Cell Phone Data Choking (1 Viewer)

[Chadstroma]

I am leaving T-Mobile because they are bending me over on cost.

I am looking at AT&T and Verizon.

AT&T is a a bit cheaper and what I get with that with Verizon is my line won't ever get choked, where with AT&T mine could after 5G of data is used. And then the other 3 lines (for my MIL and two of my kids) get better phones (S23's vs this years A15's). I don't really care if if they get better phones or not so I am wondering, if it the choking thing is worth it for me to not worry about it ever. With my work, I need to be available. I typically don't do a ton of 'actual' work on the phone but at times I do.

Here is my question.... what are your experiences with these plans and having data choked? Is it rare? Happens all the time? A big problem for you or you never have noticed? What feedback on that as I have never had to worry about this before or experience it.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

 

[Ron Swanson]

We switched our company phones from Verizon to ATT for an expected substantial savings a couple years ago. The service is significantly worse in many geographical areas and they are much more difficult to deal with, bordering on bureaucratically incompetent. Verizon is no great shakes but they are miles ahead of ATT IMO.

 

[Chadstroma]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

Yea, the costs for both were with paperless billing and autopay. No problem. It saves me money then I am fine with it.

I was with AT&T for years and years and years.... then TMobile because the deal was so good (that went south somehow, I am paying twice that I will pay for either AT&T or Verizon). AT&T was fine and TMobile never had an issue and even had a friend when we were in our kids school gym ask if I had connection in the gym, I did and he was like I never do.... he had Verizon. But I am not paying THAT much money to be connecting in the school gym. lol

This whole data choking is new though. Never had that in previous plans. So... I am nervous.

 

[Mr.Pack]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

That makes no sense. I have four lines for less than $200. Are you paying for phones on all the lines?

Their plans break down to $30/$45/$55 per month for Unlimited Welcome/Plus/Ultimate. If you're not paying off phones, you need to check your plans.

 

[gianmarco]

What I've learned with cell phones and service:

Pretty much every area has one service provider that seems to provide the best coverage/service for that area. For some areas, it might be Verizon and another it might be AT&T. I would talk to people you know and/or research the best coverage in your area (there are sites specific for this) and go with that provider. The cost savings aren't worth the hassle of poor reception/dropped calls/spotty data.

For our area, that provider is Verizon and we switched almost 4 years ago. Best decision ever. With the exception of 2 dead zones on the highway that last about 5 seconds, I NEVER have service issues whereas that used to be the case A LOT with our previous provider (even though they supposedly provided service and had the best coverage at my work).

Plus, with WiFi being pretty ubiquitous nowadays, avoiding data limits can be pretty easy to do.

 

[Mr.Pack]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

That makes no sense. I have four lines for less than $200. Are you paying for phones on all the lines?

Their plans break down to $30/$45/$55 per month for Unlimited Welcome/Plus/Ultimate. If you're not paying off phones, you need to check your plans.

Not paying for phones, no. I will have to look again.

 

[belljr]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

That makes no sense. I have four lines for less than $200. Are you paying for phones on all the lines?

Their plans break down to $30/$45/$55 per month for Unlimited Welcome/Plus/Ultimate. If you're not paying off phones, you need to check your plans.

yeah wth .... i pay $198 for 3 lines with the mid or mid top tier. Whichever lets you stream HD.

eta: Just looked they upped the montlhy cost and service fee. Its now 198

 

[Chadstroma]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

This was me with TMobile. I was going to get a 'deal' for $316 for 6 lines (I wanted 5 but then the package had 6). I asked if this was their best deal or if there was something better personal and they said no.

AT&T and Verizon, the options are half that. So, AT&T or Verizon it is.... which one is the only question now.

I was originally with AT&T from my very first fold up phone to a few years back.... and then TMobile offered a great deal at huge savings. It is a game with all of them. Here is your great deal and after that expires we will try to bend you over as much as we can.

 

[mr. furley]

we use Ting and never ever have any issues with throttling

pretty sure they are backed by Verizon but don't know for sure as i never have problems worth examining the service further over. i'm paying $24 for 2 GB of data a month and have never once come close to exceeding it.


eta: brace yourself for Apple guy to tell you it's worth spending $479 a month to make phone calls

 

[acarey50]

How much data do you tend to use?

Do you stream anything from your phone - TV, movies, Hulu, music, etc.? Do your kids? Do you use any social media that had a lot of pics/videos like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok? Do your kids?

Do you use your phone for work where you are sending attachments back and forth, or need to be able to open them on your phone?

For AT&T, is that 5 GB total for all lines, or is that on a per line basis? Realistically, 5 GB is not that much.

If cost and coverage are negligible, I'm taking the unlimited data from Verizon - as @Andy Dufresne said, the pricing is pretty straight forward/reasonable, and if you do anything more than basic making/receiving calls, going over the 5GB is going to happen regularly.

 

[Osaurus]

AT&T here for years. Mrs. O and I have like 15 GB with rollover and unlimited talk/text (seems so dumb to break data up like this). I think we pay around $140/month with a public employee discount. We've had them since 2005 and our rates have maybe gone up $20. Honestly, not a lot of complaints about dropped calls as we use mostly wifi calling since straight cell reception around where I live is awful (at least for AT&T).

 

[Hawks64]

I am leaving T-Mobile because they are bending me over on cost.

I am looking at AT&T and Verizon.

AT&T is a a bit cheaper and what I get with that with Verizon is my line won't ever get choked, where with AT&T mine could after 5G of data is used. And then the other 3 lines (for my MIL and two of my kids) get better phones (S23's vs this years A15's). I don't really care if if they get better phones or not so I am wondering, if it the choking thing is worth it for me to not worry about it ever. With my work, I need to be available. I typically don't do a ton of 'actual' work on the phone but at times I do.

Here is my question.... what are your experiences with these plans and having data choked? Is it rare? Happens all the time? A big problem for you or you never have noticed? What feedback on that as I have never had to worry about this before or experience it.

What plan do you have? I have 6 lines, plus 2 Apple watches and never get throttled on TMobile. We have the top plan, what used to be called magenta max plus and it's 220/mth. Pretty cheap with great coverage and great international coverage included.

 

[Mister CIA]

I feel this way about Verizon - it's maybe more expensive but I get what I pay for.

And I'm not sure it's more expensive anymore. I think competition has made them lower their prices. Just make sure you do paperless billing and you'll save about $10 per month per line.

I've had it with Verizon. My bill ranges from $350-$365/mo for 4 lines and a watch. WITH paperless autopay. Every month I feel I'm taking it raw.

Damn! I feel like you need an intervention. If I may be nosey, what do you pay for internet/cable?

I pay $25/month for 5 or 12 GB of mobile data (I forget how much I'm paying for, but I only use about 2GB/mo, so it's all good). Throw in $80 for the high-end AT&T fiber option at home, and that's it. Well, plus whatever streaming service(s) I feel like paying for in a given month.

 

[Dezbelief]

Here is my question.... what are your experiences with these plans and having data choked? Is it rare? Happens all the time? A big problem for you or you never have noticed? What feedback on that as I have never had to worry about this before or experience it

My brother has no home internet and streams all his entertainment through his phone. He said about a 1/3 through the month he hits the choke threshold on the unlimited data. He said he only gets choked if the towers are at capacity. How often and when that happens will vary from area to area.

 

[BlackCrowes]

Verizon seems to screw me less than the others.

 

[ChiefD]

They are all terrible.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Are you using your cell phone plan as your home internet as well?

 

[WVU Alum]

Recently switched to T-Mobile from US Cellular. I pay under $200 for 5 lines on their top-tier plan.

 

[Rich Conway]

Google Fi if you have compatible phones. Service is great. Unlimited 3 lines for $100. I believe data choking begins at 20 GB for each line.

 

[Chadstroma]

How much data do you tend to use?

Do you stream anything from your phone - TV, movies, Hulu, music, etc.? Do your kids? Do you use any social media that had a lot of pics/videos like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok? Do your kids?

Do you use your phone for work where you are sending attachments back and forth, or need to be able to open them on your phone?

For AT&T, is that 5 GB total for all lines, or is that on a per line basis? Realistically, 5 GB is not that much.

If cost and coverage are negligible, I'm taking the unlimited data from Verizon - as @Andy Dufresne said, the pricing is pretty straight forward/reasonable, and if you do anything more than basic making/receiving calls, going over the 5GB is going to happen regularly.

I have to imagine I am not typically using a lot of data. I am home a lot and I am tied into the wifi. The time I spent out of the house using my phone is largely at kids sporting events.... mostly swim meets as there is a lot of down time in those. I typically do not do streaming unless I am out of the house during the draft or a game that I want to see during football season. Usually when I am killing time outside of the house I am on here or reading The Athletic or a couple of other web stuff that isn't streaming or data heavy or playing a game.

Work wise, most of the usage would be forwarding attachments and then logging into our online system which I don't like to do on the phone because it is harder to get work done. I usually will do a hotspot and then use my laptop (AT&T gives 50g for hotspot vs Verizon 30G)

The 5 GB is per line. I don't care if my kids get throttled and they could easily go over as they play video games and watch Youtube constantly..... oh it is slower? Bummer. My wife doesn't use a ton of data and she has a separate work phone as well.

I guess one other thing is how do you get an idea of coverage in MY area as it sounds like that is a very local thing.

 

[Chadstroma]

I am leaving T-Mobile because they are bending me over on cost.

I am looking at AT&T and Verizon.

AT&T is a a bit cheaper and what I get with that with Verizon is my line won't ever get choked, where with AT&T mine could after 5G of data is used. And then the other 3 lines (for my MIL and two of my kids) get better phones (S23's vs this years A15's). I don't really care if if they get better phones or not so I am wondering, if it the choking thing is worth it for me to not worry about it ever. With my work, I need to be available. I typically don't do a ton of 'actual' work on the phone but at times I do.

Here is my question.... what are your experiences with these plans and having data choked? Is it rare? Happens all the time? A big problem for you or you never have noticed? What feedback on that as I have never had to worry about this before or experience it.

What plan do you have? I have 6 lines, plus 2 Apple watches and never get throttled on TMobile. We have the top plan, what used to be called magenta max plus and it's 220/mth. Pretty cheap with great coverage and great international coverage included.

I have no idea what plan it is.... everything unlimited with no throttling for 4 lines. I asked if they had anything else for more value and they told me no.... but maybe they thought I wouldn't be interested in accounts that didnt throttle? I don't know... I put the effort in... I am not going to fight when they bill is $3XX when I have much better offers at other places. I just took it as the normal "Your initial great deal expired, so we will soak you for every penny we can until you leave"

 

[Chadstroma]

Here is my question.... what are your experiences with these plans and having data choked? Is it rare? Happens all the time? A big problem for you or you never have noticed? What feedback on that as I have never had to worry about this before or experience it

My brother has no home internet and streams all his entertainment through his phone. He said about a 1/3 through the month he hits the choke threshold on the unlimited data. He said he only gets choked if the towers are at capacity. How often and when that happens will vary from area to area.

Well... damn, I guess I shouldn't be worried about throttling..... if he does all his internet and stream through the phone and gets 1/3 through the month, I have to think I will be good to go.....

 

[Chadstroma]

Are you using your cell phone plan as your home internet as well?

No. But that is next up.... tackling my cable/internet bill.

 

[acarey50]

I have to imagine I am not typically using a lot of data. I am home a lot and I am tied into the wifi. The time I spent out of the house using my phone is largely at kids sporting events.... mostly swim meets as there is a lot of down time in those. I typically do not do streaming unless I am out of the house during the draft or a game that I want to see during football season. Usually when I am killing time outside of the house I am on here or reading The Athletic or a couple of other web stuff that isn't streaming or data heavy or playing a game.

Work wise, most of the usage would be forwarding attachments and then logging into our online system which I don't like to do on the phone because it is harder to get work done. I usually will do a hotspot and then use my laptop (AT&T gives 50g for hotspot vs Verizon 30G)

You should really take the time to look at how much data you and your wife/kids are actually using so you can make an informed decision. I think you may be surprised at how much data even more basic things use up.

Either check your bill, I believe that usually has the breakdown for each line, but also check from your phone. For an iPhone, go to Settings --> Cellular and scroll down to the Cellular Data section that will show how much cellular data you have used, and also breaks down what apps are using the data.

I assume you take a lot of pictures/videos at your kids events - do you back these up to the cloud at all, and if so, do you have that set to only use WiFi?

 

[Chadstroma]

I have to imagine I am not typically using a lot of data. I am home a lot and I am tied into the wifi. The time I spent out of the house using my phone is largely at kids sporting events.... mostly swim meets as there is a lot of down time in those. I typically do not do streaming unless I am out of the house during the draft or a game that I want to see during football season. Usually when I am killing time outside of the house I am on here or reading The Athletic or a couple of other web stuff that isn't streaming or data heavy or playing a game.

Work wise, most of the usage would be forwarding attachments and then logging into our online system which I don't like to do on the phone because it is harder to get work done. I usually will do a hotspot and then use my laptop (AT&T gives 50g for hotspot vs Verizon 30G)

You should really take the time to look at how much data you and your wife/kids are actually using so you can make an informed decision. I think you may be surprised at how much data even more basic things use up.

Either check your bill, I believe that usually has the breakdown for each line, but also check from your phone. For an iPhone, go to Settings --> Cellular and scroll down to the Cellular Data section that will show how much cellular data you have used, and also breaks down what apps are using the data.

I assume you take a lot of pictures/videos at your kids events - do you back these up to the cloud at all, and if so, do you have that set to only use WiFi?

I do a lot of pictures and video but I basically use Facebook as my data backup. lol Yea, I am that guy that does photo/video dump posts. I prob most often do that at home when on wifi though.

It made sense to find out what I am using now.... called customer service.... 4.91G this month. 8.23GB previous month. 5.23GB, 6.6GB in the previous couple of months. So, a little over each month it seems.

So, is the potential for some of that date being throttled worth basically $25 more a month? I dunno. Might be worth the peace of mind but I am thinking it likely will not impact me much at all in real life. And truth be told $300 over a year isn't going to be life changing either but more money for me and not a bill is never a bad thing.

 

[AAABatteries]

They are all terrible.

Am I gonna choose this carrier that will blast me in the *** or the other carrier who will blast me in the ***?

 

[Chadstroma]

So, Verizon called me back today, I told them "I am considering you and AT&T and the current deals are very similar with a little here being better for one and something over there for the other. Is there anything you can do to sweeten the deal to help me decide?" she said no.

I sent the guy I was talking to the same message and he added $100 credit per line in 2-3 months.

$148 a month... actually the AT&T plan is way better....
It is 50GB per line not 5 (I think I got the 5G network confused with that). 100GB hotspot per line. Save $300 a year for the next three years PLUS $500 credit.

Looks like I am going back to AT&T. Really, the only two pluses with Verizon is my line would be unlimited data that never throttles and my in law and kids get S24's instead of A15's. My usage isn't anywhere near 50GB so I am not worried about that and don't care that my kids and mother in law have less good phones.

 

[dickey moe]

Pretty soon two cans and a string will run you 50 bucks a month.