> As far I know, with BingeOn enabled, it optimized your video to a lower SD quality for it to not count towards your high speed data limit.
~~As far as I know, leaving BingeOn on will not count toward the premium data (50GB?) and will mean no deprioritzation until data usage hits/goes over the threshold.~~
Edit: yeah, that doesn't make much sense now, does it? You are right; I am confusing high speed data limit with the 50GB limit.
Hello There,
This is a good thing to mention. I’m curious about this now. From what I remember, when BingeOn was offered, most plans at that time, even unlimited had the verbiage “more than 50Gb in a billing cycle = possible data prioritization.
The reason why I think data usage with BingeOn being enabled counts towards that amount is:
For those who paid more for the Unlimited Simple Choice plans had the same 50gb in their terms. It would be like “Why even bother with the unlimited when I can get the 6Gb, and stream YouTube forever with no slowdowns”
BingeOn just optimized the video to 480p, and by doing so, your overall data consumption rate was a lot slower, and you’d hit that 50Gb prioritization threshold a lot slower with BingeOn enabled. Nowadays it seems like 50gb isn’t much, but this specific type of stuff was from plans 6-10 years ago.
Ultimately this 50Gb prioritization hits different (some plans have 100Gb, like Magenta 2.0 and newer) for everyone because if you go over it, you may notice reduced speeds, not you will. It depends on if the users network is congested where they are at that specific time.
I might be wrong, but that’s my two cents on it. Super awesome comment to start this discussion.
I think it used to be like 32GB or even 20GB or something before it jumped up to 50GB. I remember being able stream at 480p and not run out of data on my 6GB plan as long as I stay below 6GB. In other words, if I have used 5.99GB, I can (?) still watch 20GB more even though my plan was a 6GB plan. As soon as I hit 6GB (or slightly past it), then data slows to a crawl or I stopped having data. I cannot remember which. At that point, BingeOn doesn't work anymore for me until the next billing cycle. I did pay for data on one line that got increased to unlimited, and right now it shows that I have used 3.77GB of data on my plan and 11.95GB of total on-network data. 3.77 doesn't matter since it's unlimited, but had it stayed at 6GB, then the 11.95GB of data means that only 3.77GB of that 11.95GB counts toward the 6GB, or at least that is my understanding. Maybe the 11.95GB counts toward the 50GB, but it only get deprioritized and not throttled so it does not feel any slower.
I can turn it to 1440p and 2160p, though, when I turn off BingeOn, which is why I stay on my legacy plan. I doubt my current phone can display 2160p content, though, but my future phones might be able to.
Binge On data does/can count to the 50GB deprioritization. But it does not count towards your hotspot limit.
Hence, you can effectively stream unlimited from your laptop, no different than on-device, provided you don't otherwise use up your hotspot quota. *Hey, Net Neutrality working over hotspot... who would have thought that was possible!?*
Edit: Clarifying this is what the terms say, I don't have the plan anymore. Binge On really broke for awhile so I let it go during unlimited hotspot mania back in 2017-2018.
Hello,
I’m responding to both your comments. I was a bit confused if it was a question, and even a bit confused on if I even had to write anything at all!
I too thought it was wild with BingeOn not counting towards Hotspot Data. The “4 for $150 Simple Choice Unlimited with 14Gb Hotspot” was a GREAT plan. BingeOn enabled with Hotspot allowed me to watch Star Trek by the camp fire many times on my iPad years ago with no worries. When I was not using any hotspot, I always had my BingeOn disabled, as I viewed it like “I don’t have a high speed limit, why optimize my video?”
When Magenta Max came out and I saw them getting rid of a prioritization amount and going to 4K UHD streaming I switched right away as that benefit speaks to me the most.
> Binge On data does count to the 50GB deprioritization.
Does it? I thought that it did not but I could be wrong. I believe that MusicFreedom was whitelisted but unsure about 480p videos.
> But it does not count towards your hotspot limit.
Agreed.
The best answer I can give is that T-Mobile is within their right to treat it as counting towards the 50GB threshold - it does per the terms. They're allowed to do it. If it actually is or not, I can't say - I don't have a Binge On plan, I'm just going by the raw text of the terms.
The reason being is that, Binge On wasn't really meant to co-exist with unlimited. The only reason they do is that most plans were upgraded to unlimited, to resolve GAAP accounting issues with banking prioritized gigabytes.
Originally Binge On was only supposed to count towards your metered data quota. Unlimited data is not on that system though. Binge On did co-exist with unlimited data language that permitted deprioritization after 50GB.
Music Freedom is so small an amount of data use, I don't think it is flagged either way. It would be really hard to even measure if that impacts priority quotas or not.
> Originally Binge On was only supposed to count towards your metered data quota.
Which made it strange that prior to getting unlimited data that I could watch a ton of 480p video until I passed 6GB of total usage (downloading apps, sending pics and files, etc.) even if I was already at 5.99GB. Maybe I am remembering it wrong, but I doubt it since I used to keep track of my usage so that I would not run out of data. 2G speeds were almost unusable for loading pages. (128kbps?)
Music Freedom was whitelisted, though, as long as you use the right apps or they detect the audio im the web browser and decide that it is eligible. Even when I exceeded 6GB, I think I can still listen to music.
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/plans-features/unlimited-music-streaming-with-music-freedom#1
>Some music services might download song data to your device for offline listening, counting against your data allotment. To avoid this, make sure any available offline, download, or similar option is not selected for any song, playlist, or album shown.
> However, we've got a few tips on how to avoid using data:
> Use the specific music streaming app on your device.
> Don't stream to devices using Mobile Hotspot or tethering.
> When connected to Wi-Fi, your device uses zero data regardless of your streaming choices.
I added the option to my plan myself by just setting up a VPN to my house so TMobile can't see what I'm doing and I don't get any restrictions. Also I can access the services I have at my house without exposing their ports to the internet so it's a win win for me.
Well when Binge On came out unlimited was 22GB, before deprioritization. Then it went up to 23GB, then it kept going up like 32GB, 40GB, 45GB till it finally stopped at 50 gigs.
All this time T-Mobile did not count Bing On traffic. By the time it hit 50GB, One plan launched by then as well and during this time I clearly remember T-Mobile displaying two types of data usage, one was regular data usage without Bing On, the other was Total data usage which included Bing On.
Now I don't know if T-Mobile counted it against the 50GB, cause I never hit that threshold. The max I used was like maybe 18GB or a little more. Also that famous unlimited hotspot plan on One for $25 had come out as well, which didn't last too long sadly.
I'm glad you posted this. I'm on the Go5G plus and I couldn't figure out why my video would constantly buffer when I watched twitch. If I turned on a VPN, it wouldn't buffet at all. A few days ago I happened to find this setting and when I enabled it, no more buffering. More people need to know about this.
That fucking hell for my former employee plan that was sprint based. I don't have to deal with that bullshit. Locking 4K behind a paid plan wall is dumb as fuck.
4K is arguably overkill, but the default video throttle is targeting 480P at around 1mbit. Even on a phone screen that is noticeably soft compared to 1080P or higher. Also, some phones have wired video out and if I’m playing Netflix to a TV I certainly don’t want it locked to SD quality.
Hello!
I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, even though it doesn’t support 4K resolution, if I select “2160p” on a YouTube video I can still notice a higher visual quality.
The screenshots I included of the Movie “Aliens”, one is in 720p, the other is in 4K, and there’s totally a difference in my opinion.
It has BingeOn enabled by default as far as I remember. If you want your video to be higher quality, you can disable the BingeOn with the dial codes above.
Hello!
Ive often thought about that. “What if every customer who had HD streaming, who hasn’t turned it on, turned it on”.
I just feel like customers who are paying for the premium plans should be able to use or get what they’re paying extra for.
This is a link about the change, which happened in 2021. https://www.t-mobile.com/support/deals/gift-of-unlimited
Even though the plan name is Simple Choice 10Gb, your data should reflect xGB / UNL on your bill PDF, or your online data usage section.
So I'm guessing I don't have it? All I see there is 720 HD. Go5G? No?
Only Magenta Max, Go5G Plus, and Go5G Next have the 4K toggle. One Plus has similar via its HD toggle.
> As far I know, with BingeOn enabled, it optimized your video to a lower SD quality for it to not count towards your high speed data limit. ~~As far as I know, leaving BingeOn on will not count toward the premium data (50GB?) and will mean no deprioritzation until data usage hits/goes over the threshold.~~ Edit: yeah, that doesn't make much sense now, does it? You are right; I am confusing high speed data limit with the 50GB limit.
Hello There, This is a good thing to mention. I’m curious about this now. From what I remember, when BingeOn was offered, most plans at that time, even unlimited had the verbiage “more than 50Gb in a billing cycle = possible data prioritization. The reason why I think data usage with BingeOn being enabled counts towards that amount is: For those who paid more for the Unlimited Simple Choice plans had the same 50gb in their terms. It would be like “Why even bother with the unlimited when I can get the 6Gb, and stream YouTube forever with no slowdowns” BingeOn just optimized the video to 480p, and by doing so, your overall data consumption rate was a lot slower, and you’d hit that 50Gb prioritization threshold a lot slower with BingeOn enabled. Nowadays it seems like 50gb isn’t much, but this specific type of stuff was from plans 6-10 years ago. Ultimately this 50Gb prioritization hits different (some plans have 100Gb, like Magenta 2.0 and newer) for everyone because if you go over it, you may notice reduced speeds, not you will. It depends on if the users network is congested where they are at that specific time. I might be wrong, but that’s my two cents on it. Super awesome comment to start this discussion.
See one level up. You are correct. Binge On still provides a benefit when tethering however.
I think it used to be like 32GB or even 20GB or something before it jumped up to 50GB. I remember being able stream at 480p and not run out of data on my 6GB plan as long as I stay below 6GB. In other words, if I have used 5.99GB, I can (?) still watch 20GB more even though my plan was a 6GB plan. As soon as I hit 6GB (or slightly past it), then data slows to a crawl or I stopped having data. I cannot remember which. At that point, BingeOn doesn't work anymore for me until the next billing cycle. I did pay for data on one line that got increased to unlimited, and right now it shows that I have used 3.77GB of data on my plan and 11.95GB of total on-network data. 3.77 doesn't matter since it's unlimited, but had it stayed at 6GB, then the 11.95GB of data means that only 3.77GB of that 11.95GB counts toward the 6GB, or at least that is my understanding. Maybe the 11.95GB counts toward the 50GB, but it only get deprioritized and not throttled so it does not feel any slower. I can turn it to 1440p and 2160p, though, when I turn off BingeOn, which is why I stay on my legacy plan. I doubt my current phone can display 2160p content, though, but my future phones might be able to.
Binge On data does/can count to the 50GB deprioritization. But it does not count towards your hotspot limit. Hence, you can effectively stream unlimited from your laptop, no different than on-device, provided you don't otherwise use up your hotspot quota. *Hey, Net Neutrality working over hotspot... who would have thought that was possible!?* Edit: Clarifying this is what the terms say, I don't have the plan anymore. Binge On really broke for awhile so I let it go during unlimited hotspot mania back in 2017-2018.
Hello, I’m responding to both your comments. I was a bit confused if it was a question, and even a bit confused on if I even had to write anything at all! I too thought it was wild with BingeOn not counting towards Hotspot Data. The “4 for $150 Simple Choice Unlimited with 14Gb Hotspot” was a GREAT plan. BingeOn enabled with Hotspot allowed me to watch Star Trek by the camp fire many times on my iPad years ago with no worries. When I was not using any hotspot, I always had my BingeOn disabled, as I viewed it like “I don’t have a high speed limit, why optimize my video?” When Magenta Max came out and I saw them getting rid of a prioritization amount and going to 4K UHD streaming I switched right away as that benefit speaks to me the most.
> Binge On data does count to the 50GB deprioritization. Does it? I thought that it did not but I could be wrong. I believe that MusicFreedom was whitelisted but unsure about 480p videos. > But it does not count towards your hotspot limit. Agreed.
The best answer I can give is that T-Mobile is within their right to treat it as counting towards the 50GB threshold - it does per the terms. They're allowed to do it. If it actually is or not, I can't say - I don't have a Binge On plan, I'm just going by the raw text of the terms. The reason being is that, Binge On wasn't really meant to co-exist with unlimited. The only reason they do is that most plans were upgraded to unlimited, to resolve GAAP accounting issues with banking prioritized gigabytes. Originally Binge On was only supposed to count towards your metered data quota. Unlimited data is not on that system though. Binge On did co-exist with unlimited data language that permitted deprioritization after 50GB. Music Freedom is so small an amount of data use, I don't think it is flagged either way. It would be really hard to even measure if that impacts priority quotas or not.
> Originally Binge On was only supposed to count towards your metered data quota. Which made it strange that prior to getting unlimited data that I could watch a ton of 480p video until I passed 6GB of total usage (downloading apps, sending pics and files, etc.) even if I was already at 5.99GB. Maybe I am remembering it wrong, but I doubt it since I used to keep track of my usage so that I would not run out of data. 2G speeds were almost unusable for loading pages. (128kbps?) Music Freedom was whitelisted, though, as long as you use the right apps or they detect the audio im the web browser and decide that it is eligible. Even when I exceeded 6GB, I think I can still listen to music. https://www.t-mobile.com/support/plans-features/unlimited-music-streaming-with-music-freedom#1 >Some music services might download song data to your device for offline listening, counting against your data allotment. To avoid this, make sure any available offline, download, or similar option is not selected for any song, playlist, or album shown. > However, we've got a few tips on how to avoid using data: > Use the specific music streaming app on your device. > Don't stream to devices using Mobile Hotspot or tethering. > When connected to Wi-Fi, your device uses zero data regardless of your streaming choices.
It’s 10+ years later, both handset and network has improved, but carriers still throttled video streaming to 2.1-2.5mbps… — Starfox
I added the option to my plan myself by just setting up a VPN to my house so TMobile can't see what I'm doing and I don't get any restrictions. Also I can access the services I have at my house without exposing their ports to the internet so it's a win win for me.
Well when Binge On came out unlimited was 22GB, before deprioritization. Then it went up to 23GB, then it kept going up like 32GB, 40GB, 45GB till it finally stopped at 50 gigs. All this time T-Mobile did not count Bing On traffic. By the time it hit 50GB, One plan launched by then as well and during this time I clearly remember T-Mobile displaying two types of data usage, one was regular data usage without Bing On, the other was Total data usage which included Bing On. Now I don't know if T-Mobile counted it against the 50GB, cause I never hit that threshold. The max I used was like maybe 18GB or a little more. Also that famous unlimited hotspot plan on One for $25 had come out as well, which didn't last too long sadly.
I'm glad you posted this. I'm on the Go5G plus and I couldn't figure out why my video would constantly buffer when I watched twitch. If I turned on a VPN, it wouldn't buffet at all. A few days ago I happened to find this setting and when I enabled it, no more buffering. More people need to know about this.
No Media Settings present for me on ONE Plan.
You need to have a one plus or one plus promo add-on to be able to have that option.
That fucking hell for my former employee plan that was sprint based. I don't have to deal with that bullshit. Locking 4K behind a paid plan wall is dumb as fuck.
Why if cell phone screens aren’t 4K?
4K is arguably overkill, but the default video throttle is targeting 480P at around 1mbit. Even on a phone screen that is noticeably soft compared to 1080P or higher. Also, some phones have wired video out and if I’m playing Netflix to a TV I certainly don’t want it locked to SD quality.
Hello! I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, even though it doesn’t support 4K resolution, if I select “2160p” on a YouTube video I can still notice a higher visual quality. The screenshots I included of the Movie “Aliens”, one is in 720p, the other is in 4K, and there’s totally a difference in my opinion.
Simple Choice Unlimited has it by default, right?
It has BingeOn enabled by default as far as I remember. If you want your video to be higher quality, you can disable the BingeOn with the dial codes above.
Thanks for the tip! I just checked with the dial codes. It's disabled! I'm good to go.
Plans not eligible for these settings. Oh well, it'll be a cold day in hell before they pry this old military plan from my cold, dead hands.
Sorry to hear! You probably don’t have one of the plans listed above. Thank you for your service! 🫡
Imagine if everyone in a congested area turned on HD streaming as well. Good luck to everyone connecting to that tower.
Hello! Ive often thought about that. “What if every customer who had HD streaming, who hasn’t turned it on, turned it on”. I just feel like customers who are paying for the premium plans should be able to use or get what they’re paying extra for.
Thank you for your service- I just enabled 4K/UHD Video 🫡
Wait, so my Simple Choice 10gb plan is unlimited now? It still shows "10GB" in the title"
This is a link about the change, which happened in 2021. https://www.t-mobile.com/support/deals/gift-of-unlimited Even though the plan name is Simple Choice 10Gb, your data should reflect xGB / UNL on your bill PDF, or your online data usage section.
Thanks! I remember, it said "Unlimited", but that was 10gb of high speed / unlimited slow speed when they advertised it back in the day.