Well I didn't see this posted anywhere else but I just got a text message from Verizon saying I get another month of hotbot free. Here is a copy of the text.
FREE VZW MSG: The Mobile Hotspot/Mobile Broadband Connect promotion for your Smartphone has been extended to 6/15/2011. Share your internet access with up to 8 Wi-Fi capable devices or with your notebook or netbook. After the promotion expires, additional access charges will apply.
Did anyone else get this?
Yes, I got this message as well.
Got it too, made my day
Sent from my T-Bolt
The extension is probably in lieu of the Charge being released soon. Cant complain.
RossLH said:
The extension is probably in lieu of the Charge being released soon. Cant complain.
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Charge has been out for a few days now...
I never claimed to be on top of things...
this could be a case of moron-employee, but a rep I talked to today at a store in Thousand Oaks (Cali.) told me they had no plans to charge for wi-fi hotspot use provided you already had unlimited data.
I suspect it will be free until they have tiered data pricing in place. Because it's free, you can't sign up for it. After tiered data is in place, when you sign up, you're not grandfathered, so that means a contract change along with tiered pricing.
Net/net, there will be no way to grandfather unlimited data along with tethering on the TB.
my mobile hot spot has been shotty lately. Constantly cutting out but i did get the text 5/16
mike.s said:
I suspect it will be free until they have tiered data pricing in place. Because it's free, you can't sign up for it. After tiered data is in place, when you sign up, you're not grandfathered, so that means a contract change along with tiered pricing.
Net/net, there will be no way to grandfather unlimited data along with tethering on the TB.
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I called on the 15th and asked about the pricing and here's what they thought was reasonable......
$50 - 5GB
$80 - 10GB
$10 - EVERY GB Over!!!
I balked and hung up, got a callback for a customer survey 2 min later, told them I wasn't happy and they said a manager may call me back....
The next morning I get that message and it was on engadget...
I guess they had a lot of calls like that....
Sent from my AdasR6400L from the matrix->
I got the message too about charging after a certain date. I seriously doubt Verizon is going to let any money slip through their fingers by grandfathering anyone in. Which is fine with me, I like Wireless Tether better!!!
This may sound a bit on the paranoid side. But, did any one ever think that maybe VZW was letting us have free hot spot feature to see how much DATA we would actually incure on our individual lines? Verizon has a way of finding out how much DATA is being passed through there tather app. That will give them an idea of who is using the after market teather app when there hotspot feature goes to a teared price plann. They know that some will go back to the teather app. And they will be able to make a pretty good educated guess as to whoo is using what. And please, don't tell me that they wouldn't do that. This is a corporation that is out to make money. And we have all the technology that is needed to acquire any info that is desired. And there is nothing wrong with that. But, they think it is OK to charge us for data passing through our phones to any other device other than the phone. When truly, we can download anything we want to the phone and then pass it to a device of our choice either through WiFi or USB. They are merely trying to charge us for convenience. I don't ever use more DATA when teathered to an external device than I could or do when I am on my phone. This charging for DATA tunneling is ridiculous. And has to stop. These a$$ hat clowns have to stop charging for anything they like. What hell! There prices are above and beyond ok. 5 gigs for $50 and so on? Yeah, that's totally reasonable!
One other thing. I don't particularly want to hear some snub nosed douch tell me if I don't like the prices that I can go somewhere else for a cell provider. Yeah, that would be great if 1, VZW didn't purchase Alltel. Or 2, ATT didn't purchase T Mobile. Not that I would move to a GSM carrier. And I kind of need the coverage that aCDMA company can provide. Yes, I know the saying, you pay higher prices for better service. And don't get me wrong. I am grateful to have these technologies available to us. But, the prices have to come down a bit. Any way, I am done *****ing an wearing my tin foil hat. Good evening every one.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
If you don't like the data (what do you use DATA as an acrynym for?) pricing, you can cancel the service. No one is forcing it on you.
mike.s said:
If you don't like the data (what do you use DATA as an acrynym for?) pricing, you can cancel the service. No one is forcing it on you.
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That's not a solution either. While I completely agree with the poster your replying to, I'm not sure there is much we as consumers can do about it. Those of us who actually care and realize what is happening are in the minority. The rest of the consumers who simply use their phones to broadcast their location to everyone on facebook and twitter or check their e-mail will never know that they are being ripped off.
Well unfortunately if Verizon does put me on tiered pricing for data I actually would change carriers. The main reason I came to Verizon was for their service. I don't tether that often, but I like to have the option without having to worry about extra fees but I use the data on my phone A LOT. I honestly doubt they will, but if Verizon does force everyone onto tiered pricing, well, at that point I might as well be with Cricket because all I'll be using is the phone.
I would like to be honest, so given a reasonable price I would buy the tether service, but still use my wired tether app because they wont support wired teather themselves....
The CSR did however tell me that supposedly you will only be charged for what the tether app itself uses and that regular phone data would not count...
Sent from my AdasR6400L from the matrix->
I would be willing to pay $60/mo for unlimited access on top of my current plan. That would match my current ISP. Anything more and I'll just get a VPN service and tether using VPN to prevent them from seeing what traffic is from my phone and what is from another device.
meh, I went ahead and put wifi tether on my tbolt
1 two hour hd movie uses 3 gb of data. I dare Verizon to put a 5gb cap considering a lot of kids use their phone for YouTube viewing which if I remember correctly has hd viewing.
Just as a side note I was on at&T's website the other day (don't ask) and used their usage calculator. They basically told me none of their plans were big enough for what I do on my phone alone let alone tethering with other devices. LOL.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
I had a question regarding the hotspot. I verizon rep told me that we have the hotspot free until 6/15 and after that it will be $20/month for 1G. If you go over its and additional $20 for every following GB. My question is does anyone know how the free hotspot works. Do we only get 1G free and if we go over we will be charged or is it unlimted until the pricing starts and then it has the cap?
Related
So... about that $7 unlimited plan with bell...
WHOO DOGGY... what a story.
so my friend is the cell phone guy at future shop. one of the other employees there just got a touch with that plan. accoring to them and their rep. the plan is unlimited "mobile browser" but for the touch the mobile browser is data use with the exception of tethering. now we looked at the touch, there was no special browser or anything, just IE like the Titan. so...
i have had issues with my phone for over a year... im on my 5th phone (under future shop warranty) and im still dropping calls and calls dont come it. im 100% sure its not the phone.. im on my 2nd Titan and still... anyways... in a pissed off rant with customer service on saturday about all this i asked if i could get the unlimited $7 data plan offered with the touch. i said i would pay for it, i just want it. they said it was not an issue and it was done. i had it.
now before i saw the post about this plan, i heard all over the radio in kamloops here that the touch comes with a $7 unlimited data plan. and the bell dealers backed this up. so i browsed the internet all night. was streaming video and music etc. i checked my data useage through TCARE... i waited 2 hrs and texted TCare... it came back as 2.9 mb.. which is what i had before i started browsing. perfect... so i downloaded via torrent a 10 mb file... waited 4 hrs or so.. checked TCare.. still at 2.9 mb...so i proceed with some serious downloading cause i was sure it was all good now...
that was this weeked.
so this morning i checked with bell on another billing issue.. when she saw my current charges for this month she choked, coughed and sputtered, and put me on hold to talk to her manager. I had racked up $19,000 in data use in a weekend. this was because data devices do not have the capability to use the mobile browser service.
after a few hours of "dealing" with bell. they realized this was their **** up and will fix my account.
fair warning to any bell customers (or potential bell customers) regarding this plan.
skylinegts said:
I had racked up $19,000 in data use in a weekend. this was because data devices do not have the capability to use the mobile browser service. after a few hours of "dealing" with bell. they realized this was their **** up and will fix my account.
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So where is the scam, they fixed the problem didn't they? I will also add that you gigabyte downloaders ruin it for everyone. All you can eat doesn't mean you can or have to stuff your jacket pockets, you know
How exactly is this a scam? As much as I hate bell, they realized they made a mistake and they fixed it. I assume you didn't pay a penny of that $19000 bill?
This is standard fare for bell customer service. No news here...
the scam is that they are offering a $7 Unlimited data plan that isnt a data plan. its mobile browser. and data devices cant use mobile browser, they use data. and how do us "gigabyte downloaders" ruin it for everyone? unlimited is just that, with out limits... i should be free to do with it as i please. if i wasnt going to use an unlimited ammount of bandwith.. why would i get an unlimited plan. yes they did credit me the $19,000. but bell is now telling me there is no unlimited data.
skylinegts said:
but bell is now telling me there is no unlimited data.
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That is a fact you did not include in your original story and I hope someone can come back a confirm it. Your limitless comment makes me glad they shut you down
I'm not going to argue about the definition of "unlimited". but this is just the same old crap they pulled with broadband DSL. Advertise "unlimited bandwidth" but with a maximum cap per month.
You should take them to court since they obviously advertise "unlimited mobile browser", but they make no attempts to define what "mobile browser" is. As we all know, http data/torrent data/ftp data/etc.... is all the same and everyone that signs up is signing under the pretense that it's unlimited data since they have at least clearly said that mobile browser is *not* "only WAP data".
I saw this coming from a mile away. I bet they left the definition of "mobile browser" open so that they can arbitrarily cut off the heavy users like you. Good riddence IMO. who in their right mind is going to d/l a torrent via a cellphone connection? I bet you didn't even limit your upload limit so you were uploading constantly 24/7...
mr_yellow said:
Good riddence IMO. who in their right mind is going to d/l a torrent via a cellphone connection? I bet you didn't even limit your upload limit so you were uploading constantly 24/7...
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Amen to that, it's so ridiculous it shouldn't even be mentioned
mr_yellow said:
You should take them to court since they obviously advertise "unlimited mobile browser", but they make no attempts to define what "mobile browser" is.
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The mobile browser thing is something that came up this morning. All weekend they have been advertising here in town "Unlimited DATA". On the radio, in the stores, no mention of mobile browser. Everyone is being told that this plan is unlimited data. That is why I said its a scam. The fact that I went about using the plan's "unlimited" feature is beside the point. Had I only used 100mb i would have been billed for that 100mb. The point of this thread is that Bell is offering an unlimited data plan, which is really unlimited mobile browser, for a device that cannot use mobile browser. Please stop flaming my excessive data useage, when thats not the issue at hand.
Well.. bell just called me regarding an issue I am having with text messages. This guy sounded like he knew what he was doing... so I asked him about this data issue. The Bell touch has been provisioned to connect to the internet VIA the mobile browser connection. The connection is the same as data, but it just connects to the $7 unlimited mobile browser plan, and doesnt bill data. That way they can offer unlimited data on the phone for now until they get unlimited data plans. Its been provisioned that way from HTC. The idiot who signed me up should have known this and not signed me up. Quick ending to the story.
If you go to this Bell page and click on the ALL tab then the Touch, a sub menu on the left says "Email & Internet" for 7$ a month.
EDIT: Then you've got the Media who, as usual, is completely confused and confuses everyone.
borealcool said:
Your limitless comment makes me glad they shut you down
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Why? Isn't unlimited just that? Why would anyone pay for an unlimited plan if they can't use it unlimited?
borealcool said:
Amen to that, it's so ridiculous it shouldn't even be mentioned
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Actually, I think the fact that clowns are telling some guy that his unlimited surfing shouldnt be unlimited is laughable.
The OP does have a legitimate concern (though he went about it completely wrong).
Facts:
1) There is a promo for the HTC touch w/ a $7 unlimited "data" plan
2) OP misuses the unlimited data/mobile browser plan
3) OP gets pissed off when bell charges him $$$
4) Bell reversed the charges, but in the end, Bell's Unlimited "data" plan is not really "unlimited" nor is it for "data".
EDIT: purelitium pointed out the OP was using a titan. The $7 plan clearly says this only applies to non-PDA phones (which includes the touch), so I'm in the wrong. Thanks!
No he doesn't have any legitimate concern
1. He was trying to use a feature designed only for the Bell Touch(Vogue) on his Titan.
2. I've never seen it advertised as "unlimited data", it's unlimited Mobile Browsing, there is a difference.
3. Bell figured out their mistake, corrected it.
I don't see where there's a problem.
I'm on the $7 plan on Bell, and I've had no problems, because I'm using the proper equipment (Touch).
stay away from big damn corporations.. especially in regard to phones!
stay away from big damn corporations.. especially in regard to phones!
go with pcmobile... don't people read about this crap? i only have like 4 providers in my area but everyone is too hick and uneducated to know that there is a fifth one!!! 20 cents pay as you go. 5 bucks unlimited internet... no caps as far as i know of... sure u gotta use their small collection of non-pda phones, but if their best one is a nokia (it is), fine by me (their operating system is a must for all non-pda phones that are go onto the internet.) (for compatibility reasons and otherwise) stay the HELL away from samsung phones... (oh my word). i think u can download to the external storage... but even if you can't (i haven't gotten to try)... pcmobile is the best for any person that doesn't talk their ass off (strictly short business calls) and looking to browse their internet and check the mail constantly... read wikipedia... facebook... google maps... msn... etc. youtube is sweet... it's like your one stop video place on the net anyways, so who cares if you can't do serious torrent sh!t or approach the entire pc replacement department
skylinegts said:
the scam is that they are offering a $7 Unlimited data plan that isnt a data plan. its mobile browser. and data devices cant use mobile browser, they use data. and how do us "gigabyte downloaders" ruin it for everyone? unlimited is just that, with out limits... i should be free to do with it as i please. if i wasnt going to use an unlimited ammount of bandwith.. why would i get an unlimited plan. yes they did credit me the $19,000. but bell is now telling me there is no unlimited data.
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It was only unlimited browsing. not data. now for $30 you can have unlimited data with them.
skylinegts said:
Please stop flaming my excessive data useage, when thats not the issue at hand.
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It is . You guys screw it up for everyone with downloading your torrents and crap on a phone connection.
chancet said:
ok... i subscribed to this forum just for comments like these... my question is WHO THE HELL are these people that get unlimited internet usage and don't have it downloading sh!t 24/7. you should have the fackin torrents going non-stop... it's unlimited... that's what is says... SO USE IT!!! get your money's worth... damn lightweights... some of these *****-moneywasters shouldn't even have home internet... with the weak online simple website crap they do they could all save more time and money just paying 5 cents a page or some sh!t from a cellphone... ok... onto the next comment...
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spare us the rhetoric.
flaming
it stops here!
ill remove all flaming posts here.....any more ill close thread
and issue warnings.....or bans.....you have been warned.
have a good weekend all.
bartybet said:
spare us the rhetoric.
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There was nothing with what chancet said, other than (based on common sense) 'ruining' it for other people by having torrents, streaming non-stop 24/7. While I do agree that one should respect other users and understand that hogging network space is just going to cause other users to experience crapper service, the issue here is that Bell is stating that the plan is "unlimited" when in fact, it is not.
THAT's the main issue. I don't understand why people are so quick to defend Bell (or any company) as if they're going to get a reward or something.
Plain and simple, if using data isn't unlimited, don't advertise it as UNLIMITED.
Also, just because those of you 'experts' check out the forums 24/7 and know all the details, doesn't mean the average joe does! So you may know that they "never" advertised it as unlimited DATA but rather unlimited browser. Well I suppose the average joe is supposed to know the difference between data and browser? Let's see we have bad Bell reps who don't seem to know what they're talking about and do a good job of misinforming others (due to lack of supervision or simply lack of training). We have radio stations, newspapers, all calling it unlimited DATA (do a google search), etc. Please don't speak as if your knowledge due to being on these forums (as well as the fact that you're generally INTERESTED in telecommunications stuff) is the same as what the average user should know.
I bet if a users sends 10,000 emails or something Bell would still send em a letter for 'abuse' even though they are technically following the 'do's and don'ts' for unlimited mobile browser (no streaming, VOIP etc.).
It's definitely not unlimited. Stop advertising it as unlimited!
So I just signed up for at&t right after the unlimited data plan was retired.. But I heard the at&t unlimited data plan might be pulling a jay-z (comeback) ..
Does anyone know if this is true? Its all I need to be 100% happy/satisfied with my captivate..
Samsung captivate running d11igaf 5.5
francous said:
So I just signed up for at&t right after the unlimited data plan was retired.. But I heard the at&t unlimited data plan might be pulling a jay-z (comeback) ..
Does anyone know if this is true? Its all I need to be 100% happy/satisfied with my captivate..
Samsung captivate running d11igaf 5.5
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To add to this question: If it were to come back, would it cost more? That will be BS if it does! What sly corporation skills for taking away something people like, and then giving it back for a higher cost. D:
HERE ya go
bigsmitty64 said:
HERE ya go
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Thanks for the info...sucks "new users"like me who were never on a unlimited plan can't have the option tho :/hopefully some day.. I hate being limited!
Samsung captivate running d11igaf 5.5
francous said:
Thanks for the info...sucks "new users"like me who were never on a unlimited plan can't have the option tho :/hopefully some day.. I hate being limited!
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lol, I feel ya. Sort of...I have the unlimited plan
But you'd be surprise how many people don't even come close to the 2gb plan. I use the tethering moderately and stream pandora quite a bit, and there's only been a handful of times that I went over the 2gb mark. I'd say for the majority the 2gb is enough, plus they are offering another extra 2gb. I just don't like how they are charging extra for the tethering.
I also have the unlimited and I can admit I never come close to the 2GB.
There will be a day that even the grandfathered unlimited plan will be terminated one way or another. AT&T's network congestion means it should never offered unlimited plan to begin with.
Verizon actually made it clear, even though it offer unlimited for new iPhone users, top 5% of the data users will be throttled. I sense AT&T will soon follow suit.
If 2GB is not enough for you today, you're on the way to be throttled soon.
Lancered said:
I also have the unlimited and I can admit I never come close to the 2GB.
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Same here - never reachd 2gb... but I need it for peace of mind. I don't have even check what I've used on my phone. I have to worry constantly about my wife and daughter going over their limits. In fact, my wife accidently went over her 200mb limit by using DroidTV and not having it set for "Wifi Only", coupled with her WIFI settings still at the default setting of "Turn off WIFI when screen goes off" instead of "Never". Even if she was set at 2gb I could see an accident like this happening and costing extra money.
AT&T claims that they notify you when you reach 60%, 90% and 100% of your limit. This is bullsh*t. They don't. First, data use reporting is about 12 hours behind. You can blow your cap by quite a bit in 12 hours. Next, when she went over 200, they sold her another 200 for $15 without any text. I believe this can happen up to 5 times ($90 for 1.2gb). 12 hours later she got a text and I got an email saying she was nearing her limit - but the limit she was nearing was 400mb (the second set of 200mb). We were never informed as she blasted right past the first 200mb. Thank goodness she only had a couple movies set to download. If she had a series recording it would have cost a fortune.
I want to set a hard limit and then have data shut off at that point. Don't sell me extra data automatically. Maybe for technical reasons, they don't know for 12 hours... so they once they find out turn off my data and don't charge me for the overage. Until they can and will do this, I don't think they should be selling limited data plans. Until they can send you warnings in a timely manner, they shouldn't be selling limited data plans.
To AT&T's credit, I was able to retroactively change her data plan to the 2gb plan back to the beginning of my billing cycle - so the mistake cost me $10. Now out of piece of mind I will probably have to keep her at the 2gb plan even though in the past she's never even come close to the 200mb.
RE: Verizon "unlimited"... I can understand temporarily throttling back a heavy user maybe for few hours or days, but not for the rest of the billing cycle and definately not for the next billing cycle. Can you imagine you make one mistake like my wife did and have your speed crippled for up to 2 months? How can they even legally cripple service for a future billing period?
This is important for us to follow because AT&T is probably watching this approach closely and will eventually adopt it for us as well.
foxbat121 said:
There will be a day that even the grandfathered unlimited plan will be terminated one way or another. AT&T's network congestion means it should never offered unlimited plan to begin with.
Verizon actually made it clear, even though it offer unlimited for new iPhone users, top 5% of the data users will be throttled. I sense AT&T will soon follow suit.
If 2GB is not enough for you today, you're on the way to be throttled soon.
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5% is a huge number of customers - probably a lot of them being business customers. Once enough people get throttled back Verizon may have to rethink this approach. Consider what Comcast did. They went from unlimited to 250gb. That's a very reasonable limit that certainly doesn't catch 5% of their internet customers. Of course as time goes by they will have to adjust that 250 up or they will start catching more and more customers.
I don't think they've defined what they consider heavy users yet. It must be pretty low to include 5% of data users.
An even better option would be data buckets, where your unused data rollsover. I've gone near the 200mb cap quite a few times since the default settings cleverly turn off wifi when the phone sleeps :rollseyes:
Sent from my Captivate using XDA App
"Demographic Research" is why we have the 2gb plan in the first place.
That's why I believe the unlimited plan will be eventually phased out also. Yea, their offering the unlimited plan again, but to me that's mostly PR to get more customers because cases like this: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/04/verizon-breaks-first-day-sales-record-with-iphone-4-pre-orders/ I don't really know how truthful that is, since corporate tend to inflate stats for the press.
But competition is good for the consumers, as long as both these billion dollar companies are in high competition, it should be easier on the wallet for us. Hoping...but still believe they are ripping us off as consumers (and I will keep the reasons why to myself, I've seen what it did to the other threads )
These are all opinions, and I take your posts as opinions. So...can we keep this civil. The other threads I've seen regarding this subject matter tend to get heated, which I do avoid (I have enough drama in my life
I believe that the limited plans were and still are a great idea. 2 gigs is a ton of data in my opinion.I rarely every go above 1 a month and I am on my phone a fair amount. It just all depends how much data people want. and lets face it the people who want and need the unlimited plan are the 1-5% of people that killed at &ts wireless network speed by streaming 1080p content for several hours a day
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
crystalhand said:
I believe that the limited plans were and still are a great idea. 2 gigs is a ton of data in my opinion.I rarely every go above 1 a month and I am on my phone a fair amount. It just all depends how much data people want. and lets face it the people who want and need the unlimited plan are the 1-5% of people that killed at &ts wireless network speed by streaming 1080p content for several hours a day
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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I don't think the limited plan is a bad idea, but I do see the amount going up and up. Since mobile internet access will exceed home internet access in the future, in my opinion. Which in turn costing us more and more.
As richb500 said, it is important to follow this and see what AT$T does.
When I was following the Fuze/Tilt2 forums it was pointed out that the is no true unlimited plan. The plan is called unlimited but in the TOS it states that over 5G of data transfered ATT can terminate your service.
All carriers have that clause in their respective TOS.
I have the old unlimited plan and have gone ovef 5G once but repeated go over 4G and never got any warning messages about my use.
Just a word of caution.
Sprint seems to be very loose with enforcement. A co-worker has an EVO and uses upwards of 20G a month using it has a hotspot and has never been warned about abusive use which is again in the Sprint TOS.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
foxbat121 said:
There will be a day that even the grandfathered unlimited plan will be terminated one way or another. AT&T's network congestion means it should never offered unlimited plan to begin with.
Verizon actually made it clear, even though it offer unlimited for new iPhone users, top 5% of the data users will be throttled. I sense AT&T will soon follow suit.
If 2GB is not enough for you today, you're on the way to be throttled soon.
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shouldn't have to terminate it.
if they weren't greedy and shortsighted they could get most to move over voluntarily with the right incentives.
For Example - Anyone with unlimited who is willing to Renew a new 2 year contract on their voice and take a capped data plan gets to choose any At&t Phone @ no cost with the upgrade. Couple this with informing users that stay on the unlimited they will face throttling if it is abused....(soft cap of 5 or 6 gb).
75% or more would likely take advantage if they could get the latest phone for free (iphone, atrix, whatever else comes down the pike).
Couple it with a marketing campaign to the effect of TETHER AWAY. No charges for tether as we respect your right to use the full potential of your phone. Give 250mb data free to all smartphone users. Offer 2gb @ $25 and 4GB @ 45$ (same as tether pricing but removes the stigma and bad taste of being charged for something that costs them nothing and is a native capability of the OS/Device). Keep the $10 overage charge per every GB of data over the cap.
crystalhand said:
I believe that the limited plans were and still are a great idea. 2 gigs is a ton of data in my opinion.I rarely every go above 1 a month and I am on my phone a fair amount. It just all depends how much data people want. and lets face it the people who want and need the unlimited plan are the 1-5% of people that killed at &ts wireless network speed by streaming 1080p content for several hours a day
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Damn you guys are making me feel like I have a problem lol...
I go over 2 gigs almost every month and have to pay the additional 10$ for another gig..came to the point I have to turn off my data and use it only when I need to just to stay under.. (when I'm not home under wifi)
Il trade with you unlimited ppl any day!
Samsung captivate running d11igaf 5.5
francous said:
Damn you guys are making me feel like I have a problem lol...
I go over 2 gigs almost every month and have to pay the additional 10$ for another gig..came to the point I have to turn off my data and use it only when I need to just to stay under.. (when I'm not home under wifi)
Il trade with you unlimited ppl any day!
Samsung captivate running d11igaf 5.5
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Do you have your wifi set to never turn off? A lot of people think they're safe at home on their wifi... But as soon as the screen turns off, so does the wifi. They default this way to save battery.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
richb500 said:
Do you have your wifi set to never turn off? A lot of people think they're safe at home on their wifi... But as soon as the screen turns off, so does the wifi. They default this way to save battery.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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mine stays on all the time.. but i turn my Data Off while my wifi is on so if wifi were to cut out it wouldnt use my data anyway
UPDATE: i called AT&T just for kicks to see if there were a unlimited data plan no one knew about.. turns out there isnt for us smartphone customers but there is for NON Smartphone customers because they use less data.. wtf..
Can we LIE and say we are not a smartphone, say we're on some ol' school slidey phone or something and get that plan!? lol..
Good for us consumers, but anyone that is like me that uses 1GB a day with ease "when you are at work with nothing better to do then surf the net, and watch movies" it becomes a problem, lucky I have unlimited data though and I don't see why they don't sell it to more customers because most who have it don't use nearly that much so its extra money in the pocket
francous said:
mine stays on all the time.. but i turn my Data Off while my wifi is on so if wifi were to cut out it wouldnt use my data anyway
UPDATE: i called AT&T just for kicks to see if there were a unlimited data plan no one knew about.. turns out there isnt for us smartphone customers but there is for NON Smartphone customers because they use less data.. wtf..
Can we LIE and say we are not a smartphone, say we're on some ol' school slidey phone or something and get that plan!? lol..
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The unlimited data plan offering is not official, and I don't think customer service will know anything until Verizon iphone official launch date. What I've been reading (ex.) http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/at-t-quietly-matching-vzws-unlimited-data-plan-for-iphone/9317
But this is only a business move, in my opinion, since there are certain criteria you must meet to get back the unlimited plan.
And for your question: No you can't lie about not having a smartphone, when actually you are using a smartphone, they will know.
Is it possible to change the tethering application built into most roms so that it won't deincrement the ttl value?
where did you get this info at?
http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/17/att-cracking-down-on-unofficial-iphone-tethering-mywi-users/
http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/03/18/att.clamps.down.on.unofficial.tethering.users/
If you dig through the comments on those articles, it appears that the people who receive the letters are using in excess of 5GB on their unlimited data plan.
Case in point: One of the comments was from a guy who said that his wife was sent the notice from AT&T. From what he says, she hasn't ever tethered, but she's always listening to streaming audio or watching streaming video.
This is nothing new for AT&T. They have long held that 5GB is 'effectively unlimited' for a smartphone, and that anyone who uses more must be using a computer tethered to the phone. With the phones we have now, that simply is not the case anymore. But AT&T is using that as an excuse to try and get people off of the unlimited plans and on to something where they can charge customers more money.
Krynn! said:
If you dig through the comments on those articles, it appears that the people who receive the letters are using in excess of 5GB on their unlimited data plan.
Case in point: One of the comments was from a guy who said that his wife was sent the notice from AT&T. From what he says, she hasn't ever tethered, but she's always listening to streaming audio or watching streaming video.
This is nothing new for AT&T. They have long held that 5GB is 'effectively unlimited' for a smartphone, and that anyone who uses more must be using a computer tethered to the phone. With the phones we have now, that simply is not the case anymore. But AT&T is using that as an excuse to try and get people off of the unlimited plans and on to something where they can charge customers more money.
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I hope you're right.
Also just saw this......I personally dont tether much but have used mobile AP. Might be worth looking into for those that do tether.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/03/18/att-shutting-down-unauthorized-tetherers/
cnigro1279 said:
Also just saw this......I personally dont tether much but have used mobile AP. Might be worth looking into for those that do tether.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/03/18/att-shutting-down-unauthorized-tetherers/
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If they are using ttl to detect tethering, then mobile ap would be effected. I'm not sure if usb tethering does deincrement ttl. All the reports seem to be mentioning WiFi tethering.
i think its a scare tactic.
I don't think they are detecting tethering. I think they are targeting people going beyond a certain threshold of usage as suspected tethereres (4gb or 5gb or more likely)
bames said:
i think its a scare tactic.
I don't think they are detecting tethering. I think they are targeting people going beyond a certain threshold of usage as suspected tethereres (4gb or 5gb or more likely)
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+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet
vunuts said:
+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet
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WOW what are you doing to use 9gb of data lol.
Even though i think its more of a scare tactic i think it can be done...its just not cost efficient to do it wide scale unless their is a huge red flag...like oh say 9gb of data usage . I won't be surprised if you get a letter if your usage rates continually reach anywhere near that later as i suspect that is the type of red flag that may cause them to actually take the time to audit the account and look at the ttl/packet data more closely.
if you have a 2gb or even unlimited and tether never going over 2gb i seriously doubt you would received letter or raise an eyebrow.
This goes back to my initial thought on how stupid their marketing team and management decisions are.
ALLOW FREE TETHERING
Pay for the extra data you need. It breaks down to the same cost...they are just being short sighted and greedy hoping people will think oh...2gb more data for 20bucks and then continue to not even fully use the 2gb they already had paid for on their smartphones plan (they are playing on peoples ignorance of how much data they are actually using). Part of good business and sales is fitting the client with their needs so they can afford it and continue to be a good longterm customer rather than bilking them for services they don't need or use (much like requiring all smartphones to have data plans when some smartphone users could be completely happy with a smartphone and wifi only usage).
If i have $25 2gb plan and want to tether and don't go over 2gb DON'T CHARGE EXTRA or REQUIRE TETHERING. If i go over charge me by the GB just like you would if i used all the data on my smartphones. 2gb Plan + 2gb overage =$45 for that months data (shouldn't matter whether it was used tethered or untethered). If i have a 2gb plan and tether and only use 3gb for the plan why not allow my to pay for 3gb data instead of forcing me to pay for 4gb/tethering. Let people police and pay for their usage. DATA IS DATA and it doesn't cost more for att to deliver 4gb to a tethered user than it does to someone using the 4gb downloading torrents or streaming movies on their smartphone.
Seems like it would be great customer relations, marketing, and a blow to verizon if ATT and came out with a marketing campaign that said Free Mobile AP/Tethering. Use as much data as you need....pay for the data you use. If those still grandfathered under unlimited plans are the concern you could easily audit those accounts if the usage is excessive and either throttle or require tethering for unlimited plans only which might encourage more people to give up the unlimited and take one of the tiered plans. They talk about tethers using all the data while i suspect those doing a combination of significant streaming and downloading torrent using in an untethered state.
A good question is why is one industry being allowed wipe their A** with net neutrality (with so little backlash)
bames said:
WOW what are you doing to use 9gb of data lol.
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Lol, I just opened my own auto shop, and we have yet to get internet hooked up in there, so I'm tethered to my desktop there for about 5-8 hours a day. I wouldn't be surprised if I do hear from AT&T, but they can't do anything to me. They've tried before and I fought them and won. I have unlimited text and data and I'm going to use it to my advantage. If they want to try and blow smoke up my ass, go for it. I'll blow it right back
Funny how this coincided with the new bandwidth cap for cable customers... AT&T is slowly trying to eliminate all unlimited customers. I wish they spent as much time working on increasing signal strength across the US as they do finding ways to squeeze more money from their customers.
vunuts said:
+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet
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I thought my 3 -4 gb / month was a lot.
Isn't a byte of data still a byte of data no matter how you view your porn.
what they are doing with tethering would be akin charging us $10 per month to use google navigation.
They could say "hey our navigation per att nav with your device is $10 per month.....if you want to use navigation on your phone you must have a navigation plan add on and if you try to use another free navigation program we can tell and will change your plan without your permission"
I don't get any letters, but I get a "friendly call" from AT&T about every other month asking why I use so much data. I've been on unlimited since it first came out and I'm taking full advantage of it. When I get the call about my usage, I start downloading on my phone, just to eat more data. I've downloaded several ISOs of Linux distros and MS ISOs from the MSDN. Is it my fault I signed up for 'unlimited data' or is it there fault they didn't look into the future? ComCast tried to complain when I pulled down over 300gb in a month and wanted to charge me for it. Sent off a copy of the original contract and there was no bandwidth cap in it. It becomes a breach of contract if you haven't physically signed anything new accepting and agreeing to the new changes.
If you don't mind switching carriers (which isn't that attractive because they all suck and use the same ploys pretty much)
but if they change your plan (for example adding a tethering plan to your account) you have 30 days to cancel your contract WITHOUT penalty no matter how many months you have remaining.
bames said:
If you don't mind switching carriers (which isn't that attractive because they all suck and use the same ploys pretty much)
but if they change your plan (for example adding a tethering plan to your account) you have 30 days to cancel your contract WITHOUT penalty no matter how many months you have remaining.
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This is true. You can avoid any early termination fees and essentially end your contract in good standing credit wise.
pbclst said:
I don't get any letters, but I get a "friendly call" from AT&T about every other month asking why I use so much data. I've been on unlimited since it first came out and I'm taking full advantage of it. When I get the call about my usage, I start downloading on my phone, just to eat more data. I've downloaded several ISOs of Linux distros and MS ISOs from the MSDN. Is it my fault I signed up for 'unlimited data' or is it there fault they didn't look into the future? ComCast tried to complain when I pulled down over 300gb in a month and wanted to charge me for it. Sent off a copy of the original contract and there was no bandwidth cap in it. It becomes a breach of contract if you haven't physically signed anything new accepting and agreeing to the new changes.
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For every time they call and ask you you should place 20 calls to their customer support line asking them why someone called you again and telling them you just wanted to make sure they knew you had an unlimited data plan because someone keeps calling.
vunuts said:
Lol, I just opened my own auto shop, and we have yet to get internet hooked up in there, so I'm tethered to my desktop there for about 5-8 hours a day. I wouldn't be surprised if I do hear from AT&T, but they can't do anything to me. They've tried before and I fought them and won. I have unlimited text and data and I'm going to use it to my advantage. If they want to try and blow smoke up my ass, go for it. I'll blow it right back
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I'm sorry, but this attitude just rubs me raw. Cell phones were never designed to be ISPs. It's abusers like you that have made it hard for the rest of us by forcing AT$T to eliminate unlimited plans and by slowing down the network with your extreme usage. Why do so many feel the need to squeeze whatever they can however they can out of a company? If you think they're screwing you then simply take your business elsewhere.
People receiving the letter today are iphone users? am i correct? Did any android user receive it?
My friend and I added a new apn from the steps in forum to allow tethering without a plan, well I rarely use mine but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop. He received a message yesterday from ATT stating that this sim is not authorized for tethering and to stop. From what I read I thought they were only catching those with the cryphone. Are they starting to look for others too, what's the deal we r both grandfathered in on the unlimited plan, it shouldn't matter how I use my mobile internet its the same wether I use it in my phone or tether through our laptops.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
vwood2121 said:
but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop.
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you can pay most bills with the smartphone browsers. i only tether for streaming stock quotes (java applets) when i'm away from home. can your ipad or ipad2 does that? haha
this is why i rather carry my sony 4.5" UMPC when i'm away from home.
vwood2121 said:
My friend and I added a new apn from the steps in forum to allow tethering without a plan, well I rarely use mine but he uses his a little more to pay bills and such online through his laptop. He received a message yesterday from ATT stating that this sim is not authorized for tethering and to stop. From what I read I thought they were only catching those with the cryphone. Are they starting to look for others too, what's the deal we r both grandfathered in on the unlimited plan, it shouldn't matter how I use my mobile internet its the same wether I use it in my phone or tether through our laptops.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Nooo! This is very concerning....
I also agree that everyone should be able to use their monthly allotted amount of data however they please.
Via the XDA app for the HTC Inspire
It was going to happen eventually. It's the cell phone equivalent of stealing cable. Most companies don't take kindly to losing money on hacked features.
Divinedark said:
It was going to happen eventually. It's the cell phone equivalent of stealing cable. Most companies don't take kindly to losing money on hacked features.
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huh??
i have the 2GB plan, does it really matter how i use that 2GB? (laptop or phone?)
if i have cable, i can hook it up any ways i want! (to 50" HDTV, desktop, or laptop)
It's bad enough they (at&t) screwed themselves with the ipads, but now you they really want to be like apple n charge you twice because of it. Why should you have to have 2 data plans to use 1 data feature anyway?
I think it was really more for people like me that have unlimited data plans. I can use an ass-load more data with my laptop than I could with my phone.
Either way, a feature is a feature is a feature. They aren't the first, and they won't be the last big company to charge for stuff like that. As much as you or I don't agree with it (I really hate stuff like this), it's not enough to justify theft. I refuse to pay for tethering, so I just don't do it...
Also, if you read some of the Android guru's talking about the handset manufacturers all starting to lock their bootloaders. This is the reason. Before, when it was just us goofing about with our own devices and hurting noone, especially not the carrier, they couldn't care less. As we start moving into LTE with a tethering option, you'll see almost every single Android handset maker locking their phones down. Just look at the Thunderbolt... HTC has always been a big proponent of the Android dev scene, but they signed that bootloader. If you think it was for any other reason than to stop people from tethering and flooding Verizon's LTE network, you're crazy. Verizon may have forced their hand, but it's still done. Neither AT&T or Verizon want to have to deal with what AT&T had to with the iPhone saturation killing their network speeds(and the crap reputation it's brought them) when it comes to their new LTE networks. They'll do whatever they have to in order to guarantee the majority of their customers get a pleasant network experience. Even if that means making "Suggestions" to handset makers. Motorola did it, HTC did it, Samsung is next, then LG. And ultimately, we're going to be the ones to blame. That's just the way I've been seeing things. I may be completely off base...
*NOTE* The thunderbold has been hacked. Maybe there's hope after all.
At this point I don't really care anymore. If AT&T ever delivers 4G speeds I won't have to tether. Charge me, don't charge me, whatever. Being an AT&T customer is exhausting.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.
I had AT&T update my IMEI because I was going to be using a non-smartphone for "traveling" and had them put in an unlimited $10 data. Went ahead and popped my SIM into my Inspire, and I've only gotten two messages and an e-mail that they recognized I'm using a 4G SIM and that they've changed my plan accordingly. I called and checked my account online, and both show that I've still got the feature, so it's been working; plus, I've been using WiFi hotspot for my laptop this whole time.
Hope they don't catch on!
lrs421 said:
At this point I don't really care anymore. If AT&T ever delivers 4G speeds I won't have to tether. Charge me, don't charge me, whatever. Being an AT&T customer is exhausting.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.
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You're not going to get 4G speeds with HSPA+. It's a 3.5G technology. The same thing that T-Mobile has been touting as 4G for the last year. They had great speed on their network because no one was using it... That's not being mean, it's just the way it is. If AT&T has this infrastructure and it was only 40% utilized, every current 4G phone (Atrix & Inspire) would be getting 10-14mb down.
I'm in Northern Atlanta (The home of AT&T wireless), and I get 5mb down and 2mb up late at night. During prime time, I pull 2.5mb down and 2mb up.
This will all change when AT&T starts rolling out their LTE network. It should be showing the exact same speeds as Verizon's. They're both similar in size, and running the exact same technology.
AT&T Says it will Move Unlimited Data Customers Who are Tethering to a Tiered Plan
http://androidcommunity.com/att-say...-who-are-tethering-to-a-tiered-plan-20110804/
AT&T has said that starting as soon as August 11th, it will start moving those customers whom they’ve contacted about tethering without a specific tethering plan on to one. Those customers in question will be moved onto AT&T’s Data Pro plus Tethering, giving them 4 GB of data to use for $45 a month.
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You mean they will actually enforce their terms of service all users agreed to?
Shocking. You don't like it, don't agree to it. Simple.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant
Tx Redneck said:
Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant
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Whoah Nellie, that wasn't directed at you at all. My fault. It was directed at those who are sure to complain. I'm with you 100% on this, but I did sign an agreement so i can't complain about it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
..........
As i've said before in a thread somewhere...I definetly use wifi tether....when i absolutely need it. IE, i'm out of town and not around a wifi hotspot. I do not use it to download, like some others do. I've been using wifi hotspot since February, and not once have i been contacted by AT&T about "illegally" using the hotspot. The difference is...when you are doing something youre not supposed to, common sense says to stay low key and keep a low profile to stay under the radar. This decreases your chances of getting caught. So as far as I am concerned, for those who abuse this feature deserve to get caught and get sent to a tiered plan.
Corporate Greed
I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
ThEiiNoCeNT said:
I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
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Same here...
Is this the same threat they were spouting about three months ago, when those mass emails went out?
i still have my grandfathered unlimited data plan, and honestly i will fight to keep it. i dont tether. but when the highest plan is $25 for what 2gb i think, and i pay 30 for unlimited i will keep it thank you. but dont really see a reason to tether anyway... where arent you nowadays that doesnt have a free wifi hotspot? hell the grocery store has one here because there is a starbucks inside...
Data is data is data is not correct. Data cost money no matter how u want to look at it. Yes u are paying for a plan with a certain amount of data, lets say 2gb. First they are a company for profit not a non profit company, Most people dont use all there data, not even close to it, and they factor this in before pricing it. Data isnt cheap, while u feel like your paying for 2gb of data, that u should beable to use it how u want, doesnt mean you can tether and increase the amount of data u use.
if everyone who has a 2gb plan for 25 dollars uses 90% of there data or more every month, u would be paying alot more than 25 dollars for internet.
Do u really think when they created unlimited plans they also can give unlimited amounts of data away and it doesnt cost them any extra? while u feel you are being cheated, the ones actually being cheated are the ones not tethering paying high prices for data.
What you are saying is the same thing as saying a bank can give everyone all there money back, or that a insurance company can afford to pay claims for every person that has insurance, its not feasable. If u truely want it that way they would probaly more than double the current price for data if everyone used there max but they count on alot not using it so there cost is down and so is yours.
A couple of things-first off I too have unlimited data and if they decide to alter my plan in any way I will leave and not look back. As far as unlimited data goes, I guess I don't know what it means. If I pay for unlimited I expect to have unlimated why does it matter how I use it. Is there a differnece from downloading something on my phone vs my pc, if not than who cares.
When I stopped at att today the chick was viewinf my account and noticed I don't use that much data on my 3 lines, she was begging me to switch to a 2gb plan, I laughed in her face. Side note- att has no idea of any attain coming.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using XDA Premium App
@jc,
I read an article a few weeks back that the average cost for an ISP to support 1GB of network traffic is $0.10. Let's say it's double that for a wireless provider even though it's all 1's and 0's, that would mean on average what we pay $25 per month for 2GB of traffic generation only cost the $0.40 to serve.
I agree that they're in it to make money and don't fault them for it, but their profit margin is GROSSLY disproportionate to the Co's most folk like to piss and moan about(Exxon Mobile..).
Tx
http://gigaom.com/broadband/mobile-data-costs-to-jump-7x-for-operators-to-370b-by-2016/
its not as cheap as u think.mobile data is alot more expensive than cable internet or dsl
Btw all major isp's have caps on there unlimited plans, mine is 450gb a month, comcast i think is 250gb. There was also a story recently of a guy that got suspended by cable isp for a few months after exceeding cap, and after he exceeded cap for a second time was suspended for 1 year.
It is your right to switch to a different mobile carrier, but fact is they all have caps. and with att buying tmobile who is left? not many choices.
I use tethering when I really need some Internet in the middle of nowhere where there is no free wifi or free with aircrackng. Att has never said anything because I use less than 400mb of data per month with occasional 1 to 3 gb spikes if I'm tethering or I look down and notice I have ridiculous reception and run a ****load of 200mb tests from testmy.net
If they do say anything about my infrequent tethering resulting in the loss of my unlimited I think I will give testmy.net money so I can have it run the huge test repeatedly for a month.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
I posted the same info in the other similiar thead. For those that don't know it or never read it, there was a 5GB fair use clause for your unlimited data plan. So that might be the magical number to watch.
Ok guys I am gonna close this up. On a side note if you look at the TOS everyone agreed to when then signed the contract it states that as long as ATT sends you an email or a text to notify you, they can change your account to the proper plans.
But no one will know for sure till it hits. Could be they are gonna bring this policy over from tmobile with the merger but till then no one knows for sure.
Thread closed