Unlimited package being dropped if upgrade to lte phone?

[Pun1977]

I've been told by AT&T that in order for anyone who has the unlimited media plan and upgraded to an lte phone they would have to give up their gold status n get an lte plan is this true?

[dmapr ACE - Champion]

Check out http://forums.att.com/t5/Wireless-General-Care-and/Renew-Unlimited-Data-Plan-not-available-with-LTE/... Maybe this has changed in the last couple of months, hopefully not.

[Pun1977]

thanks i spoke to a supervisor n i still have unlimited 4glte 

[dmapr ACE - Champion]

Glad to hear! Also a co-worker has just upgraded from an iPhone to SIII and was able to keep his unlimited data plan as well.

[gkamer]

I have a iPhone 3GS with the unlimited data plan grandfathered in. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy S3. Do you think I'll be able to keep my unlimited iphone data plan if I do?

[2000tara]

I had the iPhone unlimited data & I have the unlimited 4G LTE   A sup had to add it on there for me, but it was no issue at all.

[gkamer]

how did you do that? Did you have to ask to speak to someone in particular or what procedure did you follow?

[AcesHidden]

Unless they changed this recently. I wouldn't doubt it with all of AT&Ts shady business practices, this must be new.

I have 4G LTE and I have my unlmited grandfathered in. They did however not let me grandfather in an added line though they used to be able to let me do that.

[2000tara]

I just said since I have the unlimited now I can still keep it right.  They said of course you can, but the CSR couldn't do it, she told me that only managers could access the code, so she had her manager do it for me. 

[pappyfire]

The CSR I talked to when I activated my Note told me I had to go to a tiered plan. I asked to talk to a supervisor, the person who came on the line (I assume was a supervisor) told me the same thing, so my unlimited plan is no more. It really ticks me off that they lied to me and forced me to switch.

[gkamer]

Yea, I was pretty sure I remembered reading where ATT was killing off the unlimited data plan for grandfathered customers when they elected to upgrade their phones. That's why I was a little surprised when I read of people who were able to keep it even after upgrading. I thought it didn't sound right......

[21stNow]

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pappyfire wrote:
The CSR I talked to when I activated my Note told me I had to go to a tiered plan. I asked to talk to a supervisor, the person who came on the line (I assume was a supervisor) told me the same thing, so my unlimited plan is no more. It really ticks me off that they lied to me and forced me to switch.

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Pappyfire, what device were you coming from?  How long ago did you activate your Note?

[Ningen]

AT&T's been trying to cut off unlimited data for a long time. The number of smartphone users has increased something like 300% in the past 4 years, they simply do not have the bandwidth to support the volume of consumers that we have right now. Cell phone companies, internet companies, television companies, they're all quickly running out of bandwidth, and it's becoming a big issue. If you're interested enough watch this popular web series, they explain the phenomena pretty well (link) Besides, no one NEEDS unlimited data, I'd rather have my 3GB plan with LTE speeds on my SkyRocket than an unlimited 3G phone, I'm not going to be downloading any PS3 games any time soon on my phone.

Edit: fixed link

[onionp]

Not to beat a dead horse, but does anyone in the Android forums have experience with upgrading to the Galaxy S3 and retaining unlimited data?  I may or may not jump ship to the iPhone 5, but no one has experience with it yet.

[FredW]

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gkamer wrote:

Yea, I was pretty sure I remembered reading where ATT was killing off the unlimited data plan for grandfathered customers when they elected to upgrade their phones. That's why I was a little surprised when I read of people who were able to keep it even after upgrading. I thought it didn't sound right......

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I haven't seen that at&t was doing that, but Verizon is.  I doubt at&t will be far behind.

[21stNow]

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onionp wrote:

Not to beat a dead horse, but does anyone in the Android forums have experience with upgrading to the Galaxy S3 and retaining unlimited data?  I may or may not jump ship to the iPhone 5, but no one has experience with it yet.

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I didn't upgrade to the Galaxy S III, but I don't see why it would be any different from any other phone.  I upgraded to the Galaxy Note and kept my unlimited data.  There have been no policy changes since then.

[onionp]

-21stNow

If you have an older smartphone, you may not be eligible for 4G LTE phones. (If you have unlimited data on a non-smartphone, you cannot move that unlimited data to a smartphone, btw)

Specifically, some plans are on the APN (basically, the code that tells the system what sort of service to give you) that is wap.cingular, and some that are "phone".  LTE plans require "PTA" to be the APN code.

And yet, even though new plans don't include unlimited, they do have codes for unlimited LTE with the APN code.  This is what you were able to do.  Some of us with the older wap.cingular codes (from the Alltel transition, in my case) are not being allowed to transition and keep the unlimited data, or even renew our contract at the same rate.  This is where asking to be transfered to a manager is required.

It seems that AT&T's statement that you may keep your unlimited plan doesn't apply to everyone.

[21stNow]

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onionp wrote:

-21stNow

If you have an older smartphone, you may not be eligible for 4G LTE phones. (If you have unlimited data on a non-smartphone, you cannot move that unlimited data to a smartphone, btw)

Specifically, some plans are on the APN (basically, the code that tells the system what sort of service to give you) that is wap.cingular, and some that are "phone".  LTE plans require "PTA" to be the APN code.

And yet, even though new plans don't include unlimited, they do have codes for unlimited LTE with the APN code.  This is what you were able to do.  Some of us with the older wap.cingular codes (from the Alltel transition, in my case) are not being allowed to transition and keep the unlimited data, or even renew our contract at the same rate.  This is where asking to be transfered to a manager is required.

It seems that AT&T's statement that you may keep your unlimited plan doesn't apply to everyone.

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I'm confused by your response.  I upgraded to a Galaxy Note (an LTE phone released in Feb 2012) from an iPhone 4 (not really an "older" smartphone at that time).  Anyone would be eligible for an LTE smartphone if they wanted one; the accompanying data plan may be a different story but no one is restricted in which phone he/she can buy.

Are you asking about former Alltel customers only?  If so, my experience would be irrelevant as I was never an Alltel customer.

[onionp]

I meant that the options for keeping old plans may not be the same for everyone, but you are right, the phone options are the same.  Basically, AT&T may be limiting or discouraging certain old plans (and their accompanying technical and billing codes) from being used when upgrading to LTE phones.  So anyone can buy a Galaxy Note or Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5, but they may have to give up their old unlimited plans.

For those with the $30 unlimited plans on AT&T, it is clear that you can keep the unlimited plan with any new phone.  But for any other plan it is not so clear.  For the small minority of us with Alltel plans (most of Alltel was bought by Verizon, so it is a small minority), it seems unlikely.

[redpoint73 ACE - Wizard]

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onionp wrote:

-21stNow

If you have an older smartphone, you may not be eligible for 4G LTE phones. (If you have unlimited data on a non-smartphone, you cannot move that unlimited data to a smartphone, btw)

Specifically, some plans are on the APN (basically, the code that tells the system what sort of service to give you) that is wap.cingular, and some that are "phone".  LTE plans require "PTA" to be the APN code.

And yet, even though new plans don't include unlimited, they do have codes for unlimited LTE with the APN code.  This is what you were able to do.  Some of us with the older wap.cingular codes (from the Alltel transition, in my case) are not being allowed to transition and keep the unlimited data, or even renew our contract at the same rate.  This is where asking to be transfered to a manager is required.

It seems that AT&T's statement that you may keep your unlimited plan doesn't apply to everyone.

---

As far as I have seen, it doesn't matter if you were on the wap.cingular APN or not.  The wap.cingular APN is just the non-LTE (HSPA/HSPA+) APN.  Everyone that is on a smartphone that is not LTE compatible is on the wap.ciingular APN.  They were able to switch mine to a unlimited data plan with LTE with no issue.  And the only reason they have to change anything, is so you can access the LTE APN (named PTA).

But not sure how having a grandfathered Alltel plan figures into it.  Are you saying that the option for unlimited data plan with LTE doesn't come up in AT&T's system if you are on an old Alltel plan?

[onionp]

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redpoint73 wrote:

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But not sure how having a grandfathered Alltel plan figures into it.  Are you saying that the option for unlimited data plan with LTE doesn't come up in AT&T's system if you are on an old Alltel plan?

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Exactly.  Online and in-store, they say we have to sign up for an all new AT&T plan.  Over the phone there are more options and they let us keep our entire plan, except that they force us to change the data plan.  Not only that, but they force us to chose a limited data plan, which costs $10 more per month per line.

If anyone has advice on how to proceed, I would appreciate it.  At the least, if they "need" to move us to an AT&T plan, they could offer an unlimited one and grandfather us in.

[disneymagik]

I was a bit worried when I went to get rid of my iPhone for my galaxy s3 after reading this. Had they said I couldn't keep my unlimited data, I probably would have never gotten this amazing & liberating phone! THANK GOD it wasn't even an issue as we've been Cingular/AT&T customers for nearly 12 yrs! (although when I have to call they only thank me for being a customer for 5+ yrs!)
Now if I could only get my visual voicemail to work! Grrrr.....

[onionp]

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disneymagik wrote:
I was a bit worried when I went to get rid of my iPhone for my galaxy s3 after reading this. Had they said I couldn't keep my unlimited data, I probably would have never gotten this amazing & liberating phone! THANK GOD it wasn't even an issue as we've been Cingular/AT&T customers for nearly 12 yrs! (although when I have to call they only thank me for being a customer for 5+ yrs!)
Now if I could only get my visual voicemail to work! Grrrr.....

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disneymagik- Just curious, with an unlimited data plan and an LTE phone, how much data do you find yourself using each month?  For those of us with unlimited 3g, it can be a little hard to guess what our usage would be with faster (and more reliable) speeds.

[redpoint73 ACE - Wizard]

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onionp wrote:

disneymagik- Just curious, with an unlimited data plan and an LTE phone, how much data do you find yourself using each month?  For those of us with unlimited 3g, it can be a little hard to guess what our usage would be with faster (and more reliable) speeds.

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Wasn't directed toward me, but my 2 cents:  LTE shouldn't change your usage by all that much.  Maybe you will use our phone a bit more, since the data is so much faster.  But if you're not downloading big files, I can't see it growing all that much. 

Plus, remember that LTE plans get their limit before being throttled is increased from 3 GB/month (on non-LTE data plan) to 5 GB/month (on LTE plans).  So you already have an extra 2 GB if you get LTE added to your account.

[21stNow]

The big difference would come from streaming video files that stream at a variable bitrate.  Those files would detect that the network could handle a higher bitrate on an LTE phone versus a 3G phone, and adjust the bitrate accordingly.  Therefore, watching the same video on an LTE phone will use more data than watching the same video on a 3G phone, assuming that both users/phones were in an area served by an LTE network.

[disneymagik]

________________________________________________________________
onionp wrote:

disneymagik- Just curious, with an unlimited data plan and an LTE phone, how much data do you find yourself using each month? For those of us with unlimited 3g, it can be a little hard to guess what our usage would be with faster (and more reliable) speeds.
________________________________________________________________
Hi!

My usage really hasn't changed too much. I watch alot of Netflix, HULU, post on a lot of forums, & diven a lot of facebook. That said, my last months use was 3,107,589 KB. It's down a little bit because we were on vacation for 10 days so I wasn't on it as much. And I also use my home WiFi a lot of the time. So I don't really know if that will help or not, but if I can answer anything else that might help, I'd be happy too!

[roadkill8298]

No, do not fall for that trick. When I upgraded from my Samsung Galaxy S2 to the S3, they told me the same thing. I told the manager to show me a document stating that killing my Unlimited Data Plan was a mandatory step in order to upgrade to LTE. They could not provide me with any valid documents. They aplogized and let me keep my LTE.

They will speak to you as if it was written on stone. It's bullsh*t tactics, designed to mislead customers to giving up their Unlimited Plan and ending up on some tiered plan. Once you're on the tiered plan, they can raise the price and make changes as they please. You might end up paying $30 a month for 2GB.

Fyi...With LTE, you can use up to 5GB without being throttled. With the 3G/4G(hspa+), you get up to 3GB.

DO NOT LET THEM WIN. 

Good Luck!

[redpoint73 ACE - Wizard]

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roadkill8298 wrote:

They will speak to you as if it was written on stone. It's bullsh*t tactics, designed to mislead customers to giving up their Unlimited Plan and ending up on some tiered plan. Once you're on the tiered plan, they can raise the price and make changes as they please. You might end up paying $30 a month for 2GB.

DO NOT LET THEM WIN. 

Good Luck!

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I agree that is bull.  And I don't think I would go back to a store that tried to do that to me.  Maybe would have even taken my business on that purchase elsewhere.  It was somewhat excusable when they first started selling LTE devices, and there was a lot of confusion about this.  But its been a year now, with several LTE devices available, and you know that they have been requested this too many times by this point to claim ignorance. They are doing it intentionally, and its misleading and unethical.

You have to wonder if its just the store's policy to try to get people off their unlimited plans, or some company wide mandate.  But at the store I purchased from, I instructed them to keep my on unlimited data, but add LTE, and they told me "sure, no problem".

FWIW, I don't think they can change pricing on the tiered plans once you are on them, anymore than they can take away unlimited data plans.  Its the same grandfathering principle.  But its a huge advantage to AT&T to have you on a tiered plan.  Not just on the current pricing, but in the long run, since data usage is only going to keep increasing as more streaming content is offered, more data hungry apps, etc.  So tiered customers are going to be suffering overages in the future, or have to switch to higher priced tiers.