Top five percent of AT&T smartphone usage and Bandwidth throttling

[lordofthereef]

Actually I have dealt with #ATTfail reps before who FOUND ME because they were trolling. Any time you use the #ATTfail hashtag, somebody, somewhere *hits in their pants, and a customer service rep is dispatched. I was doing this on twitter, and I got annoyed at them constantly contacting me, but never helping me, so I would block each one as they tried. I think I gave up after 12...? I don't use twitter any more.

Twitter and facebook have become nothing more than a massive marketing campaign. A lot more people are going to see stuff on twitter than they are here, in this forum just because of the nature of the beast. If they are responding to you on twitter, it's essentially their damage control. As I saif, here, in this forum, I doubt they are dispatching their ninjas to troll you. If you think otherwise, that's perfectly fine. There are certainly worse conspiracy theories to be a part of. This one is fairly mild.

 

[boredandlonely]

Twitter and facebook have become nothing more than a massive marketing campaign. A lot more people are going to see stuff on twitter than they are here, in this forum just because of the nature of the beast. If they are responding to you on twitter, it's essentially their damage control. As I saif, here, in this forum, I doubt they are dispatching their ninjas to troll you. If you think otherwise, that's perfectly fine. There are certainly worse conspiracy theories to be a part of. This one is fairly mild.

I don't care where they are trolling. I'm just saying that they ARE. They care what is said about them.

 

[cyks]

I don't care where they are trolling. I'm just saying that they ARE. They care what is said about them.

Twitter is system designed to help people talk about the same topic via hashtags.... you used hashtags, they communicated you, and yet they're the trolls?

They were using the system as it was designed and repeatedly attempted to contact you to try to help solve any issues you were having. By your constant postings and ignoring of them, it sounds like you're the troll in this case, not AT&T.

 

[pooleman]

I just got off the phone with customer relations, they handle customers who want to cancel service. I was calm, polite and told them I wanted to cancel service and explained why. They gave me the unlimited messaging plan ,thats 20 dollars, for 10 dollars. And I will be getting a 10 dollar credit on my account as long as I have at&t. Only thing was that I had to switch to the 5gb tether plan. I have never gone over 4gb even tethering with my iPhone 4 and I use even less now with my 4S so I can live with this, plus I'm not seeing an increase on my bill. Im happy!!

So what is your total bill cost now?

 

[boredandlonely]

Twitter is system designed to help people talk about the same topic via hashtags.... you used hashtags, they communicated you, and yet they're the trolls?

They were using the system as it was designed and repeatedly attempted to contact you to try to help solve any issues you were having. By your constant postings and ignoring of them, it sounds like you're the troll in this case, not AT&T.

Troll Shmoll. I was only trying to point out they are listening/watch/reading somewhere. I didn't "@" them, I "#"d #ATTfail. The first 6 times I tried to work with them, and they actually did NOTHING... They take your name/accountinfo/number, then they do NOTHING. I believe they just want the info because it makes you stop complaining in the meantime, while they pretend to try resolving your issue. Apparent;y I should have been using the FCC link all along.

 

[Apple Expert]

Are you sure about that?
I think I read someone got 6 month free and then $50 per month.

I tried to see if they would switch me to the 5GB + tethering. Of course the rep said no. Speak to the cancellation department and they won't budge. Probably because I'm in a contract and know they have an EFT coming their way. Since I've been throttled I can stream music but no video and no emails will come in. I have to login to the computer to view my emails. Rep stated that all carriers do it and ATT is the best option. Of course that's his opinion as he doesn't want me to leave. I do like ATT 3G speeds, however throttling is stupid and matter of principal. Been with them for 5+ years. Oh well so long ATT as I think I'll move to Verizon or Sprint. Hopefully the next iPhone has LTE as Verizon has a kickass network where I live. ATT and their "4G" is a joke. Could never reach their claimed speeds.

 

[boredandlonely]

I feel sorry for all the clueless people that think real 4G on an iPhone (5?) with ANY carrier will go back to unlimited for $30. Yeah right. The future is tiered. Sadly... Mobile internet will be stifled before it can expand and further. Mobile innovation will come to a standstill for greed.

 

[ahfu25]

So what is your total bill cost now?

About 92 a month 39.99 + 10 unlimited messages + 50 5gb data. I get the 10 dollar credit every month and my bill stays the same. 79.99 plus taxes...and I also get 20% off my bill because of my student discount

 

[adata]

I tried to see if they would switch me to the 5GB + tethering. Of course the rep said no. Speak to the cancellation department and they won't budge. Probably because I'm in a contract and know they have an EFT coming their way. Since I've been throttled I can stream music but no video and no emails will come in. I have to login to the computer to view my emails. Rep stated that all carriers do it and ATT is the best option. Of course that's his opinion as he doesn't want me to leave. I do like ATT 3G speeds, however throttling is stupid and matter of principal. Been with them for 5+ years. Oh well so long ATT as I think I'll move to Verizon or Sprint. Hopefully the next iPhone has LTE as Verizon has a kickass network where I live. ATT and their "4G" is a joke. Could never reach their claimed speeds.

File a complaint with the BBB. If your internet is made unusable and you're still paying for it, there's something seriously wrong.

Can somebody confirm whether or not they're obligated to let people keep their unlimited data plan? I'm assuming they have some sort of legal obligation to them since they're not doing away with them outright.

Do you lose more customers by telling them they have to pay twice as much for less data? or by throttling their service to the point that it's unusable?

 

[chakraj]

Since #ATTfail is restricting the data of unlimited customers to an unusable level, or forcing them to get onto a tiered plan, they need to allow you to choose to not have data at all with them and use wifi only.

Since they are telling users to use wifi so the network doesnt get to crowded, then why not let the customer cancel the data portion all together there bye removing the whole data hog problem.

That is simple robbery, you have two choices.
1. Pay what you have always paid but receive a lesser product for your money
2. change plans to a plan I want you on and pay more for a product you used to get for less.

They may as well have you held at the point of a weapon, a monetary ETF weapon.

Why no option 3. cancel data on your line and use wifi only? Wouldnt that be in #ATTfails best interest in order to help clear out the backhaul so they could then serve their customers the product they offer.

 

[OceanView]

Why no option 3. cancel data on your line and use wifi only? Wouldnt that be in @ATTfails best interest in order to help clear out the backhaul so they could then serve their customers the product they offer.

#AT&TFail forces data plans for all smartphone.
If this option was there I think many people would cancel data.

 

[magicbrain]

good one

Since #ATTfail is restricting the data of unlimited customers to an unusable level, or forcing them to get onto a tiered plan, they need to allow you to choose to not have data at all with them and use wifi only.

Since they are telling users to use wifi so the network doesnt get to crowded, then why not let the customer cancel the data portion all together there bye removing the whole data hog problem....

ha! brilliant analogy ... & no douchebags at f-tt won't go for it, the real reason for mandatory data plan is the $10-20/month apple tax ... yep i believe they still have to give apple portion of the monthly bill

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This is what I don't get and why ATT is full of *****.

Myself and my good friend both have 4s' and grandfathered in on the unlimited.

We live 5 houses apart in the DFW market and both got the throttling warning text message at about 2gigs (+/-). However........ while he seemed to have gotten throttled, I was not.

This we can't figure out. As of the 7th, the last day of my plan I was knocking on the door of 3 gigs this month and this afternoon (still the 7th) I was able to pull a speed of 3.64Mbps while he was getting 0.08Mbps.

Of course the speed tests is not an exact science it's a good indicator of approximate speeds.

hey, you might be onto something. have you compared the settings on both of your phones. are the "cellular data network" visible? any differences? jb?

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So taking 30 seconds to delete the app, then start the download again at a maximum of twice a day is spending hours and days on something? I don't see how that adds up. Please enlighten me.

By the way, I'm up to 9.2GB data usage after being throttled at 3.5GB.

what market are you at (city, state pls)

 

[boredandlonely]

File a complaint with the BBB. If your internet is made unusable and you're still paying for it, there's something seriously wrong.

This is one of my main complaints. 15k/s avg is UNUSABLE. Webpages take forever, and usually Safari gives up before it's fully loaded. Maps? Good luck. If they wanted to be fair (ha ha), and there really was a data hog problem (ha ha), wouldn't cutting the speed to 50% have been enough to solve everything, and not take away our usability? I went from HIGHS of 300k/s to 15k/s avg. A 95% PENALTY??? Really? MFs!!!

hey, you might be onto something. have you compared the settings on both of your phones. are the "cellular data network" visible? any differences?

Aside from messing with the settings, it would be interesting to just switch phones (switch simcards).

 

[ZipZap]

I think it's time the carriers come out with more Gb tiers. Example 2gb for $25 an then say 4gb for $30 and 6gb for say $40. If they included tethering I would give up my unlimited plan in a heartbeat. Until then I'll stick!

No the tiering should be:

1 GB $10
2 GB $20
3 GB $30
4 GB $40

Ideally though a gig should cost no more that $5

 

[Apple Expert]

Has anyone actually left ATT because of this? I hear a lot of crying and moaning about this, but has anyone actually left? I know filing a complaint is good and all (which I did), but hurt them by not paying them anymore. Basically the bottom line is money. If you don't pay them, then I'm sure they will respond. Until then I'm sure they want to force everyone to tiered plans. If and when iPhone goes LTE, I would bet they kill the unlimited data plan, or they limit you to 2gb. For me that's a horrible deal for LTE speeds.

 

[chakraj]

Yes I fired #ATTfail, two months ago and jumped on the unlimited LTE with Verizon. They have a loophole that can get you unlimited LTE and an unlimited LTE hotspot all for $60. so thas why I fired ATT. this way not only do I have LTE right now, but I also have an unlimited hotspot for an extra $30. The loophole still exists

 

[boredandlonely]

Has anyone actually left ATT because of this? I hear a lot of crying and moaning about this, but has anyone actually left? I know filing a complaint is good and all (which I did), but hurt them by not paying them anymore. Basically the bottom line is money. If you don't pay them, then I'm sure they will respond. Until then I'm sure they want to force everyone to tiered plans. If and when iPhone goes LTE, I would bet they kill the unlimited data plan, or they limit you to 2gb. For me that's a horrible deal for LTE speeds.

A lot of people can't leave, or can't leave YET. Everybody has different reasons.

Yes I fired #ATTfail, two months ago and jumped on the unlimited LTE with Verizon. They have a loophole that can get you unlimited LTE and an unlimited LTE hotspot all for $60. so thas why I fired ATT. this way not only do I have LTE right now, but I also have an unlimited hotspot for an extra $30. The loophole still exists

Didn't you post that like 3 times already?

Anybody see the MR story?
AT&T Says Throttling of Unlimited Data Users Done on Case-by-Case Basis
-It sounds like they have no problem with unlimited plans, and will keep them around
-They say they throttle people in areas with "shortage of network capacity". So you are punishing ME for YOUR $h1tty capacity???

 

[chakraj]

Dude, Yes, but did you read the post directly above mine asking if anyone has done anything about it? So I answered his question, sorry to be so informative.

 

[Apple Expert]

A lot of people can't leave, or can't leave YET. Everybody has different reasons.





Didn't you post that like 3 times already?

Anybody see the MR story?
AT&T Says Throttling of Unlimited Data Users Done on Case-by-Case Basis
-It sounds like they have no problem with unlimited plans, and will keep them around
-They say they throttle people in areas with "shortage of network capacity". So you are punishing ME for YOUR $h1tty capacity???

Yes I know each person is different. I will be hit with a $285 EFT fee. High? yes it is. But I will just sell my phone and roll over the difference to the purchase price of the new phone. Yesterday I had a very rude experience with ATT cancellation department. I won't go in to the lengthy conversation, but I will tell you exactly what he said. That AT&T will not stop the throttling. We need to do what's best for everyone to have coverage. He pretty much agreed the network is not the greatest and said people are using data way too much. I asked him why do they continue to sell data packages with higher then 2gb? He has no answer and kept trying to end the call. I told him I've been with them for years even during the crappy times during the first few iPhones. He laughed and said those stories were stretched by the media. In end I refuse to give AT&T more money if they treat us loyal customers like crap. After all it's the customers that keep them in business.


Of course they will keep them. But the questions is will they throttle the hell out of them?

 

[magicbrain]

war

just got hit with 2nd bogus txt msg & my data went down to the "lovely" 0.10mb/s this morning

PANDORA streaming 24/7 begins

but only 3 days left in my cycle ...
i am curious how much data i can rack up in 24h via Edge ...

yes, some would say, that's abusing, but i've tried to reason & talk to att. since they don't want to listen and simply want to force me out. this is the way, i fight back.

ps: if you haven't seen my posts here (below), i'm not an abuser: don't netflix, just nav, web, mail & light music streaming (2h/day max)
2gb is not abusing, especially that #attFail themselves recently raised 2nd tired plan from 2GB to 3GB. as if saying "2gb is not enough"

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Yes I know each person is different. I will be hit with a $285 EFT fee. High? ...

see the link in my sig, how to cancel without paying eft. not easy, but doable

 

[boredandlonely]

Dude, Yes, but did you read the post directly above mine asking if anyone has done anything about it?

I guess this is just me, but I prefer to let people learn for themselves by reading the actual thread they are posted in. I'm on a number of hobby/interest forums that are the same way. Nobody will answer if the question was already answered in the thread, aside from saying "hey, your answer is in here if you just look for it".

just got hit with 2nd bogus txt msg & my data went down to the "lovely" 0.10mb/s this morning

i've tried to reason & talk to att. since they don't want to listen and simply want to force me out.

ps: if you haven't seen my posts here (below), i'm not an abuser: don't netflix, just nav, web, mail & light music streaming (2h/day max)
2gb is not abusing, especially that #attFail themselves recently raised 2nd tired plan from 2GB to 3GB. as if saying "2gb is not enough"

On that 2gb>3gb, it's like they are making our argument FOR us. 2gb is NOT enough. MF #ATTfail.

 

[chakraj]

I guess this is just me, but I prefer to let people learn for themselves by reading the actual thread they are posted in. I'm on a number of hobby/interest forums that are the same way. Nobody will answer if the question was already answered in the thread, aside from saying "hey, your answer is in here if you just look for it".



On that 2gb>3gb, it's like they are making our argument FOR us. 2gb is NOT enough. MF #ATTfail.

Thats fair. I guess I can use that tact next time.

 

[boredandlonely]

Thats fair. I guess I can use that tact next time.

It goes against my helpful nature, but somebody made the argument to me once, and I was forced to agree. He also pointed out how annoyed I was getting reposting my own quotes over and over.

 

[slippery-pete]

Yes I fired #ATTfail, two months ago and jumped on the unlimited LTE with Verizon. They have a loophole that can get you unlimited LTE and an unlimited LTE hotspot all for $60. so thas why I fired ATT. this way not only do I have LTE right now, but I also have an unlimited hotspot for an extra $30. The loophole still exists

If you "fired" At&t 2 months ago, why do you care so much what they do?

It's like when you dump a girl. Does it really matter who she is dating/sleeping with after you? No it doesn't, because you made the decision to move on......

 

[james92se]

I got finally got hit with a warning text the other day right at about 2 GB on the spot. I live in SE Dallas

Really annoying as I've been putting up 3-5 GB per month for the past year or so.