Database Develop

[Q] Caught Red Handed - Data Plan

Was there a way around this: Didn't have a smartphone before so I had a fifteen dollar "unlimited" plan. Then bought the captivate sans contract off ebay. Received a text this morning that I was switched to an appropriate limited smartphone data plan.
What really irks me is I haven't been using AT&T's data! I've been strictly wi-fi at the house since putting the SIM in.
Was that the sound of inevitability since they know the IMEIs of all Captivates? Or would rooting / custom mod helped? I hate being forced into the age of data caps.

AT&T's policy is if it's a smartphone you have to have a data plan.. period..
And yes, they know if you are using one by the IMEI.
Sucks yes.. and not much you can do. I had a Tilt for a long time without a plan and lived quite nicely by just using wifi.. ahh.. those were the days..!!

You may be eligible to be grandfathered in and keep your plan. Call 611 and ask for the cancellation department (I think they refer to themselves as "Customer Relations/Care/whatever") and let them know you aren't happy and why. Can't hurt to try, right?

I doubt seriously that you'll be able to keep your MediaNet plan. Most of us think that data is data is data, but not where AT&T is concerned. They tend to place this magical premium on smartphone data in the name of maximizing revenue.
If you don't use more than 200 mb a month then the $15 plan should be fine. If you think you'll use more, which is very likely with these phones, you'll want to get the 2gb plan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I won a Samsung Epix a year ago and signed up for the MediaNet plan on my old feature phone. I swapped in the SIM, and I have been on $15 unlimited data ever since. This is a WinMo smartphone, and they have never caught on.

You have a pretty good argument if you bought the phone from e-bay. AT&T didn't subsidize your phone and you didn't agree to any plan changes. You just have to call them on their BS be firm but polite and see where you get. You should also check your account and see if they actually changed it. I received one of those text messages too but still have my mediamax plan.
Charging different $$ amounts for the same thing simply because you MIGHT use more is absurd. Hopefully one day they'll be called out on price fixing along with the other cellular carriers. Data IS data, just because you consume it using a smartphone instead of a dumbphone or a laptop doesn't make it any different or more costly for them. Data plan prices are a subject that will instantly send me into a frenzy.

Yeah, I might just let them win this one. Was using a Nokia E71 on the MediaMax and they were never the wiser. I guess this will end my long run with AT&T.
I absolutely love this Captivate and will hate to part with it...but because of their "smartphone" logic I'll be switching carriers within 6 months (as soon as T-mo has a good android HSPA+ or Metro has a good LTE). In the meantime I'll be wary of the 200 MB limit and use lots of wifi.
Thanks for the input! I love discussing corporate cents (non-sense)

ScottyNuttz said:
I won a Samsung Epix a year ago and signed up for the MediaNet plan on my old feature phone. I swapped in the SIM, and I have been on $15 unlimited data ever since. This is a WinMo smartphone, and they have never caught on.
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Click to collapse
You were grandfathered in. Before september 09 you could easily switch plans. They restricted this and customers who had already done it now have a smart phone exclusion soc code on their account.
Essentially if you had already cheated the system your grandfathered. If you hadn't then youre screwed.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

ag4vr said:
Most of us think that data is data is data, but not where AT&T is concerned. They tend to place this magical premium on smartphone data in the name of maximizing revenue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't it obvious? Bits and bytes and packets that go to a smartphone device are inherently more expensive to produce and transmit than bits and bytes and packets that go to a "feature" phone!

nbohmer said:
Essentially if you had already cheated the system your grandfathered. If you hadn't then youre screwed.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Damn... maybe I should buy w/o a new contract then...

ScottyNuttz said:
Damn... maybe I should buy w/o a new contract then...
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Click to collapse
Won't matter. If you use the captivate on ATT at all they will add the $15 plan to your account.

dontshakepandas said:
Won't matter. If you use the captivate on ATT at all they will add the $15 plan to your account.
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Click to collapse
This is true. But once you're on a smartphone plan, it doesn't really matter which one. FWIW, I am running my Captivate on my Blackberry Enterprise Plan. They insisted it wouldn't work but it does. I often switch between a Bold 9700, 3GS and the Captivate for testing purposes on the same SIM. All work on the same account.

You can call em and they may credit you back the money and take the plan off your account, but next month it will just go right back on...its a completely automatic system and they don't currently have a way to override that from happening.

they are doing this with all smartphones now. Once I got my captivate, I gave my old Fuze to my little brother. Within a day, AT&T had signed him up for a data plan. I had bought my phone subsidized from AT&T and had it with them up until the release date of the captivate without a problem, but as soon as my brother put his SIM card in the phone, AT&T decided it was a smartphone... They also charged the $18 upgrade fee too, which I thought was f***ing obnoxious...

ag4vr said:
I doubt seriously that you'll be able to keep your MediaNet plan. Most of us think that data is data is data, but not where AT&T is concerned. They tend to place this magical premium on smartphone data in the name of maximizing revenue.
If you don't use more than 200 mb a month then the $15 plan should be fine. If you think you'll use more, which is very likely with these phones, you'll want to get the 2gb plan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget the 30 dollar surcharge for the "privilege" to tether your computer to your phone and use "your" data.

I've been kicked back and forth through various AT&T departments for the past month over this...
According to AT&T's official line, if you were using a smartphone on a non-smartphone data plan before November of last year, you have a 'smartphone exclusion' added to your account. This will keep you from automatically getting 'upgraded' to a smartphone data plan as long as you don't change to a different smartphone.
Actually, it's a bit more complex than that. The above is true... as long as you're talking about AT&T smartphones. They have a database with the IMEI number for all of the smartphones they offer... but it does not include smartphones that they don't offer. As a result, if you plugged your SIM into a Nexus One, AT&T would be perfectly happy letting you continue on a 'featurephone data plan'. Same goes if you picked up a sim-unlocked HTC Desire from Telus.
Anyway, if you get stuck that way, just move your sim back to your featurephone and give customer support a call. They can get you back on the cheap data plan.
Actually, there's been reports of people trying to add a smartphone data plan to an account using a Nexus One and having AT&T refuse because 'it's not a smartphone' - or rather it's not in their list of smartphones. AT&T insisted on putting them on a featurephone data plane instead.
Now what's really nasty (and what happened with me) is that if you had ben running on an ancient data plan (like a $20 per month plan that provided unlimited data, unlimited text, and 200 mms), and you stuck your sim in a Captivate, you're screwed. Actually it was the AT&T rep who stuck my sim in and tried to process the upgrade. And before the upgrade had even completed, my old data plan was gone and a 2gb smartphone plan was stuck in it's place. What's worse, when told to cancel the upgrade if I can't keep my old data plan, it was too late. Once that data plan is gone, it's gone for good. I tried to get it back for the next month, going through about 9 support cases and hitting multiple levels of support in 3 different divisions. About the best they could do was to give me a heavy discount on the Captivate and put me on the old smartphone unlimited plan.
With the amount of jerking around I was given before anybody could give me a straight answer, I'm seriously considering returning my Captivate anyway and giving Verizon a shot. Except that they're going to cost the same amount I'm paying now, and they don't (yet) have any good android phones that work international.

mesasone said:
Don't forget the 30 dollar surcharge for the "privilege" to tether your computer to your phone and use "your" data.
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Click to collapse
Or the $20 "privelege" of connecting to an "enterprise" email system

ag4vr said:
I doubt seriously that you'll be able to keep your MediaNet plan. Most of us think that data is data is data, but not where AT&T is concerned. They tend to place this magical premium on smartphone data in the name of maximizing revenue.
If you don't use more than 200 mb a month then the $15 plan should be fine. If you think you'll use more, which is very likely with these phones, you'll want to get the 2gb plan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on this plan and it's not too bad. Only things I don't really do with my phone while I'm on data: browse the web, use google navigation, or use pandora radio. those things seem to eat up bandwith more than anything else.
Also, use a program like NetMeter, it'll let you know how much data you're using via data plan and wifi, very handy. It let's me monitor my use so I can be sure I won't go over.
And last thing to consider: The way AT&T's billing plan is that you're paying 15$ a month for the first 200mb of data that you use. If you go over that 200mb, they're going to charge you another 15$ for the next 200mb of data, and so on..
It really sucks they've done it like that, but they definitely had a lot of leaks in their network as far as data goes, which is why they've cracked down on it so much. I used to have the same 15$ unlimited data plan for the longest time ever and enjoyed it with my various HTC phones (Wizard, 8515, tilt), but ultimately, I hurt myself in the end since I didn't bother to get on an unlimited smart phone data plan back then, which would have cost me more at the time, but would more than make up for it as far as being grandfathered in goes.

The best way around it is getting a Tmobile phone because you dont need 3g and ATT usually doesnt mess aorund with there imei numbers. But Att has made data plan very cheap $15 and if u usually use wifi then u will never go over. I have never gone over 200 in the past year and its basically i download apps on wifi using other features in moderations u should be good.

First off, this is my first post on these forums.. second. I had the unlimited data plan on a dumbphone, switched to the smartphone. Was told I couldn't keep my plan. Called customer support. Explained I had been with ATT since 1998 and I don't understand why I couldn't keep my plan. They said I couldn't, agent was rather rude IMHO, I said, well I can change carriers, can I speak to a manager. She put me on hold. Came back rather quickly and said in a nice voice. Sir, I spoke to my manager and they agree to give you your plan back, since you have been with us for so long. But you know, it will cost you 5 dollars more a month. I laughed and said, that's not the point."

[Q] Ready to buy a Captivate but...

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!
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

[Q] Straight Talk

Walmart's Straight Talk cellular service now offers two GSM phones, the Nokia E71 and something else. I'm pretty sure they're on AT&T's network (Data specs say 3G - 850/1900 bands). So if I got one of them and their $45 unlimited plan, would that sim card work in my captivate?
My bill is $95/month and thats with only 450 mins, 1500 texts, and the iphone grandfathered data plan. Straight talk offers unlimited data, texts, and minutes for $45/month.
Has anybody tried this?

----BUMP----

I thought that straight talk was through Verizon.. maybe it was called something else.
I know that the phones are on the "low-end" range of devices - and I doubt you could move your current phone to use this service.
I'd suggest searching the ol' intarwebs and see what the reviews are of it's service/availability.
It'd be nice to have all that in a 50$ package - but if you don't get service as soon as you walk out the store what would be the point?

avgjoegeek said:
I thought that straight talk was through Verizon.. maybe it was called something else.
I know that the phones are on the "low-end" range of devices - and I doubt you could move your current phone to use this service.
I'd suggest searching the ol' intarwebs and see what the reviews are of it's service/availability.
It'd be nice to have all that in a 50$ package - but if you don't get service as soon as you walk out the store what would be the point?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is, with the exception of these 2 new "smart" phones. These run off the at&t network. Evidently wal-mart is big enough to pull this off.
I'd be willing to bet that ATT will be paying close attention to the IMEI, I don't think we would get away with using the straight talk unlimited plans with our captivates

rootnik said:
It is, with the exception of these 2 new "smart" phones. These run off the at&t network. Evidently wal-mart is big enough to pull this off.
I'd be willing to bet that ATT will be paying close attention to the IMEI, I don't think we would get away with using the straight talk unlimited plans with our captivates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10 char

rootnik said:
It is, with the exception of these 2 new "smart" phones. These run off the at&t network. Evidently wal-mart is big enough to pull this off.
I'd be willing to bet that ATT will be paying close attention to the IMEI, I don't think we would get away with using the straight talk unlimited plans with our captivates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hoping that somebody on here would have tried it already. I personally dont know anybody that has one, otherwise I'd put their sim card in my phone and see what happens.
The two phones on straight talk are legit smart phones and could burn through some serious data, same as we an do with our captivates.

derek4484 said:
I was hoping that somebody on here would have tried it already. I personally dont know anybody that has one, otherwise I'd put their sim card in my phone and see what happens.
The two phones on straight talk are legit smart phones and could burn through some serious data, same as we an do with our captivates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is AT&T.
Currently they do IMEI sweeps to make sure you are paying for a data plan if you have a smart phone. I found this out the hard way last week when they automatically added a data plan to my wife's iphone even though she did not use a single byte of data.
How does this relate? While those straight talk phones are smart phones capable of using allot of data, they are not near as nice or as comfortable to use as our captivates. You are more likely to use more data with a captivate, and they know this.
I wouldn't be surprised if they already have measure in place to periodically check the imei to make sure it matches one of the "acceptable" smart phones. Acceptable meaning not very fun to use
I think you would get away with it for a few weeks, but eventually would be shot down.

Actually several people have used the the sim card out of straight talks nokia e71 and used it in there Iphone for sometime now. I have an old AT&T Fuze and everything works but MMS.

derek4484 said:
Walmart's Straight Talk cellular service now offers two GSM phones, the Nokia E71 and something else. I'm pretty sure they're on AT&T's network (Data specs say 3G - 850/1900 bands). So if I got one of them and their $45 unlimited plan, would that sim card work in my captivate?
My bill is $95/month and thats with only 450 mins, 1500 texts, and the iphone grandfathered data plan. Straight talk offers unlimited data, texts, and minutes for $45/month.
Has anybody tried this?
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To directly answer your question, I placed the Sim from my sons StraightTalk Samsung slider phone into my Captivate and the message "Sim Card Crashed" appeared on the captivates's display. This did not actually crash the sim card, but I think that it just appeared crashed to the Captivate. If somebody out there was able to get a Captivate working in this manner, it would be nice if they posted detailed step by step instructions on it.

[RUMOR] Verizon was handling Straight Talk, but someone got their panties in a wad and more its att. They are slowly changing thing over. My brother has ST, and was fed up with lack of vzw service on his ST phone. He called raising h*#$ and they offered to send him a sim card for a gsm phone (his old att leftover), and things have been good for him ever since.
FYI: Straight Talk is the monthly service branch of TracPhone.
Sent from a place my wife doesn't know about (yet)

Basically yes it is possible to get your captivate working on straight talk. Technically there's a bunch of bs you have to go through to get it to work though.

Bye bye grandfathered unlimited data

I just got done reading an article from USA Today that was talking about how users who have grandfathered data will be forced to select one of Verizon's shared family plans or tiered plans if or when they go to upgrade their device.
I really despise Verizon for this and will be heading to sprint if I have to give up unlimited data. If they think they will make more money from this move, I suggest everyone leave Verizon and show them the error in their ways.
And just wait, they are trying to eliminate unlimited data for home internet also and the head of the FCC supports limited data. Online gaming and video will suffer and our country will wonder why businesses will struggle. Who's going to let their kids play online games when they have to watch their data usage. Bad news for companies like Sony who have the PS3 and online gaming and bad news for online video streaming companies like Netflix.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

In the end though, I really can't see Verizon being too negatively affected by all of this. The heavy duty users will either pony up the extra cash (because of Sprint's shoddy coverage) or leave and bog down another carriers network.
I have unlimited data right now, and I rarely go over 2GB and I've never been over 4. I stream music pretty often, use fox-fi for thether, and spend a good bit of time on my phone.
Does it suck? Yea. Will it get me to switch? Probably not. I guess it depends on what the pricing structure looks like. I'm intrigued by the idea of the shared data plans too.

Cut off will be June 27th 1159pm to keep it for one last contract.
New plans are expensive! http://solutions.vzwshop.com/shareeverything/pdf/verizon_share_everything_plan_details.pdf

I love Verizon...I have 2 lines on my account (both Bionics) one has the 10GB plan and my wife has the 6GB + mobile hotspot and our monthly bill is around $215/month. Plenty of data for that price.
Peace.

Your on xda, and still paying for the hotspot service? We're the reason Verizon started offering the tethering service in the first place once they realized we were already doing it for free.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

Believe me I love FoxFi. My wife is a by the book type person.
She uses the hotspot feature for work as a necessity. No matter how many times I tell her that I'm 99% sure she wouldn't get caught using FoxFi she comes back and says that what if they do? I need this for work! I then just sigh.

I think if they are going to force limited data plans on us, at least give an exemption for apps such as Netflix. You will eat your plan up real fast just by streaming a couple movies.
Also include services such as slacker radio and Pandora into the exemption.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

So if we have grandfathered unlimited data (we been on verizon for years) do we keep it as long as we dont upgrade or buy phones off contract (like ebay)?

HorsexD said:
So if we have grandfathered unlimited data (we been on verizon for years) do we keep it as long as we dont upgrade or buy phones off contract (like ebay)?
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This is precisely how to keep unlimited data.
If Verizon sells you a subsidized phone, that's where they get to force you into a new contract.
If you buy a phone at full retail price from Verizon, or buy a used phone from a place like eBay or Swappa your unlimited data is safe.
Even if you're sitting on something like a Samsung Fascinate, you can go on Craigslist and buy a Razr Maxx, head to a Verizon store, and get a free SIM card to continue service on the Razr Maxx. Nothing on your plan changes except a line item or two for $0.00 indicating that you have 4G Unlimited instead of 3G Unlimited.

projektorboy said:
This is precisely how to keep unlimited data.
If Verizon sells you a subsidized phone, that's where they get to force you into a new contract.
If you buy a phone at full retail price from Verizon, or buy a used phone from a place like eBay or Swappa your unlimited data is safe.
Even if you're sitting on something like a Samsung Fascinate, you can go on Craigslist and buy a Razr Maxx, head to a Verizon store, and get a free SIM card to continue service on the Razr Maxx. Nothing on your plan changes except a line item or two for $0.00 indicating that you have 4G Unlimited instead of 3G Unlimited.
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This is wrong. That is how it used to work before, now if you attempt to activate a new phone you will be forced to choose new plan options before they will activate it, regardless of where you got your phone. Welcome to the new Verizon.

I will probably be forced off of Verizon at some point. I am already paying $245 a month for 2 androids with unlimited talk, text, and data with insurance and a $3/month slacker radio subscription.
While the data limitations would be no concern to my girlfriend, I am at 5.341gb for the month, with another week left in the month. They are already getting enough money from us every month.
With the changes, I will be forced to cancel my slacker subscription because I use it mainly while driving and won't be able to do that anymore. I don't mind paying $3 a month for being able to listen to music I like while driving. This is an example of why limited data plans have an economic impact on other companies.
I don't know, but I think $245 a month is enough. Is business really that bad for them that they have to try to push for $300 a month? This is why corporate America is seen as greedy.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

Does this include prepaid also?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

The shared data plans are a complete rip anyway. From what I read, they charge you for the pool, than the first device, than the second device. That means that I would pay the same I pay now for my plan's two devices and only get 4GB of data for the two of them to share. I know exactly what I am going to do when I get my next upgrade; I won't upgrade.

nobreak1970 said:
Believe me I love FoxFi. My wife is a by the book type person.
She uses the hotspot feature for work as a necessity. No matter how many times I tell her that I'm 99% sure she wouldn't get caught using FoxFi she comes back and says that what if they do? I need this for work! I then just sigh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your point. Your wife sounds like someone who should be paying for it since its for work.
Its the average user whom I think its overpriced for. I don't use it myself too often, but I did pay $10 for easy tether so I can hook up through USB and share my data with my computer when I need to. Since I don't typically need other people using my data, I rarely use wifi tether since it kills your battery faster.
I don't just oppose limited data based on my data usage though. I look at the bigger picture. It will slow down technology growth and may put some businesses out of business. Any business that uses bandwidth will be impacted. Customers will be less willing to pay for services that they could be charged twice for using (the service and the data overage charges, Netflix, slacker radio, etc). Even app developers will be impacted because people will be less willing to download as many apps to try out.
Some flashers may impacted as well. Some of us download the roms directly on to our phones. Our data plans would be eaten up a lot just by keeping up to date with the roms.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

Sadly when I first found out about shared family plans I thought it would save me money but it seems to get an amount of data equivalent to what the three basic data packages on my account have i will have to pay a good bit more.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

nullness said:
This is wrong. That is how it used to work before, now if you attempt to activate a new phone you will be forced to choose new plan options before they will activate it, regardless of where you got your phone. Welcome to the new Verizon.
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Okay then. Debunk this article which contains an official statement from Verizon
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/1...d-data-says-exactly-what-we-already-told-you/

What to do.... I don't think Sprint is an option. Go to AT&T? Is it worth paying list price just to keep unlimited data? Since I am not upgrading soon, I will have the benefit of lots of examples.

ronaldheld said:
What to do.... I don't think Sprint is an option. Go to AT&T? Is it worth paying list price just to keep unlimited data? Since I am not upgrading soon, I will have the benefit of lots of examples.
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AT&T was the first to eliminate unlimited data. They are worse than Verizon. At one point in time, they had their phones locked to where you could only install apps from the android market. They stopped that when Amazon released their own app store and their users couldn't install the Amazon app store, or any of the apps from it.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

projektorboy said:
Okay then. Debunk this article which contains an official statement from Verizon
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/1...d-data-says-exactly-what-we-already-told-you/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That article is a month old...read more recent statements from them.

If you are in a Sprint 4G area, go for it.
I had to have an Airave device just to make a phone call.
Sprint changed their billing, I opted out with no etf's(a moto photon and a nexus s4g, about one month old), went to Verizon, signed on, came home, had full bars of 3G, and a week later they flipped the switch and I now have 4G.
I sent an open signal text to my old Sprint rep showing her the 4G and strength. WHat else could she do?

Dumping Verizon

I'll be coming off-contract with my current UDP Verizon plan in a few weeks, and wanted some advice/recommendations for alternatives. I would prefer to keep UDP, but as I understand it they are going to raise the price by $30 per line (we have 2) once I come off, which will make my plan cost just under $200. I am sure I can do MUCH better than that, so I wanted to explore some options. I'd like to keep our Droid Turbos, since they are great and I have no reason to "upgrade" to something else... so the carrier would need to support these phones, of course (that's why I'm posting here).
Our data usage seems to be around 5-6GB/month (mostly music streaming) so I want to stay at least with that level... it may be hard to get my wife to learn how to be data-aware going forward, after being so used to unlimited.
I was thinking of Straight Talk, for example... but I am interested in any other suggestions. Data speed isn't super-critical, but overall coverage is important... I travel a lot around New England, mostly in CT and rural areas therein (I work in sales)... but I have a work-phone too, so I can afford to drop some coverage if required.
Again, any tips, recommendations are appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Have you looked into Google FI, it's not unlimited but you only pay for the data used.

Wife is on straight talk, it works okay but not as good of LTE coverage.

Hmm... can I use ProjectFI with this phone? I didn't think I could... I thought it was GSM-only? Have you used it... how are you liking it?
Straight Talk - thanks for the quick review on that. Again, I suppose the lesser LTE coverage may be ok... how's the rest of their service? Good coverage for phone, otherwise? And 3G?

You can renew your contracts before the billing cycle end date by purchasing subsided phones and keep UDP at $29.99. Read up friend:
https://www.reddit.com/r/VerizonUDP/wiki/index

schwinn8 said:
Hmm... can I use ProjectFI with this phone? I didn't think I could... I thought it was GSM-only? Have you used it... how are you liking it?
Straight Talk - thanks for the quick review on that. Again, I suppose the lesser LTE coverage may be ok... how's the rest of their service? Good coverage for phone, otherwise? And 3G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Decent coverage it is not quite as good.

schwinn8 said:
Hmm... can I use ProjectFI with this phone? I didn't think I could... I thought it was GSM-only? Have you used it... how are you liking it?
Straight Talk - thanks for the quick review on that. Again, I suppose the lesser LTE coverage may be ok... how's the rest of their service? Good coverage for phone, otherwise? And 3G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Project Fi is nexus/pixel phones only.

TheSt33v said:
Project Fi is nexus/pixel phones only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorta...
Data-only SIMs may work with devices that aren’t on our list. Devices need to be unlocked and work with T-Mobile (GSM radio). You can order a data-only SIM and test it out. However, we may not be able to help activate or troubleshoot these other devices.
Note on phones:

bqw371 said:
You can renew your contracts before the billing cycle end date by purchasing subsided phones and keep UDP at $29.99. Read up friend:
https://www.reddit.com/r/VerizonUDP/wiki/index
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I did the BB method 2 years ago to get my Turbo, which is why I'm here now. I don't think I have any subsidized upgrades available... is there a place to check if I have them available? I could certainly do the BB method and sell the phone... I don't want to go through the hassle of changing numbers around.
Fact is, I may have to just give up the UDP. Honestly, our usage is <6GB/month, and the "Verizon Plan" has an 8 + 2GB/line plan right now (ie 12GB/mo) for about $30 less than my UDP... so I may just give it up after all. But I'll keep digging into my options.