MiFi Advantages but be wary of Usage Charges

NOTE: This is only about Verizon MiFi 2200 - the one I've had since 2008. Other wireless companies may have equal products, so check with yours, but this warning regarding charges should apply to all carriers.

We were traveling cross-country in our motor home when we acquired the MiFi 2200. It replaced the Verizon air card which worked well, but in order to run two computers at the same time we would have had to subscribe to two air cards (double the cost).

The Verizon MiFi 2200 is a "hot spot" and it will support up to five gadgets at once; perfect for us with two computers and an iPad. It worked flawlessly except for one or two instances which were not the fault of the hardware. It worked in canyons, in deep woods, out in wide stretches of nothing. It even worked where there was no connection for our cell phones.

Then came the bill! Whew! At this point I called 611 on my cell phone and received a lesson on "usage".

Unlike a cell phone where the usage is marked by minutes, the MiFi usage is measured by GBs - you sign up for x number of Gigs per month, with an added charge for overage at a proportionately higher rate.

Other things I learned:

• to turn my MiFi off when not in use as I would be charged for any incoming units, wanted or not.
• transfer of text uses up less quota than photos, videos, etc. (i.e. data)
• how to check my usage quickly and see the percentage used for the billing cycle

If you find your usage and bills are "out of whack" - pull out your cell phone and call 611. If the automated voice sends you in circles (which it will - that's a given) either keep hitting 0, or speak "Help". If that fails, just keep on talking. It doesn't matter what you say (or sing for that matter) - just ramble on and soon someone will say, "Just a minute, please, I'll get you an operator."

Incidentally, this works for Walmart, Comcast, the department of public works, or anyone who is hoping you'll just hang up in frustration. Some companies play loud, screechy hideous "music" for the same purpose - Hang Up.

OK, now you have a live person. I must say, once you get a Verizon representative, he or she is polite, clear and concise in directions, eager to find an answer to any question, and will look up all kinds of information to solve a problem.

The answer to the usage problem: If you are calling about a current billing period, and your usage has changed dramatically, they can change your plan retroactively to the start of the current billing period. You can change back at the beginning of your next billing period.

My example: I received an e-mail alert from Verizon telling me I was only 10 days into my 30 day billing period, and I had used 50% of my plan quota. My reaction: Oh.

Same day - 2nd e-mail. I was only 10 days into my 30 day billing period, and I had used 75% of my plan quota. My reaction: Oh.

Same day - 3rd e-mail. I was only 10 days into my 30 day billing period, and I had used 90% of my plan quota. My reaction: Oh, my.

Same day - 4th e-mail. I was only 10 days into my 30 day billing period, and I had used 100% of my plan quota. My reaction: Now we're getting serious. That's when I called 611.

The representative checked my average usage for the past four or five billing periods and found I had been well within my quota. What had gone wrong?

Last night, I downloaded Mac OS Lion, an upgrade from Snow Leopard. The app download cost me $29.95 - fair enough. I was unaware it gobbled up several Gigs of my data transfer quota - enough to throw me to the wolves.

Representative and I played around with various scenarios and settled on her retroactively changing my plan from a 5 Gig per month to a 10 Gig per month - for this month only. When the next billing cycle starts, she will automatically change me back to my ample 5 Gigs.

This is costing me an extra $30, but I don't have to keep track of my bit by bit usage to make sure it stays under $30.

Moral: Be nice to the hand that feeds you. I'm sure the rep is trained to give the same lovely service to all customers, but asking her to help figure the problem rather than blast away at her made it so much easier and I didn't have to defend an indefensible position.

Now I have to get used to a new operating system when I'm still stumbling through the maze of the old one.