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AT&T data plan question

Hello all, I have a question I hope someone has an answer to.
I bought the original iPhone a few months after release and got the $20 data +200 text messages plan. I have gotten rid of that phone and over the last year and a half have used the Lg Incite, Tmobile G1 and the Mytouch 3g all using my original SIM card and never changing my data plan. These phones all used 2g service only, T-mobile 3g is not compatible with ATT 3g.
My question is, if I were to purchase the Samsung Captivate at full price, could I still use my original iphone plan? My SIM card says 3g, and I have no doubt it would work on 2g, I just wonder if it would actually use 3g and if so would ATT notice this and switch plans for me? I don't mind paying a few bucks more for data if I have too, I'm just not cool with extending my contract another 2 years, hence I want to pay full price for phone.
Thanks

bobbylx said:
Hello all, I have a question I hope someone has an answer to.
I bought the original iPhone a few months after release and got the $20 data +200 text messages plan. I have gotten rid of that phone and over the last year and a half have used the Lg Incite, Tmobile G1 and the Mytouch 3g all using my original SIM card and never changing my data plan. These phones all used 2g service only, T-mobile 3g is not compatible with ATT 3g.
My question is, if I were to purchase the Samsung Captivate at full price, could I still use my original iphone plan? My SIM card says 3g, and I have no doubt it would work on 2g, I just wonder if it would actually use 3g and if so would ATT notice this and switch plans for me? I don't mind paying a few bucks more for data if I have too, I'm just not cool with extending my contract another 2 years, hence I want to pay full price for phone.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By purchasing the phone at full price, you won't be forced into a contract. Therefore, your plan will stay the same. The reason you sign a contract with the subsidized phones is because the carrier payes $200-300 of the phone for you. In return, your plan most likely raises in price because AT&T usually does something to jack the price up every year. You will still get 3G and AT&T does not have authorization to change your plan since, you didn't sign a contract with them. So, all will still be the same except for your new phone

you should be fine. You may just need to change your plan to $15 data and $5 text plan. I am not sure if you have any contract with ATT but their current data plan is 15 data of 2GB max and 5 for texting. So you virtually are not paying more (unelss you have unlimited data plna).
Captive should work with 3G network so my guess is that you may be able to use 3G.

[Q] Prepaid mobile plan for someone travelling to the US?

I have an AT&T banded unlocked phone (Nexus One) and I'm going to be travelling to the US at the end of the month and I'm debating getting a pre-paid SIM card and putting in in my phone while I'm there. Any ideas about where the best place to go for this would be and what I should expect it to cost? I would like to have data so that I can use email while voice would be nice, but not really necessary.
I'm guessing AT&T would be my first place to look, but I suppose I could go with someone like T-Mobile and just deal with only having EDGE speed. What's the best deal?

the problem with tmobile is their internet is not internet....its worse than wap. alteast on my prepaid... att is good would cost 20$ would unlimited texting including sending to canada...sim is free from a att store...data is 20$ for 100mb and 5$ for 1Mb unless they changed it

Only100 mb? I would blow through that in a day... I guess I'll wait and see what AT&T has to offer when I get there.

Found anything yet?

how to buy a nexus s outside US?

[Q] Help! online ordering from Best Buy
I just paid for the Nexus S through Best buy, and now I am afraid that I made a mistake. When I added the phone to my shpping cart, it asked me i I am a T-Mobile contract holder (Which i am not) and I said that I do, which gave me the option to buy the phone at the full price of $529. I am afraid that I am going to receive a LOCKED Nexus S with T-Mobile affiliations and that it's maybe not Sim Free.
Is this the case? If so, how do I order it SIM Free and UNLOCKED Online? The only options on the website was to buy it either for $199 with a T-Mobile contract or to buy it for $529, but again, I am not sure if this is fully unlocked or it is still with a T-Mobile Simcard.

jonatansofer said:
I just paid for the Nexus S through Best buy, and now I am afraid that I made a mistake. When I added the phone to my shpping cart, it asked me i I am a T-Mobile contract holder (Which i am not) and I said that I do, which gave me the option to buy the phone at the full price of $529. I am afraid that I am going to receive a LOCKED Nexus S with T-Mobile affiliations and that it's maybe not Sim Free.
Is this the case? If so, how do I order it SIM Free and UNLOCKED Online? The only options on the website was to buy it either for $199 with a T-Mobile contract or to buy it for $529, but again, I am not sure if this is fully unlocked or it is still with a T-Mobile Simcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK they are all unlocked - even the phones sold with T-Mo service.

Will the phone say T-mobile on the phone or connected with it in any way ?

nope, box has a tmobile sim in it but noowhere on the phone does it say tmobile

People at best buy online support are complete fools, they keep saying it's locked, even though twitter and their FAQ say its unlocked.
The whole point of Pure Google phone is that it's unlocked and unbranded

All Nexus S phones are unlocked by default with no carrier branding on the phone or box.
Pricing just varies based on if you want a contract or buying outright.

psp888 said:
People at best buy online support are complete fools, ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, not everybody have the intelligence required to flip burgers.

Best Buy couldn't even get the ordering live until about 10 minutes late ...
Then I tried to order 3 times; each time I got a vague credit verification error that made no sense.
Plus, they tried to switch me from my $10/mo unlimited 3G data to $10/mo 4G data with a 200MB cap... no thanks.
I was able to order by phone, but the process took over an hour. At least I got to keep my data plan.
Total cost was $250 after taxes and activation fees.

hi folks, is there anyone from from non-US/UK manage to buy a Nexus S>? If yes can let me know how? Especial from Malaysia. Thanks..

i had help from a fellow XDA member in the USA to help me buy one
as all the BestBuy stores were out of stock on the first 2 hours of the release date
make sure your phone operator works with 900/1700/2100 data

I bought two on launch day. The second is unopened. PM me if you want to buy it.

Wow!
I have a G1 and tried to upgrade to the nexus s with my existing 24.99 unlimited G1 data plan. The rep in the store said she was pretty sure I had to upgrade my plan. She said she would try it without upgrading my plan and got almost through the entire process but her system would only allow for the full price option for the phone.
Did you do anything special to get them to let it work with your existing plan??
Thanks
Bicster_ said:
Best Buy couldn't even get the ordering live until about 10 minutes late ...
Then I tried to order 3 times; each time I got a vague credit verification error that made no sense.
Plus, they tried to switch me from my $10/mo unlimited 3G data to $10/mo 4G data with a 200MB cap... no thanks.
I was able to order by phone, but the process took over an hour. At least I got to keep my data plan.
Total cost was $250 after taxes and activation fees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Has anyone actually bought this online?
I'm having problems getting Best Buy's site to let me buy this thing. It keeps getting hung up when I select a plan - just keeps asking me if I currently have T-Mo service and won't let me actually select an answer...
Also, since I'm a new customer, would I be able to sign up for T-Mo's promotional plan (1500+unlimited for 79.99)?

You have to go to the store for starting a new plan.

If just happened that you have an extra unit or you're willing to help me, please PM me. THanks; )

AllGamer said:
i had help from a fellow XDA member in the USA to help me buy one
as all the BestBuy stores were out of stock on the first 2 hours of the release date
make sure your phone operator works with 900/1700/2100 data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
one of the best buys near me still has 2 phones in stock

Marmle said:
You have to go to the store for starting a new plan.
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Click to collapse
That's ridiculous - there's not a single Best Buy here in TN that will sell it with a plan. I suppose none do T-Mo. And my local store says $529.99 - available at Bestbuy.com for $199.99.
Whose idea was this Best Buy debacle?

your going to have to sign up for t-mobile service online best buy online sells tmobile online. Call there customer service they might be able to help you out.

Hey,
Maybe this will help!
bonvu.com
never used it so not sure how safe it is, but read that people are using it to purchase what ever they want in the US.
GL,

Some options:
www.ebay.com (in advanced search you can select someone that delivers to your country, offers paypal)
www.usunlocked.com (3rd party site, buys it for you and sends it yo you).

Going to School internationally; what to do about Cellphone plan?

I started a 2 year plan with T-mobile in September, not ever considering going to school in Canada, but now that is the prospect that I'm facing.
The biggest problem is that I'm still going to need a phone here in the states for breaks, so I can't just get a new Canadian plan. The reason I have posted this in the XDA forums is cause I have a rooted G2 + google voice. I know the chances are slim, but is there anything I can do with these two things that could help me not lose either a ton of money on cancelling a plan early, or lose the phone that I have paid $250 for?
Thanks for any help.

Maybe you can sell the phone with the contract to somebody else and just get a new one?

by law plans are pro-rated so if you have a 2 year plan and you are 1 year into it the penalty is 50% of the early termination fee. So look at the fine print the cost may not be as bad as you think.

What about the phone, since it is unlocked, would it work if i got like a prepaid plan in canada?

It should have the GSM bands that Canada operates on, so yes, but that's edge speeds only. I don't know which 3g bands the G2 has or what canada's 3g operates on, so look into that to see if you can get speeds above edge.

You should cancel your plan & for the states use prepaid t-mobile (or whatever) phone should still work. Just make sure you get tmobile to unlock it for you

[Q] Phone's not in ATT's IMEI bank

Greetings!
First time poster, long time reader.
I have been using a SE Xperia X1a that I bought off Ebay since Sept. 2009. I have stuck with this phone because I have an unlimited Medianet HSDPA service that costs $10/Mo. I frequently tether as a wireless router for either my laptop or Ipod Touch 4g. ATT still has not recognized this despite using 2gb+/mo.
The hardware in the phone is breaking down. I am looking for a replacement device that can do a similar service for me- $10/mo/unlimited internet. Are there any foreign branded Androids that can do this?
I did do a search for about an hour before giving up and asking this. Thanks are coming your way for responding

I'm really not sure why you think your plan is tied to your phone? Just get whatever phone tickles your fancy and put your sim card in it.

I don't think my plan is tied to my phone. I'm sorry if that's how it came across.
I am able to capitalize on unlimited MediaNet data because ATT doesn't recognize my Xperia's IMEI- they think I have a dumbphone.
The hardware is failing on my Xperia, and I am looking into a replacement. I'm fully willing to buy an foreign phone out of contract if it's known that ATT can't recognize the IMEI.
If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated :-D

They dont think you have a dunb phone(Non Smart Phone) They just havent cared to check. In my experience they only check what style of phone when upgrading services, such as data plans and such. As deathsled said, get any phone that makes you happy and insert yoour sim card. P.S. Make sure phone is able to accept a sim card, and if unlocked make sure its able to listen to the carries specific signal.

Well they do think I have a dumbphone. That's what I had to tell them when I signed up for MediaNet after purchasing the phone.
I don't want to buy a phone that they their system will instantly recognize and upgrade me from my MediaNet to a smartphone plan.
Is there a resource to check the phones that they know of? I could always just purchase the same model and continue doing what I'm doing if not.

Is the problem that nobody knows, or that nobody has seen this thread that does know?

Bamp 10char

Is there another forum I should be trying?

Donteventrii said:
Well they do think I have a dumbphone. That's what I had to tell them when I signed up for MediaNet after purchasing the phone.
I don't want to buy a phone that they their system will instantly recognize and upgrade me from my MediaNet to a smartphone plan.
Is there a resource to check the phones that they know of? I could always just purchase the same model and continue doing what I'm doing if not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm rather puzzled, why can't you just buy an unlocked phone from (say) Amazon? They do sell nice Nexus One units there...

I know exactly what you are talking about Donteventrii
I can give you a list of phones that might be suitable for you, that are unlocked and use AT&T 3G but their IMEI will still not be recognizable and therefore, you get to keep your $10 unlimited MEdiaNet data plan
Amazon: Any Nokia Phone - E72, N8, E7, E6 etc
NExus S - the one for AT&T which will have the 850/1900 3G bands - http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Googl..._1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1310519566&sr=1-1
T-mobile Galaxy S vibrant - Unlocked. It has AT&T's 3G 1900 band so you will be able to get 3G speeds in many areas since 1900 is the more widespread one.
Any Rogers (Canadian telephone service provider) smartphone unlocked since it uses the same bands as AT&T for it's 3G. I'm using a Rogers unlocked Xperia Play that I bought off a guy who'd bought it off Ebay.
That's just the ones I can think off the top of my head. I'll post again if I remember some more

Thank you very much Abudabu!
I may have some follow ups, but I'm heading to bed.

I would just get another phone like tmobile

Abudabu, do you also use MediaNet for your Xperia Play? I see that ATT is getting Xperia play, do you think this will cause problems for you?
The Nexus S is quite costly still, though 2.3 has me drooling. I believe the Galaxy S may be my best option. I might buy it online and unlock it myself.
Any thoughts?

I don't use MediaNet actually. I'm on the $30 unlimited data plan that I opted for when I went with the iPhone 3GS.
You can swap your SIM card out of your current phne to any phone that does not have an AT&T logo on it and you should be fine. AT&T has the IMEI's of all the phones that IT sells, in it's database. So if you put your sim in an Unlocked Xperia Play from Rogers or from United Kingdom, you can continue using the MediaNet without any hassle. If however, you put your SIM card in a AT&T Xperia Play, the SIM recognizes the IMEI of the phone, and will transmit this data back to AT&T indicating you need to upgrade your plan since you are on a smartphone

Any reason you don't switch back to MediaNet?

I'm aware of the 10$ Medianet plan. But for those that use it with unlocked smartphones, how do you get around the texting?
I see a $30 unlimited data and messaging plan which defeats the purpose of the thread. Are you combining this with the 1000 messages for $10?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

Donteventrii said:
Any reason you don't switch back to MediaNet?
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Click to collapse
Well couple of reasons:
1) I wasn't sure if they even offer it anymore. I was under the impression they have tiered data plans now. $15 for 200 mb, $25 for 2GB, etc.
2) I switch phones quite a bit. So I prefer to just have the $30 unlimited data plan standard and I switch sim's in and out irregardless.

Ah if you switch phones that makes sense.
But yes, they do indeed offer MediaNet unlimited for 10/month. I am sitting at 2.5gb this month with a week left in my billing cycle.
I mainly use it to tether my laptop while at work. We don't have wifi, and I don't want to use my work computer for personal business. In fact, I'm tethering it right now from work

so where can I find a list of smartphones, compatible with AT&T, not in the IMEI database?
Just to be clear, I can purchase a dumbphone with:
$30 unlimited messaging/mobile to mobile
+
$15 unlimited data
with no voice plan (like the $39.99 for 450 minutes), go home and pop the SIM card to one of these unlisted phones and done.
$45 + tax for unlimited everything on a smartphone.
I can use Google Voice for landlines and international without incurring call forwarding fees and such.

I don't think there is a list other than what's been provided already. I use the Unlimited family messaging and 10/mo unlimited internet.