I'm currently in a AT&T Family Plan and my line has the old unlimited data plan. While my wife was in the local AT&T store buying a new Blackberry Torch, I was checking out the Captivate and really loved what I saw.
So I started talking to the AT&T guy, asking about data plans and such if I was to update my phone now. He stated that if I bought the Captivate I wouldn't be able to keep my old unlimited data plan, and that I'd have to either change to the 200MB or 2GB data plan. Is this really true, or is the rep just trying to get me into one of the new plans?
Also, I'm curious about the Captivate's GPS - the box states it's aGPS. Now I know this can mean a few things, but I'm curious if the Captivate has a "real" GPS chip in it, or does the Captivate's aGPS just use cell tower triangulation for navigation purposes?
I thought I'd get other's opinions before actually getting the phone - which I really do want!
Rambler358 said:
I'm currently in a AT&T Family Plan and my line has the old unlimited data plan. While my wife was in the local AT&T store buying a new Blackberry Torch, I was checking out the Captivate and really loved what I saw.
So I started talking to the AT&T guy, asking about data plans and such if I was to update my phone now. He stated that if I bought the Captivate I wouldn't be able to keep my old unlimited data plan, and that I'd have to either change to the 200MB or 2GB data plan. Is this really true, or is the rep just trying to get me into one of the new plans?
Also, I'm curious about the Captivate's GPS - the box states it's aGPS. Now I know this can mean a few things, but I'm curious if the Captivate has a "real" GPS chip in it, or does the Captivate's aGPS just use cell tower triangulation for navigation purposes?
I thought I'd get other's opinions before actually getting the phone - which I really do want!
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Click to collapse
I think either the rep is trying to trick you, or he may just not know. When I bought my Captivate I was able to keep my existing unlimited plan, so I'd assume it'd apply to you as well. And yes the GPS receiver is actual GPS, however there are some issues with it at the moment (problems with holding a lock and tracking, etc.), and Samsung is trying to fix them.
KCutrer1 said:
I think either the rep is trying to trick you, or he may just not know. When I bought my Captivate I was able to keep my existing unlimited plan, so I'd assume it'd apply to you as well. And yes the GPS receiver is actual GPS, however there are some issues with it at the moment (problems with holding a lock and tracking, etc.), and Samsung is trying to fix them.
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Thanks - maybe I can just go to another AT&T store, as there's a few around me and see if the reps give me the same "you must change data plan" story.
I've read about the GPS issues, and it seems some have them and some don't. I also see there's a couple fixes for the Captivate's GPS issue, but do they really work? The GPS feature is something I really want/need, as I'm not planning on buying a standalone GPS as well.
That's a lie. When i purchased my Captivate on my renewal, i ended up having to call AT&T directly as they wouldn't give me the deal price in the store and when the representative on the phone tried to sell me on one of their new plans, i immediately said, "No.. i want the unlimited plan transferred to the Captivate from my iPhone." It took him a few minutes of putting on hold to talk to his supervisor to come back and tell me it was done. So don't believe the AT&T rep in the store, they're probably told to tell you it's not possible. I'm telling you it is.
Remember.. once the unlimited plan is gone.. you can't get it back.
terrigan said:
That's a lie. When i purchased my Captivate on my renewal, i ended up having to call AT&T directly as they wouldn't give me the deal price in the store and when the representative on the phone tried to sell me on one of their new plans, i immediately said, "No.. i want the unlimited plan transferred to the Captivate from my iPhone."
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Okay, this jogs my memory a bit now. The rep did say that if I was coming from an iPhone that I could keep my unlimited plan, otherwise I'd need to get one of the new plans. I currently have a HTC Advantage, but a Motorola Razr is showing up on my account as my current phone - which I was using until I got the Advantage, but obviously not from AT&T.
So even with the above would I still be able to retain my current unlimited data plan? I just want to have my ducks in a row before going back to the AT&T store.
I would call AT&T on the phone and inquire. I don't know about that, I had an iPhone and they didn't give me a hard time at all.
terrigan said:
I would call AT&T on the phone and inquire. I don't know about that, I had an iPhone and they didn't give me a hard time at all.
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Okay, just got off the phone with AT&T. According to the rep, if I previously had a "smartphone" with the unlimited data plan then I could keep that plan. But unfortunately my old Motorola Razr was not classified as a smartphone, and I'd need to choose one of the 2 new data plans available if I got the Captivate. And they're not able to back-date the IMEI number of the HTC Advantage.
So do you guys with the 2GB data plans come close to exceeding that at all? I'm now beginning to wonder if I should drop AT&T and go with another carrier for unlimited data.
Depends on how you use the phone
If you are jumping ship for a different carrier do it soon. I know for a fact Verizon will be doing that soon from a friend that works there. T-Mobile doesn't have a "cap" but they may as well, you get throttled after you use so much bandwidth. I don't know about Sprint, but if you are in a 4G Sprint area, that may be your best bet. The Epic is supposed to be the best Galaxy S phone.
Over the past 10 months, I have only had one month less than 2GB, at 1.4GB. My max was 4.8GB, and it appears I average about 3GB. My wife on the other hand, ranged from 90MB to 550MB, with most months at around 250MB. We both use our phones a lot. We both had iPhones until the Captivate came out. Once we switched to the Captivate both our data usages spiked. The difference is HOW we use our phones. We both use the web, a lot. But I stream Pandora almost daily for hours at work, and I download a lot of Podcasts. Sometimes I download podcasts on my phone when I am home even though I have WiFi just so I feel like I am getting my $$ from AT&T.
Sure you can survive on the new $15 data plan, but I wouldn't do it.
quarlow said:
Sure you can survive on the new $15 data plan, but I wouldn't do it.
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Click to collapse
If I was to stick with AT&T I'd definately get the $25 2GB data plan. Unfortunately AT&T isn't offering any higher data plans - even for business users!
If I did drop AT&T, I was thinking about Sprint and the HTC EVO (for the larger screen). But I just checked Sprint's 4G coverage for the west coast, and it's very slim. So Verizon would be my other option. I'll talk to the wife and see what she thinks. I'd definately be paying more for service by leaving my current AT&T Family Plan though, so that's something I need to consider as well.
Rambler358 said:
Okay, just got off the phone with AT&T. According to the rep, if I previously had a "smartphone" with the unlimited data plan then I could keep that plan. But unfortunately my old Motorola Razr was not classified as a smartphone, and I'd need to choose one of the 2 new data plans available if I got the Captivate. And they're not able to back-date the IMEI number of the HTC Advantage.
So do you guys with the 2GB data plans come close to exceeding that at all? I'm now beginning to wonder if I should drop AT&T and go with another carrier for unlimited data.
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Click to collapse
I am in a similar predicament as I have an unlimited non-smartphone data plan that I am still using. Recently I put my sim into my friends Captivate to see if it would still work. I lose internet on some programs will retain it on others. For example, Google Maps works and connects fine, but FriendsStream does not, and most if not all widgets. The Android browser also doesnt work, but there is a workaround (Opera Mini). I'm always surfing the web, and like someone said earlier I stream music from Pandora about 6 hours a day, and I feel bad for my friends who have the capped plan when I see them run like roaches when we are at a WiFi available restaurant. I dont know if the 2GB plan will be enough for me.
I currently have my non-smartphone plan on my blackberry, and although I cant use BB apps like BBM, or the BB Browser... Opera Mini does the job, and 3rd Party apps including Google maps and Pandora work fine. I miss out on not being able to use some cool apps because of this, but the Captivate for sure is an internet-friendly phone.
quarlow said:
If you are jumping ship for a different carrier do it soon. I know for a fact Verizon will be doing that soon from a friend that works there. T-Mobile doesn't have a "cap" but they may as well, you get throttled after you use so much bandwidth. I don't know about Sprint, but if you are in a 4G Sprint area, that may be your best bet. The Epic is supposed to be the best Galaxy S phone.
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Click to collapse
Funny part is, AT&T is the only carrier with a truly unlimited data plan. (If you still have the unlimited data plan that is) Verizon, T-mobile, Sprint, all of their "unlimited" data plans are capped at 5gb.
I just got my captivate a week ago. They never said i had to change my data plan if upgrading. My unlimited plan just carried over. I switched from the htc pure.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
nuwayman said:
I just got my captivate a week ago. They never said i had to change my data plan if upgrading. My unlimited plan just carried over. I switched from the htc pure.
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If AT&T had your HTC Pure indicated on your account previously, then you're good to go. Unfortunately when I got my HTC Advantage, I never called in to get the IMEI switched over. Now that's hurting me because I want to upgrade and keep the unlimited plan.
I had a Samsung A-737 (not a smart phone) and the $15 unlimited data plan. When I upgraded at an AT&T store, I was not allowed to keep that plan; I decided to go with the 2 gb, $25 plan. Additional usage is charged at $10/gb.
Though I'm sure I went over in the first month, for some reason AT&T was not able to track my usage. This second month, I'm approaching my limit; I've downloaded a lot of apps and other files, watched quite a number of youtube videos, surfed a lot, but I never stream audio, preferring to play from my own collection.
Regardless of whether 2gb is enough, having to watch data usage is a hassle... If, somehow, you can keep your unlimited plan as others have, that would be preferable. My counsel is to not give in so easy as I did. Perhaps, try upgrading by phone, direct to AT&T.
gary_lankford said:
I decided to go with the 2 gb, $25 plan. Additional usage is charged at $10/gb.
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The bad part is anything over 2GB is charged the extra $10, even a byte over will be charged extra.
Perhaps, try upgrading by phone, direct to AT&T.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I tried this as well to no avail.
Though what's interesting is that I've been using my phone's SIM card in my Alienware M11x laptop (with the Gobi WWAN card) for data when WiFi isn't available. And it doesn't seem like the laptop's data usage is being recorded by AT&T for some reason. If that's the case, then maybe the 2GB plan just for the Captivate won't be an issue.
This is my second month with the Captivate on the 2gig plan. The first billing cycle was only 2 weeks and I totaled 465mb. Not bad, I though; I figured I could keep it under 2 gigs. However, two weeks into this billing cycle I got a warning message from att that I was nearly at my limit. I have no idea how I could have used 2000mb in two weeks. I don't stream anything and I kill tasks that might use background data. Even so, 2gigs is a lot.
This was my first smartphone. I truly regret signing on with ATT for two years. If I could do it again, I'd go with T-Mobile for the Vibrant or Sprint with the Epic (which wasn't out yet when I got my phone).
ATT's plan is a rip-off.
DemonWav said:
Funny part is, AT&T is the only carrier with a truly unlimited data plan. (If you still have the unlimited data plan that is) Verizon, T-mobile, Sprint, all of their "unlimited" data plans are capped at 5gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still better than AT&T's 2GB data plan, for not much more money.
Ordered ours over the phone (after lots of hassle to get them to cave and allow an early upgrade from the 3GS) and it seems our unlimited data carried over. However, I didn't put in the new SIM they sent or "activate" it as they say to do... was worried it would require changing the data plan.
A couple months ago my iPhone 3gs got stolen and I had to use a razr as a backup phone for a couple weeks. They removed my unlimited data and changed me to unlimited Media Net... When I called to inquire and be sure I could change back over to unlimited smart phone data with no problem, they assured me there would be no hassle and they'd note the account. When I did get another iPhone, it actually ended up taking me about an hour on the phone with several reps that went through a few managers to get them to put my unlimited smart phone data package back on. They argued over whether they should be allowed to do it or not :-/ So I'm worried about losing it again, even though I actually don't even use much data at all in reality (I don't have 3g in my area, just EDGE, and I'm often around wifi... but just never know when I may need that unlimited )
Keeping Your Unlimited Data Plan
I was able to keep my unlimited data plan on AT&T. I had an iPhone which i gave to my wife when her Blackberry broke. I acquired an old Blackberry Bold 8800 from work to use until I got ready to upgrade. I moved jobs and had to return the phone. Stuck my SIM card in an old LG flip phone for the weekend until i was able to get to a store to upgrade. The rep switched me over to a 200 MB plan without saying anything. When I checked my features online the next day as I never trust the sells reps, I found the change. I immediately called AT&T. The cust. serv. rep began to explain that since I had switched from a smartphone to a non-smartphone I was no longer eligible to continue my Unlimited Data plan. I immediately asked for a manager. Within a few short mins I had my Unlimited Data Plan restored. I believe if you press them hard enough they will give in. It may take a call to AT&T customer service waiting for a manager and making your case, but he seemed ready to help and didn't want to lose a customer.
natedog75 said:
I was able to keep my unlimited data plan on AT&T. I had an iPhone which i gave to my wife when her Blackberry broke. I acquired an old Blackberry Bold 8800 from work to use until I got ready to upgrade. I moved jobs and had to return the phone. Stuck my SIM card in an old LG flip phone for the weekend until i was able to get to a store to upgrade. The rep switched me over to a 200 MB plan without saying anything. When I checked my features online the next day as I never trust the sells reps, I found the change. I immediately called AT&T. The cust. serv. rep began to explain that since I had switched from a smartphone to a non-smartphone I was no longer eligible to continue my Unlimited Data plan. I immediately asked for a manager. Within a few short mins I had my Unlimited Data Plan restored. I believe if you press them hard enough they will give in. It may take a call to AT&T customer service waiting for a manager and making your case, but he seemed ready to help and didn't want to lose a customer.
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I've spoke to 2 different reps and each time they spoke to their managers. Unless your unlimited data plan was previously on a iPhone, then they won't (they specifically said can't) switch you over.
This is the main reason I think I'm going over to Sprint, as well as moving the wife over once her contract is up this December. Oh well, it's AT&T's loss not mine.
Ok so tmobile has a nice.plan with 5gb, 100 mins and unlimited texting for $30.00. My question is would this plan work on my streak 7. Don't care about the calling or texting just the data plan. I have simple mobile with the $40 plan and ddata does work so I figure the tmobile one should work as well. Hve u guys tried this?
Its not a phone, so your minutes and texting won't work, and I am doubtful the data would work as well.
You wont be able to use cell phone plan and insert the sim card with the Dell streak 7.
You will need a tablet data plan In order for it to work.
And with prepaid tablet data plan you wont get unlimited texting.
with postpaid tablet data plan you can add unlimited texting.
I have simple mobile nd my voice plan with data works on the tablet. Just data. no texting no calling. I don't have a tmobile sim card with me to try it out.
I want that 30 plan bcuz it has 5gbs.of data. I dont ccare about the calling or texting but the 5gb. I rather pay 30 than like 50 for just 2 or 3gb
Depends on their policy more then anything else. Texting requires a phone number(?) but tablets dont get numbers since they cant call, otherwise it's just (a special type of) data.
Carriers like to charge different amounts for different device classes, so it might not apply to a tablet or something.
I have a data only plan from t-mobile and they do give the tablet a phone number. Seems odd to me but they do.
Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using XDA App
twillet50 said:
I have a data only plan from t-mobile and they do give the tablet a phone number. Seems odd to me but they do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They give it a phone number so that they can SMS you messages when you get near your limit, or near the end of your 30 days. Their system was built around doing SMS for activations as well. They could rearchitect to use email, but since phone companies have numbers "lying around", it's just as easy to give you the number.
As for the 5 Gig/$30 option, I wish they would do that for us, but they have told myself and others on multiple occasions that this is a WalMart special - which suggests that WalMart may be subsidizing some or all of these plans. $50/3 Gigs isn't horrible - particularly considering the equivalent plans (and costs) at Verizon and AT&T.
My .02 worth of course.
I got the plan in an effort to keep my # at a lower cost... Only texting works... The 3g & 4g show but wont go out... Update: wont get SMS messages either..! Now this really sucks...
I have the tmobile branded dell streak... Tried to upgrade it to hc3.2 but some match error came up...
Anyway wifi everything works fine...
I called tmo they told me I need a broadband plan... =/ And that it only works on walmart purchased phones... Considering that its mostly a data and text plan you would think more would fly... It has 100 voice min so whatever there...
Anyone know of a loophole..?
I read somewhere that only walmart sold phones can be used as so; and if you update your streak7 the wrong file it could change ones imei # so becareful there but some pm me if they know where im going with this...
SMS started working all of a sudden...
Just bought Int GNote, pros/cons of Straight Talk, Go Phone, or AT&T w/dumbphone data
Just bought a Galaxy Note and been reading all the topic posts on the different options for using my Note. Haven't figured out what's best so maybe I'll ask for people's experiences and get suggestions.
This will be a 2nd phone for me since my company already pays for a phone for me on Sprint, and I got tired of waiting for Sprint to come out (if ever) of their version of the Note. I already have an Epic 4G and we get WiMax here in the SF Bay Area, so I don't mind continuing using that since my company pays the bill.
What I would like to do on my Note would be mainly email, web browsing, texting and maybe a few phone calls, but since I have my other phone, phone calls are secondary. The one thing I really like doing THE MOST is watching YouTube videos and streaming songs from Google Music (Now called Play Music or whatever). On my Samsung Epic 4G with Sprint, I average between 3 and 4 GBs per month on data usage.
So in short my questions are:
1. Should I go with Straight Talk $45 Unlimited Plan, AT&T Unlimited $50 Go Phone Plan, or piggyback on my parent's AT&T postpaid plan ($10 to add a line, $30 for unlimited data + unlimited messaging for non-smartphone ie dumbphone plan)?
2. Which one of these would give the best possible data speeds? I know they all use AT&T's network but I've read that GoPhone plans are (possibly) throttled vs postpaid?
3. Which is more likely to raise red flags when using data? I know there is no such thing as truly unlimited data, but which plan is more "lenient" in your data use or will probably let you download a little more data than another option. I've read on Straight Talk, you should try not to go over 100 MB/day or 2 GB/month, but are those limits also similar on GoPhone unlimited or postpaid with dumbphone data.
Anything else I should know?
Thanks for the info!
i say try straighttalk since it no contract and if they ban u for useing to much fake unlimted data try at&t but i think its crap how these compony ban people f em lol almost like a scam
I'm currently using my old grand fathered unlimted Ipad sim in mine. Currently 3GB for $30 does not seem too bad, No contract. Just buy and Ipad 3g and activate and sell it. I've used that sim in an iPhone, mifi, my laptop and now the Gnote and ATT has never said anything. No phone calls or text, the work a rounds aren't great but they do work.
Once Sprint sees fit to let me out of my contract I was thinking of giving Straight talks a go
Edit
If you go with the Ipad sim, you will need an adapter to make the sim larger. I have a micro sim punch so I took an old full sized sim and punched out the sim and used the left over card board as the adapter. You may need to do some filing with a nail file but it seems to work the best compared to the plastic adapters you find. You will have be carful remove the aim sum and adapter from a device.
Using ST with my note for 4 full months now, very satisfied. I am not a heavy mobile data user though, I just do some browsing while out and about, read some news on pulse, and check e-mail a few times a day.
Thanks for some of the suggestions so far, but has anyone tried the AT&T post paid plan with the data for dumb phone plan or the old medianet plan lately? I assume it still works because AT&T does not have the IMEIs of the international version in their database? And they fixed the problem with it showing up as a Galaxy Tab? I read that you could delete out the /EFS directory and have it show up as a generic phone or use an IMEI from a loaner phone as well, but I haven't seen any posts regarding these strategies newer than January so not to sure if AT&T figured this out.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Had data working great on the GoPhone plan.. then downloaded some 600mb of files (don't really remember what, I think it was a few ROMs), and two days later my internet was shut off.. so the moral here is, don't be stupid with it if you get it to work on the gophone plan
joshnichols189 said:
Had data working great on the GoPhone plan.. then downloaded some 600mb of files (don't really remember what, I think it was a few ROMs), and two days later my internet was shut off.. so the moral here is, don't be stupid with it if you get it to work on the gophone plan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No way I would download that much at one time, I think I do maybe 100-200 MB/day on average at the most. The question with you (and thanks for answering btw), is what kind of download speeds were you getting on the GoPhone plan? Were you getting FauxG speeds (HSPA+) or was it throttled? And did you have to do anything special to make it work on the GoPhone plan or was it a matter of just putting the correct APNs?
I hope this doesn't sound like a sob story but I live in rural TN. The best I can get to my house is dial-up internet. Therefore I have AT&T as my wireless subscriber because I use my cell phone as a hotspot and I actually get 4g LTE at my house. I just saw AT&T's unlimited plan deal and I also saw that tethering/hotspot is not allowed on this plan. My question is if I choose the unlimited data plan from AT&T, can I somehow work around their hotspot block or is there something I can do to my phone to work around this? Is this even possible?
Thank you in advance for your help.
soccerdude77 said:
I hope this doesn't sound like a sob story but I live in rural TN. The best I can get to my house is dial-up internet. Therefore I have AT&T as my wireless subscriber because I use my cell phone as a hotspot and I actually get 4g LTE at my house. I just saw AT&T's unlimited plan deal and I also saw that tethering/hotspot is not allowed on this plan. My question is if I choose the unlimited data plan from AT&T, can I somehow work around their hotspot block or is there something I can do to my phone to work around this? Is this even possible?
Thank you in advance for your help.
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Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/guide-how-to-unlock-tethering-nexus-5x-t3231301
Or install a rom with tethering check disabled.
Whatever the tether unlock method for marshmallow is will work and also custom roms that disable the tether check but keep in mind that since it goes against your plan and this new unlimited plan doesn't carry the whole idea of "I've been on this plan since I got it and that means I'm a super loyal customer and entitled to everything." Then I wouldn't be surprised if At&t would be more likely to kick these new unlimited plan users to mobile share for tethering than old unlimited plans but I also wouldn't be surprised if rural customers would be more likely to get a break on that due to less congested network. It's worth a shot, really the worst thing that could happen is getting put back on your old plan if At&t chooses to force that. and being stuck with a directv subscription assuming you switched from dish or something.
I don't get cable out this way so I'm on DirecTV anyway. The only thing I'm worried about is losing the good plan I have now if the unlimited one doesn't work out. I get 40GB for $75, it would be a shame to lose that.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
did you have any luck with keeping tethering? i've been hesitant to make the change because i dont want to lose my hotspot.
I'm on the fence about making the transition also, I don't want to lose my plan or hotspot. I waiting to see if someone has success.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I tether on AT&Ts cricket service regularly to kids iPads and nexus tablets. No issues at all.
You will get throttled after 22GB