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Is there a such thing as using too much data??

aloha.android

aloha.android

Well-Known Member
I am a proud Verizon customer with a Droid X. I have the my verizon app on my phone and I have had my phone since the release date. I casually check my data usage, and so far I have usedbup at least 5gigs of data. Am I using too much?? I constantly watch youtube videos and stream Pandora while I browse the interwebs.

So back to my question, although I am on an unlimited plan.... Could there be some secret cap of data that's written in fine print??
And how mug data are you using a month??

Please discuss.
 
I haven't seen any agreements or fine print over data usage. Whenever I ask VZN associates about it, they just tell me "unlimited is unlimited". I just thought that since VZN didn't have anything to tell me, then maybe this forum would. If you aren't going to contribute anything resourceful towards this thread then please at least try to be mature.
 
Most providers have a Fair Use Policy. Meaning you can't use multiple times more than others. For example here in Vodafone Netherlands the FUP is 10 times more than the average.

While I never reached 5GB. I've reached 2GB without any problem.
 
aloha.android said:
I haven't seen any agreements or fine print over data usage. Whenever I ask VZN associates about it, they just tell me "unlimited is unlimited". I just thought that since VZN didn't have anything to tell me, then maybe this forum would. If you aren't going to contribute anything resourceful towards this thread then please at least try to be mature.
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Sorry, I wasn't trying to be unhelpful or immature, just your statement of "Could there be some secret cap of data that's written in fine print??" made me assume you signed the contract without reading it which would be a bit silly as you could be signing anything.

If they say it's unlimited then I guess it is. In the UK most providers will say Unlimited and then in small print 'with a 1Gb fair use policy' but there are also providers that offer truly unlimited such as Giffgaff.

:EDIT: Just to add, if they don't specify a fair use policy in your contract then they cannot inforce one.
 
If I understand correctly, there is no hard cap with Verizon. Once you hit 5GB in a month though there is a chance your account will be marked and as a result watched more closely. However, it seems unlikely they will do anything for a while.
 
There is no cap. I noticed the data usage monitor came in the app update right after they announced that their 4G data will have tiered plans and possibly no unlimited like the existing 3g. So we can start seeing how much data we use and if/when we do upgrade to a 4g phone/plan will know which one we need.
 
well 5GB has been the standard definition for fair use in the mobile data industry for the past few years. THE ONLY REASON that this invisible cap exists on supposed "unlimited" plans is because it is the ONLY way they can tell whether or not you are tethering (using your phones data connection for your computer) using non approved methods. Computers tend to use significantly more amount of data than a cell phone. So, if your cell phone was pulling in excess of 20 GB per month, compared to the average of say 700 MB, then there was a problem. You were then considered to be "abusing" the "unlimited" data access.

Nowadays, phones can stream audio and video content and can download files in excess of 100MB in as little as 15 minutes. This is why AT&T has moved to a tiered data plan structure, swaying away from the old trend of "unlimited, but with Conditions" model. Verizon is soon going to follow suit with a tiered system as well, so that both companies can maximize their profits based off of individual data usage, which sucks!

The only company that hasn't bulgded on this issue as of yet, is Sprint. They, too have an unlimited fair use policy (ususally at 5 GB / month), but with the release of the Evo, Sprint went in the opposite direction of its peers and charged an Extra $10/ month for the Evo's 4G capabilities and gave what it calls "true unlimited" data, which means there is no fair usage cap. So, I can stream all the pandora and YouTube I want. Also, their plans are the cheapest.

That being said, the latest rounds of smartphones are more likely to break that 5 GB cap (regardless of what AT&T will have you believe about their iPhone customers) because of its data capabilities. The latests reports out show that Android phones on verizon is pulling more data than the iPhone on AT&T. Streaming audio and video on your phone is a sure fire way to run up your data usage. This is done way more so than browsing or widgets using data. SO, if you spend your time doing a lot of streaming, thats whats sucking up your data.
 
bluenova said:
Sorry, I wasn't trying to be unhelpful or immature, just your statement of "Could there be some secret cap of data that's written in fine print??" made me assume you signed the contract without reading it which would be a bit silly as you could be signing anything.

If they say it's unlimited then I guess it is. In the UK most providers will say Unlimited and then in small print 'with a 1Gb fair use policy' but there are also providers that offer truly unlimited such as Giffgaff.

:EDIT: Just to add, if they don't specify a fair use policy in your contract then they cannot inforce one.
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Thanks bluenova. & thanks to everyone who answered my questions. Im still curious as to how much data you guys are using though?? And what can verizon do about my data usage?? I have never rooted my phone and i've only used pda net about 3 times to send out certain emails that only my computer could recognize. (.wps files nothing extravagant) Will they warn me?? Cut off my service??

It wwould be nice to have true unlimited like Sprint. :\
 
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