Walmart's Unlimited Data Straight Talk iPhone Not As Unlimited As Originally Thought

[Anthony Bouchard]

Less than two weeks ago, Walmart announced that they would be carrying the 8GB iPhone 4 and 16GB iPhone 5 on Straight Talk wireless with unlimited data and no contract for only $45 per month. It seemed like a pretty good deal at the time, right?

Unfortunately, it appears that the unlimited data might not be as unlimited as Walmart made it seem. While you could technically use as much data as you want without overages, BGR reports that the unlimited data plan carries a soft cap at 2GB of data, after which your data speeds will be throttled.

The throttled data will cause your cellular usage to be super slow and super painful, and at 2GB, you’re really not getting a whole lot more than other U.S. cellular carriers with data caps offer, such as AT&T or Verizon.

Sprint offers “truly” unlimited data for a little more money and a two-year commitment, but only throttles the top 1% of users, which means you’re very likely to be able to get past 2GB of data without throttling. Sprint does, however, have a reputation from users for having slow data speeds for the iPhone.

T-mobile has also confirmed that they will be getting the iPhone in 2013 and T-mobile also offers unlimited data.

Sources: BGR via TUAW

[thevmax]

No, really! You can trust me! Walmart is selling the iphone 5 with unlimited data!
What is unlimited ?

Let;s ask Bill Clinton:
"It depends on what the meaning of the words 'is' is." –Bill Clinton, during his 1998 grand jury testimony on the Monica Lewinsky affair

"It depends on how you define alone…" –Bill Clinton, in his grand jury testimony
"There were a lot of times when we were alone, but I never really thought we were." –Bill Clinton, in his grand jury testimony

But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you!

[TwistedSoul]

No, really! You can trust me! Walmart is selling the iphone 5 with unlimited data!
What is unlimited ?

Let;s ask Bill Clinton:
"It depends on what the meaning of the words 'is' is." –Bill Clinton, during his 1998 grand jury testimony on the Monica Lewinsky affair

"It depends on how you define alone…" –Bill Clinton, in his grand jury testimony
"There were a lot of times when we were alone, but I never really thought we were." –Bill Clinton, in his grand jury testimony

But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you!

Wtf? Uhhhh are u ok dude. This isn't 1998 and it's def not about bill Clinton. No carrier will ever offer unlimited data. There will always be underlying reasons.

[vinaygoel2000]

Sprint offers "truly" unlimited data and "truly" sh1tty network.

[Carvensno]

Wtf? Uhhhh are u ok dude. This isn't 1998 and it's def not about bill Clinton. No carrier will ever offer unlimited data. There will always be underlying reasons.

It went over head man. Totally missed his meaning! Lol 😜

[TwistedSoul]

was my comment removed? I still dont get the first comment. I doubt any iPhone on any carrier will ever have unlimited data. There will always be underlying or hidden fees or throttling or whatever.

[XweAponX]

Sprint offers "truly" unlimited data and "truly" sh1tty network.

Amen to THAT. But I can live with it, it's not so bad. At least I don't got to watch my Data consumption every month. I want to destroy whoever thought up metering DATA use.

[cmwade77]

I wish companies wouldn't pull this kind of stuff. By definition, unlimited means without restrictions. This means that tethering and no data caps should be allowed.

T-Mobiles offerings are nice, you can buy either completely unlimited or limited high speed that gets throttled after a set amount based on how much you are willing to pay.

[iLoveWindows&iPhone]

BILL CLINTON!! Lol thx for that dude, hilarious. You reminded me why I love that guy so much!

[kiefferbp]

It's actually not as bad as the article is making it. I bought a ST SIM to use for my iPhone 4 to tether to my iPad (my iPhone 5 with AT&T has unlimited data and after getting busted twice on a tiered data plan---I got unlimited by taking over an unlimited-data line). They throttled me at 2GB, but the throttling speeds seem to be better than AT&T's (AT&T's throttling speeds seem to wildly fluctuate while doing a speed test---it constantly freezes--- while ST's does not). For browsing the web, the speeds are fairly decent. I get about 100-150kbps, which is on par with my dad's 3G speeds on his Galaxy S3, so, at least in my case, ST's throttled speeds are better than Sprint's normal speeds AND it is cheaper!

By the way, I have heard stories of people calling ST and complaining about their throttled speeds and that they would unthrottle you if you stay adamant. I personally haven't tried it yet. My Service End Date is tomorrow and they are closed, so I will need to shell out another $45 to try this.

[Channan]

By definition, unlimited means without restrictions.

Unlimited has several definitions. This being one of the: not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.

Throttling doesn't make your data limited. You're still allowed to use as much data as you want, just not as much as you normally could in the same amount of time. Infinity divided by a billion is still infinity.

[tridley68]

who in their right state of mind would buy a phone from wally world they do not even treat their employees right what makes you think they would do right by this .

[steve-z17]

I want to destroy whoever thought up metering DATA use.

Greedy SOB's thought it up!...and they should be destroyed!

I want to see what T-Mobile actually does when they get the iPhone. If they'll still offer "unlimited" data or if they start doing data plans.

[StanSmith]

Thats the normal unlimited plan here in Aus.
ALL mobile unlimited plans are capped usually at 2GB then it slows down to a snails fart speed.

It should be illegal when ISPs started it many years ago. They advertise as unlimited but put a limit in it. Thats false advertising and should be illegal and they should be fined and the plan removed.

[RokeSmoreMeefer]

It's actually not as bad as the article is making it.

This is exactly why they get away with this crap: too many people settle for "umlimited" and try to justify that blatant lie as "not that bad".

I don't care how "not as bad" you think it is, it's NOT unlimited. If there weren't so many idiots that put up with this bull crap, IT WOULD BE!!!

Unlimited has several definitions. This being one of the: not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.

Throttling doesn't make your data limited. You're still allowed to use as much data as you want, just not as much as you normally could in the same amount of time. Infinity divided by a billion is still infinity.

So when you walk into an all-you-can-eat buffet, eat for an hour, and then get told by the staff that now you can only fill 10% of your plate every 20 minutes, will you continue to eat or will you complain and leave?

[Donnutt]

Oh well, I was really happy at first... Guess ill just stick with AT&T. Might be expensive but at least they don't throttle and they are always really fast.

[quidam_brujah]

"All-you-can-eat": Maximum of two trips to the salad bar.

[bigboyz]

^^HAHAHAHHA! Now pass him his Sax so he can play me a song :]

[tcschrader]

Oh well, I was really happy at first... Guess ill just stick with AT&T. Might be expensive but at least they don't throttle and they are always really fast.

That's funny.. I was a customer for 7+ yrs (started when it was Cingular) and had the ORIGINAL iPhone unlimited package. I think that should have made me exempt from the 3 gig throttle threshold. Told them to shove it and been with Verizon since (not much better). I was considering sprint but I hear their network quality leaves something to be desired

[Channan]

So when you walk into an all-you-can-eat buffet, eat for an hour, and then get told by the staff that now you can only fill 10% of your plate every 20 minutes, will you continue to eat or will you complain and leave?

What does the "every 20 minutes" part relate to? And if you've eaten at an all-you-can-eat buffet for an hour and you're still eating, you really do need to stop.

A better analogy would be that you can fill three plates up with as much food as you want. That's enough for most people. After that, you can continue eating as much as you want; you just get smaller plates to carry your food on. It's still all-you-can-eat. Nobody ever said they had to give you the biggest plates they had just like AT&T never agreed to give you the fastest speeds available for your unlimited data.