Carrier AT&T Unlimited Data Plan Throttling Limit Increased to 22GB

[imlynxy]

I was all set to go to T-Mobile upon the launch of the iPhone 6S, because one of my lines was going off contract. Plus, AT&T had made it hard to get the subsidy since you must buy at ATT.com.

T-Mobile is great for international travel too.

Problem is, I have been testing a pre-paid sim (99 cents on their website with free shipping when I bought it), I'm on the $3 a month plan for 30 minutes and I keep adding $10 1GB data packs that last 7 days. Anyway, I've done this to test their network, and while the coverage to at least "work," is almost as good as AT&T in my area, I get speeds as low as 1Mbps in important places. I average around 6-7Mbps, whereas on AT&T I average 30+ and get peaks of 60+. This is making it hard to move to T-Mobile now.

Hi, same with me. T-mo is better, but not as good to switch to. I'm waiting for LTE12. Also just heard, that T-mo works hard with US Cellular for free LTE roaming. If this is true, than t-mo will have coverage equal to VZW or Att, especially in Maine.

Edit: Sorry I wrote cell-1 instead of USCellular
Here I already found a written proof of the rumors:
http://www.phonenews.com/sources-indicate-us-cellular-t-mobile-roaming-pact-imminent-30839/

Here is approximate native US cellular map:

http://www.cellularmaps.com/3g_compare.shtml

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Do your calculations factor in your device costs/subsidies? That is where the savings started breaking down for my family. T-mobile was only going to be very slightly cheaper, if at all after having to pay full price for phones vs the higher monthly rate plus subsidy model at AT&T. So in my case, it wasn't worth risking T-Mobile's coverage, especially since the maps didn't look to good where my brother and sister live (on our plan).

I did calculate those in. I went into beastmode and calculated every possible scenario, to include what it would be like to just turn in the T-Mo phone every year and upgrade (worse deal of all), what it would cost to pay-off and sell the T-Mo phone every 12 mos/18mos/2 yrs, and I also calculated what it costs to continue to get a subsidized 2-yr contract phone with AT&T and then sell that phone at the 2-yr point after the contract ends. When it was all said and done, when it comes to the actual cost of the device itself, 2-yr AT&T subsidized pricing had the edge over everything, but paying off and selling a T-Mo device myself (swappa or craigslist) was not too far behind. There are only two devices on my plan though. However, if you have a house full of phones, then the cost savings for the 2-yr AT&T subsidized plan start to add up and erode at the monthly savings you get by going with T-Mo.

And of course, as you pointed out, if T-Mo's coverage is not great in areas where the service is needed, then it is all a moot point and AT&T would be the superior choice unless money savings was your only driving factor.

I have to admit, it took a surprising amount of work to really outline the true costs. It's further complicated by the fact that everyone's plan is different (grandfathered UDP with no monthly device charge versus the newer style plans versus etc. etc. etc). Everyone's true data needs are different. And then you add in how often you like to upgrade, whether or not you like the convenience of sending/turning your phone in or if you like the extra work of selling it yourself, and next thing you know it becomes a fairly lengthy equation.

In the end, selling my UPD plan via eBay (performing that next) and switching to T-Mobile was very financially beneficial to me. But for others, the answer may be different. One can only tell after sitting down and fully crunching the numbers for their particular situation.

 

[Zipher9]

Guys... has anyone been able to get unlimited messaging for $20 on the old Family 550 plan? Retentions is saying that 550 is not compatible with the discount...

 

[dancefreak]

Guys... has anyone been able to get unlimited messaging for $20 on the old Family 550 plan? Retentions is saying that 550 is not compatible with the discount...

Yes, I have it. They switched me no questions asked a week ago. There are two versions of the texting--one is a legacy messaging plan with mobile to any mobile voice and one is the current messaging plan without. The former is NOT available with a discount on the the 550 plan as far as I know, so I had to switch to the current messaging to drop to $20. Doesn't make a difference as my plan now has unlimited voice minutes.

 

[Zipher9]

Yes, I have it. They switched me no questions asked a week ago. There are two versions of the texting--one is a legacy messaging plan with mobile to any mobile voice and one is the current messaging plan without. The former is NOT available with a discount on the the 550 plan as far as I know, so I had to switch to the current messaging to drop to $20. Doesn't make a difference as my plan now has unlimited voice minutes.

thanks a lot... was this done through retention? about ho long did it take for the rep to switch it out for you? and was it a fight? I really appreciate you help.

 

[imlynxy]

I'm sorry and don't take it personal please. .... But I have a very strong feeling that some of the posts here about the "greatest t-mobile network" are written by t-mobile press center.
May be And I hope that I'm wrong. I tried t-mo myself. I can give 6/10for CS, 6/10 for network, 10/10 for roaming, LTE speed 10/1010/10 for forecasting and company managment.
Att: 9/10 for CS, 9/10 network, 7/10 for forecasting and managment.
T-mo have 21 gig of fast, no throttled internet, att noe has 22.

MY Text message is $10 month for unlimited text and any mobile to mobile calling

I think this is personal plan for 10, I have Family for 20.

 

[noekozz]

This is great news, so glad I stuck with my UDP. I was pressured and even came close to switching at one point, but persistence wins again. I wonder what led them to that number though?

Can anyone test this out? I was getting hit with the overage txt just about every month thanks to spotify, glad I don't have to worry about that anymore.

 

[Eileen89]

This is great news, so glad I stuck with my UDP. I was pressured and even came close to switching at one point, but persistence wins again. I wonder what led them to that number though?

Can anyone test this out? I was getting hit with the overage txt just about every month thanks to spotify, glad I don't have to worry about that anymore.

I'm glad I kept my Unlimited Data plan as well. At just $22/month, it never made sense to switch it. I believe there are posts in a few threads where members have used up to the 22GB limit and weren't throttled.

 

[tworth23]

I was all set to go to T-Mobile upon the launch of the iPhone 6S, because one of my lines was going off contract. Plus, AT&T had made it hard to get the subsidy since you must buy at ATT.com.

T-Mobile is great for international travel too.

Problem is, I have been testing a pre-paid sim (99 cents on their website with free shipping when I bought it), I'm on the $3 a month plan for 30 minutes and I keep adding $10 1GB data packs that last 7 days. Anyway, I've done this to test their network, and while the coverage to at least "work," is almost as good as AT&T in my area, I get speeds as low as 1Mbps in important places. I average around 6-7Mbps, whereas on AT&T I average 30+ and get peaks of 60+. This is making it hard to move to T-Mobile now.

I was all set to go to T-Mobile upon the launch of the iPhone 6S, because one of my lines was going off contract. Plus, AT&T had made it hard to get the subsidy since you must buy at ATT.com.

T-Mobile is great for international travel too.

Problem is, I have been testing a pre-paid sim (99 cents on their website with free shipping when I bought it), I'm on the $3 a month plan for 30 minutes and I keep adding $10 1GB data packs that last 7 days. Anyway, I've done this to test their network, and while the coverage to at least "work," is almost as good as AT&T in my area, I get speeds as low as 1Mbps in important places. I average around 6-7Mbps, whereas on AT&T I average 30+ and get peaks of 60+. This is making it hard to move to T-Mobile now.

You data speeds are probably throttled. Some of the prepaid plans don't have access to Tmobiles full network speed

 

[powerbook911]

You data speeds are probably throttled. Some of the prepaid plans don't have access to Tmobiles full network speed

Yes, I know the ones you are referring to, but mine wasn't suppose to be throttled. Plus, it wouldn't explain the areas where it only get 0.5 Mbps. However, I did think of what you were suggesting. It was absolutely a legitimate point for me to check.

 

[supervelous]

I just called AT&T today to see if I could get some kind of concession on my messaging plan since I've been using only about 100-200 sms a month as I text a lot but almost exclusively via iMessage. Current plan was $40 per month 450 min voice, $30 per month unlimited data, and $20 month unlimited texting.

First she tried to convert me to a 6GB Mobile share plan for $72 per month. Politely said no way I'm getting rid of unlimited data. She countered with I only use 3GB per month. I countered it's because I avoid doing certain things with my phone since I got throttled several times at 5gb to almost unusable speeds and now that caps been raised to 22gb I'm at 5.5gb already with a week and a half remaining in cycle.

She seemed annoyed and said well there's really not much she can do. But then I persisted on other messaging plans as I recall there was a $5 200 message option in the past. She put me on hold and surprisingly came back and said she can give me unlimited for $10/month and give me a $25 credit for being a loyal customer since 2008.

So now $80 per month for unlimited data and messaging then a 20% fan discount. My bill should be about 70 all in for unlimited data! I don't think it's worth it to switch to any type of mobile share plan ever!! So glad I stuck with UDP bc if she offered me the 6gb plan at $72 per month when the UDP cap was 5gb I probably would have taken it and lost unlimited forever.

 

[Legionnaire]

Calling now to see if I can get unlimited $10 text
I'm on $20 now


30 seconds. And she added it!!!
Thank you.

I said
Can I have $10 unlimited text? She said. Yes!

Bam. Done


She gave me a free microcell tower to put at my house!!! Since I have bad signal!!

 

[supervelous]

Calling now to see if I can get unlimited $10 text
I'm on $20 now


30 seconds. And she added it!!!
Thank you.

I said
Can I have $10 unlimited text? She said. Yes!

Bam. Done

Awesome!!! Going to do the same for my fiancé. I read about people getting unlimited messaging lowered to $20 on a family plan and figured if they can get $20 on family maybe I can get lower on my individual plan. The bill credit was icing on the cake which I didn't even ask for and very surprised bc she seemed like she didn't want to do anything for me after I rejected her mobile share plan sales pitch.

 

[Legionnaire]

Awesome!!! Going to do the same for my fiancé. I read about people getting unlimited messaging lowered to $20 on a family plan and figured if they can get $20 on family maybe I can get lower on my individual plan. The bill credit was icing on the cake which I didn't even ask for and very surprised bc she seemed like she didn't want to do anything for me after I rejected her mobile share plan sales pitch.

She gave me a free microcell tower too

Att really has good customer service.. They've waived every activation fee ive ever had.. gave me 5000 free rollover minutes a few years ago and dropped me to 450 plan, just now they dropped my plan again to 300 minutes, since I use roughly 200-250 minutes a month.

Gave me free 2500 minutes of rollover since I switched to 300 minutes a month
Dropped me to $10 text

New bill + 25% FAN discount
$30 300 minute talk (2500 rollover minutes) average 200-300 a month mins
$30 data unlimited
$10 text unlimited

= $64 a month with tax included. Woot

omg. the tower is almost $330!!

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Microce...UTF8&qid=1443900344&sr=8-1&keywords=microcell

 

[erayser]

This is great news, so glad I stuck with my UDP. I was pressured and even came close to switching at one point, but persistence wins again. I wonder what led them to that number though?

Can anyone test this out? I was getting hit with the overage txt just about every month thanks to spotify, glad I don't have to worry about that anymore.

I'm glad I kept my Unlimited Data plan as well. At just $22/month, it never made sense to switch it. I believe there are posts in a few threads where members have used up to the 22GB limit and weren't throttled.

Got my warning text this morning. Looks like they send it out at 16.5GB now. I've already passed 22GB, and I still don't see any hard throttles in SoCal. I don't see any difference from the initial throttle policy change on only throttling only on congested towers. The only change is getting the warning text at 16.5GB. Probably a good thing for UDP customers that don't go over 10GB. They can enjoy their data without a text warning. I'll keep keep getting the text message since I average 30 to 40GB every cycle... which is fine... since I don't see any hard throttles in my location anyway. Very happy UDP customer.

 

[supervelous]

She gave me a free microcell tower too

Att really has good customer service.. They've waived every activation fee ive ever had.. gave me 5000 free rollover minutes a few years ago and dropped me to 450 plan, just now they dropped my plan again to 300 minutes, since I use roughly 200-250 minutes a month.

Gave me free 2500 minutes of rollover since I switched to 300 minutes a month
Dropped me to $10 text

New bill + 25% FAN discount
$30 300 minute talk (2500 rollover minutes) average 200-300 a month mins
$30 data unlimited
$10 text unlimited

= $64 a month with tax included. Woot

omg. the tower is almost $330!!

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Microce...UTF8&qid=1443900344&sr=8-1&keywords=microcell

Sweet! I might have to ask for that 300 minute plan, I didn't even know it existed thought I was on the lowest voice plan. I barely talk on the phone, I have 4500 rollover minutes on the 450 plan!! Would love to take another $10 off my bill!

Thanks for the data point! And sweet sweet deal getting that microcell!!

 

[mac.cali]

A family member got tricked into switching into their new shared plans. Do you think they can get their UDP back? If so how do you go about that?

 

[tigres]

A family member got tricked into switching into their new shared plans. Do you think they can get their UDP back? If so how do you go about that?

Never going to happen.

 

[Legionnaire]

Sweet! I might have to ask for that 300 minute plan, I didn't even know it existed thought I was on the lowest voice plan. I barely talk on the phone, I have 4500 rollover minutes on the 450 plan!! Would love to take another $10 off my bill!

Thanks for the data point! And sweet sweet deal getting that microcell!!

Mobile to mobile is free
Monthly minutes are just to landlines. Yeah, il never use them.



Why does my bill show up like this on my att.com??

shouldnt it say
minutes 30
data 30
text 10?

Plan and Feature Cost Summary

Talk

300 Minutes

$29.99/mo.

Data

Data Unlimited for iPhone on 4G LTE

$30.00/mo.

Sub-total for Talk, Text & Data

$59.99/mo.



Total Monthly Cost

$59.99

(excludes taxes & additional fees)

 

[dave006]

A family member got tricked into switching into their new shared plans. Do you think they can get their UDP back? If so how do you go about that?

If it has only be a few days then yes it is possible to get the UDP back. Just call and a CSR can open a ticket to have the feature added to the line. If it has been more than a billing cycle then the answer is no.

Dave

 

[Rayfire]

She gave me a free microcell tower too

Att really has good customer service.. They've waived every activation fee ive ever had.. gave me 5000 free rollover minutes a few years ago and dropped me to 450 plan, just now they dropped my plan again to 300 minutes, since I use roughly 200-250 minutes a month.

Gave me free 2500 minutes of rollover since I switched to 300 minutes a month
Dropped me to $10 text

New bill + 25% FAN discount
$30 300 minute talk (2500 rollover minutes) average 200-300 a month mins
$30 data unlimited
$10 text unlimited

= $64 a month with tax included. Woot

omg. the tower is almost $330!!

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Microce...UTF8&qid=1443900344&sr=8-1&keywords=microcell

How did your get the 300 minute talk plan? If you can share, that would be great!

 

[supervelous]

Mobile to mobile is free
Monthly minutes are just to landlines. Yeah, il never use them.



Why does my bill show up like this on my att.com??

shouldnt it say
minutes 30
data 30
text 10?

Plan and Feature Cost Summary

Talk

300 Minutes

$29.99/mo.

Data

Data Unlimited for iPhone on 4G LTE

$30.00/mo.

Sub-total for Talk, Text & Data

$59.99/mo.



Total Monthly Cost

$59.99

(excludes taxes & additional fees)

Mine is showing the same not showing the messaging but elsewhere on the full site (can't recall where sorry) it showed the unlimited messaging and $10.

 

[Legionnaire]

How did your get the 300 minute talk plan? If you can share, that would be great!

What? is it not an regular option?

Heck Idk, but guy gave me it! he just looked at my account and said you dont use much minutes do you? lets drop it and save you another chunk of money. and he gave me 2500 minute rollover to take care of me if i ever needed them.

 

[dave006]

No it is it not available in all markets. Just like the 450 and the 550 plans. YMMV is the watch word for all these plans. There is also some risk that you may lose some of these "changes" made by the CSR reps. The changes are often audited and invalid changes are rejected. So keep an eye on your account for the next 3-5 business days to make sure the changes you want stick.

Dave

 

[Rayfire]

What? is it not an regular option?

Heck Idk, but guy gave me it! he just looked at my account and said you dont use much minutes do you? lets drop it and save you another chunk of money. and he gave me 2500 minute rollover to take care of me if i ever needed them.

I just checked, the option isn't there, so far it only shows 450mins is the only plan available for the lowest minutes.

So did you call retention for it? Or just the normal CSR at 611?