Is Airtel’s “Unlimited 5G” a scam? We tested the hidden 300GB fair usage policy and discovered the real reason why your 5G data stops.
“Data exhausted. But wait… I thought this was unlimited?”
This is the exact confusion facing countless Airtel users across India. You’ve been promised “Unlimited 5G,” but the moment your 4G daily data pack (like 2GB/day) runs out, your internet grinds to a halt, even on a 5G network.
Many are calling it a scam. Others, a fraud. So, what’s the truth? We decided to push Airtel’s “unlimited” promise to its absolute breaking point to find out.
The Promise vs. The Reality
In a competitive market, with rivals like Jio offering unlimited 5G, Airtel had to match the offer. The clear understanding for any consumer is that if your phone shows the “5G” symbol, your data usage shouldn’t count against your daily 4G quota.
But that’s not what’s happening.
Complaints are all over Reddit and Twitter. And we can confirm it ourselves. While on 5G, after our daily data limit was used up (around 15GB for the day), our internet connection stopped. The My Airtel app clearly showed “5G Data Top Up Unlimited,” but the data was, in fact, finished.
So, yes, the complaints are true. Airtel’s 5G data does stop for many users.
Digging into the Fine Print (The Part No One Reads)
To find answers, we dug into Airtel’s website and app terms and conditions. Here’s what we found:
- “Commercial Use” is Banned: Airtel states the unlimited 5G offer is for “personal use” only. If they detect “commercial use,” they reserve the right to modify or stop your service.
- The “No Hotspot” Rule: One T&C line clearly states, “Sharing of data… shall not be allowed via hotspot.” This suggests using your phone as a hotspot might be the problem.
- The 300GB Hidden Cap: Buried deep in the My Airtel app’s T&Cs (and not visible on GPay or PhonePe recharge pages) is the real catch: Airtel defines any data usage over 300GB per month as “commercial use.”
So, “unlimited” actually means 300GB, right? Well, that’s what we decided to test.
The Stress Test: Pushing 5G to its Limit
We decided to test both the “No Hotspot” rule and the “300GB Limit.” The results were shocking.
Test 1: Is Hotspot Banned?
- Result: Absolutely not. We used a hotspot to download massive files.
- One day, we used 43GB.
- While downloading iOS updates, we used 35GB.
- While downloading a 114GB game for this test, we used 145GB… in a single day.
- Our total data usage this month from hotspot alone was 281GB.
Test 2: Is 300GB the Hard Limit?
- Result: No. We didn’t just hit the 300GB limit; we flew right past it.
- Our total combined data usage (hotspot + mobile) for the month reached 343GB.
And the crazy part? Even after using 343GB, our 5G internet was still working (after a quick phone restart).
So, What Is Actually Going On?
This investigation reveals two different problems:
- The 300GB Policy is Misleading: Airtel is not being transparent. They should put an asterisk next to “Unlimited” and clearly state “Fair Usage Policy of 300GB applies.” While most users won’t hit this, it’s deceptive marketing.
- The Real Problem is a Glitch: The reason most people’s data stops after their 2GB daily limit is not the 300GB FUP. It appears to be a network or software glitch. In our tests, when the internet stopped, simply restarting the phone or toggling Airplane Mode on and off often fixed it and re-enabled the unlimited 5G data.
Even after crossing 343GB, our phone’s 4G data quota still showed “exhausted,” but the 5G speed returned after a restart. This is incredibly confusing for a normal user.
Our Conclusion
Airtel needs to be clear with its customers. The “Unlimited 5G” marketing is built on a lack of transparency.
While there is a hidden 300GB FUP, the more immediate problem for everyday users (whose data stops after 2GB) seems to be a technical issue that Airtel needs to fix. You shouldn’t have to restart your phone to get the service you paid for.
We urge you to share this post and tag Airtel. They need to address this confusion, be transparent about their policies, and fix the glitches.
What has your experience been with Airtel’s 5G? Has your data stopped? Let us know in the comments.
