From a smartphone to...a "dumb" phone? - General Questions and Answers

My DINC recently took a crap on me, and I'm currently looking around for a replacement. However, what I want to know if in the meantime it's possible to re-activate my old "dumb" phone (LG enVtouch or an old razor) without affecting/losing my plan (unlimited data).
~cheers

That depends on your carrier. In Germany it's not common to have a provision in your contract that forces you to stick to the phone given to you by the carrier... in fact I haven't heard about such a provision anywhere, but you might just want to check with them.
I sometimes switch to my old Palm Centro when I'm away from a charging station for more than 4 days because the battery life is better and I haven't gotten any complains yet

If you are with Verizon (EnV phones in US) then switching to a dumb phone will cause you to drop your unlimited plan and you wont be able to get it back. I would recommend switching to a different smart phone while you are looking. An old one from a friend maybe?

Related

Verizon Wireless USB Card

I'm new to Android and picked up a G Tablet have a question on if you can use the USB for a Verizon Wirelss card.
I was wondering this also. Does anyone know if this is possible? I have to admint that I have not searched too much as I just took my G tablet out of the box and my Verizon card is sitting here and I was thinking 'wonder if I can make that work"???
I remember seeing in a few other threads that people weren't able to get a 3G card to work. Not sure about this particular Verizon card though.
The usb wireless dongle wont work. You would need something like mifi.
There is a thread in development on this I think. He was working on it but put it on hold.
Found the thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=935810
ketjr81 is correct. Unless you have a Huawei card you have almost no chance of it working at the moment. I have discontinued development as I mentioned in the thread referenced. If you want, you can spend 70 dollars or so and get a wireless hotspot that uses the USB dongle and a battery for 5+ devices.
I picked up a Verizon MiFi Hotspot today... figured that it was a good investment, that way I can use it for my laptop, GTab, and anything else I find myself in need of connecting. It will connect up to 5 devices at a time. I looked at the Sprint and Virgin Mobile models too.
The Sprint model actually has 4G and GPS capability, and the plan looked good on paper; the same price as the Verizon for 5GB ($60/month), plus unlimited 4G downloading. However, when I looked at the coverage map, Sprint doesn't have anywhere near the coverage area that Verizon does, and there are only a handfull of 4G towers out there.
Then I looked at Virgin Mobile. Seemed like a great deal; they use the same hotspot device that Verizon does (and Sprint used to), and you don't have to commit to a contract. You buy the device for something like $160, and for $40/month you get unlimited 3G downloading through the Sprint network. I headed out today to get one, only to find out that as of next week, Virgin will be capping monthly downloads to 5GB like the rest of them. After 5GB, data will slow to a crawl.
Then I found out that Verizon is offering new data plan options for a limited time, starting this weekend I think. There are monthly plans for 1GB ($20) , 3GB ($35), 5GB ($50), and 10GB ($80). For every GB you go over your plan, you pay an extra $10. The hotspot is free with a 2-year plan, or $70 with a 1-year plan. I went with a 3GB plan, even it I get up to 5GB one month that's still gonna run me less than the Sprint plan.
So I brought one home, had it set up pretty quick (it took longer to run the updates than to set it up), and it works great. The hotspot is smaller than I thought it would be, even after looking at the pictures. About as wide as a business card, a little taller, and a bit over 1/4" thick. Best thing is, I'll be able to use it with any tablet I get my hands on as long as it has WiFi, plus my laptop and even my iPhone if find myself in the boondocks again where AT&T doesn't reach.
MiFi is the way to go with a GTab; just turn it on, put it back in your pocket or bag, and surf away.
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
lostpilot28 said:
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Wireless hotspot on my Rooted Sprint Evo
Just a comment....
Most of us don't take the wireless mifis, etc. serious because of the limits.
My tablets, laptops and computers -- yes, I have a bunch -- usually result in my downloading a month's worth of wireless limits in a night. I have several programs that the updates run in the GBs just for one program.
I'm happy for people that can use them, but I always warn them to watch the usage and avoid the overages.
Good luck!!!
Rev
Cradlepoint
I am using my Virgin Mobile USB (Walmart special) plugged into the Cradlepoint. Lasts about 2 hours and warms the pocket...
****
lostpilot28 said:
I'm surprised more people don't just tether their G-Tabs from their cell phone data plans. I've got a Verizon Eris (about a year old) and it's modded, with wireless tether. I pay $30 a month for unlimited data (on the phone, of course, but they don't know I'm tethering, nor do they probably care since I don't actually download much data).
It's fast and cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You and many other people say that. I personally don't want to kill my phone's battery and its just more work to turn the hotspot on and off every time I want access on the tab. Its surely cheaper, but not faster.

Advice needed re: which Xoom to get

I currently have a 4G Verizon xyboard that is going back to Motorola for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Bought it the end of March. You guessed it - I'm not happy with the quality since this will be the second repair and it's not like I've thrown it around. On the other hand, I love the 8.2 size and when it works, it's a nice tablet. But that's the hitch "when it works", which is not a lot these days.
It started with charging and lockup issues which were repaired, and now it won't stay connected either to wifi or VZW on a consistent basis (as in, sit in one place, get connected with good signal, don't move, wait 2 minutes, lose signal). And since I bought it because of the VZW coverage, I'm paying for a data plan I can't even use.
So, I'm getting prepared here - if by some chance, mine fails a third time, I'm changing xooms. Given the love that the original Xoom still has on here and from Google, I'm going to try and get a model that will upgrade, which probably means ebay or craigslist even though mine should still be covered under warranty.
Which xoom do I want - I see version numbers all over the place and I'm confused. For example, I think there was a thread about the 'original' 3G xoom being upgraded to 4G through Motorola? So which model is/was that? If you have one of those models, does the 3G/4G service work well for you? Is there a different model I should look for?
Thanks in advance - any useful advice would be appreciated!

I have a really great idea. PLEASE READ.

We all know how all of us want to spend as little money as possible, and have the best speeds and coverage. This is where my idea comes in. I recently switched from Verizon, to TMO. It hasn't been easy. TMO is in the middle, while Verizon is top dog in nationwide coverage (ahead of AT&T and so on) I went onto every carrier website and acted as if I were to build my own plan. I noticed that if you specify that you WANT or HAVE a smartphone, your plan went up regardless of how much data you chose, or minutes and texts. (Doesn't apply as much since talk and text are unlimited)
Here is where my idea comes in.
1. Choose up to as many lines as you need.
2. Choose all basic phones.
3. Get the max amount of data for the carrier you're going to switch to or are on.
4. Change the amount of data you want later on, and so on.
Then, this is where it gets a little confusing. So, bare with me guys!
You would get today's "basic sim". They have changed, but I am taking about a SIM for a flip phone of some sort. I am aware that some phones are sim free, but I know that some that do require some sort of sim card. You somehow ask to get 1,2,3,4,5,6 GB's of data on THAT basic sim. Now, I don't know how you would enable 4G/LTE on there, because it looks like they are incompatible. Somehow, someone could enable 4G on those basic sims, SOMEHOW. Then, cut it depending on what smartphone you want and bam. Save $10-20$ per phone. The fact that the carrier "knows" you're going to want a plan that involves one or more smartphones, bumps up your bill. I honestly don't think basic sims even support 3g, but with this day and technology, anything is possible. Anyone have any kind of idea of what I am saying? :fingers-crossed:
really its a great idea i like it . i appreciate it..................................

Using old unlimited verizon plan as home internet... any one done it?

So I've been waiting to get internet at my apartment, and have been using my one m8 tethered as home internet (thanks to the help on this forum getting a ROM running on it that lets me use the mobile hotspot).
Its working great. However, i'm at 120GB with 5 days to go. Being that this would be, under most carrier plans, an insane amount of data... I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I definitely haven't seen any throttling or slowdown. Runs PS4 games, streaming, whatever. I was actually at 60GB 5 days into the month and have made a concereted effort to slow down lol, otherwise I might be in the 300-400GB range. That said, it really isn't too bad.
I actually just ordered time warner cable for $40/mo, so I guess I'm moving on anyway. But I'm curious if anyone has been doing this for an extended period and if Verizon ever made a stink.
Someone I know does. He canceled all wired tv, phone, & internet service to his home and has been using his verizon S4 for it all for over a year now. He's on the old unlimited data plan. It is apparently working well for him but he had to get a special wifi card for his PC to use the hotspot from the phone. He uses a wifi capable "smart" bluray player to get all his TV programming from youtube, netflix, and amazon prime. He said it was a learning curve to find all the tv programming he used to watch on cable but he has been able to get it all, albeit, at a later release date then the mainstream networks' prime time debuts.
I do it, but with T-Mobile.
Just one thing though....constant wifi tethering will destroy your phone. Specifically the battery, but all that heat and energy use can't be good for the rest of it either. I ruined 2 batteries on my Galaxy Light in less than a year. Ruined 2 Motorola Razr Maxxes this way too. You don't want to be doing this with a phone like the M8 that is practically impossible to repair.
If you choose to go this route, pick up a cheap (rootable, obviously) phone with a removable battery, like a Galaxy S3 to use as your "home" phone.
The S4 is better then the S3 in that regard because it supports that newer faster LTE (aws?), the wifi hardware is quite a bit more advanced (faster), and the repairs (if ever necessary) are easier. Wifi tether does use a lot of power but you'll be plugged in for that most of the time, especially at home. The circuitry holds up just fine in the S4 as long as you're not aggravating the situation with over-volting / over-clocking.
I had been using my old Droid 4 as a home gateway/router before I got the One working. Perhaps I could just use that as my home router.. it worked well enough but would cut out occasionally (annoying during games... the One doesn't do that). If anything the Droid 4 seemed to have a stronger wifi signal when it worked though... better range, just as fast as the M8.
Do you know how much data your friend goes through?
The Droid 4 does/did get really hot while tethering. To the point I'd usually rest it on a cold can of soda or something while using it, lol. The One doesn't get nearly as hot.
Keep in mind that the power consumption and heat generation of the screen still dwarfs that of the wifi module. While using the phone as a home internet gateway the screen will likely be off most of the time.
I don't know about his data useage quantity but he's almost always got something streaming video of some kind. Its probably not ideal for serious gaming because the signal does drop out from time to time. Toggling airplane mode on and off again reestablishes a full-speed connection pretty quick but it would be disruptive in a game.
well. my signal on the One hasn't dropped and I've been logging a lot of Destiny this month. Sometimes you'll get a little lag but it isn't bad.
Just saw that VZW is hiking unlimited prices $20/mo... wonder if that'll get challenged by the FCC (like throttling etc): http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/08/tec...ted-plan-increase/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
I have old UDP and use my phone hotspot to devices it in my motorhome. All was good until 2 months ago when I used 50-60gb and they throttled me since. No 4g at all from home tower. get 4g elsewhere .
How do I approach customer service to get un-throttled? New reports say they are not throttling anymore.
Thanks.
Try cycling airplane mode on/off to reestablish a 4G data connection.
0reo said:
Try cycling airplane mode on/off to reestablish a 4G data connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that 50 million times. She a no work! Others get 4g at my place not me.
This is my SOLUTION
Verizon 4G LTE Broadband Router With Voice
Works like a charm.
Born<ICs said:
I have old UDP and use my phone hotspot to devices it in my motorhome. All was good until 2 months ago when I used 50-60gb and they throttled me since. No 4g at all from home tower. get 4g elsewhere .
How do I approach customer service to get un-throttled? New reports say they are not throttling anymore.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would just call them and explain your problem as you have here, and leave out the throttle part.
back up your data firs, they will likely have you factory reset at some point.
it could be a problem with your phone, or a problem with the towers in your area. they will determine which.
its very unlikely they are throttling. they wouldnt reduce the 4g signal output on an entire tower to do it, and they are actually prohibited from doing it by the fcc.
bweN diorD said:
i would just call them and explain your problem as you have here, and leave out the throttle part.
back up your data firs, they will likely have you factory reset at some point.
it could be a problem with your phone, or a problem with the towers in your area. they will determine which.
its very unlikely they are throttling. they wouldnt reduce the 4g signal output on an entire tower to do it, and they are actually prohibited from doing it by the fcc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.
Thank you. Ended up swapping Sim then got consistent signal a few days later. No idea what they did on their end. Swapped Sim to 6P and all is good now.
I did this when I was doing my internship. I mainly just streamed Netflix and only hit 256GB that month. There was a time Verizon was throttling my data even though they wouldn't admit it until I eventually got transferred to an engineer . None of their support tiers could answer my questions and kept telling me they didn't have the capability to throttle so the problem is my fault. I somehow eventually talked to an engineer at Verizon and the engineer didn't directly admit it but rather, he implied that they do have that capability and the support techs were lying. One tech blamed "tower service in the area" and another tech blamed the unlocked bootloader on my 2013 Moto X DEV for causing the connectivity issues even though I was running the stock ROM and even restored everything back to stock prior to calling. Hahaha.. The funny thing is that the connection went back to normal directly after that call ended. Weird how that works....

Best modern phone with external antenna ports

Hi,
I live on a boat and don't have access to regular fixed wifi... In the UK, I can get an unlimited LTE data deal and use the wifi tether router android app to use all of this as for my home wifi needs, while the phone company just thinks I am using data on my phone (not a hotspot)
However, I've just come to the USA for a three month road trip (new York to cali and back) and trying to organise my wifi (to tether our two phones, sat nav, and any work on the laptop I might need to do), and the networks here are nuts.
First of all, unlimited data is pretty expensive (I pay about $25 in the UK a month, here it is like 70$ for a much ****ter deal)
Secondly, all the big networks are telling my that my Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE variant (that I use as my internet router) is too old. (it's only 2013!!!). In England, all the networks have LTE, 3G and 2G bands that any phone can at least connect to something. Why do the networks obsolete phones here? I'm speculating in Europe we probably have legislation to prevent against this and protect the consumer, but in reality I have no idea.
AT&T said their network could use this phone, but the sim isn't even recognising (it's an unlocked international version, so not really sure what's going on here)... So now I'm stuck with the third ****test network for a month when I could have gotten verison or T-Mobile
So... I'm thinking I need to buy a newer phone to use as an internet router
So... Question is...
Is there any phone modern enough to be used on modern USA networks like Verison or T-Mobile AND has RF antenna ports (like the Samsung galaxy S4) so that I can plug it into an antenna when I get home (I don't want to upgrade my phone just for the trip if I can't then use it with an antenna when I get back home?)|
Any other idea's or solutions to my problem?
Should I just jail break my iPhone S6+ and use mifi instead for this trip?
Thanks in advance,
I would use the Galaxy S4 as a hot spot and keep it permanently connected to the antenna.. allowing you to buy any phone you want, just connect to the hotspot when needed.
Here in AUS you can get a secondary simcard which we call a "data sim".. as the name suggests its a simcard connected to the same account that strictly only has access to usage data on the plan, no calls.. we usally use them in tablets. Might be worth looking into if you want to only have the one active plan.

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