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AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

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21–30 of 164 posts

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#21

This started happening about 1.5 years ago on AT&T. Any smart phone that AT&T "knows about" will get a ~$30/mo smartphone data plan added the moment you insert your SIM card into it. You'll get a text message ~30 minutes later saying so. You can get around this by using a phone that hasn't previously been on AT&T's network. For example, I have a Galaxy Nexus, iPhone 2G, and Nexus One that have all gotten past this ch…

http://venturebeat.com/2010/12/21/fcc-net-neutrality-is-a-go...

I wonder if this is legal because of the net neutrality ruling on mobile networks that the FCC put out a couple of years ago.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#23
post #2

It's not "for all intensive purposes", it's "for all intents and purposes" http://grammarist.com/eggcorns/for-all-intensive-purposes/

The article you stated states that "for all intensive purposes" is common usage, although not correct. At some point, it becomes accepted usage.

Kind of like when you try to say that hackers only tinker with things. Words and meanings change.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#24
I've got a xiaomi M1 which i picked up in China, it's only sold in mainland china and i've never had any problem telling AT&T that it's a dumb phone. No messages or anything. Maybe it's just an obscure enough phone. Miui is a pretty well maintained distribution of android.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#25

AT&T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn't be giving them your money if you can avoid it. If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data. The key is that IMO, a prepaid p…

> If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

Keep in mind the top $30 plan (unlimited data) requires you to activate a new phone that you have to buy from Walmart.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#26

AT&T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn't be giving them your money if you can avoid it. If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data. The key is that IMO, a prepaid p…

T-Mobile is my favorite cellular provider in the US by far and I used them for years before starting work (company pays for phone and Verizon has the best network). They made having a smartphone affordable and made it easy to upgrade by reselling your unlocked phone online (recouping most of the unsubsidized cost).

Second all of that. Also their data plans are nice, if you exceed it (which I do sometimes via tethering, which also just works with T-Mobile), you're not cut off just rate-limited, and to a rate that's still fine for browsing websites, just not for watching Youtube.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#27

AT&T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn't be giving them your money if you can avoid it. If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data. The key is that IMO, a prepaid p…

> If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans Keep in mind the top $30 plan (unlimited data) requires you to activate a new phone that you have to buy from Walmart.

I've got that plan on my Nexus 4, bought from the Google Play store. It's not Walmart exclusive, it's only available at Walmart or T-Mobile's website.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#28

AT&T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn't be giving them your money if you can avoid it. If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data. The key is that IMO, a prepaid p…

> If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans Keep in mind the top $30 plan (unlimited data) requires you to activate a new phone that you have to buy from Walmart.

[deleted]

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#29

AT&T are scum and this sort of stuff is standard practice with them. You shouldn't be giving them your money if you can avoid it. If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans For CDMA I believe Sprint and Verizon offer prepaid plans without contracts at around $50 for talk/data. The key is that IMO, a prepaid p…

> If you've got a GSM phone with the right radio bands, I suggest taking a look at the $30 plans here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans Keep in mind the top $30 plan (unlimited data) requires you to activate a new phone that you have to buy from Walmart.

Yes, however you can order the (micro, if applicable) SIM activation kit online for $0.99 and free shipping. If you can't wait then your only option is picking up a SIM card kit from a T-Mobile store for $20.

Re: AT&T Will Force Your Data Plan For Your Unlocked Out-of-Contract "Smart" Phone

#30
post #9

Joel, you said "They can opt me into a contract that I didn't agree to", but are you sure that you didn't implicitly/legally agree to something that says they can do that? Maybe their Terms of Service?

Oh, it is in the TOS. It's shady and I think it's dumb that AT&T does it, but he definitely "implicitly agreed" to it.
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