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

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

#111

Post by KMag »

Zak wrote: post #52
lucb1e wrote: post #41

That's why I got prepaid. 10 euros a month off it for 250MB internet, 2-3 euros for calling and texting. Cheaper than any plan, even plans without calling and texting. Oh no, prepaid is always more expensive! they tell me in the shop. They then walk straight over to their computers to show me, and they show me something slightly more expensive. What a joke, these subscriptions. Right now all my carrier has on me is m…

my rough location (must be kept by Dutch law) That's creepy, and would make me not want to carry a phone at all.

Where do you live that carriers don't keep a history of where your phone has been?

Every once in a while I read a news story where a suspect's cell phone was connected to the nearest tower to a dumped body, around the time the coroner thought the body was dumped.

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

#112

Post by KMag »

shurcooL wrote: post #93

Not related to AT&T's crappy move, but I found it interesting that I went the opposite direction and now own a data-only plan. I get my voice and texting using VOIP for nearly free, and the data only plan is much cheaper than smartphone or voice only plans.

Details please! Who's your VOIP provider?

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

#114

Post by bestham »

gcb0 wrote: post #95
edandersen wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> There is no way to use a smartphone without using data? Er, turn off mobile data and rely on wi-fi. Calls and texts still work and your phone will behave as if you are roaming abroad (i.e if you crack and turn on mobile data, prepare to open your wallet).

Reading that i think that the worst offender is the iphone that keeps phoning home. Not that at&t is not wrong as well. just that the iphone manges to screw the user even more. if apple hadn't bent over so badly to allow telcos to screw the customers with the whole tethering fiasco (which is still going on. unbelievable. all you sheeple giving out free money) they wouldn't even know you had a special needs phone.

Well, the phone does not phone home per se but AT&T analyses the IMEI number. In Sweden if you try to use data without a balance it simply does not work. What AT&T is doing is simply wrong, throwing services down OPs throat.

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

#115

Post by X-Istence »

gcb0 wrote: post #95
edandersen wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> There is no way to use a smartphone without using data? Er, turn off mobile data and rely on wi-fi. Calls and texts still work and your phone will behave as if you are roaming abroad (i.e if you crack and turn on mobile data, prepare to open your wallet).

Reading that i think that the worst offender is the iphone that keeps phoning home. Not that at&t is not wrong as well. just that the iphone manges to screw the user even more. if apple hadn't bent over so badly to allow telcos to screw the customers with the whole tethering fiasco (which is still going on. unbelievable. all you sheeple giving out free money) they wouldn't even know you had a special needs phone.

If you turn off data on the iPhone it does no phoning home.

If it did phone home when data is turned off explicitly then I'd have been completely and utterly screwed by AT&T for the month I spent in Europe.

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

#116

Post by greg5green »

joelrunyon wrote: post #68
WayneDB wrote: 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?

According to the TOS, they're supposed to notify you and give you a way to cancel in 30 days. I was notified but never given the chance to cancel.

That means that you had 30 days from when they changed the TOS. Not from when they started charging you.

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

#119

Post by goggles99 »

rgovind wrote: post #109

Since Android is open source...Can I change something in the source code and make it appear to AT&T a normal phone? Then AT&T won't know that I am using a smartphone? Is there no way to send a wrong IMEI number?

Yes, XDA developers has a lot of info about this. Also search Google.

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

#120

Post by goggles99 »

This has been going on for years.

AT&T forces $25 dataplan on anysmartphone (even sans contract) http://www.wirelessforums.org/alt-internet-wireless/how-spoo...

Just change your IMEI number. Yes it is still legal in the US (who knows for how long though).

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