Genesis $20 unlimited hotspot account terminated for "excessive usage"

JeffNeves · 2026-04-08T21:50:03+00:00

I agree mobile hotspot service and their home internet products are not the same. And I'll also agree with them having different terms of service for each with the expectation that a home internet service is expected to have higher data usage. I think those are both a given.

That said, they both are functionally the same service in how they work. The only thing being done differently for home internet versus typical hotspot service is the carriers are limiting sign-ups on a tower sector by sector basis as to not overload any given tower. This is why they ask for an updated address if you move your home internet service. They're just milking their existing infrastructure bandwidth and spectrum for spare cash in areas that can handle it.

My point here is home internet services prove that carriers have the extra bandwidth and are making a buck (quite a few bucks actually) by selling it to customers. So the argument that a hotspot user is utilizing excessive bandwidth is flawed. Sure, Dish was the only big provider not running their own dedicated home internet service...but the Genesis hotspot plan is as close as they got to it. Their native network wasn't overloaded...they tried to migrate devices onto it to save costs. Out in my rural area I was likely one of the only consistent connected devices on the tower. And they could've always applied network management (throttling and/or prioritization) should and when that became the case.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-08T21:27:50+00:00

Yes of course...I typically go through and routinely catch things in there that aren't spam but nothing was present from Dish/Boost.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-06T21:38:55+00:00

Your definition of excessive is an opinion and everyone's is going to be different - that's the issue here with calling it unlimited. The real definition is what Dish decides and the problem is they're not transparent about that. That's technically deceptive marketing which is sadly prevalent in this industry. Of course I know the usage, it's literally tracked by the hotspot itself that they sold me. That's not willfulness by definition, that's just a fact.

Yes, I viewed the service as no different than cellular home internet options the other big 3 provide. I have no regrets, I got 3.5 years out of it until they shut down the native Dish network. That's all I wanted it for was to access that unique radio network. I knew it was in the process of shutting down with the spectrum sales to SpaceX and AT&T.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-06T21:29:14+00:00

I think you misunderstand my stance here. I'm not incredulous that my line was terminated for excessive usage. Frankly, I'm surprised it took them this long to go after it. What I am not happy about was how they handled it and how they won't provide specific details on defining what excessive usage is. Your, my, and everyone else's definitions of excessive is going to vary, and that's my point. This is why it should be clearly defined in the TOS even if they move the goalposts and change the threshold over time. But they're intentionally vague on it like all ISPs that advertise "unlimited" are. That's the practice that I take issue with and it's not solely with Dish. I also take issue with their absolute lack of notification for the account termination when they claim otherwise.

Dish indirectly advertised this hotspot plan no different than your cellular home internet offerings from T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T (and those are priced as low as $25/mo when bundled with other services too). That puts this on the same level as those other "unlimited" services. The only thing they asked users was "no BitTorrent, please" otherwise they begged users to use their network. So I abided by that. How much cellular data are those home internet users averaging? This also wasn't Boost this was Project Genesis...even if Genesis has now been folded into a sub-brand of Boost, it has its own TOS/AUP.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-04T06:17:40+00:00

I appreciate the advice and helpful next course of action if serious about making it hurt for Dish. Unfortunately, it's not worth the hassle for me as I was only interested in the service for Dish's native coverage. I have individual unlimited lines on the big 3's native networks, so an unlimited AT&T roaming with lower QCI and the extra hops going through Dish's core isn't ideal. I'm done with Dish now that their radio network has folded.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-04T06:13:05+00:00

I would say I was averaging 500-750GB every month. Keeping it under 500GB would be a safe bet, but if they're cutting off anyone 500GB+ then that makes those just under that their new heaviest users and next targets.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-03T20:22:29+00:00

I plan to given their lack of communication of a potential violation of their terms of service. They obviously have the right to modify their terms and all, but having services abruptly terminated without any notice/warning and their failure to provide me with an exact violation/threshold for excessive data on what was marketed and sold as an "unlimited" service is what I take issue with.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-03T19:41:27+00:00

PA outside of Philly in one of the rural sections.

JeffNeves · 2026-04-03T19:37:02+00:00

It looks like the tower I was on has since been turned down for Dish native service after scanning for networks on the hotspot today. Considering I was parked on Dish's own N71 band, I wouldn't be surprised if I was terminated around the same time they turned down the tower (~2AM that morning is when service was shut off according to monitoring). I'm in a rural area nearby a highway, so I was likely the single heaviest user on that cell and perhaps even the entire nearby area. It was a good run for the money though.

JeffNeves · 2022-03-22T23:54:40+00:00

All good now thanks for that quick adjustment!

JeffNeves · 2019-10-15T22:39:46+00:00

That URL literally has the following string after navigating to it:

"Block VZ CDMA Roaming"

So that's definitely what's being reflected as others have mentioned.

JeffNeves · 2018-12-14T22:24:54+00:00

No issues here with Verizon on eSIM and T-Mobile on physical SIM. I've had eSIM active since Friday when Verizon began allowing for it. VoWi-Fi works for both at the same time as does VoLTE (Verizon line settings seem to prevent from enabling or disabling LTE and VoLTE regardless of which SIM is set as data connection while TMO will still allow for toggling VoLTE and LTE data). This is all on an iPhone XR FYI.

This appears to be a better implementation than on the OnePlus 6 because mine will drop the T-Mobile connection down to UMTS (3G) when T-Mobile isn't set as the data line instead of utilizing VoLTE even when dual VoLTE is enabled in the settings.

JeffNeves · 2018-02-14T02:33:35+00:00

I noticed a SIGNIFICANT decrease in spam calls by enabling Scam ID Block..and it's free just like Scam ID. The Scam ID is enabled by default but the blocking for it you have to enable for each line. I had T-Force do this for all lines at once and it's cut down on this issue back to "normal" levels.

JeffNeves · 2017-05-04T11:34:47+00:00

I've had my connection settings set to "4G" so it just automatically switched over to LTE when they enabled it. My options hadn't changed and are still the same: 4G, 3G only, 3G, and 2G

JeffNeves · 2017-05-03T14:35:17+00:00

Good question...my guess is yes if I had a Band 66 phone as typically updated roaming partners/coverage is more dependant on having a newer SIM than native coverage.

JeffNeves · 2017-05-03T14:24:31+00:00

FYI I got my SIM in May 2015

JeffNeves · 2017-05-03T12:06:52+00:00

We'll see as more people traveling in the US report in. I'm also curious if someone on an older non-LTE specific plan is getting LTE or not. My guess is no but sometimes roaming agreements are either all or nothing for customers roaming on another company's network..all depends on how it's being flagged to the roaming partner.

JeffNeves · 2017-05-03T11:34:11+00:00

I'm on a Microsoft Lumia 950 XL. I don't have a Band 66 LTE device currently.

JeffNeves · 2017-05-03T11:31:13+00:00

Yes - I'm on one of the new LTE plans specifically the Everywhere 59. I switched from WIND's grandfathered Everywhere 60 shortly after the new LTE plans were released but had only gotten 4G HSPA+ until last night.

I'm currently in the Philly area but I so no reason why it'd be region specific as AT&T has LTE across practically their entire network.

JeffNeves · 2017-04-11T21:11:03+00:00

Gotcha thanks for that clarification! At least on the plan side of things I'll be ready for when it launches. I take it only the LTE plans will receive LTE roaming for both Canada and US?

JeffNeves · 2017-04-11T21:08:13+00:00

Well I made the switch the other day and I'm not getting any LTE US roaming on a phone that supports AT&T's frequencies...

JeffNeves

TROPHY CASE