I am sporadically needing to tether my laptop for internet - not daily, not weekly, not even monthly; I only need it for a few (completely random...) days per year; this makes most tethering plans a HUGE waste of money for me since they tend to be stupidly expensive with a set amount per month (i.e. no roll-over so I cant just get a super-cheap plan with like 500mb/month and let it accumulate) BUT when I do tether I tend to need a (relatively) lot of data (~5gb)
I've seen companies that claim you can "start and stop your plan whenever you want!" (google-fi specifically comes to mind) and I'm sure there are still a few prepaid services that are extremely inexpensive per month (I remember there used to be one that to keep it active was literally $1/month then you just added minutes/data but I can't remember who it was or if they're still in business) But I've had ZERO experience with these services recently, and I know in the past that activating or adding airtime could take up to a week, which, by then I don't need it...
tl;dr: I'm looking for a super-cheap plan I can randomly add $20 to and have 5gb (or more) tethering data instantly without having to pay huge monthly fees when I don't need it. (doesn't matter the parent carrier, the places I'll be using it have all 3 - ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile/sprint)
So, has anyone had experience with any of these sorts of plans? Subsequently, does anyone have suggestions on the best device for this kind of use (specific makes/models of phone/hotspot 'pucks'/USB modems/etc --- specifically ones that don't quickly overheat or drain the battery faster than a wall-plug can replenish it - don't plan to do much tethering 'on the go' it's going to be sitting at a desk)
(and yes, I am aware of options like Samsung Dex for my phone, but that would require me to carry a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and dock vs just my ultrabook --- I am also aware of 'root tethering' on phones that lets you tether for free and most carriers don't mind you doing this as long as its really rare but I have an S22U and an Alcatel JoyPad2 neither of which can be reliably root'd last I heard ---- and there is some ethical questions about doing this, which I don't want to get into right now)
Thanks in advance!
I've seen companies that claim you can "start and stop your plan whenever you want!" (google-fi specifically comes to mind) and I'm sure there are still a few prepaid services that are extremely inexpensive per month (I remember there used to be one that to keep it active was literally $1/month then you just added minutes/data but I can't remember who it was or if they're still in business) But I've had ZERO experience with these services recently, and I know in the past that activating or adding airtime could take up to a week, which, by then I don't need it...
tl;dr: I'm looking for a super-cheap plan I can randomly add $20 to and have 5gb (or more) tethering data instantly without having to pay huge monthly fees when I don't need it. (doesn't matter the parent carrier, the places I'll be using it have all 3 - ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile/sprint)
So, has anyone had experience with any of these sorts of plans? Subsequently, does anyone have suggestions on the best device for this kind of use (specific makes/models of phone/hotspot 'pucks'/USB modems/etc --- specifically ones that don't quickly overheat or drain the battery faster than a wall-plug can replenish it - don't plan to do much tethering 'on the go' it's going to be sitting at a desk)
(and yes, I am aware of options like Samsung Dex for my phone, but that would require me to carry a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and dock vs just my ultrabook --- I am also aware of 'root tethering' on phones that lets you tether for free and most carriers don't mind you doing this as long as its really rare but I have an S22U and an Alcatel JoyPad2 neither of which can be reliably root'd last I heard ---- and there is some ethical questions about doing this, which I don't want to get into right now)
Thanks in advance!