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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.
Quick question. (searched around and couldn't find this question.)
My girlfriend is using my old tmo n1 on att with no data plan. We have mobile data disabled and she just uses wifi for internet access.
We discovered that with mobile data turned off she can't get pictures in mms messages, even when connected to wifi. We have to turn on mobile data in order for her to get mms pictures.
On her old phone she was able to get mms messages just fine despite no data plan.
will turning on mobile data specifically when she wants to get an mms end up costing extra money despite the fact that she was able to get mms on her old phone with no data plan? (she toggles sync off before turning mobile data on in order to keep gmail from downloading messages and such while on mobile data.)
thanks in advance.
You prolly will hit other chargers
I'm curious what phone she used to use and how she got mms with no data plan cause its been like this for many years that I've used ATT. No data plan has always blocked mms messages for as long as I've known. Interesting.
maybe try calling your service provider.
You should post on the Nexus One forums, this is the Nexus S.
But in general, you do need data service for MMS. I too am curious what phone she had that didn't have mobile data and was able to receive MMS.
Sorry! totally meant to post this in Nexus One forums.
Her previous phone was a Samsung Impression. A cheesy smartphone wannabe.
False, you do NOT need to be paying for a data plan to be able to send and receive MMS. There is typically a separate APN in your device that specifically handles MMS and it does not cost anything.
The problem you can expect is that AT&T will most likely automatically add the $25 2GB data plan because the device will register as a smartphone on their network. Despite it only working on EDGE since it's a T-Mobile variant and despite her not using their data AT ALL, they WILL change her data plan unless she's on an older grandfathered plan. They did it to both of my lines when I picked up the Nexus One last January.
j.bruha said:
The problem you can expect is that AT&T will most likely automatically add the $25 2GB data plan because the device will register as a smartphone on their network. Despite it only working on EDGE since it's a T-Mobile variant and despite her not using their data AT ALL, they WILL change her data plan unless she's on an older grandfathered plan. They did it to both of my lines when I picked up the Nexus One last January.
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I'm not sure that's accurate.
AT&T does not recognize my i9000 phone at all...my account shows it as an unknown device. There's someone else here in this forum who claims he uses a non-AT&T SGS variant on AT&T with the much cheaper data for non-smart-phone plans.
It's a gamble, for sure, but not an absolute.
distortedloop said:
I'm not sure that's accurate.
AT&T does not recognize my i9000 phone at all...my account shows it as an unknown device. There's someone else here in this forum who claims he uses a non-AT&T SGS variant on AT&T with the much cheaper data for non-smart-phone plans.
It's a gamble, for sure, but not an absolute.
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It depends mostly on your plan. If you had the $10/month data before AT&T made the switch in September 2009, some customers had a "smartphone exclusion" code added to their account. Having this on your account, you could pop your SIM into any smartphone and your data plan would not be affected.
Those without the smartphone exclusion that activated a smartphone with the $10/month data plan are automatically switched if the IMEI is registered as a smartphone with AT&T. I'm not sure how extensive their list of registered devices is, but it extends beyond the devices they sell as both my T-Mobile Nexus One and later my AT&T Nexus One were both flagged, even though AT&T never sold either of them.
There has been plenty of discussion on this topic in the N1 forums since it originally came out. You are correct, it is a gamble, but not an absolute.
j.bruha said:
It depends mostly on your plan. If you had the $10/month data before AT&T made the switch in September 2009, some customers had a "smartphone exclusion" code added to their account. Having this on your account, you could pop your SIM into any smartphone and your data plan would not be affected.
Those without the smartphone exclusion that activated a smartphone with the $10/month data plan are automatically switched if the IMEI is registered as a smartphone with AT&T. I'm not sure how extensive their list of registered devices is, but it extends beyond the devices they sell as both my T-Mobile Nexus One and later my AT&T Nexus One were both flagged, even though AT&T never sold either of them.
There has been plenty of discussion on this topic in the N1 forums since it originally came out. You are correct, it is a gamble, but not an absolute.
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Thanks for the clarification.
Thanks for the information guys. It will be interesting to see if her account has the data plan added on when the bill comes.
mfajmkas said:
Thanks for the information guys. It will be interesting to see if her account has the data plan added on when the bill comes.
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They will typically send you a "polite" text message letting you know it has been changed, so you shouldn't get a surprise bill. Their system does a sweep, so it also may not be applied until after her bill cycle date.
Not sure if this correct forum to post this and did a quick search, but didn't see anything that correlated. I'm a otr truck driver and 75% of the time I'm on edge network. Currently I have data roam turned off. Was wondering if anybody had a solution to "trick " network into thinking I was in a 3G area. I have unlimited data plan and my thinking was, if tethering was free with rooted dev.how come I have to pay extra to data roam when I'm not on atnt's signal?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
there is no way to "trick" a cell tower to broadcast farther.
Roostercruiser said:
Not sure if this correct forum to post this and did a quick search, but didn't see anything that correlated. I'm a otr truck driver and 75% of the time I'm on edge network. Currently I have data roam turned off. Was wondering if anybody had a solution to "trick " network into thinking I was in a 3G area. I have unlimited data plan and my thinking was, if tethering was free with rooted dev.how come I have to pay extra to data roam when I'm not on atnt's signal?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly sure what you're trying to do here, but let me take a stab at it:
There is very little reason while within the continental united states to have "data roaming" turned off. So yes, technically, on an AT&T phone, you can "roam" to other data networks, but so long as you're not using excessive amounts of data, and not spending long periods of time only on the roaming network, it won't be a problem. All AT&T plans are "nationwide access" so except for one teensy tiny condition that I'll explain in a second, there's no need to manually restrict your phone. Basically let your phone "roam" to whatever networks it wants, be but warned, if there is any AT&T tower in sight, your phone will take that over any other GSM network, even if it's only an EDGE connection. Only way to get around that is to lock your phone to WCDMA (3G), but that may have undesirable effects if you're travelling over long distances where cell coverage is poor.
So here's the exception, if you are both:
- Spending multiple consecutive days on an AT&T partner "roaming" network
- Using large amounts of data (like from tethering, which you shouldn't be doing anyway w/o a tethering plan)
Then you will get in trouble. AT&T will call you first, and tell you to stop. If you don't stop, then they will terminate your contract. No ETF or other fees will be charged, but you probably won't be able to get another plan with AT&T under the same name again. The reason is that AT&T has to pay lots of money to those roaming partners to let you (the customer) use their networks. Due to FCC regs, spectrum allocations, anti-trust, etc... AT&T can only offer service in certain areas, and not in others, hence why they have to partner with other cell networks. But apparently, those agreements really r*pe AT&T up the butt, which is why they'll let it go for a while, but if you start costing them too much money, they'll just drop you as a customer.
This happened to me once in Arizona, in an area only covered by T-Mobile. I was tethering through my 3G phone at the time (an HTC Kaiser/Tilt actually) and used something like 500 MB over a week. This was back in the old days of unlimited plans, and before AT&T could enforce tethering/non-tethering plans. I got a phone call from a special department within AT&T, and they politely said, "turn the data functions of your phone off immediately, or your contract will be terminated". Apparently, through roaming agreements, they had paid out (or were contractually obliged to eventually pay out) something like $300-$400 to T-Mobile over the course of a week, and we're none too pleased about it. I stopped, and it was all good.
Long story short, don't abuse the roaming agreements, and you won't have a problem.
The reason tether can be free is because it SHOULD be free. You are using an inbuilt feature of the phone to route internet requests.... its a simple feature which has been available on dumb phones since year 1995. It was not mainstream until recently and ATT realized they could simply disable it and charge. Its free in Europe because that's how it should be...
Tethering just sends internet requests to your device and your device returns the results of the request to your computer. Its very shadey of ATT to charge for it. Any internet enabled device has the inbuilt capability to route data from one device to another... even the simplest dumb phone.
Shammyh said:
Not exactly sure what you're trying to do here, but let me take a stab at it:
There is very little reason while within the continental united states to have "data roaming" turned off. So yes, technically, on an AT&T phone, you can "roam" to other data networks, but so long as you're not using excessive amounts of data, and not spending long periods of time only on the roaming network, it won't be a problem. All AT&T plans are "nationwide access" so except for one teensy tiny condition that I'll explain in a second, there's no need to manually restrict your phone. Basically let your phone "roam" to whatever networks it wants, be but warned, if there is any AT&T tower in sight, your phone will take that over any other GSM network, even if it's only an EDGE connection. Only way to get around that is to lock your phone to WCDMA (3G), but that may have undesirable effects if you're travelling over long distances where cell coverage is poor.
So here's the exception, if you are both:
- Spending multiple consecutive days on an AT&T partner "roaming" network
- Using large amounts of data (like from tethering, which you shouldn't be doing anyway w/o a tethering plan)
Then you will get in trouble. AT&T will call you first, and tell you to stop. If you don't stop, then they will terminate your contract. No ETF or other fees will be charged, but you probably won't be able to get another plan with AT&T under the same name again. The reason is that AT&T has to pay lots of money to those roaming partners to let you (the customer) use their networks. Due to FCC regs, spectrum allocations, anti-trust, etc... AT&T can only offer service in certain areas, and not in others, hence why they have to partner with other cell networks. But apparently, those agreements really r*pe AT&T up the butt, which is why they'll let it go for a while, but if you start costing them too much money, they'll just drop you as a customer.
This happened to me once in Arizona, in an area only covered by T-Mobile. I was tethering through my 3G phone at the time (an HTC Kaiser/Tilt actually) and used something like 500 MB over a week. This was back in the old days of unlimited plans, and before AT&T could enforce tethering/non-tethering plans. I got a phone call from a special department within AT&T, and they politely said, "turn the data functions of your phone off immediately, or your contract will be terminated". Apparently, through roaming agreements, they had paid out (or were contractually obliged to eventually pay out) something like $300-$400 to T-Mobile over the course of a week, and we're none too pleased about it. I stopped, and it was all good.
Long story short, don't abuse the roaming agreements, and you won't have a problem.
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Click to collapse
Moral of the story: If you don't want to pay an ETF find a remote area of Arizona.
AdamOutler said:
The reason tether can be free is because it SHOULD be free. You are using an inbuilt feature of the phone to route internet requests.... its a simple feature which has been available on dumb phones since year 1995. It was not mainstream until recently and ATT realized they could simply disable it and charge. Its free in Europe because that's how it should be...
Tethering just sends internet requests to your device and your device returns the results of the request to your computer. Its very shadey of ATT to charge for it. Any internet enabled device has the inbuilt capability to route data from one device to another... even the simplest dumb phone.
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Click to collapse
Totally agree. I'm just explaining the way it works, not the way it *should* work.
In fact, I figure that as long as I don't go over my 2 GB/month allocation, I can tether as much as I want, and I do.
Shammyh said:
Not exactly sure what you're trying to do here, but let me take a stab at it:
There is very little reason while within the continental united states to have "data roaming" turned off... and it was all good.
Long story short, don't abuse the roaming agreements, and you won't have a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pardon me for redacting, but I wished to get to the heart of the matter.
A four-year member with 204 posts. I applaud both your insight and restraint, sir.
The point was, you can't access network features because they are on your network. You can access phone features because they are on your phone. Roaming is roaming no matter what. Its tracked by the network by your SIM. Change the SIM and you change your service type. Im not sure if its legal to mess with that.
Is it possible to purchase a 'data sim'? Whereby you could access a regional data network on an unlocked phone? i.e. I'm in Nowhereland but they locally sell me a pay as you go data sim to use in my unlocked phone for data, but not network telephone service.
A Unicorn? Or real?
Shammyh said:
Totally agree. I'm just explaining the way it works, not the way it *should* work.
In fact, I figure that as long as I don't go over my 2 GB/month allocation, I can tether as much as I want, and I do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP's question boils down to this...
if tethering was free with rooted dev.how come I have to pay extra to data roam when I'm not on atnt's signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The simple answer is because tethering is a device function and AT&T's shadey business practices make you pay to use your own device. Roaming is a network function and there's nothing that can be done about it except
1. update towers
2. change modems (sometimes yeilds better results on different AT&T towers, but wont' change roming)
3. change carriers
4. modify your SIM card to be more compatible with your current network.
AdamOutler said:
4. modify your SIM card to be more compatible with your current network.
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So how does one modify one's SIM card to be more compatible with one's current network?
clemmie said:
So how does one modify one's SIM card to be more compatible with one's current network?
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You wouldn't... you would change the identifiers so it thought you were another customer..... illegally.
I'm not sure exactly, but I may have an answer soon. I'm looking at methods of communicating with the call processor in order to device bricked phones. It might be the best way to inject code into the ram. . Ill get back to you on that.
AdamOutler said:
The reason tether can be free is because it SHOULD be free. You are using an inbuilt feature of the phone to route internet requests.... its a simple feature which has been available on dumb phones since year 1995. It was not mainstream until recently and ATT realized they could simply disable it and charge. Its free in Europe because that's how it should be...
Tethering just sends internet requests to your device and your device returns the results of the request to your computer. Its very shadey of ATT to charge for it. Any internet enabled device has the inbuilt capability to route data from one device to another... even the simplest dumb phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uncle does it on dumb kyocera and Samsung phones on metro pcs all day long
clemmie said:
Is it possible to purchase a 'data sim'? Whereby you could access a regional data network on an unlocked phone? i.e. I'm in Nowhereland but they locally sell me a pay as you go data sim to use in my unlocked phone for data, but not network telephone service.
A Unicorn? Or real?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it's not straightforward, and not exactly kosher.
You'll have to get/calculate/steal/borrow a "data connect" IMEI. Basically you need the IMEI off of a built in data card, or a purchased data card, (like one of these).
You may also need to go to an AT&T store and buy a new SIM card (usually $35 one time fee) because usually if you re-use your existing cell SIM card, they won't allow you to sign up. So with your new SIM card in hand, and an IMEI of any data connect device, you go and sign up for one of these data plans. Rates for Domestic DataConnect Pass Plans are:
DataConnect Day Pass - 100 MB for $15
DataConnect Week Pass - 300 MB for $30
DataConnect Month Pass - 1 GB for $50
Assuming no terrible problems, you should now have a "data only" AT&T SIM card. Problem is, they'll see pretty quickly that you're not using the SIM card with the device IMEI you signed up with. That may or may not cause problems. Hasn't for me in the past, but I make no guarantees.
AdamOutler said:
You wouldn't... you would change the identifiers so it thought you were another customer..... illegally.
I'm not sure exactly, but I may have an answer soon. I'm looking at methods of communicating with the call processor in order to device bricked phones. It might be the best way to inject code into the ram. . Ill get back to you on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doubt that's possible, not the injecting into the CP, but rather the changing what the phone "identifies" as. Injecting into the CP opens up all sorts of cool possibilities, but I believe actual network identification and communication is reliant upon the SIM card. In particular the Authentication Key (Ki) which I believe never leaves the internal memory of the smart card (aka SIM). Without messing with that, there's no way a phone could "pretend" to be anyone other than itself. Even when I fake out my IMEI on my Captivate (by deleting the EFS data and using the "default IMEI"), my phone still happily connects and works with AT&T. Basically, the cell network doesn't really care as long as your ICCID and crypto package are valid.
PS, been following your work closely w/ regard to the un-bricking business. Best of luck figuring out an "external" way of getting us booted w/ a corrupted PBL/SBL.
Shammyh said:
Doubt that's possible, not the injecting into the CP, but rather the changing what the phone "identifies" as. Injecting into the CP opens up all sorts of cool possibilities, but I believe actual network identification and communication is reliant upon the SIM card. In particular the Authentication Key (Ki) which I believe never leaves the internal memory of the smart card (aka SIM). Without messing with that, there's no way a phone could "pretend" to be anyone other than itself. Even when I fake out my IMEI on my Captivate (by deleting the EFS data and using the "default IMEI"), my phone still happily connects and works with AT&T. Basically, the cell network doesn't really care as long as your ICCID and crypto package are valid.
PS, been following your work closely w/ regard to the un-bricking business. Best of luck figuring out an "external" way of getting us booted w/ a corrupted PBL/SBL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks...
Like I said, I've not done any investigation into the modification of the SIM card, but I know it DOES have a programming pin on it. I'm thinking that may be for programming the SIM card.
I just received a cool communication toy in the mail. It's a Bus Pirate. so this weekend may be fun and turn up something.
MikeyMike01 said:
Moral of the story: If you don't want to pay an ETF find a remote area of Arizona.
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Click to collapse
Or anywhere where AT&T coverage is through a partner network. Brand new iPhone 4? Go find a nice spot somewhere, use lots of data, wait for AT&T to call, and get out of your contract scott free.
Nifty trick, eh? Just don't expect to get AT&T service again...
AdamOutler said:
Thanks...
Like I said, I've not done any investigation into the modification of the SIM card, but I know it DOES have a programming pin on it. I'm thinking that may be for programming the SIM card.
I just received a cool communication toy in the mail. It's a Bus Pirate. so this weekend may be fun and turn up something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds fun...
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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Click to collapse
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.
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.