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AT&T requires a data plan on Fuze

Hey guys, I need to cancel my data plan on my account with AT&T, and the rep told me b/c it's a smart phone it requires a data plan with it.
I installed that one program that disables network connections so no data is transferred at all, but I'd still be paying the $30/month.
Does anyone know of a program to blind the IDMI or w/e number so that AT&T doesn't know what phone I'm using? I mean, yea I can just put my SIM in another phone and use that and cancel the plan just fine. I'd LIKE to continue using the fuze as a normal phone b/c it has wifi and is an all-around better phone than say a moto razor. This way I can call from a razor, cancel the plan, and put the SIM back in the Fuze and according to my account online it won't know I've switched back to the Fuze.
Ideas? Thanks.

tell the rep that he/she is a liar and a jerk. You can remove your dataplan. the only phone out there that requires you to have a dataplan is the iphone. get yourself a rep that actually knows what they're talking about.
Last time they told my gf that her only option for txt mssging is to pay for the unlimited and i kept telling her you can get 200 for $5 and the rep says no, I told her to get another rep and that rep set it up for her.

You actually do need a data plan for any smartphone, if you upgrade to another smart phone theres no way to get out of paying $30 for data

Broman400 said:
You actually do need a data plan for any smartphone, if you upgrade to another smart phone theres no way to get out of paying $30 for data
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I have to agree with mputtr. Keep trying until you get a rep that will do it for you. By the way, I've upgraded twice over the past 3 1/2 years with ATT smartphones, and I was never required to get a data plan. I still don't have one to this day.

LBCta said:
I have to agree with mputtr. Keep trying until you get a rep that will do it for you. By the way, I've upgraded twice over the past 3 1/2 years with ATT smartphones, and I was never required to get a data plan. I still don't have one to this day.
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mputtr said:
tell the rep that he/she is a liar and a jerk. You can remove your dataplan. the only phone out there that requires you to have a dataplan is the iphone. get yourself a rep that actually knows what they're talking about.
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Not true anymore, since September 6, it's now AT&T policy that every smartphone requires the $30 data plan, not just the iphone (BBs included). The only way to get out of this is if you had a smartphone BEFORE that date and either didn't have a data plan or had a cheaper one and therefore you're grandfathered in. You could try to find a rep to do it for you, and even in the rare case you do find one, once AT&T matches your IMEI, they're gonna put the data plan back on and possibly charge you for trying to circumvent the policy.

rccola159 said:
Not true anymore, since September 6, it's now AT&T policy that every smartphone requires the $30 data plan, not just the iphone (BBs included). The only way to get out of this is if you had a smartphone BEFORE that date and either didn't have a data plan or had a cheaper one and therefore you're grandfathered in. You could try to find a rep to do it for you, and even in the rare case you do find one, once AT&T matches your IMEI, they're gonna put the data plan back on and possibly charge you for trying to circumvent the policy.
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He's right. Though, how long do you think it will take for them to match up the IMEI's? Because I've switched my SIM through several Winmo phones (shh, off the record) and never been asked about it.
I'm hoping AT&T will be lazy because I really don't like this idea

Jaxbot said:
He's right. Though, how long do you think it will take for them to match up the IMEI's? Because I've switched my SIM through several Winmo phones (shh, off the record) and never been asked about it.
I'm hoping AT&T will be lazy because I really don't like this idea
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Yeah, it's either hit or miss I guess. At times my Fuze will go unnoticed after using a dumbphone, and then all of a sudden it will show up in OLAM, but I've had the Medianet plan on the Fuze forever, so no worries
But from what I hear AT&T is more aggressive in searching for people, so all I can say is good luck!

I've got three phones on family data & family texting... $60 total for all three. Fuze, BJII and Samsung Eternity. I want to upgrade fuze to Tilt2 & BJII to better smartphone, but I don't want to get jacked by AT&T forcing a move to data plans. Anyone know if you can switch back thought the website once you've signed up for data plan?

I've had a Tilt forever. I need to uprade, hopefully to a HTC Pure, however already having a family plan with 5 phones, I don't need or want a data plan o top of that expense. Is there a way of using an unlocked phone to avoid the ATT Nazis? Thanks for any help. Hoping that I won't have to go back to an iPaq Pocket PC.

the only real way of doing it is after upgrading the phone wait a month or so while paying for data then put the sim in a old razr or something and go online change your IMEI and then call and say u lost the new one and have them take data off.
then just swap sims later and hope they dont notice

Here's a quick fix that always works: (I've done this many, many times)
1. Get yourself a dumbphone, i.e. non-winmo/BB/iPhone devices like those Nokia's or SE's
2. Get the IMEI# of the dumbphone ready because the rep would want to register that with your account.
3. Call the rep from the dumbphone, and tell him/her that you're NOT gonna use your smartphone anymore and that you would want the data plan to be removed.
OR
This would also be the chance for you to downgrade your data plan to the cheaper $15/mo MediaNET, most dumbphones will be eligible for that.
4. Hang up and put back the SIM card into the smartphone again, voila.
The trick is to NEVER call the rep from the smartphone as they're able to detect your IMEI from the network.
Good luck.

Avoid buying a data plan on AT&T?

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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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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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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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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So wait if I pop in my Dumbphone sim with unlimited plan , I can still keep it?

[Q] Do i really need a data plan

Hey guys I just wanted to ask one question before I actually buy the desire hd. When i got my Tilt 2 one year ago, I told them I didnt want a data plan and they told me it was ok because i have been a customer for 5 years. So question is are they going to force me to get a data plan when i get the desire hd. thanks in advance.

you cannot get it without the data plan, this is ATT's policy now. that said, android OS works much differently, and not having a data plan would probably not work simply because of the way android OS works. you can try it though, curious to hear results...

from what i was told in the past, if you get a cool rep at the store, which i have come across in my area.
You can get them to cancel the data plan after the first month.

epicKA8 said:
from what i was told in the past, if you get a cool rep at the store, which i have come across in my area.
You can get them to cancel the data plan after the first month.
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This is NOT the case anymore. If you get a smartphone on AT&T, you are required to get a dataplan. End Of Story.
If you don't want a data plan, the question you should ask yourself is (unless you have WiFi to connect to all the time) do you really need a smartphone?

epicKA8 said:
from what i was told in the past, if you get a cool rep at the store, which i have come across in my area.
You can get them to cancel the data plan after the first month.
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Once that person makes their first phone call with their phone, the network registers their IMEI and puts them on the correct data plan.
Nice try though.

The ATT policy aside, because android uses data for so much, I doubt you could even set up the phone unless near WiFi. When out and about away from WiFi, so many parts of the OS reach out for data that it would be very different than what one might realize. It's not like the old windows mobile days where data can just be shut off. But this is why I'm curious to see the results though.

I called att support and they can block data on your line so you never get any data ever, you could turn off data plan that way

Hypnopottamus said:
This is NOT the case anymore. If you get a smartphone on AT&T, you are required to get a dataplan. End Of Story.
If you don't want a data plan, the question you should ask yourself is (unless you have WiFi to connect to all the time) do you really need a smartphone?
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really? i was told this when i got my phone from my guy who works at the store. you sign up, the must, but after teh first month they can remove it.
Sportsguy15 said:
Once that person makes their first phone call with their phone, the network registers their IMEI and puts them on the correct data plan.
Nice try though.
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only if you don't unlock it

epicKA8 said:
really? i was told this when i got my phone from my guy who works at the store. you sign up, the must, but after teh first month they can remove it.
only if you don't unlock it
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If you unlock it, what trick is there to fake the imei? I haven't heard of any yet on android and I looked thru the source code and all to try compiling a kernel to do so. Curious what method you know of!

2 things, you can't drop a data plan as far as i know with at&t, they are changing stuff every week right now however trying to get some sort of edge it seems.
I turned on an old tilt this past week for my kid and they no longer require a data plan it seems on older PDA's. It was a ridiculous rule. So i have data blocked on it and he uses the wifi. Finally one tiny issue solved.
More good news.. (remember you get a different answer with every rep)
I was able to turn on the 2gig plan for 25 instead of the normal $30 its been.
And i was told i can turn on a 4 gig plan now for 40 with 250mb roll overs @ 15$ per.
This is news to me ive only seen the 200mb and the 2 gb plan up till now. Tmobi is like 5 gb a month (unlimited) so its nice to see this (since i swear the 4g is eating up data on me)

I've heard from my aunt, who "worked" for att, that if you were grandfathered in, since the old days where you didn't need a Data plan for a Smartphone, you can still get one without a plan. (I remember my first WM Smartphone was bought this way)
You just have to be sure to specify this point, that you are Grandfathered in.
Since she knows this, Her Son, bought a BlackBerry for his daughter, and insisted on no Data plan, the Rep. allowed it because he was Grandfathered in.
I intend to Buy an Inspire, later this week, using my Mom's upgrade; she actually uses a Blackberry, without a Data Plan too! ;D
It should work the same, my dad says we should be Great-Grandfathered in, cause we were there when it was still Cingular and the First $10.00 Unlimited Data Plans came out.

As far as I know it doesn't work that way. You are already grandfathered in because they are allowing you to use a smart phone without data. But as soon as you get a new phone you will automatically be forced to upgrade to a data plan. My wife tried the same thing, she had a blackberry with no data but when she got a new phone they automatically gave her a data plan.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

freekquency said:
2 things, you can't drop a data plan as far as i know with at&t, they are changing stuff every week right now however trying to get some sort of edge it seems.
I turned on an old tilt this past week for my kid and they no longer require a data plan it seems on older PDA's. It was a ridiculous rule. So i have data blocked on it and he uses the wifi. Finally one tiny issue solved.
More good news.. (remember you get a different answer with every rep)
I was able to turn on the 2gig plan for 25 instead of the normal $30 its been.
And i was told i can turn on a 4 gig plan now for 40 with 250mb roll overs @ 15$ per.
This is news to me ive only seen the 200mb and the 2 gb plan up till now. Tmobi is like 5 gb a month (unlimited) so its nice to see this (since i swear the 4g is eating up data on me)
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where were you able to do this?

aeneas3 said:
where were you able to do this?
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The 2GB data plan has always been $25. The unlimited data plan is $30.

how can i keep this phone without a plan

What's up guys. NOOB HERE. Cut me some slack. I currently own a iPhone 4s on att. I just got a good deal on a rooted Skyrocket.
This is the problem. I don't have a iPhone data plan. I just use the phone and wifi.
So I bought a sim card adapter, and I placed the sim card into the skyrocket.
Soon as I do that, att changes my phone plan,and adds a 4g Lte plan. Is there anyway around this?
[email protected] all day with wifi, @home with wifi. ...
I like the phone a lot. But I don't need a data plan.
Has anyone had to deal with this

att are not allowed to do that, you always have the choice, thats the purpose of having buying a phone full price

polish_pat said:
att are not allowed to do that, you always have the choice, thats the purpose of having buying a phone full price
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I know, they sent me some BS email, saying that smartphones require a data plan.
They are designed for surfing the internet and use a lot of data. You are required a data plan

BookinZ06 said:
What's up guys. NOOB HERE. Cut me some slack. I currently own a iPhone 4s on att. I just got a good deal on a rooted Skyrocket.
This is the problem. I don't have a iPhone data plan. I just use the phone and wifi.
So I bought a sim card adapter, and I placed the sim card into the skyrocket.
Soon as I do that, att changes my phone plan,and adds a 4g Lte plan. Is there anyway around this?
[email protected] all day with wifi, @home with wifi. ...
I like the phone a lot. But I don't need a data plan.
Has anyone had to deal with this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switch to H2O wireless. Port your number. And you are all set. You pay just as much as ATT without data but still get data (2GB) ...

k4ce said:
Switch to H2O wireless. Port your number. And you are all set. You pay just as much as ATT without data but still get data (2GB) ...
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Thanks for the advice. But I have a family plan with att for several years now with 3 other phones.
I thought maybe there was something I can download and install on the phone - so no data or information goes back to att

BookinZ06 said:
Thanks for the advice. But I have a family plan with att for several years now with 3 other phones.
I thought maybe there was something I can download and install on the phone - so no data or information goes back to att
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When they identify your phone as a smartphone, they don't do it through the data you send them, they don't through your imei number which is broadcast to att via your sim. So an app or rom won't do you any good. I can't speak for att, but tmobile has a similar policy with all smartphones requiring data but i have used a Nokia n8 on their network for 2 years without anyone tacking on a data plan.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

I'm on at&t prepaid $2/day without data - so far. I bought a data package before they changed their policy to monthly only for smartphones plus data package. I don't talk/text every day, so $2/day seemed worth trying. When they switched policies, I just did not buy a data package and as far as I know, I don't have at&t data access. But I have been able to use my phone for calls. Don't know what will happen when my $100 runs out, but that will probably be several months from now. Meantime I have a mobile hotspot I can use if out and about and think it necessary to check emails.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

You have to talk to a super visor. I have a the nexus without a data plan on att. Had to jump thru hoops though, rep said its done automatically through there computers so it had to be over ridded. And I had to call back
3 times because no one would do it for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Not paying for data plan on AT&T?

I just re-purchased a Inspire again, after 1 year I needed a 2nd phone and I kind of missed my inspire. But I don't want to pay for the data plan. AT&T. Is there anyway to hide my IMEI from AT&T so I don't get slapped with a data plan?

Joe momma said:
I just re-purchased a Inspire again, after 1 year I needed a 2nd phone and I kind of missed my inspire. But I don't want to pay for the data plan. AT&T. Is there anyway to hide my IMEI from AT&T so I don't get slapped with a data plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't turn on mobile data. You're good to go.
Sent from my LT28i using Tapatalk 2

It didn't work. I had mobile data off from day one, and hours later I got a text saying they added a data plan. It seems like they know my phone's IMEI right when I put my sim card in. Gah.

Joe momma said:
It didn't work. I had mobile data off from day one, and hours later I got a text saying they added a data plan. It seems like they know my phone's IMEI right when I put my sim card in. Gah.
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Click to collapse
You also need to remove ICQ (it's a build in software that communicate with att). Your best bet is root the phone install custom romvand keep your data off.
After all that - To fix your account, gave them an non-smart phone IMEI and insist you don't need data plan.
Good luck.
Sent from my LT28i using Tapatalk 2

There is no way to hide your IMEI from the network. The only way not to pay is to have an IMEI that is not on their network like an unlocked T-mobile phone or something of that nature.

I purchased a Galaxy for my son from CL and his account never changed from the non data plan his is listed as.., Just call At &t
as long as your current contact does not require data plan you should be good to go.

F2504x4 said:
I purchased a Galaxy for my son from CL and his account never changed from the non data plan his is listed as.., Just call At &t
as long as your current contact does not require data plan you should be good to go.
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Click to collapse
Don't forget if the device is a none of Att devices or beeing rooted. ATT will make you add data plan if it is a smartphone regardless of your contract.
The ICQ is the bug on all ATT devices that reported to ATT you need a data plan. Read other thread how to take it off or easiest is use the tool to root your device. Install a custom rom just to make sure you don't have the ICQ installed.
Sent from my LT28i using Tapatalk 2

Guys ICQ is not gonna matter if it is removed or not. Each carrier can and for along time has been able to scan their network and see the IMEI numbers that are being used on it. The only way out is to have an IMEI that is not linked to an AT&T smartphone. This has been the case for many years now.

accts said:
ATT will make you add data plan if it is a smartphone regardless of your contract.
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Click to collapse
Wrong!! if you are not under contract for having a data plan , then AT& T will not care what phone you use...
If you are under a Data plan via a contract , till that contract expires, you will have pay for Data services regardless of what phone you have...
You can also get At&T services with out a contract with no data plan , and not be charged for using a data capable phone.

BTW it is labeled as Data OPT- out, and as you can see, my old phone is shown (Tilt II) on the account which is what is currently being used since he busted the screen on his Galaxy S.

WM is a lot different than android. Is that your main line or secondary line?

ai6908 said:
WM is a lot different than android. Is that your main line or secondary line?
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Click to collapse
did you see the Galaxy S that was listed ? it has been swapped back and forth between both phones..

OK there was a time when you could block out data even if you have a smartphone and were not on contract. This is no longer the case. About a year ago ATT changed the policy on smart phones. Now you are forced into a data plan if a. You have a contract that is not grandfathered in. B. If you have a smartphone that att has in its records. When WM was around you had the option to opt out of a data plan. Now it is no longer an option unless you are not on contract or you have a phone that shows up as unknown in the data base when ATT does its IMEI sweeps.
Sent from the BatCave

Okay i did more research on this, and things have changed , ( yes i concede Almight Zen) i was wrong about that, but I do still a have a no data lock on my sons phone, and regardless of the phone he uses , i still have not had a data plan added even though they are At&T branded phones. But there still are ways around this issue.
Some very good info in this thread...
http://androidforums.com/t/455064-t-wifi-only-no-dataplan.html
AN ANDROID SMARTPHONE WITHOUT A DATA PLAN IS POSSIBLE! In fact im doing it right now! I am on At&t using a Samsung Galaxy ACE. Awesome phone, and att does not recognize its IMEI so its all good! I have been data free for almost 2 months (recently bought the phone from amazon). Weather it will work with any carrier that uses GSM im not sure, although it does work flawlessly on ATT. So it is a perfect option for anyone looking for an awesome android smartphone with full features (wifi, bluetooth, gps, full android market, full hacking capability's) with no data plan. Also, if in the future when you want a data plan, all you need to do is enable att's non smartphone $10 data plan on your line and now you have unlimited data for only $10 a month, i have not tried this yet but plan too. I am also pretty sure any GSM phone with a model number not starting with an "i" for example the Samsung galaxy s2 which is "i9100" will be required to have a data plan by att because they recognize its IMEI number, where as the Galaxy Ace starts with an "s" (s5830) it works. Hope this helps, and remember anything is possible with A LOT of Google searching!
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It's true that Carrier has the ability to scan for IMEI, however if you don't have mobile data on. IT will not raise a red flag for data plan. This has happened for one of my line in my account - Had my mobile data off and still get a message from ATT that automated add data plan. After research I known what caused it because ICQ required data to communicate with ATT, that's why I got hit with data plan. After root, give ATT an non-smartphone IMEI. I was good to go. Even when i login to my account online I do see my device is Inspire 4G - however the main registration IMEI is a non-smartphone. Weird but it worked.

Also you can just buy the prepaid minutes that reup off your credit card it comes out to be the same as most monthly bills if not cheaper for some and at&t don't care at all what phone you use on those
If you aren't sure then do it twice!