Database Info

Can I skip/avoid the data plan?

Hi,
I got a Captivate for my wife from AT&T (second line). Due to some reason, AT&T did not force me to add the data plan during check out.
Can I use the phone just on Wifi and avoid the $15 monthly fee? I checked APNDroid, but found it flaky. Then I found the *#*#4636#*#* command to disable data connections, which worked. But I noticed that once the wifi was disabled, the phone automatically enabled the data connection!!
I am not trying to be cheap.. its just that my wife will be at home for the next 5 months (new baby) and I will add the $15 data plan once she get back to work.
Any tips?
PS: I just got the below e-mail from AT&T.. is it too late?
******
For whatever reason, our records indicate your Smartphone does not have an eligible data plan. We have added an appropriate Smartphone data plan for your device.
******

if you got your captivate under 2yr contact you need to keep the data plan or they can charge you ~ if not you can just cancel it from AT&T

No way around it. Don't want a Data Plan, don't buy a smart phone

ok..ok.. no need to diss. As I had said, I was just looking for a temporary solution. In any case, AT&T took the "liberty" to add the $25 data plan on that line. I called and changed it to the $15 plan for now.
Happy holidays..
gunnyman said:
No way around it. Don't want a Data Plan, don't buy a smart phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

If you can change your IMEI but other then that the system knows what phone you are using.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Lol yes there is a way. Call at&t n have them change the imei number on the line with the data plan u dont want to a non-smartphone imei number. Once that's done have them block data on that line, then put the sim back in your captivate and enjoy
Edit: its easy to work with at&t, just gotta give them a realistic scenario that doesn't make them suspect you're trying to do anything tricky lol
Samsung Captivate - Assonance 5.2

Seriously?? Is this really possible? My wife's old phone is NOT a smart phone. Can I use that phone's imei? How do I even go about convincing AT&T to switch the imei number?
Even if I am able to do this, how do I block the phone from using data when not on wifi reliably?
Regards
Nick
ninjuh said:
Lol yes there is a way. Call at&t n have them change the imei number on the line with the data plan u dont want to a non-smartphone imei number. Once that's done have them block data on that line, then put the sim back in your captivate and enjoy
Edit: its easy to work with at&t, just gotta give them a realistic scenario that doesn't make them suspect you're trying to do anything tricky lol
Samsung Captivate - Assonance 5.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

defriend said:
Seriously?? Is this really possible? My wife's old phone is NOT a smart phone. Can I use that phone's imei? How do I even go about convincing AT&T to switch the imei number?
Even if I am able to do this, how do I block the phone from using data when not on wifi reliably?
Regards
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy to do, but against the ToS and illegal... Unfortunately, as much as we all get taken advantage of by the carriers, it's still not OK to commit fraud against them. When you signed the contract, it designates that you are responsible for a data plan for X amount of months as a condition of the discount you received on your smart phone when you purchased it. The only grey area here is if you bought the phone 3rd party and don't want to pay for a data plan which is obviously not the case here.

defriend said:
Seriously?? Is this really possible? My wife's old phone is NOT a smart phone. Can I use that phone's imei? How do I even go about convincing AT&T to switch the imei number?
Even if I am able to do this, how do I block the phone from using data when not on wifi reliably?
Regards
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tell them you won't be using the cappy anymore. DO NOT mention anything about the data plan until after the imei is changed. Tell them your kid is going to be using the phone and u dont want them on the internet on your "non-smartphone". I promise it'll work.
Samsung Captivate - Assonance 5.2

So do I tell them that I will be sending the captivate back? Also, if I am successful in doing what you said, how do I make sure that the phone does not use data (gmail etc..) when not on wifi?? or will their "data block" take care of this??
Regards
Nick
ninjuh said:
Just tell them you won't be using the cappy anymore. DO NOT mention anything about the data plan until after the imei is changed. Tell them your kid is going to be using the phone and u dont want them on the internet on your "non-smartphone". I promise it'll work.
Samsung Captivate - Assonance 5.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Their data block will keep that from happening. It's like their purchase block, it will allow you to request a purchase, or in your case data, but their network will deny the request.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

defriend said:
Seriously?? Is this really possible? My wife's old phone is NOT a smart phone. Can I use that phone's imei? How do I even go about convincing AT&T to switch the imei number?
Even if I am able to do this, how do I block the phone from using data when not on wifi reliably?
Regards
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this with my girlfriends phone. It lasted a while and then she received a text saying a data plan is required for her phone and thays it had been added. Your SIM tells them what phone you're using regardless of what IMEI you give them. You can do this but its only a matter of time before they catch you and do the same thing. Best of luck.

I worked tech for att and yea you can just have them put a non-smartphone imei on the account and use the captivate ...on my other line im using a blackberry like that with just wifi ...been doing it for 2yrs now..and to be on the safe side disable data so theres no chance it does use the network cause you will be charged .1c/kb ..
Sent from my Captivate

defriend said:
So do I tell them that I will be sending the captivate back? Also, if I am successful in doing what you said, how do I make sure that the phone does not use data (gmail etc..) when not on wifi?? or will their "data block" take care of this??
Regards
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, don't tell them you're sending it back. That'll just complicate things. There's thousands of reasons you'd be switching phones. And as long as data is blocked on that line, data will not flow.
Samsung Captivate - Assonance 5.2

Delete this post

Seriously, you can tell AT&T whatever IMEI you want, the second you turn on your captivate, they know you're using teh Captivate and your account will be updated accordingly. Don't believe me? check your account information online. So your option to avoid it is to send your Captivate back.
As for data block on the phone, Froyo will have a setting to turn off cell data connection permanently. But stock 2.1 doesn't.

Its true the system knows what phone u r using .. u have to change the imei number in the phone its self
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Just call AT&T and have them add a "Smart Exclusion" to your line.
Fight for it.
If not, talk to the floor supervisor and have them add it for you.
If all else fails, just ask for the Resolutions desk. Once you ask for them, they'll do one of two things:
1. Transfer you
2. Freak out and give you whatever you want.
Cheers

The trick is to use a phone with an IMEI that AT&T does not sell. They can tell you have a Captivate all day long. If you got a Galaxy S that AT&T does not sell, they will not have that IMEI in their database, so they will not be able to cross reference it and harass you about using a smart phone without a smart phone plan. Their database does a lookup against known IMEIs, which are provided by the vendors that sell them the phones that they brand. If it is not AT&T branded, it will not be in their database.

jdsemler said:
The trick is to use a phone with an IMEI that AT&T does not sell. They can tell you have a Captivate all day long. If you got a Galaxy S that AT&T does not sell, they will not have that IMEI in their database, so they will not be able to cross reference it and harass you about using a smart phone without a smart phone plan. Their database does a lookup against known IMEIs, which are provided by the vendors that sell them the phones that they brand. If it is not AT&T branded, it will not be in their database.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's that help OP who already purchased a Captivate?

WARNING --> WARNING you can be killing your data plan and not know it

WARNING --> WARNING you can be killing your data plan and not know it
this problem is systemic because we all have the same hardware/software
don't wait till u get a 500 dollar data over usage bill, make sure you do not
have the problem NOW
This problem appears to arise from, BUT may not be limited to …...
Skipping the initial Google account setup when you first get your phone!
The symptoms:
you connect to your WiFi but are still download and surf the web with your network connection (2G/3G or 4G)
How can u tell if you have this problem ?
Open the App market (easiest and sure way to find out)
if you have the problem right next to your WiFi you will see 2G, 3G or 4G connection
you may have to click on an app in the market and wait for the page to load to see the above
BUT u will see it if you have a data plan, if you do not have a data plan you will get a network error!
Which tells you if you think about it that u are not surfing with WiFi at all!
And hence killing (using) your data plan!
Go here if u wanna read what we went through to find the offending app's and how to solve the problem
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1044349
the easiest solution comes from EtherealRemnant (I have his post quoted below)
for thoughs of u who can not do the original setup, because you don’t have a data plan
OR don’t want to do a factory reset! You will have to go to the above post for details on how to solve the problem.
Some are easy (and work for some) other solutions are harder and require you to take an extra step after every reboot! (as in my case)
Maybe a developer out here can make an easy one click Fix
peace and good luck
.
Originally Posted by EtherealRemnant
I had this same issue and I found out the cause. First off, if you skip the initial setup and set it up later,
you will never fix the issue. Particularly when downloading from the Market. You need to go to Settings/Privacy
and do a factory reset and make sure you set up your Google account on the initial setup screen.
Second, make sure that your phone is not using any data before turning wifi on. If it is, let it stabilize for a few moments.
If this does not work, turn on wifi calling. Its better voice quality anyway and you don't get dropped calls.
This is obviously just a software bug that needs a patch to fix. I've seen far worse problems out of the gate with phones
than software bugs as small as this.
.

lol thanks bud....
i always wondered why people skipped the setup... it takes 2 mins......
now look... you might have caused your own problems... maybe this is where the REBOOTS/LAG/DATA/LOCK DEATH PROBLEMS are coming from.........

nate420 said:
i always wondered why people skipped the setup... it takes 2 mins......
now look... you might have caused your own problems... maybe this is where the REBOOTS/LAG/DATA/LOCK DEATH PROBLEMS are coming from.........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SO true maybe this is the cause of ALL them problems, I never thought of that!
BUT for myself i can not do the initial setup because i do not have a data plan to sync the account with in setup
.

a1yet said:
SO true maybe this is the cause of ALL them problems, I never thought of that!
BUT for myself i can not do the initial setup because i do not have a data plan to sync the account with in setup
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bet it will help with most of them (not the bleeding tho thats hardware)

Thank you for giving me credit on my fix.
I didn't really think about the people who don't have data plans - lots of us skip the initial set up on phones though due to slow network speeds. I have a lot of towers in my area but I get 100kbps on a good day and 300 off-peak... there's an air force base not even ten miles away and I have a feeling that's where a lot of it comes from... I switched from at&t to T-Mo because of the exact same speeds but I was also dropping calls in my house with them. I've yet to drop one with T-Mo.

Well I set my wife's up correctly. She still has the problem.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

nraudigy2 has posted a fix here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1046991
But it's still not working for some
my fix using his method stopped working and i am back to turning on wifi calling again ***SIGH***
i might just have to buy a day data plan and factory reset,
and set the phone up properly the first time
so i don't know whats up with this
just don't take this fix to be the end all be all fix
just be happy if it works for you
.

unlimited data over hrere

The real culprit is T-Mobile's very own My Account app. It won't work over Wi-Fi and starts a native data connection with the mother ship with every query even when Wi-Fi's enabled. The way to prove this is to enable Wi-Fi calling and then try to get My Account to answer a query. It can't because Wi-Fi calling hard closes the native data connection and it apparently outranks the My Account app. Once Wi-Fi Calling's turned off I do still see the 4G indicator pop-up randomly when I'm on Wi-Fi.
Does anybody know what harm this is really doing? If the only app or apps that are using native data when Wi-Fi's enabled are Market and My Account how much data is really being consumed? Looking at my data usage (and I'm a pretty heavy user) it doesn't seem much different then what I was burning on the G2.

jerichoholic said:
unlimited data over hrere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But... 3/4G are capped at either 2GB or 5GB depending on your plan. Once you hit that threshold you'll be throttled to GRPS speeds which makes dial-up look fast.

Well updating my wife's my account app fixed hers. I had to manually update hers. It was not like mine which updated itself.
But it worked so far. No errors since.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

For those with no Data Plan. Try this. (Probably works vice versa) You can't have My Account app running at all. I would root and remove it with Titantium Backup.
1. Factory Reset
2. Skip initial setup
3. Turn on Airplane Mode (hold down Power button for 3 sec)
4. Turn on Wifi
5. Setup Google Account/Market
6. Shutdown phone/Reboot ( Don't know if you need this)
7. Turn off Airplane Mode
This is more legit than my other solution.

nate420 said:
lol thanks bud....
i always wondered why people skipped the setup... it takes 2 mins......
now look... you might have caused your own problems... maybe this is where the REBOOTS/LAG/DATA/LOCK DEATH PROBLEMS are coming from.........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no dude, that's not where those things are coming from. secondly, you skip the setup if A) you don't have a sim card or B) if you don't have a data connection. You have to get through all the crap to turn on wifi and then sync. all that wondering and you never thought of that?

EvanPatrickSmith said:
no dude, that's not where those things are coming from. secondly, you skip the setup if A) you don't have a sim card or B) if you don't have a data connection. You have to get through all the crap to turn on wifi and then sync. all that wondering and you never thought of that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My solution works with no data connection so far.

nraudigy2 said:
My solution works with no data connection so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i might try this tomorrow
it's time to take my Android to bed
? does that make me Android gay ?
.

T-Mobile unlimited data is truly unlimited I'm at 8 GB according to T-Mobile and I'm still rocking my 4G $15 a month for unlimited web is great.

death1246 said:
T-Mobile unlimited data is truly unlimited I'm at 8 GB according to T-Mobile and I'm still rocking my 4G $15 a month for unlimited web is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the unlimited internet for 15 dollars. I'm paying 20 right now.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

xl DIGITAL lx said:
How did you get the unlimited internet for 15 dollars. I'm paying 20 right now.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you guys paying 15 and 20? I have to pay 30. ;(

I just remove that My Account and other TMo bs.

The worst effect of this is that it eats through your battery life at an alarming rate. seriously, check your cell standby statistic. Way too high for normal.

Lovely letter from AT&T

Well I finally got called out on my data usage in tethering and was threatened to get put on the $45 a month plan on top of what I have already. As soon as I get into the top 5% of the top data users I get throttled back... There was an app that I had a long time back that used to give me options to turn on Wi-Fi when I plug the phone in or turn it on and off at certain times as well as mobile data.. any ideas of what the app is called or a similar app? (not power manager by x-phone software either because all it does is crash)
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

Tasker will do that for you. I use it, for example, to turn on my WiFi when I get home and turn off the cell data. When I leave, it automatically turns off the WiFi and turns on the 3G/H+ data and GPS. Be warned though that if you have Tasker monitoring a lot of things, it can cause a battery drain.

TNPaparazzi said:
any ideas of what the app is called or a similar app? (not power manager by x-phone software either because all it does is crash)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to use Tasker, but like djeaton said, it can be a battery drain. Instead, I use an app called "AT&T Smart Wi-Fi". You can find it on the Android Market. Pretty simple to set up and easy to use. Give that a shot before you try Tasker.

Thanks guys I'll give em both a try

If you don't mind me asking, how much data did you use in order to be top 5% by At&t?
I ask this because I also tether and would like a heads up hehe...
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

over 11.5 gigs lmao.. They caught me tethering on a completely separate thing though... Just be careful with the tethering, they'll send you a lovely text message and warn you before they do anything though

TNPaparazzi said:
over 11.5 gigs lmao.. They caught me tethering on a completely separate thing though... Just be careful with the tethering, they'll send you a lovely text message and warn you before they do anything though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a text saying the same thing today and plan on calling at&t after the holiday to give them a piece of my mind because how can they say I'm in the top 5% when i only use around 2.1GB a month. They just really want everyone to be on the limited data plans.

blitzer320 said:
I got a text saying the same thing today and plan on calling at&t after the holiday to give them a piece of my mind because how can they say I'm in the top 5% when i only use around 2.1GB a month. They just really want everyone to be on the limited data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm that's good to know because I haven't really noticed any throttling yet either.. Maybe it's just a scare tactic.. I don't want to push my luck and attempt to tether again... If they threaten me again with that and I know they're bullshitting, then it's really gonna hit the fan and they will get a piece of my mind

I've been tethering for years and have never heard anything. I've also been using tons of data streaming several hours of audio daily from spotify in addition to my normal web usage. I wouldn't be terribly upset if they canceled my account....
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium

blitzer320 said:
I got a text saying the same thing today and plan on calling at&t after the holiday to give them a piece of my mind because how can they say I'm in the top 5% when i only use around 2.1GB a month. They just really want everyone to be on the limited data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the tethering that they don't want you to do. It's even in the contract you sign so calling them out is just going to allow them an avenue to show you what you signed. Just don't tether and they will leave you alone. I use over 5-10gb sometimes a month and have never tethered and I don't get throttled or get any nasty letters.

Gizmoe said:
It's the tethering that they don't want you to do. It's even in the contract you sign so calling them out is just going to allow them an avenue to show you what you signed. Just don't tether and they will leave you alone. I use over 5-10gb sometimes a month and have never tethered and I don't get throttled or get any nasty letters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I have never tethered and I got this message saying I was in the top 5% data users
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

blitzer320 said:
Actually I have never tethered and I got this message saying I was in the top 5% data users
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange. I thought you were tethering. Maybe you live in a high congestion area. I live in a small town so maybe they don't care how much I use, because I use a lot.

Gizmoe said:
That's strange. I thought you were tethering. Maybe you live in a high congestion area. I live in a small town so maybe they don't care how much I use, because I use a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I guess that's could be it since i live in manhattan but I also think its about the phone you have. Me and my sister are on a family plan both with unlimited data but she has an iPhone so they don't mess with her at all.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

Its people like you who abuse data bandwidth as to why carriers crack down on it. Being respectful of others on the network, you should only use tethering when you absolutely have a need to get on the internet to check email, send a message, get info off the web, etc. And your phone should not be the only device you have for an internet connection. And if it is, you shouldn't be downloading or streaming that much data from a phone anyways. So i would like to personally thank you for ruining it for everyone else by being apart of the real problem.

According to TechCrunch, "heavy users only make up a small percentage of those consuming bandwidth – 14.3%, to be precise." That means 85% of the problem belongs to the rest of us.

djeaton said:
According to TechCrunch, "heavy users only make up a small percentage of those consuming bandwidth – 14.3%, to be precise." That means 85% of the problem belongs to the rest of us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was only that much then ATT wouldn't care. Alot of the issue started with the IPhone and people streaming stuff all day long. Now comes android and every kid gets one and guess what they do? Same as the iPhone users. They take unlimited as just that and because they didn't read the TOS they don't understand reasonable usage. You would be amazed after working for ATT and helping people with their accounts how many really due use a dumb amount of data all the time. I saw this coming a few weeks after the iPhone hit. To be honest I am surprised it took so damn long lol

I'd hate to see what those unlimited data abusers could do to an all-you-can-eat buffet
I recall reading somewhere recently that AT&T has started throttling speeds to customers that are in the top 5% of data usage. Problem is, what criteria are they using to determine "top 5%"? Metro area? Nationwide? Neighborhood?
---------- Post added at 08:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------
Found it!
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=20535&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=32318

The point of the article was that the folks abusing the bandwidth are not the biggest cause of speed degradation. ATT cares because the few that make up the 14% are using more than they are paying for when they tether their phones without the tethering plan. If you pay for using their service on your phone and then want to use it on your laptop, they want you to buy their little USB thingy and another data plan to do it. Should they require more money based on where you view the data? Probably not. But we shouldn't conflate ATTs desire to squeeze folks with it being the primary cause of slow speeds. If they all cut their data usage back to a more reasonable amount, it would only increase the rest of our speeds by a couple of percentage points.

cavsoldier19d said:
Its people like you who abuse data bandwidth as to why carriers crack down on it. Being respectful of others on the network, you should only use tethering when you absolutely have a need to get on the internet to check email, send a message, get info off the web, etc. And your phone should not be the only device you have for an internet connection. And if it is, you shouldn't be downloading or streaming that much data from a phone anyways. So i would like to personally thank you for ruining it for everyone else by being apart of the real problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only used tethering one time and that was because their garbage DSL which I'm cancelling soon wasn't working. Other than that, I normally don't use any higher than 6gb except for that one time which was still lower than a bunch of people I personally know. They have yet to receive a letter.

I don't tether and I just got this text from at&t saying I'm in the top 5 percent
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using xda premium

HTC Inspire 4G Question

There is this thing on the top of the screen by the battery charge, time and **** there is a logo that looks like H+ with a checkmark under what is that?

If you have poop on the top of your phone I recommend you clean it before using the phone. As far as your question, try looking in your manual for that answer.

Agoattamer said:
If you have poop on the top of your phone I recommend you clean it before using the phone. As far as your question, try looking in your manual for that answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did but there is no pic like that with the checkmark under it..

Most likely you have wifi enabled so your data connection is present but turned off.

Agoattamer said:
Most likely you have wifi enabled so your data connection is present but turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright because i just bought the phone and unlocked it i didn't want the att dataplan so im using wifi, will att find out and make me buy the data plan?

I would have to say yes. Possibly if you keep data disabled you may slip through. Possibly if you are caught and you speak politely to an ATT rep they may just disable your data on their end and let you continue to use the phone with a no data plan. I have seen all 3 happen.

Agoattamer said:
I would have to say yes. Possibly if you keep data disabled you may slip through. Possibly if you are caught and you speak politely to an ATT rep they may just disable your data on their end and let you continue to use the phone with a no data plan. I have seen all 3 happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn... hopefully i dont get cought

Obviously you are on the rooted inspire stock ROM. Check means network available not connected. Arrows mean connected. If you use market with background data enabled, and market requires background data, it Will connect briefly for location purposes (well, it connects. That's the only logical reason why I can think of because it still transmits 3-4 kb even when WiFi connected). So... One might look into changing APN settings with APNdroid if they wanted to avoid overages on a low quota data plan. But with no data plan at all, they might want to purchase one.
You do realize that internet or not, when your phone syncs with a network on boot it loads handset info to your ATT account, right? I mean regardless of what phones you change to, when you log in to your account it shows what device you are using. They aren't blind to things like that.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App

[Q] When do they charge for data???

I just got a Galaxy S3. I want my MT4GS to go to my wife. She's currently using a cheap slider with no data plan (Gravity S).
So, I just plugged her SIM card into my freshly reset (but rooted) phone. Wifi off. Navigation and google maps work with satellite views, which means that there is a data connection. I'm curious as to whether this is data I would be charged for.
My wife does maybe 10 messages and ten minutes a month. I don't plan to get her hooked on internet or email. I thought that having navigation would be a good thing. I do have wifi, so I could download maps ahead of time, but from what I have seen, navigation instructions are still a data user. I turned off the data and the maps don't work.
With all that above, I have my question. Will I get billed for a small amount of data?
Rooted, is there any way around it?

sandiegoan said:
I just got a Galaxy S3. I want my MT4GS to go to my wife. She's currently using a cheap slider with no data plan (Gravity S).
So, I just plugged her SIM card into my freshly reset (but rooted) phone. Wifi off. Navigation and google maps work with satellite views, which means that there is a data connection. I'm curious as to whether this is data I would be charged for.
My wife does maybe 10 messages and ten minutes a month. I don't plan to get her hooked on internet or email. I thought that having navigation would be a good thing. I do have wifi, so I could download maps ahead of time, but from what I have seen, navigation instructions are still a data user. I turned off the data and the maps don't work.
With all that above, I have my question. Will I get billed for a small amount of data?
Rooted, is there any way around it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's at the carrier level, so there's no way around it (like throttling and the old services.jar trick). Are you both on the same plan? That might save you some headache.

blackknightavalon said:
It's at the carrier level, so there's no way around it (like throttling and the old services.jar trick). Are you both on the same plan? That might save you some headache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife's current phone is a basic phone that has slide out keyboard and touch screen. I am not now paying for a data plan. When I simply put the sim card in the MT4GS, the messages were available. They might be stored on the sim card, I don't know.
I brought up Google Maps and the local map came up. I added the satellite view and it came up. I didn't turn on wifi and I didn't turn off mobile data.
My main question is, If the phone doesn't get used much and we don't use web or email, will we get charged or will the data stop? There is a limited amount of data that comes with the phone to power the weather widget on the home screen.
I just don't want to get any surprises when the bill comes up next time.
Any information would be helpful.

sandiegoan said:
My wife's current phone is a basic phone that has slide out keyboard and touch screen. I am not now paying for a data plan. When I simply put the sim card in the MT4GS, the messages were available. They might be stored on the sim card, I don't know.
I brought up Google Maps and the local map came up. I added the satellite view and it came up. I didn't turn on wifi and I didn't turn off mobile data.
My main question is, If the phone doesn't get used much and we don't use web or email, will we get charged or will the data stop? There is a limited amount of data that comes with the phone to power the weather widget on the home screen.
I just don't want to get any surprises when the bill comes up next time.
Any information would be helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to turn off mobile data on the phone. Wifi is ok to use, but if mobile data is on, you will get charged per use. Not sure what the rate is, but it's usually steep.
Even if you don't use mobile data, smartphones are designed to constantly pull data. Which is why you'll get data charges if you don't turn it off. That's just how they are built. Gmail sync, weather updates, widgets, apps, etc. It's impossible for you to control how and when your phone uses data unless you're manually controlling each and every app.
That said, if you turn off data, you will lose MMS since it relies on mobile data
Technically, a data plan is REQUIRED when running a smartphone, but lately I've seen almost everyone get away with it. I'm not sure if they revoked the rule or they just don't enforce it anymore. Last time I checked, they're authorized to tack a data plan onto your account if they catch you using one of these phones.
SOURCE: I use a smartphone with no data plan
Check out my thread posing a similar question, it may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1635679
The app I mentioned there was an amazing idea for someone that doesn't have a data plan. Let me know if you figure out how to make it work

I think t-mobile charges u for the initial plan, like for a smart phone your plan would typically require some sort of data like 100mb to start at 4g, but there all unlimited as far as I know, and throttled after you go over the given amount, anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but to be sure look at t-mobiles contract plans with data, may say #mb/gb of 4g/unlimited mines a month 2 month prepay of 2gigs and in my account says 2gigs/unlimited because they throttle you once your over
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app

Not sure I am understood
The phone my wife has is a dumb phone with a touch screen and a slide out keyboard. Because it can get weather and some email, there is limited data available.
When I put her sim card in the Slide 4g data is available. Somewhere there is a line that gets crossed and charges start occurring. I'm just trying to find out where that line is.
If she only makes calls and text, there is no problem. I can turn on wifi, but it doesn't help get directions when she is out. This wouldn't be a regular thing but I would like to see it available.
I am fearful of calling tmobile because it might flag my account. That is why I am asking here first.
Thanks.

sandiegoan said:
The phone my wife has is a dumb phone with a touch screen and a slide out keyboard. Because it can get weather and some email, there is limited data available.
When I put her sim card in the Slide 4g data is available. Somewhere there is a line that gets crossed and charges start occurring. I'm just trying to find out where that line is.
If she only makes calls and text, there is no problem. I can turn on wifi, but it doesn't help get directions when she is out. This wouldn't be a regular thing but I would like to see it available.
I am fearful of calling tmobile because it might flag my account. That is why I am asking here first.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no way your wife has been using her phone without some sort of mobile data. Either pay per use or part of your plan. It's not possible to get email and weather on your phone unless you have data or are using wifi
Ok so then from what I understand is you wife has a phone with the smallest data plan on it
Then you just have to watch out for data overages. Your limit must be pretty small (not sure what it is)

there are minimal data accounts for dumb phones
As far back as almost 4 years ago I had weather and email without the $5 web account. Since it was the same limited web that you got with a flip phone and it wasn't practical and usable, there was the $5 for the web. I had constantly updated weather and I had email to my gmail, and live/hotmail addresses. It was very hard to use and to configure (not the weather, which had a little picture widget with the tempurature) but it did have limited data. I could download maps. Again on a dumb phone, it was mostly not worth using, but I had a little taste of a smart phone in early 2009.
So, I guess that all the expertise here is on Android phones with full data plans. I was hoping that someone here would know about the limited data plan that IS on the Samsung Gravity S. I asked here because I want to see how far I can go with the no data plan and still use that limited data.
Seriously, we're talking about a tech less person. The old phone has a plastic screen and is hard to use.
I see that I am not getting what I want here.
Thanks for trying.

I think you are right about not getting your answer. I wonder if you can get on their CS chat anonymously and find out that way. I feel where you are coming from in not wanting to ask directly and getting hosed for your trouble. Whatever you find out please post it here if you don't mind so we can all benefit.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

Coug76 said:
I think you are right about not getting your answer. I wonder if you can get on their CS chat anonymously and find out that way. I feel where you are coming from in not wanting to ask directly and getting hosed for your trouble. Whatever you find out please post it here if you don't mind so we can all benefit.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.
Maybe go into a TMobile store, or *maybe* a Best Buy and ask the reps in there, as they might tell you something different too.. Dont tell the TMo Store reps u are a member already just ask hypothetically how their data billing works.
I am sure many people ask the same questions. Good luck! :good:

Answer will you get charged data/, t-mobile offers unlimited data, w/ limited 4g, click your "my account" application, it will say "data plan amount/data limit". If data limit says unlimited, you have unlimited data, if it shows a limit it will either charge u to go over or just turn off your data make sure the phone is stock, and factory or it may not state the correct amount,
But like someone said above stated call t-mobile ask them when they charge you and what your limit is. That is your best bet, don't let them know you have put your sim in a new phone, though they probably know already.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app