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AT&T requires a data plan on Fuze

Hey guys, I need to cancel my data plan on my account with AT&T, and the rep told me b/c it's a smart phone it requires a data plan with it.
I installed that one program that disables network connections so no data is transferred at all, but I'd still be paying the $30/month.
Does anyone know of a program to blind the IDMI or w/e number so that AT&T doesn't know what phone I'm using? I mean, yea I can just put my SIM in another phone and use that and cancel the plan just fine. I'd LIKE to continue using the fuze as a normal phone b/c it has wifi and is an all-around better phone than say a moto razor. This way I can call from a razor, cancel the plan, and put the SIM back in the Fuze and according to my account online it won't know I've switched back to the Fuze.
Ideas? Thanks.

tell the rep that he/she is a liar and a jerk. You can remove your dataplan. the only phone out there that requires you to have a dataplan is the iphone. get yourself a rep that actually knows what they're talking about.
Last time they told my gf that her only option for txt mssging is to pay for the unlimited and i kept telling her you can get 200 for $5 and the rep says no, I told her to get another rep and that rep set it up for her.

You actually do need a data plan for any smartphone, if you upgrade to another smart phone theres no way to get out of paying $30 for data

Broman400 said:
You actually do need a data plan for any smartphone, if you upgrade to another smart phone theres no way to get out of paying $30 for data
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I have to agree with mputtr. Keep trying until you get a rep that will do it for you. By the way, I've upgraded twice over the past 3 1/2 years with ATT smartphones, and I was never required to get a data plan. I still don't have one to this day.

LBCta said:
I have to agree with mputtr. Keep trying until you get a rep that will do it for you. By the way, I've upgraded twice over the past 3 1/2 years with ATT smartphones, and I was never required to get a data plan. I still don't have one to this day.
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mputtr said:
tell the rep that he/she is a liar and a jerk. You can remove your dataplan. the only phone out there that requires you to have a dataplan is the iphone. get yourself a rep that actually knows what they're talking about.
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Not true anymore, since September 6, it's now AT&T policy that every smartphone requires the $30 data plan, not just the iphone (BBs included). The only way to get out of this is if you had a smartphone BEFORE that date and either didn't have a data plan or had a cheaper one and therefore you're grandfathered in. You could try to find a rep to do it for you, and even in the rare case you do find one, once AT&T matches your IMEI, they're gonna put the data plan back on and possibly charge you for trying to circumvent the policy.

rccola159 said:
Not true anymore, since September 6, it's now AT&T policy that every smartphone requires the $30 data plan, not just the iphone (BBs included). The only way to get out of this is if you had a smartphone BEFORE that date and either didn't have a data plan or had a cheaper one and therefore you're grandfathered in. You could try to find a rep to do it for you, and even in the rare case you do find one, once AT&T matches your IMEI, they're gonna put the data plan back on and possibly charge you for trying to circumvent the policy.
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He's right. Though, how long do you think it will take for them to match up the IMEI's? Because I've switched my SIM through several Winmo phones (shh, off the record) and never been asked about it.
I'm hoping AT&T will be lazy because I really don't like this idea

Jaxbot said:
He's right. Though, how long do you think it will take for them to match up the IMEI's? Because I've switched my SIM through several Winmo phones (shh, off the record) and never been asked about it.
I'm hoping AT&T will be lazy because I really don't like this idea
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Yeah, it's either hit or miss I guess. At times my Fuze will go unnoticed after using a dumbphone, and then all of a sudden it will show up in OLAM, but I've had the Medianet plan on the Fuze forever, so no worries
But from what I hear AT&T is more aggressive in searching for people, so all I can say is good luck!

I've got three phones on family data & family texting... $60 total for all three. Fuze, BJII and Samsung Eternity. I want to upgrade fuze to Tilt2 & BJII to better smartphone, but I don't want to get jacked by AT&T forcing a move to data plans. Anyone know if you can switch back thought the website once you've signed up for data plan?

I've had a Tilt forever. I need to uprade, hopefully to a HTC Pure, however already having a family plan with 5 phones, I don't need or want a data plan o top of that expense. Is there a way of using an unlocked phone to avoid the ATT Nazis? Thanks for any help. Hoping that I won't have to go back to an iPaq Pocket PC.

the only real way of doing it is after upgrading the phone wait a month or so while paying for data then put the sim in a old razr or something and go online change your IMEI and then call and say u lost the new one and have them take data off.
then just swap sims later and hope they dont notice

Here's a quick fix that always works: (I've done this many, many times)
1. Get yourself a dumbphone, i.e. non-winmo/BB/iPhone devices like those Nokia's or SE's
2. Get the IMEI# of the dumbphone ready because the rep would want to register that with your account.
3. Call the rep from the dumbphone, and tell him/her that you're NOT gonna use your smartphone anymore and that you would want the data plan to be removed.
OR
This would also be the chance for you to downgrade your data plan to the cheaper $15/mo MediaNET, most dumbphones will be eligible for that.
4. Hang up and put back the SIM card into the smartphone again, voila.
The trick is to NEVER call the rep from the smartphone as they're able to detect your IMEI from the network.
Good luck.

[Q] captivate and AT&T's basic phone unlimited data plan

Hey guys, my 1st post here.
i am on AT&T and i am going for galaxy s device, obvious choice being captivate, but i want to know if i have basic unlimited data plan (the one for my current SE w760, $15/month) will continue to work? i am going to buy captivate from ebay, not directly from AT&T, so can i still use non-smartphone data plan for captivate? cuz if im not getting unlimited data, i will prefer going to Vibrant.

It will work fine, but AT&T will eventually notice and switch you to an "appropriate" plan.

thank you for the reply, but then what if i go for Vibrant instead of captivate? that way AT&T cant change my plan to smartphone plan right?

It depends on whether they have the Vibrant's IMEIs in their database. It's possible they don't, but it's possible they do.
But then you would have to get an unlocked Vibrant, and would you even be able to use the 200MB on the smartphone $15 plan since you'd be using EDGE (I'm assuming the Vibrant doesn't have AT&T 3G).

I'm good friends with a manager from an AT&T store, and yes, it will change, unfortunately, even if you got the Vibrant... Had to ask him pretty much the same question for a friend of mine, and they manage to see that you have a data/smart phone pretty quick.

yeah that is true, clocking 200MB on EDGE is not that probable, but that is my deciding factor. if i can get unlimited 3G on captivate (i guess AT&T no longer has an unlimited plan) then i would go for captivate else i would go for Vibrant, as vibrant is better in many aspects than captivate, especially less bloatware and more useful apps pre-loaded.

And you can get an unlocked Vibrant?

thats a shame, but then in that case Vibrant is better choice, as having a limited 3G is a pain, and that was the only reason i was going for captivate over vibrant.
and yes there are lots of unlocked vibrants on ebay from pretty reputed sellers.

xargs1 said:
It will work fine, but AT&T will eventually notice and switch you to an "appropriate" plan.
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In my case they didn't. I used my at&t Tilt (Kaiser) on MEdia Net Unlimited for the last two years. I never got switched back to the smartphone data plan or got any sort of nasty note about using too much data.

I had a unlocked G1 on At&t and after configuring the APNs I had unlimited data for $15 a month. Needless to say there was no 3g but it still worked with no issues.

If you have an old unlimited data plan, its called grandfathered I think. Anyways, if you have an old smartphone plan it should just stay the same as long its the smartphone, I still had my unlimited plan when I switch from iPhone 3GS to SGS. But I don't know if you have the smartphone unlimited data plan since you mention the 15 dollars one. I would go directly to AT&T cooperate store and speak in person cuz representative on the phone are just dumb! LOL so yeah meeting in person would be good.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

mlb1988 said:
If you have an old unlimited data plan, its called grandfathered I think. Anyways, if you have an old smartphone plan it should just stay the same as long its the smartphone, I still had my unlimited plan when I switch from iPhone 3GS to SGS. But I don't know if you have the smartphone unlimited data plan since you mention the 15 dollars one. I would go directly to AT&T cooperate store and speak in person cuz representative on the phone are just dumb! LOL so yeah meeting in person would be good.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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OP doesn't have any smartphone plan to be grandfathered in.

chirantan.f said:
yeah that is true, clocking 200MB on EDGE is not that probable, but that is my deciding factor. if i can get unlimited 3G on captivate (i guess AT&T no longer has an unlimited plan) then i would go for captivate else i would go for Vibrant, as vibrant is better in many aspects than captivate, especially less bloatware and more useful apps pre-loaded.
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200 MB on EDGE is easy to do on the Captivate. I'm already past that point and I do use Wifi at home.

so from all the posts, i think getting a captivate means i have to pay for smartphone plan, even though i should have an option to cancel the data plans totally (while some forums say that i cant cancel a data plan, but i dont believe thats the case if i have bought the phone at full price and not subsidized).
Now i am interested in seeing what will AT&T do if i go for Vibrant (instead of Captivate) and use the non-smartphone data plan on it. I doubt they will know what is connected as they wont have IMEI for Vibrant (some forums said that AT&T does differentiate their smartphones based on the list of IMEIs) so with Vibrant i should be able to use non-smartphone data-plan, what do you guys think about that?

chirantan.f said:
so from all the posts, i think getting a captivate means i have to pay for smartphone plan, even though i should have an option to cancel the data plans totally (while some forums say that i cant cancel a data plan, but i dont believe thats the case if i have bought the phone at full price and not subsidized).
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AT&T requires ALL smartphones to have data plan regardless how you purchased it. Just ask any Nexus One owners.
Now i am interested in seeing what will AT&T do if i go for Vibrant (instead of Captivate) and use the non-smartphone data plan on it. I doubt they will know what is connected as they wont have IMEI for Vibrant (some forums said that AT&T does differentiate their smartphones based on the list of IMEIs) so with Vibrant i should be able to use non-smartphone data-plan, what do you guys think about that?
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Personally, if I'm only getting EDGE speed, I'll not pay any data plan for it. It's like you buy a top of line PC today and put a dialup networking for internet connection.

Verizon Predicament

Ok, so I have a rooted HTC Thunderbolt with Gingeritis 3D and is getting pretty old. I want to upgrade to the S3, but the problem is that i'll lose my unlimited (bastards). I've looked into getting a cheap plan from other carriers that have the S3 and then modifying it to work with verizon and use the other carrier as a business phone, but I can't find a plan cheap enough. I really hate the tiered plans with verizon so I'm trying to avoid that at all costs, but I don't feel like paying $700 for a freakin phone. Anyone have any ideas on a work around of some sort?

You're most likely screwed, I just lost my unlimited data recently because someone on my plan upgraded, so we all lost it, you might as well suck it up, no offense, Verizon is closing all loopholes to keep unlimited.
-Sent from Marino's Galaxy Nexus-

Phones from sprint and virgin mobile generally tend to be cheaper. Im not sure how you plan on modifying GSM units to function on CDMA networks (then again, im not very tech savvy) but chances are buying an off contract phone is the way to go. The CDMA variant of the galaxy nexus is always a cheap viable option. My 2 cents.

buckfuddy said:
Phones from sprint and virgin mobile generally tend to be cheaper. Im not sure how you plan on modifying GSM units to function on CDMA networks (then again, im not very tech savvy) but chances are buying an off contract phone is the way to go. The CDMA variant of the galaxy nexus is always a cheap viable option. My 2 cents.
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You can't, because:
1. You'd have to do something I can't mention her for legal reasons to get the Sprint version to work on Verizon.
2. The Sprint version has an embedded SIM, so no SIM slot that the Verizon version uses/needs for the LTE SIM.
3. Different frequency of LTE, so you wouldn't even get LTE.
4. Sprint has terrible data speeds and close to no LTE coverage (take it from me, I used to work for them).
5. Verizon is crazy expensive all in the name of "coverage" (take it from me again, because I used to work for them too, even though it doesn't take a genius to see it).
I say buy an AT&T/T-Mobile version unlocked (or international i9300 if you want) and hop onto Straight Talk. $45 a month unlimited everything (ok, well they'll throttle you if you use a lot of data), and you can choose if you want an AT&T or T-Mobile-based SIM. By a lot of data I mean generally over 2-3GB. But you can go on their Facebook page and make a support ticket lying and saying some app used a lot of data, and they'll usually un-throttle you in a day or less.
I tell people not to go for Verizon unless no other carrier has decent service in their area or unless their company is paying the bill. Because they have horrible customer service, destroy blockbuster devices with branding and bloatware (and locked bootloaders), and are crazy expensive.

Product F(RED) said:
You can't, because:
1. You'd have to do something I can't mention her for legal reasons to get the Sprint version to work on Verizon.
2. The Sprint version has an embedded SIM, so no SIM slot that the Verizon version uses/needs for the LTE SIM.
3. Different frequency of LTE, so you wouldn't even get LTE.
4. Sprint has terrible data speeds and close to no LTE coverage (take it from me, I used to work for them).
5. Verizon is crazy expensive all in the name of "coverage" (take it from me again, because I used to work for them too, even though it doesn't take a genius to see it).
I say buy an AT&T/T-Mobile version unlocked (or international i9300 if you want) and hop onto Straight Talk. $45 a month unlimited everything (ok, well they'll throttle you if you use a lot of data), and you can choose if you want an AT&T or T-Mobile-based SIM. By a lot of data I mean generally over 2-3GB. But you can go on their Facebook page and make a support ticket lying and saying some app used a lot of data, and they'll usually un-throttle you in a day or less.
I tell people not to go for Verizon unless no other carrier has decent service in their area or unless their company is paying the bill. Because they have horrible customer service, destroy blockbuster devices with branding and bloatware (and locked bootloaders), and are crazy expensive.
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I believe Virgin Mobile has a $25 plan that might suit one's needs. Then again, I'm not sure about the compatibility of VMs phones with Verizons network.

buckfuddy said:
I believe Virgin Mobile has a $25 plan that might suit one's needs. Then again, I'm not sure about the compatibility of VMs phones with Verizons network.
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For 3G they'd work, if you can do the thing that I can't mention. But VM uses WiMax for 4G, not LTE, so it wouldn't work.

I'm going to second the Straight Talk suggestion. While they don't guaranty you will have reliable service, it is certainly worth the savings and is usually pretty reliable. If you put up the cash to buy a phone outright, you will save more then that then if you were to stick with Verizon.
I have my Infuse on ST right now, and it's been just fine. I've been getting speeds equal to my service when I was on AT&T and have only had a few hiccups when it comes to data, bet never when it comes to actual phone service.
There are particular data heavy apps I've used that seemed to kick me off the data network, which I think is the only reason I had issues with my data. It usually resolves itself after a while though. One of those apps was a remote desktop app that I was just testing out from work for the first time on my phone (always used my tablet for it before), and my data pretty much stopped working as soon as I tried using it. Then after about an hour or so I was able to use data again. Tried calling in the issue, but I spent about 30 minutes on hold and just hung up. Which brings up another downfall of ST, it's usually not a good idea to attempt to call customer service in the middle of the day.

el_roy1985 said:
I'm going to second the Straight Talk suggestion. While they don't guaranty you will have reliable service, it is certainly worth the savings and is usually pretty reliable. If you put up the cash to buy a phone outright, you will save more then that then if you were to stick with Verizon.
I have my Infuse on ST right now, and it's been just fine. I've been getting speeds equal to my service when I was on AT&T and have only had a few hiccups when it comes to data, bet never when it comes to actual phone service.
There are particular data heavy apps I've used that seemed to kick me off the data network, which I think is the only reason I had issues with my data. It usually resolves itself after a while though. One of those apps was a remote desktop app that I was just testing out from work for the first time on my phone (always used my tablet for it before), and my data pretty much stopped working as soon as I tried using it. Then after about an hour or so I was able to use data again. Tried calling in the issue, but I spent about 30 minutes on hold and just hung up. Which brings up another downfall of ST, it's usually not a good idea to attempt to call customer service in the middle of the day.
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When you fill in the APN, remove any "Proxy" fields except for "MMS Proxy." It's one way they try to limit what apps can connect to the network. But other than that they're good. It's full AT&T or T-Mobile service (you choose the SIM type), running on the base network, not the Prepaid/slow-network. So if you have good AT&T or T-Mobile service in your area, you'll the same coverage/speeds on Straight Talk.

I bought a used (T-Mobile) GS3 for $450 and use T-Mobile's $30/mo pay-as-you-go 4G plan (100 minutes, unlimited texting, 5Gb data before throttling). There are other no-contract plans out there for other types of users as well. Doing the math, just buying the phone instead of paying higher rates for the carrier to subsidise some of it easily evens-out over its lifespan - or comes way ahead. I would have paid about $1000/yr at Verizon. Now I'm paying about $580/yr considering the price of the phone. If I keep the phone after two years, this drops to $360/yr. And I get better service quality over-all.
I'm sure you can find a used Verizon GS3 - heck, you can even get them NEW for less than "$700".
If you're actually getting a good deal with Verizon, then just buy the phone out-right.

Android on AT&T without data

Looking for an android phone to use on ATT that does not require a data plan.
Until recently i was using the HTC Amaze 4g ( a Tmobile phone) on ATT. For a few months i had no data, no problem. Then i started using the gps a bit, so i got the data, but it was data unlimited for $10/month since the phone was unidentified. That lasted for 3 months or so, then i got the dreadful text saying i need to add data to my line cause its a smartphone.. I then read online, that the Original Nexus, not the 4, was unidentified by AT&T, and that it could be used without data. So i got that, but within 12hrs was forced onto a data plan.
NOW, i am looking for any help or advice on finding a smartphone, preferably android, to use on ATT without data. I almost always have wifi, and really just cant pay $30 extra a month for data that i wont use.
Want a phone that i can check my gmail on, gchat, and have my calendar and music handy, without having multiple devices...
I know this has been discussed in the past, but the threads i came across are outdated, and with new policies and new phones, i was hoping for an update.
Thank you in advance for any help.

I considered putting a pre-paid SIM for minutes in my smartphone - but that would really be NO DATA.
You could probably pretty easily do that - it would just be no data at all.
They might not let you do it on a contract on ATT. T-Mobile doesn't care if you're on a pre-paid plan, but it would depend on if they had good coverage in your area (I am on the $30/mo plan 100min/unlimited text/5Gb data - they have one that focuses on minutes, too). There are also other pre-paid services that use various towers that offer competitive prices.
I guess it really depends on what you need from the service.

Pop your sim into a dumb phone, call them and tell them you want a data block, after they do their thing put the sim back into the smartphone. I've had it like that for 2 years, then I got data, and after a month I had to bock it again, so I put the sim into a dumb phone again and called them to put a block. It always works.

jaszek said:
Pop your sim into a dumb phone, call them and tell them you want a data block, after they do their thing put the sim back into the smartphone. I've had it like that for 2 years, then I got data, and after a month I had to bock it again, so I put the sim into a dumb phone again and called them to put a block. It always works.
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Thats what ive done... but within a day or two, the data plan gets forced back on again... I even tried blocking data on the line, not using any at all, just wifi, and still they force it on. The rep says that the system scans for smartphones, and when it detects one it auto adds the data on.

atat sucks
cant do **** with **** t

faraband said:
Thats what ive done... but within a day or two, the data plan gets forced back on again... I even tried blocking data on the line, not using any at all, just wifi, and still they force it on. The rep says that the system scans for smartphones, and when it detects one it auto adds the data on.
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Weird. Did you tell them to put a data block specifically? Did you give them your IMEI? Also, is the phone you're using an AT&T phone? I had my data blocked while going through 6 different smartphones, in a mix of windows mobile and Android. But non of them were AT&T branded.
Edit. Just reread the OP. All my phones were international except my G2 which was T-Mobile branded. And try to work with them over live chat. It's what I used and it always worked.

My last device with AT&T was an LG Thrive ( P506 ). I had no issues using it with AT&T and no data plan. Bear in mind that the P506 is a bottom end Android device. I was on the $25 month prepaid package for well over a year. In fact, I switched to Simple Mobile, only about 4 months ago.

shinobisoft said:
My last device with AT&T was an LG Thrive ( P506 ). I had no issues using it with AT&T and no data plan. Bear in mind that the P506 is a bottom end Android device. I was on the $25 month prepaid package for well over a year. In fact, I switched to Simple Mobile, only about 4 months ago.
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Prepaid works differently in this type of situation

jaszek said:
Prepaid works differently in this type of situation
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That may be. OP asked for suggestions, thats what I gave. OP didnt specify prepaid or contract.

+1 for pre-paid. Gave my mom my old phone on a month to month contract. took them 4-5 months to actually detect her using the phone but they get pretty butt mad about it and start charging her some rediculous data plan.

[Q] New Nexus 5: Which ATT MVNO Shall I get?

Greetings all!
I've been a very satisfied and loyal supporter of Ting for nearly two years now. However, I've decided to get myself a 32gb Nexus 5 from the playstore (arrives tomorrow, yaay!) with the hopes that I'll eventually be able to BYOSD to Ting. For now, I'm trying to settle on an ATT MVNO since TMO coverage is awful around here for miles.
Here is my usage on Ting:
under 100 mins
no texts (I use Google voice for SMS)
150mb average data use
I pay about 15-25ish per month depending on usage.
What I'm looking for in an ATT MVNO:
Decent Customer Service
Unliminted (or even decent amount) SMS/MMS/VOICE
Decent amount of data, say 250mb-1gb.
Reliable autopay and number porting.
No more than $40/month
I would like to port my Ting number once I feel "safe" and satisfied with the ATT MVNO.
I'm thinking of going with red pocket for now since I can get a free sim from callingmart.com with 39.99 of service. However, I'm nervous about the repeated complaints about inconsistent data throttling with Red Pocket. If I like the ATT service, I'd like to port my "real number" over to AIO because I've heard they have better CS, LTE, and a more reliable data throttle of 256kbps after the plan cap. I wish they had more LTE data (in my price range), but I can deal with the 256kpbs throttle if I breach 250mb.
I like the larger data pools of Airvoice and RP but the strange stories about having to call in to reset data or restore service are unsettling. I've never had an issue with my Ting service. Ting CS kind of spoils you.
Am I being paranoid?

Aside from you owning a nexus 5, I think this thread belongs over at the Howard forums because it has nothing to do with the Nexus 5
Sent from my LG-D801 using xda app-developers app

Dang, was wondering the same thing.
I'm in the same boat, but migrating from Sprint. I was hoping to hear what the community had to say on the matter of AT&T MVNOs. XDA is my trusted source. :fingers-crossed:

I would also like to see what the community here thinks on this matter. I'm currently with Sprint, was considering Republic Wireless, but when the Nexus 5 came out decided that I prefer that to the MotoX and so was looking at Ting. Hopefully they will come around to allowing a Play Store Nexus on Ting, but until then I'd sure like to get away from my $85 per month plan I have with Sprint towards something in the $20-$40 range. ATT and Sprint have decent coverage where I am, T-Mobile is not an option, unfortunately.

heroisnotdead said:
What I'm looking for in an ATT MVNO:
Decent Customer Service
Unliminted (or even decent amount) SMS/MMS/VOICE
Decent amount of data, say 250mb-1gb.
Reliable autopay and number porting.
No more than $40/month
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Click to collapse
I would highly recommend Aio Wireless. Their $40 plan fits all of your criteria, and I've been really satisfied with them after 2 months. I currently use the $70 plan and the speeds and coverage are great. I would also recommend installing their MyAio app to keep track of data/pay/etc and their Visual Voicemail app which is really great to use. I can't comment on their Autopay feature because I like to manually pay my bills to keep track of where all of my money goes, but their payment method via app and desktop is painless and quick.

About 18 months ago, I left Sprint for Straight Talk. They have everything unlimited* for $45. You get unlimited 2.5GB of 4G (LTE & HSPA+ for at&t SIM, HSPA+ for T-Mobile SIM), then 2G until the end of the month. I only had to call them once after i ported a secondary Google Voice number to them (I couldn't add a service card online). I read that the customer service is bad, but it seemed fine to me. I usually get around 5Mbps, but sometimes its faster/slower too.

I'll second Straight Talk. I've had no problems whatsoever with them. I did have to call to activate my SIM card (the online process messed up somehow), and I had to talk to the manager as the first rep had no idea what I was talking about, but overall it's been great.