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Hi,
I've been looking through GS4G threads and haven't seen any posts on the GS4G threads about this. I'm pretty disappointed with this phone, but I have a lot of confidence that with the mods that can come out it'll be a good investment. I originally was informed that the phone can be rooted and rommed to make it its own wifi without needing to pay for internet access through the carriers and that's why I bought it. (I think it was by using Busybox? I don't remember) - but has anyone done this and is it really possible to do this? So many sales points made by the TM guys have proven to be wrong, I am now questioning this point also.
My phone was unlocked by a local service for $30 after 3 minutes work. I now have Simple Mobile and I'm happier than I was with TM. It does still seem that everything has to be routed through Goog, nearly every function must pass through the cloud and that's why so much data use is sucked up so quickly and my experience so far is that the Android platform is either surprisingly unstable or so far advanced that a simple mind such my own cannot quite grasp it's nuances...yet.
But I digress - can this phone be made into it's own internet AP without having to pay TM, ATT, etc?
All helpful comments welcomed and acknowleged.
Cheers,
Moved to proper forum
I search a wiget hotspot on market n work very good for wifi tether
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA App
built in wifi
The Mobile AP works without being charged.
Hmm...
So are you saying that you want to be able to use data service on your phone without paying for the data service...or are you saying that you have data service and want to tether or use your phone as a hotspot to use your data plan on another device without paying the AP fee?
If it's the former...I really don't think that that is possible...because everyone would be doing it. The data part of my family plan is something like 60 bucks...I'd love to be saving that every month. The fact is, none of the carriers would allow that. The data is tracked and I can't imagine it would be possible to sneak it under their radars without getting a nasty letter.
If it's the latter, yes. Root your phone (In most cases) and download a free tethering or wifi app (I use EasyTether, but there are several out there). Follow instructions. Easy Peasy. Tethering and/or Mobile AP without paying the $15 or whatever fee. But (And someone correct me if I'm wrong here) I do not think that you can use tethering or mobile AP without having a paid for data service from a carrier. Sorry.
There are also people saying that if you use the built in tethering/mobile AP ability on your device without having paid for the service through T-mo, that as long as use it lightly, T-mo will ignore it. I have heard accounts of people using it too much and getting an email from T-mo basically saying "Hey quit that...pay for it, you greedy bastard" (Paraphrased).
Also...What exactly is your disappointment with this device? If you let us know exactly what your issues with it are...there is a chance that we can give you advice or a workaround to get the most of your device...that's what we're for. At very least we can point you to a thread that already exists to help you out.
Pretty simple... the mobile ap included within the phone works fine.... use it as an AP as much as you like.. tmobile's fine with it cuz they know as soon as you hit the 5gb thresh your gonna be throttled down. Doesn't matter if you root and download 3rd party AP software cuz as soon as you hit the 5gb your all done.
In my opinion I think this is totally fine for TMOBile to do.. although I wish they were clear about the 5gb cap when you sign the 2year agreement. I had Sprint 4g before this and Att before that and this is the first internet connection I would drop my home internet for.... of course if it had true unlimited bandwidth. At work and at home I get a steady 7+mbps down and 1.5mpbs up with a 65 to 100 ping... when I'm using it at home it hardly seems noticeably slower or less snappy than my 20mbps comcast connection.
I think ultimately if they are going to throttle they should raise the limitation to about 15gb or so and be very upfront to the customer when they sign... That would take away about 99 percent of the complaints they get and give us some headroom.. also would still guarantee no one's gonna be running their website or downloading 100's of gigs of torrents over a cell tower..
All carriers throttle...no carriers have "true" unlimited data. T-Mo is pretty upfront about the throttling. I mean...it's there...in black in white. I knew about it when I signed up for my service. There's no reason that anyone doing any form of research before just jumping into a two-year contract would not be able to find that information as well.
Also...the reason they throttle is to keep users from using it as their home internet. That's not what it is intended for and if everyone was doing that...it would prolly have cataclysmic effects on the network (Again...correct me if I'm wrong here).
I have a hard time believing that your mobile connection is faster than your home cable internet...But I can't prove my suspicion...so that aside, the 5gb limit is way more than enough if you are using your mobile internet for just browsing and downloading apps or streaming media. I would consider myself I pretty hard-core mobile internet user and I have never hit 5gb in a month...that being said...I'm also not trying to use it as my home internet. I don't use it to download torrents or stream entire movies or play online games. Besides...T-mo only throttles your bandwidth after hitting 5gb...at least they don't shut you down like other carriers.
The fact is...there is no Unlimited mobile data...but as far as it goes...T-Mo has the best plan out there. Great coverage, 4g, 5gb limit and only then they throttle you back a bit.
Sigh...I should be working in the mobile technology business...instead I'm working a mind-numbing production job for **** pay. Not applicable to the thread...but I really felt like pining.
wmikemoon said:
All carriers throttle...no carriers have "true" unlimited data. T-Mo is pretty upfront about the throttling. I mean...it's there...in black in white. I knew about it when I signed up for my service. There's no reason that anyone doing any form of research before just jumping into a two-year contract would not be able to find that information as well.
Also...the reason they throttle is to keep users from using it as their home internet. That's not what it is intended for and if everyone was doing that...it would prolly have cataclysmic effects on the network (Again...correct me if I'm wrong here).
I have a hard time believing that your mobile connection is faster than your home cable internet...But I can't prove my suspicion...so that aside, the 5gb limit is way more than enough if you are using your mobile internet for just browsing and downloading apps or streaming media. I would consider myself I pretty hard-core mobile internet user and I have never hit 5gb in a month...that being said...I'm also not trying to use it as my home internet. I don't use it to download torrents or stream entire movies or play online games. Besides...T-mo only throttles your bandwidth after hitting 5gb...at least they don't shut you down like other carriers.
The fact is...there is no Unlimited mobile data...but as far as it goes...T-Mo has the best plan out there. Great coverage, 4g, 5gb limit and only then they throttle you back a bit.
Sigh...I should be working in the mobile technology business...instead I'm working a mind-numbing production job for **** pay. Not applicable to the thread...but I really felt like pining.
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A lot of what you say is true but, I was not told about the throttling when I got my UNLIMITED DATA plan. I came from a company that had truly UNLIMITED DATA. I was with them since 2006 and never once had a letter about my data use nor was I EVER throttled. I had excellent Download speeds and could easily use streaming media. That company was Alltel. It is the BEST cell phone service I have ever had. Unfortunately, they sold out in my area first to Verizon in Maricopa county then AT&T in Pinal county Arizona. This is a great loss. With TMO I get 2G Edge speed at best unless I drive 40 miles into town. On my laptop it takes 3 to 5 minutes to load my gmail account. Where I am at I can get satellite or cell service only for internet. I am a truck driver so it doesn’t pay to get satellite because I am not home enough to use it. At best I get 16 t0 20KB/SEC down. I reached my 5GB limit this weekend and am being throttled for the next week or so. I talked to customer service and explained my situation to a supervisor and her comment was “It looks like we are throttling all the time and now throttling you even more. When I talk to the rep at the TMO store a week or so ago about the throttling he failed to tell me about he admitted that TMO would slow my service from 4G down to 2G. What TMO has done to me was slow me down to 1G. Right now it takes 3 to 4 minutes’ to download 1MB. I had faster download speeds with NETZERO dialup for $8.00 a month back in the 90’s. I was miss-lead by TMO both in their advertising and thru representation. I can’t say I blame my rep so much because I’m sure they are trained to only give you enough information to make the sale, which means they are trained to withhold the TRUTH or at least not disclose the meaning on “UNLIMITED” unless you pry it out of them. Truthfully, I like the people at my TMO store. They are very helpful. It’s just they are bound by the corporate Greed that makes their paycheck. I will likely not be with TMO much longer. I like my phone but the service sucks.
It works just fine.
Don't abuse it, use it only when needed and you will be fine. Otherwise, they will "recommend" you to add the whatever-is-called-tethering add on.
In fact, everyone: Don't abuse it and they will probably leave it as it is... Until the att takeover takes place (ouch)
fosormic said:
It works just fine.
Don't abuse it, use it only when needed and you will be fine. Otherwise, they will "recommend" you to add the whatever-is-called-tethering add on.
In fact, everyone: Don't abuse it and they will probably leave it as it is... Until the att takeover takes place (ouch)
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With that attitude you will conform to whatever these corporations want to shove down our throats. Every day corporations are charging us more and more and giving us less and less. Then they buy up the few companies left that are giving us value for our money. Soon we will back to one choice like back in the Ma Bell days and you will be standing right up front saluting the Beast.
Like I said...All carriers throttle. I'm glad that a company that is not around anymore didn't throttle...but that was also before mobile data really took off. I'm pretty sure what happened is people started using mobile data for their home internet and started clogging the tubes (or you know...airwaves or whatever) and the major carriers did what they had to do...which means throttling. If they didn't throttle...people would be using mobile data for their home use and making it so people, like myself who pay for cable internet but like to browse or whatever on the go, would suffer...which isn't fair considering me and people like me are using (and paying for) the mobile data for what it is intended for.
In your last post you berated a fellow poster for saying to use the tethering but not to abuse it. You basically said that his attitude was that of a conformer to major corporations...This boggles my mind. Really and truly...T-mo wants you to pay for the tethering and if you use it without paying for it...you are rebelling to corporate standards...so your comment makes no sense.
The fact that T-mo takes the stance that they do on the tethering without paying for tethering thing earns my respect. They're basically saying "You know what...we ****ed up and made it so you can use the tethering option without paying for it...just don't be a **** and we'll look the other way."
Also, If you root and or mod your phone in any way...and something happens and you have to send your phone in to T-mo...they tend to look the other way. Can Verizon or Att say that? Hell no...Att is trying to make it so their phones CAN'T be rooted or modded in anyway. Ask an Atrix user.
Sounds like to me you are just whining because T-mo didn't tell you about the throttling. Again, I stand by my earlier statement...Do your research before jumping into a Two-Year contract. It's there...everything is...you just have to READ it. That goes for ANYTHING that you sign a contract for. When you buy a new car...do you just skip everything the contract says and sign it? Of course not. You read that **** because you don't wanna be screwed. Companies exist to make money off of you...plain and simple...so if they make you sign a contract...you best do your research to know exactly what they are offering...and if you don't....I have absolutely no sympathy for you what-so-ever. It's you with the egg on your face...just because you didn't take the time to read.
I agree with tmobile on Throttling to a degree.. and I understand the reasoning BUT.. I still believe their advertising and plans are a bit misleading... For example I went to a tmobile store here in Eugene.. talked about plans and speeds with a tmo rep and was told nothing about the limits. Also I bought my galaxy 4g at Radio Shack and also was told nothing about it.. I looked on TMO's website and found in their agreement this>>>>>>> "Your data session, plan, or service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted if you use your service in a way that interferes with or impacts our network or ability to provide quality service to other users"
That is pretty vague when in reality there is a solid 5gb max.. whether it's on your 1st day of service or 2nd to last day...
I knew about the limits before only because of these message forums... but even after reading the fine print i wouldn't have known for sure
Protective Measures: To provide a good experience for the majority of our customers and minimize capacity issues and degradation in network performance, we may take measures including temporarily reducing data throughput for a subset of customers who use a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. If your total usage exceeds 5GB (amount is subject to change without notice; please check T-Mobile’s T&Cs on www.T-Mobile.com for updates) during a billing cycle, we may reduce your data speed for the remainder of that billing cycle. If you use your Data Plan in a manner that could interfere with other customers’ service, affect our ability to allocate network capacity among customers, or degrade service quality for other customers, we may suspend, terminate, or restrict your data session, or switch you to a more appropriate Data Plan.
Copied from the Terms and Conditions which has a link on literally every single page on T-Mo's website and is clearly marked in the section titled "Data Plans and Other Features".
Alternatively, on Verizon's site...You can only get to the details about their data package after adding a voice plan and phone to your cart...at which point it gives a vague description of their throttling rules that do not mention exact amounts. It just says that it can throttle your speed whenever it feels like.
So again...not seeing a problem here...
Using GS4G as hot spot
Thanks for all your replies. It took me a while to find where the thread went.
Yes, I did mean turning the phone into it's own router/internet AP without tethering. My BB used Tether and it was great and that of course used my data plan from SPrint. No problem with that - I'm a very light user. But Android is different - just about every app uses the web so it's a data hog, even though I'm a light user.
I know that TM and others permit tethering as a built in or as a work around with a third party app. But I was told - apparently incorrectly - that the GS4G could do the same thing as a router without any cap set by the carrier. Hmm. Maybe there's a way to develop and independent app to do just that... but that's way beyond my pay grade.
Misc - 1). I guess I filed this thread under the wrong heading. Sorry, Mr. C and thanks for the course correction; 2). What issues do I have with the phone? Well, the biggest one is that suddenly - after I changed to Simple Mobile from TM, I can no longer access the login page to my third party office scheduler. Previously, I could at least access the login page, login and view the appointments, but it crashed every time I tried to make an app using the phone (but not using a laptop). Support told me that a mobile Android app has to be customized in order to work because of the page loading limitations of the Android system - whatever that means - and that maybe in a few months they'll have an app. In the meantime, they recommend using a sync with GooCal. But GC seems to flub the time zone differences between when you post an appointment online and when it is synced to the phone. I thought that Goo had fixed that, but I still see West Coast time on the GooCal website and the correct East Coast time on the phone. I'm so confused! Does anyone know if GooCal is HIPAA compliant for a medical practice? If not; anyone use another service that IS compliant on their Annie device? Another problem I had - now resolved by my ISP provider - was that Android didn't support the wav file for my voice mails. Now it does. If not, that would've been a deal breaker. Also, I was told - apparently ALSO incorrectly by TM - that visual voice mail was a speech to text app. Nope. It just plays an audio and you can see the date and time and phone number and pause it. Big whoop. I'm told that Google Voice IS a real, but perhaps flawed, speech to text voice mail conversion, but I don't think it will work for business purposes. I thought about Line two, but was told their visual voice mail is only like TM's visual voice, not speech to text. Lastly, TM said you could dictate reports with a pre-loaded, stock dictation/speech to text app. Nope again. Um, I think that covers it. Any experience with any of these glitches?
I think that his site rocks and everyone thinking of buying any cell or service should come here first and just not even bother with any of the carriers' sales personnel. But the carriers aren't interested in selling to folks like us, are they? They want the masses who just plug and play. OK. No quarrel with that. I'm just glad we're not ALL forced to PnP and this site, we don't have to. I do think that adding Mods and rooting are the way to go, but I'm a Mac guy and everything here seems PCentric. so I may have to wait till I get my hands on a Win 7 machine for half an hour. (No, I don't run Parallels - had a bad experience with a couple of early versions).
I'm still a GS4G booster to date and I'm going to try new things with it. But so far it makes me wish it was more intuitive.
Cheers,
wmikemoon said:
Protective Measures: To provide a good experience for the majority of our customers and minimize capacity issues and degradation in network performance, we may take measures including temporarily reducing data throughput for a subset of customers who use a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. If your total usage exceeds 5GB (amount is subject to change without notice; please check T-Mobile’s T&Cs on www.T-Mobile.com for updates) during a billing cycle, we may reduce your data speed for the remainder of that billing cycle. If you use your Data Plan in a manner that could interfere with other customers’ service, affect our ability to allocate network capacity among customers, or degrade service quality for other customers, we may suspend, terminate, or restrict your data session, or switch you to a more appropriate Data Plan.
Copied from the Terms and Conditions which has a link on literally every single page on T-Mo's website and is clearly marked in the section titled "Data Plans and Other Features".
Alternatively, on Verizon's site...You can only get to the details about their data package after adding a voice plan and phone to your cart...at which point it gives a vague description of their throttling rules that do not mention exact amounts. It just says that it can throttle your speed whenever it feels like.
So again...not seeing a problem here...
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When I asked the TMO rep “This data plan has UNLIMITED DATA”? He said YES. He made no mention of the 5GB “LIMIT”. Therefore he misrepresented the product. These companies falsely advertise their products with misleading information to make it look bigger than life in an attempt to lock us in to a two year contract. You are saying that because they hide the gory details somewhere in their web pages that makes it OK. You speculate that the reason Alltel went out of business is because of over usage by their customers clogging their lines. I don’t know where you did your research but I never had any issues with service failure due to over usage or any other issues for that matter. You said “All carriers throttle”. I was never throttled ONCE by Alltel. I guess that may be true now, since the only decent service provider has been acquired by their Big Brother Corporations. If they were still in business I would still be there. Would it not be a novel Idea to invest in their network so they can handle the added throughput, and provide a robust network that gives us the service they promised us in their advertising? I don’t have any problem with paying for a product or service I want. I do have a problem with companies that lie or mislead about their product. TMO puts it out there in LARGE WORDS “UNLIMITED DATA” then hides the gory details in other places. Your attitude is that’s just fine with you. If more people would not take the BULL-onie that these Corporations are shoving down our throats and demand HONISTY in advertising we would be getting a better value for our money. You are dam right when you say I am rebelling to corporate standards. Corporations do not have our best interests in mind. They are only concerned about profit. If they can do away with competition, there is more profit for the higher-ups. Then you lose your job and the public looses their choice and gets less value. You choose to justify what these corporations are doing to our nation and put on blindfolds to the truth.
I gladly respect and give fosormic his right to his opinion. I just think that attitude promotes the passive nature that has allowed this country to go down the tubes and be taken over by greedy corporate money barons. People in this country have to have the Balls to stand up and be heard if this nation is to survive.
If you want to get worked up about something look into "'net neutrality" -- that's a cause worth fighting.
Yes, it is "easy" to hit a 5 GB cap. Yes, it is very clearly called out in the T&C of the phone -- You had 14 days in most states (30 days in California) to read that and get a full refund if you didn't agree.
The T-Mobile data service is arguably "unlimited" -- once you hit the cap, you are free to continue.
As speeds increase and more people have a phone capable of sustained and reliable rates over 1 Mbps, then you will see consumer pressure for higher caps. Until then, welcome to the bleeding edge...
Dude...you are getting way too bent over this.
You keep making T-mo out to be a terrible carrier...I'm just trying to convince you that they are the lesser of the evils.
nwpro3 said:
When I asked the TMO rep “This data plan has UNLIMITED DATA”? He said YES. He made no mention of the 5GB “LIMIT”. Therefore he misrepresented the product.
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No...he told the truth. It is unlimited data. The alternative to unlimited data is what Att does which is set a limit and then charge you when you go over that limit. It is (or should be at this point) common knowledge that if you have a mobile data plan that is unlimited...your carrier will throttle you if you use too much.
nwpro3 said:
You are saying that because they hide the gory details somewhere in their web pages that makes it OK. You speculate that the reason Alltel went out of business is because of over usage by their customers clogging their lines.
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Um...no and no. I'm saying that it's there for you to read in the place that you should read before committing to a two-year contract. We're not talking about fine print locked away in a website that can only be found by searching one specific term...It's the TERMS & CONDITIONS and there is LITERALLY A LINK ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE ON THEIR WEBSITE. They are not hiding it...I really don't see why you think they are. Also...I never speculated why Alltel went out of business...I don't know why and I don't really care. They are not around anymore and have not been for a while so there really is no point in talking about it.
nwpro3 said:
Would it not be a novel Idea to invest in their network so they can handle the added throughput, and provide a robust network that gives us the service they promised us in their advertising? I don’t have any problem with paying for a product or service I want. I do have a problem with companies that lie or mislead about their product. TMO puts it out there in LARGE WORDS “UNLIMITED DATA” then hides the gory details in other places.
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It's for MOBILE DATA. That's what the network is intended for...NOT HOME INTERNET. The service you want is HOME BROADBAND. If that's what you want...get that. They offer unlimited downloads and never throttle your speed because their service is intended to be used on a massive scale. What you are doing is like...Going to McDonalds and wondering why they aren't serving high class food. It's a restaurant...They serve food...gotta be the same as a 5-star restaurant...WHY AREN'T THEY SERVING 5-STAR FOOD!? Because you're looking in the wrong place, dude. If you want home internet...get home internet...stop expecting all of the carriers to conform to what you want when they are clearly just not set up for it.
Stop dissing T-mo...T-mo is the best carrier out there for what people on this site want from a carrier. Basically...they love nerds and are very very fair. Yes...the T-mo Customer Service people in store aren't the brightest people in the world...But it's because they are hired based on customer service experience not technology knowledge (Techknowledgy!? COINED IT!)...if they were A) I wouldn't be working on a Production Line making 8 an hour and B) Mobile phone customer service reps would know what the **** they were talking about.
Word?
@Whiskey Tango - Go to Menu>settings>Wireless Network>Mobile AP> Activate Mobile AP. This is what works for me, idk if maybe simple mobile is any different then tmobile or not.
So if you already have a data plan, you should be able to make your phone a "router". I have let many friends (w/iphones & att) use my mobile AP and it was 10 x's faster than there data connection.
I also tether my pc to my phone and have been able to load any page I went to.
Maybe I'm totally missing the question. Wouldn't be the first time.
wmikemoon said:
Dude...you are getting way too bent over this.
You keep making T-mo out to be a terrible carrier...I'm just trying to convince you that they are the lesser of the evils.
No...he told the truth. It is unlimited data. The alternative to unlimited data is what Att does which is set a limit and then charge you when you go over that limit. It is (or should be at this point) common knowledge that if you have a mobile data plan that is unlimited...your carrier will throttle you if you use too much.
Um...no and no. I'm saying that it's there for you to read in the place that you should read before committing to a two-year contract. We're not talking about fine print locked away in a website that can only be found by searching one specific term...It's the TERMS & CONDITIONS and there is LITERALLY A LINK ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE ON THEIR WEBSITE. They are not hiding it...I really don't see why you think they are. Also...I never speculated why Alltel went out of business...I don't know why and I don't really care. They are not around anymore and have not been for a while so there really is no point in talking about it.
It's for MOBILE DATA. That's what the network is intended for...NOT HOME INTERNET. The service you want is HOME BROADBAND. If that's what you want...get that. They offer unlimited downloads and never throttle your speed because their service is intended to be used on a massive scale. What you are doing is like...Going to McDonalds and wondering why they aren't serving high class food. It's a restaurant...They serve food...gotta be the same as a 5-star restaurant...WHY AREN'T THEY SERVING 5-STAR FOOD!? Because you're looking in the wrong place, dude. If you want home internet...get home internet...stop expecting all of the carriers to conform to what you want when they are clearly just not set up for it.
Stop dissing T-mo...T-mo is the best carrier out there for what people on this site want from a carrier. Basically...they love nerds and are very very fair. Yes...the T-mo Customer Service people in store aren't the brightest people in the world...But it's because they are hired based on customer service experience not technology knowledge (Techknowledgy!? COINED IT!)...if they were A) I wouldn't be working on a Production Line making 8 an hour and B) Mobile phone customer service reps would know what the **** they were talking about.
Word?
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I agree with the statement TMO is the lesser of two evils. I have had cell service with all the majors: Verizon, Sprint, Cingular/ATT, Alltel and now TMO. Unfortunately the only one that gave me decent service is no longer around. I went to TMO because they advertise unlimited data and when I talked to the rep he said they also have an unlimited voice plan. I am looking for the best value I can get. I’ve been around a long time and have watched this corporate mentality lower the standards of living for most Americans. Part of why this is happening is the passive nature of people in America. We have become complacent. We are not demanding enough on these companies that deceive us with their advertising and then don’t give us what they promise.
I am using this as my primary internet as I said because I drive truck and not home enough to warrant getting satellite service, which is my only other option where I live. Realistically when I am on the road I probably will not hit the 5GB limit very often. What sucks is while I am at home I get this lousy EDGE speed. After further checking, Sprint, ATT and Verizon all have 3G from the same tower that TMO gives me 2G and then TMO throttles that to 1G or less. So yes, I’m pissed off. But then I have taken action and voiced my concern to TMO. The result is I’ve been released from my contract. I have the option of going to another provider. The problem is I’m already with the lesser of the evils and next year there will be even less choice. I haven’t been out on the road yet to see what TMO will provide for service then. I will probably keep the service for a while until I see what kind of service I get on the road, and then decide my next move.
Hey guys, anybody else having problem once they activate the AP settings on there phone? I can get my computer to connect to the phone, and yet i can't get access to the internet on my laptop (vista).
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...-verizon-july-7-packages-start-at-30-for-2gb/
zax10 said:
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...-verizon-july-7-packages-start-at-30-for-2gb/
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Data plans:
2GB – $30/month
5GB – $50/month
10GB – $80/month
God...so effing ridiculous. :/
I work for Verizon and the referenced post on Droid-life is confirmed. This is by far the most ridicolous thing I have had to deal with (well other than the 4g outages).... AT&T are you hiring???
zax10 said:
I work for Verizon and the referenced post on Droid-life is confirmed. This is by far the most ridicolous thing I have had to deal with (well other than the 4g outages).... AT&T are you hiring???
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AT&T prices are just $5 less, and they don't have LTE.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
DirgeExtinction said:
AT&T prices are just $5 less, and they don't have LTE.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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Agreed.... To this day I don't understand the uproar. It is no different then AT&T really and they have had tiered for a yr now almost. IE VZW & AT&T have the same pricing across the board with $5 of each other. I guess my thing is everyone talks about leaving VZW over this but where are you going to go and save that much money really. T-Mobile limits full data speed after 2Gb anyways. Sprint has terrible coverage on a whole. And hell they were stupid and went WiMax so what go is that going to do you over the long haul.
And I'm not going to even go into the fact TM and AT&T scam with there claiming of 4g service
I just signed up with Verizon for a two year plan. I should receive my Droid Charge later today. Naturally, I will activate the phone the moment I get it. So, how does the new pricing rules affect me? Will I have unlimited data at $30 for the next two years, or on July 7th will I have to suffer with the crazy tier pricing?
-Greymarch
I write about technology, especially android smartphones, at my website.
http://www.greymarch.com
According to the article I read on engadget, "These new plans wouldn't affect anyone currently under contract, though it's still unknown if customers can hang onto them when it's time to renew."
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/verizon-tiered-data-plans-coming-july-7-starting-at-30/
I've always thought it was lame to force people into tiered data plans, regardless of the provider. This is going to place the providers in a wonderfully profitable position once we start getting applications that can truly start utilizing increased bandwidth, but it's going to cost a fortune for us to use those applications. So I understand why they're doing it, but I think it's messed up to charge that much from a user's perspective.
I think having tiered pricing for your low-need subscribers is great, so they have the option of not paying for full-on data, but having an unlimited choice for high-need subscribers is necessary to me.
$30/mth for 2GB is kind of mind-boggling to me. I got in on the unlimited for $30 plan, but I'll be none too happy when I have to switch over.
I called verizon and they said this only affects the tablets
If this causes them to ditch the MS Exchange data surcharge, then I am all for it.
greymarch said:
I just signed up with Verizon for a two year plan. I should receive my Droid Charge later today. Naturally, I will activate the phone the moment I get it. So, how does the new pricing rules affect me? Will I have unlimited data at $30 for the next two years, or on July 7th will I have to suffer with the crazy tier pricing?
-Greymarch
I write about technology, especially android smartphones, at my website.
http://www.greymarch.com
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Click to collapse
you are find as long as you do not change your current plan. As an example until a couple of weeks ago when I upgraded to my Charge I had not bought a device threw VZW since 2005. That said for the past 4 years at least I have been using a smartphone on my line with the old school unlimited vPak. Mind you this included using my D1, D2, D2g, Driod Pro, Droid X, and Napoleon on the same account/line. The key is I never bought threw VZW I just left the line/account as it and swapped my phones out.
well I am just glad I got my phone before this happened...I worry though that at some point they will make us change....I know they are reporting they wont but I feel like they will do it anyways just to make that extra money
brandonaspencer said:
I called verizon and they said this only affects the tablets
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Click to collapse
What the hell? Really?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
zax10 said:
I work for Verizon and the referenced post on Droid-life is confirmed. This is by far the most ridicolous thing I have had to deal with (well other than the 4g outages).... AT&T are you hiring???
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Click to collapse
Trust me as a former employee of that company (worked there for 6 years) I left because their business practices are crud. They treat you like crud, don't care about the their employees and have very questionable ethics. Think twice about asking that question
brandonaspencer said:
I called verizon and they said this only affects the tablets
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Click to collapse
Lol I work in a call center for Verizon Tech Support and you really cant trust much that you hear from them. I've heard reps telling customers information that is totally wrong(not on purpose) around me before. like someone telling you its just for tablets cause they probably don't even know what your talking about with tiered data coming soon and just told you about our current data plans for tablets to get you off the phone. We don't hear about stuff until you do. So you usually have just as much training as we have.
woohoo! lets hear it for being "grandfathered in" !!!!! unlimited all the way. and if they think they can make me change it and pay 80 bucks for 10gbs, im gonna put a brick through their store window with a big **** your tiered **** sticker on it mwahahahahahahaaaaaaa
Well you may be grandfathered in for unlimited data, but if you signed up after Feb 2011 Verizon reserves the right to throttle your speed once you go over a certain amount much like Tmobile does now once you go over 2gb.
I have read scattered reports of Verizon throttling back heavy uses between 5gb - 9gb, but to date I don't think they are implementing this that much until they get the 4g network a bit more stable and they implement the tiered pricing.
I would expect in a couple more months they will be enforcing throttling to a much greater extent. Below is a article from CNET explaining the change.
Verizon Wireless will begin throttling the data speeds of customers who use an "extraordinary amount" of data, according to a document posted on the company's Web site.
First reported by BGR.com, the PDF on the Verizon site says the new rules will not affect the majority of the company's customers. However, if you are a heavy data user, you should be aware that your speeds will drop.
"If you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5 percent of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand," states the document.
Verizon said it is taking the steps "to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren't negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users."
The company doesn't say how much data constitutes an "extraordinary amount," only that the new rules will affect the top 5 percent. Theoretically, that means you could be affected one month, but not the next even though you consume the same amount of data.
hrdc69 said:
Well you may be grandfathered in for unlimited data, but if you signed up after Feb 2011 Verizon reserves the right to throttle your speed once you go over a certain amount much like Tmobile does now once you go over 2gb.
I have read scattered reports of Verizon throttling back heavy uses between 5gb - 9gb, but to date I don't think they are implementing this that much until they get the 4g network a bit more stable and they implement the tiered pricing.
I would expect in a couple more months they will be enforcing throttling to a much greater extent. Below is a article from CNET explaining the change.
Verizon Wireless will begin throttling the data speeds of customers who use an "extraordinary amount" of data, according to a document posted on the company's Web site.
First reported by BGR.com, the PDF on the Verizon site says the new rules will not affect the majority of the company's customers. However, if you are a heavy data user, you should be aware that your speeds will drop.
"If you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5 percent of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand," states the document.
Verizon said it is taking the steps "to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren't negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users."
The company doesn't say how much data constitutes an "extraordinary amount," only that the new rules will affect the top 5 percent. Theoretically, that means you could be affected one month, but not the next even though you consume the same amount of data.
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Click to collapse
Here are the numbers of how they base the choices on throttling. So unless you are using over 15Gb a month it is highly highly unlikely you'd ever get throttled.
1] 2gb+ average user
2] 7gb-15gb travel user
3] 15gb+ heavy user [monitored by vzw]
4] 20gb+ excessive user [monitored by vzw fraud]
I use 10+gb a month
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
Tiered will kill me
I went through 1 GB yesterday using my Charge as a hotspot to run my computer playing DC Universe Online and doing my normal computer stuff all day.
Hello everyone. This thread is to address the recent (October '11) issues of AT&T "throttling" the top 5% of data users.
update: attached screenshot to show my phone with it's previous and new data plan under the same billing cycle
What is throttling?
Throttling is when your carrier (AT&T in this case) deliberately slows your data speeds down to EDGE speeds.
Why does AT&T throttle?
AT&T's main reason why they throttle data users is simple. They want you to pay more money for data by forcing you to switch to a tiered data plan. Under a tiered data plan, they can bill you extra gigabytes of data when you go over your set amount in any given month.
AT&T's stance: they say that the top 5% of data users are "abusing" the network. According to a recent study, this is not the case at all.
So what can I do about it?
Sign a petition.
File an FCC complaint. 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)
Unthrottle yourself
Right now, there are 2 possible ways to unthrottle yourself. Both have been tested and have worked with a small group of people I had test the 2 methods. Your results may vary. I appreciate all feedback and would like to know if either method was successful for you. These methods will most likely not work forever, as AT&T is quick to patch things like this.
Method #1: Re-provisioning your data
This is the first method I discovered in December, and have tested it with success myself.
Why it works:
When you change your data plan TYPE, your old data plan is deactivated. When it is deactivated, your data count restarts when it is reprovisioned. You are not charged for a second data plan, because you will not have the 2 data plans at the same time. It's just something simple that occurs on our backend.
How to set it up!
You are doing an "equipment change". This can be done at any AT&T retail store or on the phone (call 611 from your AT&T phone)
Give them an IMEI from a different TYPE of device. (eg. if you have an LTE Android, give them a blackberry IMEI. An HSPA+ IMEI should work too. This has not been tested w/ an iPhone IMEI as of yet.)
If you're giving them the IMEI inside of a store. Tell them you don't have the phone w/ you. Most RSCs will let you get away with it.
In their system they will see the device that cooresponds with the IMEI that you gave them and your data plan will be switched over to "support that device". The quantity of data will NOT change and will remain unlimited. (but please confirm that they aren't changing your amount of data when you do this because it's a headache to get back)
That's all there is to it! Restart your phone and dial *3282#. You should get a text back showing your old deactivated plan along with your new data plan.
If you have issues with connectivity. You may have to adjust your APN. (varies per device) OR switch the IMEI back to your phone. The point is to simply REMOVE your old data plan.
Sadly you will have to do this once a month. Also our system will sweep all active phones on the network occasionally and update the IMEIs in our backend. At that point, your data plan may get changed back to your device, or you may receive an automated text message from AT&T asking your to fix it. This should not affect your data speeds.
Method #2: Phone APN
I haven't personally tested this method, but other people have reported back with success.
Settings -> Wireless and network -> Mobile networks -> Access Point Names (APNs). OR download APN manager from the market
Create a NEW apn
For the name: AT&T HSPA+
For the APN: phone
Leave everything else blank!
APN type = internet
Now for the 2nd APN
"phone" for the APN again
MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com
MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
APN type: MMS only
This method is easy to set up and doesn't involve talking to anyone on the phone or in an AT&T store.
Please note that if you're using an LTE data plan, you may not have access to LTE speeds with either of these methods. But I'd rather have 8mb/s HSPA+ speeds than dial up! One workaround would be to re-provision your data plan under method #1 (going to a blackberry and then back to your LTE device IMEI).
DISCLAIMER: These methods are still being tested, may be patched, and your results may vary.
Even if you're able to unthrottle yourself. Please fight this BS by signing a petition and filing an FCC complaint!
Thanks and good luck!
-Maroon Mushroom
<reserved>
The main reason for throttling is to maintain network stability. If AT&T wanted to force customers to switch to a teired plan, they would throttle all customers with unlinited data plan, instead of the top 5%.
Just my .02 cents.
Sent from my Rocket in the Sky (SGH-i727) using XDA Premium.
--------------------------------
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A short video explaining how XDA works, can be found here:
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PeartFan40 said:
The main reason for throttling is to maintain network stability. If AT&T wanted to force customers to switch to a teired plan, they would throttle all customers with unlinited data plan, instead of the top 5%.
Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We already know that's not the case though. If AT&T forced everyone over, there would be a public outcry from 100% of the unlimited users. But right now, only 5% of those users are being hurt by this.
Getting throttled while using 2gb is NOT abuse of the network.
PeartFan40 said:
The main reason for throttling is to maintain network stability. If AT&T wanted to force customers to switch to a teired plan, they would throttle all customers with unlinited data plan, instead of the top 5%.
Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've posted this before, but I feel it's a good analogy.
Throttling the top 5% of unlimited users is like this:
Say there were a big, prestigious race going on between 100 cars. These cars would be going around the track for 100 laps. Now imagine that at the end of each lap, the top five cars each had one of their tires flattened. If this kept up for the entire race, eventually every single car would have all of their tires flattened, and no one would enjoy the race.
The problem with AT&T's throttling is that they aren't being fair about it. They throttle users based on regions, not on a national level. The top 5% level in New York City is significantly higher than in a more rural town. One man even sued AT%T for throttling him at 1.5GB per month. That isn't even close to fair use. They are simply trying to force user off of their unlimited plans by bullying them into it.
cajunflavoredbob said:
I've posted this before, but I feel it's a good analogy.
Throttling the top 5% of unlimited users is like this:
Say there were a big, prestigious race going on between 100 cars. These cars would be going around the track for 100 laps. Now imagine that at the end of each lap, the top five cars each had one of their tires flattened. If this kept up for the entire race, eventually every single car would have all of their tires flattened, and no one would enjoy the race.
The problem with AT&T's throttling is that they aren't being fair about it. They throttle users based on regions, not on a national level. The top 5% level in New York City is significantly higher than in a more rural town. One man even sued AT%T for throttling him at 1.5GB per month. That isn't even close to fair use. They are simply trying to force user off of their unlimited plans by bullying them into it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with to a degree, but if AT&T's soul purpose was to force everybody off unlimited data, would they just throttle everyone on unlimited data, and not just the top 5%? I'm not at all defending AT&T, as I think they are awful for doing this.
Sent from my Rocket in the Sky (SGH-i727) using XDA Premium.
--------------------------------
For requests or suggestions, go to this thread:
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XDS rules can be found here:
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A short video explaining how XDA works, can be found here:
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for the second method what do we name the second APN?
PeartFan40 said:
I agree with to a degree, but if AT&T's soul purpose was to force everybody off unlimited data, would they just throttle everyone on unlimited data, and not just the top 5%? I'm not at all defending AT&T, as I think they are awful for doing this.
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Click to collapse
They will be throttling everyone soon enough. The problem isn't that they are throttling, but that they are being extremely shady about it. Verizon and Sprint both throttle, but they calculate the top 5% (Verizon) and top 1% (Sprint) based on the national average. AT&T does it based on the regional average. That's where we get people using less data than their tiered plans being throttled for abuse. Honestly, I can't even fathom a single reason why they would do this other than to force subscribers off of those plans and onto the "safer (for AT&T)" tiered plans.
I posted this in the other thread on this topic.
so here it is to help spread the word.
SoCal judge awards $850 to iPhone user who says AT&T slows his data speeds on unlimited plan
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- When AT&T started slowing down the data service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver and student, took the country's largest telecommunications company to small claims court. And won.
His award: $850.
cajunflavoredbob said:
They will be throttling everyone soon enough. The problem isn't that they are throttling, but that they are being extremely shady about it. Verizon and Sprint both throttle, but they calculate the top 5% (Verizon) and top 1% (Sprint) based on the national average. AT&T does it based on the regional average. That's where we get people using less data than their tiered plans being throttled for abuse. Honestly, I can't even fathom a single reason why they would do this other than to force subscribers off of those plans and onto the "safer (for AT&T)" tiered plans.
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The link on this page prove my argument beyond doubt,they don't care about the network,they care about making more money out of you,plain and simple the fact that they don't throttle you at 3GB with limited plans says it all,even if you pay extra you still are a data hug by their standards and they are making an impact on the network,3gb unlimited and 3GB limited is the same.
This is why i say this companies try to put them self as the fluffy white sheep,when they are the big bad hungry wolf.
Maroon Mushroom said:
We already know that's not the case though. If AT&T forced everyone over, there would be a public outcry from 100% of the unlimited users. But right now, only 5% of those users are being hurt by this.
Getting throttled while using 2gb is NOT abuse of the network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should have heard Shepard Smith on FOX News ranting about him being throttled last week. He even whipped out the letter he got!!!! I was LMAO. AT&T should check the names of who they throttle. Freaking idiots!!!!
The fact that they claim to be throttling the "top 5%" just goes to show how disingenuous they are being.
What if all people on the unlimited plan starts using less than 500 Mb a month?
The top 5% will still be throttled?
What if 50% of users start using 50GB a month, throttling the top 5% isn't going to do much good then.
They aren't doing this to protect their network at all; they are doing it to protect their bottom line.
I am in south Alabama with Atrix. I have gotten up to 4GB in a month's time on unlimited and have never gotten a text about using a lot of data and being throttled. I think throttling is totally silly, especially since I'm paying for unlimited data!
But, the crazy part is the regional thing. Like I said, I went to 4GB before and did not get throttled. So the guy that sued AT&T and didn't even have 2GB, that is crazy.
Anyways, I think it's silly. Watch out when you change APNs. Sometimes ATT can find out and they will send you a letter saying they will push you down to a tiered plan if you keep tethering or changing those APNs.
Stupid ATT lol ... they did this a while ago too, its really ignorant, they already have enough money, why lose them cuz of "Throttling"?
Welcome!
Throttled
It only stings for awhile, then it becomes "business as usual"...
I'm probably the worst person to chime in on this cause I'm a conspiracy theorist but money and control is order or their day. Read about Tesla and how energy, like these radio waves are free and limitless until j.p.Morgan killed it for money. But because we live in a world where money is glorified more than anything else and WE AS SHEEPLE ALLOW IT, we will always be manipulated by those with the need to gain, because the dream is for us to gain too right. Probably too deep for most to truly understand what I mean cause what I'm saying is to more than just throttling but where these things will lead us.
truth77 said:
I'm probably the worst person to chime in on this cause I'm a conspiracy theorist but money and control is order or their day. Read about Tesla and how energy, like these radio waves are free and limitless until j.p.Morgan killed it for money. But because we live in a world where money is glorified more than anything else and WE AS SHEEPLE ALLOW IT, we will always be manipulated by those with the need to gain, because the dream is for us to gain too right. Probably too deep for most to truly understand what I mean cause what I'm saying is to more than just throttling but where these things will lead us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10%er
85gallon said:
You should have heard Shepard Smith on FOX News ranting about him being throttled last week. He even whipped out the letter he got!!!! I was LMAO. AT&T should check the names of who they throttle. Freaking idiots!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to wander into the politics swamp but this is why when people say the private market is better than the government I look at them funny. I don't know who they use for cell service or cable. What kind of moron throttles a Fox News anchor that has 24 hours of air time 7 days a week to discuss anything they want? Show of hands, who thinks corporations are thinking?
martinisadork said:
The fact that they claim to be throttling the "top 5%" just goes to show how disingenuous they are being.
What if all people on the unlimited plan starts using less than 500 Mb a month?
The top 5% will still be throttled?
What if 50% of users start using 50GB a month, throttling the top 5% isn't going to do much good then.
They aren't doing this to protect their network at all; they are doing it to protect their bottom line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent post and well put.
All the money hungry carriers need to get off the unlimited data plan "paying customers" backs...
I know this may seem strange given that Verizon is not allowed to throttle the 700 MHz c block according to the FCC, but today I spoke with a lady who was a higher tier tech support (not sure if it was 2 or 3) who claimed the reason I was having data issues is because they are having system issues where people using large amounts of data are being throttled when using LTE.
She stated that normally this should only happen on 3G but confirmed she has spoke to multiple people with this issue and that it is a nationwide problem that has been effecting some people since march 23rd. This also wasn't something she spoke lightly or timid about rather she was bold and confident that was the issue I was having.
Strangely the problem seem to go away when I switched to Global mode but that could have been a coincidence and more related to network congestion on that particular tower. Has anyone else been experiencing these issues?
I'm also wondering if this is related to the LTE advanced tower upgrades they are doing but can't find any info on when or if they have upgraded the Austin, Texas area.
LOL, might be coincidence but I'm going through the same thing in MD. My post should be a few down from here but I get perfect 3G, absolutely no 4G signal. Replaced SIM card, Verizon set it up and I had 4G. Within 5 minutes after the activation, the signal went to zero, then restarted and I was at 3G again. I'm heading to Verizon store in a bit to get this taken care of.
Samutd45 said:
I know this may seem strange given that Verizon is not allowed to throttle the 700 MHz c block according to the FCC, but today I spoke with a lady who was a higher tier tech support (not sure if it was 2 or 3) who claimed the reason I was having data issues is because they are having system issues where people using large amounts of data are being throttled when using LTE.
She stated that normally this should only happen on 3G but confirmed she has spoke to multiple people with this issue and that it is a nationwide problem that has been effecting some people since march 23rd. This also wasn't something she spoke lightly or timid about rather she was bold and confident that was the issue I was having.
Strangely the problem seem to go away when I switched to Global mode but that could have been a coincidence and more related to network congestion on that particular tower. Has anyone else been experiencing these issues?
I'm also wondering if this is related to the LTE advanced tower upgrades they are doing but can't find any info on when or if they have upgraded the Austin, Texas area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm doubtful that you'll be able to get much done on the store level. Your best bet is to call tech support and the first call will be long as well as tedious just humor them. The second call back they will ask if your calling about the same issue say yes. This is when you will get transferred to a higher tier or higher authority where they can actually report the issue to the field techs and then possibly get a fix in the works.
How much data do you use?
The second person told me I had used over 100gb last month but that was not a justified reason for me to be throttled on 4G, it would be if I was on 3G.
I also find it curious that we both have a s3, I did a search and couldn't find any similar posts which makes me wonder if its because we don't have the LTE advanced functionality. I wish we knew where they are upgrading the towers.
Samutd45 said:
I know this may seem strange given that Verizon is not allowed to throttle the 700 MHz c block according to the FCC, but today I spoke with a lady who was a higher tier tech support (not sure if it was 2 or 3) who claimed the reason I was having data issues is because they are having system issues where people using large amounts of data are being throttled when using LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are if you're on unlimited. The throttling isn't allowed if you're on a tiered data plan - but unlimited plans weren't covered by the FCC's ruling, IIRC.
Well...it was my sim card. Apparently the one I purchased online is an older version. They replaced it with a new sim, rebooted and I sat there waiting. After a couple of minutes, the no data signal came back so got the sales rep and signal came back, to 4G like a champ. I can't honestly tell the difference between the sim they had and the one I purchased online. She did she throttling is a possibly for next year, but no plans this year but take it for what it's worth. It was no charge for me to get the sim card and took no time.
carngeX said:
They are if you're on unlimited. The throttling isn't allowed if you're on a tiered data plan - but unlimited plans weren't covered by the FCC's ruling, IIRC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wanted to confirm that this issue has been resolved by Verizon, I believe it was network issue that was fixed within one day of me calling tech support.
carngeX said:
They are if you're on unlimited. The throttling isn't allowed if you're on a tiered data plan - but unlimited plans weren't covered by the FCC's ruling, IIRC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no real distinction from the FCC of tiered vs unlimited. The only possible reason verizon could is by using the excuse of trying to protect vulnerabilities on their network.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...-does-not-violate-fcc-block-c-spectrum-rules/
Samutd45 said:
There is no real distinction from the FCC of tiered vs unlimited. The only possible reason verizon could is by using the excuse of trying to protect vulnerabilities on their network.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...-does-not-violate-fcc-block-c-spectrum-rules/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's saying it can't restrict (throttle) users who pay for the service. Tether wasn't included in Unlimited data plans (it was a separate plan on plans when Unlimited was around). Tethering is included in tiered data, therefore they cannot throttle users tethering on the tiered data plans.
carngeX said:
It's saying it can't restrict (throttle) users who pay for the service. Tether wasn't included in Unlimited data plans (it was a separate plan on plans when Unlimited was around). Tethering is included in tiered data, therefore they cannot throttle users tethering on the tiered data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
carngeX said:
It's saying it can't restrict (throttle) users who pay for the service. Tether wasn't included in Unlimited data plans (it was a separate plan on plans when Unlimited was around). Tethering is included in tiered data, therefore they cannot throttle users tethering on the tiered data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my experience I have specifically found this to be untrue but I could certainly see how one would interpret it that way. There really is no one true answer to this question but I will say the higher tier tech confirmed on the phone with me that it was perfectly within my right to have 100 gb or more per month of unthrottled 4g lte use. They don't track whether you are tethering or not...can they? They certainly can especially if you use the my verizon app as they are able to see certain diagnostics and also they can see specifically which applications are running on your phone. The tech actually told me I was running an excessive amount of apps which was true at the time and she specifically told me which apps were running. This proves the point that they know I'm tethering without paying the $20 per month service charge, they are not charging me for it.
I think your misunderstanding is that you are incorrectly correlating tethering to throttling as these two things appear to be mutually exclusive. In other words verizon doesn't really treat you differently if you are on tiered vs non tiered as far as throttling goes.
Please read the following portion taken from the referenced article on android police, it's at the very bottom:
"Finally, we'll talk about tethering and Block C.
Much hoop-lah has been made of the following provision, as related to the legality of charging for wireless tethering on Verizon:
(c)(1)... The potential for excessive bandwidth demand alone shall not constitute grounds for denying, limiting or restricting access to the network. 47 CFR §27.16
The key issue is that this provision says nothing about limiting access on the basis of contractual obligations - it only applies when a carrier is limiting, restricting, or denying access to data services it has promised on the basis that a user is "congesting" the network. Verizon is still very much within its right to assert that it has the authority to prevent users from stealing access to a service it charges for, namely, tethering. Opponents say this is traffic discrimination and money-grabbing, Verizon says it's a perfectly legitimate usage-based access fee that it doesn't want users to circumvent.
There is absolutely nothing in the text of 27.16 suggesting carriers must provide unlimited data to users on networks operated on the 700MHz Block C frequencies. All (c)(1) is saying is that, once users have paid for a given service, carriers cannot discriminate against their traffic on the basis of bandwidth usage (eg, they can't throttle you) - but there's nothing to stop them from charging your more for using more. This is why Verizon's throttling only affects the top 5% of 3G, rather than 4G, users. I'm not sure if I explained that clearly, so I hope the distinction got across.
Of course, in matters involving regulatory authority, there's always going to be some wiggle room for discretion.
The FCC is unpredictable. There is no way to know if the agency will change its interpretation of its own rules, or if it will decide Verizon's particular actions aren't reasonable. This is all evaluated on a case by case basis. However, the agency's interpretation of reasonable network management in the past has tended to favor service providers in all but the most extreme cases (such as content-based throttling by Comcast), so it's hard for me to see them suddenly adopting a more demanding standard in regard to "reasonable network management.""
Can confirm this, grandfathered in unlimited. I use around 180gb a month. They hate me and any day that I am downloading continuously for more than 1 hour or sometimes less, I immediately start getting throttled. I know this because I have friends right beside me who have verizon and they will be pulling down 10-15mbps around 20ms and I will be getting .7-2 mbps. As soon as I take a small break from downloading (usually an hour) my speeds resume as normal. It is total BS that I pay for unlimited LTE and they claim they don't throttle. And anytime I call them to complain, magically my speeds go back after they tell me to try "rebooting my phone".
EDIT: I'm from the Canton, OH region and this happened frequently. I recently moved to the Tampa Bay area and have not had a problem. I suspect the network isn't as congested (although technically does LTE have bandwidth limitations? I read in an article that It should not). Also Florida happens to be flatter than Ohio, so they have less towers I'm assuming that cover a greater area with stronger coverage.
From the snippet you just posted:
There is absolutely nothing in the text of 27.16 suggesting carriers must provide unlimited data to users on networks operated on the 700MHz Block C frequencies. All (c)(1) is saying is that, once users have paid for a given service, carriers cannot discriminate against their traffic on the basis of bandwidth usage (eg, they can't throttle you) - but there's nothing to stop them from charging your more for using more. This is why Verizon's throttling only affects the top 5% of 3G, rather than 4G, users. I'm not sure if I explained that clearly, so I hope the distinction got across.
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Which backs up what I was saying. If you're on a grandfathered in unlimited plan... they have the legal right to throttle you because you're not paying for the tethering service, because it was not included in their non-tier plans. Will they? Most likely not unless you're using tons and tons of data - it's all up to VZW if they decide to start throttling or not. Although I've seen people in the Rezound forums post data usage screenshots, and some people have upwards around 1TB of data usage in a month, and nothing ever was done to them or their service.
carngeX said:
From the snippet you just posted:
Which backs up what I was saying. If you're on a grandfathered in unlimited plan... they have the legal right to throttle you because you're not paying for the tethering service, because it was not included in their non-tier plans. Will they? Most likely not unless you're using tons and tons of data - it's all up to VZW if they decide to start throttling or not. Although I've seen people in the Rezound forums post data usage screenshots, and some people have upwards around 1TB of data usage in a month, and nothing ever was done to them or their service.
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How do they know if you are tethering or not? Can they see that? Is high data usage synonymous with tethering in their minds?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
ErikFry said:
How do they know if you are tethering or not? Can they see that? Is high data usage synonymous with tethering in their minds?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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Well ask yourself how do websites know you are on a mobile device. yes verizon knows you are tethering unless you use a tether app that hides it or if you use a vpn (highly recomended). I have used 300 gigabytes of data a few months ago without being throttled so it all depends on how well you cover your tracks.
---------- Post added at 04:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------
I usually use between 2 - 5 so I am not a repeat offender. That might be why I have never been throttled.
ThePagel said:
Well ask yourself how do websites know you are on a mobile device. yes verizon knows you are tethering unless you use a tether app that hides it or if you use a vpn (highly recomended). I have used 300 gigabytes of data a few months ago without being throttled so it all depends on how well you cover your tracks.
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I see, I use the built in AOSP hotspot toggle. What could I use to hide the connection automagically every time I toggle it on? Thank you for your advice.
ErikFry said:
I see, I use the built in AOSP hotspot toggle. What could I use to hide the connection automagically every time I toggle it on? Thank you for your advice.
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I'm not sure if there is a solution for WiFi tether. I know USB tether apps can. Your best bet for WiFi tether is a cheap or free VPN.
Has anyone else noticed?
I somewhat noticed this and I have unlimited data. I think they've been upgrading towers a lot lately though so hopefully that can explain it.
No, I went from 3Mbps to 100Mbps.
Or did you mean T-Mobile USA? As opposed to the other dozens of T-mobile branches owned by Deutsche Telekom across the world?
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
ShadowLea said:
No, I went from 3Mbps to 100Mbps.
Or did you mean T-Mobile USA? As opposed to the other dozens of T-mobile branches owned by Deutsche Telekom across the world?
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
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Yea I'm pretty sure he means here in USA. They are throttling.
net200777 said:
Yea I'm pretty sure he means here in USA. They are throttling.
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No they aren't. They never did. And as of Friday (or was it last Friday?), the FCC made it illegal to do so. Unlimited high speed data means unlimited high speed data. If your data speeds slow down around 5-10pm, it's because those are peak hours and the network gets bogged down and congested. That's not throttling.
Data prioritization aka throttling. They most certainly are.
I've been speed testing with t-moble for years now. I am in delivery also, so I test different towers. It's only until this month that this started happening. It's with the updated policy. I have used more than 20gb that's when it started. It's unusable sometimes. When the server detects I am speedtesting it ramps up the speed as to show a good score. I think it's actually sitting around 1 mbps or below sometimes.
net200777 said:
Data prioritization aka throttling. They most certainly are.
I've been speed testing with t-moble for years now. I am in delivery also, so I test different towers. It's only until this month that this started happening. It's with the updated policy. I have used more than 20gb that's when it started. It's unusable sometimes. When the server detects I am speedtesting it ramps up the speed as to show a good score. I think it's actually sitting around 1 mbps or below sometimes.
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You have no idea what you're talking about. Wow, 20 gigs, huh? I'm currently at 84gb 13 days into my billing cycle, and this has been a slow month since I haven't been streaming on Amazon Prime. I also use a network speed indicator (Xposed module, or built-in, depending on the phone) on my phones so I know exactly what my speeds are; I'm not guessing.
As for Speedtest, perhaps you should read this article.
Like I said before, you have no idea what you're talking about.
Planterz said:
You have no idea what you're talking about. Wow, 20 gigs, huh? I'm currently at 84gb 13 days into my billing cycle, and this has been a slow month since I haven't been streaming on Amazon Prime. I also use a network speed indicator (Xposed module, or built-in, depending on the phone) on my phones so I know exactly what my speeds are; I'm not guessing.
As for Speedtest, perhaps you should read this article.
Like I said before, you have no idea what you're talking about.
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I do have an idea what I'm talking about. I have 3 years with exp. testing the speeds. I know what is normal and what is not normal. Perhaps you should go read t-mobile's new policy on "data prioritization". I said I used more than 20gb *laugh
net200777 said:
I do have an idea what I'm talking about. I have 3 years with exp. testing the speeds. I know what is normal and what is not normal. Perhaps you should go read t-mobile's new policy on "data prioritization". I said I used more than 20gb *laugh
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Give me a link so I can read it and tell you where you're wrong.
Planterz said:
Give me a link so I can read it and tell you where you're wrong.
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Google is you're friend.
net200777 said:
Google is you're friend.
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Grammar is your friend. So is evidence. Give me actual evidence or proof. You're the one making unsupported accusations. Otherwise, I'm done wasting my time with you.
lol...............k
Planterz said:
Grammar is your friend. So is evidence. Give me actual evidence or proof. You're the one making unsupported accusations. Otherwise, I'm done wasting my time with you.
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Unlimited high-speed data customers who use more data than what 97% of all customers use in a month, based on recent historical averages (updated quarterly), will have their data usage de-prioritized compared to the data usage of other customers at times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources, which may result in slower data speeds. Customers who use data in violation of their Rate Plan terms or T-Mobile's Terms and Conditions may be excluded from this calculation. Data that might be whitelisted for other (fixed allotment) plan options, such as data associated with Music Freedom, does not count towards Unlimited high-speed data customers’ usage for this calculation. Based on network statistics for the most recent quarter, Unlimited high-speed data customers who use more than 21GB of data during a billing cycle will be de-prioritized for the remainder of the billing cycle in times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources. At the start of the next bill cycle, the customer’s usage status is reset, and this data traffic is no longer de-prioritized.
net200777 said:
Unlimited high-speed data customers who use more data than what 97% of all customers use in a month, based on recent historical averages (updated quarterly), will have their data usage de-prioritized compared to the data usage of other customers at times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources, which may result in slower data speeds. Customers who use data in violation of their Rate Plan terms or T-Mobile's Terms and Conditions may be excluded from this calculation. Data that might be whitelisted for other (fixed allotment) plan options, such as data associated with Music Freedom, does not count towards Unlimited high-speed data customers’ usage for this calculation. Based on network statistics for the most recent quarter, Unlimited high-speed data customers who use more than 21GB of data during a billing cycle will be de-prioritized for the remainder of the billing cycle in times and at locations where there are competing customer demands for network resources. At the start of the next bill cycle, the customer’s usage status is reset, and this data traffic is no longer de-prioritized.
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Yeah, I just read that too. Was about to post this link:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/T-Mobile-defines-the-limit-on-its-Unlimited-LTE-plan_id70791
I admit I have indeed been noticing slower speeds, particularly during "peak" hours, but it wasn't throttling as we've come to know it (2g, 128kb/s). Plus, I still get fast speeds late at night/early morning when I'm typically awake, so it didn't bother me. I just assumed it was network congestion, as T-Mobile has gained a lot of customers in my town over the last couple years. But I guess they are throttling now, in a way.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I understand it. I (ab)use my T-Mobile unlimited plan for my home internet. I use a ridiculous amount of data. But even my "throttled" speeds are plenty fast for web browsing and watching anything on youtube or Amazon Prime. On the other hand, "unlimited high speed" should mean unlimited high speed. Are these "de-prioritized" speeds technically "high speed", and by whose definition? What does the FCC's $100 million fining of AT&T mean? Was there this 21gb limit specified in the TOS agreement when I signed up for my plan? Does the use of the term "de-prioritized" circumvent the definition of "throttling"?
I hope that this practice gets shot down by the FCC, but I won't be too terribly upset if it continues. I'd definitely prefer to have proper internet at home (and go with wifi + a 5gb plan or something), but I can't afford that right now.
I have to disagree, T-Mobile is being dirty here. I went to the mall and showed a tmo rep my speed test. We compared.. his 17mbps, mine .4