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How much would you pay for the AT&T unlimited data plan for the iPad?

  • $0

    Votes: 104 28.3%
  • $1-100

    Votes: 150 40.8%
  • $101-300

    Votes: 26 7.1%
  • $301-500

    Votes: 18 4.9%
  • $501-700

    Votes: 13 3.5%
  • $701-900

    Votes: 12 3.3%
  • $901-1100

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • $1100-1300

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • $1300-1500

    Votes: 5 1.4%
  • More than $1500

    Votes: 26 7.1%

  • Total voters
    368

BarryL

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2012
368
77
Oh so I could just use my unite pro to the cradle and it'll work on us att? Wonder if the explore be worth it then since it provides more band coverage. Do u find the cradle boosting signal at all?

Truefan- Here's a post of some tests with Netgear 113 booster. Keep in mind this was the Unite Pro and not Unite Explore. So far I've gotten much higher speeds with Explore.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/at-t-unlimited-data-plan-for-ipad.1742720/page-16#post-22488096

I've real close to pulling the trigger on that Cradlepoint IBR950.

I spoke with Cradlepoint, they did offer me a 10% off discount code. $800 for a modem is still a lot, but looking at results with MBR1100, might provide the best results.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
Truefan- Here's a post of some tests with Netgear 113 booster. Keep in mind this was the Unite Pro and not Unite Explore. So far I've gotten much higher speeds with Explore.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/at-t-unlimited-data-plan-for-ipad.1742720/page-16#post-22488096

I've real close to pulling the trigger on that Cradlepoint IBR950.

I spoke with Cradlepoint, they did offer me a 10% off discount code. $800 for a modem is still a lot, but looking at results with MBR1100, might provide the best results.

Thank you. Yeah it seems like the explore can provide higher speeds.

Do you find yourself having to reset the connection like the post you quoted?
 

BarryL

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2012
368
77
Thank you. Yeah it seems like the explore can provide higher speeds.
Do you find yourself having to reset the connection like the post you quoted?

No sir, my Explore and Unite stay connected without any issues for months on end. Could be I have a relatively strong signal without any issues.

I'm just looking to maximize my connection.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
No sir, my Explore and Unite stay connected without any issues for months on end. Could be I have a relatively strong signal without any issues.

I'm just looking to maximize my connection.

Yeah I'm with you. Just 800 is a lot lol.

Thinking of getting the explore, the cradle, thenan external antenna to the cradle.
 

BarryL

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2012
368
77
Yeah I'm with you. Just 800 is a lot lol.

Thinking of getting the explore, the cradle, thenan external antenna to the cradle.

Yes, although the Cradlepoint is big bucks, it also supports carrier aggregation & CAT 6 LTE. Which wraps LTE bands together. I don't think we'll ever see that from Netgear or our hotspots. That Cradlepoint is future proof, as you can add another modem later. Maybe AT&T grandfathers us to 5G when it's released in a couple years?

Interesting read here
https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/cradlepoint-announces-new-flagship-cor-ibr900-mobile-router/


The Netgear cradle / booster is the cheapest route to go. Amazon had Netgear 112a for $65 recently, but wouldn't ship for 1-2 months.. You might check there. eBay has had a few, but typically go for $150+. Personally I wouldn't mess with the non-US version.

In my conversation with Cradlepoint, he mentioned exterior antennas may not make a big difference. Unless you have a really crappy signal. The smaller device mounted antennas could provide a small gain.
 
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Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
Yes, although the Cradlepoint is big bucks, it also supports carrier aggregation & CAT 6 LTE. Which wraps LTE bands together. I don't think we'll ever see that from Netgear or our hotspots. That Cradlepoint is future proof, as you can add another modem later. Maybe AT&T grandfathers us to 5G when it's released in a couple years?

Interesting read here
https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/cradlepoint-announces-new-flagship-cor-ibr900-mobile-router/


The Netgear cradle / booster is the cheapest route to go. Amazon had Netgear 112a for $65 recently, but wouldn't ship for 1-2 months.. You might check there. eBay has had a few, but typically go for $150+. Personally I wouldn't mess with the non-US version.

In my conversation with Cradlepoint, he mentioned exterior antennas may not make a big difference. Unless you have a really crappy signal. The smaller device mounted antennas could provide a small gain.

Geez. Yeah the non us version is the 112 I don't see any 113 which is the us version.

That cradlepoint is pretty advanced. I get about 2-3 bars of att lte at my house, typically 35-45 Mbps down and like 12-15 Mbps up on my unite pro through 5ghz wifi. Was hoping that the extreme plus a dc112 and external antennas would get it to about 50 down/20 up. Also, ping is around 35ms on wifi, be nice to get that down too.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
DC113A is just a cradle that also gives you an Ethernet port. The DC112A is a full router.

I just tried out the ROOter OpenWRT firmware on a TP-Link Archer C7 and TP-Link WR710N and it works fine with the Unite Pro/Explore... through hostless modem mode... http://www.ofmodemsandmen.com/

The list of compatible routers is here: http://www.ofmodemsandmen.com/supported.html

Good info. Thank you.

I just received my explore. Pretty good, battery life is really good imo. Thinking about pullin the trigger on the dc112 though. Home internet backup.

Like how it tells me I'm on band 2 lte. I take it there's no way to change that.
 

biosci

macrumors 6502a
Apr 16, 2010
750
36
Chicagoland, IL
Good info. Thank you.

I just received my explore. Pretty good, battery life is really good imo. Thinking about pullin the trigger on the dc112 though. Home internet backup.

Like how it tells me I'm on band 2 lte. I take it there's no way to change that.

Has the explore been much better than the Unite Pro? Speed and picking up signal? I thought you were getting that fancy new net gear square one (can't remember the name.)
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
Has the explore been much better than the Unite Pro? Speed and picking up signal? I thought you were getting that fancy new net gear square one (can't remember the name.)

honestly speed has been relatively the same in my area, guess i'm on band 2 lte. The battery life is significantly better though, and it's been rock solid, no freezes/delays, which I'm big on.

I was interested in the dc112 because I can take the explore with me for portability, but then dock it for home internet. Was thinking of the dock + external antennas to get maximum signal/speed.

I think you mean the netgear m1

http://www.netgear.com.au/landings/nighthawk-mr1100-mobile-router/?cid=wmt_netgear_organic#specs

yeah this looks awesome. cat 6 lte. it's 360USD but idk if it's unlocked for ATT use.
 

BarryL

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2012
368
77
Has the explore been much better than the Unite Pro? Speed and picking up signal? I thought you were getting that fancy new net gear square one (can't remember the name.)

In the daytime I typically pull 20-25 down with Explore, later at night I can pull 40-50 down.

I never saw these speeds with my Unite Pro.

Like Truefan says, it could be your area.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,587
835
In the daytime I typically pull 20-25 down with Explore, later at night I can pull 40-50 down.

I never saw these speeds with my Unite Pro.

Like Truefan says, it could be your area.

Yeah I'm gettin about the same speeds on both the unite pro and explore. About 35-45 Mbps down and around 12-15 up. Ping is about 30-35. But the explore has been rock solid, no delays/freezes.

My goal would be to get a nice home internet solution as a backup. So I'd honestly like to get the ping down more so than the speed up. The dc112 has an Ethernet port so I'm assuming being hardwired would result in lower ping vs my standard Speedtest on my phone through wifi.

I'm looking at this too

NETGEAR 4G LTE Modem with Two Gigabit Ethernet Ports - AT&T Network-Ready device (LB2120-100NAS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQRHQYT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3cGXyb9QS8H2B

Since I guess I use band 2 in my area this should work well. The netgear nighthawk m1 doesn't show 1900 support so I'm not sure I'd get lte speeds in my area.
 

boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,851
I can't tell you whether that's a good idea or not, but I can give you the pros and cons of each to help you determine what's best for you.

$30 plan pros:
  • Cheapest option for unlimited ($30 total vs. $140 minimum for a phone and a tablet line)
  • Does not require DirecTV or U-verse (you might want to get rid of U-verse in the future and you will lose unlimited)
  • You can sometimes jailbreak for tethering (provided a jailbreak is available)
  • Works in pretty much any cellular device (tablet, hotspots, and phones) whereas the new plan set up for a tablet which includes tethering will not work in any device but a tablet
  • Absolutely no throttling (though you should rarely, if ever, get throttled on the new plan after 22GB)
New plan pros:
  • Obviously unlimited hotspot. I've had this almost since the plan came out and the hotspot is still available on my iPad.
  • Lots of $$$ selling your old plan.

Hey guys, can someone confirm that the above post is still correct?

I am the original owner of a 128GB iPad Air 2 with the grandfathered 2010 AT&T unlimited data plan which gets charged to my credit card each month and I don't use it that much anymore and was thinking of swapping it as a $20 device to my ATT unlimited plan which has 5 iPhones on it.

I assumed that the ~$1500 going price for a device like this would have collapsed in light of the new data plans, but that isn't the case?

BJ
 

BarryL

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2012
368
77
Hey guys, can someone confirm that the above post is still correct?

I am the original owner of a 128GB iPad Air 2 with the grandfathered 2010 AT&T unlimited data plan which gets charged to my credit card each month and I don't use it that much anymore and was thinking of swapping it as a $20 device to my ATT unlimited plan which has 5 iPhones on it.

I assumed that the ~$1500 going price for a device like this would have collapsed in light of the new data plans, but that isn't the case?

BJ

You selling or what Bolty?

They're still worth some bucks Boltly, but not nearly as much as before. My guess would be closer to $1000 Bolty.
 
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boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,851
You selling or what Bolty?

They're still worth some bucks Boltly, but not nearly as much as before. My guess would be closer to $1000 Bolty.

It depends. To replace the iPad would set me back $559 + $99 Applecare + $46 tax or $704 so it's not worth my time to swap devices for $296.

Or are you saying I can sell just the SIM for $1,000? That I would do in a heartbeat.

BJ
 

dmmcintyre3

macrumors 68020
Mar 4, 2007
2,131
3
It depends. To replace the iPad would set me back $559 + $99 Applecare + $46 tax or $704 so it's not worth my time to swap devices for $296.

Or are you saying I can sell just the SIM for $1,000? That I would do in a heartbeat.

BJ

Just the data plan is selling for over $1000
 

boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,851
Just the data plan is selling for over $1000

Cool.

So I bought 2 iPads with the UDP at the same time years ago, must have been 2008 or 2009. My iPad has the original SIM and still charges me each month, no issue there. My wife's iPad has the original SIM but she let the AT&T plan expire awhile ago....any chance I could get ATT to bring that one back to life on the grandfathered plan or do I lose out there because she let it expire when her credit card changed?

BJ
 
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techiegirl

macrumors 65816
Sep 7, 2007
1,242
297
There is one for sale at Orange County Craigslist for $300. It's not my listing and I don't know if it's legit.
 

boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,851
There is one for sale at Orange County Craigslist for $300. It's not my listing and I don't know if it's legit.

Can I ask why these SIM's are so desirable to people?

A Fios home 50/50 Mbps cable modem is $50 a month and AT&T LTE at best runs at 50 down / 15 up here in NYC and would be $30 a month.

Is this interest for grandfathered iPad SIM's simply to pay $20 a month less for similar speed to a cable modem for whole-house connectivity? I don't get it.

BJ
 

Brandon86

macrumors member
Apr 13, 2015
52
12
Can I ask why these SIM's are so desirable to people?

A Fios home 50/50 Mbps cable modem is $50 a month and AT&T LTE at best runs at 50 down / 15 up here in NYC and would be $30 a month.

Is this interest for grandfathered iPad SIM's simply to pay $20 a month less for similar speed to a cable modem for whole-house connectivity? I don't get it.

BJ
1: it's the cheapest.
2: it's portable if desired.
3: it's truly unthrottled, and unlimited.
4: it can be used in any device.
5: it has zero fees, taxes, or anything additional added on to the 29.99

Also the speed of service differs from area to area. I get better speeds than that in my area for instance.
 

HPLouis

macrumors regular
Nov 12, 2010
219
39
I just sold both of mine for $1,600 each. I would sell them if you don't want them anymore.
 

belvdr

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2005
5,945
1,372
I would rather have the grandfathered UDP in a mobile hotspot so everyone can do their own thing while traveling.
 

kalex

macrumors 65816
Oct 1, 2007
1,336
56
Wow. For the iPad + SIM or just the SIM's alone?

BJ
You are not selling the SIM card . You are selling your account. Once someone buys it you give them login and as long as account is still active that person will update the payment info and activate their own SIM card. To answer your previous question - once account lapses you can't get it back
 
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