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Considering giving up unlimited data for tethering?

K

Kayzle

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 8, 2010
90
0
So I need y'all's help.

I rarely even go over 1.5 gigs of data a month and I would really like to use tethering. Mainly for those days I have my iPad with me and there is no wifi around. I knowsss of you guys say keep unlimited at all costs but if I never use it to its potential then what's the point? Especially when I can't hav me the tethering I really need?

Does anyone have any reasons for me keeping unlimited that I'm missing? Please advise
 
If you are using an iPhone 5 with LTE and you still only hit 1.5 gigs then maybe a tethering plan is for you. If you're not on LTE, then realize that your data use could dramatically increase. My own usage went from barely 500mb per month to between 3 and 5 GB.
 
barkomatic said:
If you are using an iPhone 5 with LTE and you still only hit 1.5 gigs then maybe a tethering plan is for you. If you're not on LTE, then realize that your data use could dramatically increase. My own usage went from barely 500mb per month to between 3 and 5 GB.
Click to expand...

LTE won't increase data usage unless the user is currently using a horribly overloaded 3G network (i.e. Manhattan). Once you go over 1 mpbs, the data usage just does't go up.
 
Your usage patterns may change once you realize faster speeds however. I never bothered using various apps that used data when I was on 3G. However, those same apps became suddenly much more useful.
 
I say go for it. I gave up my unlimited plan to go to a 4GB monthly plan and haven't had any problems. With the unlimited plan, the most I ever used was an *average* of 2 GB. Now with a tiered plan and LTE, my habits still haven't changed. I'm still responsible about what apps I use and try to use wifi as much as possible. Since switching to the tiered plan, I'm averaging about 1 to 1.5 GBs a month.
 
You guys bring up a good point but I am indeed on an iPhone 5 on LTE and really have t seen an increase in data since I came from 3g

I'm at work 40hrs of the week on wifi anyway
 
I had my "Unlimited" plan for well over three years. From June 2009 to January 2013.

I rarely got anywhere close to 1 GB. It was a pain to mess with Jailbreak tethering, Ad-hoc tethering, or USB cable tethering (Tether.com app).

I finally switched to a Shared Data plan w/ Tethering. I don't expect my data to go up by much, but I can finally stop worrying about having older versions of iOS, jailbreaking, tethering apps, etc.
 
Xenomorph said:
I had my "Unlimited" plan for well over three years. From June 2009 to January 2013.

I rarely got anywhere close to 1 GB. It was a pain to mess with Jailbreak tethering, Ad-hoc tethering, or USB cable tethering (Tether.com app).

I finally switched to a Shared Data plan w/ Tethering. I don't expect my data to go up by much, but I can finally stop worrying about having older versions of iOS, jailbreaking, tethering apps, etc.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Sounds like I should make the switch. It's a shame I have to spend $20 more to tchni ally get LESS.
 
Paying more for less!

Kayzle said:
Fair enough. Sounds like I should make the switch. It's a shame I have to spend $20 more to tchni ally get LESS.
Click to expand...

That's what really bothers me about this situation, in addition to not being able to use my "unlimited" (i.e., 5 GB before throttling) data as I see fit.
 
Last edited:
barkomatic said:
If you are using an iPhone 5 with LTE and you still only hit 1.5 gigs then maybe a tethering plan is for you. If you're not on LTE, then realize that your data use could dramatically increase. My own usage went from barely 500mb per month to between 3 and 5 GB.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be the opposite? I always thought that if you're using LTE, your data usage will go up more compared to using 3G data.

----------
Tunnelrunner said:
I say go for it. I gave up my unlimited plan to go to a 4GB monthly plan and haven't had any problems. With the unlimited plan, the most I ever used was an *average* of 2 GB. Now with a tiered plan and LTE, my habits still haven't changed. I'm still responsible about what apps I use and try to use wifi as much as possible. Since switching to the tiered plan, I'm averaging about 1 to 1.5 GBs a month.
Click to expand...

Same here. When I was going back and forth between two places I used more data ONLY because one of the places I went to had no wifi. Since I no longer go there my data usage doesn't go over 1GB..(so far). I gave up my unlimited to get the iPhone 5 (I have Verizon) and I am now on a 4GB data plan. I try to make sure I don't stream music/movies anymore and so far I've been successful with that. :D
 
I use to have the verizon lte hotspot with wifi only ipad!
get an ipad with modem
I have iphone 5 and ipad mini verizon
mini gets all the use!
 
I ditched my unlimited plan because I realized it was limiting me more so than the tiered plans do. Tethering is a necessity for me and I didn't want to mess with the hassles of jailbreaking.

I did notice slightly higher usage once I had LTE, but not so much because I use the phone/apps more but because many places where I use to connect via wifi, I no longer bother since the LTE speeds are as fast or faster.
 
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