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AT&T 3G Service question...

R

RunOverProducti

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 26, 2008
232
1
Apple.com states the following:

" If you choose the 250MB plan, you’ll receive onscreen messages as you get close to your monthly data limit so you can decide whether to turn off 3G or upgrade to the unlimited plan."

If you choose the 250MB for $15 and receive a message that you are about to go over your limit, if you decide to upgrade for the $30 unlimited will it be an extra $15 for the upgrade?Or another $30 and your month would start from that day?
 
RunOverProducti said:
Apple.com states the following:

" If you choose the 250MB plan, you’ll receive onscreen messages as you get close to your monthly data limit so you can decide whether to turn off 3G or upgrade to the unlimited plan."

If you choose the 250MB for $15 and receive a message that you are about to go over your limit, if you decide to upgrade for the $30 unlimited will it be an extra $15 for the upgrade?Or another $30 and your month would start from that day?
Click to expand...

The way I read it is that if you "upgrade" to the unlimited plan, you will be charged an additional $30 once the 250mb is used up and it will be good for unlimited for the next month. If you simply choose to add another 250mb you get charged $15 after you use the initial 250mb and it is good for another 30 days.
 
There is no official information yet.

However, knowing AT&T's billing practices, by best guess would be the following:

You sign up for a 250gb plan on May 1. This runs 30 days until May 30. You are charged $15.00, with that recurring each month. (You'd have to CANCEL to stop the billing)

On May 17, you decide you need the unlimited. Your account would be upgraded retroactive to May 1 for 'unlimited'. You'd be billed $30.00 + $15.00 the start of the next month.

If you cancelled, say on May 28, you'd be billed just $15.00 on May 28.

If you restarted service on June 4, then June 4 to July 3rd would be your '30 day window'.

My guess is that AT&T would rather have an automatically recurring rate that you 'forget' to cancel, so they get more money from you, instead of a set 30-day window where your contract automatically expires.
 
Looking for the same answer myself. Didn't find anything on Apple or ATT. My gut tells me ATT will charge the full $30, but maybe they will be more flexible for better PR.
 
kirchnrd said:
Looking for the same answer myself. Didn't find anything on Apple or ATT. My gut tells me ATT will charge the full $30, but maybe they will be more flexible for better PR.
Click to expand...

AT&T has always prorated my bills when i made changes to my account.
 
Thanks guys,

For the first month I'll try the $15, I just want to test my usage. I don't wanna jump the gun and just get the $30 if I'm going to use less then 250mb a month.

I would be surprised if they do something logical.
 
Some of these answers are confusing.

I assumed that if you started with a $15/250MB plan and decided (upon getting a warning that it's almost used up) to switch to the unlimited plan that they would charge you an additional $15.

When the next month starts they will charge you $30/Unlimited unless you decide to cancel or switch back to the $15/250MB plan.

Again, the above is what I assumed so I don't know for sure.

I am surprised that some think you would be charged another $30 for a total of $45 if you switch mid-month. I don't think so.
 
From the screen shot at the bottom of this Apple page, it says:
Plan Options
When you select an option below, it will start when the current plan runs out of data or reaches the end date, whichever comes first.
Click to expand...

Since it says "it will start when...", it would seem to me that if you get a warning that you're about to run out of data, it's as if your plan is about to expire and what you can then do is select which plan will take effect (starting anew) at that time and you can choose a fresh 250 MB plan or a new unlimited month.
 
CarboysDesire said:
Some of these answers are confusing.

I assumed that if you started with a $15/250MB plan and decided (upon getting a warning that it's almost used up) to switch to the unlimited plan that they would charge you an additional $15.

When the next month starts they will charge you $30/Unlimited unless you decide to cancel or switch back to the $15/250MB plan.

Again, the above is what I assumed so I don't know for sure.

I am surprised that some think you would be charged another $30 for a total of $45 if you switch mid-month. I don't think so.
Click to expand...

That would be the logical thing to do, but it's AT&T we are talking about here.:eek:
 
CarboysDesire said:
Some of these answers are confusing.

I assumed that if you started with a $15/250MB plan and decided (upon getting a warning that it's almost used up) to switch to the unlimited plan that they would charge you an additional $15.

When the next month starts they will charge you $30/Unlimited unless you decide to cancel or switch back to the $15/250MB plan.

Again, the above is what I assumed so I don't know for sure.

I am surprised that some think you would be charged another $30 for a total of $45 if you switch mid-month. I don't think so.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm thinking too.
 
gt1948 said:
AT&T has always prorated my bills when i made changes to my account.
Click to expand...

This is pre-paid. AT&T, AFAIK, doesn’t pro-rate pre-paid voice or data plans. The iPad plan should be compared to AT&T’s Pay As You Go service. AT&T will charge you immediately for the $15 or $30.

CarboysDesire said:
Some of these answers are confusing.

I assumed that if you started with a $15/250MB plan and decided (upon getting a warning that it's almost used up) to switch to the unlimited plan that they would charge you an additional $15.

...

I am surprised that some think you would be charged another $30 for a total of $45 if you switch mid-month. I don't think so.
Click to expand...

Because that’s probably exactly what’s going to happen. Apple/AT&T will charge you an additional $30 once the original 250MB runs out and your unlimited plan will be active 30 days from the date your 250MB expires.

That’s pretty damn fair. I’m surprised AT&T agreed to this. Usually, telecoms would want you to forfeit the rest of your 250MB data plan and begin the unlimited plan right away.
 

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jaw04005 said:
This is pre-paid. AT&T, AFAIK, doesn’t pro-rate pre-paid voice or data plans. The iPad plan should be compared to AT&T’s Pay As You Go service. AT&T will charge you immediately for the $15 or $30.



Because that’s probably exactly what’s going to happen. Apple/AT&T will charge you an additional $30 once the original 250MB runs out and your unlimited plan will be active 30 days from the date your 250MB expires.

That’s pretty damn fair. I’m surprised AT&T agreed to this. Usually, telecoms would want you to forfeit the rest of your 250MB data plan and begin the unlimited plan right away.
Click to expand...

Fair enough for me! I'm returning my WiFi for a 3G
 
jaw04005 said:
This is pre-paid. AT&T, AFAIK, doesn’t pro-rate pre-paid voice or data plans. The iPad plan should be compared to AT&T’s Pay As You Go service. AT&T will charge you immediately for the $15 or $30.
Click to expand...

That would make sense. It's a pre-paid plan.
 
OK, thank you for posting that thumbnail!

That explains it pretty clearly. So you can pay $45 ($15 + $30) in a given month but the good news is that the Unlimited plan goes into effect for 30 days upon the using up of the original 250MB.

I think that's pretty fair!

I wonder what happens if you do nothing. Does it automatically cancel for you? Or does it assume you want to buy another 250MB? Probably the latter.
 
RunOverProducti said:
For the first month I'll try the $15, I just want to test my usage. I don't wanna jump the gun and just get the $30 if I'm going to use less then 250mb a month.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea, but I would start with the unlimited to gauge my usage. I know my first month of iPhone data was 3x what I used on my fifth month and even that recent fifth month was around 350MB. You are probably more likely to use it extra since its so new and shiny. ;)
 
The iPhone is a much more mobile device though. Even so my 3G usage over the last four months has been less than 200MB. I am gong to try the 250MB plan as well.
 
I wonder if the iPads 10 hour battery life will still be true with people using Wifi and 3G on it.

Cause I know on my iPhone, that message below the 3G on switch isn't lying when it says it'll decrease your battery life.
 
Wow, I can't believe this is the same thread that existed a month ago. :).

I've long went with the WiFi model, and it's actually turning out to be a great choice for me.

But yes, as other people said, pre-paid.

$15 for 250mb, and if you run out, $30 extra dollars for unlimited. No "upgrade" from 250mb to unlimited. That sucks.
 
fraggot said:
I wonder if the iPads 10 hour battery life will still be true with people using Wifi and 3G on it.
Click to expand...

No. Apple’s Web page claims you will get 9 hours of battery life if you have the 3G on.

CarboysDesire said:
I wonder what happens if you do nothing. Does it automatically cancel for you? Or does it assume you want to buy another 250MB? Probably the latter.
Click to expand...

The latter. You have to cancel the plan (on the device).
 
So is the reverse true, can you revert from unlimited to 250MB for whatever reason you may decide to do so? :confused:
 
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