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2 GB is enough??

GFLPraxis

GFLPraxis

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 17, 2004
7,152
460
A lot of people, including John Gruber, seem to advise that AT&T's new 2 GB limit is 'plenty'.

I've been an iPhone + T-Mobile user since the iPhone's launch (and later switched to an iPhone 3G, but skipped the 3GS). I switched to AT&T and an iPhone 4 exactly one week ago.

In seven days, without being abusive or running any jailbroken applications or servers, I have used close to 900 MB of data. I'm almost certain I'll hit 2 GB by the end of the month.

My usage habits have certainly changed, considering that prior, I only got EDGE on my T-Mobile iPhone, and my iPad couldn't multitask to run applications like Pandora in the background. iOS 4 and 3G have greatly increased my usage, and I'm extremely satisfied with the iPhone; but I'm paying nearly twice as much for service as on T-Mobile, and it looks like I'm going to start paying extra monthly fees on my iPhone as well.



Oh yeah; and I never dropped one call on T-Mobile, barring one time while dropping 10 floors to the basement in an elevator. I've dropped two already on AT&T...though I'm not sure if the calls dropped, or the proximity sensor didn't activate and my cheek hung up (I didn't initially realize that the iPhone is on 4.0.1 when I unboxed it, and haven't upgraded to 4.1 yet). I always figured people exaggurated these issues V_V



Anyway, I've seen a lot of people asking around whether 2 GB would be enough, and people seem to unanimously answer "Yes!". I just wanted to throw my "No" on the pile. Nice job with the phone, :apple:, but boo to the carrier.
 
As with all carriers, YMMV.

There are plenty of people with zero problems on the AT&T network, myself included. I've been with iPhone since the beginning, and my service has always been top notch. I know many people with other carriers in the area (Verizon, T-Mobile) and their service doesn't hold a candle to mine. I don't remember the last time I dropped a call.

If AT&T's service is poor in your area, that's not necessarily indicative that its service is poor everywhere. That's simply not the case.

As far as data limits, 2GB seems to be sufficient (if not much more than sufficient) for a vast majority of people. Are you able to change any of your use habits to minimize the data you're using? If not, you may simply have to pony up the extra money and purchase extra data or live with the overage charges. AT&T isn't the only company eliminating unlimited data plans - other providers seem to be following the same trend.
 
Sure, I could change my usage, but only at significant inconvenience. I could eliminate Air Video and Pandora usage, only use iTeleport when on a WiFi network, and store all of my music locally, and run home to change out movies and songs all of the time. But then I would have bought an iPod Touch.

I recognize that data consumption is going up. But the elimination of an unlimited option discourages usage of the capabilities of the phone.

Imagine when Facetime is 3G enabled.

Guess I'll just have to start tethering my iPhone 4 off of my iPad w/unlimited 3G when I start approaching 2 GB, with MyWi. :p
 
If you weren't fortunate enough to be grandfathered into an unlimited data plan, you're out of luck. >.< AT&T will provide 1GB of extra data at $10 after the first 2GB. It's not the greatest deal, but it's not terrible.
 
GFLPraxis said:
Sure, I could change my usage, but only at significant inconvenience. I could eliminate Air Video and Pandora usage, only use iTeleport when on a WiFi network, and store all of my music locally, and run home to change out movies and songs all of the time. But then I would have bought an iPod Touch.

I recognize that data consumption is going up. But the elimination of an unlimited option discourages usage of the capabilities of the phone.

Imagine when Facetime is 3G enabled.

Guess I'll just have to start tethering my iPhone 4 off of my iPad w/unlimited 3G when I start approaching 2 GB, with MyWi. :p
Click to expand...

Air Video is your reason you are burning up so much band withe. Sorry but streaming video is the reason for the limitation and if it was not for the 2gig cap I would not be surprised if AT&T would of had apple rejected that app unless it was wifi only.

Basicly DO NOT STREAM VIDEO and you will be fine.
 
GFLPraxis said:
A lot of people, including John Gruber, seem to advise that AT&T's new 2 GB limit is 'plenty'.

I've been an iPhone + T-Mobile user since the iPhone's launch (and later switched to an iPhone 3G, but skipped the 3GS). I switched to AT&T and an iPhone 4 exactly one week ago.

In seven days, without being abusive or running any jailbroken applications or servers, I have used close to 900 MB of data. I'm almost certain I'll hit 2 GB by the end of the month.

My usage habits have certainly changed, considering that prior, I only got EDGE on my T-Mobile iPhone, and my iPad couldn't multitask to run applications like Pandora in the background. iOS 4 and 3G have greatly increased my usage, and I'm extremely satisfied with the iPhone; but I'm paying nearly twice as much for service as on T-Mobile, and it looks like I'm going to start paying extra monthly fees on my iPhone as well.



Oh yeah; and I never dropped one call on T-Mobile, barring one time while dropping 10 floors to the basement in an elevator. I've dropped two already on AT&T...though I'm not sure if the calls dropped, or the proximity sensor didn't activate and my cheek hung up (I didn't initially realize that the iPhone is on 4.0.1 when I unboxed it, and haven't upgraded to 4.1 yet). I always figured people exaggurated these issues V_V



Anyway, I've seen a lot of people asking around whether 2 GB would be enough, and people seem to unanimously answer "Yes!". I just wanted to throw my "No" on the pile. Nice job with the phone, :apple:, but boo to the carrier.
Click to expand...

I have T-Mobile and why i didnt get a iP4 from my 2G and went with a Galaxy S Vibrant instead. I get unlimited data for $20 a month. Plus i was tired of EDGE only.
 
"Imagine when Facetime is 3G enabled."

Which is why I carefully guard my Unlimited Plan. I may not use enough now to justify the additional cost, but I don't know what data using apps and accessories I'll get with the next phone and how much data I'll use next year.
 
Tom G. said:
"Imagine when Facetime is 3G enabled."

Which is why I carefully guard my Unlimited Plan. I may not use enough now to justify the additional cost, but I don't know what data using apps and accessories I'll get with the next phone and how much data I'll use next year.
Click to expand...

Me too with my nice discount unlimited data costs me $21/ month. But Att can change the grandfathered plan too.

Marc
 
I don't consider myself a heavy data user. I mostly text, check facebook and stuff like that. So, for me, it's pretty hard to go over 2GB, and I also use WiFi when I'm home so I guess it's nearly impossible for me to go over the limit. It all depends on the people I guess.
 
There is not a single answer because everyone is different

I have unlimited for my iPhone and 2gb on my iPad and every month I come close to my 2gb cap on my iPad due to nothing but email, some music streaming, and several news/sports apps. How? Not a clue but every month I get the notification about possibly needing more space as my month ends and I scratch my head at how. My guess is my WSJ downloading and other news apps suck up data while 1-2 days a week at working with some music streaming eat it up. There is zero heavy downloads, zero netflix streams, very few YouTube downloads and the few I do are audio streamsthat are short.
 
For me 2gb is not enough. I use netflix, games with notification, espn, and etc..
 
I remember when the family and I first moved to Florida from Canada 2 months ago, and I got the iPhone 4 from AT&T.

I thought I would for sure be able to bargain something more than 2GB from them, since I thought lots of people demand more. I guess it was just me.

It seems ridiculous that there is no plan offered for people who actually take advantage of all aspects of their iPhone. Are we really that much of a minority?

To put it into perspective, when I used to have my 6GB plan on my 3GS with Rogers (carrier up in Ontario, Canada), I would very frequently push over the limit to the 7-10GB realms.



As a tip for usage, keep Wi-Fi constantly on, and make sure that your iPhone auto-connects to the places you will be at most often, i.e. home, work, school, etc...

Sure this greatly compromises your battery life, but what are you gonna do.
Let's pray that the exponentially growing pile of Verizon-iPhone rumors are true, and that they'll offer more decent limits.
 
I'm fortunate enough to still have unlimited data on my original iPhone. When I upgrade, I should be able to select the unlimited data plan on whichever new model I choose. I've checked it out in the AT&T store, and the $30 unlimited plan is a choice. I'm pretty happy. :)
 
I think I've gone over 300MB 1 singe i got my iPhone in July but I was able to get the unlimted loophole trick I just like not to worry about how much space I'm using up everymonth.
 
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