# Verizon Wireless and "Throttling" Data



## thetrailboss (Aug 28, 2018)

Just wondering if anyone else here is having issues with Verizon Wireless and service in the last few weeks.  

Last week, there was some press about a fire department in California having issues with their Verizon Wireless phones not working.  The department had an unlimited plan and discovered that Verizon "throttles" their data usage when it exceeds a certain amount each month.  That's the allegation at least.  

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ger-ftc-investigation-of-deceptive-practices/

Turns out that we were on vaca the last two weeks in Maine and Vermont.  Because our data usage had been increasing due to travel, we, too, purchased the "unlimited" data plan.  During the last two weeks or so my phone will just drop service in areas where there are plenty of towers.  My phone literally stops and says "No Service" for about ten minutes and then may come back on.  It happens when I am trying to engage the web browser or send a text.  

The article suggests that Verizon "throttles" users who exceed 25 GB data a month...which would be us.  I am wondering if that is going on.  It happened in Vermont and now back in Utah.  Just barely my wife called me and I could not call her back because I had "no service."  

Anyone else having this issue?


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## thetrailboss (Aug 28, 2018)

And apparently Verizon ADMITTED that they did throttle the Fire Department:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/verizon-firefighter-data-service/


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## benski (Aug 28, 2018)

All the phone companies do this. During hurricane sandy ATT which gave there wireless customers unlimited data, for the month since many people lost internet during the storm, despite in no way being responsible for the problems.


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## cdskier (Aug 28, 2018)

Throttling is one thing (and quite common in "unlimited" plans once you pass a certain usage threshold), but I don't quite see why your phone would drop to "No service" due to throttling. Throttling should only impact data transfer speeds and not voice service or coverage itself.

That said, I've never come close to using that much data on my phone so I have no personal experience with throttling. My max data usage is only around 2GB in a single month.


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## benski (Aug 28, 2018)

cdskier said:


> Throttling is one thing (and quite common in "unlimited" plans once you pass a certain usage threshold), but I don't quite see why your phone would drop to "No service" due to throttling. Throttling should only impact data transfer speeds and not voice service or coverage itself.
> 
> That said, I've never come close to using that much data on my phone so I have no personal experience with throttling. My max data usage is only around 2GB in a single month.



You must not have Snapchat. That app can use 2GBs in a single month with little usage. Tapatalk uses very little data.


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## Funky_Catskills (Aug 29, 2018)

cdskier said:


> Throttling is one thing (and quite common in "unlimited" plans once you pass a certain usage threshold), but I don't quite see why your phone would drop to "No service" due to throttling. Throttling should only impact data transfer speeds and not voice service or coverage itself.
> 
> That said, I've never come close to using that much data on my phone so I have no personal experience with throttling. My max data usage is only around 2GB in a single month.



I use my phone for work and tether my MAC to it for a WiFi signal a lot.   So i hit the limit occasionally.  And i get a text that i can respond to and pay for more bandwidth which work pays for. 
My Canada/Mexico limit is lower and tend to hit that on day to of a work trip.


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## Glenn (Aug 29, 2018)

My wife and I were on an unlimited AT&T plan for a number of years. While we never came close, there was a limit to hit before your data was throttled. I remember seeing the amount in our monthly bill in the fine print.


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## thetrailboss (Aug 29, 2018)

cdskier said:


> Throttling is one thing (and quite common in "unlimited" plans once you pass a certain usage threshold), but I don't quite see why your phone would drop to "No service" due to throttling. Throttling should only impact data transfer speeds and not voice service or coverage itself.
> 
> That said, I've never come close to using that much data on my phone so I have no personal experience with throttling. My max data usage is only around 2GB in a single month.



So my phone pretty much turned off last night.  I don't think it is a network issue but a phone issue now.  Did some setting resets and fingers crossed that it works now.  Not to bore you all....


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## thetrailboss (Aug 30, 2018)

Well, the issue was not the network but the phone as I came to realize.  Be forewarned that if you have an iPhone 7 that some have a defect in the motherboard that will cause your SIM card to fail....

https://www.apple.com/support/iphone-7-no-service/

Ultimately I could have gone with a free refurbished model from Verizon, sent mine to Apple for repair, or just bit the bullet and upgraded (mine was almost two years old).  I opted to upgrade and now have the iPhone 8 plus.  So far so good.


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## Edd (Aug 30, 2018)

Still rocking an iPhone 6. Prices are offensive these days and I hate that they’re getting rid of the fingerprint sensors in favor Face ID. 


Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone


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## BenedictGomez (Sep 17, 2018)

Edd said:


> *Still rocking an iPhone 6. Prices are offensive these days* and I hate that they’re getting rid of the fingerprint sensors in favor Face ID.



The AAPL iPhone "upgrades" are offensive to people's intelligence.  

Apple releases a new "improved" iPhone every September, whether they have "improved" it really or not.  I know a guy who this is his job, all he does is work 12 months a year, every year, on "September rollout".  It's a joke, as it's not like it's really a big improvement every year, but enough people that must have the new thing get duped by it each year so it's profitable.


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## Glenn (Sep 18, 2018)

My wife and I have the 6 as well. Still chugs along fine. Hoping that iOS12 will help extend the useful life a little longer. 

I think the economics of this changed when they carriers stopped subsidizing the price of the phone in the monthly bill. Essentially, it made sense to upgrade every two years. 

Plus, the changes to the phone each year are less and less. It was a bigger dealing going from a 4 to a 5....and a 5 to a 6. Now the updates are more incremental.


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## Funky_Catskills (Sep 25, 2018)

I suggest staying up to date with OS upgrades because of the fixes for security issues alone.

The new IOS is actually faster than the last and consumes less resources.  It's a good upgrade for performance for sure


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## AdironRider (Sep 25, 2018)

My wife gave her mom her old Iphone7. While in the Verizon place transferring it over, they mentioned the 5 will no longer be supported by Verizon in 2019. (Her dad still rocks an old 5). Not sure why that would be so, but it appears holding out with the older phones might burn ya in the future.


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