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Android Phone without cell phone plan

Hi guys,
Was wandering if someone could help me out with, rather, strange question.
I want to use an Android phone to make calls, but do not want to sign up with any cell phone company. I live in New brunswick, Fredericton, we have free wireless internet.
I want to make use of it, but so far I have not found a concrete answer.
I have started a thread about this on another android forums, if you want more details, or just ask me:
http://forums.androidandme.com/topic/how-to-use-free-internet-with-android-without-cell-plan
Any help is Great appreciated!

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...e-accused-over-android-skype-app-block-628218
maybe if they get it to work
with skype you still of cause are charged to pay when you call normal phones

Yeah, that's interesting.
I find the whole situation with cell phone companies stupid, charging outrageous rates for what should really be included in your home internet fee.
In any case, I was wandering if a solution exists for right now It doesn't have to be free, but at least cheaper than buying an unlimited plan from rogers or what-not.

Or are there other phones (except Android) that can do this instead?
Thanks

yes skype is out for
windows mobile
heck even iphone got it
but you have to remember that if you call normal phones
cell or land-line you have to pay skype as they offer the link to
gsm and land-line which have no connection to the Internet you get
when you connect to wifi
just wanted to make sure you didn't have the impression that it was 1 big network
it's not
kinda like one can't send an email to a person with not computer and expect a free service
which print the email and put it in the physically mailbox of the person

I understand that I have to pay skype or someone else for calling landlines. That is Fine with me.
However, with Skype (for example and iphone/windows mobile?), can I use the phone even if I don't have a SIM card/cell phone plan?
Rudegar said:
yes skype is out for
windows mobile
heck even iphone got it
but you have to remember that if you call normal phones
cell or land-line you have to pay skype as they offer the link to
gsm and land-line which have no connection to the Internet you get
when you connect to wifi
just wanted to make sure you didn't have the impression that it was 1 big network
it's not
kinda like one can't send an email to a person with not computer and expect a free service
which print the email and put it in the physically mailbox of the person
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

yes you can even use a non phone pda with wifi or an ipod touch
when you have wifi you have the same possibilities as with a computer

That sounds cool. Thanks,
Another question:
Is there a way I can use my phone/pda as a Gps device?
If I have no plan, I can't connect to satelite either?
Or do some phones provide some kind of tom-tom enabled capabilities?

General Tethering Question

Hello All,
I'm hoping someone out there can help me answer this question because countless hours of searching on the internet so far haven't so now I will turn to the experts here. Here's a brief background of the situation.
I recently switched from a Palm Treo 700wx on a plan that included Phone as Modem on Sprint to an Sprint Htc Hero on an unlimited data plan that doesn't allow tethering. Unfortunately for those of us left that use tethering Sprint doesn't even allow one to pay extra for it. I know that that Hero is capable of tethering using PdaNet and I enjoyed using PdaNet on my Treo.
So now getting to the questions. I would like to know if anyone knows if cell phone companies either Sprint or any other provider can actually tell when your using your phone as a modem say as long as you don't abuse it by staying under 5gbs a month? Does anyone know how PdaNet actually works? In other words does it appear that your actually just downloading data to your phone when really your also transferring it to a laptop?

Metro PCS unlimited Tether

Hey, wanted to know if it were possible to get unlimited tethering on the Metro Pcs unlimited $60 Data plan, currently caps at 8GB? Is it possible without rooting your phone? S6 just arrived today, would prefer not to root so soon after receiving phone, if not would someone please explain how i would go about doing so ( Step by step, unfortunately never rooted a phone if its required to bypass tether limit)
Thanks so much for taking the time

bump =(

Yes, I currently do. Buy (foxfi) or (easy tether) app on playstore and connect to your computer, that simple, carrier will think your just browsing the web on your phone i play my games this way. This wont use up your hotspot data just make sure your plan is unlimited. Just make sure you install the pc part on your computer youll have to visit there website for that.

Carriers selling "Unlimited" data, but limiting it to specific devices.

Hey guys...
How are carriers able to limit what my devices get "unlimited" data and what don't?
For example... I'm able to use my phone's Internet as much as I like with no datacap. But as soon as I tether it to a tablet or a laptop... I can only use 5 gb a month.
How do they know what device is using what and is there anything I can do about it? Also, why do they care so much if I use my tablet vses my phone? The only difference between the tablet and the phone are a couple inches of screen space....

Because they're cell phone service providers, not ISP's. People try to use their phone as their only source of internet and if they gave unlimited tethering to everyone they would be losing money.
Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

Stackexchange questions/47819/how-can-phone-companies-detect-tethering-incl-wifi-hotspot
I learned a good amount from the best answer as far as the "how they do it" goes, but I know that on a lot of phones, rooting seems to remove all carrier bullsnap involved with tethering. If that fails, I gather from that SE post that taking it a step further and installing a custom rom could also help.

Tethering phone for wifi on home pc

I want to use a smart phone tethered to my home PC as my gateway to the Net. I've looked at all the plans available where I live and to help get some advice from the forum I decided to just pick the closest cell provider to me rather than ask questions about every phone available to me.
Metro PCS was the closest store and I assume their phone plans and phones will be a lot less than Verizon, also less phone choices. My "only" need of the phone is its Wifi connection. I want "all" the apps not necessary for such - gone. The phone will never be used for calls, text, surfing so I want apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc... all gone. I'm not going to need the browser(s) supplied afaik so deleting them eliminates hacker attacks as I'll never surf the Web via the phone. All I want is Wifi to get my home PC online.
Here's where I find things are a bit tougher to figure out. I see many root tools available but it seems not all phones can be easily rooted.
I see no reason to buy the expensive phones as I'm never going to use them, only the wifi connection. I've looked up some of the models and see that Samsung has a large following here. The J3 Prime, ON5, J7 Prime as well as LG Aristo, K7 and Stylo 2 Plus are "reasonably" priced, any comments on these phones?
I've read that some of you only freeze the apps, others root the phone and even change the ROM to get what you want. I will only be using my home pc to surf and know how to protect it but I'm not sure if I need any protection on the cell, especially if I never use it on the Net. Is my phone safe as I plan to use it?
I've started downloading software for rooting, Twrp, Odin, Kingrootz and Samsung drivers. I read that it's best to backup your phone before rooting, Titanium and one other (?) program were mentioned so I will get them too.
What other things should/must I do? Please post links to any threads that may have addressed this issue! I'm new to all of this but can learn. I am reading threads here hoping to get a better handle on rooting but getting personal proven advice just makes life so much easier.
BTW, I guess many of you use wifi tethering since it's part of your plan, how well does it work? I'm only checking email and doing searches, not into video, music or gaming. I probably could use Freedom Pop since I'd use so little data but am not sure how their coverage is in my area. Verizon $$$ and Metro PCS (cheap) have great coverage for me (tethering included in price). But if anyone wants to comment about providers or which ones are nosey about your surfing habits and if you use TOR or a VPN let me know, thanks.

Let me rephrase some of my prior post to hopefully get a response. When I tether a cell phone to my home PC, will the fact that the phone will never be used for anything other than connecting my PC to the Net basically keep the phone itself safe? I do want to root the phone to remove any apps that could spy on me, and remove the browser since the phone itself will never be used to surf the net. Questions still remain concerning the phone models I listed in my 1st post. I most likely will go with a cheap Samsung phone, following the rooting procedures that I can find on this site. Just would like to hear from anyone who is using their phone as a tethering device, are there any problems I might encounter? Should I ask my questions in a different forum?

wifionly said:
I want to use a smart phone tethered to my home PC as my gateway to the Net. I've looked at all the plans available where I live and to help get some advice from the forum I decided to just pick the closest cell provider to me rather than ask questions about every phone available to me.
Metro PCS was the closest store and I assume their phone plans and phones will be a lot less than Verizon, also less phone choices. My "only" need of the phone is its Wifi connection. I want "all" the apps not necessary for such - gone. The phone will never be used for calls, text, surfing so I want apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc... all gone. I'm not going to need the browser(s) supplied afaik so deleting them eliminates hacker attacks as I'll never surf the Web via the phone. All I want is Wifi to get my home PC online.
Here's where I find things are a bit tougher to figure out. I see many root tools available but it seems not all phones can be easily rooted.
I see no reason to buy the expensive phones as I'm never going to use them, only the wifi connection. I've looked up some of the models and see that Samsung has a large following here. The J3 Prime, ON5, J7 Prime as well as LG Aristo, K7 and Stylo 2 Plus are "reasonably" priced, any comments on these phones?
I've read that some of you only freeze the apps, others root the phone and even change the ROM to get what you want. I will only be using my home pc to surf and know how to protect it but I'm not sure if I need any protection on the cell, especially if I never use it on the Net. Is my phone safe as I plan to use it?
I've started downloading software for rooting, Twrp, Odin, Kingrootz and Samsung drivers. I read that it's best to backup your phone before rooting, Titanium and one other (?) program were mentioned so I will get them too.
What other things should/must I do? Please post links to any threads that may have addressed this issue! I'm new to all of this but can learn. I am reading threads here hoping to get a better handle on rooting but getting personal proven advice just makes life so much easier.
BTW, I guess many of you use wifi tethering since it's part of your plan, how well does it work? I'm only checking email and doing searches, not into video, music or gaming. I probably could use Freedom Pop since I'd use so little data but am not sure how their coverage is in my area. Verizon $$$ and Metro PCS (cheap) have great coverage for me (tethering included in price). But if anyone wants to comment about providers or which ones are nosey about your surfing habits and if you use TOR or a VPN let me know, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not buy a hotspot then? Roughly the same monthly bill as using a phone and less issues because all it does is WiFi without all the phone stuff. No apps to snoop on you, no need to worry about security on the hotspot(its basically just a router, not a processing unit with an operating system that can be invaded), just access to internet. And no need to worry with rooting, the software involved in rooting, issues with rooting, backing up/restoring, deleting apps, etc..
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk

> Why not buy a hotspot then?
But - where would I get the Wifi access to begin with? As far as I know there is nothing but open Wifi from my neighbors, hardly secure. I need internet access and felt that the cheapest way to go is Freedom Pop or Metro PCS cell phones. Cable and Fiber are $$$$$$$$ by comparison.

wifionly said:
> Why not buy a hotspot then?
But - where would I get the Wifi access to begin with? As far as I know there is nothing but open Wifi from my neighbors, hardly secure. I need internet access and felt that the cheapest way to go is Freedom Pop or Metro PCS cell phones. Cable and Fiber are $$$$$$$$ by comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm talking about a mobile hotspot that is activated on a mobile network like a phone with monthly service(either prepaid or on a monthly billing cycle) but isn't a phone, it just connects to the mobile network and shares that network with the devices that connect to it.
Such as a Verizon 4G jetpack or a Straight Talk mobile hotspot from Walmart. All the mobile carriers offer them, including Metro PCS, US Cellular, Boost, Virgin, etc...
I DO NOT PROVIDE HELP IN PM, KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE