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AT&T's Optional 'Stream Saver' Feature Will Throttle Streaming Video Starting in 2017
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I just switched from AT&T to T_Mobile...I was so nervous about the service, but the service is a lot better then I had with AT&T...I always have LTE no matter where I am. I live in West Texas, Not in a big city, and I travel a lot to other towns and cities around me for work. 480P on my iPhone I don't even notice the difference. I do notice on my iPad, but the service is faster, has more coverage, and has way more data for way cheaper. I use at least 50Gs a month and have not noticed throttling like they said could happen.
Switching to T-mobile was the scariest thing I have done with my iPhone, but it was worth it. I have faster service and better coverage then AT&T ever offered.
This is great for parents who don't want children eating through shared data & causing overages.
I understand why they'd want to avoid it, but voluntary throttling is still just throttling. There's really not much to see here, and in no way does it compete with Binge On. I'm not saying it's a bad feature, just that people need to recognize it's for an entirely different purpose (to conserve rather than to binge).
lmao MR it DOESN"T mimic it. You still consume your data.
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can't you just adjust that in the settings for the video apps they are already using?
You could but since this is done at the account level kids can't change it unless they know your AT&T password.
I was really close to switching when T-Mobile had the Simple Choice plans. But the new T-Mobile One plan seems like a bad deal.
I use about 3-4GB/month. This is not trying to limit myself, I just don't stream video content away from Wi-Fi unless I am at an airport or something, which is once every few months at most. Email and web and instagram and spotify just don't use that much data. I do use hotspot often to do work though.
If I switch, it would be a single-line plan. So $70 for "unlimited" data, but hotspot is not included. For hotspot, it's an extra $25, bringing the total to $95! That's more expensive than Verizon and AT&T!
On AT&T, 6GB plan would cost $80/mo.
On Verizon, 10GB plan would cost $90/mo.
Thus, unless you use a lot of data, the T-Mobile plan now seems like a really bad deal.
I farm. I raise pigs on pasture and sell the pork to our customers weekly. As a special feature starting in 2017 to help you reduce your calorie consumption I will be selling you 2 oz when you buy 1 pound of meat. The 2 oz of meat will be packaged with 14 oz of water. This way you can enjoy eating three pounds a day and still stay within your caloric budget.
Wait a minute. If I did that I would be arrested, quite rightfully, and thrown in jail for cheating my customers. What AT&T is offering is just as absurd.
Wait a minute. If I did that I would be arrested, quite rightfully, and thrown in jail for cheating my customers. What AT&T is offering is just as absurd.
It is not if you want to or not. The data transfer is dramatically smaller over the network. Your phone will just sip data rather than jug the data down. On a small mobile screen, the difference isn't worth the extra size.
It is a good comprise to get the most out of your network and reduce the load for everyone using the network.
I'm not sure why anyone would complain about this.
It's a great feature! Flip it on and you can watch video on cellular without blowing through your data plan as quickly. Not all video sites offer quality reduction to save data; this will allow you to throttle most of them at once and not have to worry about it.
I wonder if it affects tethering. I sometimes bring my Apple TV when I travel, and tether it to my iPhone if the hotel has lousy WiFi. Then I can watch Netflix and so on; it would be nice to have that be throttled as well when this is on so I can watch more without blowing through data.
It's a great feature! Flip it on and you can watch video on cellular without blowing through your data plan as quickly. Not all video sites offer quality reduction to save data; this will allow you to throttle most of them at once and not have to worry about it.
I wonder if it affects tethering. I sometimes bring my Apple TV when I travel, and tether it to my iPhone if the hotel has lousy WiFi. Then I can watch Netflix and so on; it would be nice to have that be throttled as well when this is on so I can watch more without blowing through data.
Oh my god. So much whining.
This is a free option. It gives people the option to use less data (and therefore perhaps switch to a lower data plan, or use their data for something else) when watching video on their smartphones. When watching on a smartphone, a video at 420p isn't that much different than 1080p. Now, if you are airplaying it to a big screen, then yeah, it's going to be different... but then again, you can just turn off the option.
This is a free option. It gives people the option to use less data (and therefore perhaps switch to a lower data plan, or use their data for something else) when watching video on their smartphones. When watching on a smartphone, a video at 420p isn't that much different than 1080p. Now, if you are airplaying it to a big screen, then yeah, it's going to be different... but then again, you can just turn off the option.
If this is opt-in, it's fine--they can do what they want.
However if they DEFAULT this to on, that is another thing entirely. The power of defaults is a VERY real thing and I'm sure everyone here knows many people that are not technically literate enough to understand how to disable such a thing or even that it even exists in the first place.
However if they DEFAULT this to on, that is another thing entirely. The power of defaults is a VERY real thing and I'm sure everyone here knows many people that are not technically literate enough to understand how to disable such a thing or even that it even exists in the first place.
You can still get the old plans. But you need to call or go to the store.
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans.html?icid=WMM_TM_TMBLONE_S00W055QZJ6425
Scroll down to the Simple Choice Plans
Not sure what the problem here is either. If a user can't tell the difference between 480p and 720p on their device, they're getting the same experience and using less data, and it will perform better too.
As long as it's announced to customers and clearly explained how to turn it off, this isn't an issue. And hey, that means a less congested tower for me, who has a plenty big data plan and doesn't mind cranking it up in full HD most of the time.
Kind of like helping u with a diet and instead of helping you change your meals to healthy filling choices , all they do is give you a smaller fork to eat a pile of fat.
I see it as a differnet motive, its to limit the data on their networks to appear less congested. I see this as more of a SELFISH motive for AT&T rather than them caring about their customers.
Project Fi - you didn't specify type of handset or price per by GB as requirements but FI definitely has you covered in;
- not too, too expensive
- no hidden fees or shenanigans
- better coverage than Sprint or TMO alone
- pay for what you use, get a refund for what you didn't
- great customer service
I never thought they cared about customers exactly. But having an optional item that might save you money (by avoiding overages) is a good thing. What would be bad is if they take away the option -- the customer doesn't have many options for recourse.
I wish AT&T had something like T-Mobile's music streaming feature that doesn't count towards your data plan.
I would go with t-mobile but last time I checked their coverage in northern mn was absolute garbage.