Question on tethering and At&t - Motorola Atrix 2

Just curious if anyone as received the cease tethering email from at&t? My wife uses it because it is the only way to get wireless internet at her boss's house. Even an at&t wireless card is crap. Has anyone heard any stories of if this is a one time only warning like the throttling and if caught at any time in future it automatically changes plan? She has been using it for awhile and this is the first month the usage has shot up. I guess we should consider it good while it lasted. I know ultimately the decision is ours but just curious for any feedback.

ed20910 said:
Just curious if anyone as received the cease tethering email from at&t? My wife uses it because it is the only way to get wireless internet at her boss's house. Even an at&t wireless card is crap. Has anyone heard any stories of if this is a one time only warning like the throttling and if caught at any time in future it automatically changes plan? She has been using it for awhile and this is the first month the usage has shot up. I guess we should consider it good while it lasted. I know ultimately the decision is ours but just curious for any feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure of this being done by AT&T -I have received no emails/letters/or any other notifications about this being so. I do know that there are ways around having a tethering plan by rooting and other things. What I HAVE heard, is that along with the 'grandfathered' unlimited data package (that is no longer available with AT&T to new customers), that once you reach a certain data usage for the month they will -at that point- throttle down your "bandwidth" so that you are not utilizing the same data speeds. Now, whether or not this is true, I don't know either. Just something I HAVE head in regards to AT&T controlling such things.

Both phones are rooted. I think At&t is fishing on unlimited plans trying to scare. Granted she has been tethering, but no more than any other month over the last six. Her usage has spiked but not due to the tethering. She needs it for work but I don't want to risk her unlimited plan. I can confirm that once you hit 3gigs of data, they will warn you about throttling. The next month it is a HUGE difference in speed once you pass that cap. I easily hit 3gigs just from streaming a podcast during my hour drive to and from work. Not sure how people get by with 250mb.

ed20910 said:
Both phones are rooted. I think At&t is fishing on unlimited plans trying to scare. Granted she has been tethering, but no more than any other month over the last six. Her usage has spiked but not due to the tethering. She needs it for work but I don't want to risk her unlimited plan. I can confirm that once you hit 3gigs of data, they will warn you about throttling. The next month it is a HUGE difference in speed once you pass that cap. I easily hit 3gigs just from streaming a podcast during my hour drive to and from work. Not sure how people get by with 250mb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you read THIS THREAD about enabling Wi-Fi "hotspot" on the Atrix 2? As for the throttling down data speeds after reaching a certain monthly usage amount, that is just downright dirty. Seems like more and more companies are becoming 'okay' with telling you one thing, and then turning around and doing another.

I use the tethering without getting any emails from AT&T. But I have unlimited data.

Related

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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 $10 overage charge per every GB of data over the cap.
crystalhand said:
I believe that the limited plans were and still are a great idea. 2 gigs is a ton of data in my opinion.I rarely every go above 1 a month and I am on my phone a fair amount. It just all depends how much data people want. and lets face it the people who want and need the unlimited plan are the 1-5% of people that killed at &ts wireless network speed by streaming 1080p content for several hours a day
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn you guys are making me feel like I have a problem lol...
I go over 2 gigs almost every month and have to pay the additional 10$ 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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?

So if Verizon charges this much for data plans...

First off I dont have to worry about it because I already have the TBolt.. However, if friends or family ever switch over, it could be an issue for them...
That being said - if they are going to have this implemented, they need to make some changes to the android OS.
First off - when you buy a new phone, the employee types in your gmail address and syncs your phone. This is done over 3/4G since they rarely bother to put you on wifi for doing this. Not to mention you probably want to leave the store... Therefore you will be syncing all your apps on your wireless account consuming your bandwidth.
There are too many instances that the OS contacts the net for this to be viable and pointless if you turn them off. My iPhone on at&t never went over 900mb a month and I use it the same amount as this android phone. The difference? The iPhone doesnt sync over the web and pull all of your apps back down for you if you factory reset or load a custom rom. On the TBolt, I regularly hit over 10gb per month.
I believe Verizon must limit bandwidth after you reach your paid allowance, not charge overages. The FCC really needs to step in here as this is literally the internet form of rape.
I guess Sprint is smiling now?
psufan5 said:
First off I dont have to worry about it because I already have the TBolt.. However, if friends or family ever switch over, it could be an issue for them...
That being said - if they are going to have this implemented, they need to make some changes to the android OS.
First off - when you buy a new phone, the employee types in your gmail address and syncs your phone. This is done over 3/4G since they rarely bother to put you on wifi for doing this. Not to mention you probably want to leave the store... Therefore you will be syncing all your apps on your wireless account consuming your bandwidth.
There are too many instances that the OS contacts the net for this to be viable and pointless if you turn them off. My iPhone on at&t never went over 900mb a month and I use it the same amount as this android phone. The difference? The iPhone doesnt sync over the web and pull all of your apps back down for you if you factory reset or load a custom rom. On the TBolt, I regularly hit over 10gb per month.
I believe Verizon must limit bandwidth after you reach your paid allowance, not charge overages. The FCC really needs to step in here as this is literally the internet form of rape.
I guess Sprint is smiling now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most people aren't loading custom roms (not to mention it's not Verizon's problem, technically they don't condone it), or downloading them over 3G/4G, but rather via the computer and transferring over USB. How you hit 10 GB without netflix is beyond me. If you're using LTE as a home internet sub than that's a whole different topic.
Streaming music for ~2hours a day except on the weekend, and moderate use each day, only puts me at max around 4GB.
psufan5 said:
First off I dont have to worry about it because I already have the TBolt.. However, if friends or family ever switch over, it could be an issue for them...
That being said - if they are going to have this implemented, they need to make some changes to the android OS.
First off - when you buy a new phone, the employee types in your gmail address and syncs your phone. This is done over 3/4G since they rarely bother to put you on wifi for doing this. Not to mention you probably want to leave the store... Therefore you will be syncing all your apps on your wireless account consuming your bandwidth.
There are too many instances that the OS contacts the net for this to be viable and pointless if you turn them off. My iPhone on at&t never went over 900mb a month and I use it the same amount as this android phone. The difference? The iPhone doesnt sync over the web and pull all of your apps back down for you if you factory reset or load a custom rom. On the TBolt, I regularly hit over 10gb per month.
I believe Verizon must limit bandwidth after you reach your paid allowance, not charge overages. The FCC really needs to step in here as this is literally the internet form of rape.
I guess Sprint is smiling now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well several things. No one has to let the vzw employees set up their phones. No one is required to sync their apps or even download any. And why should vzw, if /once they go to tiered plans simply throttle instead of charge overage. Go over you cell minutes you pay extra. Same for txt. And how is it any concern of the FCC if vzw changes their plans?
My main issue with the plans as rumored is that they do not include tethering. Most normal users will be fine with a 2g cap. My gf, on a rooted DX with Netflix, has used 700 megs this month. Just for example.
das BAMF sense 3.0 rocking the bolt
JBAeroEngineer said:
most people aren't loading custom roms (not to mention it's not Verizon's problem, technically they don't condone it), or downloading them over 3G/4G, but rather via the computer and transferring over USB. How you hit 10 GB without netflix is beyond me. If you're using LTE as a home internet sub than that's a whole different topic.
Streaming music for ~2hours a day except on the weekend, and moderate use each day, only puts me at max around 4GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I haven't been able to stay under 10 gigs since Amazon Cloud / Google Music came out. And that is about 2-3 hours a day. Although I do use TuneIn Radio the other 90% of the time...
Yeah, lucky for most of us TB users, we are grandfathered in to the "unlimited" plans. I have been a VZ customer for over 15 years now, and there is no question that their services is the best....
But when the time comes for me to sign another contract, if these are the terms I will probably be forced to switch carriers...
Sprint looks appealing, they have strong data coverage in my area...and I am not concerned about "dropped calls" because I almost never use the phone any more...
Hopefully this kind of pricing will force more competition. Maybe if they offered unlimited texting and cheaper (lower than 450 minute) phone plans along with it, that would soften the blow.
I am also finding that 4G speeds really only matter to me when tethering, other than that 3G does everything I need just fine with better battery life. I could definitely do with "slower" 4G speeds with another carrier.
JBAeroEngineer said:
most people aren't loading custom roms (not to mention it's not Verizon's problem, technically they don't condone it), or downloading them over 3G/4G, but rather via the computer and transferring over USB. How you hit 10 GB without netflix is beyond me. If you're using LTE as a home internet sub than that's a whole different topic.
Streaming music for ~2hours a day except on the weekend, and moderate use each day, only puts me at max around 4GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FTP transfer for work on the fly while traveling around town. My phone is on the car charger or my desk charger most of the day. And I have an Unlimited Verizon 3G mobile modem for my laptop, so no it isn't tethering.
turbosrrgood said:
Yeah, lucky for most of us TB users, we are grandfathered in to the "unlimited" plans. I have been a VZ customer for over 15 years now, and there is no question that their services is the best....
But when the time comes for me to sign another contract, if these are the terms I will probably be forced to switch carriers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why switch carriers? Since they did away with the 1-year commitment earlier this year, I made the decision just to buy my phones without a subsidy. Therefore, no need for a new contract. I got my TBolt on eBay for a pretty decent price and it's like new.
bogatyr said:
FTP transfer for work on the fly while traveling around town. My phone is on the car charger or my desk charger most of the day. And I have an Unlimited Verizon 3G mobile modem for my laptop, so no it isn't tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
way to use a completely off base scenario
JBAeroEngineer said:
way to use a completely off base scenario
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you did say:
How you hit 10 GB without netflix is beyond me. If you're using LTE as a home internet sub than that's a whole different topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was just giving you an example that doesn't involve tethering I use 50-70GB/mo on my phone. A lot less on my grandfathered laptop modem - mostly VPN/Remote desktop/Console work.
10GB a month? wtf?
I just averaged up my last 6 months and i average .21 GB a month. and i stream pandora, have all my accounts syncing and look on the net, facebook and twitter all day. When i get my tablet (hopefully the amazon hollywood) this will go down evenmore bc i'll be using it at home on my wifi.
I use mine heavily with netflix....and i was around 4 gigs this month
I also call shenanigans on 10gigs a month just by synching. I use about 6gigs a month but I use my LTE for a lot of things.
turbosrrgood said:
Yeah, lucky for most of us TB users, we are grandfathered in to the "unlimited" plans. I have been a VZ customer for over 15 years now, and there is no question that their services is the best....
But when the time comes for me to sign another contract, if these are the terms I will probably be forced to switch carriers...
Sprint looks appealing, they have strong data coverage in my area...and I am not concerned about "dropped calls" because I almost never use the phone any more...
Hopefully this kind of pricing will force more competition. Maybe if they offered unlimited texting and cheaper (lower than 450 minute) phone plans along with it, that would soften the blow.
I am also finding that 4G speeds really only matter to me when tethering, other than that 3G does everything I need just fine with better battery life. I could definitely do with "slower" 4G speeds with another carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint coverage maps are a joke, yes they have coverage but the towers are so overloaded you are lucky to break 200/kbps (yes, 200k) downstream on rev A. EVDO during the day.
WiMax is great if you are on top of your roof or in an open field, but as soon as you get into any structure with more integrity than a tree house your signal tanks (Charlotte, SC has the best Wimax from my observation) because it operates at such a high frequency.
After being a customer for 11 years I jumped ship from Sprint over the weekend and picked up two TBs to replace my 2 EVO's. Sprint 3G is horrendous, not just in South Carolina, but in NYC, Charlotte, Atlanta, San Francisco, Detroit---I have traveled to all of these places in the last 6 months, and in each location I test between the hacked Verizon PRL for the EVO and the most recent Sprint PRL both in a Sense ROM and on Cyanogen...without fail, the year old hacked Verizon 3G PRL is faster, and more consistent. I was hoping my contract would just be canceled for having 5+ gigs of roaming data every month (not supposed to exceed 300 megs), but alas I was grandfathered into unlimited roaming data.
Sprint has been "upgrading its network" for years now yet the service still seems completely overburdened. I'm going to spend 40 bucks more a month going to Verizon for two lines, but I don't really care at this point, I would rather pay to play than save and suffer...
bogatyr said:
Well you did say:
Was just giving you an example that doesn't involve tethering I use 50-70GB/mo on my phone. A lot less on my grandfathered laptop modem - mostly VPN/Remote desktop/Console work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's something that most companies should/would/could pay for. you're clearly an outlier in phone usage.
velopirate said:
Why switch carriers? Since they did away with the 1-year commitment earlier this year, I made the decision just to buy my phones without a subsidy. Therefore, no need for a new contract. I got my TBolt on eBay for a pretty decent price and it's like new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have a 4g plan or is the unlimited data plan independent of 3/4g? Are you able to use the 4gon th e TB without having upgrade?
I use 6-8GB per month.
I know I could cut that more than in half if I wasn't ROM Flash happy and dl'd them on my PC instead of the phone.
I have 12 down and 1 up at home...I often get faster with my LTE/Bolt.
I can survive...somehow...with downloading ROMs, etc., on my PC...lol.
Update via Droid-Life
Hopefully this is the case:
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...-by-tiered-data-only-new-customers-and-lines/
The prices for data are criminal. The prices for tethering are even more so. I'm happy I'm grandfathered in, but I doubt I'll ever go over the 2GB since I'm on WiFi 99% of the time. I didn't even want a data plan because I have so little use for one.
Taykiin said:
Hopefully this is the case:
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...-by-tiered-data-only-new-customers-and-lines/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope this is truth I barely got my TB for the same. Reason
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
Well I drive a truck and use the phone for everything, on my imago I was lucky to stay under 8gigs, with the bolt I am at 20gigs
Transmitted using my Sagem 835 mobile communication device.

Keep ATT unlimited data or switch to unlimited ATT+direcTV??!

So I've had the grandfathered unlimited data a LONG time but now there is a possible better option.
I have four lines on my account, only I have unlimited data. The recent DirecTV deal is something like ~$150 for four lines of unlimited everything (same 22gb/mo data shared before some sort of throttle) as long as you have a DirecTV account.
The net difference is about $140/mo cheaper for me and everyone gets 'unlimited' data. My parents will probably carry their DirecTV account for at least another 10yrs...
I'm a serious power user and usually use about 30-50gb/mo. I don't even notice the slow down with what I do.
Worth sacrificing the grandfathered personal unlimited which is now $35? I'm not sure I know all the details so I ask here. Thank you!
eatkabab said:
So I've had the grandfathered unlimited data a LONG time but now there is a possible better option.
I have four lines on my account, only I have unlimited data. The recent DirecTV deal is something like ~$150 for four lines of unlimited everything (same 22gb/mo data shared before some sort of throttle) as long as you have a DirecTV account.
The net difference is about $140/mo cheaper for me and everyone gets 'unlimited' data. My parents will probably carry their DirecTV account for at least another 10yrs...
I'm a serious power user and usually use about 30-50gb/mo. I don't even notice the slow down with what I do.
Worth sacrificing the grandfathered personal unlimited which is now $35? I'm not sure I know all the details so I ask here. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you switch to the new Unlimited Data plan with Directv
If yes where you able to use rooting or foxfi to tether. They offer no tethering plan with the new unlimited. I was wondering if there is a workaround.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/att-unlimited-data-plan-directv-t3422618
diljosh said:
Did you switch to the new Unlimited Data plan with Directv
If yes where you able to use rooting or foxfi to tether. They offer no tethering plan with the new unlimited. I was wondering if there is a workaround.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/att-unlimited-data-plan-directv-t3422618
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I did switch to the Directv unlimited and I've never even considered a tethering plan. It's always worked and I get the occasional text message informing me that tethering plans exist. With the new directv plan I haven't gotten a single text or letter about it. I only use android things so it's pretty easy to get some utility that does what I need. I'm currently on the OnePlus Three which does tethering default as part of the OS. I don't use it a lot, but it's extremely useful when I need it. The past month I've been really over using it however. It's usually faster than wired net anyways.
eatkabab said:
Yes I did switch to the Directv unlimited and I've never even considered a tethering plan. It's always worked and I get the occasional text message informing me that tethering plans exist. With the new directv plan I haven't gotten a single text or letter about it. I only use android things so it's pretty easy to get some utility that does what I need. I'm currently on the OnePlus Three which does tethering default as part of the OS. I don't use it a lot, but it's extremely useful when I need it. The past month I've been really over using it however. It's usually faster than wired net anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ATT rep told me, that I cant add tethering option to the new Unlimited plan even if I want to pay for it. But you are telling me that hotspot just works
So ATT does not block third party WIFI hotspot tethering or if it is built into the OS with the new unlimited data plan. Have you tried this on other android phones or just the One plus.
I am thinking of switching to ATT because of this plan, but the Hotspot is must for me.
diljosh said:
The ATT rep told me, that I cant add tethering option to the new Unlimited plan even if I want to pay for it. But you are telling me that hotspot just works
So ATT does not block third party WIFI hotspot tethering or if it is built into the OS with the new unlimited data plan. Have you tried this on other android phones or just the One plus.
I am thinking of switching to ATT because of this plan, but the Hotspot is must for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only had the oneplus 3 on the new plan but I can tell you I'm on USB tether right now and it's 100% flawless. I tested wifi too but as we all know, wifi just isn't as snappy as a wire. lemme test it on various devices for you later today. The wifi hotspot, not the tethering ability...bit too lazy for that, sorry.
eatkabab said:
I've only had the oneplus 3 on the new plan but I can tell you I'm on USB tether right now and it's 100% flawless. I tested wifi too but as we all know, wifi just isn't as snappy as a wire. lemme test it on various devices for you later today. The wifi hotspot, not the tethering ability...bit too lazy for that, sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be great, really appreciate it. I mainly need the wifi Hotspot. Have you been going over the 22GB throttle limit, if so are they slowing you down.
diljosh said:
That would be great, really appreciate it. I mainly need the wifi Hotspot. Have you been going over the 22GB throttle limit, if so are they slowing you down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even on the previous unlimited plan they would throttle you after only 5gb. I pass 22gb in the first two weeks every month. Sometimes in the first week. I don't even notice anymore if it's slow or fast. I'm sure it's being throttled but it's still fast 'enough' for me not to care. I was really skeptical of the plan but it's actually working out pretty well and it's FAR cheaper than I ever expected. Especially if you're getting your own phones...the oneplus 3 is excellent.

Categories

Resources