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Carrier AT&T Grandfathered Unlimited Data

PCtoMAC1

PCtoMAC1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 16, 2012
423
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Hey folks. My wife and I still have the legacy unlimited data with AT&T and I’m thinking of going with one of the new “unlimited” data (100 GB) plans. It’s less expensive and impossible for us to go over that threshold.

Has everyone just ditched the old grandfathered data plans or held onto them?
 
I gave up the grandfathered plans about a year ago - saved quite a bit every month and also AT&T threw in a freebie - if I recall correctly you could choose a free subscription between HBO/ Spotify or a couple more services.
 
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Depends. The new elite plan says you only can stream at standard definition if want the signature program discount. Paying less but losing quality really a discount?
 
Depending on what your high speed data needs really are (and if you would utilize some of the extra freebies or not) you may want to take a look at At&t Prepaid. Took our family plan from Postpaid At&T to Prepaid and can't tell any difference other than my bill is a lot lower.
 
I gave up my grandfather plan earlier this year. It was slightly more difficult because I only have one line and received a corporate discount. Monthly bill was about $95 and from a data perspective I was using an average of 15gb a month.

When at&t offered free Spotify, plus free Watch TV, with a mobile hot spot, high def video viewing, and unlimited everything else, I finally pulled the trigger. My corporate discount no longer applies, but my bill now is about $85 a month. Since that includes Spotify, that's another $10 savings. And while I don't really take advantage of Watch TV, it's nice when I do want to watch a few shows. Have yet to use the mobile hot spot, but we've also been in quarantine for months so there hasn't been much of an opportunity
 
mdwsta4 said:
I gave up my grandfather plan earlier this year. It was slightly more difficult because I only have one line and received a corporate discount. Monthly bill was about $95 and from a data perspective I was using an average of 15gb a month.

When at&t offered free Spotify, plus free Watch TV, with a mobile hot spot, high def video viewing, and unlimited everything else, I finally pulled the trigger. My corporate discount no longer applies, but my bill now is about $85 a month. Since that includes Spotify, that's another $10 savings. And while I don't really take advantage of Watch TV, it's nice when I do want to watch a few shows. Have yet to use the mobile hot spot, but we've also been in quarantine for months so there hasn't been much of an opportunity
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Still hanging on with GUP. Only one line and FAN discount.
Tempting with freebies like hbo but haven’t really looked into.
 
PCtoMAC1 said:
Hey folks. My wife and I still have the legacy unlimited data with AT&T and I’m thinking of going with one of the new “unlimited” data (100 GB) plans. It’s less expensive and impossible for us to go over that threshold.

Has everyone just ditched the old grandfathered data plans or held onto them?
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Wags said:
Still hanging on with GUP. Only one line and FAN discount.
Tempting with freebies like hbo but haven’t really looked into.
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Wow, you should have switched 5 years ago. The old UDP has been more expensive than ATT's new plans for half a decade now. My bill is $70 bucks (tax included) for one line with Signature discount, with HBO Max, Watch TV, 100GB data, and 15GB of tethered data. Even if you don't need the added features, you're overspending for your plan.

Wags said:
Depends. The new elite plan says you only can stream at standard definition if want the signature program discount. Paying less but losing quality really a discount?
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Incorrect. Currently streaming 1080p on Elite with signature discount. Make sure you turn Stream Saver off, it is on by default and will limit you to SD.

prss14 said:
Depending on what your high speed data needs really are (and if you would utilize some of the extra freebies or not) you may want to take a look at At&t Prepaid. Took our family plan from Postpaid At&T to Prepaid and can't tell any difference other than my bill is a lot lower.
Click to expand...
These offerings have changed somewhat slightly. The Elite plan gives you access to HBO Max and their 30 Watch TV channels for free. The ATT Thanks app gives you a 6 month membership to Spotify or 2 month membership to Postmates for free if you qualify as a gold AT&T member.
 
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I know some friends have sold their grandfathered unlimited plans. I don't know if that's still possible, or how much they fetch, but ~5 years ago a buddy sold his for $900 on ebay. The downside is you lose your number. I know folks that live out in the boonies love those plans as its an inexpensive (relative to their other options) way to get an unmetered home internet connection through a USB LTE adapter connected to a wifi router.

However there is caution. I also know another person who did the same thing - sold their unlimited plan - and ended up having some of their friends scammed as a result. They didn't tell everyone their number changed, and when their friends who they hadn't spoken to in a while texted their old number, the new owner of that number responded by saying they're in trouble and needed cash Venmoed asap; a few folks lost a few hundred dollars in the end.
 
i have 2 lines with unlimited everything for $90 from Verizon. The tethering speed is slow but manageable.
 
I gave up ages ago when it was about 140 for 2 lines. They wouldn't budge at the time (been with them over 7-8 years). This was the time when I've heard more people were leaving ATT. Switched to Tmobile for 3 lines for 80! I liked ATT's speed, I can tell they're always faster in the areas Im in.
 
PCtoMAC1 said:
Has everyone just ditched the old grandfathered data plans or held onto them?
Click to expand...

bpeeps said:
Wow, you should have switched 5 years ago. The old UDP has been more expensive than ATT's new plans for half a decade now. My bill is $70 bucks (tax included) for one line with Signature discount, with HBO Max, Watch TV, 100GB data, and 15GB of tethered data. Even if you don't need the added features, you're overspending for your plan.
Click to expand...

I ditched mine a long time ago. AT&T kept raising the price to force people from the plan. New features (such as tethering) were only available on their expensive plans. Switched to T-Mobile, which has free (but slow) international data. $70 a month for 1 line, 2 devices (watch and iPad), unlimited data.

In my case AT&T has repeatedly shown it is not customer centric. Forced me from the grandfathered plan, forced me to drop DirecTV. DirecTV had the best product and service in the industry until AT&T took over. Support went back to the standard AT&T nightmare, and screen savers became advertisements for Pay per View. T-Mobile has awesome support. They were billing me for an extra device. Called them, they dropped the device and refunded me the money from the 3 previous statements. Took just minutes.

End of rant.
 
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Screw ATT Crooks! They obviously think that people forget. They could give their service away. I’m not ever going to switch back.
 
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Really no point keeping it especially if u have 4-5 lines and signature discount. 4 lines 160 or 5 lines 175 elite unlimited 100gb full speed data plus hbo $15 value. Plus 30gb tethering. Per line average is $35-40 a line. No brainer Plus I have att watch tv. $15 value
 
Grandfathered plan is worthless as the two $5 increases have made it a bust. Even with the Fan discount it’s not cheaper than current plans
The only consideration will be 5G in September which I’ve read will be $5-$10 more per month
Call then and tell them you’re thinking g of cancelling what can they offer you to stay. IT CANT HURT
 
bushman4 said:
Grandfathered plan is worthless as the two $5 increases have made it a bust. Even with the Fan discount it’s not cheaper than current plans
The only consideration will be 5G in September which I’ve read will be $5-$10 more per month
Call then and tell them you’re thinking g of cancelling what can they offer you to stay. IT CANT HURT
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FAN discounts vary. Some are getting like 23 or 26%. Not sure if those carry over to the new elite plans. Did not on previous unlimited plans.
 
Wags said:
FAN discounts vary. Some are getting like 23 or 26%. Not sure if those carry over to the new elite plans. Did not on previous unlimited plans.
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FAN discounts do not vary on the new plans. You get a $10 Signature discount off your Unlimited Elite bill, making the service the price of Unlimited Extra. And as of right now, you will only be able to access 5G on these new plans. UDP and the older Unlimited Plus plans are not eligible for 5G access.
 
Wait till the 5G plans come out to make a decision. Price , Coverage
( especially mmWave) are big decisions. And of course whatever deals will be around at the time
 
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bushman4 said:
Wait till the 5G plans come out to make a decision.
Click to expand...

The plans are out. Verizon charges an extra $10 a month, no charge for other carriers. Coverage maps are available, at least for T-Mobile. As for High Band support that's not as easy to discover ...
 
Ditched the unlimited grandfather plan yeaaaars ago. Joined Cricket and have been very happy! To be honest, I couldn’t even tell the difference. Was paying about $90/mo for 1 line. Been with cricket for a few years now and wont look back. Recently added my parents to my plan and am now paying 3 lines/$110 tax included
 
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I'm still on my single-line, grandfathered AT&T Unlimited plan, from 2009, now $90 (including my corporate discount); service has been rock-solid dependable. I don't care about all those dangling carrots of free Spotify or HBO Max - they will only be temporary anyways.

I have only used under 10GB data/month thus far, but I like knowing AT&T cell works reliably even on my occasional trips through the Pennsylvania mountains.

Sure, I am keeping an eye out for a better plan that fits my needs, and there are prices & plans that make me consider jumping; but I'll wait for 5G plans to settle themselves down, and then re-evaluate.

Reviewing AT&T's plans, it appears they really want you to buy an unlimited one; as there are only two small Mobile Share plans offered (3gig and 9gig).

The more things change, the more they stay the same; aye? :rolleyes:
 
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