Advice on Data Add-On - how much for tethering computer and working remotely?

[Talullah]

hello all,

I will be off the grid for a few days during which time I will have to tether my computer to my phone. I will be online a few hours a day for work. No videoconference but lots of shared doc work.
My current data plan is 8.5GB. Can anyone advise as to how much data I should add on for those few days?

much appreciated!

[DennyCrane]

Does your $50 plan include roaming, or is it just calling TO the US from Canada?

All plans include international text messaging to/from Canada; it's the calling you'd need to worry about. I'd be doing the math trying to figure out if the annual 500 freebie minutes combined with the odd add-on purchase may suffice. Might be a good trade off for more and faster data. 

But if it's a roaming plan that's a different conversation. 

[hTideGnow]

Hi @Talullah  " a learning management system", if this is video training,. that could easily drain your data.  If it is so PDF, them each file could be couple Mbs 

You have a Mac?  maybe activity tracker can help you to have some idea how much Neteork usage you are using now.  Check this before you use tethering

And for US calling, if you don't mind to use another number to call US and text, VoIP app TextNow could be an option.  Then you could ditch your current plan and go with $40 or $45 plan with more data (but without US calling)

[dabr]

@Talullah   Unfortunately, all current plans no longer offer US calling/texting and if you switch plans, you won't be able to get back to your current one as it was discontinued. 

The current 4G plans do offer more data at 4G speeds and there's also the 1000 mins. of US add-on for $15 which can be purchased as needed, however, this would only be worthwhile your while if you don't need to purchase the US minutes every 30 days.

edit: oops..

[HALIMACS]

That indeed may be a good source of determining how much you'll need, @Talullah 

Just total it then choose the data amount just over that requirement to ensure coverage.

Hope all goes well!!!

[Talullah]

No VPN.

I use the web to access a learning management system and to access shared files. I spend a lot of time in the learning management system (online course facilitation). I also need to access some textbooks online. 

Maybe the best thing for me to do before I leave town is to get a metric on my average data usage during a work day and then assess from there.

Once again, I am so gratified by all of the responses received today. Thank you everyone!

[Talullah]

I am paying $50 / month. I will have to compare the plans you suggest to mine, @DennyCrane , to make sure that I could keep my US unlimited phone & text. -- cheers

[softech]

@Talullah so, yiubare not using office laptop with VPN?? you mainly work off Office 360 to check email and open files?  If that is the case, you might want to remember to just brrose the web version unless you need to update it.   Even update, depends on the size of the file and how much work yiu need to do, sometimes a web update is better and download and re-upload after completion 

[HALIMACS]

Perfect @Talullah 

[Talullah]

Yes - the $50 plan. I have family in the states so this is great for me.

Thanks for your advice, @wetcoaster 

[wetcoaster]

@Talullah 

The $50 plan? (before rewards)

Public Mobile is not offering plans with included US calls or roaming anymore, so letting go of this one would need careful consideration, despite the general insistance from senior community members that you should change to the $40/15GB plan.

In another recent thread I did the math for a switch. It came down to something like monthly 660+ minutes (11 hours) of US calls being the spot where it makes sense to stay on the $50 plan. If average usage of that portion of the plan is below that, supplementing the $40/15GB with the non expiring $15/1000 US minutes add-on.

Obviously the $60 US roaming plan is a different story if you are in the US a lot (snow birds?). I'd likely hang onto that and work around any data shortcomings with add-ons or a second plan.

[Talullah]

Thanks to your message, @HALIMACS , I just checked the Activity Monitor on my mac and see data received per second fluctuating from 417 bytes to 2 KB.  I will have to figure out how I can get a daily average for the work week.

Thanks.

[Talullah]

@hTideGnow- that rule of thumb is very helpful. I won't need VPN. How can I find out how much my remote laptop usage is? Generally, I am on wifi. thanks so much.

[Talullah]

@wetcoaster, my plan is a Canada / US plan (unlimited talk and text). No renewal date. I am month-to-month. Typical usage of my data on my computer?? No clue. I am generally on wifi. Same for my phone.

I will need data while off-the grid in Ontario. I won't need to use Zoom or Teams while I am gone. I will need to share documents in the Cloud (oneDrive) and will need to facilitate three courses using a web-based learning management system. Downloading of student papers is part of that work.

I will need to tether my computer to my phone. I may need to use the additional data on a semi-regular basis. Your suggestion of a second account is worth considering. thanks.

I love how responsive this community is. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

[DennyCrane]

What are you paying for your 8.5GB plan? Im assuming that's a 3G speed plan. I would recommend switching to one of the new 4G speed plans with more data, and possibly for a lower cost. Right now you can get 15GB for $40 or 20GB for $45.

[Talullah]

Thank you @softech, I will google how to mark the hotspit wifi as "metered." Much appreciated. cheers

[Talullah]

Thank you @hairbag1   !! I have been around for that long but need to look into whether or not I have the More is Merrier data.  cheers.

[hTideGnow]

hi @Talullah 

depends on what you use, my work Citrix use around 100Mb per hour for remote desktop 

but VPN on office laptop would be a lot more, easily 300Mb per hour  But of course, you will use less if you turn on VPN and not work a lot 😉 

[will13am]

@Talullah , I am guessing that as long as you don't do a lot of video conferencing, you should be okay.  I did WiFi tethering for 3 weeks on a couple of 15GB plans and barely used half the data on each.  This included teams video conferences.  By the way the currently available $40/15GB plan might be a better fit for you. 

[HALIMACS]

@Talullah 

Check your usage history on device you use for work (wifi history usage) to see how much you generally use  to determine daily average usage.

 Add the appropriate add on to cover that.

[hairbag1]

@Talullah 

the big consumers of data are music and video streaming...if you're not doing any of those, then 8.5 should be sufficient for what you've explained.

If you've been around since Christmas 2022, perhaps you have some of the More Is Merrier free gift of 2GB's of data avialable still.

Check here...

[softech]

@Talullah on your computer , make sure you mark the hotspot wifi as "metered" so the OS won't download unnecessary updates or so

and remember, web conf can be using as many as 750 Mb per hour if video is used

[wetcoaster]

What's your plan cost? 

Is it the unlimited Canada / US roaming plan? 

When is your renewal date?

What is your typical usage?

Only you can say how much you need - and you can always add add-ons as needed once you are down to the last 100MB or so.

If it's the roaming plan you probably want to hang onto it, assuming that you use it in the States regularly.

If it's just a normal Canada wide plan (or you don't need the roaming portion anymore) you could consider switching to the $40/15GB plan at renewal or when you run out of data. Be aware that it's a one way street, once you have switched away from your legacy plan you don't get it back.

If you use this amount of additional data on a semi regular basis you could think about getting an additional plan on it's own account with separate e-mail (alias works, and you can use the same credit card) in a second device or a dual SIM phone (need 2 physical SIM slots). Generally, in bigger chunks, plan data is cheaper than add-ons. You can suspend the second account up to 90 days if you don't need it for a bit.

Edited to smoothen grammar...

Also, as reference point from a micro business perspective... If I'm just answering e-mails and using my cloud based accounting program my usage can be as low as 300MB/day. Pictures in those e-mails increase usage, if I decide to involve data intensive stuff like social media usage jumps into the 2GB range.  And remember, Zoom, Teams and the like are real data suckers and, under the "right" circumstances can use several GB per meeting.