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Elderly not using much data is a misconception. Sure, they might not use apps so much, but once they are comfortable with youtube, boy they do like having access to those "free" videos. My 70+ yo dad doesn't use much internet, but he uses more data than me since he streamed all his entertainment via youtube. I'm seeing similar trends with my friends' parents, depending on usage. Some like to do whatsapp/skype calls to their relative and friends all day long (elderly prefers talking vs texting, which uses more data).

mobile-by-age-01.png


Sorry but the hard numbers say your experience isn't indicative the average user or reality.

Yes, there may be a couple people in your life who use a good bit of data but they don't represent the norm. There will always be outliers but the average person 55+ is at the far low end of the data usage spectrum.
 
See this reply demonstrates you don't understand statistics. The usage is 1/3 the amount of the 18-40 demographics. Oh, but "it's just 1.5GB" ... learn about stats. Imagine your paycheck were 1/3 of what you make now. Would it be insignificant. Imagine if you were 1/3 of your height. Guess not so insignificant anymore ehh?
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Yeah, and my mom who is 60 is below average, even having worked for a tech company most of her adult life. Lots of examples on both sides, which is why people's "feelings" aren't as relevant as researched facts gathered by data mining companies like Nielsen :)

But more importantly, good for you for not pooping at parties. I wish more people would learn parties are not the place to poop. Even if bean dip is served, just hold it until you get home. It ties up the bathroom for far too long. Oh wait, I think I mis-read your comment. ;-)

You have to understand old people get very defensive. You'll see one day.

How much data do you think I used typing this?
 
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Sorry but the hard numbers say your experience isn't indicative the average user or reality.

Yes, there may be a couple people in your life who use a good bit of data but they don't represent the norm. There will always be outliers but the average person 55+ is at the far low end of the data usage spectrum.

Your data is old but the proportions have remained unchanged. Scroll up I posted the current data graph
 
You may want to research Nielsen. They're bigger than ever now. Just about every online survey is administered through a Nielsen company... like when you go on a flight and the next day you get a survey in the email. Or when you read your phone, internet, electricity, credit card, grocery membership, or any other privacy policy you'll see they're involved with the data collection. Nielsen is about as relevant now as they ever have been. Analyzing consumer trends is a bigger business now than any time in history, and Nielsen is HUGE.

My blanket statement is accurate and supported by the facts. A small subset of those over 55 use MacRumors, so of course those on here will respond just like the small subset of responses if you go into a vegan restaurant say "who here is vegan?" Most people in the world don't use Mac computers. Oh, but wait, queue all the responses that *I* do so that statistic must be right, ehh?

I have ATT on a family plan. We all have unlimited, $35 a month tax included per line. TMO sure does a good job of making their users think the competition is much more expensive. It's like Verizon in the 1990s and 2000s had their customers convinced if they switched to another carrier they'd instantly have no bars. Laughable. But hey, your comment shows their marketing works.
How is $35/mo per line comparable in any way to the $20/mo per line (plus $10/mo for tablet) that I have?
 
What's the point? Statistically, those 55+ use the least data of any demographic. Having unlimited means almost nothing to most people in that age group.

The point is it's good marketing. Your post is ageist crap. Do you think it will lose them any customers? Since they first appeared we have been using home computing and it's spin-offs. My husband, now 77, brought home our first PC in 1983 and we've been keeping up since then. His phone plan has 5GB data and he uses all of it. I use all mine too. We'd love unlimited everything.
 
Good public service.
I think you mean good PR (Public Relations)
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I'm 53 and I'll be a "senior" in two years according to T-Mobile.

I'm still going to rock concerts such as Ministry, Gary Numan, Skinny Puppy and other bands like them. I rock out in my car and I still feel as I did when I was 18.
According to AARP you've been a senior citizen for 3 yrs already!
 
OMG! I just came back to check on this thread from this morning, and I can't believe people are STILL arguing over who is a "senior", and how much data people over 55 use! Who gives a shriveled sh*t?
I was hoping folks would be discussing whether T-mobile is worth it, even at that low price. (Really considering switching from AT&T.)

My friends tell me it's great in the NYC metro area, but I keep hearing stories of no coverage in the boondocks.

I occasionally travel to Tempe, AZ, regularly to Raleigh, NC, Fort Myers, FL, Upstate New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If anyone could please share their T-mobile experiences in those areas, I'd greatly appreciate it.
 
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OMG! I just came back to check on this thread from this morning, and I can't believe people are STILL arguing over who is a "senior", and how much data people over 55 use! Who gives a shriveled sh*t?
I was hoping folks would be discussing whether T-mobile is worth it, even at that low price. (Really considering switching from AT&T.)

My friends tell me it's great in the NYC metro area, but I keep hearing stories of no coverage in the boondocks.

I occasionally travel to Tempe, AZ, regularly to Raleigh, NC, Fort Myers, FL, Upstate New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If anyone could please share their T-mobile experiences in those areas, I'd greatly appreciate it.

T-Mobile is absolutely wonderful. I switched my two lines to them from AT&T earlier this year, and having unlimited everything is great, but having a company that actually cares about their customers has been a real eye opener.

When I switched, my bill remained the same, but my data went to unlimited, and this was with a corporate discount on AT&T.

One of the reasons I switched is I was going to travel in Ireland, Wales, and England. AT&T wanted an additional $40 a day for some small, slow data allowance and the ability to make calls and send SMS messages. My T-Mobile plan worked fully for no extra charge, and I have the standard Unlimited Plan, not the Unlimited Plus for frequent travelers. Everyone on the trip had their phones turned off except us. Fantastic.

I live in the Raleigh, NC area and the signal here works well, but we have towers everywhere in the research triangle (it is a high-tech area). I researched the signal availability before switching and found that T-Mobile has better coverage than Verizon on the East Coast, but are a little behind them on the West Coast. Basically, a non-issue.

Oh, and they give away free stuff to all their subscribers every Tuesday. I recently got a free Papa Johns pizza. Sure beats what I got from AT&T - nothing but a bill.

Sean
 
My mom thinks she uses a bunch of data too because she texts 24\7... yet she uses about 0.2 gb per month. People always think texting a lot and listening to Pandora all day = lots of data usage. Not accurate.
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http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insigh...po_FJamDGUZo9PxgklkEjE&afflt_uid_2=AFFLT_ID_2

Facts are your friends. Maybe YOU and those YOU know use a lot of data, but FACTS don't support your FEELINGS.
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I speak based on facts, not your version of reality. Sorry....

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insigh...po_FJamDGUZo9PxgklkEjE&afflt_uid_2=AFFLT_ID_2
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http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insigh...po_FJamDGUZo9PxgklkEjE&afflt_uid_2=AFFLT_ID_2

Facts trump your perception of reality. Absolutely there are people in the demo who use lots of data.. and those people are more likely to be on MacRumors and sites like it. However FACTS and REALITY are that your observation is a feeling, not a reality. Many people aren't in the group, but MOST people are.

I know lots of people in my circle who are vegetarian, but reality says MOST people eat meat. Just because I feel like I am surrounded by vegetarians, that doesn't mean that most people are vegetarians no matter how much I FEEL like it.




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Those figures seem very low across all demographics to me (either that or we're not a usual household!) - In our house we have myself and my wife (both over 50 but not yet 55) and my daughter who is nearly 19. Between us we use nearly 100GB of cellular data a month and around 3TB of wi-fi across all devices through the home wi-fi (I use about 70GB a month through wifi on my phone). We never use public hotspots due to security concerns.
 
OMG! I just came back to check on this thread from this morning, and I can't believe people are STILL arguing over who is a "senior", and how much data people over 55 use! Who gives a shriveled sh*t?
I was hoping folks would be discussing whether T-mobile is worth it, even at that low price. (Really considering switching from AT&T.)

My friends tell me it's great in the NYC metro area, but I keep hearing stories of no coverage in the boondocks.

I occasionally travel to Tempe, AZ, regularly to Raleigh, NC, Fort Myers, FL, Upstate New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If anyone could please share their T-mobile experiences in those areas, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I live in the metro-Atlanta area and travel frequently through Florida. Never really had any problems in those 2 states. I traveled to San Francisco for the first time this past March. Traveled back and forth between Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Santa Cruz for about a week. The only times I dropped service was on the highway from Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz for about a 1-mile stretch the further uphill I drove. I've not been to NY, NC or AZ lately, so I can't really comment on the service there.

I've been with T-Mobile for maybe at least 15 years now (when it was still VoiceStream). I've had my ups and downs with the company, but the customer service and the cell phone service itself has kept me here. I tried AT&T somewhere in there, but would consistently drop calls on the drive from Atlanta to Miami (along I-75), and since I was driving alone with a young child at the time, that just didn't work for me. I would say that T-Mobile is definitely worth it.
 
I live in the metro-Atlanta area and travel frequently through Florida. Never really had any problems in those 2 states. I traveled to San Francisco for the first time this past March. Traveled back and forth between Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Santa Cruz for about a week. The only times I dropped service was on the highway from Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz for about a 1-mile stretch the further uphill I drove. I've not been to NY, NC or AZ lately, so I can't really comment on the service there.

I've been with T-Mobile for maybe at least 15 years now (when it was still VoiceStream). I've had my ups and downs with the company, but the customer service and the cell phone service itself has kept me here. I tried AT&T somewhere in there, but would consistently drop calls on the drive from Atlanta to Miami (along I-75), and since I was driving alone with a young child at the time, that just didn't work for me. I would say that T-Mobile is definitely worth it.
Well, that's really encouraging. Thanks for the feedback!
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I live in the metro-Atlanta area and travel frequently through Florida. Never really had any problems in those 2 states. I traveled to San Francisco for the first time this past March. Traveled back and forth between Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Santa Cruz for about a week. The only times I dropped service was on the highway from Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz for about a 1-mile stretch the further uphill I drove. I've not been to NY, NC or AZ lately, so I can't really comment on the service there.

I've been with T-Mobile for maybe at least 15 years now (when it was still VoiceStream). I've had my ups and downs with the company, but the customer service and the cell phone service itself has kept me here. I tried AT&T somewhere in there, but would consistently drop calls on the drive from Atlanta to Miami (along I-75), and since I was driving alone with a young child at the time, that just didn't work for me. I would say that T-Mobile is definitely worth it.
Sounds good. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
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Those figures seem very low across all demographics to me (either that or we're not a usual household!) - In our house we have myself and my wife (both over 50 but not yet 55) and my daughter who is nearly 19. Between us we use nearly 100GB of cellular data a month and around 3TB of wi-fi across all devices through the home wi-fi (I use about 70GB a month through wifi on my phone). We never use public hotspots due to security concerns.

yeah, remember there's a ton of people in the US on pre-paid plans (boost, straight talk, tmo prepaid, metro, etc) which the plan includes 2GB
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The point is it's good marketing. Your post is ageist crap. Do you think it will lose them any customers? Since they first appeared we have been using home computing and it's spin-offs. My husband, now 77, brought home our first PC in 1983 and we've been keeping up since then. His phone plan has 5GB data and he uses all of it. I use all mine too. We'd love unlimited everything.

Great, welcome to the not-norm, as evident by the statistics. I wish people would stop chiming in saying "it's not true, I use more" ... yeah and there are a lot that use a lot less. Just like going into a steakhouse and proclaiming everyone eats meat, it's pointless to chime in on a TECHNOLOGY board that you use more than average. duhh!
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How is $35/mo per line comparable in any way to the $20/mo per line (plus $10/mo for tablet) that I have?

Same logic you used... "there's not much difference between 3gb per month and 2gb per month" ... nope, just 33% difference.... And I'd love to see a copy of a bill showing $20 a month for unlimited LOL
 
Actually, it used to be 55 at all of the following and this was about 15 to 20 years ago by the way:
  • Restaurants (Fast Food would often make it 50, most sit down restaurants were 55)
  • Movie Theaters
  • Phone Companies
  • Electric Companies
  • Water Companies
  • Gas Companies
  • Grocery Stores
  • Theme Parks
  • National Parks
  • State Parks
Not a lie and not an exhaustive list, but these are the ones that I know for sure based on real experience with my Grandma getting senior discounts.

It also used to be the age that you could qualify for FULL Social Security benefits, as well as the age that you could retire with a full pension from jobs that offered such things.

Good god, you said *Actually, this always used to be the age you became eligible for senior discounts, it fact some even set it at 50 at the time, i* and that is a lie. What you posted In no way backs up your outlandish claim so stop the spin. I never said nothing was 55.

It was never ALWAYS the age you became eligible for senior discounts. Period.
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I believe you should re-read the original article and subsequent posts, because I believe you missed my point.

To address Point 1; the original article says that to get the pricing, you must use Autopay with a Debit Card or Bank Account. The fact that you are currently using t-mobile Autopay with a credit card means nothing, because you are not on the 55+ Plan. Now, the article could be wrong, but in the context of the article and the subsequent posts, credit cards are not allowed.

To address Point 2; if in fact, the 55+ plan $60 pricing requires Autopay with a debit card or bank account, then only "seniors" are affected. This is because only "seniors" can get this plan. Younger folks cannot be affected by the dangers of using Autopay with a debit card on the 55+ plan because they are not eligible for the plan in the first place.

BTW, I don't think I had said anything condescending in my original post. If you took it that way, please know that I did not intend for my post to come across that way to you (or anyone else). Therefore I apologize.

The article is wrong, T-mobile accepts autopay from credit cards. I AM on the senior plan right now. Its not likely they eould not allow seniors to use credit cards when others can anyway.

Peace. Apology accepted.
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I was hoping folks would be discussing whether T-mobile is worth it, even at that low price.
. Worth it for me even at 100 for 2 lines. Its the only carrier that gives you exactly the same data speed in mexico. Now its even better.

I have no problems with reception either in the us or mexico (100 megs down in the small pueblo where we go so faster data there) but don't give a shriveled s*^%# about the location you are asking about. See how that works?
 
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When kids started calling me sir, I seriously questioned my place in life. I'm only 33 and like "wtf? Is this where it all goes downhill?"

I'm turning 33 this year. I do share this sentiment.

Back on topic: T-Mobile has been very solid for me for the most part. I do wish I could get my grandmother on a plan like this. She's literally paying like $40 a month for an old flip phone plan from AT&T without data OR text. I'll have to sit down with her sometime. I gave her an Apple iPad Mini and she has Wi-Fi. So maybe it's not too far a stretch.
 
Worth it for me even at 100 for 2 lines. Its the only carrier that gives you exactly the same data speed in mexico. Now its even better.

I have no problems with reception either in the us or mexico (100 megs down in the small pueblo where we go so faster data there) but don't give a shriveled s*^%# about the location you are asking about. See how that works?
Well, THAT was an unnecessarily hostile response. My complaint was not about your coverage area, but about how people had gone way off topic, and turned what was supposed to be a discussion of T-mobile's new plan offer into a slugfest about age stereotypes.
A couple of folks responded to my request for their experiences with T-mobile with pleasantries. Too bad you felt the need to add snark to yours.
 
Its a really great deal I’d switch from vzw but it appears places I frequent in the Southwest and California are lacking coverage( or vzw is better)according to coverage maps.
 
That brings up an interesting question. Will T mobile ask to see the proof of age of every person on the account, or just the account holder?

NO. A2017-08-14 10.08.59.png ccording to the FAQ on t-mobile's website
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Maybe I'm just cynical, but I see this as a way for t-mobile to get authorized access to senior citizens' bank accounts. Good luck to the seniors who have issues and don't have consumer protection because they're using a debit card/bank account instead of a credit card.

I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $5-10/month to allow any company to automatically withdraw from my bank account.

You don't HAVE to sign up for auto pay. Without auto pay it would be $5 more per line for a total of $70 per month. Still not a bad deal
 
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NO. AView attachment 712906 ccording to the FAQ on t-mobile's website
[doublepost=1502722414][/doublepost]

You don't HAVE to sign up for auto pay. Without auto pay it would be $5 more per line for a total of $70 per month. Still not a bad deal
I know. That's why I questioned whether it was worth it for the extra $10/mo for using autopay. If credit cards are allowed, then it's a no brainier. Debit or bank account, I'm not sure.

Anyways, for me it's a moot point as it has been pointed out that the macrumors article is wrong and tmo allows cc use with autopay.
 
The entire point is to entice the 55+ age group to switch to their service. The fact that they don't use much data is a win for T-Mobile. It's like selling a health club membership to 500lb man. Chances are they're not going to use it much. That's the whole point.
[doublepost=1502917362][/doublepost]Excuse me, but I think you're showing just how uneducated a young person can be. I am 59 years young and I pretty much live on my phone using data and texting. You really need to apologize for your insulting attitude towards seniors. Seriously I'm amazed at how ignorant people like yourself can be!
 
[doublepost=1502917362][/doublepost]Excuse me, but I think you're showing just how uneducated a young person can be. I am 59 years young and I pretty much live on my phone using data and texting. You really need to apologize for your insulting attitude towards seniors. Seriously I'm amazed at how ignorant people like yourself can be!

I didn't say every single senior. I said in AVERAGE, seniors use less data than others. I even went as far as to support it with factual data showing that in fact, seniors do use less data than other age groups. The data is provided by Nielson, one of the best known companies for global data and surveys.

You're showing just how uneducated a senior can be by making assumptions and failing to read the rest of the comments here. Seriously, I'm amazed at how ignorant people like yourself can be!

telecom-usage-data_wirepost-chart-3-png.712184
 
OMG! I just came back to check on this thread from this morning, and I can't believe people are STILL arguing over who is a "senior", and how much data people over 55 use! Who gives a shriveled sh*t?
I was hoping folks would be discussing whether T-mobile is worth it, even at that low price. (Really considering switching from AT&T.)

My friends tell me it's great in the NYC metro area, but I keep hearing stories of no coverage in the boondocks.

I occasionally travel to Tempe, AZ, regularly to Raleigh, NC, Fort Myers, FL, Upstate New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If anyone could please share their T-mobile experiences in those areas, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Greater Los Angeles/Southern California area is good for me. There are a few places where for some reason the signal is weak or non existent, but I rarely drop from LTE speeds, and I travel pretty much all over SoCal.
 
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Well, THAT was an unnecessarily hostile response. My complaint was not about your coverage area, but about how people had gone way off topic, and turned what was supposed to be a discussion of T-mobile's new plan offer into a slugfest about age stereotypes.
A couple of folks responded to my request for their experiences with T-mobile with pleasantries. Too bad you felt the need to add snark to yours.
Hostile? You are truly clueless on what hostile is.

Unless you are a mod or the forum owner you have NO complaint on what is posted. Not to mention whining is just as off topic as those being whined about. Ignored.
 
Just signed up for this great deal. I figure it will save me $25.00 a month and we no longer have to worry about going over our data limits. I did have to agree to autopay but that will turn out to be convenient.
 
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