Checking AT&T iPhone Data Usage History

[faustfire]

I have no problem with AT&T getting rid of unlimited data, it's the future of all wireless providers. As more and more people start to use smart phones it will definitely have a negative impact on their networks just as it has on AT&T's.

IMO though, once they go in this direction they should then start treating all their services as data, with no directives on which device you use it on.

If I pay for 2 gigs of data, it shouldn't matter if I consume that data with my iphone, ipad, laptop, etc. Also, I shouldn't have to pay a different rate for the data I consume on phone calls or text messages.

I love my iphone, have had one since day one, and would love to have an ipad, but I refuse to pay for a separate data plan when I should be able to share my iphone data plan with it. Especially now that they are setting a data cap on it.

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

Or maybe some of us like saving $5 a month without any change in what we get.

If being a 'true fan' means wasting money then no, I guess I'm not one.

Yeah for some it's good and for some it's bad. Ideally AT&T wouldn't screw the ppl who actually use more than 2 legitimate gigs per month, and have 3 tiers with one being the 5 gig "unlimited." But i think steve was right last night, AT&T has had a hard time bc iphone users use so much data. But to have forced everyone to buy unlimited data and then take it away entirely now is unbelievable. Hopefully when more than one carrier has the iphone it'll get better, but remember the recent verizon news that they might head to buying chunks of megabytes and no longer have unlimited. It's all a big mess.

 

[Mike Teezie]

Hahaha! Never more than 160 Mb for me.

Living with Edge only rules.

I was in California for a week lat month, and I'm sure I crossed the 1 gig mark since 3G was everywhere.

 

[kennethalan]

I'll probably switch to the 2GB $25 plan even though the 6 months before Dec '09 were like 5GB every month.

 

[OneMike]

I've been using over or at least 5GB for the last several months.

A lot of it being simplify media which will be going away in the near future.

I do tether to my ipad. But only for web / email, etc.. No netflix, youtube or other data intensive apps. Actually since I got the iPad my monthly data dropped a little.

At any rate. Most of my usage is streaming music on my commute which I can do without. I mainly do since I'm paying and being charged for unlimited. Why not use it.

Starting with my next cycle. I'm going to not do any streaming and just use the phone as I need it. From there I'll get an idea on what I need.

 

[appleguru1]

I've since had my iPhone stolen, but here's my November '09 -> April '10 usage.. I've been tethering pretty much the whole time too, though only when I need it (which is.. pretty much just on long car rides).

 

[spydr]

Thank you AT&T for sparing us from going through piles of statements to figure this out.

 

[Jethrotoe]

IN GIGS.

My May numbers are crazy (*cough* MyWi+iPad *cough*), but otherwise it would appear that I should consider the 2GB cap & $5/month savings.

On second thought, naaaaaaaahhhhhh.

Just for the heck of it, did anyone else's May numbers go through the roof?
My iPhone (3G) use for May more that doubled from any other month since I have had the phone. No JB, no tethering, nothing that I can remember doing that would drive that. Just curious if there are many of us that this happened to. Could be interesting...a big glitch?? If I'm the only one...never mind.

 

[spazzcat]

Think I may have found a solution to getting Unlimited data with new iPhone 4G contracts...

Earlier today, I called *DATA# to check up on how much data I have used this month. I then installed an app from Cydia called "3G Unrestrictor", which makes apps think that I'm using WiFi instead of being on 3G. Then I downloaded 140MB of apps from the App Store. Called *DATA# again, and there is no change in data usage from when I dialed before! AT&T must register that I'm on WiFi also!

So could this be a solution to get around this 2GB cap?

It takes a day or two for your usage to show up.

 

[elistan]

And you have hard data to verify:

1) 2% is indeed the number of users over 2GB

2) The 2% is indeed using over half the network bandwidth

I will say this again, this is a pre-emptive strike by AT&T to get more money in the long run. This isn't about network congestion. This is about user data usage habits going higher and higher in the long run. How much data did you use on a Nokia 6230 back in the day vs an iPhone 2g vs iPhone 3gs vs the next big thing

Think about it.

Obviously none of us have access to AT&T's usage statistics. But we do have past statements from AT&T:

1) From the recent press-release: "Currently, 98 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 2 GB of data a month on average." So there you go.

2) From an analyst conference in 2009, by Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of the mobility and consumer markets division of AT&T: "About 3 percent of [AT&T's] smart phone customers are driving about 40 percent of the [wireless data] traffic" from its 81.6 million wireless customers, he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-att_10bus.ART.State.Edition1.3cf21a4.html

So his numbers (2% and 50%) were a bit off - they're 3% and 40% - but the main point remains. Those people using more than 2GB/mo are hampering the network for the rest of us. I'm sure AT&T would LOVE to just kick those 3% off their network (well, probably not, that's over 2 million customers, so maybe just the top 1%? 816,000 customers.) but obviously there'd be a huge backlash - from users, the press, the FCC, maybe the DOJ, etc.

In the meantime, since AT&T can't get rid of that 3%, or force them to switch existing contracts, they'll let them continue their existing unlimited contracts, yes. But eventually attrition will reduce those numbers, and the new plans will prevent most new such users from appearing, so overall hopefully for everybody (minus those 100gb+ or whatever users) the overall network congestion will fall.

Yes, it likely means more overall income for AT&T. But it's also better, at least for the moment, for most of us customers as far as I can tell. YMMV.

 

[elistan]

Oh, and here's my paltry usage with my first-gen 2G iPhone. EDGE speeds generally suck, so I try to use wifi as much as possible, and restrict my EDGE use to quick reference type lookups - who was that actor, what does Amazon sell that item for, what's the weather forecast, where's that restaurant, what's CNN say, etc. I don't stream radio (I just use the iPod app) and I don't tether.

 

[lionsandwings]

S

This isn't a SJ decision, you can't put this on him. This is an AT&T decision. I'm sure Apple isn't happy about it, but this paves the way for them to be on other carriers.

I don't think anyone at AT&T can go #2 without asking Steve first.

 

[Surely]

I don't think anyone at AT&T can go #2 without asking Steve first.

I don't agree with that.

I think that AT&T is simply anticipating new carrier introductions in the near future, and is changing their plans based on what they believe other carriers will offer.

I'm actually glad that there is now a cheaper option for me. In the past 6 months, I've reached exactly 200MB once, and all of the other months were 173MB and lower. The $15/200MB plan is just right for me. If I think I'll go above, I'll either up myself to the $25/2GB plan (which still saves me $5 over what I'm paying now), and then downgrade back to the cheaper plan once that billing cycle ends.

I'm not happy about the way AT&T is going about these changes (these new tiers should be additional options to the unlimited plan), but I'm happy that it looks like it will benefit me.

/and wow, my quote was pulled from way way back in this thread......

 

[iMrNiceGuy0023]

I have no choice but to stay unlimited

 

[pika2000]

free wifi everywhere. every starbucks and mcdonalds. if you have cable internet than you can get free wifi from them as well. set up your iphone with free wifi hotspot profiles and watch your 3G usage drop

Fail. Why do I have to search around for free wifi? What's the point of having cellular data then? See, the thinking of people like you are causing the skew of this bull crap stats that AT&T pulled to have such silly caps. 200MB? 2GB? Compare this to a country like Singapore, where Singtel's cheapest iPhone plan have 12GB data. 12GB! Oh, and they support tethering at the launch of 3.0, and their iPhones are unlocked out of the box. Think about that for a second.

Besides, the idea of free wifi everywhere is bull. Not everybody is a student or a starbucks stalker.

 

[redstar749]

Wow! I must be a power-user! Thank God AT&T is letting me keep my unlimited plan!

 

[Peace]

I'm curious as to why AT&T's website shows me as using 400MB during last month while my iPhone shows 48MB data used.

Anybody know ?

 

[redstar749]

I have no choice but to stay unlimited

Whoa! u use more than me!

 

[Dimwhit]

I'm curious as to why AT&T's website shows me as using 400MB during last month while my iPhone shows 48MB data used.

Anybody know ?

My iPhone has never come close to giving accurate usage. It has me at over 600MB of current period usage, when I know it's under 40MB.

Don't trust your iPhone. Just go with the AT&T website. And remember there's a several day delay on that.

 

[Peace]

My iPhone has never come close to giving accurate usage. It has me at over 600MB of current period usage, when I know it's under 40MB.

Don't trust your iPhone. Just go with the AT&T website. And remember there's a several day delay on that.

I trust my phone more than AT&T . Here's why.

AT&T showed my phone used almost 2GB of data the other night when I was asleep and my phone wasn't being used. It was sitting on the charger. I find it hard to believe that much data could have been used while I was sleeping.

 

[juststranded]

Whoops.

Thank god for grandfathering.

 

[marksman]

I don't agree with that.

I think that AT&T is simply anticipating new carrier introductions in the near future, and is changing their plans based on what they believe other carriers will offer.

I think it is just the opposite. I think Steve Jobs has wanted a $15 data pricepoint since day 1, and AT&T could never deliver it, but between the negotiation for the iPad and with this, AT&T has likely extended their exclusivity deal, partly by presenting this lower price point, which means the iPhone is now available and affordable by more people.

With a $97 wal-mart price on the 3GS and $15 a month data, it is a dang attractive package to people who before felt it was too expensive.

 

[Surely]

That is also a reasonable possibility.

No way to really know for sure.

 

[Xenomorph]

I've downloaded hundreds of apps and use my phone daily for both business and personal reasons.

I have WiFi most of the time, so I rarely use 3G. I'm guessing most of my data usage is checking emails while out, or using Google Maps while driving.

 

[Clete2]

Just for the heck of it, did anyone else's May numbers go through the roof?
My iPhone (3G) use for May more that doubled from any other month since I have had the phone. No JB, no tethering, nothing that I can remember doing that would drive that. Just curious if there are many of us that this happened to. Could be interesting...a big glitch?? If I'm the only one...never mind.

No. My May numbers are OK. My April numbers are really high because I watched the Masters video on the Masters app on 3G a lot. Think of what you did this month on your iPhone.