AT&T's Mobile Share Plan: To switch or not to switch?

[HXGuy]

So here is my situation...what do you guys thing, is it worth to switch?

Currently we have four iPhones on a FamilyTalk plan. 700 shares minutes, unlimited text and unlimited mobile to mobile.

Line 1 (mine): Unlimited data grandfathered plan (Uses 1.0 - 3.5GB/month)
Line 2: 3GB data plan (Uses 200MB - 600MB/month)
Line 3: 3GB data plan (Uses 100MB - 400MB/month)
Line 4: 2GB data plan (Uses 0.5GB - 2GB/month)

Our total bill for the month comes out to $235+tax. Our total data usage right now is about 6.5GB on the high end (just looking back at 1 year of history and taking the highest month for each person).

I'm thinking of switching to the 10GB/month Mobile Share plan. It would be practically the same price ($240 vs $235) but we would gain the use of FaceTime over Cellular as well as the ability to tether our iPads to the phones which is a big plus.

It seems like we have a pretty good amount of headroom for additional data so the 10GB/month should be enough but is it worth giving up the Unlimited Data plan I have now, even though it seems I never use that much anyway?

 

[greytmom]

You'll use more data with cellular FaceTime and tethering, so you might want to up your estimate of your data needs quite a bit. Personally, I wouldn't give up the unlimited unless it will actually save you quite a bit of money, as long as you monitor usage carefully.

 

[HXGuy]

You'll use more data with cellular FaceTime and tethering, so you might want to up your estimate of your data needs quite a bit. Personally, I wouldn't give up the unlimited unless it will actually save you quite a bit of money, as long as you monitor usage carefully.

Good points. Another thing to consider is that now that two of the four lines have an iPhone 5 (and the other two lines are also upgrading to iPhone 5's in about a month), the data use could go up quite a bit.

Maybe we should wait a couple months and see how the data usage looks when all lines have the iPhone 5 and go from there.

 

[Bswartz95]

I will do everything in my power to save my unlimited plan. Phones and networks are only going to get faster and use more data. Apps will become more complex and data hungry. Phone companies know this. That's why they're trying to get everyone onto a tiered plan. Cash cow.

 

[HXGuy]

I will do everything in my power to save my unlimited plan. Phones and networks are only going to get faster and use more data. Apps will become more complex and data hungry. Phone companies know this. That's why they're trying to get everyone onto a tiered plan. Cash cow.

Don't you think that one day they can just take the Unlimited plan away? I don't see why not, they are not under any contract to keep it as far as I know...or are they?

Heck for the next iPhone release, they could say the only way to keep Unlimited data is to pay full price (same thing Verizon did this time around).

 

[Bswartz95]

Don't you think that one day they can just take the Unlimited plan away? I don't see why not, they are not under any contract to keep it as far as I know...or are they?

Heck for the next iPhone release, they could say the only way to keep Unlimited data is to pay full price (same thing Verizon did this time around).

Yeah, i am Verizon and paid full price. They're going to have to take it from me. I won't voluntarily give it up. That's for sure!

 

[d21mike]

Only you can decide what is best for you. But, we have 4 iPhones and 4 iPads with Data. We switched to the 10gb Shared Plan and dropped the data plans on 4 iPads which saved us $90 (2x30 + 2x15) and use Personal Hotspot for our iPads. With that savings I can increase my 10gb if needed and still save money. I also gain the ability to tether my MacBook and any additional devices I buy. For me it was an easy decision.

 

[robdam1001]

When I pre-ordered my iPhone 5 from the Apple Store iOS app, it automatically inserted the 10gb family share plan into my purchase. I didn't spend any time looking into it at that time; I just wanted to get my iphone 5 order in FAST. 4 iPhones in our family. 3 of them consistently use under.5 gb/month. I use 3-4gb monthly.

 

[Hammie]

With 4 iPhones and 5 iPads, I am saving over $100 with the Mobile Share 10GB plan. I have 10 days left this month and I have only used ~700 MB. I doubt that I would ever feel comfortable with the 6GB plan. I calculated our average to be around 6.5GB based on tracked usage prior to migrating.

I have not traveled for work and we spent more time at home using our wi-fi network this month so our usage is lower than normal.

 

[aneftp]

One factor many people don't consider is corp discounts.

Att corp discounts both voice and data. But data discounts only apply to grandfathered $30 unlimited and grandfathered $25/2gb data plan or those new data plans over $50/month.

Also when u switch to mobile share u will lose ur fan discount on voice since the $30-40 smartphone per line does not qualify for discount.

So OP could be losing close to $30/month in fan discounts when switching depending on size of discount.

 

[mantan]

It's a decision that varies by situation.

Unlimited data is a mirage. People cling to it for the 'security/peace of mind'....but throttling it at 5 GB is essentially a data cap.

For families that have a lot of lines and predictable habits (I know my wife's usage isn't going to change one iota with LTE) it can make sense. Especially if you want to tether or add tablets. You can use the buffer of the other lines to give you room beyond that 5 gig.

 

[hipsheik]

First world problems.

 

[Aldaris]

I switched, main reasons was to get FaceTime over cellular, and tethering for when I need it, without a backdoor solution that is spotty at best (I've purchased a few different ones that were all sub par). As well as to avoid overages with others we had: my unlimited plan (1) two 200MB (2)(3) and a 2(GB). Keep in mind even with an unlimited AT&T will throttle after 5GB. Overall monthly bill will be the same (within a few cents if that) and not have to pay extra for hot spot.

I think it's really worth it-if your using 5GB+on unlimited, you're going to get throttled, mind as well share from a pool and not worry about that if you are going to be tossing down the Bites.

 

[mantan]

One factor many people don't consider is corp discounts.

Att corp discounts both voice and data. But data discounts only apply to grandfathered $30 unlimited and grandfathered $25/2gb data plan or those new data plans over $50/month.

Also when u switch to mobile share u will lose ur fan discount on voice since the $30-40 smartphone per line does not qualify for discount.

So OP could be losing close to $30/month in fan discounts when switching depending on size of discount.

Very true. I called AT&T just to walk through how everything would apply. Long story short, the shared plan would cost me about $15/more a month. The CSR agreed said it probably made sense for me to sit tight.