Hi all. I guess, this question is more about the hardware rather than a particular provider. Let me begin with its origins.
I am a member of a Verizon family plan, and I am the only member who owns a smartphone (Verizon S5 - G900V(B)) - others have much simpler devices. We have few gigs of data in our plan. At some point I realised that I don't need data any longer, and we decided to remove the data from the plan (downgrade).
But Verizon does not let us to do so. Their motivation is that they have a policy saying that since I have a smartphone, we are obliged to have a plan with data. However (!!!), they say that if I buy a simple used phone myself (like LG Terra - which supports 4G, but is not considered by them as a smartphone), they will allow us to switch to a plan without data.
Now, my question is very simple. How will they know if I have changed the phone? What if, after changing it, I just put my SIM card back into my smartphone? I can hardly believe they will switch us back to the plan with data...
Basically, the question reduces into two:
Is SIM card sending information about the device model to the carrier?
Can they use this information to change the plan?
As you may guess, my intent is to call Verizon and to say that I have already changed my device to this damn LG Terra, and to ask them to change the plan.
Thanks. Sorry if the question does not fit the forum, just don't know where else to ask.
mavzolej said:
Hi all. I guess, this question is more about the hardware rather than a particular provider. Let me begin with its origins.
I am a member of a Verizon family plan, and I am the only member who owns a smartphone (Verizon S5 - G900V(B)) - others have much simpler devices. We have few gigs of data in our plan. At some point I realised that I don't need data any longer, and we decided to remove the data from the plan (downgrade).
But Verizon does not let us to do so. Their motivation is that they have a policy saying that since I have a smartphone, we are obliged to have a plan with data. However (!!!), they say that if I buy a simple used phone myself (like LG Terra - which supports 4G, but is not considered by them as a smartphone), they will allow us to switch to a plan without data.
Now, my question is very simple. How will they know if I have changed the phone? What if, after changing it, I just put my SIM card back into my smartphone? I can hardly believe they will switch us back to the plan with data...
Basically, the question reduces into two:
Is SIM card sending information about the device model to the carrier?
Can they use this information to change the plan?
As you may guess, my intent is to call Verizon and to say that I have already changed my device to this damn LG Terra, and to ask them to change the plan.
Thanks. Sorry if the question does not fit the forum, just don't know where else to ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.cnet.com/news/on-call-how-does-my-carrier-know-which-phone-im-using/
Related
Hey there, so I have a fairly generic question to ask. I've searched but I don't think anyone's brought this up before. So, I have AT&T and am eager to get a smartphone. Preferably something android, however the requirement for the monthly data plan fee makes it a bit beyond my reach. My question is this, could you use a ROM to make a phone lie about it's identity? I'm unsure how the carrier knows exactly, but I put my SIM card in a WM 6.5 phone a few months back and I received a text message saying my plan was instantly upgraded. My thought is if perhaps two phones, one Symbian, non-smartphone, and one smartphone use similar radios perhaps something could be modified to make the latter seem like the former?
nameback said:
Hey there, so I have a fairly generic question to ask. I've searched but I don't think anyone's brought this up before. So, I have AT&T and am eager to get a smartphone. Preferably something android, however the requirement for the monthly data plan fee makes it a bit beyond my reach. My question is this, could you use a ROM to make a phone lie about it's identity? I'm unsure how the carrier knows exactly, but I put my SIM card in a WM 6.5 phone a few months back and I received a text message saying my plan was instantly upgraded. My thought is if perhaps two phones, one Symbian, non-smartphone, and one smartphone use similar radios perhaps something could be modified to make the latter seem like the former?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT does random IMEI checks. There is no way around it.
I actually already a Meizu M9 (Android device) since I found it really cheap online($180) I knew the 3G wasn't going to work when I bought it which is fine. I only get EDGE speed which is fine for me since I only occasionally lookup stuff on google and EDGE speed is fine to do that. Also I have WiFi at both home and school and so I can use that to get me the faster speeds if I want.
What I really was wondering about was would I be forced to upgrade to the ATT smartphone plan? I have the $15unlmimted Medianet right now and since my phone only gets EDGE anyways I really don't want to have be upgraded. How does ATT detect the IEMI # on phones? The Meizu M9 is a Chinese branded phone and there are only a handful in the USA currently. Will they be able to tell I am using this phone and will they upgrade me?
Another thing I was wondering was that what are the typical APN codes for Android Smartphones? I am not sure if I have the right ones entered or not.
Here's a video showing you how to set up the APN's for unlocked phones.
Also i'm pretty sure you are ok with your data plan. AT&T has a list of IMEI (Identifiers) from all the phones they sell and if one shows up in their system as a smartphone then they change it but they wouldn't have yours
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Good question, but I think you should talk to ATT.
Can you let us know how you like the Meizu phone? I heard that they make decent phones, but I've never used one myself.
Follow up
Following up on this one. I am also considering buying an ebay M9 instead of a new mtk6575 based china clone. Would love to know if AT&T triggered the smartphone plan or not.
If I get no answer, then I'll come back when I get one of the two and let everyone else know my experience.
So, I have wanted to be able to mess around with phones for a while, and figured this could be a good place to start.
First: I do not use a smartphone at the moment. I am cheap and use a Pantech GoPhone. I had a US Cellular (CDMA ) LG Optimus U but decided I wanted a full keyboard phone and service outside of my area.
Anyways, I want to know if my GoPhone SIM Card will work in a Blackberry or an Android device, that is either unlocked or locked. I need to do this WITHOUT buying the smartphone data service for an extra 25 bucks a month.
Also, I need to know how to unlock stuff. I want to be able to buy a phone on eBay or something and unlock it and flip it around and sell it for more.
Thanks guys!
~thebigcheese
You can put your SIM card into any other AT&T branded smartphone. Assuming it's a 3g card, anyway. As for the data plan? AT&T will eventually realize you're on their network with a smartphone without a data plan. You basically need to buy it.
EDIT: With unlocking phones, they're all different. You would really need to go to the specific device's subforum here and check out how to do it.
some noob questions
I hear that AT&T has some software to detect your device and read your usage.There are ways to get around this it depends on the device ,you can mask your imei for instance so they can't detect the type of device your using ,works on a few pads with voice comm
capabilities such as the mediapad (springboard in the U.S)
As for unlocking ..depends on the manufacturer as they are all different
*Mods, please move if there is a better place. I normally hang out on the development forums so I'm not exactly sure where to post*
I have a phone that I bought from Verizon and I have kept the unlimited data. I know all about my phone but next to nothing about my service.
My question is specifically about phablets (for example, this) which is basically a big ass phone, or a tablet with cell service, however you want to word it. I'd use it exclusively with bluetooth instead of holding the thing up to my head, don't worry.
I travel internationally and see them A LOT in other countries (they cannot help me though since I need one to use in the US). I am under the impression that VZ will not activate anything I did not buy from them. I don't know how solid this is but every VZ employee I have asked has confirmed this so far. I know in the past that it used to be as simple as switching out the SIM card but doubt this is still the case.
I'm sure there are some hardware specs that I need to look at that would determine the LTE/3G whatever compatibility, but I don't know the terminology. Can you help me out?
Also, I am hesitant to leave VZ because of the unlimited data and the service coverage. I live in mildly populated CT, USA and would welcome a prepaid plan if it was comparable but don't even know where to begin looking.
Thank you in advance - I really don't have anyone else to ask about this stuff.
You will want to look for international versions of the devices you are looking for. These versions carry multiple antennas that allows them to be used in different countries. As far as I know, these phones use SIM cards, which allows you to purchase an international SIM or a SIM in the country you are in, and it should work when you plug it into your device.
Is there a way to check for the antennas in the specifications instead of relying on the seller to accurately sell me the int'l version? How would you go about buying a SIM card?
Hello, everyone. Thanks for having me.
I'm interested in acquiring some cellphones. I live outside the U.S, and I just want the phones for multimedia, internet and apps related usages, so I don't really need any carriers for the phones, not even in my country, that's why I find these No-Contract offers very good budget-wise.
But then there surge some questions,
*Are these No-Contract phones locked so you can't use them without activating them with a carrier? I mean, maybe something like not going past the start screen if they don't have a valid sim card on, or requiring one-time-activation or something?
*Can I use wi-fi with them with them, or is it subjected to activation with the carrier?
*What about rooting? Are the carriers selling the phones relative to the rooting/ jailbreaking process?
I know my questions might be noobish, but I'm just making sure before buying. You see, I've seen questions like these on Amazon with different answers, which has led me to this confusion and lack of assurance. I myself own (and even jailbroke) a phone from another country I use without carrier, though there are still specifics I'm not sure about yet.
Thanks in advance.
Android 5.1 offers an option to bypass SIM activation for sure ^^
I think it can be bypassed even on stock software!