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iPhone 6(S)/Plus AT&T Grandfathered in Data

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X Cruz 187

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
97
11
Texas
So what's the deal with the AT&T grandfathered in data? I've been with AT&T since the iPhone 1, but every time I call or go into the store they tell me " sir we see you have an older out dated data plan, let's change it to the new unlimited data and it will save you money." So I guess my ? Is why are they always trying to get me to leave the original unlimited data plan? The new one is cheaper and the one I have goes up $5 every other year or so, when I ask well what's the difference they tell me nothing but price, so I ask well why don't you just lower my price with the original data plan, and the answer is always sorry we can't do that. If I have a ? about he bill or want a new phone or just want to change something they get pushy about me leaving he original data plan for the new unlimited plan, I'm guessing there's a reason can anyone help?

Thanks in advance, I value the opinion of the members of this board!
 
X Cruz 187 said:
So what's the deal with the AT&T grandfathered in data? I've been with AT&T since the iPhone 1, but every time I call or go into the store they tell me " sir we see you have an older out dated data plan, let's change it to the new unlimited data and it will save you money." So I guess my ? Is why are they always trying to get me to leave the original unlimited data plan? The new one is cheaper and the one I have goes up $5 every other year or so, when I ask well what's the difference they tell me nothing but price, so I ask well why don't you just lower my price with the original data plan, and the answer is always sorry we can't do that. If I have a ? about he bill or want a new phone or just want to change something they get pushy about me leaving he original data plan for the new unlimited plan, I'm guessing there's a reason can anyone help?

Thanks in advance, I value the opinion of the members of this board!
Click to expand...
The old plan is truly unlimited. The new one can slow down after 22gb per line. But you do get tethering with the new plan.
 
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Brandonjr36 said:
The old plan is truly unlimited. The new one can slow down after 22gb per line. But you do get tethering with the new plan.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick response, I guess since I don't use that much data I would be fine with new unlimited, but when tethering that counts against my initial data. So if my daughter is watching a movie in the back seat I'm sure thats going to burn through my data.
 
X Cruz 187 said:
Thanks for the quick response, I guess since I don't use that much data I would be fine with new unlimited, but when tethering that counts against my initial data. So if my daughter is watching a movie in the back seat I'm sure thats going to burn through my data.
Click to expand...
You get 10gb’s of tethering per line. But yeah I’m pretty sure it goes against your actually data. My brother is on my plan we have about 8 days left and he just hit 22gb last night. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been slowed down.
[doublepost=1515987686][/doublepost]But your tethering will definitely be prety much turned off after 10gb
 
There are two unlimited plans with ATT: Choice and Plus. Choice is $65/mo ($60 with autopay), but, speeds are capped at 3G rates and video at SD quality. Plus is $90/mo with LTE speeds and HD video. And either new plan also allows tethering, while "classic" unlimited does not.

If need/want unlimited and don't tether, stick with the old plan as it is probably $5 cheaper pre-tax than the new Plus plan.

ADD: and seem to recall that if you get an Apple LTE watch, can be a hassle to get them to activate it to the old plan. People have got ATT to budge, but, a big hassle/drama. In that case, new unlimited plans allow for additional devices.
 
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X Cruz 187 said:
So what's the deal with the AT&T grandfathered in data? I've been with AT&T since the iPhone 1, but every time I call or go into the store they tell me " sir we see you have an older out dated data plan, let's change it to the new unlimited data and it will save you money." So I guess my ? Is why are they always trying to get me to leave the original unlimited data plan? The new one is cheaper and the one I have goes up $5 every other year or so, when I ask well what's the difference they tell me nothing but price, so I ask well why don't you just lower my price with the original data plan, and the answer is always sorry we can't do that. If I have a ? about he bill or want a new phone or just want to change something they get pushy about me leaving he original data plan for the new unlimited plan, I'm guessing there's a reason can anyone help?

Thanks in advance, I value the opinion of the members of this board!
Click to expand...

I was just like you a few months ago. Wife and I each had the Grandfathered UDP and then we had 3 kids with iPhone's on their own $30 per month data plans. As soon as I spent 5 minutes to learn about the new Unlimited Plus plan, that was it, dumped the Grandfather's like a hot potato and have saved a ton of money and have been happy ever since. Here's why:

1. The Unlimited Plus plan is truly unlimited and this threat of being slowed after crossing 22GB isn't actually happening. First, it's not a throttle, it's being deprioritized on the tower you are connected to, and for my kids who have gone over the 22GB level they haven't been slowed ever. In reading forum posts, it doesn't look like anyone has actually been slowed from LTE data speeds at all despite some hefty data consumption.

2. The 22GB threshold is per person, not all members of the plan. So with 5 family members on it in a given month I can have my kids at 21GB each, total of 63GB, and none of us will be deprioritized (again, it actually doesn't mean anything, it's not a throttle and it's never happened to any of us in busy NYC).

3. The financial savings comes from 'no data overages'. I was paying $30 a month for our old plan which bought my kids 3GB each but they were constantly going over at $10 per GB increments to the tune of $100 a month between the 3 of them. Now it's no more worry, no more arguments as I kept getting the overage emails, nothing.

4. Tethering. Tethering tethering tethering. It's fantastic, I use it all the time for my notebook, I've even used it to connect to my Apple TV in a summer house without wi-fi, turns any iPhone into a mobile hotspot. Indispensable tool. Once you have it you'll understand.

5. International Day Pass. This is one few talk about. My wife and I take 4 business trips a year to Europe and Asia and AT&T offers a very simple solution for international travel: $10 a day gets you the same service you have back home. Two months ago I was on a train in China using my iPhone as a hotspot to my notebook so I could watch my NFL football team's game. For three hours. For $10 a day. Talk about a stress-free experience.

6. Discounted iPhone X's. So I got my wife and I iPhone X's back in November and for Christmas it's what my 2 teen boys wanted. Called ATT's loyalty division, I got 2 iPhone X's for the price of 1 for retaining our business. That offer is only available to those with the new Unlimited Plus plan.

7. No More "Will this be the iPhone launch for which AT&T discontinues the Grandfathered UDP?" to stress over, no more "OMG, if I hit the wrong button on the screen at the time I move my service from my old iPhone to my new one I may lose the Grandfathered UDP forever!" to worry about.

Whew. Long post, apologies. I don't know how many members of your family you have on your dataplans but if you're like me you could save a lot of money and drama outright by avoiding those ridiculous data overages. And even if you don't, even if this is a break even exercise or costs you a few dollars more, do not discount the impact of Tethering and the International Day Passes if your lifestyle requires it.
 
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Brandonjr36 said:
The old plan is truly unlimited. The new one can slow down after 22gb per line. But you do get tethering with the new plan.
Click to expand...
Wrong. The old plan also slowed down at 22GB. Only the iPad plan was truly unlimited. I was on the grandfathered plan for 8 years.
[doublepost=1515996960][/doublepost]
Brandonjr36 said:
You get 10gb’s of tethering per line. But yeah I’m pretty sure it goes against your actually data. My brother is on my plan we have about 8 days left and he just hit 22gb last night. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been slowed down.
[doublepost=1515987686][/doublepost]But your tethering will definitely be prety much turned off after 10gb
Click to expand...
Also wrong. Tethering is not turned off after 10GB. It just is no longer high speed LTE.
[doublepost=1515997161][/doublepost]OP. I switched the day the Unlimited Plus plan became available. It offers more, for less. I’m not sure why AT&T want the grandfather plan to die, but I’m saving money and getting tethering, international day pass, unlimited text, minutes and data in US, Mexico and Canada and HBO.
 
X Cruz 187 said:
Thanks for the quick response, I guess since I don't use that much data I would be fine with new unlimited, but when tethering that counts against my initial data. So if my daughter is watching a movie in the back seat I'm sure thats going to burn through my data.
Click to expand...

I dumped the unlimited data plan from my IP3 G a few years back. There is one feature about ATT AND DirectV which ATT owns. Att allows unlimited streaming of anything from Directv, but I don't think it allows you to tether Directv content to another device without going on the meter. I don't stream that much Directv content, but I do see the content on my bill as free. So, assume your daughter could stream Directv video in the backseat without counting.

I might add that I don't have the latest unlimited ATT data plan. Instead, I'm on a 3 GB monthly plan which I've only exceed on month when my local provider went down and I had to tether to my phone in order to use my computer online.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
Wrong. The old plan also slowed down at 22GB. Only the iPad plan was truly unlimited. I was on the grandfathered plan for 8 years.
[doublepost=1515996960][/doublepost]
Also wrong. Tethering is not turned off after 10GB. It just is no longer high speed LTE.
[doublepost=1515997161][/doublepost]OP. I switched the day the Unlimited Plus plan became available. It offers more, for less. I’m not sure why AT&T want the grandfather plan to die, but I’m saving money and getting tethering, international day pass, unlimited text, minutes and data in US, Mexico and Canada and HBO.
Click to expand...
No it wasn’t throttled after 22gbs on the old plan. And in case you didn’t read my post I said prety much turned off. As in so slow you can barley use it. It’s not even a megabyte per second after 10gb.
 
Brandonjr36 said:
No it wasn’t throttled after 22gbs on the old plan. And in case you didn’t read my post I said prety much turned off. As in so slow you can barley use it. It’s not even a megabyte per second after 10gb.
Click to expand...
Yes the old grandfathered plan was throttled at 22GB. It had happened to be a dozen times over the 8 years. AT&T originally throttled it at 5GB but FCC said no. They made it 22GB.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...dfathered-unlimited-data-plans-price-increase

https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/16/9336783/att-unlimited-data-throttling-cap-raises-to-22gb

Back in 2011:
https://9to5mac.com/2011/09/29/so-it-begins-att-starts-sending-out-throttling-warnings/

And AT&T directly. Applies to all unlimited plans.
https://www.att.com/support/wireless/data-usage.html


As to tethering: I have used tethering when it was throttled. Yes it’s slow, no you can’t stream, but you can still browse the web and use the internet. So it is still useable.

Please research before you give false information. Especially when someone is looking to change from something they cannot get back.

And for the record, AT&T is now throttling the unlimited iPad plan.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/9to5ma...randfathered-unlimited-data-tablet-plans/amp/

This article also mentions that the iPhone grandfathered plan is throttled.
 
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I'm still on the original iPhone unlimited program. After discounts from my employer, I pay about $91.00 dollars each month. I use about 7gb of data a month. Ive decided to keep this plan even with the addition of the newer unlimited plans at this time.

I have looked into switching plans, however it's just me and last time I checked the original unliminted plan was still the best for my needs.

Maybe if they raise it another $5 or $10 dollars I would switch, but as of now I'm keeping it.
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
And for the record, AT&T is now throttling the unlimited iPad plan.
Click to expand...

I am so glad I sold the SIM and credentials for my Grandfathered Unlimited iPad for $1400 back in April. At $20 a month to add it back to my Unlimited Plus plan, that's 6 years of free unlimited data on my iPad. Go me.
 
boltjames said:
I am so glad I sold the SIM and credentials for my Grandfathered Unlimited iPad for $1400 back in April. At $20 a month to add it back to my Unlimited Plus plan, that's 6 years of free unlimited data on my iPad. Go me.
Click to expand...
That poor person who purchased it; got it for unthrottled for one month. But that was always the risk with that plan. You made a fantastic deal!
 
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The term is deprioritized after 22GB in times of congestion which both plans have, and I personally noticed slowdowns maybe three times throughout the years if that. It is not a hard throttle where you're automatically slowed after 22GB, I shoot way past that usage every month with full speeds. I had the grandfathered unlimited plan last year, and switched to Unlimited Plus the minute it became available.

Only difference is they added 10GB hotspot, which in my experience they have yet to enforce. Also added Canada/Mexico roaming, and removed corporate discounts, and HBO.

Hope that helps OP
 
BearBert said:
The term is deprioritized after 22GB in times of congestion which both plans have, and I personally noticed slowdowns maybe three times throughout the years if that. It is not a hard throttle where you're automatically slowed after 22GB, I shoot way past that usage every month with full speeds. I had the grandfathered unlimited plan last year, and switched to Unlimited Plus the minute it became available.

Only difference is they added 10GB hotspot, which in my experience they have yet to enforce. Also added Canada/Mexico roaming, and removed corporate discounts, and HBO.

Hope that helps OP
Click to expand...

Good post, regarding the 22GB deprioritization I look at it this way:

If one of my kids goes over 22GB, with deprioritization they might feel slowed from 9am-6pm when everyone is using their mobile devices. But by 8pm or certainly after 10pm it becomes immaterial as there are very few people straining the network and they'd feel zero effects of being last in line to get LTE. So perhaps my kids are occasionally getting hit with lesser connectivity but they don't know it because they are at school or after-school sports. By the time it's 10pm and they're heading up to their bedrooms for heavy duty streaming the network is uncongested.
 
Brandonjr36 said:
The old plan is truly unlimited. The new one can slow down after 22gb per line. But you do get tethering with the new plan.
Click to expand...
The old plan is not truly unlimited, they still can and will throttle you once you use 22GB. I've been on that plan since the first iPhone as well. I don't switch because I have my iPhone and a dumb flip phone on my plan, if I switched they are telling me that I would need to pay for data on the flip phone.
 
I’m still on the grandfathered unlimited plan and I get warnings warnings when I hit 75% of the 22GB cap, but I have NEVER experienced any throttling when I exceed it. The reason I stay on the plan is simple, my bill is lower for what I need. With the grandfathered plan, I’ve been able to combine it with a 300 minute talk plan (with roll over) and a $10 unlimited text plan, such that the total is less than the new Plus Unlimited Plan. I don’t need tethering (although I would take if offered), I don’t need the Mexico/Canada coverage, and I don’t need the HBO credit.

I don’t believe the grandfathered plan gives me better data limits as one poster has claimed, and I also seriously doubt the poster who claims he got a better retention deal of 2 for 1 iPhone x’s was solely based on his having the Plus plan and not being on the grandfathered ‍:rolleyes:.
 
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I thought it was the same as the old plan for Verizon my bad. Verizon’s old one was truly unlimited. When I had it.
 
I have found no difference between the old plan and the new plan, other than the new plan allows me to tether and saves me $20 bucks.
 
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