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SIM question for the experts.

I am looking to buy either a HTC Fuze or G1. I am leaning toward the Fuze because I am a former Tytn II user.
Here is my scenario.
I will buy a Fuze off of Craigslist and unlock the phone.
My sister has a Motorola phone...not PDA...just a phone...with ATT. The phone has a 3G SIM with a $15.00 per month unlimited data plan. I would like to move this SIM card to my new unlocked Fuze. Any problem doing this? I want the 3G data connection.
I would then take her Motorola phone and add it to her Family plan (with no data)...for just $9.99 per month. Since this phone was active with the 3G SIM card will there be a problem reactivating it with a new SIM card and new phone number?
The reason for the sneakiness is that ATT won't let you add a phone with unlimited data unless you buy the phone from them with a new plan. The options they have are:
1. New Phone with New Plan and Unlimited Data ($30 bucks per month)...not really an option since my sister already has a family plan and my credit is ruined right now thanks to my soon to be ex-wife's stupidity.
2. Used Phone with no plan and no data....not an option for me since I need unlimited data.
3. Used Phone with Pay As You Go for $50 bucks a month plus another $20 bucks per month for 100 megs of data($70 bucks plus fees)....not a good option either since that is WAY TO DAMN MUCH MONEY for data.
I really want to use ATT since they have the best 3G coverage in my area.
If the SIM card switch-a-roo idea I invision would work I would end up with unlimited data on my Fuze and a new number(on the Motorola) and I'm just adding $9.99 per month to her bill. SWEET!
Thanks in advance if you can answer my question about the viability of my proposal!!!!
PS....I would do the exact same things if I chose the G1.

You can always try it, but they can chaeck the imei version of the phone the sim is plugged into (so they WILL know you are using a fuze once you plug it in)
You can put the card in and use the data plan but att is always able to revoke the data because they become suspicious (i which most times you can just claim ignorance.) Like i said though they WILL know once you plug the sim in and you are technically liable for any data charges you may rack up once that sim is in your phone.
And by the way, you can add an unlimited data package, its thirty a month and can be added in store, online, or over the phone.

Thanks!
Found the same question being answered at HowardForums. Definitly works. Even better if the phone is unbranded...aka...Raphael. ATT won't list the number if it's not one of their own. Thanks!

Any luck with AT&T data plans not for smartphones?

Just wondering if you anybody has still be able to get passed AT&T's "smartphone" higher data rate.
I have an LG non smart phone that I am thinking about using to purchase the unlimited messaging and data plan for $30. Then swapping my sim back to my fuze.
But I dont know if AT&T has gotten wise to this or not.

yep they seem to catch ya quick now ....we signed up 3 weeks ago and got the unlimited data plan with our 2 pantech impacts ..then i bought a fuze a week later
and within 3 hours of turning on the fuze the nailed me and changed me over to the 2gb smartphone plan ...so unless someone knows a way around this looks like att gets to screw us some more
or if someone can figure out how to block the imei ..cause i think thats how they can tell

Just my experience but yesterday I had to go to the AT&T store to put the $30 data plan on my HTC Fuze. What happened was I put my sim card in my first gen iPhone so it activated the $15 data then I put my card back in my Fuze so for the last two months I had an iPhone plan running on the fuze and they never said anything but after about a week I stopped getting 3G service so I guess as the saying goes you get what you pay for. If you want to, try it but beware if anyone does have the $30 unlimited data plan if you even switch it off for a second you can't get it back good thing was that the iphone was a smartphone with unlimited data.

Signed up with AT&T years ago. Been staying with them contract free because I get the $15 medianet internet.
From what Ive seen, if you never call or contact AT&T, you're fine.
I have a Fuze and a unlocked Telstra Diamond, both with $15 a month medianet on our family plan.
Never been contacted about a change, and have been running on these phones for well over a year. (and on my phone, I frequently go around 5-10gb a month of data). Before these, we had a treo 750, and a palm centro on the medianet plan, and before that a Treo 650.
The 750 and up have all been considered "smartphones" yet Ive never been forced to upgrade.
I should note that I have never bought a phone through AT&T and all of these have been unlocked phones bought on ebay, and just switched out the sim.
As always YMMV.

Yeah IDK. When I swap in my sim card to the LG, AT&T online changes my device. Then when I put my sim back into my Fuze, it will pretty much instantly change it back on the website. Even if I go in and manually change it, it will revert right back my Fuze.
I just think it is a rip off that smartphones get charged more for the exact same network access.

Wirefly.com Opinions and Frustration

Purchased my upgrade through wirefly.com online (not via phone).
-upgraded 1 of my family lines (selected Keep existing service plan)
-came from an iphone 3gs w/ Unlimited Data
8/27
-sent me my new captivate
-meanwhile, received a text message on my current iphone that my "new service has been activated"
-data was not inactive on my iphone
-called at&t--they said IMEI #'s was switched to the new Samsung, WTF?!--i don't even have the phone yet.
-ALSO THEY SWITCHED ME TO the 2GB Capped Data plan!!!
-At&t switched my IMEI # back to my current iphone, and switched me back to my existing unlimited Data
8/30
-received new text message that my "new service is active"
-data no worky
-called Wirefly this time--no use--says my iphone didn't have a data plan existing and could not retain existing service plan
-I HATE CALLING INDIA and talking to "Robert from India"
-re-called AT&T; switched back to iphone IMEI and switched back to my unlimited plan
Bottom line: I do not like Wirefly right now... At&t said that if i received and activated my new phone and that wirefly switched me to a capped plan, that i could have stayed with a capped plan, and i would not be able to switch back.
Plus: Wirefly states that if i call AT&T directly, i violate the Terms and Conditions and am subject to pay for the remainder of the phone ~$300. WTF?!

I had looked into both Wirefly and AmazonWireless. Apparently I would have to switch to the limited data plan if I purchase through them. Moreover, if you have one of the old voice plan that might give you a better deal, you will lost that too and have to select from one of the currently available plans. At the end, I decided to get my Captivate from AT&T. The price at those websites for existing line upgrade is not that much cheaper than AT&T.

Same thing here..call up AT&T and ask them to flip you back...they'll push a little but they'll give it back to you ultimatly

Belaflek said:
Same thing here..call up AT&T and ask them to flip you back...they'll push a little but they'll give it back to you ultimatly
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Had to return 1st phone thru att b/c of random shutdowns...
that price was $199+tax which was ~ $216.xx
Wirefly w/ free shipping and no tax was $119.99
Approx. $100 savings, that is the primary driver... however w/ headaches and such, maybe $100 isn't so bad.
also, you have to keep in mind although wirefly is a 30 day return policy, you really have 14 days to request an RMA #.

Ah..Mine was through letstalk.com. They flipped my plan to 2gb. I got the phone and called up AT&T and said that I thought my plan was being grandfathered in and AT&T said 'ok but just this time'. I torched my phone where I couldnt even get it to boot...power did nothing so I rma'd it after about 20 days and they sent me a new one...with the damn 2gb plan again. I called AT&T again and said I shouldnt be dropped from my grandfathered plan cos my phone broke so they got a manager to set me back to the $30 unlimited plan from my iphone again. If you are nice and all 'yes maam/sir' and 'no maam/sir' they should play nice...get the phone and just let them know you wanted to stick with the grandfathered plan. So ge thte phone and plan wiht the 2gb and call at&t and tell em you dont want it...worth a shot at least

AT&T?!

Hey guys, i have an inspire, i was wondering if i activitated an old att basic messaging phone unlimited data plan, would it work with my inspire? And would it provide me with the same speeds?
Thanks!

Yes it should. The only differences between the smartphones and feature phones are the data plans.

Isn't the inspire an AT&T branded phone? You're better off using the unlimited data plan (im assuming its $15/mo) on an unlocked, unbranded phone because AT&T already has the IMEI number for the inspire and when they do their daily sweeping and found out you're using a smartphone with an incompatible plan, you'll get a nice text from them.

when did that start?

had a palm pre+ on at&t with just the unlimtd text plan for 3months and they where aware of it.... nothing ever happened
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

hakuchi18v said:
had a palm pre+ on at&t with just the unlimtd text plan for 3months and they where aware of it.... nothing ever happened
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
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Was it an unlocked/unbranded version? That would be a big reason why. But back to the OP, yes you will have to change your plan...once you pop your SIM in within 24-48 you will automatically be provisioned to one of the tiered data plans.

invalidefexx187 said:
when did that start?
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Started back in Nov '09

Noodles5666 said:
Was it an unlocked/unbranded version? That would be a big reason why. But back to the OP, yes you will have to change your plan...once you pop your SIM in within 24-48 you will automatically be provisioned to one of the tiered data plans.
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nope.. it was locked to at&t while i was using it with them...

I had a Captivate with unlimited data ($30) and my wife had a TMo N1 on the dumbphone unlimited($10). They never caught on, I assumed because it was an unbranded phone.
When I traded Captivate for Inspire, I gave her my Captivate, fully expecting to get hit with the smartphone dataplan text message.
It has been over a week now, and she is still on the dumbphone unlimited plan. Don't know if I am just lucky, or At&t isn't being as harsh anymore.
EDIT: Running Supernova ROM on the captivate. Not sure if that is the reason it slipped under the radar.

Here is how to get it back it worked for me!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=985869

Yea I had the $25 Unlimited Data/Unlimited Text plan which I've used for YEARS on unlocked phones. When I upgraded to the Inspire it lost my unlimited data and they opened a case to put it back on. Well I got the unlimited data back, but it's the $30 unlimited data plan, and they put the $20 unlimited text on it. So yes I got my umlimited data back, but for an additional $25/month.

Everytime you make a call, your sim transmits an IMSI number that identifies the phone type and the the sim, so that AT$T knows what number you are calling from and that your account is current.
Most of the cell/data plans are priced so that AT$T can make their money back from subsidizing the phones. I paid $49.99 for my Inspire, AT$T doesn't just " eat " the remainder of the $600 that these phones cost unlocked.
So if you bought it subsidized by AT$T, you are stuck with the data contract for 2 years, or you can buy out your contract for the full cost of the phone.
If you bought your phone unlocked AT&T does not require a data plan because they have no money to make up. After my contact expired last Sept, I used my Tilt , with an old sim I had from a " disposable " flip phone that I had. While my online AT$T account and my bills immediately recognized it as a Tilt, they never required a data plan and I just used wifi for all my data usage.

Well i had a pure i bought last march, i got it on att's online site, i got it in the mail, and i still had my razr, i activated a 10 dollar data unlimited for basic messaging phones, since i have a family plan with unlimited messaging for families, then a few hours later i popped the sim into my pure, it worked like a dream until i got a new phone which i needed the blackberry plan!
But it wasnt a problem for me!
Im gonna try it tomorrow, and ill let yall know!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Not sure if this is what you mean?
I had a ATT Tilt on just a voice only plan for several years until I just bought the Inspire brand new and they never charged me for anything more than just the voice and I only used wifi for internet.

[Q] Keeping grandfathered unlimited data

So I call AT&T before ordering on amazon, and the rep tells me that I'll be able to call back and switch my data plan to the "5GB Unlimited." I inquire as to how the plan works, she says that if I go over 5GB, I get charged, because it is not unlimited. But then she confirmed that I'll be keeping the grandfathered data plan.
Is this consistent with what other people are getting? Just want to make sure I'm not screwing myself over. Thanks!

It is not called 5GB unlimited. It is LTE unlimited and you will never be charged for overage. What happens is you will be throttled (300k to 500k speed) when you use over 5GB.
You will have to call AT&T to switch back to your unlimited plan after you received your phone from Amazon.

You will probably want to follow up with AT&T after you get your phone to make sure you are actually keeping your grandfathered unlimited plan and that you have not actually been switched over to the 5GB plan.

I had to convince the at&t rep when ordering over the phone that I should have unlimited grandfathered plan.
It is always worth checking to make sure they didn't take it away from you.

While on the phone and on web chat, I asked this specifically with radioshack rep several times that i want to keep my grandfathered unlimited data and they say yes it will be possible. I told them why on my receipt it shows mt dataplan got switched to the 5gb+tether for $50, they said this is only for initial processing, but after approval, everything will go back to the way it was. I made sure to get them to confirm this before I purchased and after i purchased haha.
We will see if this is still the case when I finally get my phone. If not, sucks I might have to cancel and return the phone. unlimited data is pretty valuable especially when you get to go all the way up to 5GB before being throttled in LTE.

When I placed my pre-order through AT&T, I specifically had the option to add the "LTE Unlimited Personal" data package. I was pretty tempted by RadioShack offering it at $50. But given all I read about them farqing things up for pretty much everybody they sell things to, I paid the whole $200 through AT&T. I am willing to pay extra to make sure nobody screws up my unlimited data plan. But that's just me.

I kept my smartphone unlimited plan. AT&T had no problem letting me keep my plan

Keeping my unlimited data plan is the sole reason I always upgrade through ATT. Sure the Radio Shack and Amazon prices are always lower but I never fully trust that ATT will put unlimited data back after I get the phone...

snvyas said:
Keeping my unlimited data plan is the sole reason I always upgrade through ATT. Sure the Radio Shack and Amazon prices are always lower but I never fully trust that ATT will put unlimited data back after I get the phone...
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Agreed. Spending more in the store is worth it to me rather than running the chance of losing the unlimited data plan.

SR4 said:
Agreed. Spending more in the store is worth it to me rather than running the chance of losing the unlimited data plan.
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Even if somehow they screw your data plan up. You can always get your unlimited data plan back. As long as you can:
-Prove that you've had it
-Say that it was changed without your knowledge / consent.
I cannot add them back in the store. You will have to call 611 to get it added back to your account if it was messed up by some other retailer. It's always worth checking your account online to make sure. Or dial *3282#. That will tell you what data plan you currently have.
The type of data connection doesn't matter either. If you are just now moving to your first LTE device, the amount of data you are allowed to transfer before the throttle increases to 5gb from 3gb. The cost is the same and it is still unlimited. Meaning no overage costs.
If you have any specific questions or if customer service gives you any trouble. Please message me and I can help resolve it.

My contract just ended and I have the $30 unlimited data grandfathered. I've always been able to keep it when upgrading by speaking to customer service. But this time I don't want to upgrade for another 2yr contract. I've been a customer forever and would like to have the freedom of no contract for a little bit. I'm currently using a 3g samsung captivate but want to get the s3. I found a really good deal on craigslist. Will at&t let me keep unlimited data without upgrading? I'm just worried that they tell me yes when I call, then after I buy the phone they say no you gotta upgrade. That would suck..

Just swap the sim card into the new phone.
Sent from my One X using xda premium

hugebulge said:
Just swap the sim card into the new phone.
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I believe the GS3 is a MicroSIM, and the Captivate is a "regular" SIM. So the person can get a MicroSIM from AT&T. If you call for one, I think they charge you $15. But in store, they will often give it to you for free to AT&T account holders.
You can also cut the SIM to make it work, using guides online. But its probably easier to just get a free new one from the store.
jsmizzle said:
My contract just ended and I have the $30 unlimited data grandfathered. I've always been able to keep it when upgrading by speaking to customer service. But this time I don't want to upgrade for another 2yr contract. I've been a customer forever and would like to have the freedom of no contract for a little bit. I'm currently using a 3g samsung captivate but want to get the s3. I found a really good deal on craigslist. Will at&t let me keep unlimited data without upgrading? I'm just worried that they tell me yes when I call, then after I buy the phone they say no you gotta upgrade. That would suck..
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Dont' worry, they can't make you upgrade, you can use whatever hardware you want (as long as its compatible with their network).
If you don't presently have LTE on your account, and the phone you are buying is compatible with AT&T's LTE bands, you can get it added to your account w/o an upgrade and w/o a new contract. But you have to go through AT&T to do it (either by phone or in an AT&T store). Simply tell them you want to keep unlimited data, and add LTE. They technically have to change you to a "new" data plan that is unlimited data with LTE, but its really just the same - unlimited data, but with LTE capability added and no extra fee (its just what they do to make it work in their system). Just make sure they do it right before you leave the store or hangup the phone. Its not completely straightforward, it took them about 15 minutes to get it right for me at my AT&T store, and the rep had to bring the manager into it, and they were really trying. But its worth the hassle, since if they screw it up and take unlimited data off your account, its a real pain to add it back.
And this is the only way to add LTE to your account, if the S3 you are buying has LTE.

Thanks guys for the replies. Apparently, the LTE microSIM is different from the 3g microSIM. Even though they're the same size the coding is different. So i'm gonna need to visit the store to get the LTE card. AT&T customer service did tell me that my unlimited data won't change and I won't need to upgrade. So that's cool.. Now it's about choosing which phone to get. I'm still thinking the S3 but I just looked at the demo models at best buy. Damn this is hard. The one x is a beauty and even the atrix hd looks great too. I might just wait until the iphone 5 release on the 12th so all the other phone prices will drop. But that's a whole different thread..