gulliver, MI

IF

If i had to pay $80/mo for 5 lousy GB transfer i would go to dial-up

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..

4 edits

Re: IF

Maybe you wouldn't pay that, but since this is my only option for broadband other than satellite, I am willing to pay the absurd monthly price. It's easy to say that if you have other options. You'd be surprised by what you would be willing to tolerate once you are actually placed in that situation. Of course I'm not happy about it, but in this day and age you can easily waste 3-5 minutes waiting for a single page to load on dial-up. For me the high cost of wireless is worth the time I am saving. I just had to juggle some things in my budget by cancelling all of my magazine subscriptions, and eating out less often, that alone more than made up the difference for my wireless service. For me it was worth the sacrifice.
tman852

join:2010-07-06
kudos:1

Re: IF

You may want to look into Millenicom. They offer 20GB a month on Verizon for $60, and 50GB a month on Sprint for $70. No contract and no taxes. www.millenicom.com and »Millenicom

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX

2 edits

Re: IF

Thanks for the info tman. The available carriers in my area of the county I reside in are Verizon and AT&T. I will look into them, because 20GB for $60 a month is far better than $80 a month for 5GB.

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..

1 edit
I contacted support at Millenicom and they do provide service to my area on the Verizon network. $60 a month for 5 GB with the USB device for free, or $60 a month for 20GB and $100 for the USB device. I wish I had known about them before I blew $130 on the USB device with Verizon two weeks ago. Thanks to you I can now save $20 a month and have four times the data transfer.
tman852

join:2010-07-06
kudos:1

Re: IF

When did you sign up for service directly with Verizon? If it's within 30 days I believe you can take it back and get a full refund on everything besides the activation fee. Good to hear that worked out though, I know it's helping a lot of us out who can't get normal wired broadband.
--
Core i7 920 @ 3.5ghz | OCZ Obsidian 6GB 1600mhz DDR3 RAM | EVGA X58 tri SLI-LE mobo | EVGA GTX 570 | Antec 750w PSU | OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD | WD Black 1TB HDD | Antec 1200 Case | G15 keyboard | G9x mouse | G35 Headset | Asus 23" LED-LCD

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..

Re: IF

I activated my USB device with Verizon on May 21st. There was no activation fee. I came in on the pre-paid side not post paid which was why I had to purchase the USB device up front. I purchased the device at Wal-Mart then went home and activated it from the VZ Access software, which then billed me $80 for the actual 30 days/5GB transfer plan. Wal-Mart's return policy on most electronic items is now 15 days. Apparently they just recently changed it from 30 days, so I have had it 12 days tomorrow. Where I live is nearly 40 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart, so I doubt I would drive 80 miles round trip just to return it. I don't know if I could since I have consumed 2.3 GB's of my 5 GB's of data so far.

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..
The up front cost with Millinecom are fairly steep, but after that I would start saving $20 a month. Millinecom charges $100 for the USB device, a $50 activation fee, and a $15 shipping and handling fee to ship the USB device. So, I'm looking at $165 up front, and another $60 for the actual 30day/20GB service.

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Are you also using Millenicom?

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Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain earthlink.net)
lodged 1.9 years ago

  • Sunnyvale,Santa Clara,CA
  • $60 per month
  • (12 month contract)
  • "Works well in populated areas."
  • "Works poorly in rural areas."
  • "Get an external antenna and/or make sure your device accepts an antenna for rural use"
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)

Just tried your speed test. 921k up, 319k down. Mostly use when
traveling. Had to get an external antenna for reliable service but with
this addition, speed is satisfactory for our needs...e-mail and small
(500k) files.

Comments:






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Review by Mike_ See Profile
member for 9.9 years, 2131 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 2 years ago

  • Fort Lauderdale,Broward,FL
  • $75 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • about 3 days
  • "LTE is blazing fast.. Even 3G is consistent."
  • "Still fringe 4G in my area and it falls back to 3G often."
  • "The best current wireless provider. Period."
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)

Switched from at&t and their draconian ways. Ignoring my complaints of dropped call issues in the area. Extremely frustrating as calls would often not complete upon dial. Got the Droid Charge for $249.99 over at Wirefly. Order process straight forward and simple. Arrived in 2 days, activated, ported in 5 minutes, and done. Will update the review and post some speed-tests at some point. Since I'm border-lining the current 4G footprint, It works best near my window, but falls back to 3G elsewhere. Will update 4G experiences around town soon as well. The 3G is quite consistent with downloads around 1mbps, uploads of 850k.

All I can say is I'm not sure what made me stick with at&t for so long, but I now see the grass from the other side, and it is greener.. So far

Update: 5/24/11 - I'm not sure How I can post the link from the mobile speedtest.net app from the phone, but I was able to email the .csv info for it..

4G best speed so far : 12.9mbps/2.6mbps 126ms
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2011-05-20 23:36, Conn. Type: LTE,
Download: 12915 kbps, Upload: 2607 kbps, Latency: 126ms, Server: Miami, FL, Int. IP: 10.185.171.xx, Ext. IP: 166.248.64.xxx
-----------------------------------------------------------------

3G best speed so far : 1.3mbps/868kbps 181ms
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2011-05-20 23:24, Conn. Type: Ehrpd, Download: 1315kbps, Upload: 868kbps, Latency: 181ms, Server: Miami, FL, Int. IP: 10.171.133.xx, Ext. IP: 166.248.65.xx
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Not bad at all The 4G link stays pretty low 100ms, though I have not yet seen it go into 2 digits, it's still a great connect to game on, with very little jitter. I'm sure it will improve with time.. Once 4G becomes more widespread here I will probably try just linking my pc's to the connection, and cancel the physical line.

Comments:

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX

Goodbye AT&T!

I wish I had never wasted my time with AT&T. I was so desperate to get away from them I actually ate the ETF. It was worth it.

dataice
Premium
join:2002-10-27
Corpus Christi, TX
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·AT&T Wireless Br..
·Verizon Broadban..
·Verizon Wireless..

3 edits

3G Speed Tests

I'm averaging 1.4-1.6 Mbps down and 700-800 K upload. I see bursts at times up to 2.6 Mbps down. I can live with this for now. 4G would be sweet. Hope to see some 4G speed tests from you soon. I've been reading some impressive results in some area's where 4G is currently available. Some topping 10 Mbps downstream. I think that's decent enough to dump a fixed wireline connection for.

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Review by Rockin4D See Profile
member for 5.6 years, 314 visits, last login: 221 days ago
updated 2 years ago

  • Beggs,Okmulgee,OK
  • $81 per month
  • (24 month contract)
  • about 5 days
  • "seems to be fast when it does stay connected"
  • "Constant disconnects Very poor battery life."
  • "Verizon please sell devices that do one simple thing WORK RIGHT"
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)

I joined Verizon wireless back in Jan of 2010. Started with the Mifi 2200 and complained of being constantly disconnected when i had multi chat clients connected. Was recently swapped out for a 3g 5 spot. Same results unreliable connections. Ultimately Verizon allowed me to try the Samsung 4G LTE card. That piece of plastic so far is the worst of the 3. Starting the device takes about 3 tries to get the right amount of lights lit up to connect my computer wirelessly. About every 5 to 20 minutes the blue router light turns green and dumps my computer from the local area network and thus to the internet. Takes about 20 tries of restarting and password entries over and over and i finally get back on the net. This vastly irritating behavior by a device is simply unacceptable. For years DSL modems just work dialup modems just work routers work. Wifi devices do not. I've been waiting for decent wired internet to come to my home so i dont have to write crappy reviews of all the services i'm trying out of desperation. While i wrote this i was disconnected and had to run the constant relogs to get back in. .

Comments:

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