Help with hotspot

[slharman1]

Using a att hotspot to stream firestick. I’m 2 nights we have used over 10 hours gigs of data. Only using at night for about an hour or two each night. Is something wrong with my setup? I am unplugging the firestick during the day. Thanks

 

[Dreamsend]

I'm no guru at this, but you might see if you can reduce the streaming quality and save some gigs. Not sure where mine is set but I know it's not highest quality available and yet pic and sound are really good. Also, you might make sure you don't have other data streams, like notifications, location. running automatically that are eating up gigs.

Linda

 

[SargeW]

A gig of data is a measure of how much data was transferred. The length of time "10 hours" doesn't really matter. Like Linda said, high quality video streaming, especially on 5G will consume data faster than say 4G or 3G did. There are also parasitic data use that you may not be aware of, like if a device is downloading an update in the background. Windows 10 is always doing that to me.

 

[NY_Dutch]

One way to minimize unexpected Windows update data usage, is to set your Internet connection to "metered". Windows will then ask before downloading updates...

 

[SeilerBird]

RVing does not make it feasible to have unlimited bandwidth like you do at home. Just like water and electricity, when you go RVing you don't have unlimited anything. All must be rationed.

 

[NY_Dutch]

RVing does not make it feasible to have unlimited bandwidth like you do at home. Just like water and electricity, when you go RVing you don't have unlimited anything. All must be rationed.

Unless you have one of the few truly unlimited data plans. The two we have are working quite well for us 200+ GB/month.

 

[SeilerBird]

If I used 200 gb in a month it would cost me $60 a month. Fi network is the best deal. It costs me $23 per month since I don't do a lot on my phone.

 

[jackiemac]

Depending on what you are viewing you could download it to tablet or phone using wifi then stream from there to tv via firestick.

Reducing the quality will definitely help.

 

[NY_Dutch]

If I used 200 gb in a month it would cost me $60 a month. Fi network is the best deal. It costs me $23 per month since I don't do a lot on my phone.

My Visible/Verizon unlimited everything service is $25/mo and my grandfathered AT&T unlimited data service is $23.49/mo.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I’m 2 nights we have used over 10 hours gigs of data.

Was it 10 gigs or 10 hours? Or maybe 10 gigs over a 10 hour time period? Trying to understand whether your usage is excessive or not. 1 0 gigs is not at all out of the question if you watched 3 hours of HDTV each night for two nights.

1.0-1.5 gigs/hour is typical for watching HD videos. The 1.5 gigs/hour gets you full 1080p resolution. If you are pulling in 4k video, it would be more like 3-5 gigs/hour. Many video sources automatically adjust the picture quality based on the target device capability, but sometimes it misjudges. You can usually force a lower (or higher) resolution quality if you want. You do that at the sending end by changing a setting.

Here's some info on mobile hotspot data usage.

 

[slharman1]

Depending on what you are viewing you could download it to tablet or phone using wifi then stream from there to tv via firestick.

Reducing the quality will definitely help.

Where do I go to learn about doing this?

 

[jackiemac]

You need to have accounts with Amazon Prime or Netflix. If you do download the apps to your phone or tablet and sign in.

You can go into the settings to choose your quality of download. We usually only allow download over WiFi to save our phone data allocation but you can change to suit.

Photos show where settings are.

Netflix has Standard or High.

Amazon gas several so if you have poor WiFi or want faster download you can choose to suit.

If you need instructions on how to cast tobTV let me know.

 

[slharman1]

You need to have accounts with Amazon Prime or Netflix. If you do download the apps to your phone or tablet and sign in.

You can go into the settings to choose your quality of download. We usually only allow download over WiFi to save our phone data allocation but you can change to suit.

Photos show where settings are.

Netflix has Standard or High.

Amazon gas several so if you have poor WiFi or want faster download you can choose to suit.

If you need instructions on how to cast tobTV let me know.

Thank you, but I do need instructions on how to cast with iPhone 11pro.
I appreciate your help.

 

[jackiemac]

I'll see if I can help tomorrow. I've got android but do have an iPad so can probably figure it out.

 

[slharman1]

I'll see if I can help tomorrow. I've got android but do have an iPad so can probably figure it out.

Thanks I have never done this.

 

[jackiemac]

Thanks I have never done this.

It's a bit trickier with an Apple device.

Do you have an apple TV?

 

[slharman1]

It's a bit trickier with an Apple device.

Do you have an apple TV?

No I do not but someone told me if I use a Roku stick their AP might be easy. But I haven’t checked it out. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[jackiemac]

No I do not but someone told me if I use a Roku stick their AP might be easy. But I haven’t checked it out. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Apple is a big more difficult than android. I did find a link that might help so you can have a look at that. I think someone with an apple phone is going to be able to give more practical advice.

One thing I will say is that we had a Chromecast set up to start with, but the downside was that it had to connect to the internet before it would work. The Firestick does not do this. Sometimes we are in a place with no internet.

When the technical stuff says connect to the same Wifi it does not necessarily mean you need to connect to the internet (and doing so can complicate things sometimes). Wifi Direct connects two devices together to allow communication.

How to Screen Mirror Your iPhone to a Roku TV : HelloTech How

Learn how to mirror your iPhone's screen to your Roku device, so you can see it on your TV.

www.hellotech.com

 

[slharman1]

Apple is a big more difficult than android. I did find a link that might help so you can have a look at that. I think someone with an apple phone is going to be able to give more practical advice.

One thing I will say is that we had a Chromecast set up to start with, but the downside was that it had to connect to the internet before it would work. The Firestick does not do this. Sometimes we are in a place with no internet.

When the technical stuff says connect to the same Wifi it does not necessarily mean you need to connect to the internet (and doing so can complicate things sometimes). Wifi Direct connects two devices together to allow communication.

How to Screen Mirror Your iPhone to a Roku TV : HelloTech How

Learn how to mirror your iPhone's screen to your Roku device, so you can see it on your TV.

www.hellotech.com

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Some tvs will receive Apple casting directly. One of mine does. An alternative for Apple is an Apple TV box. All Apple devices will cast to their box which plugs into HDMI.

Jackiemac is right. Apple makes it harder on purpose so you have to use their stuff...

A "standard" def movie is about 1.6gb. HD is about 2X that and 4k is like 2x(?) of that.

A 1 hour drama is about 500mb. A 30 minute tv show is like 300mb.

I am on Wifi like 50% of the time, stream content exclusively and use about 40gb a month. If you are going to stream entertainment over cell you definitely will need an unlimited plan.