As a van lifer who works from the highway, having dependable web in my van is essential. A typical work day in my van may embrace Zoom calls with my van teaching purchasers, sending dozens of emails, updating my web site, and importing images to my weblog and movies to Instagram. These are data-heavy actions, and a sluggish web connection means glitchy video calls and a whole lot of wasted time whereas I sit round ready for pages to load.
I’ve a Starlink for after I’m tenting in my van and out of cell vary, however the Starlink dish isn’t completely put in on the roof of my van. So except I’m parked someplace for an prolonged interval and take the time to arrange my Starlink, it implies that I’m as a rule utilizing my mobile phone as my major supply of web.
I’ve been a Verizon buyer for practically 20 years. When evaluating service whereas tenting with my van life pals, it’s clear that Verizon has the most effective protection, particularly in distant areas across the US. Nevertheless, a number of years in the past, considered one of my Bearfoot Idea contributors (Courtney Stephenson) switched to a provider I’d by no means heard of: Seen. As a full-time van lifer who was working remotely (together with from down in Baja), Courtney was so pleased with the service that she wrote a Seen evaluation right here on the weblog.
This 12 months as my contract with Verizon was up, I made a decision to change to Seen too. With Verizon, I used to be paying $115 a month, and now with Seen+, my plan is simply $45 a month (or $395 for a whole 12 months when paid yearly). Switching to Seen was lots simpler than I anticipated, and I’m sooooo glad to be saving practically $1,000 a 12 months on my cellphone invoice, particularly when the service is comparable.
Seen is definitely owned by Verizon and operates on Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks. Aside from having the identical protection as Verizon, Seen additionally affords limitless information, speak, textual content, and cellular hotspot utilization. It virtually appeared too good to be true, however I had nothing to lose giving Seen a strive. Seen requires no annual contract, so I knew if I didn’t prefer it as a lot as Courtney did, I may simply swap again to Verizon or one other provider.
I’ve been testing Seen for a number of months now – and I’m satisfied it’s the most effective mobile phone provider in the marketplace for van lifers. It was so easy to change over, billing is easy, and there are not any hidden taxes or charges. Additionally in evaluating my service to my companion Ryan’s (who continues to be with Verizon), I haven’t observed any distinction in velocity or protection, and I’ve finished velocity assessments to show it.
On this up to date Seen evaluation, I break down Seen plan choices and pricing, the professionals and cons of Seen, and my private expertise utilizing Seen to work remotely on the highway.
Sponsored by Seen
This weblog submit is sponsored by Seen. Seen plans begin as little as $25 a month, and if you wish to give Seen a strive with out committing, they’re providing Bearfoot Idea readers $10 off any Seen month-to-month plan for the primary 3 months. Use code MOOLAH for a restricted time to assert. As at all times, I solely advocate services I like and assume you’ll love too!
What Is Seen?
Seen is a low-cost mobile phone provider that’s owned by Verizon and runs off of Verizon’s 5G/4G LTE community so anytime there may be Verizon protection, Seen also needs to have protection. Even in case you’re not a van lifer, Seen could possibly be an incredible provider possibility in case you dwell in an space with sturdy Verizon protection.
I discussed above that Ryan continues to be on Verizon. This has given us the chance to check Seen towards Verizon each at house and on a latest highway journey to Arizona. There hasn’t been wherever the place Ryan has had protection with Verizon that I didn’t have the identical variety of bars with Seen.
Seen has two easy plans – the Seen plan ($25/month) and the Seen+ plan ($45/month). Each plans supply limitless information, speak, textual content, and cellular hotspot utilization. I’ll get into the main points and variations between the 2 plans under.
Seen is a pre-paid service that requires no credit score examine except you’re financing a brand new cellphone. There are not any required annual contracts or activation charges, so there’s better flexibility than different cellphone firms. Billing is dealt with by means of their app the place you possibly can simply arrange month-to-month auto-pay or handle your funds. You too can pay yearly for even better financial savings.
Seen’s plans are designed for single-line customers as an alternative of households, and there are not any multi-line reductions. This makes it particularly good for solo van lifers and vacationers. Even with Ryan and I, if we each had the most costly Seen+ plan ($45/month), it might nonetheless be cheaper than if we have been on a household plan with one other provider.
Seen Execs
Seen Cons
Seen Pricing and Plan Comparisons
There are at the moment two plans obtainable, Seen ($25/month) and Seen+ ($45/month). There are some apparent advantages of the Seen+ plan and a few key variations to think about when selecting a plan.
Seen vs Seen+
The most important variations between Seen vs Seen+ are:
I personally selected Seen+ as a result of excessive speeds are vital to me, particularly after I’m working remotely, so my Seen evaluation is targeted on the Seen+ plan. Even after I’m not engaged on the weblog, I depend on my cellphone for thus many issues. I exploit my cellphone to search out campsites, potable water, mountain climbing trails, instructions, grocery shops, and extra. To attenuate my frustrations with each day planning on my cellphone, I wished the quickest community obtainable.
What I like about Seen is that I’m not locked right into a plan and might change my service at any time. For instance, if there’s a stretch of time after I’m not touring, I can downgrade to the Seen plan with the clicking of a button, saving myself $20 a month. Or if I’m on the Seen plan and am headed to Baja or Canada, I can immediately improve to the Seen+ plan.
Plan Pricing and Comparability
Under is a breakdown of what every plan gives and the fee when paying month-to-month. You may try the main points of the two Seen plans on their web site. The ultimate worth is what you see right here. There are not any hidden taxes or charges tacked on to your invoice.
Seen Plan
$25/mo
inc. taxes and charges
Seen+
$45/mo
inc. taxes and charges
Paying Yearly
Just lately, Seen began providing the flexibility to pay yearly which comes with further financial savings. When see the annual value in comparison with what you’d pay for a 12 months with one other provider, it actually places it into perspective.
seen
$275/12 months
seen +
$395/12 months
My Expertise Switching to Seen
I used to be a bit nervous about switching from Verizon to Seen. It looks as if at any time when I get a brand new cellphone, it’s at all times a trouble coping with my mobile phone supplier. I didn’t anticipate this expertise to be any completely different.
I used to be pleasantly stunned by how straightforward it was. All I needed to do was enroll on their web site, obtain the Seen app to my cellphone, come out my previous SIM card, and enter some info like my cellphone’s IMEI quantity (which might be present in your settings). The app walks you thru the step-by-step course of that typically was fairly straightforward to observe.
There have been a few occasions through the course of after I had questions, and I used to be capable of begin a web based chat. It took a minute to go from the bot assistant to getting an actual individual within the chat. After that, the individual stayed within the chat to stroll me by means of all the course of, ensuring my cellphone quantity was transferred correctly, and I used to be capable of obtain and ship texts and calls earlier than we mentioned goodbye.
One of many causes Seen is so cheap in comparison with different carriers is that they don’t have a cellphone quantity you possibly can name or brick-and-mortar shops. As an alternative, you can begin a web based chat with a Seen Rep any time of the day or week both on their web site or proper within the app.
One factor you’ll have to do earlier than you turn over is to verify your cellphone is appropriate. You need to use Seen’s compatibility checker to make sure your gadget is supported, and if it’s not, you will get a brand new cellphone by means of Seen. As well as, if you wish to convey your present cellphone with you, you’ll want to verify your cellphone is unlocked. You may normally discover that data in your cellphone’s settings or you possibly can name your present supplier to search out out.
In the event you’re feeling skeptical, you too can strive Seen at no cost for 15 days. I did this to verify I preferred it earlier than making the swap. Principally, they set you up with a trial cellphone quantity that you should use to make calls, textual content, and browse cyberspace utilizing your present cellphone.
It doesn’t have an effect on your present service or cellphone quantity, and it was largely straightforward to arrange. It took about an hour, and I did want some help from the Seen Rep within the chat, but it surely made me really feel extra assured about switching and was additionally an opportunity to see what their customer support is like.
How Quick is Seen’s Knowledge?
The most important distinction between the Seen plan and the Seen+ plan is information speeds. Here’s what you possibly can anticipate:
To see simply how briskly Seen+ is in follow, I ran a velocity check on my iPhone 12 Professional max with Seen+, in addition to on Ryan’s iPhone 13 Professional with Verizon. Listed here are the outcomes.
I ran the check a number of occasions on each telephones and received fairly comparable outcomes each time. You may see that the Verizon cellphone had barely greater obtain speeds, however the Seen+ cellphone had greater add speeds. Total although, there isn’t an excessive amount of distinction in information speeds between Verizon and Seen+.
The 306 Mbps obtain velocity on the Seen+ cellphone could be very quick. For a Zoom assembly at 1080p decision, you want 3.8 Mbps (add velocity) and three.0 Mbps (obtain velocity). For 720p decision, this requirement drops to 1.2 Mbps. For Netflix 1080p streaming (which is all you really want if you’re watching on an iPad), Netflix recommends a minimal of 5 Mbps obtain velocity.
I did this velocity check at my house within the mountains outdoors of Park Metropolis. Clearly in a extra distant space the place there isn’t a 5G community obtainable, information speeds are going to be slower. The purpose of this velocity check although is to point out there there’s a negligible distinction in information speeds between Verizon and Seen+.
Whereas on the Seen plan, BFT Contributor Courtney Stephenson reported that she not often had any points with sluggish web speeds in areas with protection. In her unique Seen evaluation, she wrote, “When operating web velocity assessments from my cellphone, my obtain speeds with the Seen plan are sometimes 60Mbps or better, generally even topping 100Mbps. With these speeds, I’m capable of browse the web, stream Netflix, and use my cellphone with out lag or a lot thought in any respect about information speeds.”
Courtney added, “I’ve solely observed slower service twice – as soon as at a music competition in San Francisco and as soon as having no cell reception within the small city of Stanley, Idaho whereas my pals with Verizon had a sluggish connection. I chalked this as much as the city itself having tremendous spotty protection, and to this point, that’s the one time I’ve ever not had any reception when Verizon prospects had sign.”
Seen Cell Hotspot
What units Seen aside from different carriers is its limitless cellular hotspot. Utilizing a cellphone as a hotspot is a quite common method for van lifers to get web on the highway, but it surely’s fairly unusual to have a plan that gives actually limitless cellular hotspot information utilization. Most different carriers will cap information utilization and severely decelerate your web speeds when you’ve hit your information restrict for the month, making your hotspot unreliable and unusable when you’ve hit the cap.
As an alternative of capping information allowance, Seen caps your information speeds. Utilizing your cellphone as a hotspot, the Seen plan affords limitless information at 5 Mbps and 10 Mbps on the Seen+ plan. This implies you’ll at all times be capable to use your cellphone as a dependable hotspot, irrespective of how a lot information you’ve used every month.
For the common individual, this shouldn’t trigger many points. Courtney used Seen’s cellular hotspot as her major web supply for engaged on the highway for two+ years with no complaints. She was capable of do all of her laptop work with no points and be part of our BFT staff video calls with minimal to no disruption.
I additionally used my Seen+ plan as a hotspot whereas in Arizona lately and located it greater than ample for fundamental duties. I used to be capable of write my weekly e-newsletter, add images, and make some updates on my web site with none frustrations.
Nevertheless, if you’re somebody who regularly downloads/uploads giant information, is on video calls all day, or requires extremely quick web speeds, you could discover 5-10 Mbps hotspot speeds limiting. Nevertheless this might be the case whether or not it’s Seen, Verizon, T-mobile, or another mobile phone supplier. On days after I have to do data-heavy work (like importing a YouTube video), I’ll both arrange my Starlink or I’ll head to the closest city with a espresso store or library.
Seen Worldwide Service
If you wish to go to Mexico or Canada in your van, you’ll want the Seen+ plan because the Seen plan doesn’t embrace any worldwide service. On the Seen+ plan, you get limitless speak, textual content, and roaming in Mexico and Canada (in addition to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands).
This lets you make native calls or to name again to the US or quite a lot of different international locations. It additionally contains 2 GB of high-speed information per day. After you utilize the two GB, speeds are lowered to 3G, which if I’m being trustworthy is frustratingly sluggish.
With a view to make the two GB final, you’ll wish to go to your settings and switch off “background app refresh” for all your apps. That method apps like Instagram and Fb aren’t refreshing within the background losing your information. You too can flip off mobile information for all your apps that you simply aren’t utilizing usually (like Zillow, Amazon, or no matter they could be), so these apps gained’t work except you’re on wi-fi.
Whereas I haven’t gone to Mexico in my van, BFT Contributor Courtney made an annual van life journey to the Baja Peninsula each winter. She relied on the Seen+ plan to communicate with folks within the States, in addition to to work remotely.
Courtney upgraded her plan to Seen+ proper earlier than crossing the border. The improve took lower than 10 minutes and could possibly be finished proper within the Seen app with none help. The change befell instantly, and he or she didn’t have to attend for one more billing cycle.
After utilizing Seen+ in Baja for a whole winter, in her Seen evaluation she reported, “I’ve been actually impressed with Seen’s service down right here. In areas with cell protection, I’ve been capable of name and textual content household and pals again within the US as regular and use my cellphone minimally for Google Maps, social media, and lightweight web shopping. The speeds are quickest within the morning and decelerate over the course of the day, as information utilization is capped at 2 GB a day and slows down considerably after that. So long as you handle your expectations (you’re not going to see the identical web speeds roaming in Mexico as within the US), it’s an incredible perk and the service is akin to different main carriers’ worldwide providers.”
Now, there are limitations to Seen’s worldwide capabilities – most notably that worldwide speak, textual content, and information are restricted to Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands, except you buy a International Cross which works in over 140 international locations.
Seen+ Members get 1 free International Cross per 30 days. In any other case, the International Cross is $5/day in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Virigin Islands or $10/day for protection in over 140 international locations. International Cross contains limitless speak and textual content and a couple of GB of high-speed information per day earlier than it’s lowered to 3G speeds.
In the event you’re solely touring for every week, that’s superb, however if you’re going overseas for any prolonged time period and counting on International Cross, $10/day can actually add up. Alternatively, you probably have Seen and your cellphone is unlocked, you should buy a pay as you go native SIM card within the nation you might be touring during which is mostly cheaper than paying for worldwide service on any provider.
Conclusion
Total, I’ve been tremendous pleased with Seen+. I actually can’t consider how less expensive it’s than the competitors whereas offering a majority of the identical advantages. It’s a lot quick, I don’t have to fret about any further charges or costs, and it’s month to month, so there isn’t any long-term dedication.
Regardless of having no customer support quantity, within the few on-line chats I’ve had through the sign-up course of, I’ve discovered the customer support brokers to be useful, responsive, and genuinely considering discovering options.
The limitless cellular hotspot information is a large perk, and since a lot of the journey I’m doing proper now’s home I’m not too apprehensive by the shortage of worldwide protection. I’m hopeful that Seen will develop its worldwide roaming protection sooner or later, and the truth that it’s month-to-month means I can at all times swap to a different provider if want be.
In the event you’re considering giving Seen a whirl, bear in mind you will get $10 off any Seen month-to-month plan for the primary 3 months. Use code MOOLAH throughout check-out.
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Have you ever heard of Seen or have you ever tried it? I’d love to listen to about your expertise within the feedback.
