After several glorious months of folks being able to claim an un-throttled (but always network managed), unlimited data only Jetpack plan through Verizon prepaid (pUDP) - the party is officially over.
Late last night we saw the $70/month unlimited Jetpack/Tablet plan replaced with a 15GB plan on Verizon's Prepaid website.
As we warned, repeatedly - first in our member areas, and then broadcast to the public - if you did not jump on the pUDP plan before May 21st, you will have to seek unlimited, tetherable data elsewhere. And, as of this writing, those options are limited.
Those who set-up their pUDP Jetpack lines before the 21st should be grandfathered into service - so long as the account is kept in 'good standing' - aka, payment is made on time. Do not allow your account to lapse, even a moment - you will lose your grandfathered status and your line of service. (More info on this in our Guide to the Verizon Prepaid Unlimited Jetpack Plan - and below).
In addition, the Verizon 15GB (+7GB) promo has ended - but has been replaced with a double data promo on all plans.
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Table of Contents
Double Data Promo
Verizon Prepaid's 'new' plan line up is nowhere near as alluring for those seeking a home internet replacement.
For a limited time, however, Verizon Prepaid is offering double data on all of their tiered data plans, making their newly launched 15GB Jetpack plan available with 30GB of high-speed data.
This promo doubles the data for new line activations only. The bonus/doubled data will continue to be added to the line so long as it stays active. Once the bonus data is activated, customers can switch between eligible plans and maintain that bonus data.**
Do note that bonus data will not appear in your shopping cart, but will be applied to your line.
There is no currently published end data for this Double Data promo.
**We are currently researching to confirm that this includes switching to a lower data plan.
Phone Plans
Verizon Prepaid's phone plan lines all include unlimited talk, text, and various amounts of high-speed data - followed by unlimited "always on" data which provides data for the remainder of your monthly bill cycle at speeds of 128kbps, after you've used all of your high speed data.
All data on Prepaid lines is always subject to network management.
New lines on Verizon Prepaid are now being offered limited time "Double Data" Promos, which include unlimited talk, text, and
500MB1GB high-speed data for $30/month- mobile hotspot permitted
3GB6GB high-speed data for $40/month ($35/month w/ autopay)- mobile hotspot permitted
8GB16GB high-speed data for $50/month ($45/month w/ autopay)- mobile hotspot permitted
- Unlimited high-speed data on phone device for $70/month ($65 w/ autopay)
- NO mobile hotspot
Tablet / Hotspot (Jetpack) Device Plans
Verizon Prepaid offers data-only plans for tablets and hotspot devices (Jetpacks). These plans do not include any talk or text and are designed to be used specifically in data-only devices.
These plans include unlimited "always on" data, which provides data for the remainder of your monthly bill cycle at speeds of 128kbps after you've used all of your high-speed data - except for the 15GB (30GB with the promo) plan, which is throttled to 600kbps.
It's not clear why this one option, out of all of Verizon's prepaid options, has a higher (and often quite usable) throttle limit, but it's a great advantage - 600kbps is quite usable for many tasks, even some SD streaming.
All data on these plans is subject to network management.
These plans are currently subject to the above mentioned "Double Data" promo:
500MB1GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $303GB6GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $40 ($35 w/ autopay)8GB16GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $50 ($45 w/ autopay)15GB30GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $70 ($65 w/ autopay)
Family Accounts
Verizon Prepaid offers a Family Plan discount for those who have more than 1 line on an account. A Prepaid Family Account lets you have up to 10 prepaid lines on one account - and you can save up to $80/month, depending on how many lines (and what type of line they are).
Each line on the account has its own plan and data allowance - allowing you to mix-n-match plans as desired.
The line that's designated as the Account Owner is always full price (but can use auto-pay discount). Each additional smartphone, tablet or Jetpack line belonging to an Account Member (lines 2-10), receives a discount based on which plan it has. This discount is stackable with the auto-pay discount:
Phone Plan Family Account Discounts:
500MB1GB high-speed data for $30/month- No discount on Family Account
3GB6GB high-speed data for $40/month ($35/month with auto-pay)- Save $10/month on Family Account
8GB16GB high-speed data for $50/month ($45/month with auto-pay)- Save $15/month on Family Account
- Unlimited high-speed data on phone device for $70/month ($65 with auto-pay)
- Save $20/month on Family Account
Tablet/Jetpack Family Discounts:
500MB1GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $30- No discount on Family Account
3GB6GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $40 ($35 w/ autopay)- Save $10/month on Family Account
8GB16GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $50 ($45 w/ autopay)- Save $15/month on Family Account
15GB30GB Tablet/Hotspot Device: $70 ($65 w/ autopay)- Save $20/month on Family Account
Verizon Prepaid Plan Policies
- Carrier Networks Used: Verizon
- Carrier Relation: Direct, prepaid
- Plan Types Available: Phone, data only
- Device Types Permitted: Phones, Hotspots, Tablets
- Hotspot (Jetpack) Devices: Can be added as a line on an account for the full price of line, including as the only line on the account, except for the 500mb plan.
- Device Purchase Required: No, but can purchase a device
- Mobile Hotspot Use:
- Phones and tablets on tiered data plans allow mobile hotspot use of all plan data.
- Phones on the unlimited plan have no mobile hotspot use.
- Hotspot/Jetpack and Tablet devices are permitted to use all data via hotspot.
- Throttling: Plans experience un-throttled network speeds for on-device data. After the data bucket on tiered plans is used, on-device speeds and hotspot speeds are throttled to 2G/128kbps for the remainder of the cycle except for the 15GB Jetpack prepaid plan, which is throttled to 600kbps.
- Network Management: All prepaid plans are always subject to deprioritization behind postpaid customers on congested towers.
- International Roaming: TravelPass is available for prepaid smartphone plans (but not Jetpack or tablet plans) - for $5 a day per line, customers can use their plan data in Canada and Mexico, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. For $10/day per line, plan data can be used in 30+ other destinations.
- Domestic Roaming: Some - but not full. Verizon prepaid utilizes most of Verizon postpaid domestic roaming for calls or data when you are off their network domestically. To view the disparities, see Verizon's map comparisons here. There are no additional charges for domestic roaming when it is supported - but you may see slowed data speeds (3G/2G speeds).
- Plan Period: 30 days
- Data Roll Over: Base data on current Verizon tiered-data prepaid plans does not roll over - you lose what you don't use at the end of your billing period. (Older prepaid plans included roll-over data, and that feature is grandfathered in for those who keep their accounts in good standing. Upgrading an older line to the new prepaid plan will eliminate carry over data from the line).
- Overage Charges: There are no overage charges on prepaid plans. Once you use your data, data use is throttled to 128kbps speeds for the rest of the billing cycle. However high-speed data top-ups are available on smartphone plans at $5 for 500mb to be used within 30 days, and $10 for 1GB or $20 for 3GB (which can be used within 90 days).
- Streaming: No streaming services are provided with prepaid accounts. All video streaming is capped at 1080p for tablets, 720p for hotspot devices, and 480p for phones.
- Unlimited Data Plans: All data on the unlimited phone plan is always network managed. Unlimited plan phone lines do not include any hotspot data - all data in on device. pUDP Jetpack lines were retired to new customers on May 21st, 2019, but those who maintain those lines can utilize unlimited, network managed hotspot data from their hotspot device.
- Lines permitted per account:
- 10 lines are allowed per account.
- Additional lines after the first are eligible for up to a $20/month discount depending on device and plan.
- A family plan allows for the ability to mix-and-match line types on a single account.
The End of the Jetpack pUDP - Now Grandfathered
At the beginning of the month, we noticed Verizon had subtly removed the Unlimited Jetpack plan from their website, but it remained active. Last week, rumors abounded on Reddit that Verizon would be retiring the plan 'soon'. On late Friday afternoon got official confirmation from Verizon corporate that the plan would indeed be retiring on May 21st.
We have gotten out multiple notifications and hosted live video events - first to our members, and then to our public followers - so hopefully all who wanted it was able to get signed up before the plan was fully removed from Verizon's system this morning.
Existing customers are now grandfathered in, as long as they keep their plan always active with no lapse. We got confirmation from Verizon PR just yesterday.
That's right - unlike for currently available plans, which permit a 60-day lapse in renewal before your account is closed - the grandfathered pUDP will be discontinued as soon as you let it lapse. ALWAYS RENEW YOUR PLAN.
To best protect your plan, we recommend setting up your MyVerizon account immediately (which can be tricky) and enabling autopay to ensure your plan renews every month. We also recommend perhaps keeping your account balance pre-loaded, just in case you forget to update your credit card should it expire or be compromised.
At present time, we do not know if you'll be able to upgrade your Jetpack device direct with Verizon and still keep your grandfathered status - so for now, we recommend acquiring devices third party and just swapping the SIM card.
For more info on this plan, and the info we have been tracking on it over the last several months - including tips for setting up MyVerizon:
Mobile Internet Resource Center (dba Two Steps Beyond LLC) is founded by Chris & Cherie of