Hi guys!
It's been a while since I've posted, but I've got a pretty good one for you guys who are still clinging to an unlimited data plan with AT&T like me.
As you know, after hitting the 3GB/5GB limit on the unlimited data plan (depending on if you have 3G or LTE unlimited data), you get throttled to horrible speeds, about .5Mbps/.1Mbps.
For a good while, we were able to bypass this throttle by using the "wap.cingular" profile. However, with LTE devices, generally speaking the wap.cingular APN does not work.
Looking to
this post, we see a method for using an older device + sim swap to bypass the throttle. Of course you are limited to HSPA speeds (about 7Mbps down) - but that is still 14 times faster than the throttle speed, so well worth it.
I was recently given a batch of used but good condition AT&T Unite Pros from a corporate client who no longer uses them. I decided to attempt to use it with my microsim that's on a grandfathered Nation 450 family plan with 3 lines, one of which has Unlimited LTE Data w/Visual Voicemail + unlimited texts.
Long story short, the method works great! Not only does the hotspot allow me to use my LTE as normal, without changing any of my plan options such as automatically changing my data plan to a tether plan, but after I hit the good old 5GB limit and get throttled, I can use wap.cingular on HSPA and continue to get 7Mbps until my month is up, at which point I get my LTE full speed again. The method is pretty much the same as the post detailed above.
I'll detail what I did for the AT&T Unite Pro hotspot below.
Things you need:
* AT&T Unite Pro (or other hotspot)
* Older, 4G only phone (HSPA only, no LTE) - alternatively, a phone that you can lock only to HSPA, that you know works with wap.cingular. In my case I used a Motorola Atrix 4G.
1. Boot up the hotspot without a SIM.
2. Using the administrative web interface, force the Hotspot to 4G only. Set network selection to Automatic.
3. Add the wap.cingular APN:
Code:
Name: anything
APN: wap.cingular
Username: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: [BLANK]
Authentication: None
4. Poweroff the hotspot.
5. Boot up the older, 4G only device with your microsim inside. In my case the Atrix 4G does not have a microsim slot, so I had to position it just right to fit inside a normal SIM slot.
6. Set the 4G only device to use the wap.cingular APN. You might have to set HSPA only and/or toggle airplane mode or reboot it to get it to stick. It can be a little finicky since the system still thinks you have an LTE device for a short period of time before the IMEI of the 4G only device gets registered with the network.
7. Once you have a working wap.cingular connection, power off the device.
8. Swap the microsim into the hotspot.
9. Boot the hotspot. In my case, each time i've tried this, the APN I added in step 3 remains on the list with it's name only, but the actual APN and Username is removed, along with all other APNs on the list. So the data connection does not function at this point.
10. Re-add the wap.cingular APN you added in step 3.
11. Set the wap.cingular APN as default and connect the data connection
At this point, you should have your hotspot successfully connected to HSPA, with no throttle. Enjoy your unlimited data until the month is over, when you can go back to using LTE.
One observation i've noted so far: If I start the month using wap.cingular, none of that data counts towards my throttle limit. So you can use wap.cingular even far over 5GB until you absolutely need LTE speeds, then switch to pta or nxtgenphone APN, and have the full 5GB available to you.
As a side note, I have a small amount of AT&T Unite Pro units in varying condition, mostly almost-new. All are still in warranty, and I might be willing to sell one or two at a reasonable price. Contact me via PM if interested.
If this info benefits you, feel free to send a dollar my way. I will use it to buy some bread to eat. Yes, I'm that broke. lol.
I'll keep researching things and see if I can find a way to get LTE speeds with throttle bypass. That would make our unlimited data plans worth gold again. :)
