Carrier [T-MOBILE] I never notice my unlimited data slowing down. Do You?

[freepomme]

They always say unlimited data is never really unlimited.

I'll be the first to say that T-Mobile's data (in my area) isn't hyper, lightning fast like Asian Internet. You know, like 200-300Mbps. The super fast internet you find in Asia. Like LTE-A.

I don't think it's even in the hundreds, but it's still high speed. It's not slow by any means. I mean, it always buffers HD video as if it was old hat.

But when I hear people talking about their unlimited data dropping to 2G, I get confused. For me, that just doesn't happen. It's always fast and I never notice a change.

MacRumors, what say you?

 

[timeconsumer]

I think once you go over a certain limit T-Mobile will de-prioritize your data if the tower you're connected to becomes congested. If the tower doesn't become congested then you likely won't have a problem.

It is described better here: http://www.t-mobile.com/company/company-info/consumer/internet-services.html under the section titled: Network Management for Extremely High Data Usage

 

[eyoungren]

Never noticed, but I've never hit enough data to be prioritized.

I have exceeded my 5GB data match allotment on my tablet though and they did slow me down there.

PS. My market averages about 2-20 down. Totally useable for me though.

 

[freepomme]

I think once you go over a certain limit T-Mobile will de-prioritize your data if the tower you're connected to becomes congested. If the tower doesn't become congested then you likely won't have a problem.

It is described better here: http://www.t-mobile.com/company/company-info/consumer/internet-services.html under the section titled: Network Management for Extremely High Data Usage

That I have noticed. Sometimes on certain days usually Holidays or something like that, not just any holiday. A particularly busy day. Maybe Cyber Monday, maybe not. I honestly can't remember if it was even a holiday.

I did notice that the towers were congested and I couldn't get any pages loaded. That's happened to me before. But it's very rare. About as rare as it would be for a tower to actually be down.

 

[Applejuiced]

Knock on wood I haven't experienced it yet and I hit around 30GB's some months.

 

[crammedberry]

It's happened to me every time I've exceeded my cap, currently 10GB. The slowdown is pretty dramatic when it comes to web browsing or maps etc. Things like music streaming through Pandora, that don't count against your cap DO NOT slow down, even if you've exceeded your cap.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

They always say unlimited data is never really unlimited.

I'll be the first to say that T-Mobile's data (in my area) isn't hyper, lightning fast like Asian Internet. You know, like 200-300Mbps. The super fast internet you find in Asia. Like LTE-A.

I don't think it's even in the hundreds, but it's still high speed. It's not slow by any means. I mean, it always buffers HD video as if it was old hat.

But when I hear people talking about their unlimited data dropping to 2G, I get confused. For me, that just doesn't happen. It's always fast and I never notice a change.

MacRumors, what say you?

I lived in Asia for years and my internet was never that fast.

 

[Freakonomics101]

Used 50 GB last month. Didn't notice any slow downs only because I don't live in a congested area.

 

[M5RahuL]

I average about 15-20 GBs and no slow downs ...yet!

 

[geoff5093]

I average about 15-20 GBs and no slow downs ...yet!

Because the deprioritized limit is around 25GB.

If you use over 25GB, you MAY get throttled if you are in a congested area. This on on T-Mobile's website.

 

[rzc16512]

It's happened to me every time I've exceeded my cap, currently 10GB. The slowdown is pretty dramatic when it comes to web browsing or maps etc. Things like music streaming through Pandora, that don't count against your cap DO NOT slow down, even if you've exceeded your cap.

Deprioritzation is different from exceeding your network usage on a "limited" data plan. Deprioritzation happens when you exceed a certain amount of data (~25gb...can't remember exact number) on an unlimited data plan. If you're in an area with tower congestion (lots of people on tower) than you are put last in line data-wise when using your phone. It's mostly only noticeable in areas with high traffic towers.

 

[crammedberry]

Deprioritzation is different from exceeding your network usage on a "limited" data plan. Deprioritzation happens when you exceed a certain amount of data (~25gb...can't remember exact number) on an unlimited data plan. If you're in an area with tower congestion (lots of people on tower) than you are put last in line data-wise when using your phone. It's mostly only noticeable in areas with high traffic towers.

I went down to 10GB because I wasn't exceeding that amount that often, but when I had unlimited it was the same. I live in Los Angeles however so maybe the depriorization happens sooner here since it's highly congested.