Shared Data Plan - 5GB and Shared Data Plan - 10GB FAQs

Our Shared Data Plan - 5GB and Shared Data Plan - 10GB give you a set amount of monthly 4G LTE / 5G Nationwide¹ data to share with all lines on your account. Each line included in the plan also gets:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Unlimited International Messaging from the US
• Use 4G LTE  / 5G Nationwide Mobile Hotspot on capable devices for no additional monthly charge aside from the data usage charges

And you can:

• Keep unused data for another month (carryover data)
• Stay online after you've used your data with Safety Mode
• Add data when you need it with a Data Boost
• Control your account and monitor usage in My Verizon online and with the My Verizon app

You can visit our shared data plans page to get started. 

Or visit your My Verizon plan page and choose Change plan.

¹5G Nationwide is available in 2,700+ cities. 5G Nationwide access requires a 5G Nationwide-capable device, which automatically connects when you’re in a 5G coverage area. Most devices manufactured in 2020 require the customer to download a software update that adds the 5G Nationwide capability. The software updates will begin to roll out to capable devices in the weeks an months following the 5G Nationwide announcement on 10/13/20. View a list of eligible devices. Learn more about our 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks and 5G devices.

No. With these shared data plans, you pick a data amount (i.e., 5 GB or 10 GB) and all the phones and connected devices on your account share that data.

You can mix and match plans on your account with our Unlimited plans.

Not sure what kind of monthly phone plan is best for you? View our Unlimited and shared data plan comparison to see benefits and features.

With either of our shared data plans, you have 1 monthly account access fee:

• Shared Data Plan - 5GB: $30 per account
• Shared Data Plan - 10GB: $40 per account

Then, each phone sharing the data has a monthly $25* line access fee.

That means, depending on how many phones share the plan’s data, your pricing is:

Note:

• If you bought a phone from us with a 2-year contract, the monthly access fee is $40 until the contract expires, even if you have Auto Pay and paper-free billing on your account.)
• When connected devices share your shared data plan’s data, the monthly line access fee is $5, $10 or $20, depending on the device type.

* With $10/month per device Auto Pay and paper-free billing discount. $35 without.

**Costs shown are with $10/month per phone Auto Pay and paper-free billing discount. Taxes and fees are extra.

Yes, when connected devices share your 5 GB or 10 GB plan's data, the monthly line access fee is $10 per connected device. Visit our Connected Device FAQs to learn more.

Note: The $10/month Auto Pay discount doesn't apply to Connected Devices.

Our current and previous shared data plans vary in:

Cost:

• We’ve lowered the cost per GB, giving you more data for your money than the New Verizon Plan.
• Our 10 GB plan gives  double the amount of data (i.e., 10 GB instead of 5 GB) for only $10 extra/month.
• These plans are eligible for a $10/month per phone discount. The New Verizon Plan sizes aren’t eligible.

Features: The 5 GB and 10 GB plans have the same features as the previous shared data plan sizes, including:

• Premium 4G LTE /5G Nationwide data¹
• Safety Mode
• Carryover data
• Unlimited talk and text
• 720p HD Streaming
• Verizon Up Rewards

¹5G Nationwide is available in 2,700+ cities. 5G Nationwide access requires a 5G Nationwide-capable device, which automatically connects when you’re in a 5G coverage area. Most devices manufactured in 2020 require the customer to download a software update that adds the 5G Nationwide capability. The software updates will begin to roll out to capable devices in the  weeks and months following the 5G Nationwide announcement on 10/13/20. View a list of eligible devices.

Our 5 GB and 10 GB shared data plans have a $25/month access charge per phone when you use Auto Pay and paper-free billing ($10/month per phone discount).

However, if you bought your phone at a discount by signing a 2-year contract with us, the monthly per line access charge is $40 until the contract expires, even if you have Auto Pay and paper-free billing on your account.

Safety Mode is included for no extra charge with our Shared Data Plan - 5GB and Shared Data Plan - 10GB. When enabled, Safety Mode lets your lines keep using data at reduced speeds after your monthly 4G LTE data allowance is used up. You can stay online without worrying about overage charges.

You can turn Safety Mode on and off in My Verizon. Learn more with our Safety Mode FAQs.

Carryover data is included with our Shared Data Plan - 5GB and Shared Data Plan - 10GB. Carryover data automatically keeps your unused data in your account until the end of the following month. So when you use less data one month, you have that data to use the next month without paying more.

Learn more with our Carryover Data FAQs.

If your shared data is used up or is almost used up for the month, you can buy a Data Boost to get you through to the next billing cycle without getting overage charges or the reduced data speeds of Safety Mode. The cost is $15 for each 1 GB.

To buy a Data Boost, visit your Plan page in My Verizon and choose Data Boost. If you don't see this option, you may not be eligible to buy a Data Boost. Learn more with our Data Boost FAQs.

You can visit My Verizon to view your unbilled usage, bonus data, carryover data and more.

Our shared data plans give you access to the 5G Nationwide network:¹

• Shared Data Plan - 5GB gives you a combined total of 5 GB of 5G Nationwide¹ and/or 4G LTE data to use/month. After 5 GB/month, in times of congestion your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
• Shared Data Plan - 10GB gives you a combined total of 10 GB of 5G Nationwide¹ and/or 4G LTE data to use/month. After 10 GB/month, in times of congestion your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.

To use 5G , you must:

• Have a mobile data plan that allows 5G access.
• Have a 5G-capable device.
• Be in a 5G Nationwide or 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area. If enabled for the network, your device automatically connects when in a coverage area.

Note: Our shared data plans are not eligible to access the 5G Ultra Wideband network at this time.

¹5G Nationwide is available in 2,700+ cities. 5G Nationwide access requires a 5G Nationwide-capable device, which automatically connects when you’re in a 5G coverage area. Most devices manufactured in 2020 require the customer to download a software update that adds the 5G Nationwide capability. The software updates will begin to roll out to capable devices in the weeks and months following the 5G Nationwide announcement on 10/13/20. View a list of eligible devices.

To use your phone in Canada and Mexico, you can buy a TravelPass® for $5/day. TravelPass gives:

• Unlimited calls
• Unlimited messages
• Use of your domestic plan data

From inside the US

Every device included in your shared data plan can send and receive unlimited text and multimedia messages from other countries when you’re inside the US.

To learn about calling other countries, visit our International Plans when you’re inside the US page.

Outside the US

If you’re going overseas, you can add a short or long-term international travel plan any time. Use our International Trip Planner tool to get the right fit for your trip. Or visit our International calling, texting and data when you're outside the US page.

You can either:

• Start by choosing your device. Follow the prompts to sign up for our Shared Data Plan - 5GB or Shared Data Plan - 10GB.
• Visit our shared data plans page to get started. 

If you already have a device and just need to activate service, go to our Bring your own device page. Follow the prompts to sign up for our Shared Data Plan - 5GB or Shared Data Plan - 10GB.

If you're on a different plan and want to switch to the Shared Data - 5GB or Shared Data - 10GB plan, visit your Plan page in My Verizon. Keep in mind if you switch from an unlimited plan to a shared data plan:

• All the lines on your account change to that shared data plan.
• If your plan was eligible for:
  • A $5/month per phone Auto Pay and paper-free billing discount (with any non-current unlimited plan) - You now get a $10/month discount.
  • A military, nurse, teacher or first responder discount - Visit our discount FAQs pages to see if your discount still applies.
  • An employer discount - If you're eligible for a discount because of your employer's agreement with Verizon, but your unlimited plan wasn't eligible for the discount, that discount will be applied to your new shared data plan. Note: The employer discount is applied if your shared data plan's account-level access fees are $34.99 or higher. The Shared Data Plan - 5GB access fee is $30, so the employer discount won't be applied.

If you're happy with the plan you have, you can keep it.

Yes, if you switch one device to a shared data plan, the other devices on your account must switch too.

No, you can’t switch from a current plan back to an older plan. You can switch to any other available shared data plan or to any of our current unlimited plans.

If you switch to our Shared Data Plan - 5GB or Shared Data Plan - 10GB, your Verizon Cloud storage won't be included. However, you'll be able to choose a new Verizon Cloud storage plan that lets you back up and sync your device content.

Visit our Verizon Cloud FAQs for more details.

If you realize you used too much data during a billing cycle, you can avoid or reduce overage charges by changing to a plan that has more data and asking us to "backdate" the change.

Backdating means we make the plan change effective as of the start of the current billing cycle, instead of the day you changed to the new plan. That way, your new, bigger data limit applies to all data use and all texting and calling in that entire bill cycle.

If you want to switch plans and backdate the change, just let us know. We'll:

• Credit the old plan's monthly charge to you
• Charge you the new plan’s monthly fee
• Charge you for 1 month of the new plan in advance

Going forward, once you have a shared data plan, you can enable Safety Mode to help avoid overage charges in the future.

If you have just 1 phone:

• You can sign up for our Shared Data Plan – 5GB or Shared Data Plan – 10GB.
• You can use any of our current unlimited plans for a single line.
• If you just have a basic phone, you can sign up for our Single Basic Line plan.

You can pick your shared data plan based on how much data you’re using now. You can view your data use in My Verizon.

Yes, it might be a better value to sign up for the larger shared data plan size to avoid overage charges ($15 for each 1 GB) or the reduced speed of Safety mode.

Keep in mind the 10 GB plan’s monthly price is just $10 more per month than the 5 GB plan price.

If you find you need more or less data, you can visit your Plan page in My Verizon to switch your data plan anytime.

You won't be charged overages if you have Safety Mode turned on:

• Instead, when you reach your monthly data allowance, your data speeds will be reduced to 128 kbps until the next bill cycle.
• If you want more high-speed data at that time, you can buy a Data Boost for $15/ 1 GB. Any amount you don't use will carry over to the next month.

If you don't have Safety Mode turned on, overages are billed at $15/GB, rounded up. For example, if you use 250 MB over your allowance, you'll be charged $15. Any remaining portion of the extra GB carries over for you to use the next month.

Visit My Verizon Alerts & Notifications FAQs to learn about setting usage alerts, so you know when you're getting close to your data allowance.

No, pay as you go data isn't available with our shared data plans. For information on our prepaid plans, visit our Prepaid page.