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I'm thinking about upgrading to the HTC Inspire. I don't want to get a data plan because I get wifi 90% of the day (at home and on campus).
My dad is the only person in our family plan who has a data plan. Can he use my upgrade to purchase the Inspire for his line and then switch SIM cards with me? Will he still be able to use his own upgrade for himself in the near future?
I read that AT&T can detect which phone people are using by IMEI. However I've used my Nokia E71 for the past year (upgraded online without a data plan, don't know why it didn't force me) and have been using an iPhone 3G (not mine initially) for a couple of months with no data plan and haven't been caught yet.
I've been doing exactly that for years, no problems yet and I hope to do the same thing with Inspire when my upgrade is available next month.
Inspire 4G is AT&T branded phone. They have all the IMEI numbers. E71 unlocked is non branded one so you can go unnoticed w/o a data plan.
Rest assured Inspire will popup as a smart phone and you will be upgraded.
Will we have to go to an AT&T store in person so my dad can use my upgrade or can we do this online somehow?
@metaldood, Sorry, I meant E71x, the AT&T branded version of the E71.
There's always a chance that AT&T will find out and force a data plan on me, but I'll try hide for as long as I can. B)
metaldood said:
Rest assured Inspire will popup as a smart phone and you will be upgraded.
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Click to collapse
That's what everybody said would happen to my Tilt 2 a couple years ago, hasn't happened yet.
RacerX10 said:
That's what everybody said would happen to my Tilt 2 a couple years ago, hasn't happened yet.
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Click to collapse
Must be nice. I installed my sim card, turned on the phone and went to At&t's site to see that it had already updated my phone on there. That of course doesn't mean it was completely updated in their system yet.
I went from an HTC Fuze (AT&T branded) to a Motorola Milestone (Telus), without any problems, and AT&T never noticed... within about 5 minutes of putting my 3G sim into the Inspire 4G, my (3G) data plan was gone from my account... this after it was re-added by the sales rep.
They don't seem to care if you switch one 3G device for another, but they seem to be policing the 4G phones pretty hard.
Note that after a discussion with the sales rep, he was able to re-add my unlimited data plan as a "4G unlimited data plan".
So, if you do nothing and just hook up the Inspire with your existing sim, chances are you'll be exactly where you want to be-- You'll have voice, and no mobile data (wi-fi still works, though).
If you want to use someone else's data plan (and sim), they'll have to get an AT&T rep to change their plan from "3G only" to "4G compatible", which does seem to be backwards compatible... ie, I can use my sim in my old Milestone no problem.
ufgrat said:
If you want to use someone else's data plan (and sim), they'll have to get an AT&T rep to change their plan from "3G only" to "4G compatible", which does seem to be backwards compatible... ie, I can use my sim in my old Milestone no problem.
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I've noticed this also. I got my inspire on my wife's upgrade and they changed her line to the 4g unlimited. No problems with it on her cappy. Even though the site had changed my phone from a iphone to the inspire right away I still had the iphone unlimited data plan. (I really should've got a screen cap of that). Was interesting seeing the inspire pic and a message saying that I had to have the iphone unlimited plan with my phone.
AT&T will notice and put the data plan on your account. It started sometime in the past year where you couldn't have a smart phone without the data plan. I had a BB curve that I could use without data because I had it before they required data.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
RacerX10 said:
That's what everybody said would happen to my Tilt 2 a couple years ago, hasn't happened yet.
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Click to collapse
If you disabled your data before September 2009 (IIRC) then you're grandfathered into data block. Only the phones purchased/activaed after that date require a mandatory data plan.
ufgrat said:
So, if you do nothing and just hook up the Inspire with your existing sim, chances are you'll be exactly where you want to be-- You'll have voice, and no mobile data (wi-fi still works, though).
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Click to collapse
So wait if I pop in my Dumbphone sim with unlimited plan , I can still keep it?
Been using my iPhone4 sim (with adaptor) on my Inspire 4G since launch day. No problems at all, everything works fine. I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data plan for iPhone.
So just this morning, I get a text message from AT&T...
"AT&T Free Msg: Did you know that an eligible data plan is required for your 4G Smartphone? Pls call 611 to select a plan and establish your data connection today."
Anyone else get this?
This is not related to the tethering warning msg's that some have been getting (I don't tether). Wonder if it's "safe" to keep using my iPhone sim?
aimfire72 said:
Been using my iPhone4 sim (with adaptor) on my Inspire 4G since launch day. No problems at all, everything works fine. I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data plan for iPhone.
So just this morning, I get a text message from AT&T...
"AT&T Free Msg: Did you know that an eligible data plan is required for your 4G Smartphone? Pls call 611 to select a plan and establish your data connection today."
Anyone else get this?
This is not related to the tethering warning msg's that some have been getting (I don't tether). Wonder if it's "safe" to keep using my iPhone sim?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just call them up and have them put you on the proper 4G unlimited plan? I had the iphone with the grandfathered unlimited data plan and they initially had no clue what to do. I kept calling back till I found the right person to do it without losing the unl data plan. Just make sure you stress it enough to them that you don't want to lose the 30 dollar unl data.
Here is what you do .. I did the same thing:
1. Head back to an AT&T Local Store
2. Let them know you had iPhone 4 and moved over to Inspire 4G
3. Obtain replacement SIM card for 4G phone (no cost to you)
4. Have them check your Data Plan .. WITH NO CHANGES
I was iPhone 4 until getting the Inspire 4G .. also on the iPhone Unlimited Data .. when I obtained my Inspire 4G (from an AT&T Store) .. they replaced my SIM and changed my Data Plan to Unlimited SmartPhone Personal .. this is the grandfathered version of the iPhone Unlimited .. no difference in cost, NOTHING ELSE CHANGES.
When I changed over to the Inspire, they changed my plan over as well. I mentioned that I would still be going back and forth between my iP4 and the I4G. She told me that I would lose the visual voicemall, but I still kept my IP4 sim card. I just use an adapter to swap between the 2 phones.
aimfire72 said:
Been using my iPhone4 sim (with adaptor) on my Inspire 4G since launch day. No problems at all, everything works fine. I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data plan for iPhone.
So just this morning, I get a text message from AT&T...
"AT&T Free Msg: Did you know that an eligible data plan is required for your 4G Smartphone? Pls call 611 to select a plan and establish your data connection today."
Anyone else get this?
This is not related to the tethering warning msg's that some have been getting (I don't tether). Wonder if it's "safe" to keep using my iPhone sim?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the same text message and an email. I called ATT and the rep told me I already have the best plan available for my phone (grandfathered unlimited) so no need to change anything. I made sure to ask if I needed a 4G plan for my new 4G phone and the rep said no, the unlimited plan that I have on my account is all I'll need... those messages are just automated messages that are triggered when a new phone is detected on your account. Hopefully the rep knew what they were talking about which is unfortunately hit and miss sometimes
Same here, I just ignore that txt..Keep on.. Every thing is fine....
iPhone 4 to Inspire sim
I got the same message and called 611, they kept me grandfathered in with $30 unlimited plan instead of the 2gig or 4 gig inspire plans. If you don't call they will start emailing you and sending more texts. No big deal though.
It's been 3 weeks and I was still getting these texts regularly so I went ahead and flashed a close to stock inspire rom (di11igaf) and took my phone into the AT&T store to figure it out. I explained my situation and they said my old iPhone was still on my account so they needed to update to my Inspire. They asked to see my phone and they pulled the IMEI off of it and entered it into the system, moved me from an iPhone unlimited to a 4G unlimited plan, and said I'm good to go. They talked like the text messages would have never ended unless I actually came in and got it changed over. I would recommend doing this while they still have an option to change you over to an unlimited 4G plan.
I had no issues at all but I went to a corporate store and did a upgrade so I ran into no issues. Just call em and get a proper sim. Your standard 3g sim is all you need. The new smaller 4g cards are for LTE devices.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
We are on the grandfathered unlimited plan. Mother-in-law is on our plan and she had an iPhone. Bought the Motorola Bravo and had to change to another unlimited data plan (just a cosmetic thing in their system). Se decided she did not like the Bravo and we put her back on the unlimited iPhone plan.
All of this was done IN STORE. Just go and they can take care of it and still keep you on the unlimited plan.
I got the same mail, but in my case they said I have the $15 unlimited dumb phone plan. Well I have had that plan on my Tilt, TP2 and now my Inspire. All are smartphones- right?
Well the csr said that was too confusing for him and he was going to leave my plan the way it is. No more pesky mails or msgs.
Sent from my CM7 Inspire 4G with that special XDA app.
ButtonBoy said:
I got the same mail, but in my case they said I have the $15 unlimited dumb phone plan. Well I have had that plan on my Tilt, TP2 and now my Inspire. All are smartphones- right?
Well the csr said that was too confusing for him and he was going to leave my plan the way it is. No more pesky mails or msgs.
Sent from my CM7 Inspire 4G with that special XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are one of the EXTREMELY lucky few that are still on that plan. Fight to keep it as long as possible haha. I have heard of wayyy too many cases of ATT simply canceling that plan and moving those people to a new capped plan.
The way I did it was always be vocal about the only reason I still pay then a bit over $100/mo is my old school and actually unlimited data and I never previously signed a contract or got a discount on my 6 previous phones including 4 HTC devices. Wow it capitalizes HTC for me. Anyway, the inspire came out and my girl bought one and had me do the xda treatment on it. It took me about a month of playing with it to figure out I could get it for $50 on a two year and I spent some minutes explaining to the nice lady at 611 that the internet upgrade was trying to force me into a nasty new data plan that isn't from 2003. She called her supervisor and he said pick data pro and they'd change it back to smartphone personal unlimited instead of my old pda unlimited. I made both of them stay on the phone while the upgrade went through and immediately change my data back before I checked it in my online account management crap. I made them look at it again when the new "4g" sim and inspire showed up during a mutually understood and recorded phone conversation. I still have unlimited data and I've been tethering while out of town and during Comcast outages for almost 8 years now. ATT beats the crap out of every carrier in my area. VZW has crazy coverage with slow evdo rev. A because they bought Alltel (they started here) but I get 3-5.5 mbps just on the device and up to 7ish down while tethering. One of the finer points of Arkansas is that the number of bandwidth-chewing geeks on the ground is quite low in comparison to the genpop so I have bandwidth to burn.
I'm finally getting decent at typing on a phone that isn't an HTC qwerty spider. The desire z's keyboard buttons are too small and close together for my thumbs and I bite my fingernails so I can't use those and the extra 256mb of RAM doesn't hurt.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
buddy17 said:
you are one of the EXTREMELY lucky few that are still on that plan. Fight to keep it as long as possible haha. I have heard of wayyy too many cases of ATT simply canceling that plan and moving those people to a new capped plan.
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Click to collapse
I am very specific in asking them- "are you changing the terms of my agreement? "
If they ever answered YES I could walk away with no ETF...
Sent from my CM7 Inspire 4G with that special XDA app.
Hey I am in this same boat
Hey I am in this same boat, I swapped from old iphone 3g unlimited and put my sim into the inspire 4g.
Now I have just been ignoring these texts, is there any reason I should not be? Why did you guys change, is there like a speed difference or something?
jigglywiggly said:
Hey I am in this same boat, I swapped from old iphone 3g unlimited and put my sim into the inspire 4g.
Now I have just been ignoring these texts, is there any reason I should not be? Why did you guys change, is there like a speed difference or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There can be, all it is is a coding difference in AT&T's system. If you call them you will not lose unlimited data.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
id10terrordfw said:
There can be, all it is is a coding difference in AT&T's system. If you call them you will not lose unlimited data.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Yep, did this a couple of months ago. It's just how the provision data (iphone, or smartphone).
This should also be done if coming from a non-HSPA+ compatible phone (that's not an iPhone). Again, you won't lose unlimited data. Just make it clear you want nothing done to your plan that will cause you to lose unlimited data.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
Guys.. I work at an AT&T store.. and most of what is said above is nonsense (no offense). You CAN currently get the 4G unlimited data plan if you have the pre-existing $30 unlimited plan.. It is the same cost, but you get the faster speeds. You DO need to change to that plan to get the faster speeds.. and it does make a change to your agreement (you will have a different unlimited data plan). Walking away if you ask if it makes a change when you are there to make a change? does that make sense to ANYONE?
Also, no need to be "vocal" about how you want to keep your unlimited data... Just stating it once politely is enough.. It is just frustrating when people on here give instructions which basically say to treat the ATT employee in a manner less than professional. Trust me, we get yelled enough for "no reason" every day... People do not understand how something works, then blame the ATT employee. Most of us are at the stores to help you, and want to do so if you can treat us with atleast a little respect. Also, SIM cards are NOT just "free" for everyone... Unless you talked to customer service first and they are crediting your account for a free one, SIM cards cost $15 or $25 depending on your location. The cost is not the fault of the employee at the store.
Also, a warning... It looks like the grandfathered unlimited plans will be going away sooner than later... As an employee, I will loose my unlimited data if I go over 4gb in one month, or if I change devices (I might put off getting the HTC Vivid for now because of this).. I will have to pick a 2gb or 4gb plan accordingly (depending on what I want to pay, as I don;t get free service). Anyways, Have a happy holiday season everyone..
^^ I've also heard of customers w/"unlimited" data getting admonished for exceeding 5 GBs in a month, and getting threatened w/throttling for a subsequent "offense". And continued excessive use would result in being moved to a capped plan.
My mother got and Infuse yesterday and i was over at her house playing with it with my sim in. after i was done i took my sim out and put it back in my fuze (shudder). this morning just as i was leaving the house for the day i got a text message from AT&T telling me that "An eligible data plan is required for your 4g Smartphone. We have added an appropriate data plan. Learn more at att.com/smartphoneplans."
so i disabled data and when i went into my acct on the web when i got home, sure enough the only data feature options i could choose were the new tiered data plans. i had to put my sim in my old ooooooold tmobile MDA for an hour or so until it updated the imei and then i could go back and choose the unlimited data option.
is this normal? if i upgrade to an infuse will that cancel my grandfather'd status? has anyone else grandfather'd updated and kept their data plan? if so how? and if i upgrade through best buy or amazon at the discounted price will i be allowed to keep it or do i have to go to an att store and pay the full upgrade price?
This has happened to a few people on the forums (lost the unlimited when it switched them to 4g) but it shouldn't. Call 611 or go into a store and they can fix it for you. You can have unlimited 4g with you grandfathered plan its just apparently sometimes putting people back to the 2gb.
I was able to keep my unlimited..
sent from Infuse but miss my captivate on cont. 5.5.... One day this can be as good...
They make it a hassle, but you can keep your unlimited data.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
I got the Inuse at Best Buy and they let me keep my unlimited data without any issues. Before that I had bought the Atrix at Best Buy and had no problems either. The rep just said he was going to switch me to unlimited 4G cause the 4G plan is a bit different.
thanks all of you
the issue that occured is that our at&t systems have different classification data plans.
ie: one for blackberries, one for general smartphones (android/palm/symbian/winmo ect), iphone, and hspa+ devices. the fuse is a general classification smartphone so the message was saying that when you put your sim card in the infuse as it is a hspa+ phone, your data might not work correctly, hence the text message to change your data plan. if you go into a cor store, any rep should be able to continue your grandfathered unlimited status.
No issues here, I still have my unlimited plan...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
If they try to do that, call customer care, let them know you have grandfathered unlimited data, they will file a case to change it back. They "accidentally" did that when they provisioned our sim cards for 4g when my wife and I got our Inspire's...
Hell yeah if they remove it I woukd transfer my four family plan to Sprint, now sprint has the same customer service as verizon up date according to recent survey.
Sent from my SAMSUNG Infuse
When you call ATT tell them it's called SmartPhone Personal.
Tell them you want to keep the unlimoted plan. Some reps may say you can't but you Can. Dont ttake no for an answer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
I'm a Rep with att. Just shoot to a store and do it. We are MORE than happy to switch you to the unlimited HSPA+ PLAN because its more commission for us. I switch it all the time!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
Ok so i duno if im getting the rite plan now. Looked online and im getting Smart unlimited..$30 .. But under that u can choose something with 4g.. Also when i click on smart unlimited this windows pops up. Whats "gold list"
It was no hassle keeping my unlimited plan. She asked and I said I wanted to keep it. Done deal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
bullet358 said:
I'm a Rep with att. Just shoot to a store and do it. We are MORE than happy to switch you to the unlimited HSPA+ PLAN because its more commission for us. I switch it all the time!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It still possible to get an unlimited plan even if you weren't grandfather by iphone or something? I only had the option for 200mb for $15 or the 2gb for $25 and no option for unlimited.
bullet358 said:
I'm a Rep with att. Just shoot to a store and do it. We are MORE than happy to switch you to the unlimited HSPA+ PLAN because its more commission for us. I switch it all the time!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, i have a question for you, i'm planing on getting an infuse on upgrade, selling that and getting a gs2. if i go back to the $30 unlimited plan when i upgrade after getting the gs2 would i be able to switch back to the cheaper unrecognized imei data plan that i'm on now?
if YOU don't choose to change to another plan, you stay grandfathered. I am still unlimited. If you choose to go to another plan because its cheaper and later decide to use tons of data, you cant go back. If your plan was automatically changed, let CS know. they have the ability to override and re-authorize unlimited.
If they switch me to the H+ unlimited from regular old unlimited will I be able to still use my sim in my HD2? Thanks!
Also has anyone bought from Amazon. How did you go about keeping your unlimited? Just sign up for one of the available plans and then call and have it switched back?
Grandafthered plan
I have grandfathered $30 real unlimited on infuse - only thing changed is 4G addition to it. I understand that they need to classify plans somehow but i do not believe that 4G changes anything related to connection speed. I live in Portland,OR area and eventhough ATT coverage is good localy there are still no real 4G speeds. I tried Inspire, Atrix and now Infuse and none of them went over 2.5Mbps download and 0.5Mbps upload -EVER.
All their bogus stories about 4G cards and 4G dataplans are fairytales --- GSM phone needs provisioned (active) SIM Card of any type, proper APN setup, and reciever able to decode given 3G /4G frequency bands. With such combination you can connect to any GSM network (provided roaming is enabled too). So you can switch SIM cards from phone to phone regardless of data plan in their system.
I was landing on PDX airport in 2009 from Frankfurt, had my N95 with Vodafone prepaid SIM in it and as soon as I turned it on, it autoconfigured and locked to Tmobile 3G network as I still had some money on it to use data and calls. I was also using one ATT SIM card with same data plan (switching to and from ) Iphone3Gs, HTC Touch Pro2, Nokia N97 and unlocked Motorola Defy. Never had single issue...
On the other hand, after being AT&T, Cingular, at&t customer for 10+ years, I am starting to wonder is their service generally worth the money I pay every month.
My bill is for 4 phones;
unlimited family text,
1400min,
real unlimited data plan for Infuse,
real unlimited data plan for Iphone,
2 unlimited data for non smartphones for kids ($10 each)
Total: ~$220 every month....
I was recently looking into Virgin Mobile plans and they give $40 unlimited calls, messages and data. For $25 you get unlimited calls, messages and 20 megs of data (for kids...and my kids use barely any data)
Now that would cut my phone bill about ~$100/month ($1200/year)
Problem is that my dear wife would let go of the Iphone only from her dead cold hands...and she is using it like it is Apache server ~ 10Gig/month
I know I am going off topic but regardless grandfathered or not, my data plan on ATT costs only $10 less then all unlimited package on Virgin mobile.
I am aware that they do not have fancy phones as ATT but honestly ATT does not have a near selection of good phones as Verizon or T-mobile...and lesser data speeds too.
Now I wanted some opinions on my thoughts to switch carriers (and just to let you know I never used anything but GSM since i got my first cell phone in 1993 in Hamburg Germany where I am originally from)
At the moment I'm using a HTC Tilt 2 WM 6.5 without a data plan due to the fact I'm Grandfathered in via the pre data forcing by AT&T. Since I have never purchased a cell phone from AT&T my contract has never been renewed. Hence I can switch from one smartphone to another with no activation of a data plan.
My question:
I plan to get, and root, a used HTC Inspire. I have heard all Android phones must have a data plan or they physically will not work. Is this true? Or is this coming from individuals that have not been Grandfathered in and just do not know better?
i was in the same boat as you months ago when the inspire came out. I have an unlimited data/txt/MMS plan which cost me $29.99 a month. I have not renewed a contract in about 5 years. My unlimited data plan is grandfathered in. I can use as much data as i want and dont have to worry about overages.
Yes, ATT will detect that you are using the new phone. They will also tell you that you HAVE to upgrade your data plan. You dont. They will also tell you that they will automatically update your data plan when they detect you are using the '4g' phone. That is wont, its actually illegal.
I have had the inspires since the day it came out and i still pay $90 a month for 900 min of talk time and unlimited text/data/mms.
I did the math the last time they tried to make me upgrade my plan to the $35/month "4G" data plan. Over two years of paying more for less (data), i would save money by buying the phone for the list price and not upgrading my plan. They i would have to buy a plan for text and mms messages.
So i would suggest you buy the phone outright for whatever it costs now.
I go so far as to not even give them my phone number and tell them the phone is a gift for a friend. When they give me a problem about that, and say the MUST have a phone number, i give them the phone number of one my friends that has an iphone, or use my work number, since the are both ATT phone numbers.
---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 PM ----------
note though, if you do not have a data plan, you may want to make sure the data radio is turned off and simply use the wi-fi on the phone to access the internet. Android is always running stuff in the background that uses your data plan.
I turn mine off so that i dont get emails when i am out and about at night or asleep.
never had an issue except with the sales people and the store that 'know it all' because they are paid to get you to upgrade to the latest plan. they tell you that you MUST upgrade just so they can get their commission or meet some quota i guess. call their bluff. its worked for me ever since i went to the original tilt a few years back.
Your android phone will work without a data plan. However ATT will detect it and can hook you up to a data plan and charge you without asking you. There is nothing illegal about that. ATT has every right to do that. It is their policy.
But ATT is not the evil cellphone provider that everyone thinks they are. Most likely what I said above will happen. But since you are in a grandfathered plan and have been a valued ATT customer I would talk to an ATT representative. Most likely they will just put a block on your data and you will be able to continue on as you have in the past. That is as long as you buy the phone outright.
Agoattamer may be right about automatically signing your up for a data plan. I am lucky because I signed up for the unlimited plan years ago, so technically, i do have a data plan.
I do know for a fact that they have told me they will automatically change my plan to one of their newer plans because now i have a smarter phone. I pretty much got in an argument about it with the sales rep on why i should 'upgrade' my plan when it is already unlimited. His only answer was, as Agoattamer stated, it's ATT policy for the newer, smarter phones.
They have not 'automatically upgraded my plan' though, but have told me they will each time i go in there. The first time was when i bought the tilt 1, and then i had to get a international roaming plan for a vacation, and they looked at my account and said the same thing. Has not happened yet, and it has been a few years.
i am sure that if i were to consume 10 gigs of data in one month though, i would probably get automatically upgraded, so thats why i fly under the radar and mostly use wi-fi. Only use my cell data radio on the road or when i NEED it outside of wi-fi coverage. To this date, i still have not consumed more than a 1 gig in a month on my cell data radio.
What ngravatt says here is true. They may get you and they may not get you. There are many that get by under the radar and then I have heard of many that get caught the first day. It is a coin tossup. But as ngravatt also said which I said above: Talk to them and they will work it out with you usually. But since you have no data plan your phone will begin using data shortly after you turn it on. And I think that will be a major red flag to ATT. So either they will catch you and add you to a plan or you will get charged for the data you use which can be quite expensive.
ngravatt said:
Yes, ATT will detect that you are using the new phone. They will also tell you that you HAVE to upgrade your data plan. You dont. They will also tell you that they will automatically update your data plan when they detect you are using the '4g' phone. That is wont, its actually illegal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well...they can, but they ahve to send you a notice saying they're changing your contract terms, but they give you an option to back out of your contract if you disagree with the new terms.
You should be able to buy it outright or upgrade, and turn off your data plan. You could just use the sim card swap technique to put it in another phone and say you lost the other one (after a month) and that you want them to turn off ALL data. This way you can upgrade and get the cheapest price on the phone (?free) AND only pay a month of data. ATT *does* let people with smartphones disable data and they don't force you onto a data plan. I have friends that do this with iphones and other smartphones. This might be your cheapest option.
off topic here, i was on a tilt2 up until the beg of march when my screen refused to turn on, and since it was 6 months after my warranty expired (90 day refurb warranty), i had to upgrade. mannn, wish i could've held out until att lte phones came out...
If you buy at upgrade pricing you have to re-sign your service agreement. That is when they hit you with the data plan change. If you purchase your phone outright then you will not sign a new service agreement. If you get a text saying that you need a new data plan call 611. Tell them that you have unlimited data and you are receiving text messages. They will update the data plan you are on to the new grandfathered data plan and you are all set. At least in my experience that was what happened to me. Text messages stopped and I am on the corrected unlimited data plan. And I pull about 5-6 gigs a month so yes it is unlimited, and no I do not tether.
Sorry just re read a little more. They will require a data plan for you and they will not grandfather you since there is nothing to grandfather. I would buy outright online from a private party and pop your SIM in.
i have been using smart phones for a while since the windows mobile times, and have upgraded since sometimes buying the phone on ebay or sometimes renewing my contract
i put a data block on my phone and just use wifi
the other people on my plan have data on there phone
What if you have a desire HD, would they tag you too?
Sent from my CM7 Nightly HTC Desire HD
Yes. They will still notice. Using a desire hd still requires your sim and still uses att network.
Phone: HTC Inspire 4gRadio: 26.13.04.19
Ril: 2.2.0179Rom: GB Sense 4.0i by fshami
Oh okay, thanks
Sent from my CM7 Nightly HTC Desire HD
How about h2o?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App
Gizmoe said:
Yes. They will still notice. Using a desire hd still requires your sim and still uses att network.
Phone: HTC Inspire 4gRadio: 26.13.04.19
Ril: 2.2.0179Rom: GB Sense 4.0i by fshami
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Click to collapse
But how will they know it's a smartphone? My understanding was that if the imei is not in their database, they have no way of determining what device you actually have.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side
biglittlegato said:
But how will they know it's a smartphone? My understanding was that if the imei is not in their database, they have no way of determining what device you actually have.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side
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This is true from what I hear. You can buy a Telus DHD (uses the same frequencies as AT&T) and add an unlimited non-smart phone data plan for like $10/month. Your Telus DHD will get 3G/4G just like an Inspire, but won't be flagged as a "smart" device by AT&T. This could all change at any time though if AT&T gets wise to you.
Gene Poole said:
This is true from what I hear. You can buy a Telus DHD (uses the same frequencies as AT&T) and add an unlimited non-smart phone data plan for like $10/month. Your Telus DHD will get 3G/4G just like an Inspire, but won't be flagged as a "smart" device by AT&T. This could all change at any time though if AT&T gets wise to you.
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Click to collapse
I assume they would notice that you are using a device that does not match your imei number and they would require you to activate it. It might not take them too long to notice but who knows. Things do slip through the cracks.
Phone: HTC Inspire 4gRadio: 26.13.04.19
Ril: 2.2.0179Rom: GB Sense 4.0i by fshami
biglittlegato said:
But how will they know it's a smartphone? My understanding was that if the imei is not in their database, they have no way of determining what device you actually have.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carriers have been working with the OEMs to fix this. They are at the point where they may not be able to determine what device it is but can tell what type of device. Its not that hard to look at the data usage and other things and determine what type of device is being used.
Check my sig and you will see I am using a Telus DHD. Before that I used a T-mobile Samsung Vibrant and before that I used a Telstra HTC HD2. All three phones worked on ATT for 3G. None of the 3 showed up on the ATT web site. It still shows to this day, my samsung impression. I am using the non smartphone $10/month unlimited data plan. It has worked for 2 years but I do not abuse it. It may change in the near future, who knows.
Gizmoe said:
I assume they would notice that you are using a device that does not match your imei number and they would require you to activate it. It might not take them too long to notice but who knows. Things do slip through the cracks.
Phone: HTC Inspire 4gRadio: 26.13.04.19
Ril: 2.2.0179Rom: GB Sense 4.0i by fshami
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Click to collapse
Did this for three years no issues. Didn't manage to upgrade to my Inspire with the same data plan though :-(
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Gizmoe said:
I assume they would notice that you are using a device that does not match your imei number and they would require you to activate it. It might not take them too long to notice but who knows. Things do slip through the cracks.
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Click to collapse
That's the thing with GSM phones. They only care about the SIM for activation. The IMEI is secondary and only used (by AT&T anyway) to identify the type of phone. If it's not in their database, they have no way of knowing what kind of phone it is.
If I use a sidekick on ATT, will I be forced to get the att smart phone data plan? I really dont want it. I just want to use it for wifi. Hopefully one of you guys can help me. :x
Bump?
/10 char
I'm gessing ull use aq gophone plan? No u won't have to, but the data that comes on the 50$ plan is unusable for our phone.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
No, Im on a family plan, unlimited talk and text, but im asking if data will be forced onto my line.
I used to work at ATT. Yes you will have to pay the price for data. Sorry
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
No you won't be forced into it, just keep your mobile data connection off... One of the big problems though is you wont be able to send or receive MMS messages. If you can find ATT's APN settings for just MMS go ahead and set up your phone with just that APN and not for Data as well... I'm not sure if ATT charges extra for MMS messages or if you even want it, but they cant force you into buying data if you don't want it.
eurohomie said:
No you won't be forced into it, just keep your mobile data connection off... One of the big problems though is you wont be able to send or receive MMS messages. If you can find ATT's APN settings for just MMS go ahead and set up your phone with just that APN and not for Data as well... I'm not sure if ATT charges extra for MMS messages or if you even want it, but they cant force you into buying data if you don't want it.
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Yes they can. Trust me. If you don't want to believe me thats fine. But trust me, they will.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
I've been on T-Mobile for about 6 Years, never even got a data plan since. using my sidekick now without data. Its not being forced on me, been on android since the g1. Even back then they said your phone was unusable without a data plan ...Att shouldn't force a data plan on you, my sisters on att with an unlocked blackberry tour. She can't access the internet but the phones still fully functional. They haven't forced that ridiculous bb plan on her for 3 years.
insanedrunk said:
I've been on T-Mobile for about 6 Years, never even got a data plan since. using my sidekick now without data. Its not being forced on me, been on android since the g1. Even back then they said your phone was unusable without a data plan ...Att shouldn't force a data plan on you, my sisters on att with an unlocked blackberry tour. She can't access the internet but the phones still fully functional. They haven't forced that ridiculous bb plan on her for 3 years.
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Whatever
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
insanedrunk said:
I've been on T-Mobile for about 6 Years, never even got a data plan since. using my sidekick now without data. Its not being forced on me, been on android since the g1. Even back then they said your phone was unusable without a data plan ...Att shouldn't force a data plan on you, my sisters on att with an unlocked blackberry tour. She can't access the internet but the phones still fully functional. They haven't forced that ridiculous bb plan on her for 3 years.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I believe they can only force you into getting a data plan when signing up for a new contract with them.
In order to get the contract discounts on phones you need to sign up for a certain premium data plan or something stupid.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App
I buy my phones second hand for that reason, ebays your pal. The op sounds as he already has att. So if he unlocks his sk 4g there wouldn't be a need, just take out the sim card and exchange. I have been changing phones as they come out, no problems... I pay 100$ flat for 5 phones on a family plan. Most importantly, no DATA PLAN...
My sister has used all my android phones that I leave behind on her att plan, never had any problems being forced into a data plan . You only truely needed an internet plan to sign up or sign into google servers, once you're past that, your all gravy, and can survive on wifi. The only phones I've had that didn't allow you to skip the sign in/setup wizard were the g1 and the mytouch 3g. But then root came : ( 0)
I know that Tmo doesnt force data plan, but Att does. Im just really unsure of what phone to get, cause Ive been hearing different things lol.
I've heard att cant detect a g2x, cause its exclusively a tmo phone, and a sidekick is also, so I was gonna get that instead. But now im hearing that they can force you it with a sidekick. I am so lost. Lol
I know that you can use this on ATT without being forced into a data plan. That's precicely what I'm doing right now. Here's what I'm trying to find out though. ATT doesn't know what phone I've got. Their site lists my old non-smartphone. If I choose to add the cheaper unlimited dataplan for non-smartphones (which is the only option available for me to choose online) then will my phone work like that? Or will they then be able to recognize my phone as a smart phone and switch me over to the smartphone data plan?
i know that some carriers will lock down your wifi so you cant use it without a data plan. i dont know if att does or not. the only way around that i know of is to remove the sim card. take out the sim card, and you can use wifi. but who wants to take their sim card out just to use wifi? the only time they can make you get a data plan is for discounts on new phones or when entering a new contract.
my experience with att sucked on this phone, i went with the 25$ go phone plan with 25$ of data (turns out data on the gophone doesnt work with 4g phones from other carriers boo) also if i had 1 bar it would drop said bar if i tried to send a text or make a phone call. the sad fact is here in montana (no local tmobile) i get better service through tmobile monthly then att monthly (who has local coverage)
U don't need a smartphone plan u can get the media net $10 data plan or block the data and only use wifi
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
At&t will force a data plan if you have a 3g or higher phone.
The sidekick cannot run on at&t 3 or 4g, so it will not detect it, it will view it as a non-smartphone.
And to those saying at&t can't force a data plan at all, get a regular phone from ebay that's meant for at&t, pop your sim in, you will get a nice little text message saying you will not be charged $15 a month for data.
Chrimsonfire said:
At&t will force a data plan if you have a 3g or higher phone.
The sidekick cannot run on at&t 3 or 4g, so it will not detect it, it will view it as a non-smartphone.
And to those saying at&t can't force a data plan at all, get a regular phone from ebay that's meant for at&t, pop your sim in, you will get a nice little text message saying you will not be charged $15 a month for data.
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yeah and on monthly you cant even access 2g which is BS
insanedrunk said:
I buy my phones second hand for that reason, ebays your pal. The op sounds as he already has att. So if he unlocks his sk 4g there wouldn't be a need, just take out the sim card and exchange. I have been changing phones as they come out, no problems... I pay 100$ flat for 5 phones on a family plan. Most importantly, no DATA PLAN...
My sister has used all my android phones that I leave behind on her att plan, never had any problems being forced into a data plan . You only truely needed an internet plan to sign up or sign into google servers, once you're past that, your all gravy, and can survive on wifi. The only phones I've had that didn't allow you to skip the sign in/setup wizard were the g1 and the mytouch 3g. But then root came : ( 0)
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Click to collapse
Do first boot without the sim card. The phone will turn on wifi so you can connect to Google. I do this all the time when flashing just because the first sync is faster that way.
Sent from my Sensation using xda premium