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Old 02-01-2021, 10:18 AM
 
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I’m thinking of getting one. Will the internet work like it does on a phone? Will it be fast enough for me to watch Netflix?

Thank you.
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Old 02-02-2021, 07:11 AM
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Location: Ohio
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Quote:
Will it be fast enough for me to watch Netflix?
It should be fast enough for that, assuming you're not in a busy area with lots of people using the same tower.

The bigger issue might be the bandwidth limits. Streaming Netflix can use 2-4 GB of bandwidth per hour. Your wireless plan might not include enough GB for much viewing. You'll want to pay close attention to how many GB of bandwidth it includes. Also "unlimited" plans are rarely fully unlimited. There is often a "cap" at some number of GB, after which the connection won't be fast enough to watch Netflix until the plan resets for the next month.
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Old 02-08-2021, 12:09 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxyknoxy View Post
I’m thinking of getting one. Will the internet work like it does on a phone? Will it be fast enough for me to watch Netflix?

Thank you.
Yes, and Yes.

I have a 3rd Gen 12.9" 256GB cellular iPad Pro ('Apple year' 2018, purchased new in mid 2019), and I also have Apple Music (billed yearly...and $99, IIRC).

I have HULU and CBS All Access, and used to have Netflix, and have used all three with the cellular connection.

I use the cellular connection for Apple Music selections not downloaded to my iPad, some streaming, the Apple map program (just type in a destination, and the iPad gives me options from where it knows it is located), web surfing, use the screenshot option for saving important pages, receipts, from the web, etc.

I plan to continue to have a cellular iPad indefinitely.

I have an unlimited plan with AT&T for $35 per month plus tax. They refer to it as 'sessions based' (managed on the web). I used to get a message...when I was nearing the top 5% of users...that I was nearing the top 5% of users, and that if I reached the top 5%, IIRC, the message communicated that the speed of my service would slow. ----- I now get the same message that many 'unlimited LTE' phone users get (which, IIRC, reads something like 'If you reach 22GB during a billing period, then you are subject to slowdowns when the network is busy enough to warrant that').

I have two cellular phone plans, both prepaid, one with Verizon, and one with AT&T. Both of them used to be on $2 per day plans (no data, pay $100 for 1 year of service, unlimited talk and text on day of use (used to be calendar, now 24hr period) for $2, deducted from the $100, and any unused balance rolls over from year to year. Verizon is phasing out 3G, and I had a deadline to roll over the balance they owe me (over $400...built up over 12+ years) into a prepaid monthly plan with data, and I did so in November of 2020, and that credit balance will bleed out to zero in April of 2022. My AT&T credit balance is about $160-170, and will expire in April of 2021. I'll renew that for another year ($100 on the $2 per day plan), expiring in April of 2022, and as time gets closer to April of 2022, I'll convert that AT&T $2 per day plan (which is still offered (the similar Verizon one was grandfathered)) to a prepaid monthly plan with data to bleed that credit balance to zero at the same time as the Verizon line (April of 2022). I found a plan with Jethro Wireless (a t-mobile MVNO) for unlimited talk and text, no data, for $10 per month, and was thinking I'd port both of my lines to that in April of 2022, but another CD member found unlimited talk and text for $5 per month on another t-mobile MVNO so, if that is available in April of 2022, I'll probably do that.

My two phones....

A factory unlocked/unassigned to a carrier 2020 Apple iPhone SE 256gb
A factory unlocked/unassigned to a carrier 2020 LG G8x Thin-Q Dual Screen

(I also still have my three cheapo locked to AT&T 4G ZTE Blade Sparks)
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Old 02-16-2021, 09:17 AM
 
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I was also wondering about a cellular iPad. I have an iPad (actually, several) and all is well with wi if, but I worry about losing power for a few days and not being able to go online. I also worry that the modem or router could go and I would have to wait until they were replaced. And then a neighbor in my community swears she wasn’t getting the Internet and the Spectrum tech said there was a frayed cable outside and nothing he could do about it!

I have an android phone now, but with very limited data on it through Ting, so that couldn’t be my backup in case I lost the WiFi.

Please forgive my ignorance...I am clueless since my husband did all the tech stuff and he died six months ago, so I rely on the kindness of strangers like yourself!

Would I need to buy a new iPad, like a pro? Or can a carrier like Verizon make an existing WiFi iPad into cellular?

And I keep reading that unlimited Internet isn’t really unlimited...or it’s technically unlimited, but very slow. I like to use my iPad a lot, for several hours or browsing, ninety minutes of Netflix or Hulu, and four hours of YouTube videos. Would that exceed the allowed usage?

Thanks for any help or advice.
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Old 02-16-2021, 03:31 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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1) Yes, you would need a new iPad. A wifi iPad does not have a cellular antenna. Does not need to be a Pro.

2) Unlimited is not technically unlimited. Once you get to 23 Gigabytes they will slow you down. Since you HAVE wifi the iPad will be mostly on the wifi except when it is down or when you are away from home.
So the odds of you using 23GB, I gotta' believe, are going to be small. Even watching videos which uses a lot of bandwidth. There ae settings in most apps too that default to "DON'T USE HD VIDEO TO SAVE BANDWIDTH" so that would save even more on your data.
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Old 02-16-2021, 06:12 PM
 
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Thanks so much, Peregrine. That’s exactly the info I needed. I did speak to a t mobile rep who acted like a regular iPad could be readily converted..that they would send me the stuff and I could do it myself. No way! The store would have to do it fir me. But probably better if I just buy a regular iPad equipped with cellular. If I did have the iPad and cellular, I would just flip the switch on settings to WiFi, right? How would I get 5 g when I needed it because WiFi was down? Flip the switch off or it would automatically go to cellular?
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Old 02-17-2021, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
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A WIFI iPad can connect to an iPhones hotspot feature, but that is not a conversion. It’s just connecting to the phone, which has a cell connection to the internet. It works well.

An iPad with cellular service will connect directly to the cell phone network separately from the phone.

On my iPhone there is a setting to prefer WiFi if it is available. If not, it automatically just uses the cellular connection. The iPad with cellular would be the same.
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Old 02-17-2021, 09:36 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747 View Post
A WIFI iPad can connect to an iPhones hotspot feature, but that is not a conversion. It’s just connecting to the phone, which has a cell connection to the internet. It works well.

An iPad with cellular service will connect directly to the cell phone network separately from the phone.

On my iPhone there is a setting to prefer WiFi if it is available. If not, it automatically just uses the cellular connection. The iPad with cellular would be the same.
Thanks so much. As clueless as I am, I understand due to your clear explanation. So since I basically just want to use cellular in the rare emergency that my home WiFi internet is down, I guess it doesn’t pay to get a new pad equipped with cellular, just use the hotspot. I just learned that unlimited cellular service isn’t truly unlimited, at least for fast speed, so I wouldn’t be using the cellular option much, just when I absolutely had to ((home internet down...I don’t travel or use the internet when out). Do you agree?
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Old 02-17-2021, 02:51 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
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I agree if you are ONLY doing it as a backup for your your internet is out. I would not buy a cellular iPad for ONLY that.
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Old 02-17-2021, 03:42 PM
 
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Thanks, Peregrine. I needed someone to confirm that. I am still trying to understand about the unlimited cell service that I guess is technically unlimited, at least at slower speeds. It’s the faster speed that is limited. I always see people watching videos on their phones and am surprised they don’t run out of gb. Or maybe they do and just aren’t concerned until it happens and then there is nothing they can do about it until the next month.
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