Hot spot clarification

[Wanderound]

Can anyone provide me with more detail on hotspot useage? I need to better understand what is meant by 5mbps and one device for the hotspot. Is that only one device can connect to the hotspot? Only one device per the party is allowed to use a hotspot?

I currently have a phone that with a Verizon pay as you go sim in it. This is used primarily as a hotspot as I have been traveling to many places in the US this year where Verizon is the only data provider available. In that case I turn the hotspot on the phone and we run laptops and phones off of this hotspot.  I also use this phone as a dash cam and as GPS so it is nice to run Waze etc at times. Obviously it would be cheaper to do a Visible especially since I have a connection to a party of more than 4 people but if the hotspot will not work as I like it is not useful to me. 

[bpositive · Accepted solution]

As per the Visible T&C, visible hotspot is limited to 5Mbps and one device can be connected at a time. However, many customers are able to use the hotspot on multiple devices. 

[stang67671]

Works the same way but is unlimited. If you have iPhones than more than on device can connect as a hot spot.

[Wanderound]

I do not have an any iphones but consistently connect many devices to the hotspot currently  on the phone with the Verizon sim.  I don't understand why they say use the terminology one device if many can connect. Is the 5mbps per device or do all of the devices share the 5mbps?

[stang67671]

I know there are threads on here that have ways to bypass the 5mbps cap. You may want to check some YouTube videos for more information.

[JohnnyEcko]

Don't do that... First, its against TOS, Secondly, if enough people do stuff like this it will undoubtedly hurt us all. Its simple, if you want more pay for more.

[bpositive · Accepted solution]

As per the Visible T&C, visible hotspot is limited to 5Mbps and one device can be connected at a time. However, many customers are able to use the hotspot on multiple devices. 

[partypay]

Also there are some youtube videos that shows how to bypass 5mbps cap for hotspot. 

[JustACustomer]

So, if I hotspot my phone and connect my computer to the phone (which I’ve had to do when we lost our primary internet connection) I can only get 5Mbps on my computer?

[bradleymikej]

Yes, unless you use one of the workarounds like it says.  I used an Android program called "Easytether" before everyone allowed hotspot to 1.  Increase the speed 2.  I those days, everyone limited the amount of hotspot data per month to 5GB, 10GB. 15GB or maybe more, per month.  When Easytether works, you don't need a phone capable of doing hotspot or tethering, it bypasses those limitations.  But now, nearly everyone has hotspot capabilities built into their cell phones (under Settings, Network.).  Thanks to 5G, the big 3 US providers don't care so much about hotspots any more, neither do they limit them, because -- when people pay enough money, they'll allow just about anything that hangs onto customers to keep them from churning.  Most people with 5G phones, NEVER USE ALL THE DATA THEY PAID FOR.  They've just been hoodwinked into thinking they have to have 
"Unlimited Data" - which usually is MUCH more than any cell phone will use by itself.

[rogerdpack]

FWIW I just checked the terms of use and it says "Visible includes mobile hotspot with unlimited data at speeds up to 5 Mbps. Video streams in SD. While more than 1 device may be connected to your Hotspot at one time, a single connected device will experience optimal speeds. Performance will be reduced if multiple devices access data through the Hotspot simultaneously. " so maybe the one device limit is gone?

[VisiblyPresent]

Yes, they simply removed the  "limitation" on number of devices -  it wasn't enforceable on all phones anyway. With the 5 Mbps limit on the base plan (and now 10 Mbps on Visible+) for a hotspot, using more than one device isn't going to impact much. Multiple devices will be using (sharing) that limited bandwidth as implied by the "performance will be reduced".

A summary of today's chnages has been posted here at:

https://community.visible.com/t5/Need-help/New-Features-amp-Visible-Plan-Enhancements/td-p/53839

A cursory examination of TOS and Legal Disclosures appears to reflect those changes.

[DeanKevin64]

It only seemed that Visible could implement the 1 device limit on iPhone's, while I think android weren't affected by that limit. I'm on the base plan with an android phone and connecting 2 device it restrictive since you have to share the 5Mbps speeds. Might be able to run a couple devices now on the plus plan/

[YesPleaseThankU]

Not according to their new terms and conditions. FYI everybody

[GMONEYMOTO · Accepted solution]

Check to see if your laptop has a "mobile hotspot" option under the "network and internet" settings.

Here's what I do:

Tether my android phone to my laptop via USB cord.

On my phone go to:  settings -> network & internet -> hotspot & tethering -> USB tethering

On my laptop go to:  network & internet -> mobile hotspot

So now my laptop has internet access and serves as a mobile hotspot that can connect multiple devices (my tablet & other phones, etc.).  Total download speed is only 5mbps, but it is the only way I can connect multiple devices.

[bradleymikej]

I used to do this with an android program called "easytether", now I don't have to since hotspot is included in the visible plan.  At 5Mbps.  What I want to know, is something that's been bothering me.  I do an Ookla test and it tells me (on my desktop with a wireless connection to my Visible phone's hotspot) that my download speed is a mere 1.5 Mbps.  Yet, I can play Youtube videos in HD no problem, so I assume Youtube has a way of circumventing the 5 Mbps hotspot limitation, or else - they're EXTREMELY good at playback with a very slow internet connection.....AFAIK, Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock, Hulu and Pluto ALL require 5 Mbps just to play SD vids, and they say HD requires 10 Mbps.  Is Ookla wrong about my speed?  The Netflix FAST.COM speed test for Netflix says I have 1.7 Mbps.  

[GMONEYMOTO]

I just did 5 speed tests on my computer and got 5 different results: 0.70, 2.40, 1.70, 5.11, and 5.51Mbps download speed.  I usually watch youtube vids in 480p or 720p just to avoid lots of buffering.  Hotspot download speeds can fluctuate based on network conditions and other factors.  Sometimes speeds are a little faster and sometimes a little slower.  A single speed test isn't "wrong" per se, but it doesn't explain the whole story.  But regardless of the numbers, just be happy everything works.  

[rjulun]

Looking at the two top accepted responses, it's very misleading. All over the internet Visible is recognized as the ONLY, truly unlimited internet plan and is referenced as a preferred way to cut the chord at home. However, I'm having the same problem with only being able to connect one device at a time. The best advice so far, to me is using your pc or laptop, then, creating your own hotspot from the pc or laptop. I'm about to try that now using my TP-Link router to blast the hotspot around the house.