Unlimited Data Usage??

I have a very basic question. I have Comcast (up to 35Mb/s down). I am a very heavy user. Earlier this month, I was contacted by Comcast and advised that I exceeded my data usage for the month. Data usage?? What data usage? Come to find out that, regardless of the tier one is on, the limit is 250GB/month. In July, I used 1.6TBs. I am looking for an alternative. I have read, only from external forums dated from late 2008/early 2009, that Verizon does not cap. Can someone please either confirm or dispute this? If someone can point me to a specific statement in Verizon's contract or policies stating one way or another that would be even better. If not, a definitive response one way or another would suffice. Thanks

Many residential ISP's are implementing usage caps to protect their customer base from individual users who unduly burden the backbone networks with disproportionate amounts of data traffic and as a result degrade the overall performance of the network for everyone.  250GB is a LOT of information for traditional residential user connection -- particular since you are explicitly prohibited from running any kind of "server" based connection.
With that said, I am not aware of any communicated limit from Verizon although atypical usage is certain to gather someone's attention, I suspect.   To which I refer you to the Terms of Service agreement:
Restrictions on Use. The Service is a consumer grade service and is not designed for or intended to be used for any commercial purpose. You may not resell the Service, use it for high volume purposes, or engage in similar activities that constitute such use (commercial or non-commercial). If you subscribe to a Broadband Service, you may connect multiple computers/devices within a single home to your modem and/or router to access the Service, but only through a single Verizon-issued IP address. You also may not exceed the bandwidth usage limitations that Verizon may establish from time to time for the Service, or use the Service to host any type of server. Violation of this section may result in bandwidth restrictions on your Service or suspension or termination of your Service.
In short, if they see a problem, they can enact a bandwidth usage limitation and can take the remedies outlined therein.  YMMV.

Similar Messages

  • Unlimited Data Usage - Why is this now gone?

    So I have been a long time Verizon wireless subscriber, and have had unlimited data usage for a long time as well.  Now that I upgrade my phone, I am no longer allowed to have that?  What a joke.  The data usage does not take up that much data to run for subscribers and to take away that ability seems like yet another scheme to shake more money out of us.
    Why not do something good for your customers instead of forcing us to pay more for less?  Thoughts?
    Also, just a note....I upgrade my phone and my wife's caller id gets all screwed up?  What is that all about?  Several phone calls with tech support and I have to wait again to see if it gets resolved. 

    The unlimited data plan was gone for new customers starting in July 2011. For existing customers it ended when they added the Share Everything Plans. If you purchase a new phone at the subsidized two year contract price, you are agreeing to the new contract terms and conditions. That includes only the tiered data plans either the individual tiered or the Share Everything Plans.
    If you truly want to keep your unlimited data plan, you need to purchase the phone at full retail price or use the Device Payment Plan to split the cost of the phone across 12 months of payments.

  • UNLIMITED DATA PLANS! PLEASE BRING IT BACK VERIZON TO EVERYONE!

    I think Verizon should bring back the Unlimited Data Plans because, many students uses so much Data for Videos for their homework and Videos takes up so much Data and there is no way an average family can afford to pay over $100 for a 20GB more Data plan and I think it would nice of Verizon if they would bring back the Unlimited Data Plan around $59/month at least because there are some people that need it for their homes. If you would also offer Unlimited Data Plan to the Mifi service, this would be a big competition with DSL and Cable providers for home internet. When families uses so much Data for Netflix or Rhapsody and Crackle, it takes so much Data and it is important for families to have Unlimited Data Usage for this entertainment. Verizon, I am going to say this, people like me does not like to be limited on how much we use the Internet. I am thankful even on my phone I have the Grandfather Unlimited Data Plan but if you ever take it away from me, I will leave Verizon and switch to Straight Talk. I have many friends I can tell and stir up some stuff with Verizon if this ever happens to me because, my Unlimited Data Plan means so much to me, the only reason I am bringing this up, to help other people who needs it too. I think Verizon has the best Coverage of all than any other provider but all I am asking is, do not take my Unlimited Data Plan from me and please bring it back for other people who needs it. Thanks so much time your time and support. Verizon Wireless Customers, please leave comments, I would love to hear your comments and thanks and have a Great Day!  

    Why are fixed income families on the most expensive carrier? Let alone owning smartphones.
    I don't agree with tiered data either way. I wish they would do like a flat cap of 10gb for x amount of dollars and if you go over that, then you pay more. Put a data cap that no one can realistically hit without absuing, i mean REALLY abusing the service.
    There is a disadvantage to unlimited data though, the person who is streaming and downloading all day can ruin it for a whole bunch of people in that area. But hey, they don't care, as long as they get theirs right? On one end, we have the happy user paying 30 bucks a month and doing like 200gb per month, while everyone else in the area has to suffer with sub par speeds because of this one individual.
    Normal counter arguments is that the premiums are high, ceo gave him self a raise, vz is in the big profits, unlimited means unlimited no matter what, and a couple others I forget. They're valid points, and i do agree that the ceo could take some of his yearly earnings and put some of it back in the network. At the same time though, aren't projects like building cell towers done on a contract basis normally? So even if he is making ridiculous bank, it would be a moot point if he had already paid for the work to be done to the network.
    Government isn't gonna do squat because it's each and every company's right to structure their plans how they wish and charge however much they wish.
    Again, complaining doesn't do anything. Disconnect.

  • What causes cellular data usage to decrease if last reset has not changed? I reset every pay period cuz I do not have unlimited and was showing 125 mb sent/1.2g received. Now showing 98mb sent/980mb received. Last reset still shows same

        I reset my cellular data usage every month at the beginning of my billing period so that I can keep track of how much data I am using thru out the month. I do not have the unlimited data plan and have gone over a few times. It's usually the last couple days of my billing cycle and I am charged $10 for an extra gig which I barely use 10% of before my usage is restarted for new billing cycle. FYI, they do not carry the remainder of the unused gig that you purchase for $10 which I disagree with. But have accepted. Lol  Moving on.
        I have two questions. One possibly being answered by the other. 1. Is cellular data used when I sync to iTunes on my home computer to load songs onto my iPhone from my iTunes library(songs that already exist)? 2. What causes the cellular data usage readings in iPhone settings/general/usage/cellular usage to decrease if my last reset has not changed? It is close to end of my billing cycle and I have been keeping close eye. Earlier today it read around 180mb sent/1.2gb received. Now it reads 90mb sent/980 mb recieved. My last reset date reads the same as before. I don't know if my sync and music management had anything to do with the decrease but i didn't notice the decrease until after I had connected to iTunes and loaded music. I should also mention that a 700mb app automatically loaded itself to my phone during the sync process. Is cellular data used at all during any kind of sync /iPhone/iTunes management? Is the cellular data usage reading under iPhone settings a reliable source to keep track of monthly data usage? Guess turned out to be more than two questions but all related. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me. It is information I find valuable. Sorry for the book long question.

    Is cellular data used at all during any kind of sync /iPhone/iTunes management? Is the cellular data usage reading under iPhone settings a reliable source to keep track of monthly data usage?
    1) No.
    2) It does provide an estimated usage, but it's not accurate. For accurate determination, you should check the remaining/used MBs from the carrier (most of the carriers provide this service for free).

  • Goodbye unlimited data for IPad 3G customers.  Welcome to AT&T after June 7

    http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=17991&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30854&mapcod e=financial%7CWireless
    For new iPad customers, the $25 per month 2 GB plan will replace the existing $29.99 unlimited plan. iPad customers will continue to pre-pay for their wireless data plan and no contract is required. Existing iPad customers who have the $29.99 per month unlimited plan can keep that plan or switch to the new $25 per month plan with 2 GB of data.
    http://www.macrumors.com/
    "AT&T also announced that they have changed the iPad 3G data plan for new customers after June 7th.
    At present, AT&T offers a no-contract $29.99/month unlimited data plan specifically for iPad owners. If you activate your data plan before June 7th, you can still participate in this plan. After June 7th, however, AT&T will be replacing that plan with a $25/month 2GB limited plan. From the press release:
    For new iPad customers, the $25 per month 2 GB plan will replace the existing $29.99 unlimited plan. iPad customers will continue to pre-pay for their wireless data plan and no contract is required. Existing iPad customers who have the $29.99 per month unlimited plan can keep that plan or switch to the new $25 per month plan with 2 GB of data.
    So, if this is an issue for you, you still have time to be grandfathered into the unlimited data plan. Existing iPad customers can look at their current data usage via their iPad settings."

    Got this off of cnet.com:
    http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20006534-1.html
    “But nobody will be forced to switch. If users are happy with their current plan then they can keep it, which we expect many to do. In fact, AT&T tells us, *"[Users] are not required to switch to the new plans if they renew their contract or switch to another smartphone.* However, if they switch to one of the new plans, they will not be able to go back to their old unlimited plan." The only downside is that legacy iPhone plans won't get tethering, so there are some things to consider for some.”
    Hopefully that will remain the case. I have unlimited on both my iPhone and iPad and like the freedom of watching as many videos and surfing the net as much as I want. On TUAW the article was saying it was likely that AT&T would force those "grandfathered" into changing to a new data plan when they renewed. The above article pretty much says that AT&T is claiming that whether we renew or switch to another smartphone and don't switch data plans that we should be ok.
    I'll keep my fingers crossed!
    iPhoNettie
    Message was edited by: iPhoNettie

  • Data usage and battery drain has skyrocketed with iOS 8.1.2 (maybe earlier)

    3 weeks ago my wife got a text message on her iPhone 5 from AT&T that she had used 90% of her data for the month.  30 seconds later, she got another one saying that she had used 100%.  Granted, her data plan is small, 200 MB.  But, for the last two years she has used as little as 17 MB in a month and her largest prior to this latest month was 49 mb.  This month she got to 380 mb before we were able to shut off her cell data.  Otherwise, a second chunk of 200 MB and another $15 would have been added to the month.
    We had noticed that her battery had been draining rather rapidly in standby mode with no background apps running when she didn't have access to WiFi.  We have now correlated the two results, High Cell data usage, Quick battery drain and very warm phone.  In case anyone is wondering about her iPhone 5 being one in the recall, it is.  I took it in and had it tested.  Apple says the battery is fine.  It does hold a charge well.  When all network communications are shut down on her phone and it is in standby mode, there is no noticeable loss of charge in 24 hours (our longest test).
    Since I have a grandfathered Unlimited Data Plan with AT&T, I have been doing some testing on my iPhone 5s.  Sure enough, I've seen similar results.  With nearly everything turned off except Cell Data, I've seen 483 MB used in 24 hours.  Of that total, 479 MB was used for Documents & Sync.  I even have everything turned off in my iCloud account, Location services are turned off, no push notifications etc...
    The best I can figure, this has been a problem since we installed 8.1.2 and yesterday I installed 8.1.3 resulting in no positive effect on this issue.
    At this rate of data usage and no access to WiFi, my wife would have to have a 15 Gb data plan to keep from exceeding her limit.  I don't think AT&T even offers one that big anymore.  I might have to switch to Sprint or T-Mobile if this doesn't get resolved.
    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your shared insights.

    Hey this is Brian, bjmcmurry, under a different user ID.  If I logged in as bmcmurry, original post, I was just getting a server error and couldn't get to this discussion nor post a comment anywhere.
    Anyway, let me be as brief as I can.  After an extensive analysis of replicating the problem on another phone to eliminate it being a hardware specific issue and that the test phone has an unlimited data plan, I was able to stop the excessive data usage and consequential battery drain.  I believe I have a reasonable explanation of the problem, an iOS logic bug.
    I had everything under my control clamped down on the test phone to minimize data usage.  Also, I was forcing all data usage to use the cell towers.  I determined that I was burning at least 11 to 13 Mb per hour doing nothing important.  I literally had everything turned off except 'Settings' was allowed to use Cell data providing a avenue to log into the Apple ID. 
    The two phones had 2 things in common, they were using the same Apple ID and the same version of the OS.  One was a iPhone 5 and the other was a 5s.
    Here is a synopsis of my experience via my written evaluation of the Apple support system (Apple Rep name's have been removed):
    After a couple of hours on the phone with an Apple Care Senior support Analyst, it was suggested that I go to the Apple Store to 1) get my battery replace in the iPhone 5 since it qualified for the replacement program and 2) see if the Genius could provide me with any insight in the data usage issue and battery drain.
    I'm certainly glad I had multiple reasons to visit the closest Apple store, a 45 min drive.  I got the battery replaced, thanks for that. 
    Regarding the important issue to me that brought me to the Genius Bar, excessive Cell data usage, I thought the Genius did a wonderful job listening and documenting the problem we were experiencing.  Unfortunately, educating us on the use of the product or replacing our phone was not going to solve the problem.  He eventually figured it out, this was not a user error or broken hardware.  We surmised that the reason I was sent to him was to verify and document that there was a problem.  I clearly had a problem.  After writing copious notes on the issue, The Genius smartly referred me back the the AppleCare Senior Advisor.  So, back to AppleCare Senior Analyst I went. She, knowing this was not a simple problem to solve i.e. beyond her level of expertise, got an Apple Software engineer involved.
    My primary frustration is that this should have been escalated to software engineering right away.  My trip to see the Genius was, I believe, a waste of time for both me and Apple regarding this issue.  Diagnosis of this type of problem is well beyond the Genius’ knowledge and job.  The Genius did a very good job doing what he could within the scope of his job.  He just couldn’t solve this problem and had no one within Apple to which he had access for help.
    However, that initial consult with the engineer was a bit feeble.  Not only could I not talk to him/her directly, his/her focus was still working with the ‘Black Box' approach.  Having Analyst ask me to do stuff like restore the Phone was more like trying to find a 'work around' than 'identifying the real problem.'  Maybe restoring the phone was going to fix some corrupted data on the phone sidesteping the real problem, the handling of this condition.  The engineer did listen to the fact that I had restored the test phone, the 5s, and only added the use of my Apple ID.  Duh, been there!!!
    Having been an previous owner of a software development company that I started in 1980 and retired in 2001, I can tell you that using the 'Black Box' method of debugging is extremely inefficient.  Instead, having access to an ‘Activity Manager’ type app to identify in real time what process was blowing up the data flow would have saved me a lost afternoon at the Apple store and hours on the phone with tech support.
    Ironically, I may have stumbled onto a "work around" solution short of turning off Cell Data that stopped the excessive Cell Data usage and consequential battery drain.  Just prior to leaving the Apple Store, I used one of their Macs to log in my Apple ID on the id.apple.com website to ‘Manage my Apple ID’, I was forced to upgrade the security level of my password.  Afterward, my cell data usage seemed to drop dramatically.
    I told the AppleCare Senior Analyst that I may have stumbled onto a workaround and I suggested that I give it a couple of days of monitoring.  We'd talk then and I would have results to report.  She agreed. 
    Sure enough, my Document & Sync usage was back to normal, about 1/2 Mb per day.  Am I happy that the excessive Cell Data usage has stopped?  You bet!  But, there was no intuitive reason that an end user would know to log in on the ID website to unknowingly solve this problem.  As I use to say to my employees, that is not the ‘Macintosh Way.’  And, rebooting the the 'Microsoft Way.'
    When I reported my findings to the Analyst, we both concluded that data usage was back to normal.  She did report to me that the engineer did provide a laundry list of suggested activities to help solve the problem.  Remarkably, they were everything that I had already done and were pretty much what the Analyst and the Genius tried to do.  All reasonable tasks.  But clearly, the engineer hadn't even ready the notes on the case before responding.  And, none of the things suggested would have uncovered the real problem, likely a logic bug in iOS.
    My advice now is to have the software engineering team rule out that there was an unresolvable state that a background process was fiercely trying to handle.  The iOS does not seem to know how to intervene and prompt the user with a requirement to upgrade their password.  If this does end up being the case, I would call it a logic bug, a perpetual exception that is not being handled properly.
    Anyway, I hope this helps you.

  • How long does it really take to get my unlimited data plan back?

    So Wednesday morning I go into a local Verizon owned-and-operated store to buy a Galaxy S5 on installment plan, like I did for my GS4 a year ago. Get talked into an Edge phone plan and the More plan, and they get that unlimited data plan off my line as fast as possible and then find that I can't get Edge for another 3 weeks. So we revert the changes (in theory), less than half an hour after the original change.
    So I'm just standing there reading twitter and waiting for them to fix the situation and get me back to where I was when I walked in. I was actually willing to go ahead and buy a GS5 on installment plan (as I'd wanted to when I came in), but they *really* did not want me to do that. They got the voice plan back, and put me on a 2GB plan (which is 1/3 of my average usage), telling me I'd be back on my unlimited plan with hotspot service "by the end of the business week."
    Today as I'm checking at the end of the business week, no sign of my data plan or hotspot service. The folks on the social media team tell me that my service might be crippled for another 10 days while an offline team tries to fix what the folks in the store broke.
    Am I really out of luck for two weeks? I got a GS5 on T-Mobile with 5GB of data, which will get me by... TMO didn't seem offended that I wanted a GS5. But if I have to "be careful" with my data (as the store manager put it) on Verizon for two weeks, I may as well forward the phone and power it off.
    At least I know never to set foot in this particular Verizon store again... last year they wouldn't sell me a GS4 "in case someone came in and wanted to upgrade" so I went to another nearby location. If my plans get unbroken, I'll either go to that other location or check eBay for my GS5.

    Think of this and be amazed. If Verizon is trying its best to get customers off unlimited data by any means possible, and quite frankly tell you once you purchase any device on subsidy or the Edge program you lose unlimited. Now the Worry Free Guarantee states within 14 days if you change your mind you can pay a $35 restocking fee, and go back to your old plan.
    However they no longer offer unlimited data so they give you this line of it has to be set back manually (inactive price request) and then it gets denied. Then they say it has to be submitted again for approval and then it gets denied. So why have a worry free guarantee?
    And think to yourself, a plan they can remove in minutes takes them weeks to give back? They don't give it back. Search the forum.
    Good Luck

  • Data usage rounded up to nearest GB in Bill summary; Cannot download details as spreadsheet

    Two problems:
    1. Bill summary misrepresents data usage, rounding up to the nearest GB, for one of our 4 lines.
    2. Data detail "download to spreadsheet" does not work.
    My account has 4 lines. I have an old Family Share plan (no longer available) for 700 minutes; a "feature" for unlimited text; and individual data plans for each of the 4 lines. My daughter has a 2 GB data plan.
    Latest Verizon Wireless bill says my daughter used 1.0000000 GB of data. She didn't think so. I logged in to Verizon, went to "View Bill". then for the Bill Period: May 29, 2014 - June 28, 2014, I selected "Details for" > "DATA". I see all the usage by date and time; I can adjust the display from default "KB" to "MB". Then I clicked the link "Download to SpreadSheet ".
    Unfortunately, I get a file with only one line, just the headers, no data:
    "Date"    "Time"    "Usage Type"    "Description"    "Minutes"    "Application Price"    "Total"
    As a workaround, I can select and copy the data on the web page, then paste it into a spreadsheet program. I added a "sum()" formula and found that she used only 325 MB, not 2 GB.

    Does the bill say she used 1 GB or 2 GB? You had mentioned them both.
    As far as the usage, it's not too say she literally used that much but to say that she used that much or less. It may not matter since she has the 2 GB/$30 which means that you would be billed the same way either way.
    Your inability to download the spreadsheet may be due to an issue with your browser.

  • Data usage scam?  Really upset customer seeking help!

    I have been a long time customer with Verizon. Our data usage has become unmanageable!. We have 5 iphones on our family share plan.  We began with 10 GB after upgrading one of our phones & being talked into the family share plan by the in-store salesperson!  We had the unlimited plan on all lines until then!  This is where the trouble started.  Each month our data has increased when we've made no changes to how we use our phones.  Each time I increase our limit our usage always goes up!  We have high speed wireless at home and all use it when at home.  We also use Wifi at work.  Our kids are in school all day so their usage wouldn't increase drastically.
    We are now up to 16 GB.  Two of the lines doubled in recent months.  I've called Verizon on 2 occasions and spend at least 30-45 minutes on the phone talking with either a Verizon rep or an Apple rep to help determine what the problem is.  I honestly believe Verizon is ripping us off!  This last time I put what I had learned about data usage to a test using 3 of our 5 phones.  I went the cellular data and turned off all apps.  I left on the main cellular data so the statistics data would still show.  I made sure all apps were closed in the background.  I turned off all notifications and turned off all email accounts from checking for mail.  I shut down location services also. This should have completely shut down data usage on each phone while they weren't being used.  I cleared the data usage statistics on each phone and went to the home screen on each phone. (I took screen shots of each step on all phones for evidence)  I waited 5 minutes to go in and check the statistics for data usage on each phone.  Guess what I found?  Data usage on all 3 phones when nothing was being used!!!  After investigating further, I found out the data usage on all phones was under "System Services"  When I asked the customer service rep on my last call about this, she offered to give me a credit for usage but would not tell me what the credit would be for or how the phones were using System Services when all data was supposed to be restricted.  What a scam - I'm paying $450+ a month now for 5 lines and am stuck with contracts on all of them. It is enough to make anyone mad.  Has anyone experienced this and if so, can you provide any help on how to fix this?

    micgunn2
    You should check your usage on each device to see what may be using data. This can be done via Settings > Cellular > (Optional) System Services.
    When you start a new billing cycle, you can reset your usage on each device to account for your usage via Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics. It's recommended that you setup a reminder via your Calendar to Reset Statistics on the beginning of each billing cycle.
    Lastly, there was an issue at one point causing the iPhone (while sleeping) to drop the WiFi connection and default back to the cellular connection. That has since been addressed via an update, but you want to keep each device up-to-date otherwise. [ iOS: Updating your carrier settings ]

  • Regrets giving up unlimited data

    I have had the unlimited data plan for 2 years or so. however when I was renewing my plan months ago the customer service agents told me that to get the cell phone for the discounted prices you have to give up the unlimited plan. Then they stated convincing me about how the average American user barely uses 2Gb a month, and that from my previous usage history it's obvious that I will never need more than 6 Gb/m and my bill will be even cheaper. However, all of that turned out to be absolutely untrue. If I would go back in time I would definitely pay the full price for the phone just to keep my unlimited plan.
    Now, I have been trying to live with this plan for months and it's unbearable, one month I had to upgrade from 4Gb to 6Gb and then to 8Gb and I am still about to exceed my limit and the bill was huge. I honestly don't mind paying too much if I would feel like am getting something back in return, but to pay $300+ on a phone bill and be so anxious and cautious about the limits and usage etc. is just so frustrating. Whenever I am streaming a video or looking up something online, I have to check my Data usage. Assuming that I upgraded to 12Gb and my bill got to be $350-400, I would understand paying that much to have some peace of mind and not having to keep tracking and being anxious about exceeding the limits.
    The thing is we all agree Verizon is the best service in the market, the best in everything but what's the point of have such awesome service when you can't even use it? Especially that with these new smartphones, the best part is to stream and be online when you are away from home, because if am at home I would just use my laptop or tablet. They keep talking about the best and the fastest 4G service, oh but hold on you can use it only to browse every now and then or maybe stream a very short video or use navigation. But not to stream anything for more than 15mins, otherwise you have to look for a hotspot at Starbucks or McDonalds,  oh and also you still have to pay the most expensive bill in the market.
    I have actually recommended Verizon to a lot of my friends and family members, I got my uncle and his family and my brother and his family to end their contracts with their previous carriers and to switch to Verizon. Sarcastically, I am the one now thinking about leaving, even though I don't want to, but when I see that I am paying $300 a month and not getting anything in return, but phone calls and text mess. and barely any 4G.
    After a lot of thinking, I ended up calling customer service to see what would I owe if I was to end the contract, I have been asked to pay $1000+ in termination fees. What is going on with Verizon, how do you guys treat your customers like that, at least give you customer options when they want to stay with you. I won't mind my bill being $350, 400, or even $450 if I would feel like am getting something in return, but to still be on the limited plan, this is nonsense. What is the problem if Verizon was to offer an unlimited plan to whoever wants it for extra money, and when you talk to the agents about it they say they had to make it limited so that they will be fair to whoever isn't using much data and to not force them to pay for the unlimited. Now they are forcing us to stay on the limited data. I would like to pay more and stay on the unlimited why won't u let me choose that. Oh no, you have to stay on the limited plan and at the same time you can't leave because of the $1000+ termination fees. So, either not use your phone or we will hit you with termination fees. Choose one or the other but no other options. I believe what they have done now is the most unfair, talking about trying to make it fair to other customer who don't use much is nothing but justification to an unfair process. If you wanted that, you could have just added a new plan where you can limit your data and pay less, but at least don't take away our options of having unlimited plan and leave it for whoever is ready and willing to pay more. Because whatever I do, even If I upgraded to 20Gb and my bill is $500 am still limited and can't stream as much as I want.
    End of the story, my bill did not get much cheaper as I was told, (maybe $30 cheaper or so), on the other hand I lost the most valuable thing about being with Verizon which is the 4G. All I can say is that I feel like I am using my smartphone just to make phone calls, text messages and maybe some browsing or Nav and my bill is $300. Is this what Verizon calls fair? I would rather get a prepaid phone through any carrier with unlimited text and calls and just use the internet through any Hotspot (which is what I am doing now) and my bill will be 1/3 what I am paying now. However, I am stuck with them for two years because of the $1000 termination fees. I would just like to mention again that I don't want to leave Verizon but they are forcing us to, because of their unfairness. Also, if you can't offer your customers a resolution for their issues, don't ask them to pay a termination fee of $1000+, because you guys aren't offering alternative services. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?
    << Comments edited to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service.  Please keep your posts family friendly >>
    Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

    "$1000 termination fees" tells me you have multiple lines, as a single smart phone is only $350 ETF at the beginning of the contract, pro-rated -$10 a month each month you are into your contract.
    You obviously are not a new customer, did you not have a 4G phone before?  If your using up 6-8+gb a month, it might be time to stop streaming Netflix all day.

  • Data Usage is absurd.

    Hi all - I switched to a prepaid plan because I rarely even use my phone anymore.  I send and receive text messages (unlimited), and make and receive occasional phone calls (unlimited).  I set my data limit at 500 mb because I wasn't even using 4mb, let alone getting close to a gb.  Suddenly, one week after paying for the month, I'm already at 460 mb?  Plus, I'm having battery drainage issues (as are most people after the downloading last iPhone update), so I've been using the phone even less than previously.  I am particular about my settings, and I have rarely even left the house, therefore using wi-fi in the interim; but as I said, the phone is generally just sitting in the bedside drawer, anyway, going unused.  Meanwhile, my current details show data usage every calendar day for 24 hour periods at a time (i.e. 1436 minutes already used this morning, and I've only just woken up!).  How is that even possible?  Please, someone help me figure out what on earth is going on!  There's absolutely no way I'm using that much data - especially given in the past decade or longer that I've had contracts with Verizon, I've never used this much data.  Any tips/advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!  Thanks so much and be well!

    Question? Prepaid is normally unlimited talk, texting and data.
    Why would using data be an issue?
    Now if you have a prepaid plan with a data limit I would get another prepaid service that has unlimited everything.
    T-Mobile has a $40 prepaid plan with unlimited everything and 4G LTE data included. There are many more plans out there. Some even use Verizon's towers or even AT&T towers. So coverage should be great.
    Walmarts has many such prepaid plans. Visit a store near you.
    Good Luck

  • Data usage skyrocketing and I can't figure out why

    I've been watching my AT&T data usage recently. I have the original iPhone and had expected to replace it this year. That will apparently cause me to lose the unlimited data plan, as per AT&T's latest announcement.
    For some reason my usage, which used to run about 70-100MB/month, is getting towards the 1 GB level and climbing. Last month it was 770 MB. My bill details only show data "out," nothing "in." Most nights around 2:30 a.m there is a lot of activity, anywhere from 60KB to 80,000KB At that time the phone is asleep (as I am) and charging -- but not connected to a computer.
    I've turned off Push email (which disables "find my Phone.") I have all app notifications turned off. My phone does not have GPS. I have wi-fi at home, but a lot of data transfers seem to be at times during the day when I believe I am connected via wi-fi. Except for the occasional App Store purchase on the fly, I download from iTunes to my Mac and sync with USB cable.
    I do have 4 email accounts besides MobileMe and I retrieve mail manually to save battery life.
    With the 2G iPhone on Edge, I cannot do streaming video and other things that I would want to do with a more capable phone. I am paying $99/year for MobileMe and have been advised to cripple it. AT&T customer support suggested that apps are the problem, but gave me no guidance on figuring out which apps might be the culprit(s). My understanding is that the iPhone doesn't allow apps to run in the background. I know Apple doesn't update without permission. I am not subscribed to any AT&T services that I know about.
    I just want to understand how this all works. If there are some apps that are misbehaving, how do I figure out which ones? I do not want to get an expensive new iPhone and find out I can't afford to enjoy it.
    I have restored the phone to factory settings twice in the past four months on advice from Apple.
    Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

    ksujeff99 wrote:
    I have the exact same issue, as do some other people at the end of this macrumors thread. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=576888
    I have MobileMe and 3 other email accounts but I don't think that's the issue. My 3GS is consistently doing accessing the 3G network middle of the night when I have a full WiFi signal from my home network. There is no reason that I should have any data activity during this time.
    A Mac Genius told me that when the iPhone goes to sleep, wi-fi is disconnected. This means the phone is then on the cellular network. In my mind that is a design flaw. The phone goes to sleep to reduce energy usage, but the cell network uses more energy than wi-fi. That's a separate question from the data use issue, which is relevant for several reasons: cost, user control and privacy.

  • A few questions on upgrade fee, overage charge on prorated bill, and data usage when phone is on WiFi

    1st question, I bought 2 iPhone 4s's Dec 2011, unlimited plan which was up Dec 2013. April 19 2014, I bought 2 iPhones, 1 5c, 1 5s with the more of everything plan, which is not more of everything, it's far less then my old plan, but whatever. I got charged a total of $60 for a $30 upgrade on each phone. I'm not upgrading, my plan was expired, I bought 2 new phones and was forced into a new plan in order to get new phones, how is this an upgrade? Never been charged in all these years(early 2000's I became a customer) of being a loyal Verizon customer of an upgrade fee, unless I was upgrading my phone before the contract was done. If I was a brand new customer to Verizon would I get charged this upgrade fee?
    2nd question, my bill cycle runs from the 24th to the 23rd, since I bought these new phones on the 19th, there were 5 days left to the billing cycle, so they prorated old plan and new plan. New plan is 1 GB, 5 days were prorated, I used in those 5 days between the 2 phones 371.77 MB, and I'm being charged for an overage of 206.61 MB of $15. Now my plan gives me 1 GB a month, that would be 1024 MB, I didn't go over this 1 GB in the month, so why am I being charged an overage for 5 lousy days?
    3rd question, really 5 days and I used 371.77 MB's of data? Strange, didn't get the new phones until after 6pm on April 19th, yet I have all kinds of data charges on that day, when both phones were in my home, connected to WiFi the entire day. I spent the entire day online jerking around with 2 different Verizon employee's over getting new phones and a new plan in my home, on my computer, never touched my phone the whole day. Couldn't the day before I smashed the screen beyond use. So how on earth did I have all these data charges on that day? Now I could understand if I had, had the new phones earlier in the day, because there seems to be some strange glitch with these iPhone 5's were you use data, even when your phone is connected in your home to WiFi, but these were the 4s phones during the times of these data charges..
    I'm not happy at all, first I got jerked around by 2 different Verizon employee's online, every option I tried they had some stupid reason why I could not do that and that I had to go with 1 option, I got so fed up, I didn't process my order online. I then turned around and went over to Sprint and spent time online with a Sprint employee, where I did not get jerked around, where I could have placed my order and then went to the store and picked up my phones right then. But no I was foolish, long time Verizon customer, happy with Verizon until this day, so I got in my car, drove to a store and spent an hour doing the whole process over with a nice friendly store employee(not a Verizon store). Now I get these upgrade fees, overage fee for 5 days of data service, where I was not over my monthly 1 GB, and all kinds of data charges appearing in the 5 days of the bill cycle on these new phones. Might not be much strange added on data to some, but in 2 years 4 months of the 4s iPhones, never used more then 1 GB a month and now so far I will exceed that 1 GB in this new billing cycle and by at least 1 GB, it would be 2 GB's except I shut one phone completely down and the other one is down to bare minimum, when nothing has changed in the way we are using our phones, and we are not using more data. I have now completely shut my phones cellular data off, I've turned it on in this billing cycle 6 times, bare minimum of only when I absolutely have to. The other phone, I can't do that with, and that phone is going through double, possibly triple the amount of data then the 4s, same user on both phones. I do now shut the cellular off of that phone when it comes into the house and it's not turned back on until it's out my door, so I will see if these strange data charges stop for when the phone is in the home hooked to WiFi. On top of that, I have shut down every app on that phone that is needed when WiFi can't be accessed, cellular is turned off except for 2 or 3 things. This is a bunch of garbage, I have 2 smartphones, and I have to shut them down and turn them into nothing but a normal old phone. What the heck is going on with this?

    I will try to address your concerns - and explain why things are as they are ... you may not like the explanation but hopefully it will help you understand what has happened and what you can do moving forward.
    I got charged a total of $60 for a $30 upgrade on each phone. I'm not upgrading, my plan was expired ...  If I was a brand new customer to Verizon would I get charged this upgrade fee?
    Verizon's definition of "upgrade" is purchasing phone at a discount and agreeing to a new contract - if you are a brand new customer, you pay a $35 activation fee.  If you are an existing customer, you pay a $30 upgrade fee - this has been in place for about 2 years now.
    2nd question, my bill cycle runs from the 24th to the 23rd, since I bought these new phones on the 19th, there were 5 days left to the billing cycle, so they prorated old plan and new plan. New plan is 1 GB, 5 days were prorated, I used in those 5 days between the 2 phones 371.77 MB, and I'm being charged for an overage of 206.61 MB of $15. Now my plan gives me 1 GB a month, that would be 1024 MB, I didn't go over this 1 GB in the month, so why am I being charged an overage for 5 lousy days? You only had the new plan for 5 days - pro-rating means you get about 34 MB per day, or about 170 MB for those 5 days.  If you used 371, that a 200 MB overage.  You likely were only charged for 5 days of the new plan as well...
    ...  I have shut down every app on that phone that is needed when WiFi can't be accessed, cellular is turned off except for 2 or 3 things. This is a bunch of garbage, I have 2 smartphones, and I have to shut them down and turn them into nothing but a normal old phone. What the heck is going on with this?
    My daughter recently upgraded from her iPhone 4 to a 5c - her data spiked and she used nearly 1 GB in the first week where that was about what she uses an entire billing cycle.  We went through all her data settings and discovered she had about 10-12 apps (Facebook, Instagram, etc) that were updating all the time, connected to wifi or not.  She shut most of those off and will open the app and update manually when she is on wifi.  She downloaded and is using Onavo to manage her data and understand what gets used and when.  I hope we have it under control, but the defaults on the iPhone 5 seem to turn on everything to update constantly, and that's just not a good thing.
    It does seem the iPhone 5 series takes more work than any phone I've ever used to keep data usage manageable. 

  • Can you completely disable data usage on iPhone?

    I have an extra iPhone 4S that I got from a friend who's contract ended. My girlfriend has a very basic plan from AT&amp;T (unlimited calling and texting). She can send picture messages also, but she doesn't have a data plan from what I understand. (I always thought MMS required data?) I was wondering if there was anyway I could completely disable data usage on the iPhone so there would be no charges. I know this limits the phone capabilities, but it would be an improvement to her current phone. Also would I have to register the phone in her name so she can use the phone with her SIM card or is it as easy as popping it in?
    Thank you!

    Your problem is that AT&T does not permit iPhones, on their network, without an associated data plan. So, like it or not, you'll still have to pay for data. If you try to use the phone without a data plan, they will eventually catch you & bill you accordingly. All carriers call tell exactly what type of device is using their network.
    In fact, I'm not aware of any carrier, in the US, that will permit an iPhone on their network without an associated data plan.

  • Weather App Affecting my Data Usage

    Hi Community,
    Back in October 2013 when I changed my IPhone from a 4S to a 5S I had to go from an “Unlimited” plan to Tiered plan.  I went to a tiered planned capped at 2 GB per billing cycle.  This didn’t bother me because I would never use all of my allocated data and I usually came in way under 2gb’s
    Under my new plan, I set up my data alerts to monitor my usage.   This past week on tuesday, I was notified that my usage was at 75% of the data allowed.   I immediately called VZW to ask how and the tech said that my phone had streamed for an inordinate amount of time around 18 hours while using a app, on the days where my usage was high.  The tech was unable to tell me which app, but advised me to take it into the store immediately.
    I took my phone into the store and luckily the manager had the same issue on his IPad.  He replaced the Sim Card and reset the settings on my phone and credited my account $20 to pay for the extra usage.   Really great customer service!!!
    Monitoring my data usage, I noticed that my phone would incrementally use the data plan even while on my wifi.    It would only do it in 8 hour increments, I was led to a previous post via Google (on the apple forums) and I found that the culprit may that I had set up my phone to automatically send diagnostic data.  
    I shut this feature off, being nosy I looked at the data that was being sent and noticed two odd diagnostic reports titled: Weather_2013_11.08_17:55 and Weather +Stacks 11/10 20:37:47.
    The latter (Weather +Stacks 11/10 20:37:47.) diagnostic report I can only assume was informing me that the weather app stayed opened beyond its allocated time.  Which prevented the phone from sleeping so it the OS finally crashed the crashed the program. 
    Also I assume that the report was informing me that informed me in the app it had stayed connected to the weather server for 66,447 seconds, which is about 18.45 hours and used 1147387904 bytes of data or just over 1 GB of usage…. 
    Now I’m not saying that these separate instances are related, but the interesting thing 11/10 I was shown according to VZW that I had amassed 66.51 MB’s.
    I am wondering if anyone else has seen this correlation.  I have attached screenshots to clarify any confusing parts of the story.   there are three pics, so scroll all the way down

    Settings > Cellular only counts cellular data.  I can verify that because I'm on AT&T and that carrier offers a service whereby you can telephone *DATA and receive a text message from them telling your month-to-date cellular data usage.  I can compare that number to what I see in Settings > Cellular and the two are pretty well equivalent.
    Again, I do a Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics at the end of every billing month.
    UPDATE - I said "month-to-date cellular data usage" above.  I should have said "billing period to date."
    Message was edited by: sberman

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