is it dumb to downgrade to 2gb?

[hryan4740]

Personally, I'm going to be keeping my unlimited. I'm still using an iPhone 2g and my usage is generally around 300MB per month. I'm finally going to upgrade when the 4 comes out and with all the new features and the availability of 3g means I think I'm going to be using a lot more data. Especially since my workplace doesn't offer any kind of WiFi. If I end up regularly using less data, that's fine, but the extra $5 a month for unlimited vs. 2GB isn't going to break my budget.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

If you drop your unlimited, just make sure you don't jailbreak and use 3G unrestrictor or MyWifi tether.

I personally will never drop it.

 

[CactusHawk]

It been said 50 times or so already but if I were you I would keep the unlimited. At least for the short term. Once you change you can not go back.

I consistently used over 3 gigs of data per month on my phone until I got my 3G iPad. Now I am down to around 700 megs but I will be keeping my unlimited. I look at it as spending $5.00 a month for security. Never having to worry about going over is worth $5.00 a month in my opinion.

 

[Mercaptan]

Same boat here.

I'm going to keep the unlimited plan at least until the Netflix app for the iPhone comes out so that I can get a feel for how much bandwidth it uses. And I agree that the bandwidth profile for iOS4 might be quite different.

 

[-aggie-]

dont give up unlimited

period.

Yep, for $5 it's not worth it.

 

[Thedeathbear]

I agree with most people here. I'll use the wait and see approach. I rarely use Pandora due to either running other apps or wanting to respond to a SMS. I rarely go over 350mb but I'm sure I will use more soon. I can now go to the gym and run pandora, ifiness, and respond to SMS with multitasking. Then I'll gauge my data usage. I'm sure AT&T will see a spike when everyone can multitask.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The people who would tell you if you can't part w/ $60... have no concept of saving and are the same ones that need bail outs.

No, those who're hurting for $60 A YEAR are the ones who need bail outs, especially if they're already iPhone users and dropping $60+ a month, as this means they have no money left. Pretty much defeats the concept of saving.

 

[thelatinist]

I wish ATT would just charge $.01 per MB and be done with it there.

Sadly, I don't think AT&T would agree to that rate. Based on the last report I could find for average iPhone data usage (273MB/mo), they are currently making about $.11/MB. I imagine that AT&T isn't willing to go much lower than that. Remember, they are counting on most people using far less than the data cap on their plan.

 

[darngooddesign]

I only use around 200-300mb a month with my biggest month in the past year at 490. I could really used the extra $60 a year. would it be stupid for me to downgrade and loose my unlimited plan or would it be a good economical move?

Don't listen to all the jackoffs, if you can save some money then go for it.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

No, those who're hurting for $60 A YEAR are the ones who need bail outs, especially if they're already iPhone users and dropping $60+ a month, as this means they have no money left. Pretty much defeats the concept of saving.

I don't understand your logic on this.

For example, I am not hurting by any means being in the top 3% of US wage earners. $60 is not a whole lot of money to me -- but just the same why should I spend it if I don't need to?

I'm not being facetious here. Please give me a solid reason why, if I only use 200-250mb per month, I should spend an additional $5 for unlimited that history tells me I'll never get my month's worth out of?

Why wouldn't it be smarter to take that $60 and give it to the local food bank instead of ATT? Please explain.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I'm not being facetious here. Please give me a solid reason why, if I only use 200-250mb per month, I should spend and additional $5 for unlimited that history tells me I'll never get my month's worth out of?

Why wouldn't it be smarter to take that $60 and give it to the local food bank instead of ATT? Please explain.

Sure, it'd be smarter to do that. I was only taking issue with your statement that seems to imply people who tell you $60 is chump change have no concept of saving and need bail outs, when on the other hand those hurting for $60 and really need it probably aren't saving it.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Sure, it'd be smarter to do that. I was only taking issue with your statement that seems to imply people who tell you $60 is chump change have no concept of saving and need bail outs, when on the other hand those hurting for $60 and really need it probably aren't saving it.

You are misinterpreting what I wrote then. My only point is it is stupid to spend any amount of money on something you will not use.

 

[NikeTalk]

I have a 28% FAN account sooooo i'll be downgrading to the 2GB plan because it'll only be $18 a month and I never use over 500-600MB anyway.

 

[redcupr]

Why not drop to the 2GB plan, and on the odd occasion that one would ever go over that limit pay the extra $10 for another GB? If you go over 2GB three times a year, you're still saving $30 that year.

The OP probably doesn't NEED the extra $60 a year, but why give money away if you don't have to. Spend it on something else or save it. If you can make 5% on that $60/year, you'll have an extra $4000 by the time you retire (That'll buy you a new iPhone in the year 2040 😀

 

[IBradMac]

Given we really don't know what we'll be using our iPhones for in the future, and how much data that might use.... for $5 a month, yeah.. I'm keeping unlimited.

Glad to see someone is thinking.

I will be tracking my data usage six months after I have my iPhone 4 and see where I'm at. If I'm below 2 GB, then I'll downgrade.

If your on unlimited now, I don't see the need to make any rash decisions to downgrade for $5. It's a new OS with tons of new features, I suspect data usage will be up for many.

 

[tfrees]

I only use around 200-300mb a month with my biggest month in the past year at 490. I could really used the extra $60 a year. would it be stupid for me to downgrade and loose my unlimited plan or would it be a good economical move?

if you downgrade, you can never go back to the unlimited plan

 

[iadam09]

Since I am still on my moms family plan I was thinking of downgrading to the $25/m plan but like others in this thread have said with all of the new apps coming out we might end up using more data than ever before on the iphone. For example netflix will probably run up a lot of data and if facetime is ever over 3g it will as well.

It's best to just leave it as it is because if you let it go now you will never be able to get it back. Or at least not for this price. On top of that you will also have peace and mind and not have to worry about going over the 2GB as someone stated previously.

It is $60 a year but it's only 5 bucks a month so you won't really notice the difference..

EDIT: Visit this link http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...our-data-use-might-go-up-with-iosiphone-4.ars

 

[jkozlow3]

I downgraded to 2GB for 1 reason: I'd like to "officially" tether when needed and have no desire to jailbreak.

AT&T tethering won't be available for those on the unlimited plan, and while I don't have a need to tether often, it would be nice to add it on an as-needed basis. I figure I can just use the AT&T MyWireless app on my iPhone and add that feature for a day or two at a time and then remove it when finished. I believe they'll prorate my bill for tethering (like $.50/day) but not the data used during that time since I still have the same 2GB limit and they don't differentiate data used while tethering vs. not. At least that's my hope.

 

[NikeTalk]

I downgraded to 2GB for 1 reason: I'd like to "officially" tether when needed and have no desire to jailbreak.

AT&T tethering won't be available for those on the unlimited plan, and while I don't have a need to tether often, it would be nice to add it on an as-needed basis. I figure I can just use the AT&T MyWireless app on my iPhone and add that feature for a day or two at a time and then remove it when finished. I believe they'll prorate my bill for tethering (like $.50/day) but not the data used during that time since I still have the same 2GB limit and they don't differentiate data used while tethering vs. not. At least that's my hope.

I understand your reasoning but still why?!? Keep your unlimited and jailbreak so you can tether for free and also not worry about going over on data charges. Don't do it dude.

 

[w0ngbr4d]

Are you sure you won't regret that move in case AT&T decides to install a 3G tower in your area?

Its been 2 years and it hasn't happened yet. Once you get off the highway and away from the city in my area its very rural. I don't see why AT&T would invest in 3G coverage here, there are much bigger markets to tackle first. We have to go 30 miles north and 60 miles south on the highway to get 3G coverage on AT&T.

Verizon on the other hand has this area pretty well covered with 3G. If they offered the iPhone on Verizon, we'd probably switch in a heartbeat.

I'll be pre-ordering a couple 4G iPhones next week. No sense in waiting for a Verizon iPhone that might never come.

 

[hushmartin]

I fully expect to be using a lot more data when iOS4 comes out and when the netflix app comes out. Like so many others, the only reason I don't really use Pandora or any of the radio apps I have is that If I am driving and needing GPS, or trying to browse the internet or text at the same time-- I can't! I am not the type of person that just sits and listens to music, not doing anything else. I say keep unlimited at least until iOS4 is out and you get a good feel for the amount of data you're using.

And also, Five bucks? Really? That's so not worth giving up unlimited. It they had made it ten bucks cheaper (for the 2gb), that would really have been something. That would have been very tempting. I probably would have switched. I easily go over 200mg, and I am not switching to save five bucks.

Oh, and guy who asked about *to buy a pop*... he mean soda pop. Soda, like Coke or Pepsi. I personally say "soda", because "pop" sounds stupid to me.

 

[Lara F]

+1

iOS 4 has one whopping feature that can easily lead to high data consumption: multitasking. None of us have a clue yet as to what our usage patterns (including data consumption) will be like now that we can run more data-consuming programs at once. However it's safe to say that data usage for many people is likely to increase. Pandora is one classic example.

Give it a trial run for a month or two. When convinced that your data usage doesn't come anywhere close to the 2GB barrier, then make the change to the capped plan.

If you want some idea, I've been jailbroken with Backgrounder for a year and typically run between 2-3 GB. This is WITHOUT constant Pandora-at-work streaming btw - maybe 1-2h a day on average.

I wish you could tether legally with the unlimited plan, but it's worth keeping IMO.

 

[lasuther]

I am very surprised at the responses. You should most definitely drop unlimited. You will not hit the 2GB limit. Even if you go over 1 month a year, you will still save $50. Spending $60 a year to potentionally save $10 or $20 in overage charges is just stupid.

I would go even further and see if you can cut your usage below 200MB a month and drop to a $15 plan. Use WiFi more, only download and upload large files on WiFi.

Future data usage isn't going to matter that much since in the future everyone will probably be on 4G plans which will never have an unlimited option.

 

[alphaod]

What is a "pop"?

AKA soda, soft drink, etc.

 

[Revelation78]

What is it with people like this? I had a guy like this in my thread. Hey, pro tip: Just because people want to save money, doesn't mean they can't afford something. Actually smart people save money where they can regardless of income or affordability. Just because you have it, doesn't mean you need to piss it away with a thought.

Jesus, it's like the idiot in my thread who assumed that because people sold their Iphones early, they are only doing it because they are poor and can't afford the new Iphone without scrapping, it's ****ing ridiculous.

It's crazy when someone just chimes in and can't read... His post said he could "really use that money." If his post had stated that he doesn't see why he should pay the $60 per year - then fine, I would never have made the comment.

If he failed to articulate his intentions behind his post, then he should edit it. There are plenty of people in these threads that stated they are going to cheaper data plans for various reason; have I made comments to them about switching to a cheaper phone, no. If one of them had stated they could "really use that money" then I would have told them they should look at a different phone.

There are guys switching to other carriers for better rate plans, do I tell them to pick a different phone, nope. Again, the OP could have articulated that his intentions where simply to save money and not "I could really use that money."

Now do you see a difference?