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The new T-Mobile One plan offers “unlimited video” data, but it’s only at 480p. Update: We were contacted by a T-Mobile representative who clarified that only 3% of their customer base may see throttling above 28GB on a single line. Not everyone will experience the post-28GB throttling, but do keep in mind that on previous versions of T-Mobile’s unlimited data plan (if you’re lucky to be grandfathered in) this throttling wasn’t present. With that said, the tricks I have below aren’t going to offer you truly “unlimited” tethering data either because that 28GB soft-cap will result in T-Mobile slowing you down if you go over in one billing cycle.
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T-Mobile doesn’t specify how slow it’s going to be after 26GB, but from my testing with previous T-Mobile data caps, it’s looking like less than 512kbps. But anyhow, if you are using what T-Mobile considers a “phone or tablet” the data cap is effectively still set at 28GB because after exceeding 26GB, speeds slow way down from throttling. Your data still isn’t truly unlimited even if you’re just planning on using your phone or tablet-which, by the way, T-Mobile and other carriers still fail to understand that there are Windows and OS X powered tablets, not just Android and iOS. Getting decent speeds requires an additional $15 add-on for 4G tethering and has a data cap set at 5GB per month. With the new T-Mobile One, there is unlimited tethering at only 2G limacine speeds (512kbps), which stultifies any meaningful use. If you’re a farmer like me and you don’t live in an area with high-speed internet access, the tethering becomes a make-it-or-break-it deal. The first thing I noticed after lucubrating through the terms and conditions was the tethering.
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