Enabling personal hotspot with unlimited data plan

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@DannyGT wrote:
AT&T could offer those with an unlimited plan the ability to use personal hotspot where the tethered device is subject to limited data (limited GB/mo or $/GB) but with the customer retaining his unlimited plan on the phone. If AT&T were sincere in there explanation then this should satisfy them, and I would be thrilled to have that option. But they aren't sincere; they just want to kick people off unlimited.

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ATT has the ability to throttle the usage on the mobile device, why don't they do the same when using as Hot Spot? This solution would enable us to continue to use the device however we choose and ATT still gets to throttle our usage.

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@loganic wrote:

Hey Sachimoca,

 

I'm definetly sorry for any misunderstandings.

The unlimited was a great plan for the iphone 3gs. It wasn't ever expected to be used to anything more than that. That's why with the newer phone's we've disabled that. I think it's pretty generous for AT&T to allow you to keep the unlimited data plan, as is.

Since devices like a computer can keep up with the data speeds a lot easier, it can potentially use largely more amounts of data.

Simply put, AT&T can't afford for people to use the 50-100gb a month they might be able to use for LTE unlimited tethering. If people really insist, then they need to pay for what it costs us to provide that.

 

We're not going to force you to lose what you originally had, but you can't have you cake and eat it too. You can't ask for new things (tethering), and not expect your old plans to keep up (unlimited).

 

It's not some special conspiracy to rob of that. We're just trying to offer what we can reasonably do in large numbers. You don't seem to appreciate how much work goes into providing a moderate of coverage for huge numbers of customers.

 

Now, in all fairness, you don't have to lose your unlimited. If your ipad has wifi + cellular, we can get it its own seperate package. Or we have Mifi device, seperate data device for. You pay seperate, they won't impact your iphone, and it works out pretty well.

 

-Alex

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Hello everone! Sorry to be so late to the discussion on this forum, but this was news to me when I called AT&T only a few days ago.

First, let me say I have been a coustomer since the Cingular days and was also an AT&T employee more than a year ago. I have been on an Unlimited data plan this whole time. I currently have no plans to leave AT&T, however I would like to share my discontent with the treatment of AT&T coustomers on Unlimited data plans.

So for those who may not know, Cingular had unlimited data plans long before being bought by AT&T and also well before any iPhone, let alone the iPhone 3GS. Please do not make it sound like AT&T came up with the unlimited plan for the iPhone. AT&T kept the unlimited plan that Cingular had. Just making sure that is completely clear.

As for Tethering, again that too has been around long before the iPhone. I used to tether my Windows Mobile phones before Android or iOS were released. Likewise with the WiFi Hotspot, Apple iPhones were not the first to use that either...

My whole point is it feels like you are implying that Unlimited Data and Tethering never coexisted on this network, and that is completely and utterly False.

Likewise I take issue with your claim that a Computer can use my mobile data any faster than my smartphone can. This would depend on specific situations like locations and devices, but in general I disagree. My smartphone gets over 50 Mbps down on LTE and my computer can not ever use data any faster than my smartphone can provide it, and my smartphone can use every last byte on its own. You did not give any examples, so I have no clue what situation you have in mind, but it seems very unlikely. Let me be the one to give examples:

Video is probably one of the most data intensive things people can do these days. My new smartphone has a Quad HD screen of 1440p. It is called quad HD because it has 4 times the resolution of 720p HD. My tablet and laptop are older and both have 720p screens. So I share data and play the highest resolution YouTube video I can on my smartphone, tablet, and laptop at the same time. Guess what, my smartphone would still use Twice as much data as my laptop and tablet Combined!

Furthermore, when AT&T already throttles my Unlimited 4G LTE, they slow it down to Half a Mbps download from 50 Mbps down once I go over 5GB. That is 100 times slower than my potential, too slow to even play videos on my smartphone, or any other device I would share my connection with.

Therefore, your caim of people downloading 50-100 Gigabytes of Data on Unlimited plans also seems totally unrealistic. Try as I might, it is hard for me to go over 10GB in a month ever since my unlimited data has been throttled, even if I used the unthrottled 5GB in less than a week. Once throttling kicks in my smartphone and anything else I would share data to are basically usless except for the most mundane tasks. 

I am more than willing to pay for data, even the abality to share it. I always understood there is no such thing as infinite minutes, texts, or data as there are not infinite minutes in a billing period. Therefore, "Unlimited" data to me meant all the data I could eat, without limits. As I and others have stated our Data plans are in fact very limited by both throttling and tethering. Data is still just data no matter what device it's used on. Sharing data will not suddenly break AT&T's network, or else Mobile Share coustomers would not be allowed either.

I'm not trying to claim some crazy conspiracy, but in truth these policies are only targeted at Unlimited Data coustomers, so it feels like AT&T is trying to twist our arm into getting Mobile Share plans to get the same quality of service we used to have. Again, I already pay for Unlimited data, and would be willing to pay to share it, but being told I'm not on a compatible Data Plan to use features on my device is fustrating. You telling people to purchase another add on device like MiFi seems totally unnessicary as I already own a smartphone that can do this. These points all are avoiding the truth, which is our service on unlimited plans has indeed changed, and for the worse.

If this is asking for my cake and eating it too, then Im guessing you have missed out on more than your fair share of cake! I am not asking for anything new as tethering and unlimited are older than any iPhone. Thank you for your time, have a good one!

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@nova227 wrote:

My whole point is it feels like you are implying that Unlimited Data and Tethering never coexisted on this network, and that is completely and utterly False.

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I believe those saying that unlimited data never allowed tethering were only speaking of the grandfathered $30 plan, not any plan that may have existed before. The unlimited plan that is now grandfathered was first introduced when the iPhone 3G came out and that plan did not allow tethering nor did it ever allow tethering up to the day it was discontinued. Also, the fact that you were able to tether on your old windows phone pre iOS and android does not necessarily mean tethering was allowed. The ability to detect and/or prevent tethering wasn't as robust then as it is today.

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@sandblaster wrote:

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@Tnotter75 wrote:
This is terrible. How dare ATT put restrictions on a feature of a feature that iphone includes to stay on top of such a competitive market. Blatantly greedy to pry people away from unlimited data plans. I left Verizon for similar greed. Now I'm faced with moving along again. Sucks...

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Sorry but greed has nothing to do with it. Tethering was never a feature of the unlimited data plan and Apple's personal hotspot didn't even exist when the unlimited data plan was discontinued 4 years ago. No carrier goes back and adds features to discontinued plans.

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Why do people keep saying that? Actually it was, back in the Cingular days before AT&T. Just because your first experience with a hotspot was on an iPhone, does not mean that iPhones were the first to have that feature, or unlimited data for that matter. The mention of greed was probably used as a comparison of how AT&T and Verizon treat their Unlimited data coustomers as opposed to T-mobile, Sprint, or almost any other carrier. The truth is godfathered coustomers such as myself know just how many changes have been made to the plan over the last decade or so.

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@sandblaster wrote:

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@nova227 wrote:

My whole point is it feels like you are implying that Unlimited Data and Tethering never coexisted on this network, and that is completely and utterly False.

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I believe those saying that unlimited data never allowed tethering were only speaking of the grandfathered $30 plan, not any plan that may have existed before. The unlimited plan that is now grandfathered was first introduced when the iPhone 3G came out and that plan did not allow tethering nor did it ever allow tethering up to the day it was discontinued. Also, the fact that you were able to tether on your old windows phone pre iOS and android does not necessarily mean tethering was allowed. The ability to detect and/or prevent tethering wasn't as robust then as it is today.

 

 

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I agree with that. However, some people, including the person I quoted, did seem to at least imply it. Again, it would just be nice if a hotspot were offered, even as an add on feature. I don't like the idea of carring a MiFi at additional charge when my phone can do it. My point was in relation to the origonal quoted text which included some outlandish Data numbers implying we can use more data with a PC. That does not make sense, when the PC would be limited by the cellular connection at that time and place.

As for as the Unlimited Data plan changes, here is my story:

I am on the 4G Unlimited data plan which I was moved to over the phone when I got my first 4G phone. I was told I was not on a compatible data plan to use LTE, so they reprovisioned my data to a 4G plan, or something like that. I agreed to this over the phone and never read the contract (my own fault). At first I was taken off my Unlimited Data plan and put on a Mobile Share plan. Thankfully after several phonecalls and many hours, I got my grandfathered plan back, or the closest thing to it.

Interestingly, I was told that if I had waited too much longer, I would not have gotten my Unlimited data back. Worse, I was told I would now experience throttling after 5GB. When I said this seemed unfair and asked if I could go back to the previous data plan and remain unthrottled even if it meant only 3G speeds. I was told that this was no longer an option as that outdated Cingular plan is no longer listed in their system.

Upon getting a subsidized phone from AT&T, I recently learned this also excluded data sharing (tethering, hotspot) of any kind, hence my post on these pages. I just don't like this feeling that AT&T is forcing our hand by limiting my use of "Unlimited" data, and telling me to move to a different plan or buy additional devices (MiFi).

I have nothing against iPhones and have even used iOS on other devices, but I have only really used Android on smartphones since my Windows Mobile and Palm days. I simply did not understand the refrences to the iPhone when this post is about hotspots with Unlimited Data. My point was Unlimited data plans and hotspots were around before iPhones had either.

On a side note, I also have AT&T Uverse and consider myself something of a valued coustomer. I used Sprint and Verizon before Cingular, and have often weighed other Unlimited data options such as T-mobile and have decided to stick with AT&T, at least for now. I just feel if AT&T continues to change the Unlimited data plans the way they have, they will not keep coustomers like me who will leave AT&T before they switch to a Mobile Share plan. Let's hope that never happens, even if only for legal reasons.

I know I'm not the only one who remembers, either. There are many related pages.

Here is one of my favorites, albeit a bit long:

https://forums.att.com/t5/Data-Messaging-Features-Internet/Why-doesn-t-AT-amp-T-honor-truly-unlimited-data-contracts/m-p/4030362#M63841

Thanks for letting me share (my feelings, but not my data)!

😉

This is stupid- people- jailbreak your phones and use what is rightfully ours under contract.

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@darryllict wrote:

This is stupid- people- jailbreak your phones and use what is rightfully ours under contract.

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That is good advice, except that using tethering on unlimited data plans is not included under the "contract" (actually the TOS, or Terms Of Service) for the data plan.  If you do follow this advice, expect to find that AT&T *might* warn you once, then they will switch your data plan to one which allows tethering, which may not be what you want.  All of which is perfectly within their rights, and within the terms you agreed to when you signed your contract and accepted the terms of use of the data plan.

Unlimited isn't really unlimited.

AT&T is being sued for this and rightfully so.

My business spent thousands of dollars to maintain 4 lines of unlimited data, only to find out unlimited is really limited in so many ways.

False advertising.

AT&T will prevent your phone from setting up a wireless hot spot if you are on the 'unlimited' plan.