T-Mobile’s Binge On feature basically allows mobile users to stream video content without worrying that it will affect their data allowances, but the service has been hitting headlines recently, but it may be doing so for not entirely the right reasons. A couple of days ago, a report published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows that the wireless carrier’s video streaming service does indeed throttle all video content regardless of the source video provider. A week earlier, YouTube (who is not yet participating on Binge On, by the way) had charged that the Binge On feature was reducing the quality of YouTube videos without its or the users’ consent. Although T-Mobile has claimed that it was not really throttling videos, but merely “optimizing” them for mobile viewing. And then last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began sending letters of inquiry to T-Mobile, asking for more information about the Binge On feature. On top of that, industry watchers are starting to debate whether or not the service is compliant with the net neutrality rules set by the FCC.
Suffice it to say that T-Mobile quite has its hands full at the moment dealing with the situation. When the Binge On feature was first launched in November of last year, T-Mobile had the service automatically activated for all of the wireless carrier’s subscribers. If you are on T-Mobile and do not want to view throttled videos on your phone, you can just deactivate the feature. You can do so either through the My T-Mobile app (which works both on Android and iOS), or by logging into one’s T-Mobile account via a personal computer.
1. After opening the My T-Mobile app, just select Account info.
2. Click on Plans and Services.
3. Scroll down and click the Add/Change Services button.
4. Scroll down to Other, expand it by clicking +, and go to Enable Binge On to either deactivate or activate the service.
1. If you feel comfortable deactivating the Binge On feature using a personal computer, just log in to your My T-Mobile account, and then head to the PROFILE section on the upper right corner of the page.
2. You should be able to spot a Media Settings button on the left sidebar. Clicking it will launch the Set media preferences section, wherein you can find the Binge On item, as well as an ON or OFF button on its right side.
That's it! Go ahead and start enjoying that full HD video from T-Mobile.
