AT&T Throttling me for 2 gigs use

[zwaaa]

So....I get the text today that my use of 2.2 gigs of data for the month of January is apparently in the top 5 % of registered users, therefore my "unlimited*(tm)" account will be limited (I assume by throttling).

What sort of speeds should I expect to get as I routinely use 2-5 gigs of data streaming music from my home to my car using subsonic, among other things.

 

[UnfocusedHTC]

Hmm I did 7 gigs for December/January and didn't hear anything.

 

[pazzo02]

Hmm I did 7 gigs for December/January and didn't hear anything.

It's believed to be connected to the area you are in. People in an area with less AT&T customers are going to have a better chance at hitting the threshold than people in a major metro area. That being said, AT&T's own press release on the matter states that you have to use an "extraordinary amount of data" to hit the threshold. To me, 2 gigs is not extraordinary. I would call them and complain. If they get enough pushback, they may rethink this whole throttling thing.

 

[tim242]

I work in att customer service. In our training on this matter, 2GB is the throttle cap. They announced when they first started tiering, that 95% of people use less than 2GB. Hopefully, this changes. Glad I'm on non-throttled, unlimited Verizon LTE : )

 

[Firespyer]

To me, 2 gigs is not extraordinary. I would call them and complain. If they get enough pushback, they may rethink this whole throttling thing.

They didn't seem to care much about complaints for tiered data, doubt they will care about this.
No matter if your with Big Red, Blue, pink or yellow you're still just a number.

 

[tigeryee]

Dude, I am so sorry to hear that. I do work at an AT&T call center, not the special group you gotta talk to if you do become that top 5%. I personally use around 6-7 gb a month, some things are just unfair. Make sure you are not doing covert tethering with AT&T, the system will find you cus that's just the way it works

 

[rijc99#WN]

When I got throttled for hitting 2GB my speeds went down to ~100 kbps. Because of this I ended up switching to a straight $25 2GB plan since that's effectively what I was getting.

The ridiculously low speeds weren so bad that if I had left it on full download 24/7 for the last week of my month I probably wouldn't have used another .5 GB so paying the extra $5 for the unlimited was useless. Everything kept timing out. Even some web pages.

BTW. I was not tethering. Just am not in wifi areas often. Now I have a Verizon LTE mifi to supplement data use. Costs more than a straight 5GB plan from AT&T but theres no way I'm going to give AT&T more of my money.

 

[vinny jr]

2Gigs is nothing. I called AT&T and told them to shove their service where the sun don't shine. They still do not have the Advanced BackHaul turned on in my area of the Boston Suburbs. Pretty pathetic this day and age, 2nd largest carrier and still just pushing 1.4 MB DL at night, durin g the day it's 1/2 that. T-Mobile in my area is pushing over 10 MB DL durng the day. I have both T-Mobile and Verizon but wanted the new Note so thought I would jump to AT&T. They lied to me for over 2 hours until I finally found a tech rep that was honest enough to tell me NO ADVANCED BACKHAUL. What a freaken joke. Sticking with my very fast T-Mobile and my LTE Verizon. AT&T will always suck IMO. Sorry for venting but the techy on the phone was a freaken liar, liar, liar. No exscuse for lyng.

 

[carrot]

Yeah -- I also got throttled this month with just 2 GB of data. (I'm in New York City.) And this after having no problem using 7-8 GB for the past several months. It's ridiculous that they won't _tell_ you how much high-speed data you have and that (at least as customer service has explained it to me) the goalposts will be different each month depending on how much everyone else uses.

I'm leaving AT&T over this. I can't deal with not knowing how much data I've got before I'm throttled (and I found AT&T's throttled data speed unusable for anything but email). I'd been clinging to AT&T for years out of nerves over T-Mobile's breadth of coverage and because I never wanted to give up my grandfathered AT&T unlimited plan. But AT&T's done a great job of making that old unlimited plan unusable, and T-Mobile's value plans (which are ideal if you're bringing your own device to the network) save me $35 per month over similar AT&T options. For that much, I can use a Verizon hotspot if I occasionally find T-Mobile's coverage lacking.

Goodbye, AT&T.

 

[ocanyc]

Because of this I ended up switching to a straight $25 2GB plan since that's effectively what I was getting.

So you did exactly what they wanted you to #ATTWINS

As much as they are screwing us unlimited data users right now I wont switch to their tiered data plans. I will leave them entirely before I do that. I'm so hoping verizon brings that 4gb/$30 promotion back because I'm all over it if they do. Cant wait to tell att they are losing me because of their disloyalty to a loyal customer.

 

[rijc99#WN]

So you did exactly what they wanted you to #ATTWINS

As much as they are screwing us unlimited data users right now I wont switch to their tiered data plans. I will leave them entirely before I do that. I'm so hoping verizon brings that 4gb/$30 promotion back because I'm all over it if they do. Cant wait to tell att they are losing me because of their disloyalty to a loyal customer.

I know. But why pay $30 for unlImited when it's effectively a 2GB plan which normally goes for $25? I'm waiting till my etf goes down a little then I'm jumping to T-mo or Verizon.

 

[tim242]

I know. But why pay $30 for unlImited when it's effectively a 2GB plan which normally goes for $25? I'm waiting till my etf goes down a little then I'm jumping to T-mo or Verizon.

Now, you can switch to the new $30 3 GB plan.

 

[rijc99#WN]

Now, you can switch to the new $30 3 GB plan.

No, my next plan change with AT&T will be a cancellation. The way they handled the push from unlimited has really pushed me to decide to change carriers. Before, I was reluctant to move because of the advantages of HSPA over EVDO but now that everyone is headed to LTE, I don't mind using Verizon.

 

[jess.hickey]

I too have fallen victim to the throttling. I, like the rest of you, am not happy...BUT...it isn't the end of the world for me. After I noticed that I had been throttled I was dead set on gobbling up as much data as I could. I was getting 0.1-0.15 mb/s speeds and was able to simultaneously stream from tunein, Google music and slingbox (the music stream was fine but the slingbox was a bit jumpy).

I've decided that I will continue this practice for as long as I can. If I continue to get throttled I will continue to just leave tunein or other streaming apps running in the background and just start chewing up as much data as I can.

Hell, I lived for years with blackberry and iPhone on edge... I can live the end of each month with edge speeds.

As more and more of us are living out of the cloud I refuse to give up my unlimited plan...even if it is throttled!

 

[rijc99#WN]

I noticed iheartradio worked over the throttled speeds too. My hang up was I rely on logmein so the throttled speed couldn't cut it for all my stuff.

 

[quixoticelixer]

This is the email i recieved: High Data Usage Alert Dear XXXXXXX XXXXX, Like other wireless companies, AT&T is taking steps to manage exploding demand for mobile data. We're responding on many levels, including investing billions in our wireless network this year and working to acquire more network capacity. As mentioned on a previous bill, we're also taking additional, more immediate steps to help address network congestion and improve reliability. One of these steps involves a change for some customers who use extraordinarily large amounts of data in a single billing period -about 12 times more data than the average smartphone user. For the current billing cycle, your data usage indicates you could be affected by this change. Here's how it works: Smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. We're writing because you are in the top 5 percent of heaviest data users for this billing cycle. Because we recognize that data usage can change from month to month, you will not see reduced speeds this billing cycle. Beginning with your next billing cycle, we'll send you a text message if you are approaching the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. We'll also send you a second text message if you cross into the top 5 percent of heaviest users, at which point you may see reduced speeds for the rest of the month. Customers have several ways to manage extremely high data usage. Wi-Fi offers great speeds and doesn't add to your wireless data usage. Consider using Wi-Fi when possible for applications that use the highest amounts of data, such as streaming video apps, remote web camera apps, large data-file transfers (like video) and some online gaming.You may also consider switching to a tiered data plan if speed is more important to you than having an unlimited data plan. Customers on tiered plans can pay for more data if they need it, and will not see reduced speeds. To estimate how much data different activities use, and find out more about Wi-Fi or tiered data plans, visit https:// Wi-Fi Data & Tethering Data Plan - Wireless from AT&T or call Customer Care at 800-331-0500.

 

[tim242]

No, my next plan change with AT&T will be a cancellation. The way they handled the push from unlimited has really pushed me to decide to change carriers. Before, I was reluctant to move because of the advantages of HSPA over EVDO but now that everyone is headed to LTE, I don't mind using Verizon.

Yeah, I have the Nexus on Verizon's LTE. It is great. I am lucky enough to have unlimited, non-throttled LTE. Verizon only throttles 3G, and only when your use is causing network issues.

 

[UnfocusedHTC]

So I use over 3 gigs of data regularly and 7 last month. I have yet to be throttled. We will wait and see.

 

[hectorbribiesca]

They did.the same to me throttle my speed at 2GB! My phone was pretty much rendered useless after this! I got so frustrated with how with how slow my internet was that i jumped ship to Verizon! Verizon LTE speed are insane!

 

[physicxnad]

I started getting throttled in December when I went from the Inspire to the Skyrocket b/c LTE was in my area... as soon as i hit 2gb I got hit with a throttle. I called their "special service center" that handle throttling and they basically said there was nothing they can do and that there is no finite number of where they cap, but realistically it seemed to be at 2gb. I said that was unfortunate and returned the skyrocet and left for Verizon to pick up the Nexus during their 4gb of data for $30 promo... been happy ever since.