Using 3G for 1 month only for I-95 road trip?

[wahoowad]

Wifi suits my needs so far so have never activated a 3G plan. I will be traveling some for a week later this month and would be nice to have service during several all day road trips up/down I-95 corridoor. I'll be traveling I-95 between Virginia and South Carolina. How is the service while driving? Does service drop like a phone call? And can I sign up for one month, then stop/suspend service so I am not billed for following months?

 

[SweetPoison]

I have AT&T and I can stop it and start it whenever I want. To do that, I would just not renew when the 30 days is up. But you can activate it the next month if need be.

That is the beauty of it!

 

[wahoowad]

Thanks. I have heard there is a difference in the cost and features depending on whether you sign up via the AT&T website or via the signup capability on the iPad. Is this true and what do you recommend I do to sign up to get the most flexibility?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Yes - the service will 'come and go' just like a regular AT&T 'phone, the iPad and your 'phone use the same GSM technology and both link to those cell towers in exactly the same way. So, when your phone doesn't work, neither will your iPad 3G. The I-95 is pretty well covered though, so you shouldn't find too many problems as long as you don't want continuous coverage. You'll find that most of the Interstate rest areas will have coverage as will, of course, the urban areas en route.

AT&T have produced an informative leaflet explaining all their data plans for the iPad and you can download it from here....

http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/files/pdf/emerging_devices/iPad_fact_sheet_081210.pdf

As Marie explained, you can take the service just for a limited time and suspend it at any time you want on some of their plans - it's a sort of 'pay as you go' service. Anyway, have a look through the leaflet and, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to come back to us.

I hope you have a great trip and please post your experiences on the Forum

Tim

 

[JWKessler]

How about Verizon? I just bought a Verizon iPad due to the better coverage in my area and have been debating the best way to deal with the 3G service. I use a TracPhone for phone service and really like the cost and flexibility that gives me. I wish there was a similar plan for the iPad.

 

[wahoowad]

OK, I guess I am dumb. I know my account is set to auto-renew every 30 days but I only needed the 3G for the prior week. I don't want to completely delete my account (may wish to activate it in the near future if I have another trip) but can't figure out how to suspend the auto-renew feature. I signed up via the iPad and can't seem to log in to the myATT or even register. All i can do is open the Cellular Plan thing on the iPad and I see a link to 'Cancel Plan.' Is that what I want to do? I don't want to go through the sign up process again, just not auto-renew.

 

[Kenworth]

250mb ??

Yes - the service will 'come and go' just like a regular AT&T 'phone, the iPad and your 'phone use the same GSM technology and both link to those cell towers in exactly the same way. So, when your phone doesn't work, neither will your iPad 3G. The I-95 is pretty well covered though, so you shouldn't find too many problems as long as you don't want continuous coverage. You'll find that most of the Interstate rest areas will have coverage as will, of course, the urban areas en route.

AT&T have produced an informative leaflet explaining all their data plans for the iPad and you can download it from here....

http://www.att.com/Common/about_us/files/pdf/emerging_devices/iPad_fact_sheet_081210.pdf

As Marie explained, you can take the service just for a limited time and suspend it at any time you want on some of their plans - it's a sort of 'pay as you go' service. Anyway, have a look through the leaflet and, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to come back to us.

I hope you have a great trip and please post your experiences on the Forum

Tim

Hi folks.....Can someone tell me how you judge 250mb? How long would it last?

Not familiar with this stuff at all...only Wi-Fi...Thanks!! Ken

 

[Mattmilw]

Hi folks.....Can someone tell me how you judge 250mb? How long would it last?

Not familiar with this stuff at all...only Wi-Fi...Thanks!! Ken

Take a look at this- Is 250MB Enough for the iPad? | PadGadget