Picking the best data plan for your lifestyle can be tricky and unless you have an interest in mobile technology or a keen understanding of your data habits, it can conjure up many questions: How quickly will I use 1GB of data? Do I need a global WiFi plan? What is a data throttle? Would I save money with the Unlimited Data plan?
Trust me, you are not crazy. We get these questions all the time, and that’s why we’re here to help you through the decision process! Here are our tips for finding the best WiFi/data plan for you:
3 Questions to ask yourself before choosing a WiFi Plan:
1. Where will you be using Solis WiFi?
- Globally? (Coverage available in over 130+ countries)
- Regionally? (within USA, Europe or Asia)
2. How long do you need WiFi?
- Days?
- Months?
- How many of each?
3. How will you be using the Solis WiFi? (consider all that apply)
- Checking emails and messaging
- Streaming TV shows, movies
- Play online games
- Working remotely, doing video calls
- General browsing and online shopping
Our Recommendations Based on your Results:
Global Users:
Select a Global WiFi plan that offers data across the entire Solis network, in over 130+ countries. These options include Global Daypasses, Global Unlimited Data Subscription, and Global GoData. Choosing between the three will depend on how you answered questions two and three (explained below).
Regional Users:
Solis has an assortment of regionally-specific, or "local" plans for users connecting in the same areas of the world over and over. These plans were designed to offer lower-priced data to Solis users who are not traveling overseas. If you fall under the regional user category, you should take advantage of these plans! Here are our local data plans listed by region:
- USA = USA Unlimited Data or USA GoData Subscriptions
- Europe = Europe Unlimited Data or EU GoData Subscriptions
- Asia = Asia GoData Subscription
See qualifying European and Asian countries here. If you are not using Solis within these countries, please consider choosing a global plan instead of a local plan.
Using Solis for less than 10 days:
We recommend pay-as-you-go Daypasses or a pay-per-GB GoData subscription. Depending on the country, Daypasses provide 500 MB - 1.5 GBs of high-speed data to use within a 24 hours period and can be purchased in quantities of 1, 5, 10 or 20 at a time. Daypasses are perfect for small trips (1-10 days) if you plan to use Solis all-day, each day. This gives you the best value to use all day and allows you to activate only when you need each Daypass. If you’re just using Solis for a couple of hours at a time, a few times a month, we recommend the GoData subscription. GoData Subscriptions allow you to customize how many GBs you need and use them however you need over a 30-day period! One day could be 2GBs where the next could be 500MB, you have the most flexibility. Unlimited Data plan may not be necessary for this amount of time, unless you plan to use Solis for heavy data usage.
Using Solis for more than 10 days:
After the 10 day mark is when we recommend users to a WiFi subscription over Daypasses. Choosing a subscription will save you money in the long run and allow you to be more flexible with your data usage, with both time and number of GBs. Specifically, Unlimited Data subscriptions provide more data for the same price (or less) than 11 Daypasses! Unlimited Data subscriptions provide 20GBs of high-speed, data per month with reduced speeds thereafter. Both Unlimited Data Subscriptions and GoData Subscriptions allow you to top up with more high-speed data if you need it, where daypasses do not. Also, our WiFi subscriptions have a 30 day use period where your data will be accessible to you vs. the 24-hours you have on a daypass.
Using regionally? Both Unlimited Data and GoData Subscriptions offer local pricing for less, so you can be more flexible with your data and save money in the process.
Lower Data Usage:
If you plan to use less than 1 GB in a day, you could consider using Daypasses or a GoData Subscription, depending on how many days of the month you plan to use your Solis hotspot (reference above). If your data usage varies day by day, you might as well go with a GoData plan considering the GBs you purchase will be usable for 30 days rather than 24 hours. Online activities that require lower amounts of data include:
- Checking and sending emails without attachments
- General browsing and online shopping
- Remote working with limited audio calls
High Data Usage:
If your data usage is any amount over 11GBs within a 30 day period, you should consider yourself to be a high-data user. If you fall under this category, go with an Unlimited Data Subscription (Global, USA or EU)! You will get the best deal on a large bundle of GBs for the month and always have the option to top-up if you run out too fast. If you prefer to have a plan with more flexibility and customization, then a GoData pay-per-GB Subscription would also be a good fit for high-data users. Online activities that require heavier amounts of data include:
- Video streaming of any kind (watching Netflix, Youtube or video conferencing)
- Playing online games
- Downloading large files
Other Tips:
1. Reference how much data you use each period on your phone.
- One way to monitor your data habits is using your cellular data as a benchmark. Check your monthly data usage to get a sense of how much you use in a 30 day period, and use it to find a daily average.
2. Consider data consumption from other devices that will connect to your hotspot.
- Solis X and Solis Lite can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, and Solis Solis can connect up to 5. Each connected device uses data and while this functionality is incredibly convenient, be sure to consider the data consumption of each device in your monthly/daily estimate.
3. Use a data calculator to help you with your GB estimate
- If data estimates are new to you, start by using some tools! Try a data calculator on the internet to help build your understanding of how much data you need per hour for certain online activities. You can always google “How much data does 1 hour of Facebook browsing use” or “How much data does a 500MB download use?”, if that works better for you.
4. Don’t be afraid to change it up!
- Solis has a no contract policy that ensures you are not stuck with any one data plan. If you try a WiFi plan that does not feel right for your lifestyle, don’t stress! You can always unsubscribe and try another option.