yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ourtech:
I am very torn by this as I live in a congested neighborhood that this cap is designed to manage. The tower that serves my neighborhood is oversold. I routinely suffer from slow network speeds on the best of days and I personally have never used enough data to hit the cap. So on one hand, I certainly want my fellow users capped if they are data hogs as bandwidth is very constrained in my local neck of the woods. On the other hand, because my tower is so congested, if I did hit the cap and was de-prioritized, I would immediately hit 2G speeds because there is so much traffic to compete with. So T-Mobile has essentially told me that I have a 21GB data plan as in my neighborhood I will never get more.

With that figure in mind, I have to say that a 15GB plan from Verizon that actually would give me decent speed now seems not so far off from my 21GB "unlimited" plan. T-Mobile is supposed to be adding bandwidth in my neighborhood, but it is no longer a comparison of XGB vs unlimited, but XGB vs 21GB. Verizon and for that matter, Sprint (yes, I know) are offering competitive packages to 21GB and it is possible that even Sprint may give me faster speeds. I am not so sure that I may not make the jump to someone if they can deliver better speeds. For those that live in non-congested neighborhoods, that 21GB cap may never be seen. But in my area, that is a wall.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] loonie01:
They are doing what Verizon started doing. Throttling only on congested towers to the top data people. I use to get throttled by Verizon when the Detroit Lions or the Tigers were playing since I work downtown Detroit. Once the games were done I would get better data speeds.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] vinnyjr:
Using over 80gb a month is taking advantage of a good thing. People who consistently abuse the data limits are the same people who screwed this for everyone. These are the people who feel entitled to abuse every inch they can. Hotels have wifi, there are other ways. I have the unlimited data package fir years, never abused the privilege. Whenever at home I use my wifi even though I have sick DL speeds at home. I will never abuse a situation, just the way I am.

Sent from my Note 4.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
So sorry that us heavy users misunderstood what unlimited means. Dangit I knew I should have paid more attention in vocabulary class.

Now I just need to remember not to buy that nice car I want because that would taking advantage of a good thing as others aren't buying it.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ourtech:
Not to step on anyone posting, but I believe that T-Mobile is at fault here. Notwithstanding the individuals that break the rules and tether more than the rules allow, T-Mobile sold me an unlimited plan. I have not exceeded the 21GB limit. My data, according to T-Mobile, is at 11GB. But when I subscribed to the unlimited plan, I asked what that meant and I gave some far out there examples (streaming videos 24 hours a day, etc.). I was told by the T-Mobile customer rep, unlimited means unlimited. No sweat.

The problem is that T-Mobile wanted to attract more business and they used and still use unlimited data plans to attract that business and their network wasn't really ready for that level of activity. I read comments to an article as much as 6 months ago that had users saying that T-Mobile's network was, unlike the other carrier's networks, impervious to slowdowns from added traffic which is simply not true.

But I believe T-Mobile has helped build that impression with the selling all of these unlimited data packages. TMONews had an article a couple of weeks ago asking if unlimited data packages are going away and they quoted John Legere saying that unlimited data packages are only guaranteed for 2 more years. (http://www.tmonews.com/2015/05/is-unlimited-data-going-to-disappear/) Then shortly after they announced this cap. The article's point is that unlimited packages are unsustainable. But T-Mobile keeps selling the idea. All carrier's need to sell what they can provide and not promise more than they can deliver. Perhaps they should say no to a new customer that lives in a neighborhood that is oversold. But they won't.

I love T-Mobile, but I experience very slow speeds due to a wildly oversold network. I would have been much better off if T-Mobile only promised what they can deliver. They can't really deliver unlimited to me. What they told me last week is that unlimited is actually 21GB, if you could get 21GB at the slow download speeds they are currently delivering. For the fellow that got 80GB, if he followed the rules, he is paying for an unlimited plan. In my neighborhood, except for DSL that is unusably slow, I have no other options except wireless. No cable, nothing. I am willing to pay for my data needs. But I want and need the data at reasonably fast speeds. It is not clear that in my neighborhood that T-Mobile can deliver. But now that the cap is in place, T-Mobile has made the comparison clearer. Who can deliver 21GB faster, cheaper and more reliably than anyone else. Because in my oversold neighborhood, 21GB is all that I will get. YMMV.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] 290:
Good luck finding another carrier that will only delay your packets after 21gb when there is congestion instead of crippling access all together. Your situation is unique and the result should be expected. There is nothing a carrier can do if your area is under serviced when it comes to internet access. xanmato completely gets the concept here. This is not a cap, even calling it a soft cap is a bit much. This is Quality of Service (QOS) at its best and T-Mobile shouldnt be slammed for doing this. Just because its unlimited doesn't mean you can go ahead and use it as your sole internet source for everything you ever do. That was never its intended purpose. If everyone used 80gb a month it would cripple any cellular network unless the heavy users had some kind of consequence and maybe make them use their wifi for once. Maybe in the future the cell network or whatever comes after that will be robust enough to handle everyone using large amounts of bandwidth at once but until then we have to respect the fact that a cellular carrier is not the same thing as an ISP
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] loonie01:
Well I hate to be That person but I pay for unlimited data that uses all of it. lol. I don't mind a slow down here or there when the network get congested. I use roughly 60-80 GB's a month. I stream movies and tv shows at work and sometimes at home. I see people having problems if there are in areas that does not see very high data speeds. I believe it is in mostly non big city area. I rarely even see lower speeds being in downtown Detroit. I do get a little slower speeds as I get closer to my house which is almost out the city. Which is no biggy cause wifi is on then.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] 290:
Im in the DET area as well.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] siraltus:
If you're the kid who takes ALL the cookies from the plate put out for everyone, well, the next time the lunch lady will let the other kids have their cookies first before you can get to the plate you've been looting.

T-Mobile's doing the right thing, they're keeping the service speedy for everyone. If you hog the network, expect to be pushed aside so that others can use the service at good speeds, too. It's not YOUR tower, it's everyone's tower, so you have absolutely ZERO right to complain. Bandwidth to the tower is not infinite and the sense of arrogant entitlement in some of the replies is ridiculous. Buy your own tower if you want to use a terabyte a month. Holy $h1t, people.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Compusmurf:
In legal speak, you ate STILL getting unlimited data as promised. They also say high speed. They have never stated exactly WHAT high speed is. Just that it is LTE. That could mean 5Mbps to 80Mbps.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
I agree with your point when it comes to those that use ways to get around the Tethering limit. That I definitely think is very wrong to do and I don't think our community should be supplying unlimited tethering mods because no carrier has unlimited tethering.

However in the case of literal phone usage, there should be no limit to how much data you can use when using your phone because of the simple fact that the name of the data plan is UNLIMITED DATA. Anyone who thinks that you're abusing using your Unlimited Data (when using your actual device, NOT TETHERING), is brainwashed into the sudo thinking that exists now when it comes to what's deemed as "Fair." I use a ton of data on my phone, primarily because I use it for work and while I'm working. I was shocked at how much data was used to remote control a computer and copier when I first started this job, which is why I switched to T-Mobile because they said they will give me True Unlimited Data that I can use for whatever I was just as long as it's not tethering.

I have WiFi at home, and the only reason why I prefer using my Data over WiFi when I'm home is because of my job. My work compensates me for whenever I work from home as well. I have Xfinity running 150MB/s; we definitely don't need to tether T-Mobile's slower network.

A year ago I used to have to tether because we lived in an area where high speed internet was not available at the time. Most data would run up to was about 60GBs a month. Not bad compared to what my phone uses just for work now. Last month I clocked in just over 120GBs!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] 290:
You are getting UNLIMITED LTE DATA. Again this isnt like a cable to your home where there is plenty of bandwidth to go around. A cell tower can only handle so many connections at a time. That is where your connection is getting limited, meaning other requests are being handled before yours because your, i guess you could call it fair use of the tower has been used up so now its time to let some other people use the connection when the traffic gets heavy. Once traffic subsides you are back to your full connection. You don't get charged anything and you are temporarily only able to use 80% of your total bandwidth. Not a big deal to me compared to what other carriers offer.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] lt.anthonydelgado:
I have used over 100 gigs past few months still no hiccups or slowing down.. I'm okay with that... Consistently getting over 40mbps after 100gb monthly use..
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] sometimesido:
What a bunch of crock defending tmobile talk. Don't tell me unlimited, if there's limit. This is from the the CEO of Uncarrier. Don't try to sell me something what it's not, and don't call it unlimited with a damn fine print. What a crock of bullcrap.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Dvanzutphenkann:
I know right? I don't even use tethering and I noticed the buffering on you tube videos, live TV on my sling player and video freezing on my xfinity app and my download speed is 70mbps down 24mbps up its sad that once over 21 gigs it's like being on sprint again!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
I love how tethering has become this taboo word that FOR SOME represents why solutions like this have to be put in place. I can easily break 60 gig without tethering and when I do tether its my tablet and my phone sits off somewhere plugged in acting as a router(I know that’s just my innocent situation). Now you might ask why not use my home internet, well that is a great option when I am at home but given that I spend 35-40% of the year in hotel rooms I choose to tether.

Maybe there is a level of naivety on what our phones can do but long gone are the days where processor capability put a kibosh on reaching desktop like speeds on mobile devices in regards to internet speeds.

Folks have talked about “taking all the cookies” from the plate before everyone else, well when you go to an all you can eat buffet there are no real rules besides no to go plates and eat what you take. After all you did pay for all you can eat.

All in all I don’t see this as a problem, I think people vastly over estimate the number of users with the wherewithal to tether and also do it to a degree that could cause a wide spread degradation of network activity.

For me if I ever see my LTE getting bogged down, then I do myself a favor and drop my connection to HSPA/3G. Heck in my town I get better speeds by far not even bothering with LTE because of how congested it is where I am to begin with. And I’m still breaking 55-60gig a month on HSPA.. YMMV
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] WingedCow:
You're still getting unlimited data, they're not cutting you off. I think you need you learn the difference.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Ian the Great:
Nothing new here. T-mobile has offered their Bait and Switch plan since 2013.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] SlakWReX:
I'm over 21 gb and mine has not slowed down
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
The way its worded it will only affect you if you are in a congested area.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Sess:
Not saying I don't agree with the pseudo hypocrasy, but throttling and QoS priority shifting are not the same thing. Its definitely the better of two evils. Throttling will result in a maximum bandwidth cap regardless of how much data is flowing on the network, lowering your QoS priority (to say just above the bulk group) would result in everyone in higher groups having their packets switched before yours when queued up. During heavy congestion you might see lower speeds, but in practice, unless the network is consistently near its limits, will still generally result in faster speeds than the capped max. Additionally, during normal periods, you would never see lowered speed. Definitely a better situation considering a large portions of tmobiles network have excessive amounts of bandwidth available :)
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] vinnyjr:
Anyone complaining about data is obviously tethering. I am very happy with T-Mobile, anyone thinks they can do better, go try. No other Carrier will Give these plans but T-Mobile. Yep, my data speeds haven't slowed down at all, just the opposite, they have almost doubled in last month. Best thing is they keep getting better. No other Carrier has upgraded their LTE with the latest and greatest technology like T-Mobile. (4x2, Multiple input - Multiple output) Most other Carriers are still using 2x2, (Mimo). I'm staying with T-Mobile. No matter how much they have improved there is always the constant cry babies. Quit trying to get over on them, you can't do better any where else. Thank You T-Mobile, Thank You John Legere.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
Pretty sure most of the griping is from people complaining that tethers ruin it for people that aren't. I tether all the time and guess what. I use as much data tethering as I use just on my phone. So I don't see the issue with my personal usage. I just love the chicken littles that hear "tether" and think I'm cranking down hundreds of gigs and bringing the network to a stand still single handedly. Let's be realistic here.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Warrior1975:
I don't see the difference between tethering and using data for your phone. Either way, you are using data. For the record, I don't have unlimited and don't tether. I'm on wifi most of the time.

As far as the unlimited thing, I'm sure tmobile figures the average customer will use only XX gb of data. If enough people go over that number, I'm sure they will change their plans. Just like any other business model, they need to make money. People using data just because isn't helping anyone. When I did have unlimited data, I still used wifi whenever I could.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] bigstunta101:
People still have the poor man mentality. You're defending a very rich company that instead of working on their towers, they instead lower their prices and overload their network full of people and then want to cut down on data to loyal customers. Well I'll be buying a Verizon unlimited data plan. At least they spend great money on all their towers
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
This a hundred times over. T-Mobile is not your friend
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] mattdiehl83:
Not too hard to blow past that. This is my last 3 and a half months. My average data usage is about 40 or so gb a month. All with work related things. Now im in a congested city and i dont notice any lags on my end, nor have i. So i guess philadelphia is good. I mean im going morning to late night steady.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] _-..zKiLLA..-_:
Id be very happy if i were you guys using 40+ gigs. Once i use my 3gb everything is then as slow as a snail to the point where its un-usable. I have learned to watch my data like a hawk -_-
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] aliabkad:
Just sign up for simple choice plan, unlimited everything, is T-mobile where else would get that.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] _-..zKiLLA..-_:
Thats the plan I have lol. i still only get 3 gigs. Paying 40 bucks for data isnt worth it to me lol
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] xanmato:
You probably have the 3GB LTE/unlimited 2G data plan. Just wait for a good promo to switch to the unlimited LTE data plan. I pay $50/mo for unlimited LTE.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] aliabkad:
Guys is 80 bucks unlimited everything, including Mexico and Canada geesh! Can't beat that, sign up before they take that away too.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] papabear:
My phone is faster than the interwebs where I live, so tethering, streaming, DL etc. I average 30+ GB.

HD movie on Netfrix, amazon isntant, etc. takes up a decent about of bandwidth. Granted, I do live in a smaller area, but never had an issue. Still have my 20$/mo TRUE UNLIMITED LTE data.

At this point just debating on whether I should get a GN4 or stick with my GN3.. decisions decisions.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] twe90kid:
Looks like tethering is officially done with tmobile. Latest news here.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/31/9230595/t-mobile-unlimited-data-tethering-warning
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] bigstunta101:
It was fun while it lasted
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] darekz:
To save on tethering data get old Smart dock for Note 2 and connect it to tv/monitor via hdmi. No tethering required when watching movies, browsing net ...
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
This happens every 6 months. There will be another announcement on it 6 months from now. And this same discussion will be had.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
My surprise is the fact that people find it hard to think that you can't use 2tb of data on a phone in a month without torrenting. I consume almost 500gb by using teamviewer for 4-5 hours a day 4 days a week. And that's lite compared to the 1TB I've done while I was on call schedule for 2 weeks straight. Before anyone jumps the gun, that's on my Business line which I actually pay a hefty amount for.

I don't blame T-Mobile for going after the unlimited tethering people though. It's stealing if you circumvent the TOS that you sign when you get your services through them. I don't understand why XDA doesn't put a ban on the unlimited tethering mod.

We seem to be confusing the lines of what's ethical and what's not. We can't use someone else's work(not even a number or letter) without proper credit; but we can help you get around that pesky 5 or 7Gb Tethering Limit on the contract you signed with your mobile provider!

Hmm...Yeah...it's not an ethical issue at all...
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
Because technically rooting isn't ethical. And where would we be without that?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
Rooting doesn't go against the TOS agreement that you sign. It's not even mentioned in the TOS that you cannot modify your device. Rooting is not an Ethical issue because it is not in the TOS agreement that you sign. Also rooting gives you more uses of your device.

It would be as if you had to sign a TOS with Apple every time you purchased an iPhone that states you aren't allowed to jailbreak it. Also the fact that there is no law that states you can't Root or Jailbreak your device covers that portion. No there isn't a law that states you can't tether, but each service provider placed in their TOS that you are not allowed to steal tethering.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
Please note the bold portion from this excerpt taken from the T-Mobile TOS agreement

https://www.t-mobile.com/Templates/Popup.aspx?PAsset=Ftr_Ftr_TermsAndConditions&print=true

Rooting isn't illegal but it is tampering. Which is why you can void your warranty by simply just rooting.. Just because they don't actually say Rooting/Jailbreaking doesn't mean it isn't what they are talking about. The court proceedings pertaining to Root/Jailbreaking were to determine if legal action could be taken against people that tampered with devices. So no legal action can be taken but it does not mean that you are allowed to do it.

Rooting is as prohibited as hiding tethered data. Just saying we need to be mindful of the glass house we are in when we start tossing stones in regards to what we say is or isnt ethical.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
Me claiming bypassing tethering as being ethical is not tossing stones while being in a glass house. Rooting is not defined in the TOS. Modifying is, which would also stand that I can't even replace the back cover of my device seeing that in their TOS they did not even define Tampering. This can possibly be fought in court. That's why Sony included definitions in their TOS for the PS4 and PSN.

I do not classify Rooting as going against the TOS because it is not against the law. It is also not an ethical decision until you decide what type of things you are going to do with rooting. Tethering isn't ethical until you begin to try and find ways to bypass the amount you are allowed.

Those are some huge stones aren't they?!;)

Again my opinion. I root my device because I want to add to it's functionality and get rid of garbage.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] pcriz:
You're right, rooting isnt classified as illegal in the US unless the originating intent is illegal, which would mean if you are rooting to download TiBu to back up texts you are fine. If you are rooting to bypass tether restrictions then you are wrong.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Jammol:
Correct. That's what I was trying to say in my original post but I did a crappy job of splaining it! Lol.

Rooting itself is a touchy thing because you never know what someone is going to be using for and to me that sucks if you're the manufacturer or service provider. That's why I don't blame them for wanting to lock the phones down; it can open up so many cans of worm effects.

I will say though, that unlimited tethering work around is definitely not right in my humble opinion. Not sure why XDA is even allowing it to be posted yet other things aren't allowed. To me that's just stealing what's not rightfully yours. The unlimited data part, well that's another touchy subject. People say if you use the heck out of your data you're wrong and the others are the opposite. For some odd reason people don't understand what 'unlimited' actually means. If I'm paying you for "Unlimited" Data, then I should be allowed to use how many of it I please seeing that you're selling it to me that way by using the term "Unlimited." For whatever reason, there are people on here that feel that you're wrong if you use over 100GBs of your "Unlimited" data. Umm....WTF?!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] dbpaddler:
There is no justification for using anything above your max allowed data for tethering, period. Unlimited data is for the phone and phone only. It's not only just understood, it's in the TOS, in the contract, in the fine print everywhere. It's people wanting something for nothing, thinking they're entitled to something when they're not, and they'll wrongfully justify it till they're blue in the face like an alcoholic trying to justify drinking.

So completely agree. I just don't get why people continue to try and justify it. It just gets old.