How to stop AT&T throttling your bandwidth

To manage congestion, AT&T sometimes intentionally slows down users’ connection speeds. A VPN can help you to overcome AT&T throttling, and this guide will tell you how.

Using a virtual private network (VPN) can prevent ISPs like AT&T from throttling your internet usage. VPNs can also stop ISPs from seeing when users are visiting torrent sites, streaming video, or gaming. This is possible because VPNs encrypt traffic between the user’s device and the VPN server, hiding the contents of your connection from your ISP.

The best VPN for preventing ISPs like AT&T from throttling your bandwidth is NordVPN. It provides 1,970+ RAM-only servers in the US alone and provides speeds fast enough for streaming 4K content without buffering.

The service includes access to P2P-optimized servers and it also works well for accessing a range of geo-restricted content from the major streaming platforms. NordVPN uses 256-bit AES encryption to prevent third parties from being able to see what websites you’re visiting and what you’re doing whilst there. Subscriptions include additional tools for obfuscating traffic, connecting to Tor Network and establishing MultiHop connections. 

Our recommended alternative to NordVPN is Surfshark.  

How to stop AT&T from bandwidth throttling

Here's how to stop AT&T from bandwidth throttling with a VPN:

1. Choose a VPN that has servers in the US. We recommend NordVPN.
2. Sign up for a subscription. 
3. Download, and install, the relevant app for your device.
4. Restart the device once the installation is complete. 
5. Open the newly installed app and choose a server in the US. The servers nearest your location will provide the best connection speeds. 
6. Click the “connect” button.
7. Wait until the app tells you that a connection has been established.
8. Use the internet as normal, safe in the knowledge that AT&T will no longer be able to see which websites, services, and streaming sources you use.

How to test whether AT&T is throttling your bandwidth

First, you need to know what speeds you should be expecting. These can be found in the small print of your contract with AT&T. 

Use a speed-testing resource such as speedtest.net to check your actual speeds. If they are much lower than expected, then it’s likely your connection is being throttled. It’s worth checking several times – and while using streaming services, gaming or P2P services. It may be just these that are being throttled. If so, try again while connected to a VPN. If the speeds improve, then you can be reasonably sure that your bandwidth is being throttled.

Does AT&T selectively throttle bandwidth?

AT&T has always denied that it selectively throttles bandwidth. However, in 2014 it was sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which accused it of intentionally slowing down the internet speeds of customers using its unlimited-data plans when they reached a certain data limit. The resulting speeds, said the FTC, were “so slow that many common activities like web browsing and video streaming were difficult or impossible”.

AT&T never admitted to the practice, but did agree to settle out of court and refund more than $52 million to current and former customers. At the time of writing, a pot of approximately $7 million was still available for affected customers to claim a refund. To be eligible, you must have subscribed to an AT&T unlimited data plan at some point between October 1, 2011 and June 30, 2015.

Nowadays, the company stipulates that its unlimited data packages do actually have limits and that exceeding those limits results in throttling. It says that it will “temporarily slow your speed at any time” if its network is busy, as well as slowing it if you “use more than 50GB or 22GB of data in a single bill period”.

AT&T says that rather than referring to amounts of data, “unlimited” means that users will “never be subject to overage charges and will pay a single monthly flat rate”. As such, even unlimited plans can be subject to slow internet speeds due to throttling.  

Some users have reported connections selectively slowing when accessing certain sites or when streaming, gaming, or torrenting. If you suspect your connection is being throttled based on particular sites you’re accessing, you can test it as mentioned earlier in this article, or just stop it by using a VPN. 

If AT&T is throttling you because of an exceeded data limit or because of network congestion, then a VPN won’t be able to help. While a VPN can hide which websites are being used, ISPs can still see the volume of traffic being sent and received.

Bandwidth throttling while gaming

Unfortunately, it is common for ISPs like AT&T to throttle users when they play games, particularly during peak hours. This is because games consume a lot of bandwidth. AT&T wants to prevent network congestion for the majority of users, and people who use a lot of bandwidth like gamers are the first to feel the noose being tightened! 

If you often play data-intensive multiplayer games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Rocket League it is distinctly possible that you may experience throttling at one time or another. Thus, if you notice that your connection seems slower than usual you may want to try a VPN.

The encrypted connection provided by a VPN prevents AT&T from detecting that you are accessing a popular game server, which makes it much harder for it to use automated systems to throttle you. This should give you much better consistency, and return your internet speeds to what they were before throttling was enabled. It's a great solution if you're suffering from lag, and you suspect that your internet provider is the culprit. 

The same is true when you engage in other activities such as streaming or torrenting. If you notice an unusual slowing of your internet, we recommend trying a VPN to see if it helps. You can test any of our recommendations to bypass throttling risk-free thanks to their money-back guarantee.

How a VPN can stop ISPs throttling your bandwidth: FAQs

What is ISP bandwidth throttling?

Bandwidth throttling is the intentional limiting of internet connection speeds by an internet service provider (ISP). During throttling, ISPs deliberately restrict network bandwidth or data transfer rates for specific types of online content, services, or applications.

ISPs may implement bandwidth throttling for a variety of reasons: 

1. To manage network congestion: ISPs like AT&T sometimes use throttling during peak usage times or in areas with heavy internet traffic. ISPs throttle certain types of internet traffic to alleviate network congestion, which helps to ensure a consistent level of service for all users.
2. Discrimination of service: Some ISPs implement throttling on different types of internet services or applications. For example, they may allocate more bandwidth to streaming services or prioritize voice and video calls over file downloads. This is usually done to give the users who need extra power the bandwidth they need, but may sometimes result in the opposite.
3. Fair use policies: ISPs sometimes impose fair usage policies that limit the amount of data each user can consume within a specific time period. Once users exceed these limits, their connection speeds may be throttled to ensure they aren't abusing the service and causing network congestion for other users.
4. Content-based throttling: ISPs sometimes throttle specific websites, applications, or types of content. This may be done in an effort to prevent piracy, for legal reasons, or simply to favor affiliated services they want users to access seamlessly on their platform.

If you believe that AT&T is throttling your bandwidth, the best option is to use a VPN. This will conceal your traffic and web visits from your ISP making it harder for them to know what you are doing and when to throttle you. This can bypass automated throttling systems that ISPs like AT&T have in place, making you invulnerable to this annoying speed pinching.

Is it legal for AT&T to throttle bandwidth?

Net neutrality is the concept that all data traffic on a network should be treated equally. It prevents ISPs from blocking, slowing down or speeding up the delivery of online content at their discretion. 

In 2015, the FCC – under then-president Barack Obama – adopted net neutrality rules. However, these were overturned in 2017 during Donald Trump’s tenure as president. This allowed ISPs to throttle at will – though companies like AT&T deny engaging in selective throttling. 

At the time of writing, Democratic Senators Edward Markey and Ron Wyden have introduced a bill that would give the FCC the authority needed to reinstate net neutrality. The Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act is an attempt to reclassify broadband internet services as telecommunication services under Title II of the Communications Act.

When does AT&T throttle connections?

AT&T primarily throttles connections during periods when network demand exceeds the available network resources. This can occur during peak times, like weekends, or when specific events occur – like a major football game. 

AT&T also says that it may limit the flow of traffic from certain locations or take other “appropriate actions” in response to a “specific security threat against our network or our customers”.

The company may prioritize certain types of traffic to “address the needs of emergency communications, law enforcement, public safety (including FirstNet), or national security authorities”.

What is Video Management?

Video Management is another AT&T network management practice that limits the bandwidth taken up by streaming. If the company identifies content as streaming video, it renders it in standard definition (SD). It is primarily for mobile devices and networks, so it does not turn on when connected to WiFi.

If your AT&T plan only includes SD streaming, then Video Management will always be turned on. Subscribers to plans with HD or 4K UHD are allowed to change the Video Management settings to allow for higher-definition streaming.

AT&T can struggle to correctly identify whether a video is being streamed or downloaded and may slow downloads. It may also slow access to content bundled with streamed video, such as video downloads, lenses, catalogs, and filters. 

Using a VPN prevents AT&T from knowing whether you’re streaming videos in the first place, thus letting you bypass its video management system. 

Can VPNs slow down streaming speeds?

VPNs used to suffer from slower speeds, but the majority of premium services we've mentioned are quick enough to bypass throttling with no lag, giving the user access to online content via faster connections from a wide range of locations. The same can't be said for many free VPNs, so we'd look elsewhere for the fastest download speeds.