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Skype over 3G Data Only plan

I've always liked the versatility of a PDA/smartphone but I could never justify the cost of a voice plan that I barely use and a data plan. It occurred to me to try getting a data only plan and running Skype with a subscription for the few voice calls I get. I'm hoping someone here has tried this before and can give me some feedback on their experience.
AT&T's coverage maps claim Houston is blanketed in 3G/HSPDA. For the majority of my day I'm in a WiFi area and not really mobile too much, but the quality of both the call and 3G service when driving around Houston is still a slight concern.
What will happen to my phone number when I switch to a data only plan? If I keep it, what happens when someone tries to call it or send me a text message?
I can't really upgrade to a smartphone to try it out and drop the data plan if it doesn't work, considering AT&T has made data plans mandatory for smartphones, and I'll be stuck paying for one.

Huh, that's very nice!

nathanpc said:
Huh, that's very nice!
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Yes I suppose it is. Instead of paying $50 for a bunch of minutes I don't use, I can pay $35 for unlimited data and messaging and a couple $ more for unlimited calling and a phone number with Skype. I end up paying about the same amount but getting a much better deal.
IF it works. I've been able to test a call on Verizon but that doesn't tell me anything about AT&T's data network. I tried streaming Pandora while driving when I got my current phone and that was a disappointment - though I think the Pandora app was the majority of the problem. Still, I have no idea if the call quality will be terrible or if calls will be dropping on me while having full signal, etc, etc. Has anyone tried this recently?

It's a little bit expansive...

Just to make sure, I'll drop it after this: There is no one out there who has tried this already?

haven't / cant try it here, often wondered about this too. id say double check att's buyer remorse policy (i think its 30 days return) make sure you can undo any contract changes, but take the phone and try it. all you would stand to lose is the time lost with returning bureaucracy, a small risk given the potential reward

Sprint sell smartphones with data only plans
including plam pre and touch pro 1 & 2 with 2 year contract what's great about it's the data plan is just $30
http://www.sprintrelaystore.com/
they don't ask for proof that you are really are deaf

Still being under contract with AT&T kind of limits me to sticking with them. As soon as I can get some pricing for upgrade on the LG Expo's, I'll probably be moving ahead with this. I spoke with three people at AT&T to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble and confirmed I'll be able to get the data only plan on a smartphone and fulfill the data plan requirement.
The plan isn't actually just data with voice disabled, it's really the reverse of a regular voice plan: package with minutes, billed per Kb of data usage VS unlimited data package, voice/messages billed per minute/message. Beauty of it is that you can forward incoming calls on your cellphone and you won't be charged - which solves the problem of everyone still calling me on my cellphone.
Unfortunately sms/mms will still go through and I'll be charged. Still working out the kinks on that. I figure I'll have to start giving out a different number at some point in time so I'll probably use Google Voice for this and forward SMS to email, but that doesn't work for MMS. Maybe I'll just have to get the cheap messaging plan, or maybe just eat the cost of the occasional MMS. Unless I can also forward messages to a different number or email from the phone which would just solve everything.
Of course, none of this is a problem for me, but trying to make this seamless and hassle free for people calling me is the goal.

llvllerlin said:
I've always liked the versatility of a PDA/smartphone but I could never justify the cost of a voice plan that I barely use and a data plan. It occurred to me to try getting a data only plan and running Skype with a subscription for the few voice calls I get. I'm hoping someone here has tried this before and can give me some feedback on their experience.
AT&T's coverage maps claim Houston is blanketed in 3G/HSPDA. For the majority of my day I'm in a WiFi area and not really mobile too much, but the quality of both the call and 3G service when driving around Houston is still a slight concern.
What will happen to my phone number when I switch to a data only plan? If I keep it, what happens when someone tries to call it or send me a text message?
I can't really upgrade to a smartphone to try it out and drop the data plan if it doesn't work, considering AT&T has made data plans mandatory for smartphones, and I'll be stuck paying for one.
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does not work very well.
also - skype absolutely drains the battery. we are talking 1-2 hours of standby time before the battery goes from 100% to 0%.

llvllerlin said:
Still being under contract with AT&T kind of limits me to sticking with them. As soon as I can get some pricing for upgrade on the LG Expo's, I'll probably be moving ahead with this. I spoke with three people at AT&T to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble and confirmed I'll be able to get the data only plan on a smartphone and fulfill the data plan requirement.
The plan isn't actually just data with voice disabled, it's really the reverse of a regular voice plan: package with minutes, billed per Kb of data usage VS unlimited data package, voice/messages billed per minute/message. Beauty of it is that you can forward incoming calls on your cellphone and you won't be charged - which solves the problem of everyone still calling me on my cellphone.
Unfortunately sms/mms will still go through and I'll be charged. Still working out the kinks on that. I figure I'll have to start giving out a different number at some point in time so I'll probably use Google Voice for this and forward SMS to email, but that doesn't work for MMS. Maybe I'll just have to get the cheap messaging plan, or maybe just eat the cost of the occasional MMS. Unless I can also forward messages to a different number or email from the phone which would just solve everything.
Of course, none of this is a problem for me, but trying to make this seamless and hassle free for people calling me is the goal.
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FYI, AT&T still doesn't have the eXpo, but RadioShack is selling it right now. I upgraded mine for $149.

In the UK we have "Three", They allow skype calls on their mobile phones and offer plans for as little as £15 with unlimited texts, unlimited internet, 200 minutes and unlimited skype usage (I believe it comes with "SkypeOUt" or whatever it's called). Skype to skype calls are always free even if you are on pay as you go (Prepay) and have no credit!
If you don't have something similar in the US then it will more than likely come soon as this sort of thing is starting to catch on. It's actually quite encouraging because if Google Voice does launch over here and google plans on having a "google voice" only mobile phone then three would be a network willing to consider it.

coolVariable said:
does not work very well.
also - skype absolutely drains the battery. we are talking 1-2 hours of standby time before the battery goes from 100% to 0%.
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I take it you've tried it out then. My phones are usually docked while I'm at work and when I get home they might go 3 hours before it's back on the charger for the night.
If you don't mind, what carrier and city, and around when did you try it out? Was it over WiFi or 3G?
SPIDERTECH said:
FYI, AT&T still doesn't have the eXpo, but RadioShack is selling it right now. I upgraded mine for $149.
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I'll have to check it out then. I still haven't seen a single word on availability yet and RadioShack's website shows nothing about it. What city?

llvllerlin said:
I take it you've tried it out then. My phones are usually docked while I'm at work and when I get home they might go 3 hours before it's back on the charger for the night.
If you don't mind, what carrier and city, and around when did you try it out? Was it over WiFi or 3G?
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3G. AT&T. Tried it pretty much all over SoCal, primarily LA, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
Just doesn't work.

T-Mobile Free Unlimited Wi-Fi Calling for Even More / EM+ Plans

If you're on a Even More or Even More Plus plan (Postpaid) with a Wi-Fi calling capable handset, you'll have the feature of unlimited Wi-Fi calling for FREE (no deduction of minutes).
Apparently, doesn't work for grandfathered plans.
Call T-Mobile (or use Live Chat), they must add it to your line for it to work. Ask for it to be added to your line (Free Unlimited Wi-Fi calling), since it's a new feature (5/13), they might not know about it (have not been trained for it). If they don't know what you're talking about, tell them to try harder
1-800-TMOBILE
1-800-866-2453
or
Live chat [t-mobile.com]
"Currently, placing calls over Wi-Fi deducts from a customer’s in-plan minutes. Effective 5/13, a new feature will launch that will allow customers with capable phones the ability to place calls over Wi-Fi without deducting from in-plan minutes! This is not only a great value, being FREE, but can help customers who experience coverage issues in areas that Wi-Fi is available."
You should be getting a text message about it according to T-Mobile, but if you're impatient...
-A Text Message (SMS) blast is planned to target customers with Wi-Fi Calling capable device to alert the customer of the availability of this free feature.
-The SMS will direct the customer to T-Mobile.com to add the feature. However, they may call Care instead. (I'm assuming they're referring to CS)
-This new feture is available to all Even more, Even More Plus, and 4G Do More rate plans for customers with Wi-Fi Calling capable devices.
Wi-Fi Calling works for:
Calls made from the US to US numbers
Calls made from the US to international numbers (subject to international rates) <-----Note
Calls made from outside the US to US numbers (not charged roaming) <---AKA (I can be in London connected through wi-fi and can call any US number for free without a deduction from my plan minutes)
Calls made from outside the US to international numbers (subject to international rates, but not charged roaming) <-----Note
as found via slickdeals.

just added this through online chat.
i dont really use wifi calling but doesnt hurt to have it right?

I also did this through online chat today. Went very smoothly and took maybe 10 minutes total. Thanks for the tip!

i just added it to both phone.... but some of the glacier roms dont have wifi native... where would i get the add on? the agent was checking my adress to see if i qualified for it? weird, i think if you are in a well known area of coverage they might try to avoid giving it to you? maybe not////////// what eva!!!!

did this earlier (before this was posted)...went without a hitch..great to have even though i dont even use 300min a month

thedude1313 said:
i just added it to both phone.... but some of the glacier roms dont have wifi native... where would i get the add on? the agent was checking my adress to see if i qualified for it? weird, i think if you are in a well known area of coverage they might try to avoid giving it to you? maybe not////////// what eva!!!!
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They have to input the address manually so that if you call 911 that the address you gave is the same one that shows up in their systems. Nothing to do with qualifying locations.

kalel33 said:
They have to input the address manually so that if you call 911 that the address you gave is the same one that shows up in their systems. Nothing to do with qualifying locations.
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oh i guess im justparanoid!!! next they will ne asking for a payment....man these people j/k

I wish I did it through chat. I called 611 and spent about 15-20 minutes on the phone explaining the press release. Not the operators fault. It's T-Mobile not alerting their customer support people of changes. A true pain in the ass.
Let's see how long it takes to activate.

just spoke to them. im on a cheaper grandfathered family plan. i do not qualify. you have to be on a current, non-grandfathered plan to get the free wifi calling.

acsi007 said:
just spoke to them. im on a cheaper grandfathered family plan. i do not qualify. you have to be on a current, non-grandfathered plan to get the free wifi calling.
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No, grandfathered plans just needs a different code.

I just finished with them online. They weren't going to add it, saying it didn't exist. Once I quoted their own press release they came back and said yes it is possible. Added it on my phone and my wife's! I'm wondering if it is a plan to reduce traffic on their networks?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

can someone please list the devices that are capable of UMA?

I spoke with chat and they, at first, didn't have any idea what I was referring to. I provided the press release to the rep and they were able to add free wifi calling to both my lines. They said it takes about 2 hours for the feature to kick in. When using it on the phone, the app will still say that minutes will be deducted however they assured me that they won't regardless.
Now I do have one question. Does this feature show up on my account under "services"?

I just called and was told that feature didn't exist. I tried tell the girl that it was new and read the release. She said that was a feature a few years ago but now it using plan minutes. I guess I'll call back and get someone else.

Way to go T-mo. Roll out a great new money saving feature and don't train your staff on it.

Unfortunately this doesn't work for us flexpay customers
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

Also they are lies about their unlimited internet plan. After use 5gb they will slow the internet down cut off. Do you guys believe that they have truly unlimited internet plan?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

I called them and they said you have to pay for tethering in order to get it for free
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

mytouch990 said:
Also they are lies about their unlimited internet plan. After use 5gb they will slow the internet down cut off. Do you guys believe that they have truly unlimited internet
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They call it unlimited because they don't charge per MB after you hit 5GB like other carriers do. I've been caped and it makes the phone almost worthless, but its better than paying 200$ because I went over plan.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

marseillesw said:
Unfortunately this doesn't work for us flexpay customers
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Well this sucks. I dont see how we are different from EM+ postpaid customers.

Bad reception, anyone use the free unlimited wifi calling feature?

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to posting, had a G2 before but mostly read the forums.
So I've got a G2x that works pretty well so far, no major issues, just some screen bleed in one corner. The only complaint I have is the reception on the phone. It seems that it drops several bars whenever I hold my phone, and in my house, it drops to zero bars where my G2 would hold 1-2 bars.
So I'm starting to use wifi calling so that I can disable the radio through the hidden menu to save some battery power when I'm at home. The problem is, wifi calling only works for a few minutes before it realizes that I'm not on the T-mo network. Basically, I think it needs the cell radio to remain on for wifi calling to work.
I went on T-mo's chat support to enable the free unlimited wifi calling feature on my phone, which, according to the support, will enable me to keep the cell radio off and make calls with the app, just like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have. The rep told me to wait a few hours before trying the free wifi calling, which I did, but it still works the same as it did before I got free wifi calling added.
Has anyone else activated the free wifi calling feature? Does it work like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have? It's possible it will take longer for the feature to kick in, so I'll keep checking.

It is not UMA. If you are in the middle of a wifi call and you move out of wifi range, the call will drop. That said, you do not need cell tower access, that beats the entire purpose of wifi calling. I use it when I work in the server room at my office. The room is in the center of the building surrounded by concrete so nobody gets any signal in there and I turn wifi calling on all the time.
You'll need a certain amount of bandwidth though. I have at home comcast cable with 22mbps and if I'm streaming Netflix in HD, the wifi calling call quality goes to ****. I haven't captured packets yet but I'm sure it's just that the router can't cope with all those QoS packets. So try not to stream anything while you use wifi calling and you'll be fine.

So do you keep your cell radio on in that deadzone? Wouldn't that drain the battery quickly since it is constantly looking for a signal?

When you turn on wifi calling it turns off cell tower polling automatically. You'll see that your cellphone reception goes from whatever many bars you had, to zero bars because it turns off the cell radio automatically. So once you see the wifi calling icon in the notification bar, you're set. You stop polling celltowers and you save battery

The wifi calling apps automatically turns the radio off after it connects to the network and switches it to GSM only. You'll notice that the bars will go to none once it is connected. You're actually interferring with thd app by trying to do things yourself.
And yes, I use the app whenever I am at home since I get poor signal. Get great battery life just letting it do what it does.
Edit: above poster basically said everything I said while I was typing lol.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I use the WIFI calling feature when I'm at work since I don't get a cell signal in the building. I never changed my account to activate the WIFI calling feature because I already have unlimited minutes on my account, so it doesn't make a difference that WIFI calling uses my plan minutes. Plus, when I tried to do it online, the online system wanted to change my account to one of the plans with a 2GB cap (I'm on the original EM+ family plan, with the 5GB cap). Didn't think it was that important.
Once I get to work, I connect to WIFI, then turn on WIFI calling. I never disable my cell radio. I also set my WIFI calling to connect through WIFI only, not WIFI preferred. At times, my calls are pretty clear. But, there are times when my calls are so choppy that I have to have the person hang up, so that I can call them back from an office line (or go outside and use the T-Mobile tower on my cell).

Oh wow that makes sense, thanks for the responses, I didn't think that it would stop searching for a signal when wifi calling is enabled. I'm curious though, do you guys put connection preferences to "Wifi only?" Seems that if you do wifi or cell preferred it would need a connection to a cell tower so that it could switch to GSM if it provides better call quality.

I haven't tested this in a while but I think if you do wifi only, once you move out of wifi range you have to remember to disable wifi calling or you get no calls.

@Memnoch30 and kangxi
Did you both activate the unlimited free wifi calling feature introduced in May?
Also I just noticed that there is a setting in the app. Under advanced settings, there's an option with the description "UMA network controller address." Perhaps UMA can be enabled somehow?

No I didn't. I have unlimited minutes so I don't really worry about any of that.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I did activate it since I don't have unlimited minutes. I don't know about enabling UMA though.

See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?

ickster said:
See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?
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I agree, I think the android phone market is so packed that manufacturers have to put in a lot of time to bump up tech specs for their phone to stand out. They really should be at least implementing a cell radio and battery good enough for real world use though

Wifi calling is amazing. I use it at work. It also saves huge amounts of battery cause wifi < cellular.
LG G2x CM7 2.3.4

how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes

Xargon321 said:
how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes
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You have to call customer service or do it through their online chat support service to have it enabled. I'm not sure why they make you do this, but you can't enable it yourself through the My T-mobile website.

have to say anything special? or just tell them to enable unlimited wifi calling? might have to do this later then.

Well, you have to be the primary account holder, but you don't really say anything special, just ask to add "free unlimited wifi calling" to your phone line.

Funny thing happened to me I called tonight and, after doing some other changes, asked about the unlimited wifi calling. The agent said oh I see u have a g2x. I said yea? Then after a hold. He said as long as ur using the wifi calling App it doesn't use plan minute.. I said oh really plz note that on my account so when it uses my minutes I can get credit. He said sure no problem I noted it and tagged the support document I read it from on your account. This was the third time I tried adding it. So I have no idea what is going on..
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

That's strange... maybe try adding it through the online chat support, that's how I got it added. They take a while to respond but they seemed to have added it to my account, can't say for sure though.

[Q] UMA/WiFi calling?

For all my T-Mobile brethren...I've noticed that when I have WiFi calling activated, it says it uses my plans minutes. I thought T-Mobile said they were making WiFi calling unlimited and that they wouldn't use my plans minutes. Does anyone know if it actually does?

There was a thread where a bunch of us were discussing this, unfortunately I forget where it was... Anyway, the consensus is, you need to call and/or chat with T-Mobile to get it added to your plan (for free). However, you need to have one of their more recent Even More plans to be eligible. Hope that helps.

Oh thanks. I guess I'll do that tomorrow.

aNYthing24 said:
Oh thanks. I guess I'll do that tomorrow.
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Its not that you need to add it to your plan as much as you need the right plan. The even more plans include wifi calling with no minute cost as part of the plan. All the plans include the wifi calling ability at the cost of minuted used. To get the no cost version, you must change plans. That also requires a contract extension.

Battery gauge stuck at 100%
I am an idiot - too many browser tabs open - posted this in a totally wrong thread - I appologize
Will re-post in the right thread.

Wifi calling on TMO
All the posts are correct, it does use TMO plan minutes unless you call & ensure they have added the free feature on each line you want to use wifi calling on. In my case, I don't have one of the "new" calling plans, but a legacy plan. I have wifi calling on all my lines & it's great, as the coverage @ home is very iffy due to hills. So glad to see this added to most handsets now, as my N1 didn't have it! This was orig why I bought a BB Curve, way back when, lol!

[Q] T-mob Does wife data use affect plan limit?

I just got my HTC One S on T-Mob. Connected to my wifi network at home and not to T-Mob's network, does browsing add to my data use on T-Mob? Do calls get posted to my voice minutes use?

cheddar 151 said:
I just got my HTC One S on T-Mob. Connected to my wifi network at home and not to T-Mob's network, does browsing add to my data use on T-Mob? Do calls get posted to my voice minutes use?
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The data does not count towards limits. I don't use WiFi calling.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium

In the U.S., anything you do through WiFi does not count towards your plan min/data.

I think you have to make sure the free wifi calling is "activated" through Tmo here in US. I think. I don't use it either.
I never could get the concept of Tmo charging anything at all for using your own network to route calls. Takes the strain off their system and they charge for it.

Sorry, the thread title is just too funny. How much "wife data" do you really need?
Wifi data (for web browsing, etc) shouldn't affect your mobile data limit. Wifi calling in theory should not affect your voice minutes, assuming your account and SIM card are set up for it. But I do know the older (2yr+) TmoUS accounts' terms were still deducting minutes even with WIFI calling - if you are not sure, you should call to check.

ickster said:
I think you have to make sure the free wifi calling is "activated" through Tmo here in US. I think. I don't use it either.
I never could get the concept of Tmo charging anything at all for using your own network to route calls. Takes the strain off their system and they charge for it.
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I agree, however it is still funneled through their servers. It might relieve the stress on their towers, but it operates nearly the same on their network (unless you use Google Voice or some other VOIP service).