Does ST really cancel your service for overuse of data??

**silentjudge** · 04-26-2012, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by codekill

You sound like a paid straight talk pr rep. The same ones that trove through all Facebook comments and posts to make users sound like idiots for not understanding straight talks unlimited. I am soo sick of this topic I really wish everyone would band together stream their hearts out get disconnected and have a law firm represent them in a class action to set the record straight on straight talk. Prey on users lie and Efff them over.

I really don't think its wise to trust a user who has 1 post and just joined the Forums. We have numerous other posts from longtime fellow members that go contrary to what Kayossno1 said. So definitely take it with a grain of salt.

**benjamin.kelley** · 04-26-2012, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by ndtv88

bgmagic and benjaminkelley,
you risk losing your number, looks like ST is lowering the threshold, the unpredictableness is what gets me.
Bgmagic, do you think you had any spurts in data(within a day), or tethered? what kind of phone do you use is it ATT branded, locked, unlocked?
Sorry you are going through this, call them and talk to them and tell them the facebook app was on by mistake and wont happen again, if your number is important to you, i would still port out before they change their minds.

1.2 gigs is ridiculously low for "unlimited data".
2gigs was reasonable, is carlos getting too greedy.

The highest I've used in one day was 102 MB. On average its about 70-80 but I let Google play update apps so it went over a bit.

Sent from my SGH-I997 using HowardForums

**Airforcekid** · 04-26-2012, 08:13 PM

Another thing that would be interesting is to see who is and is not using the APN with the proxy I'm not sure what difference it makes but I tested my iPhone 4s without the proxy and could not access data however with it everything works fine some have been able to get around the proxy and still have data. I also know they block the speedtest app with the proxy but YouTube Netflix etc are fine.

**benjamin.kelley** · 04-26-2012, 09:46 PM

Originally Posted by Airforcekid

Another thing that would be interesting is to see who is and is not using the APN with the proxy I'm not sure what difference it makes but I tested my iPhone 4s without the proxy and could not access data however with it everything works fine some have been able to get around the proxy and still have data. I also know they block the speedtest app with the proxy but YouTube Netflix etc are fine.

I've never used the proxy as it blocks AdBlock because it wont work with a proxy. I never noticed a difference with or without the proxy.

**Kayossno1** · 04-27-2012, 08:02 AM

Oh my god... would a straight talk employee say they loathe AT&T? Actually, who knows, maybe they would. LOL. The "blocks of data" thing was mentioned by someone else here, it seems like it made sense. Basically, an MVNO buys the service from the carrier at a rate cheaper then what an individual would pay if he were in a family plan, so basically they provide the family plan rate to an individual.

The only thing I can share is my own experience with them, and the fact that now in my third month, they kept their word on the raising the bar thing. Also how my data was shut off but my phone kept working. The horror stories of completely losing the account seem a little weird, because even when my data was disconnected (which happened at the end of the month) I was able to purchase another month which continued my phone/MMS service with my data remaining off.

Anyhow, I also posted this experience over on macrumors' forums under the screenname okwhatev which I've had years of posts on. So hopefully this shows I'm not some creepy meth head tracfone employee from Florida.

**Kayossno1** · 04-27-2012, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by EndeavorOR

Your understanding is almost completely wrong. You might want to re-read the messages that have been posted.

1. The data is not unlimited. They advertise unlimited data, but what you are reporting is, in fact, a limit. In addition, their TOS specifically states that their are "limits" to their data service. Thus, by their own TOS, their advertising is false or misleading. Their TOS specifically bans video streaming, even though they advertise that you can watch YouTube.

But they say there's limits to everything. They're intentionally vague like every carrier's TOC. Every carrier also says they can terminate you for ANY reason at ANY time.

My experience so far is the they raise the soft cap if you ask them when warned. This makes it unlimited, if annoying. But it's still unlimited if they continue to honor this.

2. They do not purchase blocks of data. They pay per MB. The goal of their limits is to reduce their cost of providing service

I'm not privy to tracfone's operational stuff, I just passed on what made sense to me on the boards.

3. They do not merely terminate your DNS. They cancel your service, ban your phone for life, and prevent you from porting your #.

How could they ban your phone for life? They could potentially ban your sim card. They could prevent porting of that number attached to it. I dont see how they could ban your phone. We're not talking about a CDMA service.

4. They do not merely advertise unlimited web. They advertise unlimited data on their StraightTalkSim.com web-site

Even more proof that with some sweet talk, they should have to honor it if you play by their rules

5. The explanation you've given is inconsistent with the reports of everyone else on HoFo, and for that reason I am suspicious of your claims. Nevertheless, if what you're saying is true, it is ST's practice to make exceptions a few times before bringing down the hammer and banning you. So, if I were you, I would not expect this to continue forever. Eventually, you'll call one day and they'll tell you that you are banned for life. Please report back here if/when that happens.

That would freaking suck if that happened. But in that sense, how do I know you're not an AT&T shill scaring folks from paying 1/3 of the bill a month? how can we know what will happen in a program that has literally only entered its third month of service??

**cubey** · 04-27-2012, 08:53 AM

With all the discussion about folks being threatened and cut off from using too much data on BYOD, I wonder... has anyone here had this problem with the Nokia E71 and other smartphones that ST itself offers? It would seem crazy for them to complain about phones they themself sell.

I really would love to have an android on ST BYOD but I also don't want to risk losing my phone number of nearly 6 years. I have no desire to break the rules of ST (except maybe a youtube vid every so often.. but no netflix). I have read here that some say to use no more than about 70MB/day and you should be safe from ST's iron first. I guess if you install 3G watchdog and keep a close eye you can do this fine. Also keep it set so apps update ONLY on WIFI (which is how I have my Verizon android set actually).

**silentjudge** · 04-27-2012, 10:31 AM

The general limit to stay safe is 100MB a day. In reality its higher than that before ST will care but the issue is also that if you have high data usage several days in a row, ST will care. So hence the 100MB.

A few days ago, I used 196MB. I waited a few days and no call from ST.

Sent from my LG Nitro HD

**cubey** · 04-27-2012, 10:52 AM

I guess I will go ahead and give ST's BYOD a shot since I already bought a phone I wanted and the sim card (on their way, delivery due next week). The seemingly best non-smartphone AT&T GoPhone from what I can tell is the Samsung Flight II. Has full qwerty slide-out, good sized screen.. but it's priced at $200. Can be had cheaper on ebay and then I guess you could buy a gophone SIM to put in it.. would save some dough that way.

The other one I was considering on there was the LG Encore but I heard in a review or two that typing on it is poor due to the kind of touch screen it has. I already dislike typing on a screen anyway, hence the Samsung Stratosphere I currently have on Verizon... and the AT&T Pantech Crossover I bought for ST BYOD.

First thing I will be installing on the Crossover when I get it is 3g watchdog. I still have home wifi now but my plan in the next year or less is to move into a small motorhome and travel. So my ST BYOD AT&T Android will be my primary internet. I will also have a laptop but won't tether. I will use free WIFI as much as possible. The android will help me locate free sources. One thing I like about Android 2.3 is you can easily turn on/off mobile data service.. at least on my Stratosphere. Very useful if you're trying to be careful with data usage.

**ndtv88** · 04-27-2012, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Kayossno1

But they say there's limits to everything. They're intentionally vague like every carrier's TOC. Every carrier also says they can terminate you for ANY reason at ANY time.

My experience so far is the they raise the soft cap if you ask them when warned. This makes it unlimited, if annoying. But it's still unlimited if they continue to honor this.

I'm not privy to tracfone's operational stuff, I just passed on what made sense to me on the boards.

How could they ban your phone for life? They could potentially ban your sim card. They could prevent porting of that number attached to it. I dont see how they could ban your phone. We're not talking about a CDMA service.

Even more proof that with some sweet talk, they should have to honor it if you play by their rules

That would freaking suck if that happened. But in that sense, how do I know you're not an AT&T shill scaring folks from paying 1/3 of the bill a month? how can we know what will happen in a program that has literally only entered its third month of service??

EndeavorOR has been around for sometime, and has done a lot of good work here.
Without name calling, you undoubtedly had a unique experience, and it would be very helpful to us if you detail, what you said to the ST reps and also how you got escalated to a person with the authority to change the caps. As you know regular CSR's wont have that power, so did you get a number to talk to them? all of the process will be helpful.
The reason for skepticism, in the forum, is because as you can see 2 other members are getting booted out from ST for using 1.2gigs - bgmagic and benjaminkelley, this below even the currently thought of data limits.
Since you had success, we would appreciate, if you detail what you said, and to whom you said.

**cubey** · 04-27-2012, 03:38 PM

I am seeing how much data I may potentionally use on the ST service. I have installed 3g watchdog to my existing android and set the quota to 100MB/day to see how fast it gets used up with my intended usage. I turned off wifi totally so it is only pulling 3g data right now. Also, I am posting this from the phone. HoFo, even the mobile version, is sure a data hog. *lol*

EDIT: It hasn't taken long to use up about 12MB. A big chunk of it was Facebook and HoFo. Two places I will have to stay off of with ST!

**montrose7** · 04-27-2012, 08:37 PM

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/6.5.27452/27.1573; U; en) Presto/2.8.119 Version/11.10)

use wap.howardforums.com (im using it right now). i think it use 20 times less data than regular site. and is loading very fast.

**Kayossno1** · 04-27-2012, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by ndtv88

EndeavorOR has been around for sometime, and has done a lot of good work here.
Without name calling, you undoubtedly had a unique experience, and it would be very helpful to us if you detail, what you said to the ST reps and also how you got escalated to a person with the authority to change the caps. As you know regular CSR's wont have that power, so did you get a number to talk to them? all of the process will be helpful.
The reason for skepticism, in the forum, is because as you can see 2 other members are getting booted out from ST for using 1.2gigs - bgmagic and benjaminkelley, this below even the currently thought of data limits.
Since you had success, we would appreciate, if you detail what you said, and to whom you said.

Were bgmagic and benjaminkelley tethering by any chance? Did they use that much in a couple days? Just wondering because those are really crazy statements and I think we'd be hearing from a lot more then two people if the cap was really at 1.2GB. Could it be possible it's actually random? Could it be different based on the area code?

In my long-*** post I pretty much detailed exactly what I said to the straight talk reps. I'll add that I was transferred to a higher up, and then after explaining fully, was transferred to another higher up and forced to repeat everything. Actually, it wasn't another higher up but a technical person who was actually in charge of reinstating the service. Apparently it was this dude who upped the caps. I kept asking if I please wouldn't have this problem again, and they said as long as I followed everything we discussed, there shouldn't be a problem. This month I went a little over 4GB and wasn't given a warning call, my data stayed working, and everything they seemed to promise seems to have come true.

Maybe it's too good to be true, but I'm hoping it lasts!!

**cubey** · 04-27-2012, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by montrose7

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/6.5.27452/27.1573; U; en) Presto/2.8.119 Version/11.10)

use wap.howardforums.com (im using it right now). i think it use 20 times less data than regular site. and is loading very fast.

Ahh.. thanks. I figured there wasn't one since it didn't auto-redirect.

**TribalStyle** · 04-27-2012, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by W2PMX

Since there's no hard limit, the answer is a definite "who knows?" Some people have reported usage in excess of 200MB/day or 3GB/month with no warning, others have gotten warnings with WAY under 100/day 2/month.

BTW, the federal government considers "these are the terms*" where "*" modifies what the average consumer of the class would expect to be deceptive and unenforceable. And that's exactly what ST is doing - "unlimited", where that means limited by the terms of the TOS (which is not part of the document that says "unlimited"). It's almost word-for-word what the government says they don't allow. Arbitration clause or not, if it's deceptive it's illegal and ST can't hide behind anything. One federal class-action suit against them would cause a change. (It might be just something like "unlimited except as noted in the TOS", but they'd be forced to change something to eliminate the deception.)

I agree, the only reason nothing has happened is because no one has brought enough attention to it. An independent Attorney sued Honda & won, & the same happened to At&t. I want to switch bad but I might just end up sticking with Verizon or moving to Sprint Unlimited. I live in a major city so it's not an issue. If ST just said, Unlimited Text, Talk, & 2GB of Data, I doubt they'd have many people jumping ship! $45/mo, no contract, BYOP SIM, you still can't beat that. In this economy, the way Gas is going up, we need every dollar we can save. It's the dishonesty, & legalese they hide behind that pisses people off.