Getting a wifi capable AT&T phone and not paying any extra fees.

[ZQ8 Blazer]

If I buy an unlocked wifi capable phone and insert my sim card into it will I have to pay any additional fees? I know they charge like $30 a month and make you have the data plan now for the iPhones and other smart phones that you buy directly from them but is there a way around this? I was looking into getting the LG Incite but don't want to spend $30 a month on something I don't need.

[SgtM]

I didn't want to pay the money for the iPhone either until I actually got it. Trust me, it's worth it.

[ZQ8 Blazer]

My friends got it and she said she'd sell it to me for $40 but with me being single now and in college I just don't have $30 extra to spare on something I don't need. I know someone on here told me in the past that you can get around paying att for gps service and I was wondering if this is possible

[goddspring]

i just bought a blackberry from my little brother and use it without payin the extra $30 a month. i called in once with a problem and when they found out they told me i had to go into the store and sign a new contract with a data plan, so i told them i'll just use my old phone.

[ZQ8 Blazer]

Ok I was wondering if that would work or not. I know they can look and tell what phone you're using by your sim card but didn't know if they really checked up on it or not. I got a phone call about a hour ago from them because I had an over due bill (Gotta love new mail carriers that don't know how to deliver mail to the right house, this has happened more than once )

But I asked her about it and she said "you didn't used to have to have it for wifi phones but you do now because they won't work right without the data plan." lol, I was like ok, sure...

[Semper]

ya if you get an old phone youll be good, any ( aside from the iphone) that were already purchased were grandfathered in and dont have to pay for the data plan. ( unless of course your like GS and call them or go into the store then they will see it and try to ream ya)

[Semper]

Quote: Originally Posted by ZQ8 Blazer

she said "you didn't used to have to have it for wifi phones but you do now because they won't work right without the data plan."

you would be amazed how many people would hear that and believe it... haha such bs

[ZQ8 Blazer]

Quote:

ya if you get an old phone youll be good, any ( aside from the iphone) that were already purchased were grandfathered in and dont have to pay for the data plan. ( unless of course your like GS and call them or go into the store then they will see it and try to ream ya)

I know about the contract thing(sucks cause I renewed mine back in July) but I'm looking into getting a brand new phone.

Quote:

you would be amazed how many people would hear that and believe it... haha such bs

Yeah I know, they could at least make up something believable

[GeorgesBlazah]

I know with VZW the phone wouldnt activate unless it had a data plan. They had a cutoff date of the smartphones that didnt need one which was ~2 years ago. So if you got one that was older you were fine. Maybe ATT has a similar policy?

I also remember reading about some hacks online that could be done to some phones that would let them activate, never looked that far into it though.

[ZQ8 Blazer]

I didn't think you had to activate a phone? Just put the sim card in and go.

[redngreedy]

For AT&T, no activation required if you have a sim. Insert sim, and you're good to go.

[ZQ8 Blazer]

Ok thought so.

[hh60cheese01]

Virgin Mobile Prepaid baby! lol

[GeorgesBlazah]

Ah I forgot about the sims on ATT

[SgtM]

GSM networks FTW!

[rmoore911]

i just went through this shit in late september/early october. . .they pulled the data plan crap on me, even though when i ordered the phone, it did not say or require me to put a data plan in the shopping cart to check out, like the iPhone and the blackberry phones did. . .went through a bunch of arguing over the phone and email with them, and sent the phone back when they wouldn't budge on the data plan. . .went back to my old razr for about a month, and last week i tried my old blackjack out(it has a serious problem running through batteries in under an hour), and those jackasses at AT&T sent me a text saying that my new phone (which i used with them for 2 years), needed a $30 per month data plan. . .called the customer service people, and told them to kindly go **** themselves, and now i'm back to using my razr because the blackjack isn't working properly anyways. . .moral of that story, those bastards are tricky, and even buying a used phone may get them to require a data plan for it's use. . .

[rmoore911]

Quote: Originally Posted by ZQ8 Blazer

Ok I was wondering if that would work or not. I know they can look and tell what phone you're using by your sim card but didn't know if they really checked up on it or not. I got a phone call about a hour ago from them because I had an over due bill (Gotta love new mail carriers that don't know how to deliver mail to the right house, this has happened more than once )

But I asked her about it and she said "you didn't used to have to have it for wifi phones but you do now because they won't work right without the data plan." lol, I was like ok, sure...

ok, hold on, don't blame the letter carrier. . .your phone bill is due on the same day plus or minus a day each month, unless you made a mid month change in your plan. . .i've had AT&T for 4 years now, and my bill has been the 24th every month, i don't even look for a bill, i just log in on the 20th or so, and submit my payment. . .

but, i do love how the CSRs believe that everyone is a moron that walks into those stores (not just AT&T) and they try that a data plan is needed to use the phone properly shit. . .