Develop Bugs

[INFO] VZW UNLIMITED Data - Tips from a Throttled Power User

I originally posted information on how VZW actually does throttle 4G data. They claim to only throttle 3G connections but I can see obvious speed adjustments in a specific line that I severely exceed the normal usage on, my connections are slower than a more typically used line.
I am fine with being throttled and was offering my experience in what the thresholds were, I posted because of recent news about AT&T and a lot of misinformation about unlimited data usage and carrier's throttling. I was trying to quell the fears from experience because I highly doubt a single one of you is throttled or ever will be whereas I am in the top 5%... probably the top 1%. – Essentially that I am on the carrier’s side in their right to do so and that it’s not so bad when it happens.
What I got was a lynch mob over my very atypical data usage. My data needs are far greater than any plan currently offered so instead of paying $500+ a month in overages I admitted in my post to using Wireless Tether. - This is where the pitchforks and torches came in. If you don't use this app then so be it, I am Frankenstein’s monster and you want to string me up... if you have ever used the app then put down your pitchfork, you belong at my side because there is no difference in using it for 1kb or 1tb.
I read my contract and the terms of my service and do not believe I have violated my specific agreement but if I sign a new contract then the verbiage would change so that I would be in breach.
Know your contract and understand what you are signing, some marriages don’t even last for 2 years… It’s good to understand what you are signing up for especially if you are on here looking for instructions to root your phone or how to install one of the MANY tethering apps for rooted and non-rooted phones.
Someone (mwalt2) mentioned that I could still get the Mobile Hotspot enabled with unlimited data so I called Verizon and talked to a half dozen people, only the online rep would confirm that the specific feature code he gave exists… This is the closest as I have come in a year to getting Unlimited Mobile Hotspot data.
My final conversation with VZW today, I talked to a really awesome rep who agreed that my data usage was high but never questioned why. Actually, he avoided mentioning or asking me any questions about my usage other than the initial “Wow, you use a lot of data”. He told me the feature code I mentioned isn’t available anymore and he couldn’t add it to my plan; feature codes don’t ‘expire’ because people who had it added while it still existed need it for their plan to bill properly. So he could see it but he wasn’t able to add it.
My attempt was to add the feature for Unlimited Mobile Hotspot data; he could only offer me a 2GB plan for $20 or sign me up for a MiFi for an additional $10 for the line and then $80 for 10GB (They only double the data on phone plans).
His final words were, “Just keep doing what you are doing. There are no plans to get rid of people with unlimited data and at very least, if they do eventually, you have until the end of your contract to use it.”
This isn't my free ticket nor should it be yours, I will take it for what it's worth.
MY FINAL COMMENT:
I was trying to help the community with a contribution few of you will ever experience but ended up just getting chastised, threatened and called names. I will close this thread by saying: The VZW reps did not have any bad comments, no names, nor did they threaten to kick my arse. They have a better picture than any of you of my usage as well as a clear understanding of what the policies and terms of my agreement are. Every single Verizon rep I talked to today was nice, didn’t threaten to terminate my contract or tell me that I don’t “Need to use…” whatever feature/app was causing me to use so much data. - This is why I am with Verizon; I was a human talking to humans. I did not, nor should I ever, have to justify what I use my internet for. – I am sorry I even posted this but I did learn a lot so it wasn’t a complete waste.
(Original post text in comment #79)
After all this time and crap it's as easy as getting into your features online to add the 4G mobile hotspot... it simply attaches to your unlimited data plan. (Comment#82) - FACEPALM -

Well, as long as you apologized for making everybody pay higher prices for data plans.
Oh and btw, what's your phone number? I'm not going to report you to Verizon or anything, I promise.

compnird said:
Do I feel guilty? A little... it's people like me that forced VZW to get rid of the Unlimited plan. So those of you using 5-6GB a month are forced to buy an expensive plan... sorry!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't be. Tiered plans have nothing to do with capacity and everything to do with keeping revenue per user up despite declining voice usage. It has everything to do with paying a $400+ commission to Apple for every iPhone sold. As you know first hand, traffic shaping can be handled without across the board cutoffs.
You keep fighting the good fight. Strangle their network til they take it away from you. Fight the man, because he's been fighting all of us for years. He will lose, first by giving us unlimited off-peak data back. Then, he'll give us unlimited 24/7 access back too. We've seen this all before with voice.

What the heck! That's a lot of data in a month! I don't accept your apology.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

There was alot of speculation whether Verizon's unlimited data plan was truly unlimited back in the d1 days. Judging from the amount of data you have used I guess it is really unlimited I've always been tempted to tether to my Xbox when I'm away from a connection but thought it would lag to much.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

ATnTdude said:
You keep fighting the good fight. Strangle their network til they take it away from you. Fight the man, because he's been fighting all of us for years. He will lose, first by giving us unlimited off-peak data back. Then, he'll give us unlimited 24/7 access back too. We've seen this all before with voice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty I don't think of myself as "fighting the man". I just believe that we should ALL have a plan that fits our specific needs. They simply don't offer one for me any longer so I am forced to do something they frown upon.
I agree though, they screwed with the voice plans back in the early 00's and lost enough people, I almost jumped ship in 2001, they eventually brought back the unlimited talk and gave us more options like family share and others... SMS and MMS are the same way, they finally give me enough text allowance that I don't go over anymore but before it was either pay per text, 100 or 500... now I can pay for unlimited.
Someday they will bring back unlimited data or offer it at a considerable markup. Until then, I will continue using my data as I need it and will bail and go elsewhere if they ever cancelled it.

Zane_Grey said:
I've always been tempted to tether to my Xbox when I'm away from a connection but thought it would lag to much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I play online all the time with friends... I actually have had my daughter watching Netflix or Amazon videos on the tablet while I play Halo online.
I only had and issue once when my phone decided to reboot mid-game.
I literally had more issues and lag when I had Comcast Cable.
Give it a try sometime... Keep in mind that at home I have full signal 4G LTE so you may not have the same full signal I do. My Ping times to the Live servers are around 60ms.

compnird said:
I play online all the time with friends... I actually have had my daughter watching Netflix or Amazon videos on the tablet while I play Halo online.
I only had and issue once when my phone decided to reboot mid-game.
I literally had more issues and lag when I had Comcast Cable.
Give it a try sometime... Keep in mind that at home I have full signal 4G LTE so you may not have the same full signal I do. My Ping times to the Live servers are around 60ms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much data do u use I want to use my phone for online but thought it would so a big red flag because Im around 3gb a month I have unlimited so I'm not to worried there just don't want vzw knowing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

tysdad08 said:
How much data do u use I want to use my phone for online but thought it would so a big red flag because Im around 3gb a month I have unlimited so I'm not to worried there just don't want vzw knowing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my original post at the top..... I use a LOT!

Cool story bro.

schizrade said:
Cool story bro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not a fan of this saying. But this time, it's fitting.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

That is a ridiculous amount of data...

lrs421 said:
I'm not a fan of this saying. But this time, it's fitting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither am I, but yes, it seems very fitting.
OP, people that are unable to get a decent dataplan for a decent price thank you. Why you would brag about this is beyond me. Just get a FiOS or uVerse line.
But hey, carry on.
Just to add, what you do with your line(s) is between you and Verizon.

Damn home internet is affordable!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**** i was hitting the 200 GBs w Sprint myself. Just remember people with out us, these companies aint ****. So give em a run for there money. At some point people get screwed over by the big companies and as we being human dont like to get played so it becomes a playground w these scums. Its a win lose or win win lose lose factor. Just gotta go with it. Its to show those comps how we as spenders want what we want. Again, we give them our money to provide the service. So if people wanna go there about to doing these things.. Let em. If our president doesnt listen to what we demand than **** we push it down there throats and push the limits to get something done.
Ex: Bank wants to sell my condo for 114k but best ive been offered is 99k, so what do i do is simple tell the bank either take the money or ill foreclose. Simple as that and they took the money, I split and we happy.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I tether on sprint and hit like 30gb but don't do it officially because they cap it. I wouldn't do it if there was an affordable decent service where I live there is only one ISP which is over prized. So sometimes its necessary to do things that are frowned upon when what you need isn't offered.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

luckylui said:
**** i was hitting the 200 GBs w Sprint myself. Just remember people with out us, these companies aint ****. So give em a run for there money. At some point people get screwed over by the big companies and as we being human dont like to get played so it becomes a playground w these scums. Its a win lose or win win lose lose factor. Just gotta go with it. Its to show those comps how we as spenders want what we want. Again, we give them our money to provide the service. So if people wanna go there about to doing these things.. Let em. If our president doesnt listen to what we demand than **** we push it down there throats and push the limits to get something done.
Ex: Bank wants to sell my condo for 114k but best ive been offered is 99k, so what do i do is simple tell the bank either take the money or ill foreclose. Simple as that and they took the money, I split and we happy.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hit the thanks button out of sarcasm...

People actually wonder why they are capping wireless data and throttling users?
/boggle

I play Xbox live off a terrible 3g connection just fine. I use at most 10 gigs a month if I play ALOT. I pay for an unlimited plan. Suck it if your upset because you came to Verizon late.
Edit: Verizon is capping the data because they can. Not because we use a lot of data because they can get away with it. They cap it and make you pay when you go over. They aren't doing it to be fair to the people who don't use as much they do it to make money.
tysdad08 said:
How much data do u use I want to use my phone for online but thought it would so a big red flag because Im around 3gb a month I have unlimited so I'm not to worried there just don't want vzw knowing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

All I got from OP's post was "I'm an honest scumbag. Honest. "
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.

[update2] T-Mobile has no love for the Galaxy Nexus users,but I finally beat the man

[I win after all after a call to retention][see further down for new developments] Each month I get my data throttled, I have to spend an hour or so on the phone until they'll open a service request ticket for some upper level honcho to press a button and clear up the problem in 5 minutes.
This time I upgraded my data plan to 10GB, but the throttle would not release. After the hour of my dealing with script following drones, a higher level support tech asked me what kind of phone I had. When I replied Galaxy Nexus, she gleefully replied that "our contract with you states we don't have to support 3G for you since you didn't buy one of our [crappy over priced phones] from us. In fact, I'm supposed to disable your 3G service. Even if you have a iPhone 4S." (Um... WHAT? iPhone? Now you're just trying to insult me.)
Just when I thought all hope was lost, my mobile muse rescued me with divine inspiration. "Oh really?" I smirked, "I just stuck my SIM card in my wife's T-Mobile Sensation™ and I'm still getting throttled. Can you support me now, biatch?"*
...
"Why yes sir, I'll be happy to open up that ticket right away... Let us know when service is actually restored and we'll comp you for the throttled coverage."
LAWYERED!
* DISCLAIMER: I did not actually say biatch

Lol. Its in a sensation *****! U ever get it fixed?
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium

That's awesome. 5 cool points for using "lawyered".
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

stumpyz9 said:
Lol. Its in a sensation *****! U ever get it fixed?
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the usual, "Your service request will be processed within the next 3 business days" reply. Apparently when I upgraded, they failed to remove the 5GB red flag on my account. Generally, my service requests go through the first business day. As I called on Saturday, I expect they'll get to it today... At least that's what usually happens.
Incidentally, they let me upgrade to 10GB for $40/month for three months, and threw in T-Mobile hot spots (whatever those are). It took me three phone calls of hemming and hawing before I got offered this, but it's there.

Nice superior intellect overcomes corporate bull crap I love it

Tmobile customer service might not be stellar but it's usually better than most other carriers.
Don't confuse the poor customer service reps with red flags like I'm using a device not sold/supported by Tmobile.
Just tell them you're using a phone that they sell/support and keep the distractions to a minimum.

This isn't a T-Mobile problem, its more of a problem with American carriers in general. They're wary to have to do anything involving a device they "don't support". Its unfortunate but kinda how it is.
Just keep on doing your thing. May I suggest going prepaid? You won't get good CS with an unlocked phone anyway, might as well not pay for it.

How do you know when you’re being throttled? I have their 5GB plan, but never use that much.

BinkXDA said:
How do you know when you’re being throttled? I have their 5GB plan, but never use that much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you hit 5GB, you'll receive a pop up and/or SMS telling you you're being throttled for the rest of the period.
Your data speeds will also reduce to about that of EDGE, topping out at about .5mbps down / up. The icon in your status bar will still say 3G or H and you'll keep low ping times, but the speeds will be reduced.

I got sick of T-Mo and switched to StraightTalk prepaid. $45 per month for unlimited everything and I have yet to be throttled.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

jlczl said:
I got sick of T-Mo and switched to StraightTalk prepaid. $45 per month for unlimited everything and I have yet to be throttled.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because Straight Talk doesn't throttle. They just cancel your service lol. And they do it a lot sooner than 5GB.
I agree Straight Talk is a great deal, but it's not the same as T-Mo when it comes to data. T-Mo is 100% up-front about when they will throttle you, and they'll never cut your data off or charge overages.

martonikaj said:
When you hit 5GB, you'll receive a pop up and/or SMS telling you you're being throttled for the rest of the period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I didn't realize they'd actually notify you.

BinkXDA said:
Thanks. I didn't realize they'd actually notify you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. In about 15 months as a T-Mobile customer I've only gone over 5gb maybe 2-3 times, but only actually been throttled once. That one time I was throttled, I was notified instantly.

martonikaj said:
This isn't a T-Mobile problem, its more of a problem with American carriers in general. They're wary to have to do anything involving a device they "don't support". Its unfortunate but kinda how it is.
Just keep on doing your thing. May I suggest going prepaid? You won't get good CS with an unlocked phone anyway, might as well not pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i don't understand this either. They are so worried about getting you to get one of "their" phones. Even if your not using their phone, your still paying for their service. You buy a phone from them, they get a few hundred in profit one time. But if they provide good service, they don't need to rely on selling you a phone because they'll be making money on the service they're selling you. I guess the carriers forget that they are providing a service, it doesn't matter what you use the service on they should support it.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium

Funny I had the complete opposite happen to me I called T-Mobile about slow data issue when I was in Las Vegas two weeks ago. The tech guy I talked to was real helpful and knew the GNex and was more than happy to help me. His biggest worry was that I called from my GNex and that if for some reason we would get cut off. But everyone has different outcomes when dealing with customer service. I will say that T-Mobile is light years ahead of Sprint, they just suck.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

keith.mcintyre26 said:
That's awesome. 5 cool points for using "lawyered".
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol hey myspace guy
Sent from my Apple Mac 2 in 1983

So I'm still throttled. I called back today and they now say that no matter what, they cannot lift the throttle until the end of the billing cycle. They WERE, of course, happy to take my money to backdate a data plan increase, however. How sleazy.
I call this utter and complete bull****. As a programmer and dba, I refuse to believe it's impossible to lift a throttle before the end of the cycle.
I'm now being held hostage to creeping data by my contract.
Screw you, T-Mobile.
Time to figure out my exit strategy.

Call back and ask to talk to accounts and billing so you can cancel
Sent from my iPhone smashing Galaxy Nexus

tanman1975 said:
So I'm still throttled. I called back today and they now say that no matter what, they cannot lift the throttle until the end of the billing cycle. They WERE, of course, happy to take my money to backdate a data plan increase, however. How sleazy.
I call this utter and complete bull****. As a programmer and dba, I refuse to believe it's impossible to lift a throttle before the end of the cycle.
I'm now being held hostage to creeping data by my contract.
Screw you, T-Mobile.
Time to figure out my exit strategy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know exactly how you feel ..this happen to me last month ..I got throttled last month at 5 gigs ..so next day I call upgrade to the ten ..told me within two hours my data would be back to normal speeds..one day later still slow as hell ..anyways I call tech ..they ask " what phone you have " I say "gn" they say the can't do tickets for that ..so I put my sim in a sensation 4g and a T-Mobile vibrant ..still slow ..long story short I had to wait till my billing cycle over to get my speeds back..hang in there man ...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

tanman1975 said:
So I'm still throttled. I called back today and they now say that no matter what, they cannot lift the throttle until the end of the billing cycle. They WERE, of course, happy to take my money to backdate a data plan increase, however. How sleazy.
I call this utter and complete bull****. As a programmer and dba, I refuse to believe it's impossible to lift a throttle before the end of the cycle.
I'm now being held hostage to creeping data by my contract.
Screw you, T-Mobile.
Time to figure out my exit strategy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is definitely BS. They did it for me when I upgraded to the 5GB plan.

[Q] How much does sprint pay for data roaming?

Just curious.

Enough that if you keep that up you'll get the boot.

063_XOBX said:
Enough that if you keep that up you'll get the boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm counting on it.
They just bumped my price by $40 a month, and before that they charged me a $36 activation fee when I didn't even buy a phone. My monthly rate is now higher than if I was on Verizon, and the whole reason I was with Sprint is because they were cheap. I'm sick of making two hour calls to them EVERY SINGLE MONTH when they make these screwups.
That, and a more appropriate name for the company would be Crawl.

I'm amazed you could even manage to use that much. I average 3gb simply because when I can use wifi I do just to get better speeds whether I'm paying for data or not.

063_XOBX said:
I'm amazed you could even manage to use that much. I average 3gb simply because when I can use wifi I do just to get better speeds whether I'm paying for data or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally my phone is always on wifi because the signal is crap no matter where I go. The battery drains so fast because the signal is so bad that the radio has to amp the gain just to talk to the tower. I'm in the 6th most populated city in the US, but we have no 4g and the 3g is slower than 2g. Every other carrier has 4g here, even the prepaid ones. Sprint used to be good, but as of the last four years they are just horrible. It's no wonder they are hemorrhaging customers.
I'm a light data user, but figured that since my phone ends up roaming anyways, I'll see how they like it when I download a bunch of 1gb test files every night, even though it is only at 30kb/sec.

Rakeesh_j said:
I'm a light data user, but figured that since my phone ends up roaming anyways, I'll see how they like it when I download a bunch of 1gb test files every night, even though it is only at 30kb/sec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Maybe they knew you were downloading test gigs and screwing with them which is why they bumped it up.
Sprint just got bought over so in 6 months we are going to see some better service changes but right now sprint is like for the customer company.
Sprint was the only one keeping unlimited 4g(until T-Mobile saw that people want that and did it too) because they know that big red and blue's 2 GB isn't good enough for a month.
Think of sprint as a buffet. For a small fee you can have all you can eat.
BUT! If you are stuffing trash bag after trash bag full of food and putting it in your car to take home.. They are going to kick you out or make you pay more.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

robogoflow said:
Maybe they knew you were downloading test gigs and screwing with them which is why they bumped it up.
Sprint just got bought over so in 6 months we are going to see some better service changes but right now sprint is like for the customer company.
Sprint was the only one keeping unlimited 4g(until T-Mobile saw that people want that and did it too) because they know that big red and blue's 2 GB isn't good enough for a month.
Think of sprint as a buffet. For a small fee you can have all you can eat.
BUT! If you are stuffing trash bag after trash bag full of food and putting it in your car to take home.. They are going to kick you out or make you pay more.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm planning on moving to t-mobile. Much MUCH better data rates as well as costing about a third less.

Sprint sent me a no-no letter

So after over 2yrs of using my unlimited data plan anyway I chose to do so, I got a letter last week basically saying I need to stop tethering. I've been using WiFi Tether - TrevE Mod for as long as I've had my phone to connect anything from my laptop at home or occasionally at work I'll connect my work laptop or let a coworker (good ol' AT&T throttling him) during lunch. I read this on Sprint forums, which makes complete sense to me:
The contract you signed also is for a specific plan, that states you have UNLIMITED DATA. Dan Hesse himself even stated that UNLIMITED means "no limits, no throttling and no data caps" - meaning you legally couldnt limit data, based on the actual plan a subscriber signs on a contract.
Sprint also states that as part of the Android platform being Open, one is able to download and use any apps the customer sees fit. That would include tethering apps. Part of Net Neutrality that Sprint also agrees with the FCC on is that customers can not be limited what they access or how they access the internet, this would include using the phone as a modem as a device how they access internet.
Also if you want to discuss morals and ethics on contracts, Sprint also states that any materially adverse charge/change in the contract will result in waivers of early termination fees, so not only is limiting someones data a materially adverse change/charge, but so is raising the Administrative Fee like just happened, to which Sprint breaches their own contract. With that being said, if Sprint can breach the contract so can a customer, because in order for a contract to be legal, BOTH PARTIES MUST AGREE TO ALL CLAUSES, and since one changes it on a whim, the contract isnt agreed to by both parties, thus, the contract isnt legal and is null and void.
Im sure the customer who decides to bring this to small claims or arbitration would win the case.
It not as if using my laptop will somehow make my phone pull faster internet speeds, so WTF is their issue?! I stream music for a better part of my 10-12hr day, 7 days a week...I'm a heavy data user no matter what! I get great 4G signal at work, I get **** 3G service at my home, so it's a slap in the face that they're not holding up their end of the contract, yet spent the postage to send me a thread letter before Christmas.

Not to be a jerk, but come on now. It's a **** move by Sprint to send that letter, but they are not completely in the wrong. You are and have been aware that tethering is treated as a separate paid service outside of the unlimited data included with your phone, and for 2 years you have failed to live up to the terms of your agreement.
They could handle the situation with a little more grace, but you are not a martyr.

Actually like most, I didn't read the actual contract...I just said yes and keep paying. I know they wanted $30 to use their tethering app, but just like stocks apps on an unroored phone, I've rooted it to remove and add apps as I see fit. BMW doesn't tell me they're going to take my M5 back because I took out driving down a dirt road vs only keeping it on pavement, so Sprint shouldn't worry about how I use my crappy signal. Splitting my water hose with the neighbor doesn't mean I get twice the pressure, it means I'm splitting that same pressure twice, but ultimately it's still the sanme pressure. My signal is no different. I can't get 4G at home, isn't that breach of contract? They tried getting me to sign contracts for free tablets, but when I told her I get **** service at home, why would I pay $20 per month for something I can hardly use...silence on her end until I said no thanks.
So just like using an IP annoymizer when I used to download movies, is there a way to prevent them from seeing what I'm streaming from and/or two?

m5james said:
Actually like most, I didn't read the actual contract...I just said yes and keep paying. I know they wanted $30 to use their tethering app, but just like stocks apps on an unroored phone, I've rooted it to remove and add apps as I see fit. BMW doesn't tell me they're going to take my M5 back because I took out driving down a dirt road vs only keeping it on pavement, so Sprint shouldn't worry about how I use my crappy signal. Splitting my water hose with the neighbor doesn't mean I get twice the pressure, it means I'm splitting that same pressure twice, but ultimately it's still the sanme pressure. My signal is no different. I can't get 4G at home, isn't that breach of contract? They tried getting me to sign contracts for free tablets, but when I told her I get **** service at home, why would I pay $20 per month for something I can hardly use...silence on her end until I said no thanks.
So just like using an IP annoymizer when I used to download movies, is there a way to prevent them from seeing what I'm streaming from and/or two?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to apologize for coming off harsh and unfeeling earlier, it was a ****ty thing to say on a day where the whole world could benefit from a little bit of understanding and goodwill. Charging for tethering is a crappy business model and I empathize with your position. Unfortunately Sprint (and frankly just about all cell carriers) doesn't feel the same and they have the legal contract to back it up.
I'm not sure what you can do to mask your usage as I'm not sure what behaviour it was that brought you to their attention in their first place. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable of Sprint's network monitoring capabilities can chime in with some advice.

No need to apologize, I'm just annoyed by the hypocrisy of it. I've lived in my current home for a year w/ such bad signal at home that I installed an app/widget called "Signal Boost 3G 4G" that basically cycles airplane mode quickly in an effort to acquire a better signal. Inside of the year, in one the past month or so have I gotten 4G, but it's not getting signal...like it says 4G on my screen, but NOTHING connects, so now I'm forced to make my phone stay in CDMA mode at home (which requires a reset) and then switching back to LTE/CDMA when I leave my home (once again requiring a reset)...but they can detect that I'm streaming and have the audacity to send me a letter telling me that I can't use their ****ty signal anywhich way I chose and threatening me w/ termination, yet if I wanted to leave early I either have to threaten to contact the FCC and/or pay an ETF. They can go **** themselves.

m5james said:
Actually like most, I didn't read the actual contract...I just said yes and keep paying. I know they wanted $30 to use their tethering app, but just like stocks apps on an unroored phone, I've rooted it to remove and add apps as I see fit. BMW doesn't tell me they're going to take my M5 back because I took out driving down a dirt road vs only keeping it on pavement, so Sprint shouldn't worry about how I use my crappy signal. Splitting my water hose with the neighbor doesn't mean I get twice the pressure, it means I'm splitting that same pressure twice, but ultimately it's still the sanme pressure. My signal is no different. I can't get 4G at home, isn't that breach of contract? They tried getting me to sign contracts for free tablets, but when I told her I get **** service at home, why would I pay $20 per month for something I can hardly use...silence on her end until I said no thanks.
So just like using an IP annoymizer when I used to download movies, is there a way to prevent them from seeing what I'm streaming from and/or two?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just cause you did not read the contract it does not mean you get to do what you want. You have failed to uphold your end of the and they can terminate you.
It is like shooting someone and telling the judge you didn't know it was illegal. Ignorance does not give you free rein to do what you wish. So now you have a couple options.
1. Ignore it and get your contract terminated (hey no ETF)
2. Stop tethering
3. Pay for the tethering service
This site (xda) is not here to help you perform illegal acts. Keep going this route and moderators will lock the thread.
Sent from my XT1045 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

My thread is one of MANY I've seen here, other forums, even on SprintUsers itself...if I get banned for asking what others have years ago, I'm just asking more specifically for my phone, then so be it. In the meantime I'm sure there are bigger fish to fry. I don't need you getting on your moral soapbox, a guy can vent...you're treating my "Illegal activities" as I'm trying to hide from being able to watch child porn or something - calm down. Just like others have voiced, it's BS that Sprint wants me to pay for something I'm already getting...unlimited data. My city charges water at 1000 gallon increments. If I wanna water my lawn, my neighbors lawn or install a splitter and water both, the city doesn't care because at the end of the day my water flow is still something I'm paying for in said increments. Apparently unlimited isn't so unlimited, because at the end of the day whether I'm watching porn on my phone or tethered to my laptop, it's still the same stream. Keep backing corporations...I'm sure they need the money. In the meantime, they have my number.
1) My money is just as green somewhere else
2) I pay for unlimited, I'm going to use unlimited
3) See 2
Calm down, internet warrior. You and I both know the illegal activities that happen in varying forms and levels even on these boards ranging from hacked software, removing stock apps, removing factory installed spyware, apps I used to in order to get free tethering, hell even rooting is against the rules, etc...why are you even here on these boards, hypocrite.
Back to my topic. I've read something about PDANet having an option to block/spam the activities that Sprint used to see that I'm tethering (jlmancuso, I'll let them know you're coming to get onto your soapbox if I ever have to write tech support) but it seems the app is mostly for hardwire or bluetooth tethering, neither of which I've ever done before. At the moment I simply click the TrevE mod widget and I'm putting signal out to whatever devices I've given permission to. I'm not the first nor the last Sprint user who's tethering for free, I'm just trying to find out how to continue doing what I pay for already.

m5james said:
My thread is one of MANY I've seen here, other forums, even on SprintUsers itself...if I get banned for asking what others have years ago, I'm just asking more specifically for my phone, then so be it. In the meantime I'm sure there are bigger fish to fry. I don't need you getting on your moral soapbox, a guy can vent...you're treating my "Illegal activities" as I'm trying to hide from being able to watch child porn or something - calm down. Just like others have voiced, it's BS that Sprint wants me to pay for something I'm already getting...unlimited data. My city charges water at 1000 gallon increments. If I wanna water my lawn, my neighbors lawn or install a splitter and water both, the city doesn't care because at the end of the day my water flow is still something I'm paying for in said increments. Apparently unlimited isn't so unlimited, because at the end of the day whether I'm watching porn on my phone or tethered to my laptop, it's still the same stream. Keep backing corporations...I'm sure they need the money. In the meantime, they have my number.
1) My money is just as green somewhere else
2) I pay for unlimited, I'm going to use unlimited
3) See 2
Calm down, internet warrior. You and I both know the illegal activities that happen in varying forms and levels even on these boards ranging from hacked software, removing stock apps, removing factory installed spyware, apps I used to in order to get free tethering, hell even rooting is against the rules, etc...why are you even here on these boards, hypocrite.
Back to my topic. I've read something about PDANet having an option to block/spam the activities that Sprint used to see that I'm tethering (jlmancuso, I'll let them know you're coming to get onto your soapbox if I ever have to write tech support) but it seems the app is mostly for hardwire or bluetooth tethering, neither of which I've ever done before. At the moment I simply click the TrevE mod widget and I'm putting signal out to whatever devices I've given permission to. I'm not the first nor the last Sprint user who's tethering for free, I'm just trying to find out how to continue doing what I pay for already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow a man who is truly confused. Just cause you paid for unlimited internet doesn't mean you paid for tethering. Which you did not. You chose to enter the agreement with sprint so if you dont like it leave. As you say your money is just as good somewhere else. You know there are companies that dont charge for tethering. Go with one of them and stop whining like a little kid. Heck you could even step up and be a man by actually paying for the service you want.
You say rooting and removing stock software is illegal. Well guess what it is not. You must be a little confused by terminology. Modification of a device that belongs to your provider is against your contact conditions. Unlike most suckers I own my device (bought and paid for) and also while I have a sprint phone I am not on sprint. So since I ACTUALLY own my device I am not breaking my contract. Heck I dont even have a contract to break. I am not enough of a fool to pay those outrageous rates for my service.
So go on talk about me being a morally correct person. I just happened to be raised be decent parents who taught me to be a decent person. Just like I teach my children to be decent people.
Sent from my XT1045 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Really guy?
jlmancuso said:
Wow a man who is truly confused. Just cause you paid for unlimited internet doesn't mean you paid for tethering. Which you did not. You chose to enter the agreement with sprint so if you dont like it leave. As you say your money is just as good somewhere else. You know there are companies that dont charge for tethering. Go with one of them and stop whining like a little kid. Heck you could even step up and be a man by actually paying for the service you want.
You say rooting and removing stock software is illegal. Well guess what it is not. You must be a little confused by terminology. Modification of a device that belongs to your provider is against your contact conditions. Unlike most suckers I own my device (bought and paid for) and also while I have a sprint phone I am not on sprint. So since I ACTUALLY own my device I am not breaking my contract. Heck I dont even have a contract to break. I am not enough of a fool to pay those outrageous rates for my service.
So go on talk about me being a morally correct person. I just happened to be raised be decent parents who taught me to be a decent person. Just like I teach my children to be decent people.
Sent from my XT1045 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, get off that imaginary high horse.. There are so many annoying things in that last sentence it makes me want to barf. All your "decent" parents taught you to be was a judgmental self righteous prick. Just like I'm sure you're teaching your kids.

Thanks, operator080...I thought much of the same thing but I wasn't going to feed the troll. I'm sure much to his chagrin though, they did end my service about two weeks ago. One morning it stopped working but my GF and mother's phones still worked. I called to talk to Sprint, which is when I found out they group roaming and tethering under the same reason to cancel if you go over 500 min a month, which I had. The woman on the phone said a couple times that I'm no longer allowed to keep that phone number on Sprint and then turned it on for a week to have it ported over.
I hit the Sprint store on the way to work one day and they suggested to either change it myself, then wait and see what happened or come back if it gets cut off....he said that at that point aother slot will be opened in my plan, so I waited it out for a week. I read inbetween the lines of what the woman said repeatedly, waited until the last day, went to Sprint's website and manually changed my number myself...which lasted another week. Ultimately they shut off that line as well, so I ran by the store again and they simply added a line to the account that's in my name but only had my GF and mom on it, kept my phome and nothing has changed.
Screw them, I still circumvented a bull**** $30 fee for 2+yrs to use something I'm already paying for. In the meantime I'll stream via Bluetooth until I can figure out how they can see other devices (Chrome has some very interesting tools for this) and I'll be back to using what I already pay for...a slow 3G internet at my home (just enough to check email) and 4G to my car stereo/tablet in my truck.

m5james said:
Thanks, operator080...I thought much of the same thing but I wasn't going to feed the troll. I'm sure much to his chagrin though, they did end my service about two weeks ago. One morning it stopped working but my GF and mother's phones still worked. I called to talk to Sprint, which is when I found out they group roaming and tethering under the same reason to cancel if you go over 500 min a month, which I had. The woman on the phone said a couple times that I'm no longer allowed to keep that phone number on Sprint and then turned it on for a week to have it ported over.
I hit the Sprint store on the way to work one day and they suggested to either change it myself, then wait and see what happened or come back if it gets cut off....he said that at that point aother slot will be opened in my plan, so I waited it out for a week. I read inbetween the lines of what the woman said repeatedly, waited until the last day, went to Sprint's website and manually changed my number myself...which lasted another week. Ultimately they shut off that line as well, so I ran by the store again and they simply added a line to the account that's in my name but only had my GF and mom on it, kept my phome and nothing has changed.
Screw them, I still circumvented a bull**** $30 fee for 2+yrs to use something I'm already paying for. In the meantime I'll stream via Bluetooth until I can figure out how they can see other devices (Chrome has some very interesting tools for this) and I'll be back to using what I already pay for...a slow 3G internet at my home (just enough to check email) and 4G to my car stereo/tablet in my truck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow a thief wins for the moment. Enjoy your victory while it lasts. In the end you will still lose.
operator080 said:
Dude, get off that imaginary high horse.. There are so many annoying things in that last sentence it makes me want to barf. All your "decent" parents taught you to be was a judgmental self righteous prick. Just like I'm sure you're teaching your kids.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes sir go the low route talk your trash. I am sure know that people with real morals does make you sick. Maybe if you took a little time to better understand yourself you could see how sick you are. Hopefully you have not been allowed to breed. We really don't need more like you running around.
Sent from my XT1045 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

m5james said:
Screw them, I still circumvented a bull**** $30 fee for 2+yrs to use something I'm already paying for. In the meantime I'll stream via Bluetooth until I can figure out how they can see other devices (Chrome has some very interesting tools for this) and I'll be back to using what I already pay for...a slow 3G internet at my home (just enough to check email) and 4G to my car stereo/tablet in my truck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You, sir, are being very childish. Sprint's prices are low because they provide ****ty service compared to the rest. So if you want to tether, you can either man the **** up and pay for the service, or continue what you're doing and enjoy your early termination. Sprint is not losing any money by giving you the boot. They're already making a killing off their MVNO companies.

T-mobile Prioritization?

Rant incoming..... tl;dr .... 20GB in 8 days, "data guzzler list" getting 0.1mbit now during peak hours and 5mbit on off-time....
So was happily watching youtube videos when got hit with that buffering. Noticed I was getting poor internet connection, saw full bars. Ran speed test, a whopping .10 mbps... Called them, they said I'm on the prioritization list because in 8 days, racked up 20GB which means I'm in the 95~ percentile in data usage on my unlimited data plan... Went through the phone, sure enough... 2-4GB per day by youtube... Still, not even a nice warning, and they treat me like it's my fault I was actually using my unlimited service... Even during the call, they were like, "just tell him he's on the list and nothing can be done. He used too much data...."
Well first thing I did was turn off high quality streaming because that's a gas guzzler for sure.... But I would have loved a warning text that I'm using too much data, but not even that... Anyone else noticed this? Funny thing, went through 2 customer reps both never saw that before, and tech support said they are doing something new.... Fun times.... They are not "throttling, they are making your data less of a priority", but 0.1 mbps consistent throughput for a minute... that's not prioritizing, that's throttling...
Oh, and best yet... they thanked me for my 11 years being a customer with them... Yea... >_>

mcs117 said:
Rant incoming..... tl;dr .... 20GB in 8 days, "data guzzler list" getting 0.1mbit now during peak hours and 5mbit on off-time....
So was happily watching youtube videos when got hit with that buffering. Noticed I was getting poor internet connection, saw full bars. Ran speed test, a whopping .10 mbps... Called them, they said I'm on the prioritization list because in 8 days, racked up 20GB which means I'm in the 95~ percentile in data usage on my unlimited data plan... Went through the phone, sure enough... 2-4GB per day by youtube... Still, not even a nice warning, and they treat me like it's my fault I was actually using my unlimited service... Even during the call, they were like, "just tell him he's on the list and nothing can be done. He used too much data...."
Well first thing I did was turn off high quality streaming because that's a gas guzzler for sure.... But I would have loved a warning text that I'm using too much data, but not even that... Anyone else noticed this? Funny thing, went through 2 customer reps both never saw that before, and tech support said they are doing something new.... Fun times.... They are not "throttling, they are making your data less of a priority", but 0.1 mbps consistent throughput for a minute... that's not prioritizing, that's throttling...
Oh, and best yet... they thanked me for my 11 years being a customer with them... Yea... >_>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thats BS. As long as you are not doing P2P sharing they should not throttle you . If you have a true unlimited plan that should be exactly what it is. I understand that they are not home internet providers but if they provide you a service that is unlimited then throttle you then there must be a fair use policy . I know people using 5 to 10 times the data u are and not getting throttled. 2 to 4 GB a day is high but in reality its only about one and a half full length HD movies . Im surprised they did not restore you speeds and let you off with a fair warning . I miss the good old days where they throttled at the phone and and not at the server. On my GS2 you could delete the throttle folder and make a few other tweaks and never get throttled even on a 1 GB Plan . What area do you live in . are you in the USA?

the carriers need to make it clearer about what "unlimited" really means, but, on the other hand, I dont think anyone should be using their cell phones as their primary means of accessing the internet, unless the carriers come out and say that they are ok with that.
cant you use your home internet/wifi for all this heavy duty data consumption?
yeah, a warning would have been nice, but c'mon dude, thats a pace of over 80 gigs of data per month, and that is just crazy...
and yeah, there are worse offenders than you, but even so..

20 GB is pretty unreasonable, so I don't disagree with them.

Yea, I know 20GB in 8 days was high, which is why I'm going to restrict youtube's HQ streaming... but still... Even with FCC latest decision and then Tmobile is doubling down on throttling to control both legit and illegal data... that's ridiculous....
Also, no warning... I had to find out from calling in.... I usually call them because I got dropped out of the LTE and they need to "register" me back onto the tower... And I check my monthly usage.... 50GB a month.... Recently, with this new phone... HQ streaming really is HQ streaming.... Because I was on a M8 before and had no issues... I might as well live on the 4g only band.... because apparently only LTE is being metered....

I waste that much data in like a month and i think is a lot lol

gdmlaz said:
I waste that much data in like a month and i think is a lot lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I know. But at the same time, you got people hitting 100+ GB, but for me, never near that, got placed with those people.... And It's all because of stupid youtube, I really wish they have an audio only/screen off mode where I just listen to debates/talk shows on there and apparently the video portion is 1080p... >_>

If Google Fi is a hit, it's only going to get worse!

I have the same issue. Called them up, they told me prioritization and for me to use less data. Sigh.
Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

It was all fun and games for a few years until they reached their goal of users, now is back to boring company like the rest.

i saw an "unlimited data" ad by sprint one time, and while reading the fine print (because thats what i do when im eating breakfast) i saw that it said "Unlimited does not mean Unreasonable" so Tmobile isnt the only one doing this. Now i want to go above 20gb because i have unlimted 4g with tmo as well

I have done 70+ gb and never had any issues. I think this issue is more how much of a impact you create with avaliable bandwidth for other tmobile user and the length of the impact. I'm sure it's all automated so even the tmo reps may not know why or how it was triggered.

I'm one of those Data Juicers... Lol

I'm on my first week with TMO and have 42gb so far. Hope I don't run into any "prioritization" schemes.

No room for complaints about prioritization. How much would have getting past even the 5gb mark cost on Verizon or att? Why should you and people like you use up all the bandwidth with YouTube and I get slower speeds for normal web surfing? Just stop being a habitual data over user and they will ignore the couple times a year you use way to much data. My wife uses 40gb a month give or take (still to much use if you ask me) and has never been pushed to the back of the line.
*edit*
I should make my self a little clearer. Using YouTube a lot isn't a bad thing, using it for listening to music all day is just stupidity. I don't care how bad you guys are going to flame me on this because you know deep down its true. Get Spotify pay the 8 bucks a month and boom your data usage will drop dramatically. I understand its unlimited data but you should use it responsibly because your not the only one using the bandwidth.

shoresteve626 said:
I'm on my first week with TMO and have 42gb so far. Hope I don't run into any "prioritization" schemes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what could you possibly be doing on a cell phone that uses 42 gigs in one week???

I would have to tether to use that much data. I usually end up around 10 to 20 gigs a month which is plenty for me. My only gripe over this is not specific to Tmo, IMO they and everyone else should not be able to use the word unlimited unless it is actually unlimited and it should be right out there in front, not in the fine print.The word unlimited cannot be qualified, unlimited means there are no limits, if there is a limit it is not unlimited. In other words tmo (and all the rest) should say "Up to 60 gigs full speed and throttled but unlimited throttled data after". They should only be able to use the word unlimited if the data is actually unlimited. Tmo 4g data is not unlimited but they are using that wording and that should change.
BTW, not trying to tell others what they should use or say how much data is enough or how much it should cost, just that the actual data and speeds you are going to get for the money you agree to pay should be clearly worded in the big print.

agreed; their sales and marketing people are afraid to give any competitor an advantage over them, by actually stating in their TOS how much data is actually "unlimited", so instead, they punish the consumers with arbitrary slowdowns and throttling when they feel they are being abused..
and, even though I think that anyone using 42 gigs a week of data is definitely violating the vaguely worded TOS that t mobile and Sprint employ, this wont stop until some legal action is taken against the carriers or the data hogs who are abusing their networks..

I'm picking up a s6 tomorrow and I'll ask them to print out the agreement in full and point out the data usage part. When I get time I'll scan and upload it so everyone can look at it. I'm sure in the tos that you agreed to it will state almost word for word what you think it would say. If it didn't you know a ambulance chasing lawyer would have a class action lawsuit right now.

thanks, I havent looked at mine in a long time, probably because I stay on wifi almost all the time, and my data useage is never more than a gig or 2..
read this
http://bgr.com/2015/04/30/t-mobile-unlimited-data-plan-slow-speeds/