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At&t unlimited data plan...

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.
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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.

Well... I am now being throttled

So I never have come close to using my 5 gb of data but it seems that it happened for the first time last night. I was under the impression that throttling was only used under extreme conditions for repeat offenders seeing as how "some people" have managed to exceed the limit without being hit. My data stands at .01 kbps download and .001 kbps upload. I'm pretty annoyed right now and am giving more and more thought into another carrier and another phone. I am noticing that this phone officially bores me now. Sad because I did like it...til now.
Edit: I've jumped to 45 kbps download and 70 kbps upload. That seems to be the max now..
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

well thats what you get for going over 5gb. its life on any carrier and any phone. so if your bored of the phone ok get another phone but your throttled life isnt going to change.

syaoran68 said:
well thats what you get for going over 5gb. its life on any carrier and any phone. so if your bored of the phone ok get another phone but your throttled life isnt going to change.
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Any carrier? Last time I checked, Sprint is the only carrier to have true unlimited data. Rumors have stated Verizon is reconsidering. AT&T continues to honor grandfathered unlimited plans and T-Mobile has done what? Lowered everyone's data allowance regardless of previous plans or time with the company.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Well I have unlimited android web since last march and I've always had unlimited, no throttle, nothing, I've downloaded unlimited amounts and still no throttle.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

jonathan3579 said:
I'm pretty annoyed right now and am giving more and more thought into another carrier and another phone. I am noticing that this phone officially bores me now. Sad because I did like it...til now.
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I've hit the data throttle points a few times so i can speak from experience.
Just because you've hit the throttle point doesn't mean that the phone in itself sucks. The phone is still the same phone that had good download speeds. If you want to go to another carrier then fine. I'm not going to even attempt to stop you. But keep in mind 5Gb is a fair amount of usage. And other carriers will charge you for going over your limit, not just throttle you.

And for new customers AT&T doesn't even offer unlimited anymore. it's $25 for 2gb and $10 for every gb you use after that.
Sprint has unlimited, but their speeds suck for now. And they have horrible CS.
Verizon is still setting up their LTE network, and I believe once they are up and running they will be great. They don't even have any 4G phones yet. When the Thunderbolt comes out they'll have one, but who knows what you'd think of that phone. I haven't read any reviews.
I also heard some chatter about T-Mo re-raising their limit to 10gb. I hope they do that. IMO t-mo has amazing devices and excellent service, atleast where I live. We have all the major carriers in Spokane, and t-mo has by far the fastest data. CS speaks for itself. JD Power speaks for their customer service too. They speak good things.
In general, I think it's ridiculous for carriers to offer more and more bandwidth intensive apps like Netflix and all the streaming music apps, not to mention the ability to hook into an HDTV via HDMI or DLNA, and then lower the cap on our bandwidth to 5gb. So I hope they increase it again. It would be nice if one day they offered true unlimited and were OK with tethering and all that for us users who'd like to nix our home internet all together.
Either way, welcome to the throttling world. I don't think you'll be happier if you switch to a new carrier. Just suck it up until your next cycle. and next month, use wifi whenever humanly possible to save your data.
Cheers!

jonathan3579 said:
Any carrier? Last time I checked, Sprint is the only carrier to have true unlimited data. Rumors have stated Verizon is reconsidering. AT&T continues to honor grandfathered unlimited plans and T-Mobile has done what? Lowered everyone's data allowance regardless of previous plans or time with the company.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
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Clearly you haven't read Sprints terms of service. Go to their website and at the bottom of the page click it and read it.

TJBunch1228 said:
And for new customers AT&T doesn't even offer unlimited anymore. it's $25 for 2gb and $10 for every gb you use after that.
Sprint has unlimited, but their speeds suck for now. And they have horrible CS.
Verizon is still setting up their LTE network, and I believe once they are up and running they will be great. They don't even have any 4G phones yet. When the Thunderbolt comes out they'll have one, but who knows what you'd think of that phone. I haven't read any reviews.
I also heard some chatter about T-Mo re-raising their limit to 10gb. I hope they do that. IMO t-mo has amazing devices and excellent service, atleast where I live. We have all the major carriers in Spokane, and t-mo has by far the fastest data. CS speaks for itself. JD Power speaks for their customer service too. They speak good things.
In general, I think it's ridiculous for carriers to offer more and more bandwidth intensive apps like Netflix and all the streaming music apps, not to mention the ability to hook into an HDTV via HDMI or DLNA, and then lower the cap on our bandwidth to 5gb. So I hope they increase it again. It would be nice if one day they offered true unlimited and were OK with tethering and all that for us users who'd like to nix our home internet all together.
Either way, welcome to the throttling world. I don't think you'll be happier if you switch to a new carrier. Just suck it up until your next cycle. and next month, use wifi whenever humanly possible to save your data.
Cheers!
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Yeah, one of my good friends has discovered the wonderful fees from AT&T which I would fight. He crosses 2 gb within a week or two every bill. (And he doesn't know how to tether either...)
I have seen some relatively good speeds from Sprint here in Houston. And their $69 plan seems to be a pretty good option as well.
Verizon is the carrier that interests me the most and like you said, I believe they will be good once they finish with LTE. I am sure that I would like the Thunderbolt BUT I don't believe it to be anything groundbreaking. Let's face it, the specs are last year's best. (Actually, I don't think that even counts since the LG Optimus 2X was released in December albeit in another country.)
I have enjoyed T-Mobiles customer service however I feel that the company as a whole is making too many mistakes in exactly what you said - Promoting apps that use up a helluva lot more data with streaming and the like. On a side note, the data increase has been confirmed for the hotspot devices but nothing as far as I know of when it comes to phones. Disappointing really.
I guess this whole thing pisses me off because I have never come close to reaching the cap. In fact, I typically don't ever cross 2 gb of data so when I finally decide to dig into streaming music, tv, and movies then I get hit slowing my phone to a near complete stop. The phone isn't completely useless but it's just a fragment of what I loved about it. And syncing is taking forever thus draining my battery faster. I know there are plenty of people who have passed the threshold numerous times with no recourse but I cross it once (and haven't even checked by how much) and don't even so much as receive a data warning? I dunno....it just makes me think.

I'm always on WiFi so I never worry about this
*Sent from Carmen diva*

BTW, you may want to make sure the data they claimed you used was actually used. They seem to have some issues with their metering system. I ran into this problem last week with Tmob. They claimed I used 5.2GB in 6hours in the middle of the night while my phone was on wifi. Took forever, but they eventually unthrottled me.
More info here: http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/Inter...lse-being-wrongly-throttled/m-p/755761#M23072

were you Downloading torrents?
sent from my rooted mytouch 4g

carmeng4evr said:
I'm always on WiFi so I never worry about this
*Sent from Carmen diva*
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Me too so this is a non issue for me
sent from my rooted mytouch 4g

surfnhawaii808 said:
were you Downloading torrents?
sent from my rooted mytouch 4g
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I'm not sure if that was directed at me or the OP, but no, I don't use my phone for torrents. I've got a mac mini server that I download everything on. I just use transdroid remote control to monitor them from my phone.

I download music and apps I buy,i also play a lot of youtube and surf all day long.
from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Data responsibility
Don't get pissed at T-Mo
People that are at the top users of T-Mo will get throttled so that "you guys" don't ruin it for the rest of us.
I don't want my download speeds / latency affected because a small subset of people eat up the bandwidth thinking that T-Mo can replace their ISP. I surf, stream, communicate, etc on my phone, but I'm responsible enough to use WiFi when possible as to not lag the network.
Not sure about everyone else, but when I want my mobile data, it needs to be quick. So I use wifi when available to keep my traffic off the towers, so others that need it won't be hampered.

At&the now detecting tethering by packet type value

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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?

Throttled data equals useless sensation

Lets be serious newer smart phones are becoming bandwidth hoggers and a lot of companies throttle at 5gb. I easily use 5gb a day on my home's network streaming, surfing and torrenting. The increase in bandwidth requirements for a smooth videochat conversation on skype requires a lot of bandwidth. Auto sync eats up bandwidth like crazy I had to turn mine off. Streaming a live event demands huge amount of data, and Theres netflix too.
Im currently paying $46mo on my home internet without any capped I use about 100-200gb mo of a total combine bandwidth. Im paying $20mo for 5gb data with unlimited dial up speed after 5gb. Technically $5 per gbit. Rip off much?
I'm using 5gb within 2 weeks 1/2 managing my data with watchdog in a week and 1/2 I'm throttle to dial up speed.. My data plan is from G1 era supposedly I've android data preferred plan? I doubt it. But I hear that its starting to get capped..
My rant is that its foolish for cellphone company to capped data at 5gh.. After they capped they lower it to dial up speed rendering your smartphone useless for the duration until the next cycle. Why can't they cap the speed at 1mbit down and 500 up instead of 30-60 down and 100 down? It's going to be worst after the merge.. Once the merge happens I'm leaving tmobile..

I use quite a lot of data also, but I have my acct set to 200MB Unlimited. It may sound silly but at work and home I'm on WiFi and in between I just have music playing from my SD card while I drive.
I do agree though that the throttled speed is extremely slow. Maybe 7 years ago it wouldn't have mattered but everything is large these days.

Well I have a 5gb data and also tether and use it as home connection and use a little over 5gb.
The problem is that u use ur phones data too much. I have no idea how anyone uses that much data on just their phone. If you have a home connection, use that at home.
And I like the prices they are cheap on tmobile. I'm getting throttle right now and don't mind it on my phone. But tethering it is bad.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

i got throttle 1 time cause my internet was down at home so i tetherd my phone with my pc and ate 5gb up in three days never again, my phone dookie slow. also if you got 200mb plan starting tomorrow if you go over its $10 a gb and they only let you go $30 over

Then pay more or switch to a different provider or move to another country, etc. Realistic or not, there are solutions. If you are unsatisfied with your service, then speak with your money. You have the choice to not pay for overpriced services and if enough people choose to follow you, maybe companies will change their policies. Until then, they are charging a lot for a mediocre amount of bandwidth because people are willing to pay for it.

I'm thankful TMO throttles you. It means I'll never experience what happens on AT&T with their iPhone hammering.

Dude? 5GB a month?
In germany normal data flats only have 1(!!!)GB included. And for 5 or even 10 ur paying ur ass off. I know it sucks, but do u really need to do skype calls or live streaming with ur mobile data?
I thought i am a heavy user and I am using exactly 1GB/month... Now i know im not

+1 to what lianw said.
I am running push facebook, twitter, and an exchange account and I only start getting throttled towards the very end of the billing cycle of my 200MB plan. Fact of the matter is, 200MB is enough for what a majority of users need to do with their phones. Carriers will not cater to a niche group that requires 5GB of data a day.
Nonetheless, tmobile actually does offer an unlimited plan through their loyalty program: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1192020

Man, data plans are cheap there and you are throttled LATE. I live in Germany and pay 25€ for 1GB. (Worthless to mention that I just need ~800mb although I'm sometimes streaming webradio)

I completely agree with the OP. T-Mobile and the like sell these phones promising this.fantastic multimedia experience, and yet, because they are too blinded by the profit motive to innovate, take chances, and find new ways to make money, they dangle something pretty in front of you, promising an exceptional media experience, then treat you like a child and try to limit the very thing they sold you, in every way possible.
And the treatment I have received by T-Mobile is disgusting. Calling me an extreme user for using 5g a month, yet they INSTALL ON THESE PHONES AND MAKE IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE apps such as TMobile TV, rhapsody, slacker, Pandora, etc. If you stream music like I do, daily on my public transportation, you will hit 5 G VERY quickly.
And let me stress, these assholes at TMobile don't just "throttle" data to edge speeds as they claim, if only that were the case. Data becomes UNUSABLE when they throttle. Unusable.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

moh0 said:
Carriers will not cater to a niche group that requires 5GB of data a day http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1192020
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This kind of bull**** is exactly what these companies try to do- frame users like me as niche, extreme, whatever the euphemism you choose...its meant to degrade and put down my use.
I'm not out there hosting torrents and doing big video downloads or streaming. I never do. I stream music from apps T-Mobile embeds in their devices-thats it. Yet they have been able to paint data use as some sort of wrongdoers who are clogging networks.
Their lack of capital layout because Deutsche Telecom has them under discontinued operations since January, which BY LAW precludes the parent company from investing in them, is the reason_if there is any-of their need to throttle, NOT users using their phones as they were meant to be used.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

bqd37340 said:
I completely agree with the OP. T-Mobile and the like sell these phones promising this.fantastic multimedia experience, and yet, because they are too blinded by the profit motive to innovate, take chances, and find new ways to make money, they dangle something pretty in front of you, promising an exceptional media experience, then treat you like a child and try to limit the very thing they sold you, in every way possible.
And the treatment I have received by T-Mobile is disgusting. Calling me an extreme user for using 5g a month, yet they INSTALL ON THESE PHONES AND MAKE IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE apps such as TMobile TV, rhapsody, slacker, Pandora, etc. If you stream music like I do, daily on my public transportation, you will hit 5 G VERY quickly.
And let me stress, these assholes at TMobile don't just "throttle" data to edge speeds as they claim, if only that were the case. Data becomes UNUSABLE when they throttle. Unusable.
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Click to collapse
Those are some great points. But in the end, you're the one who signed the contract and thus accepted the data cap. Also your hatred of tmobile is very surprising. They are the most supportive carrier I have ever dealt with. You should try getting the android preferred data plan before at&t steps in. Now I hate those guys with a passion.

You think tmobiles bad!!!!!! Try sprint!!!!!!
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e

bqd37340 said:
This kind of bull**** is exactly what these companies try to do- frame users like me as niche, extreme, whatever the euphemism you choose...its meant to degrade and put down my use.
I'm not out there hosting torrents and doing big video downloads or streaming. I never do. I stream music from apps T-Mobile embeds in their devices-thats it. Yet they have been able to paint data use as some sort of wrongdoers who are clogging networks.
Their lack of capital layout because Deutsche Telecom has them under discontinued operations since January, which BY LAW precludes the parent company from investing in them, is the reason_if there is any-of their need to throttle, NOT users using their phones as they were meant to be used.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://blog.validas.com/index.php/2...erizon-wireless-smartphone-data-usage-up-150/
Sorry, you are in a niche group. That's from June 2010-June 2011.
EDIT: Actually the above link doesn't post total data used per month, this article however: http://blog.validas.com/index.php/2...-data-on-the-table-with-your-smartphone-plan/

I have unlimited unthrottled data. Even with my wifi broken on my n1, I never go over 2 gigs a month, not even when I was watching football on nfl network. Wtf are you doing that uses so much bandwidth when not at home?

Being throttle does suck.
The is pretty much useless unless I'm at home connected to my home network.
I am being throttle by mistake.
It has been almost 2 weeks.
They can easily turn the throttle on.
But to get it back on is little harder in my case.
It is supposed to be fixed today.
Well see.
I believe tmobile does have a 10gb plan.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

man this throttle thing is bad i got this phone on the 26 of july took me a five days to hit that cap and all i did was watch a couple of 5 min videos on youtube and when at home id use wifi or my tablet....

5gb is fine with me for now. My cable went out once a few months ago and I used 4gb watching movies over hotspot on Netflix. Other than that I never get close to 5gb cuz I use wifi most of the time. If I never was near a broadband connection it might bother me but then I would have to pay more for a higher throttle or try Sprint.
Yeah they're being dirty but not as dirty as Verizon or ATT. Don't blame them. Blame the idiots who live around you.

i used up my 5gb in the first 7 days of the month doing bittorrent on my phone
nah im joking ive never used my phone for that
i do like to watch justin.tv and about an hour of that is avg 360 mb on medium quality about 100 kilobytes per sec
id rather pay a little more for unlimited even though the cost for bandwidth isnt justified
*edit* my throttled speedwas under 9 kilobytes per second like 8.9 was the max i got and that isnt even 2g its like gprs or lower

I think it's exactly as others have posted. If you use 5gb in the first day you are a niche user. Whether or not that's fair, it's true. The carriers aren't going to cater to a very small percentage of the population. I also dislike the throttling, though, because I'm on a 2gb plan and almost always go over a few days before the end of the cycle and that's with me already restraining my use. I would love to be on that $20 5gb android preferred plan, but I have no access to my account because my parents do.
Personally, I think you should know what you need. If 5gb a month won't be enough for you, then don't sign a contract for only that much. Take the 10gb option, or go to a different carrier that offers more data.

P!$$ed at AT&T! Their singling out SR users!!!

This is some unfair BS. I've had unlimited data for over 2 years!!! I've used at the very most 9GB I'm a month! I average between 3-6GB on a regular month. I've read and heard about skyrocket users getting throttled out the butt and getting the text warning about being in the top 5% of users. I do not tether. All i use data for is minimal normal things, Facebook, browsing, email, and a bunch of Pandora. I've had the iPhone 3gs, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, nexus one (at&t), infuse 4g and now the Skyrocket. I do not live in an LTE area. Today i get the message saying I'm in the top 5% of data users and to start using wifi or my data will be reduced!!!! I'm only at 3.8GB for the month!!!! This is ridiculous!!!! Evey single other phone I've used I've used much more data, and my first 20 days with this phone i get this crap? AT&T has to be flaggig users with the special LTE grandfathered plan and monitoring them! That's the only explination!!! I'm so PO'd right now I'm considering taking my phone back (I'm within 30 days) and switching to VZW for the damn Droid Razr. At&t has done it this time. How can they market a phone being LTE and everything they market the phone as being able to do "stream music, play games, instant videos" and yet pull this crap? I sense lawsuits in the near future!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Take the phone back.

Everything Ive read says only the 3g gets throttled not the LTE so being in a LTE area one should be ok
Greased Lightning

if you don't live in an LTE area, you're being penalized because you wanted an SGSII with a bigger screen/faster processor

The obvious solution is to start using wifi and/or stop using Pandora. You think Verizon will hand over unlimited data. Put Pandora on a lower bit rate too. It sucks to be slowed down but you are using more data than 95% of other people paying the same money that you are.

This is happening with everyone grandfathered with unlimited not just LTE users. At least they let you know they were going to do it and if you don't like it there is always Sprint *cringe*.
BTW I believe this goes by a 3 month average of your data. So it is just a coincidence that it came when you had the skyrocket.

It is any time you hit 5gb. i got the notice previously on my infuse . i do think getting a newer phone triggers a new set of rules but i can not confirm. we are testing on my wifes phone she has had for a while to try and hit 5gb and see if she gets the txt.
Keep in mind that i got the txt and have had NO decrease in speed yet. i am currently at 5.5 gb
mentalcase said:
This is happening with everyone grandfathered with unlimited not just LTE users. At least they let you know they were going to do it and if you don't like it there is always Sprint *cringe*.
BTW I believe this goes by a 3 month average of your data. So it is just a coincidence that it came when you had the skyrocket.
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Click to collapse
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

dawgsoverrebs said:
The obvious solution is to start using wifi and/or stop using Pandora. You think Verizon will hand over unlimited data. Put Pandora on a lower bit rate too. It sucks to be slowed down but you are using more data than 95% of other people paying the same money that you are.
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Click to collapse
This is my whole point. VZW offers 2,5,10 GB options ect . They don't say you have unlimited but you go over were basically going to throttle you so your network will be so slow its basically un-useable. And i really find it hard to believe that me not being in an LTE market; with the 12+ LTE markets available right now and other users pulling down 50+Mbps while I'm pulling down 3 on average 5 if I'm lucky that my 3.8gb is in the top 5%. When I've been far over this and never ever ever received anything before. Im not tethering or doing anything with the phone they don't market it as.... my data plan says unlimited. At&t what's the issue?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

I know that when I grandfathered my unlimited data and text plan from my BB9700 that the lady at the AT&T store had to split my plan in two (unlimited data and some other text plan) in their computer system but took a screenshot just in case that I was eligible, and then had to call the corporate office and have them merge them back together. This took about 30 mins but she was able to get it done. Though, I am still waiting to see my bill at the end of the month to see if there are any hidden surprises. I have not gone over 5g yet; I usually was about 2-3g with my BB. I have been downloading like a madman lately so I should see if I get the message soon.
P.S. We are now in LTE area and I actually got my phone the day they went live so it was not just for HSPA+, which I have heard stories about some stores saying that HSPA+ is all you get with grandfathered unlimited plan and that you had to pay extra for LTE. BS!

Presbycusis said:
I know that when I grandfathered my unlimited data and text plan from my BB9700 that the lady at the AT&T store had to split my plan in two in their computer system but took a screenshot just in case that I was eligible, and then had to call the corporate office and have them merge them back together. This took about 30 mins but she was able to get it done. Though, I am still waiting to see my bill at the end of the month to see if there are any hidden surprises. I have had mine for about 2 weeks and have not gotten any messages. I would go back into the store or call their helpline.
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Click to collapse
I had similar expirience with my store representative, it took more than 1 hour to get this thing set up correctly on their end, it seems att had no intentions of letting me have unlimmited lte. even though i don't live in a lte market, but when i travel i do come across lte markets and use my phone a lot almost 10GB/Mo
so far no messages from att(knock on wood)

think this is the third or fifteenth thread about this.... at some point the numbers will push higher because of how fast you can consume a few gigs of data.
For instance i got a txt at 4.5gb and throttled at 5.1gb and now some users are getting this done at 3.8 or 4gb.... so the time will tell.
handheld google device