Going from 3G to 4G... Even worth it? - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

I have an S3 but am using only 3G data from an old plan with ATT.
I was considering upgrading to a limited plan with 4G but am not sure what the point is. 3G really seems fast enough. And what's the point of using 4G when you can burn through your entire month's allocation in eight minutes (assuming 50Mbit download speed).

The download speed is nice but sorta useless on capped plans its the ping thats a big change.
So that time it takes to start the transfer of data is instant on 4G (LTE)

synpax said:
I have an S3 but am using only 3G data from an old plan with ATT.
I was considering upgrading to a limited plan with 4G but am not sure what the point is. 3G really seems fast enough. And what's the point of using 4G when you can burn through your entire month's allocation in eight minutes (assuming 50Mbit download speed).
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So I just upgraded to S3 today from the captivate. I have a grandfathered unlimited 3G data plan and they just upgraded it to unlimited 4G data plan free of charge, not sure if your case is the same but I didn't have to give up my unlimited data.
Also, just cause your speeds are faster doesn't necessarily mean you use more data. If you continue on the same trend of data usage you won't be hitting your limit any faster than you do now. But the speed at which you do things will increase

synpax said:
I have an S3 but am using only 3G data from an old plan with ATT.
I was considering upgrading to a limited plan with 4G but am not sure what the point is. 3G really seems fast enough. And what's the point of using 4G when you can burn through your entire month's allocation in eight minutes (assuming 50Mbit download speed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, i have mine turned off as there isnt even LTE in most area's i go, and I'm in the Bay area. SF has LTE, but not east bay, or stockton where i am normally. so its just a waste of battery to have it on. IF u have LTE in ur area i think it would be worth it and depending on wut u are doing, MAY save battery as it would DL data faster, therefore completing wutever task faster..just my opinion..
---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 PM ----------
synpax said:
I have an S3 but am using only 3G data from an old plan with ATT.
I was considering upgrading to a limited plan with 4G but am not sure what the point is. 3G really seems fast enough. And what's the point of using 4G when you can burn through your entire month's allocation in eight minutes (assuming 50Mbit download speed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u wont eva..eva eva evaaaa see 50Mb dl..not on LTE. i think the highest reported anywhere is like half that..

I live in sf and when I go to the east bay I still have lte
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dreezy1209 said:
I live in sf and when I go to the east bay I still have lte
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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i WISH i lived in sf. i live in concord. solid FAUX-g here. best i pull is like almost 5 down. on a good day, in select spots.
edit: i stand corrected. i think i had my 4g turned off. i cant screenshot on aokp, but in the middle of concord i pulled 20.sumthin down and 13.4 up..THAS MORE LIKE IT AT&T!! now if they would jus offer unlimited plans like other carriers..

Won't ever see 50??? This was a test I did in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon when I was there.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

Imho
Faster is always better . However LTE drains the battery fast. I've dumb down my data for day to day functions. But when needed I switch back to LTE, specially when thetering.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium

Not sure what your data plan situation is, but even with grandfathered unlimited, as mentioned above, you can keep that plan with LTE; albeit with throttling after 3GB and a couple warnings. LTE is def worth it IMO, as for the 50mbps, it's certainly possible to test that high depending on where you are. Very traffic dependent. When it first switched on around here I was testing at 40+. It's since dropped to ~20, which I still enjoy quite a bit.

djelement1 said:
Won't ever see 50??? This was a test I did in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon when I was there.
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WOW! from wut i've read the highest reported has been in the neoghborhood of 26ish..wow~

abenn26 said:
So I just upgraded to S3 today from the captivate. I have a grandfathered unlimited 3G data plan and they just upgraded it to unlimited 4G data plan free of charge, not sure if your case is the same but I didn't have to give up my unlimited data.
Also, just cause your speeds are faster doesn't necessarily mean you use more data. If you continue on the same trend of data usage you won't be hitting your limit any faster than you do now. But the speed at which you do things will increase
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How do I pull that off? Getting an unlimited 4G plan free of charge?
Three times they have auto-swapped me to a capped 3 gigabyte capped 3G plan.

mjutz said:
Not sure what your data plan situation is, but even with grandfathered unlimited, as mentioned above, you can keep that plan with LTE; albeit with throttling after 3GB and a couple warnings. LTE is def worth it IMO, as for the 50mbps, it's certainly possible to test that high depending on where you are. Very traffic dependent. When it first switched on around here I was testing at 40+. It's since dropped to ~20, which I still enjoy quite a bit.
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How did you get to keep that plan???

synpax said:
How did you get to keep that plan???
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I still have my unlimited data plan from my iPhone days. When you upgrade to a LTE plan you still keep your unlimited but they throttle you after 5 gigs of data used. If I was still using my iPhone 4S they would be throttling me after 3 gigs of data used. So that is why I switched to an LTE phone. And so far I'm enjoying my S3!

synpax said:
I have an S3 but am using only 3G data from an old plan with ATT.
I was considering upgrading to a limited plan with 4G but am not sure what the point is. 3G really seems fast enough. And what's the point of using 4G when you can burn through your entire month's allocation in eight minutes (assuming 50Mbit download speed).
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Click to collapse
You can switch to LTE data and keep your Unlimited Data Plan. Also you'll get throttled at 5gb, not 3gb of use. So if ou keep doing and using the Internet the same way you'll be fine, unless you start downloading things, watching HD videos, etc. I've burned my 3gb plan in two days last month when I got my S3. LTE its worth it. Here I've got 25mb downloads and 12mb uploads.
Hope this helps http://www.att.com/esupport/datausage.jsp?source=IZDUel1160000000U
And BTW you just call Customer Service and tell them you want to upgrade to an LTE Unlimited Data Plan, that's what we did with my mother's S3. Mine was upgraded from 3GB 4G(H+) to 3GB LTE. No charge, and the data counter was reset to 0mb.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Alberto5501 said:
You can switch to LTE data and keep your Unlimited Data Plan. Also you'll get throttled at 5gb, not 3gb of use. So if ou keep doing and using the Internet the same way you'll be fine, unless you start downloading things, watching HD videos, etc. I've burned my 3gb plan in two days last month when I got my S3. LTE its worth it. Here I've got 25mb downloads and 12mb uploads.
Hope this helps http://www.att.com/esupport/datausage.jsp?source=IZDUel1160000000U
And BTW you just call Customer Service and tell them you want to upgrade to an LTE Unlimited Data Plan, that's what we did with my mother's S3. Mine was upgraded from 3GB 4G(H+) to 3GB LTE. No charge, and the data counter was reset to 0mb.
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Ah - well, here's the problem. I have unlimited data for NON-smartphones. So I called and I seem to be getting a hard time.

I get a consistent 50ms ping, 22mb down and 11 mb up with LTE in san diego(att). If you are in a city with LTE, I recommend you use it, its very fast. Plus not many people are using LTE with att yet, so there is plenty of bandwidth(for now)

rickriego said:
WOW! from wut i've read the highest reported has been in the neoghborhood of 26ish..wow~
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Same in Toronto on Rogers for me. Most impressive difference you will see over 3G is installing of applications, on which downloads are 99% instantaneous.... Also downloading files and documents. Browsing is also slightly faster..

rickriego said:
well, i have mine turned off as there isnt even LTE in most area's i go, and I'm in the Bay area. SF has LTE, but not east bay, or stockton where i am normally. so its just a waste of battery to have it on. IF u have LTE in ur area i think it would be worth it and depending on wut u are doing, MAY save battery as it would DL data faster, therefore completing wutever task faster..just my opinion..
---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 PM ----------
u wont eva..eva eva evaaaa see 50Mb dl..not on LTE. i think the highest reported anywhere is like half that..
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Click to collapse
I regularly get 40+ in San Jose area and hit 51 in Pleasanton.
It just greatly depends on how close you are to the tower, it seems to diminish quickly based on your distance
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abenn26 said:
So I just upgraded to S3 today from the captivate. I have a grandfathered unlimited 3G data plan and they just upgraded it to unlimited 4G data plan free of charge, not sure if your case is the same but I didn't have to give up my unlimited data.)
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Click to collapse
I just got the S3 at lunchtime today, and they quietly deleted my unlimited data, and now say it can't be added back; and that I didn't ask for it, or authorize that, does not matter in the least.
I may end up with a different service provider out of their (apparently successful) attempt to steal my unlimited data account.

Jhn1 said:
I just got the S3 at lunchtime today, and they quietly deleted my unlimited data, and now say it can't be added back; and that I didn't ask for it, or authorize that, does not matter in the least.
I may end up with a different service provider out of their (apparently successful) attempt to steal my unlimited data account.
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Yea, that's a load of crap! They can't change your account trends with it you authorizing it out breaching the existing one. I would call them and unleash a hail storm of $h!t until they fix it or compensate you for screwing you over. Hope all works out for you
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Related

Most Data used

Just checked my 4G data usage and seen I hit 11 GB is this excessive?
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Not really, there's people who use 50+ gigs and bragging about it.
Raheem387 said:
Just checked my 4G data usage and seen I hit 11 GB is this excessive?
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Yes I used over 5GB on slow ass sprint 3g
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I'm usually at 6gig and I live on this thing.
no 4g around me though.
I used to use about 1-2 GB on 3G, but then I got a wifi router for home.
Now I barely use 200 MB. Plus moving files between PC and phone w/o cables @3 MB/s is pretty nice.
My idiot friend said he used over 300gb one month because he was downloading ps3 games.... Idiots like that are the reason we won't have unlimited forever.... The odd thing is he said that he never got a warning or disruption in his service. I never even get close to you guys cuz I am on wifi virtually everywhere I go
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Raheem387 said:
Just checked my 4G data usage and seen I hit 11 GB is this excessive?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Did you hit 11GB through phone usage or through tethering? My home internet provider in my building went out of business so I had to start tethering and I hit 18GB of 4G. From what I understand, Sprint doesn't care as long as you aren't roaming. Before tethering, I would go through about 3-4GB a month.
EmperorX said:
My idiot friend said he used over 300gb one month because he was downloading ps3 games.... Idiots like that are the reason we won't have unlimited forever.... The odd thing is he said that he never got a warning or disruption in his service. I never even get close to you guys cuz I am on wifi virtually everywhere I go
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Those idiots won't be the reason why, but, they will be the excuse why.
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daneurysm said:
Those idiots won't be the reason why, but, they will be the excuse why.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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300GB? I think that would be a pretty good reason on their part. He's using 20-30X the amount of data the average data hog here uses (or admits to using). And that's 300X the amount of data the average user (people who live in the 21st century and have wifi at home) uses.
That's obnoxious even compared to other abusers!
Other than illegally downloading warez, I can' think of a single legitimate way a normal person could go through that much bandwidth. Even streaming Netflix... that's 300+ movies (from my experience watching data use on the phone). The hogs here who stream Pandora every day even stay in the low 2 digits of data use.
That idiot friend deserves to get booted!
I hit around 1.3GB last month on 4G (Usage reset yesterday). And I used around a Gig or so on 3G. Im typically always on Wifi though, so my data isnt as high as it would be if it werent for me using Wifi. I get AWESOME 4G coverage at my apartment too
used +8gbs of 4g on primary line this past month, streaming like crazy....bought nba league pass, only use google cloud music for music and heavy surfing. im not worried about overages, ive got a smarthphone to use not stare at.
as for that 300gb claim....id say youre friend is just a douche and didnt even come close to that. i doubt you could even pull 300 gigs of data in a month due to poor sprint coverage/service
The most I ever used was 6.5 gigs and that's because I was testing this torrentlt client on my phone. Lol I downloaded the entire Naruto series.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
My highest has been 25GB on 4g and 2GB on 3g. I'm already at almost 5GB on 4g n not even at 1GB yet on 3g since I barely use that crap. I got 17 more days left in this cycle so i'm sure I'll be at about 20GB by the end of this cycle.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
daneurysm said:
Those idiots won't be the reason why, but, they will be the excuse why.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Well said!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
I think you're good...a lot of us have hit high numbers for one reason or another and if you actually have a good signal and utilize your phone for streaming music and uploading pics, etc its not hard to hit a higher number.
When I moved to a new place a few months ago I tethered my revue and two laptops for a couple of weeks until I had broadband hooked up and hit 48 gigs...no letters in the mail. I get great 4G at home and 3G for that matter and average around 10 gigs a month combined usage. Sprint is great if you're in a strong signal area.
I don't understand why a home ISP internet provider can give you all the data you want but cell companies decided to cap people and offer tiered plans. It is not like it cost them more if I use 2 gigs or 4 gigs of data.
Is is a real shame that mobile providers took this direction with data. Getting anything more then the 2 or 3 gig plan just makes your cell phone bill an outrages unaffordable price.
Sprint is great that they still offer unlimited data but when you are using 3G and getting 40kbs what is the point? How could Sprint have ever let there network get this bad. When I had the EVO 4G and I never needed to turn of 4G. Since it killed the battery within hours I was able to use 3G for anything I wanted to without a problem.
Now, if you are not in a 4G area, you phone is almost useless as far as data is concerened. Streaming anything is almost near impossible.
If Sprint actually fixes their network and has LTE 2 years from now I am sure they will not be unlimited either. If they were to tier now, why would anyone in their right mind stay with them? Like Sprint took everything else away from their customers, unlimited data will be next. They just need a network that they can pull that BS on...
Depends on who your ISP is.
ATT has a 100gb limit, and I get a lousy 2.5mbs for $38 month...
Comcast has a 250gb limit.
I don't understand why a home ISP internet provider can give you all the data you want but cell companies decided to cap people and offer tiered plans. It is not like it cost them more if I use 2 gigs or 4 gigs of data.
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There may not be a direct monetary cost, but bandwidth being consumed by one user is bandwidth unavailable for other users to use; it is a rival resource. Users who use a large amount of data place a higher burden on the network than users who use a typical amount and cause data speeds for these users to be lower than they would be otherwise. This reduction in service quality experienced by other users could cause them to leave the network and cost the service provider.
Zurginator said:
Depends on who your ISP is.
ATT has a 100gb limit, and I get a lousy 2.5mbs for $38 month...
Comcast has a 250gb limit.
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Click to collapse
DSL users are capped at 150GB, U-Verse has no cap since AT&T can't distinguish the TV usage from actual internet usage, so they don't cap that at all.
[email protected] said:
Sprint is great that they still offer unlimited data but when you are using 3G and getting 40kbs what is the point? How could Sprint have ever let there network get this bad. When I had the EVO 4G and I never needed to turn of 4G. Since it killed the battery within hours I was able to use 3G for anything I wanted to without a problem.
I remember this! It was Unbelievably fast. ...
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GalaXy S ll [blazerV3] @ 1200x720

Any experience with at&t throttling unlim data?

I was curious about differences between data plans. I'm grandfathered in to unlimited data and I've heard that they will throttle your data speed if your in the top nth% of bandwidth usage. Is there any way to get an idea of how many gb of data that actually is?
And are there any cases where at&t has taken unlimited data away for abusing it?
I was downloading 700mb ROM on LTE and it took like 60 second which is faster than wifi, but I sure as hell wouldn't do that if I was on a 3gb plan.
jefferson9 said:
I was curious about differences between data plans. I'm grandfathered in to unlimited data and I've heard that they will throttle your data speed if your in the top nth% of bandwidth usage. Is there any way to get an idea of how many gb of data that actually is?
An are there any cases where at&t has taken unlimited data away for abusing it?
I was downloading 700mb ROM on LTE and it took like 60 second which is faster than wifi, but I sure as hell wouldn't do that if I was on a 3gb plan.
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Every month that I hit 3GBs of data use, I get throttled. I have been told that people grandfathered into the Unlimited Data Plan and using an LTE phone get throttled at 5 GBs of data usage. This will be my first month on LTE, so I guess we will see! Until now I have been on a 3G plan, so I am hoping that it does change it to 5 GB or higher.
I got throttled @ 5GB on LTE about 5 days ago with 12 more days left on my billing cycle
It's actually not that bad being throttled...it's capped to only about 600Mbps. The thing is at network access starts fasts but quickly slows down to 600Mbps. Due to this web browsing, emailing, and messaging doesn't seem any slower as they usually require short/brief network access. What is noticeable is Youtube performance and updating/downloading apps via GooglePlay.
vw671 said:
I got throttled @ 5GB on LTE about 5 days ago with 12 more days left on my billing cycle
It's actually not that bad being throttled...it's capped to only about 600Mbps. The thing is at network access starts fasts but quickly slows down to 600Mbps. Due to this web browsing, emailing, and messaging doesn't seem any slower as they usually require short/brief network access. What is noticeable is Youtube performance and updating/downloading apps via GooglePlay.
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Same I get throttled at 5gbs. I usually hit that around 2 week mark. But u start to see slow speeds when on YouTube downloading etc.
sent from 1 of 4 Galaxy devices
I've read that if you get throttled on the LTE plan @ 5GBs you can switch your APN over to the "4G" (e.g. ATT APN used on the SGH-I777) and you can get highers speeds (not LTE) until you hit 3GBs cap.
Haven't tried it out myself.
nakedninja42 said:
I've read that if you get throttled on the LTE plan @ 5GBs you can switch your APN over to the "4G" (e.g. ATT APN used on the SGH-I777) and you can get highers speeds (not LTE) until you hit 3GBs cap.
Haven't tried it out myself.
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Click to collapse
You are correct, that's what I do everytime I hit my 5GB limit., just switch to 'phone' APN and change you connection type to not look for LTE. works like a champ.
do a search for the 'phone' APN
I got throttled for the first time this month on the last day before my billing cycle ends (I got the text message a day earlier). I'm on a grandfathered unlimited plan and AT&T reports my data usage at 5.1Gb. The strange thing is that a few days ago, my data was reported to be ~8Gb by AT&T and by my phone. My phone still says ~8Gb, but AT&T now says 5.1Gb. My speed is now around 600Kbps down and 2Mbps up, where it used to be 16Mbps down and 6Mbps up. I haven't tried the APN switch, but I might try it if I get throttled earlier in the month.
annulation said:
I got throttled for the first time this month on the last day before my billing cycle ends (I got the text message a day earlier). I'm on a grandfathered unlimited plan and AT&T reports my data usage at 5.1Gb. The strange thing is that a few days ago, my data was reported to be ~8Gb by AT&T and by my phone. My phone still says ~8Gb, but AT&T now says 5.1Gb. My speed is now around 600Kbps down and 2Mbps up, where it used to be 16Mbps down and 6Mbps up. I haven't tried the APN switch, but I might try it if I get throttled earlier in the month.
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Is that lte or h+?
jefferson9 said:
Is that lte or h+?
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My first full month of LTE. I had wifi off the entire month because I just had to test the limit.
vw671 said:
I got throttled @ 5GB on LTE about 5 days ago with 12 more days left on my billing cycle
It's actually not that bad being throttled...it's capped to only about 600Mbps. The thing is at network access starts fasts but quickly slows down to 600Mbps. Due to this web browsing, emailing, and messaging doesn't seem any slower as they usually require short/brief network access. What is noticeable is Youtube performance and updating/downloading apps via GooglePlay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You say "600 Mbps" but I really think you mean 600 Kbps. There's a big difference and 600 Kbps is actually painfully slow when you're coming from 8-25 Mbps depending on if you have HSPA, HSPA+ or LTE. My home internet connection is 889 Kbps and it's really slow for downloading large ROMs. So unfortunately I have been quite reluctant to download ROMs from my phone because I don't want to get throttle on my unlimited plan. It looks like I will continue to not go over my 5 Gb soft cap so I won't be throttled. I might as well not have unlimited
Think about this. Yes we get throttled at 5gb. But, we pay the same as a tiered 3gb plan. And even if we hit 5GB, we don't get charged an extra $10 for more data.
I do agree and I'm just nit picking. I consider myself lucky that still have an unlimited plan. My situation may be a bit different than others because my phone is by far the fastest data connection I have. Period. Way faster than my home or my job, so I have a tendency to use it for everything. I feel as though they could give people more data though. I realize that a 'small percentage' use over 5 gb, but I don't see a problem with doubling all the tiered plans including those with grandfathered unlimited plans soft cap. AT&T has a LOT of money.
mrhaley30705 said:
Think about this. Yes we get throttled at 5gb. But, we pay the same as a tiered 3gb plan. And even if we hit 5GB, we don't get charged an extra $10 for more data.
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Absolutly
Everyone that still has unlimited data (including myself) is pretty lucky
I think i may be getting thorttled... what speeds are u guys getting?
They throttled me at the 2gb mark. Called them and *****es them out something fierce. They told me it was because it was I had gone over 2gb in one cycle. I asked them about the past where the website said I had used 17gb. Didn't get throttled then, why now?
Dude couldn't give me an answer. I think the system picked up on my because I sent the *3282# to see what my data usage was.
After I got off the phone with them, researched and forunf the other apn settings to use, no problems thus far. No throttling, no slowdowns. That was with my galaxy note i717.
Not I have a razr xt910, don't bother to check my data and, no throttling.
(MY NAME IS BILL Z AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE)
Im almost at 6 gbs and have not been throttled.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Swaggernaut said:
Im almost at 6 gbs and have not been throttled.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
There is a delay between usage and throttle. I think it's 1 but may be 2 days actually.
Within two days you will be throttled...
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I got throttled last month. Little after 5 gigs. Too many Rom and large files download testing lte. My speeds were crawling. I had to connect to wifi to download 5+ mb apps. Needless to say, i.use wifi now. Nooo matter how slow it is.
Sent from AT&T SGS3
waiters said:
There is a delay between usage and throttle. I think it's 1 but may be 2 days actually.
Within two days you will be throttled...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
It's been 3 days since I last checked and was at 5,985 I'm well above 6 gbs now still not throlled.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
4.9 gigs of data used and I'm throttled to .5 mbps.. sucks..Baton rouge LTE area..
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I wish I still had unlimited data

Who do I have to blow for unlimited data.
I try my hardest to connect to every possible WiFi connectiom but I always hit my data cap. I find my self turning my data connection off on the 15th ~ every month
Sprint?
How much data are you paying for???? 5GB?
the AT&T "unlimited" plan is worthless whichever way you look at it. You get throttled after 3GB of use, which is 1mbit up, 0.1mbit down, at which point your phone is worthless for just about anything useful. Just bite the bullet and pay for the data I guess. I was averaging 11-12 GB per month before this throttling started and I managed to get it down to 1.2-1.5 GB. The only usage habit I changed was avoiding downloading apps.
Not the end of the world, otherwise go to Sprint if you live in an unsaturated market with LTE or WiMAX, which is rare.
themyst said:
the AT&T "unlimited" plan is worthless whichever way you look at it. You get throttled after 3GB of use, which is 1mbit up, 0.1mbit down, at which point your phone is worthless for just about anything useful. Just bite the bullet and pay for the data I guess. I was averaging 11-12 GB per month before this throttling started and I managed to get it down to 1.2-1.5 GB. The only usage habit I changed was avoiding downloading apps.
Not the end of the world, otherwise go to Sprint if you live in an unsaturated market with LTE or WiMAX, which is rare.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "cap" is 5 GB for LTE, and you get throttled to 3G speeds.
mikdugal1 said:
Who do I have to blow for unlimited data.
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asl?pic? jk
gtalum said:
The "cap" is 5 GB for LTE, and you get throttled to 3G speeds.
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What he said. Its not 3gb for this device.
SysAdmNj said:
asl?pic? jk
What he said. Its not 3gb for this device.
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Click to collapse
Damn, thanks for the correction. I was speaking of my iPhone 4S experiences, guess they don't apply for non-Apple products.
Maybe I'll bite the bullet and change my 2GB plan for 3GB for $5.00 more. I'm not a terribly heavy data user anymore though. But OP, that sucks, sigh. Maybe you can buy a grandfathered SIM on eBay if you need it that badly?
For AT&T, get an original iPhone, place your standard sim in it, it will prompt you for unlimited data. Wait a reasonable amount of time (maybe a month) and then upgrade from your iPhone to whatever it is you want -- and take your data plan with you.
Good luck.
mikdugal1 said:
Who do I have to blow for unlimited data.
I try my hardest to connect to every possible WiFi connectiom but I always hit my data cap. I find my self turning my data connection off on the 15th ~ every month
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just swap APN's when they throttle you. I've used a ton of data this month (thanks Sandy) and I just finally got throttled on my i717.
The AT&T $30 grandfathered plan is anything but "unlimited". I have been throttled so many times. Hardly going over 3GB's sucks.
I heard switching APNs doesn't work? Some day it will only allow for HSPA speeds and not LTE speeds if your successful.
I wish AT&T's unlimited plan was like Verizon's. I'd always buy at no commitment pricing so that's not a big deal to me. I'd do that each time to have truly unlimited LTE.
So, when you get throttle, do they send you some kind of notification that you are being throttled or does you speed just slow down? Been close to 5 gb a couple of times but have yet to see a drop in speeds. Going to test it one of these days when there is about a week left in cycle by exceeding the cap to see what happens for me.
from a galaxy far far away....
Mad383Max said:
So, when you get throttle, do they send you some kind of notification that you are being throttled or does you speed just slow down? Been close to 5 gb a couple of times but have yet to see a drop in speeds. Going to test it one of these days when there is about a week left in cycle by exceeding the cap to see what happens for me.
from a galaxy far far away....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they do the very first time, but its a warning that they will throttle you in future billing cycles. I was throttled for about 4 days in September and the speeds were not bad. I was able to do everything. It just wasn't super fast, but operable. I think I was getting about 400-500kbps (very nice Sprint speeds).
Between my work wifi and home wifi I never go over 2gb a month, I feel bad for you "Data Hogs" (AT&T words no mine)
MattMJB0188 said:
I think I was getting about 400-500kbps (very nice Sprint speeds).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL that is EXCELLENT 4G speeds for Sprint. lol
MattMJB0188 said:
I think they do the very first time, but its a warning that they will throttle you in future billing cycles. I was throttled for about 4 days in September and the speeds were not bad. I was able to do everything. It just wasn't super fast, but operable. I think I was getting about 400-500kbps (very nice Sprint speeds).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That Sprint speed is ridiculous, I usually hit about 3 Mbps - 5 Mbps depends on location with my Galaxy S II on AT&T and that's just HSPA+ not on LTE.
Sorry for off topic...
cbass said:
Just swap APN's when they throttle you. I've used a ton of data this month (thanks Sandy) and I just finally got throttled on my i717.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...how do you 'swap' APNs? I have only one in the list on my phone. (Right now, an SGS III). Or, how do you know what to manually add for a different APN?
ewingr said:
Hmmm...how do you 'swap' APNs? I have only one in the list on my phone. (Right now, an SGS III). Or, how do you know what to manually add for a different APN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to add the APN manually. There was a specific APN that wasn't checked for usage or throttled. I'm using past-tense because I've heard that when AT&T set the hard 3GB and 5GB limits for throttling on the unlimited plan, this trick stopped working.
To answer someone else's question about warnings, you should get an SMS warning you that you're close to the cap, and then another SMS to tell you that you've been throttled when you hit the cap.
T-$hep said:
That Sprint speed is ridiculous, I usually hit about 3 Mbps - 5 Mbps depends on location with my Galaxy S II on AT&T and that's just HSPA+ not on LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
12-18 on H+ with my one X international. 40-50 on lte with my note
Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2
MattMJB0188 said:
The AT&T $30 grandfathered plan is anything but "unlimited". I have been throttled so many times. Hardly going over 3GB's sucks.
I heard switching APNs doesn't work? Some day it will only allow for HSPA speeds and not LTE speeds if your successful.
I wish AT&T's unlimited plan was like Verizon's. I'd always buy at no commitment pricing so that's not a big deal to me. I'd do that each time to have truly unlimited LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon is kicking everyone off unlimited grandfathered I hear. A bunch of my friends called Verizon and even if they buy an off contract phone they still lose data and then their bill goes up at least 30 bucks. ...think I read this somewhere also
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
browniegirl said:
Verizon is kicking everyone off unlimited grandfathered I hear. A bunch of my friends called Verizon and even if they buy an off contract phone they still lose data and then their bill goes up at least 30 bucks. ...think I read this somewhere also
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect on all fronts. Buying a phone outright does not change your plan. This is actually the ONLY way you can keep unlimited for vzw. Also the bill does not go up $30 it simply changes their unlimited plan to the 2gb for the same price as the old unlimited. If they chose to go to the share data that will be different but vzw is in no way forcing anything on people except for taking their unlimited data, which blows. But that's life. And in ten years people will have no idea what unlimited data means
Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Is T-Mobile's Unlimited High Speed Data option truly unlimited (unthrottled)?

Note that I am not referring to their somewhat misleading advertising that calls all of their plans "unlimited," but instead the $20/mo extra per line that gives you supposedly unlimited LTE.
I'll be living in a large city with excellent LTE coverage in the near future, and I had considered this plan option, possibly even to replace a home internet connection using a ROM with built in tethering, etc. But I don't know if there's some fine print somewhere that they would throttle it after a point, possibly down to 3g speeds or something? I use a lot of netflix, I would estimate my daily combined home cable + current wireless monthly bandwidth consumption somewhere in the neighborhood of 100gb/mo if not more.
RC Cola said:
Note that I am not referring to their somewhat misleading advertising that calls all of their plans "unlimited," but instead the $20/mo extra per line that gives you supposedly unlimited LTE.
I'll be living in a large city with excellent LTE coverage in the near future, and I had considered this plan option, possibly even to replace a home internet connection using a ROM with built in tethering, etc. But I don't know if there's some fine print somewhere that they would throttle it after a point, possibly down to 3g speeds or something? I use a lot of netflix, I would estimate my daily combined home cable + current wireless monthly bandwidth consumption somewhere in the neighborhood of 100gb/mo if not more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I was on the My T-mobile app once and saw that it said unlimited data but in parentheses it said something around 9,000gb. So that would be considered unlimited if you look at it since it's monthly and don't see anyone ever going above that in a month with hardcore downloading.
I only got 2.5 gig for 10 buck a month most of the time im on wifi.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
whytechapel_x said:
Interesting. I was on the My T-mobile app once and saw that it said unlimited data but in parentheses it said something around 9,000gb. So that would be considered unlimited if you look at it since it's monthly and don't see anyone ever going above that in a month with hardcore downloading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that would be less disheartening if so. $20/mo for truly unlimited LTE that's faster than the local cable company would be well worth it to me, even if I got it alongside a home connection. But these days, I'm just paranoid that the truly unlimited data days with consistent speeds no matter how much you consume each month might be by the wayside. At some point into that 9,000gb they might try to slow you down?
My T-Mobile reps in the local store didn't have an answer for me on this one, and I don't relish the idea of trying to get one from the 1-800 number.
After you use your high speed data limit you will get slowed down to 2g speeds.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
Don't listen to these guys. I am on the truly unlimited in tampa Florida and I have used over 75gb this month alone on LTE..
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda premium
I use over 95 gigs over LTE loving the unlimited
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
yes, its truly unlimited
Around a year ago, I remember t mobile actually throttled after a certain point. 4 gigs I think.
Now unlimited is 9,999 gigs.
Yes, truly unlimited
Sent from my SGH M919 using xda app-developers app
I'm @ 40+ GB this month
and just did a speed test:
10Mbps dl/ul LTE
No throttling here.
T-Mobile......
Truly Unlimited/No throttling LTE @ $20/mo.
Compared to Sprint No LTE in my area
Even beat out Verizon S3 in a side by side comparison speedtest, 2 out of 3 tests, one draw, in an enclosed room in the middle of an office building.
---------- Post added at 06:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 AM ----------
whytechapel_x said:
Interesting. I was on the My T-mobile app once and saw that it said unlimited data but in parentheses it said something around 9,000gb. So that would be considered unlimited if you look at it since it's monthly and don't see anyone ever going above that in a month with hardcore downloading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that 4G limit of 9.899gb in ( ) on my first invoice, and I was like, What??
I called T-Mobile and spoke to a rep.
It's just the way the billing system is set up to describe Unlimited 4G LTE, but yes, you Are getting Unlimited LTE, no throttling, she explained to me. Of course I asked her the same thing 2 more times in slightly different ways, as at first her explanation sounded suspicious. But I verified it 3 times in total. I did believe her, and subsequent LTE usage have shown that the Rep was telling the truth, as I have Unlimited 4G LTE without throttling
I used over 65 Gb last month of data and not a problem. I tether my entire house (changed user agents in computer browsers top avoid detection) and love it. I pay $70 a month. Can't beat this plan. It's the best deal I've seen around.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

StraightTalk now supports LTE!

Check this out guys, the awesome coverage and now speed with the low cost!
http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4727886/straight-talk-prepaid-now-works-with-att-lte-devices
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Can't wait for my T-Mobile contract to end!
Can tmobile phone use on straight talk?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2
you'll get "unlimited" data, talk, and text for $45 per month.
those quotes.
This thread is a complete fail....
You dont get unlimited. You get capped at 1-2 GB of usage.
So whats the point of LTE if your just going to get capped sooner????
#FAIL........
hypersonicx said:
This thread is a complete fail....
You dont get unlimited. You get capped at 1-2 GB of usage.
So whats the point of LTE if your just going to get capped sooner????
#FAIL........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For $45/month or less, 1-2 GB/month at LTE speeds is competitive... but data with Straight Talk had always been a bit flaky for me, with high latency. I wonder if AT&T's LTE on Straight Talk would be better.
hypersonicx said:
This thread is a complete fail....
You dont get unlimited. You get capped at 1-2 GB of usage.
So whats the point of LTE if your just going to get capped sooner????
#FAIL........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't have said it better myself! Plus LTE is to battery hungry for it to be a viable replacement for HSPA+
I'm perfectly happy with my HSPA+ 42Mbps T-Mobile network through Straight Talk!
giant22000 said:
Couldn't have said it better myself! Plus LTE is to battery hungry for it to be a viable replacement for HSPA+
I'm perfectly happy with my HSPA+ 42Mbps T-Mobile network through Straight Talk!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery isn't that bad. :good:
But I can see how it would be a decent plan for some people.
theexel said:
Battery isn't that bad. :good:
But I can see how it would be a decent plan for some people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who knows, maybe I'm just unlucky but every time I turned off LTE on the three LTE phones I've had and relied on HSPA+ I saw about a 50% improvement in battery life. This is significant to me...
I'm not on an LTE plan anymore so I've had turned off the whole time of ownership of my s4 so I can not make judgement on this phone.
Not sure why some people always claim to get "capped" by straighttalk in every forum. I was with them a year and never got throttled or capped. My wife is using my old S2 on exact same account now-still uses what she wants, when she wants. Never received a call or text like others say they get when going too high. If you are free to go try them out-I say do it. Let us all know how their LTE is. I went to them from ATT back when they had the ATT sims the first time and could tell NO DIFFERENCE in call reception or quality.
knightsh said:
Not sure why some people always claim to get "capped" by straighttalk in every forum. I was with them a year and never got throttled or capped. My wife is using my old S2 on exact same account now-still uses what she wants, when she wants. Never received a call or text like others say they get when going too high. If you are free to go try them out-I say do it. Let us all know how their LTE is. I went to them from ATT back when they had the ATT sims the first time and could tell NO DIFFERENCE in call reception or quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can attest to the throttling as I was throttle several times. It seems that once you get throttled once, you seem to be targeted more often. A lot of people were forced to buy new sim cards because the problem was so rampant.
Despite the throttling, I still think straight talk is the best deal around.
How do I find out if straight talk has Lte service where I live? Thanks
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
hypersonicx said:
This thread is a complete fail....
You dont get unlimited. You get capped at 1-2 GB of usage.
So whats the point of LTE if your just going to get capped sooner????
#FAIL........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.....I don't think you understand fully what capped means....If it wasnt unlimited 2 things would happen. One no more data period once you hit that 1-2 gb limit or youd be charged out the ass for going over.... do either happen? No.
Does it get slowed down a bit once you do go over? Yes. Do you still have data? Yes. Can you still use as much as you like? Yes. Translation unlimited.
Unlimited speed. No. Unlimited data yes.
Also just because your data is faster doesn't mean you will use more faster. No matter what data connection you use you still are going to use the same amount of data regardless.
Example IF it took 1mb of data just to open Facebook on 3g its still going to use 1mb of data to open Facebook on lte. Its just going to load faster on lte
So....your post was a fail in the end.
sent via an Omega'd S4
doesn't beat my $30 month prepaid tmobile plan......
How can I find out if straight talk offers 4G Lte where I live.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
xda23 said:
How can I find out if straight talk offers 4G Lte where I live.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check AT&T's LTE map.
Yesterday, I put my T-Mo StraightTalk sim into SGH-T999L and, lo and behold, I got LTE. I did not change the APN, so it still was fast.t-mobile.com, and it worked on my ST sim. The network was shown as HOME and mobile network type as LTE. First, I thought it might be a glitch, but when I ran speedtest, it showed ~16 mbps down and ~8.5 mbps up, so I could see that it was indeed LTE. Unfortunately, I did not take any shcreenshots to prove it for naysayers here, and I do not own a T-mo LTE-enabled device. But hey, anybody can try it.
AIO (or should it be EOL/end of life) was throttled by AT&T. Still LTE, but limited to slower speed. This was proven with a side-by-side test of AIO and GoPhone.
How about ST and Net10? I use GoPhone for long road trips because there is no throttling whatsoever.
lost_ said:
AIO (or should it be EOL/end of life) was throttled by AT&T. Still LTE, but limited to slower speed. This was proven with a side-by-side test of AIO and GoPhone.
How about ST and Net10? I use GoPhone for long road trips because there is no throttling whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on AT&T GoPhone but recently switched to ST ATT. So far I haven't noticed any drop in speed myself, but I've only done anecdotal speedtest stuff relying on memory for the AT&T GoPhone speeds. The pings also have seemed comparable (I've seen 80-200 ms).
Adam0524 said:
Also just because your data is faster doesn't mean you will use more faster. No matter what data connection you use you still are going to use the same amount of data regardless.
Example IF it took 1mb of data just to open Facebook on 3g its still going to use 1mb of data to open Facebook on lte. Its just going to load faster on lte
So....your post was a fail in the end.
sent via an Omega'd S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yours is one viewpoint..there IS, however, merit to the thought that faster speed equals more consumption. Coming from Sprint, if I didn't have an LTE connection I, basically, wouldn't even try certain things (updating apps/watching videos). With a faster connection comes the knowledge that you won't be waiting 5 minutes for a 1 minute YouTube video to load (let alone watching a movie/tv show via the xfinity app) and that, in turn, means you'll use more data. Not saying you're wrong because your Facebook analogy is totally accurate, just providing another viewpoint/perspective.

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