AT&T to throttle unlimited data plan users...

[slimslim]

You can't turn off 4g if it's lte, it's under different plan, and yes, your unlimited 3g (smartphone plan) it will get transferred to unlimited 4g

[Moonbaseone]

Hi slim and THANKS for the reply. I guess I'm trying get all my information in order, i.e., doing some research. By turning off 4G I meant will I be able to put the phone in 3G mode. I don't really need the 4G speeds for lost o what I use my phone for and my biggest data issue is Google Maps which I use when I'm out in the field.

So, simply, can you turn off 4G on a LTE phone and/or simply use a slower speed when you don't need LTE on the phone itself via the phones Network settings?. Kinda like turning off 3G on the iPhone and just using EDGE.

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

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Moonbaseone wrote:
Hi slim and THANKS for the reply. I guess I'm trying get all my information in order, i.e., doing some research. By turning off 4G I meant will I be able to put the phone in 3G mode. I don't really need the 4G speeds for lost o what I use my phone for and my biggest data issue is Google Maps which I use when I'm out in the field.

So, simply, can you turn off 4G on a LTE phone and/or simply use a slower speed when you don't need LTE on the phone itself via the phones Network settings?. Kinda like turning off 3G on the iPhone and just using EDGE.

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But if you pay for unlimited data, why do you have to attempt to turn off systems of the device? You are paying good money for the data plan and you should not have to turn down better access because AT&T has a bug up their rear-ends. If they cannot provide the access, they need correct the problem on their end, not the consumer side.

[Moonbaseone]

Hey ghost. While I agree with you it is what I is. I basically am testing things now under the new "unlimited" data plan to see how it fits my needs. I believe I am being throttled right now but my next billing cycle begins Tuesday and I have wifi at home so its no biggie. My thing is, if I can still use Google Maps while being throttled and still visit a few websites, mostly news, here and there and they all run ok , I can live with being possibly throttled for a few days towards the end of the month. I can certainly live without Netflix and Hulu for a few days.

I have already looked at an alternative service provider that, even though would only offer a tiered data plan, would still suit my needs. I really wish the cap would have been put at 4GB, or throttled during peak hours of usage.

And also, my other concern is what happens when I get a lte phone. I see they get 5GB data cap. I'm not really sure goe that translates for someone who on average uses about 3.5 GB a month.

(PS, sorry for the long read. I'm bored waiting on something at the moment, LOL)

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

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Moonbaseone wrote:
Hey ghost. While I agree with you it is what I is. I basically am testing things now under the new "unlimited" data plan to see how it fits my needs. I believe I am being throttled right now but my next billing cycle begins Tuesday and I have wifi at home so its no biggie. My thing is, if I can still use Google Maps while being throttled and still visit a few websites, mostly news, here and there and they all run ok , I can live with being possibly throttled for a few days towards the end of the month. I can certainly live without Netflix and Hulu for a few days.

I have already looked at an alternative service provider that, even though would only offer a tiered data plan, would still suit my needs. I really wish the cap would have been put at 4GB, or throttled during peak hours of usage.

And also, my other concern is what happens when I get a lte phone. I see they get 5GB data cap. I'm not really sure goe that translates for someone who on average uses about 3.5 GB a month.

(PS, sorry for the long read. I'm bored waiting on something at the moment, LOL)

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And I understand that you are trying to work within the system to obtain your needs.

I'm just sick and tired of the big guys doing what ever they want to make more money while throwing the little guy to the curb, but still requiring the little guy to pay.

[Moonbaseone]

I agree. I am already looking at two others carriers as options for service. Funny thing is, I already left ATT home and DSL service because they [word filter avoidance]  me off. But wireless has pretty much worked fine for me. My thing is, instead of dealing with a lot of [word filter avoidance], when something doesn't work for me, I do my research, look at my options, pick the best one and switch. I am GLAD I didn't renew my contract to get the iphone 4S and can leave ATT whenever I want, if it comes to that.

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

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Moonbaseone wrote:

I agree. I am already looking at two others carriers as options for service. Funny thing is, I already left ATT home and DSL service because they [word filter avoidance] me off. But wireless has pretty much worked fine for me. My thing is, instead of dealing with a lot of [word filter avoidance], when something doesn't work for me, I do my research, look at my options, pick the best one and switch. I am GLAD I didn't renew my contract to get the iphone 4S and can leave ATT whenever I want, if it comes to that.

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Good for you and good luck as well.

[spd2demun ACE - Master]

What?  You can't turn off 4G if LTE?  Please explain!!!

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slimslim wrote:
You can't turn off 4g if it's lte, it's under different plan, and yes, your unlimited 3g (smartphone plan) it will get transferred to unlimited 4g

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[davidusr]

You cannot turn off LTE on these phones. Not sure why you'd want to. It uses the same amount of data as a 3G or Edge phone. It just gets you there quicker.

[4sskyrocket]

The research I have done suggests LTE is a real battery hog. If you can turn OT off when needed is a plus in that respect.

[Moonbaseone]

That's interesting. If LTE uses the same amount of data as 3G and they throttle LTE devices at 5GB instead of 3GB, I can live with that. I understand that LTE users would use more data but I'm thinking if your data habits stay the same why would you use a ton more data just because its faster? And if you use say 3.5 GB a month on 3G now why would you all of a sudden go over 5GB? And id want to turn off LTE to save battery life and, there are times when 3G is just fine, like using certain Apps that use data or, listening to Pandora for example. So why not save the battery if you don't need the speed when your away from a charger.

[fiercefire]

Just tossing my whole oppinion on the matter in, kinda late though.

This really hurts those of us who travel for work often. There are many times there are no wifi signals to connect to, and this is why I signed up for unlimited. AT&T does not understand this notion apparently. As for the whole limited-unlimited, anything less than 3g speeds cripples my android device. So yes AT&T, you have inniteated a hard cap for me.

Additionally, if this whole mess is over spectrum, and not bandwidth, there should be no difference in data caps between LTE and 3G devices.

[aBenjamin]

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golfgreg74 wrote:

Is there someone who works for AT&T that can answer a question?

If throttled, what speed is my device going to be receiving?  Is it going to take 2-3minutes to load a webpage?  Is it going to take 12minutes to watch a one minute YouTube Video?  These two examples are taken from the AT&T Facebook wall.

I just want to know what to expect if the day comes...

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I've been lucky enough to experience this "throttling"... It's a real drag speed wise(haven't done a speed test yet, but I'll get back to you)...however, I use about 3 -4 gb/mo and the 4gb plan actually costs less than what i'm paying for unlimited today. Only makes sense to switch...no? 

If you check out http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540 (or download the wifi finder app on your phone) ... If you're fortunate enough to live in a well satuarated wifi zone, you shouldn't have to rely on your 3G/4G connection too much. (plus wifi's usually much faster) Best of luck! 

[amithatguy]

Does this change of policy allow contract cancellation without paying an ETF?
I have seen it answered both ways on this thread. One guy said data wasn't required, so there is no change of contract.
That's sounds like $&@#%^ because when the text message prices changed, they're not required either, but contracts when forfeited because of that change.
Another guy said this allowed early termination without a fee, but he gave no arguments or proof.

If this does allow early termination, there is a time limit usually, so we (who want out) need to move quickly. We needs the lines of the contract (I can't find mine) which grant us this "out". Also need the date of this change in contract, and the wording. There are soo many articles about AT&T making this change, but I havent seen the announcement directly from AT&T actually.

[wingrider01 ACE - Geek]

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amithatguy wrote:
Does this change of policy allow contract cancellation without paying an ETF?
I have seen it answered both ways on this thread. One guy said data wasn't required, so there is no change of contract.
That's sounds like $&@#%^ because when the text message prices changed, they're not required either, but contracts when forfeited because of that change.
Another guy said this allowed early termination without a fee, but he gave no arguments or proof.

If this does allow early termination, there is a time limit usually, so we (who want out) need to move quickly. We needs the lines of the contract (I can't find mine) which grant us this "out". Also need the date of this change in contract, and the wording. There are soo many articles about AT&T making this change, but I havent seen the announcement directly from AT&T actually.

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bottom line no it does not, it just MIGHT if you where still under the original contract that you had when you added the feature of unlimited smarthpne data but I doubt that, they are not changing anything, the fup/aup was in existance from the first when the feature was actually available, they changed nothing, just enforcing the terms that where there.

chance of seeing it from ATT, if it was not announced back in October 2011 when tey started enforcing the fup / aup are slim to none

[Dellman87]

sadly, alot of phones now especially with stock ROMS don't allow for the option to switch LTE and 3G. Flashed ROMS from like XDA developers allow that option. For example with my Skyrocket with stock, it doesn't allow that option. Flashed, it does.

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4sskyrocket wrote:
The research I have done suggests LTE is a real battery hog. If you can turn OT off when needed is a plus in that respect.

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[aristizzle]

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amithatguy wrote:
Does this change of policy allow contract cancellation without paying an ETF?
I have seen it answered both ways on this thread. One guy said data wasn't required, so there is no change of contract.
That's sounds like $&@#%^ because when the text message prices changed, they're not required either, but contracts when forfeited because of that change.
Another guy said this allowed early termination without a fee, but he gave no arguments or proof.

If this does allow early termination, there is a time limit usually, so we (who want out) need to move quickly. We needs the lines of the contract (I can't find mine) which grant us this "out". Also need the date of this change in contract, and the wording. There are soo many articles about AT&T making this change, but I havent seen the announcement directly from AT&T actually.

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No, ETF is valid if you cancel.

[formercanuck]

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Wild Banchi wrote:
"To rank among the top 5 percent, you have to use an extraordinary amount of data in a single billing period."

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According to AT&T - it was 2GB.  In their infinite wisdom (after many irate customers, a public outcry, small claims, etc), they decided that 3GB was an extraordinary amount to data in a single billing period.

[deep_blue_70]

we all know this is bunch of crap.. i got a family of 5 lines of iphones and desperately need a decent gsm operator with iphones... will switch in a heart beat. and the Ss at att can buy 'emselfs couple of drinks with early terminations. so sick and tired of their crap. miss my old cingular

[Dellman87]

When we see AT&T lose subscribers something will change...

[SteveS28]

For people who have been throttled - what speeds do you get?    

[Moonbaseone]

One of the Only good things about all this is is that I can still listen to Pandora while being Throttled. So if/when I do go over 3GB, or 5GB when I get a LTE phone, I will listen to/stream all the Pandora I want. Haha. Again, like I said, this is ONE of the only good things about all of this.

[JFizDaWiz]

20KB/s here

[nsky171]

My normal speed is around 256kB to 410kB

When Throttled, it drops to 15kB to 17kB

At that speed my google maps takes forever to load, even emails take a long time. I can understand throttling but 15kB is way too slow of a speed for a smartphone. it cripples the phone.
They should do at least 50kB.

[aBenjamin]

12KB/s but I'm constantly surrounded by Wifi hotspots, so I don't have to worry about it much. 

[fiercefire]

From what I'm hearing the throttle can varry. Some people are saying they are being throttled to the point they can't even browse the web. So if you can stream Pandora, you might be lucky.

[Dellman87]

I couldn't do anything. ANY sort of streaming is painfully slow. So basically when my Skyrocket gets throttled, my phone is useless.  They should seriously think about raising that throttle speed to at least 1mbps.

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fiercefire wrote:

From what I'm hearing the throttle can varry. Some people are saying they are being throttled to the point they can't even browse the web. So if you can stream Pandora, you might be lucky.

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[aBenjamin]

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Dellman87 wrote:

I couldn't do anything. ANY sort of streaming is painfully slow. So basically when my Skyrocket gets throttled, my phone is useless.  They should seriously think about raising that throttle speed to at least 1mbps.

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fiercefire wrote:

From what I'm hearing the throttle can varry. Some people are saying they are being throttled to the point they can't even browse the web. So if you can stream Pandora, you might be lucky.

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There are a lot of variables that go into your "throttled" speed. Where you live, what device you have, time of day, etc... 

[amithatguy]

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aBenjamin wrote:

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Dellman87 wrote:

I couldn't do anything. ANY sort of streaming is painfully slow. So basically when my Skyrocket gets throttled, my phone is useless.  They should seriously think about raising that throttle speed to at least 1mbps.

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fiercefire wrote:

From what I'm hearing the throttle can varry. Some people are saying they are being throttled to the point they can't even browse the web. So if you can stream Pandora, you might be lucky.

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There are a lot of variables that go into your "throttled" speed. Where you live, what device you have, time of day, etc... 

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Nothing is ever understandable/clear with AT&T unless they're forced to.  It's to their benefit that no one ever knows what to expect from them.  That way they can do whatever they feel like and no one can ever say "This isn't what you promised". 

[Dellman87]

0.10 kbps.