Develop Bugs

[Q] AT&T Non-smart phone plan...hmm?

I recently acquired an HTC Vision from overseas. Since the change AT&T's website is giving me the option to add an unlimited data plan for non-smartphones for $10 (I don't currently have any data plan because my prior smartphone was grandfathered into an excemption). I know that the reason they are offering the cheap plan is because they don't sell the phone so they can't detect the model I'm using from the IMEI - but...
* does anyone have experience doing this?
* Do they ever catch you and force you to change?
* Is there an unwritten cap to the unlimited non-smartphone data plan that I should be mindful of not exceeding or an amount that you think would raise flags?
* Is there anything I can do to make myself more under the radar - I was thinking maybe changing my device on the AT&T website to a non-smartphone made by another manufacturer so my old smart phone is no longer listed?

Well first off, make sure that the Desire Z you have has the proper frequencies for AT&T.
As far as running the unlimited featurephone data plan, I'm not sure. They might be able to not tell what type of phone you're using, but they will be able to tell that it isn't one of their list of featurephones the plans work for. I think this is the biggest hurdle, they will more than likely find out that you're using a phone that isn't an AT&T featurephone and kick you off of it.
As far as data usage goes, I'm assuming it will throw up a flag when your first month you use 4gb-5gb of data on your "featurephone" that isn't even supposed to have a full browser lol.
If this was that easy to do, don't you think there would be more people getting a free featurephone with a $10 unlimited data plan and buying their phones unsubsidized? lol. Dunno just never heard of anyone doing this before.

I don't get 3G but the phone works fine on the EDGE network. Since it isn't a phone from the US I'm thinking that it might be able to escape detection a lot easier than say, a phone from T-Mobile.

jessicax said:
I don't get 3G but the phone works fine on the EDGE network. Since it isn't a phone from the US I'm thinking that it might be able to escape detection a lot easier than say, a phone from T-Mobile.
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If it doesn't work on 3G then it has the same bands as a T-mobile G2 (or similar, either way it doesn't work on 850/1900 3G that AT&T uses) and you'd end up with the same result. If you're not even gonna use 3G, then why are you paying for a data plan at all?
The real question is, is there a specific reason why you're using AT&T? If you're just going to be using the phone on EDGE with AT&T, you might as well just pay for a data plan on T-mobile and get 3G/4G... maybe just my personal opinion but I have no idea why someone would choose to pay for a smartphone and use it on the EDGE network. I wanna gouge my eyes out when I'm on EDGE lol.

martonikaj said:
If it doesn't work on 3G then it has the same bands as a T-mobile G2 (or similar, either way it doesn't work on 850/1900 3G that AT&T uses) and you'd end up with the same result. If you're not even gonna use 3G, then why are you paying for a data plan at all?
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Right now I'm not paying for a data plan. However, if I did pay for one, I'd only be using it to do things like check my e-mail, use voice dial, or play ad-supported games - nothing that would be crippled by the slower data transfer. Basically stuff that is worth $10/month to me but not $30.

jessicax said:
Right now I'm not paying for a data plan. However, if I did pay for one, I'd only be using it to do things like check my e-mail, use voice dial, or play ad-supported games - nothing that would be crippled by the slower data transfer. Basically stuff that is worth $10/month to me but not $30.
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I see... But what I'm saying is why would you pay for an AT&T plan, are you somehow obligated to stay there? If you're bringing your own phone to T-mobile, their no contract plans are as low as $59.99/mo. Maybe AT&T has good service in your area, I'm not sure. But if you have no reason to stay on AT&T and service is comparable on T-mobile, I doubt you'll be paying more for 3G service on T-mo than you would for only 2G on AT&T.
T-mobile no contract (youre bringing your own phone) = $59.99 for 500min, unlim texts, and "unlimited" data.
AT&T phone plans = $39.99 450minutes, + $20 unlim texts + $10 for "featurephone data" = $69.99 and that doesn't get you 3G.
Not trying to convert, just trying to make sense of your situation.

martonikaj said:
I see... But what I'm saying is why would you pay for an AT&T plan, are you somehow obligated to stay there?
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I am obligated to stay with AT&T for various reasons. :-\

jessicax said:
I am obligated to stay with AT&T for various reasons. :-\
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Well that would explain a lot. As far as your original plan goes, I'm not sure how it works. They have to identify between their featurephones and smartphones somehow, and that means they may easily be able to identify that you're using a smartphone. Not sure.

From my understanding when i was about to try this smartphones have there own data set....and regular unlimited browsing is something else. But i can be wrong. Get back to me about this, very interested to see if this works.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

This does work.
I am using an unbranded/unlocked Desire Z on ATT with the $10/month basic data plan. Years ago, I purchased a 'dumb phone' from them and have had this data plan on my account since then.
I have used this data plan with a Touch Pro, Blackberry Bold and Nokia E71, all without any problems. All of them were ATT branded and they could see the device I was using. Only thing that didn't work was the Blackberry branded data apps.
With a phone that is not from ATT they cannot tell what device you are using. I've had the DZ since November and haven't heard anything from there. My data usage each month has ranged from 400-700 MB. Not sure what the cap is, but I don't tether or anything and use wifi when I'm at home as well.
This of course is not in line with their 'smartphone policy' so don't walk into a store and expect them to do this for you. You'll have to do it online... Not sure how closely they watch new additions on the basic plans but I would give it a shot and see if they let you keep going... My guess is that unless you're sucking up data at 2-3GB a month, it won't be a problem...
Let me know how it goes for you!

I have an Australian HTC Desire as my personal line, and I pay the $10 data. AT&T employee line plans suck pretty bad...

martonikaj said:
If it doesn't work on 3G then it has the same bands as a T-mobile G2 (or similar, either way it doesn't work on 850/1900 3G that AT&T uses) and you'd end up with the same result. If you're not even gonna use 3G, then why are you paying for a data plan at all?
The real question is, is there a specific reason why you're using AT&T? If you're just going to be using the phone on EDGE with AT&T, you might as well just pay for a data plan on T-mobile and get 3G/4G... maybe just my personal opinion but I have no idea why someone would choose to pay for a smartphone and use it on the EDGE network. I wanna gouge my eyes out when I'm on EDGE lol.
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Iirc you need data for mms
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

You are good to go.
I used a G2 on AT&T for a few months before switching to T-Mobile. I do not remember how much data I used but I know that AT&T had no clue what I was doing/using. I was on the $15 unlimited messaging data plan though, not sure about the $10 one. As long as the phone is not branded or specifically made for AT&T bands (like the AT&T N1) they have no clue what you have, that is the main reason I only use GSM networks.
Protip: You can suspend your line if you are on a family plan and switch to T-mobile which is what I am currently doing until my wife's iPhone contract runs out. They will still charge you $10/month though. $25 for 2GB is WAY overpriced.

For those of you who were interested in hearing if this worked: I've been on the data plan for about two weeks and have used about 200mb thus far. So far, so good. The EDGE network speeds can be a little slow but it is better than nothing.
I'm curious if I'll be detected now that AT&T has acquired T-Mobile, since the G2 is in T-Mobile's lineup, which is based on the HTC Vision just like the Desire Z that I am using.

my question is...
Why cant you use 3g if you have a DZ from overseas? the G2 is the phone with the weird 3g bands. the overseas phone should work like a charm on att.
jessicax said:
For those of you who were interested in hearing if this worked: I've been on the data plan for about two weeks and have used about 200mb thus far. So far, so good. The EDGE network speeds can be a little slow but it is better than nothing.
I'm curious if I'll be detected now that AT&T has acquired T-Mobile, since the G2 is in T-Mobile's lineup, which is based on the HTC Vision just like the Desire Z that I am using.
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babyfacedkayos said:
Why cant you use 3g if you have a DZ from overseas? the G2 is the phone with the weird 3g bands. the overseas phone should work like a charm on att.
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Unfortunately it does not have the 3G bands that ATT uses.

[email protected] 30/month for data I'm at 15 or 20 for unlimited data and texts with tmobile
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Lots of people do this. I have a Nokia E71 currently on this plan (and a Desire Z on the way). My only concern is with AT&T's new crackdown on tethering.

Can someone tell me if ATT can make the difference between the type of data transfer someone uses (like web browsing vs Market android download or google syncing)?

Yes they can catch you. Yes they can tell the differance between mms and web browsing....yes they can see every site and bit of information, every call made, every text sent, every minute of every day..... the questions is do they care? The simple answer is no. I have used my own phones on att for 8+ years. I not even sure if its agaisnt any policy they have anyway? Anyway if they ever did "catch" you the worst they would do is say stop that, pay more, or cancel your account. Then maybe you will be free to join tmo lol.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA Premium App

[Q] Anyone using Net10 or StraightTalk w a T989?

I notice that net10 has a SIM card that might actually work with our T989s.
Ditto Straight Talk.
Net10 has an an everything "unlimited*" plan for $50/mo.
StraightTalk the same for $45/mo.
These may or may not be better than the T-Mobile BYOD plans depending on a couple of things - which I'd love to know.
1) Does it work with a T989? (if it doesn't, stop right there, I don't need any other info)
2) What kind of data rates? Edge? HSPA? HSPA+?
3) What does the all important '*' in "unlimited*" mean, exactly? Throttled at some limit? Cut off? What's the limit?
4) Coverage area? Are they just using the T-mobile network? It sounds like it, BUT there's a line in the smaller print In order for your phone's data services to work, you must update your APN data settings, also called the Access Point Name.
Anybody know?
Other than the "does it work with a T989?" Q, i could ask this in another forum - but where? Anyone got a notion of that?
Thanks for any info!
There's an everything unlimited plan for $50/mo. Yes, I know t-mob has a similar deal - but it's for families - similar for me would be $69/mo

Why don't you try simple mobile they work pretty well 60 bucks flat with 2gig at 4g then throttle unl text and talk,
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Sounds reasonable, and might be exactly the right choice, depending on what's in the $45 package. If it's the same, or a (gasp) higher limit, then, well, it's not.
Seems like the only way to know to either ask, and if that doesn't work, try it for a month...

Turns out it's a real deal.
Info at Howard Forum
Looks to be, essentially, either T-mo's $60 or $70 plan (throttle cap isn't published and several folks are reporting using more than 2G with no warning / throttling, so who knows?), but minus tethering (assuming t-mo's OK with tethering on those plans, which I think they might be)... for $45 or $50
BTW, they're both tracfone. ST is associated with Walmart, Net10 with a bunch of other retailers.
There's a t-mob sim and an att sim. Plans cost the same, so, given that a T989, once unlocked, can work on either network (I think that's true based on info from this forum), so we have a choice.

Just to followup: I'm using the StraightTalk SIM in my T989. i had a choice of networks, and went with AT&T because with T-mob 90% of the time I only had EDGE and what appeared to be no data roaming with my Tmob prepaid plan
ST is $45/mo for unlimited voice, text, and sort-of unlimited data (this is the only weird part: ST is being mum about what the limit actually is. From posts at HowardForum it appears to me a 100 to 120 M / day limit, probably as a result of the data volume tracking tech they have.)
That's on At&T. Nobody's run into a limit with T-Mobile yet.

hmm i wonder how they are able to opperate in tmobils network while simultaneously offering a better plan for less. simple mobile cant do it as their $60 unlimited plan is capped at 2gigs of data just like tmobils $60 plan.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA

I use it.
I posted this in a couple other threads so Ill just copy and paste..
Anyone feel free to ask me any questions.
Hello. I have great news for anyone that wants to use the Tmobile GalaxySII with a better prepaid service.
I bought the T989 new and then bought a Tmobile Sim card for about $15 from StraightTalk.com
I put the new sim in and changed the APN to StraightTalk apn. It works fabulous.
I get full 4g speeds all day 24/7 and the best thing is I get no throttle.
Tmobile tuened me on with there prices but I didnt notice that they throttle there bandwidth to a stupid slow 2g speed after a certain bandwidth usage.
WHY would any company throttle the internet speed with the purpose to have a smart phone is fast internet? The speed went from 4g to 2g. Not 3g. We are talking 56k modem speed. This pissed me off so bad, I went with StraightTalk just 2 weeks after I activated the T989 with Tbobile using there prepaid. Well, not only is Tmobile prepaid $5 more than the StraightTalk service, But the Tmobile service, as I said is very inferior to StraightTalk.
No Im not a representative of either of these companies.
I did allot of research about using this phone with any sim I wanted and compared price vs performace of what I get for the money.
I can tell you that you will not find any prepaid service cheaper and with unlimited everything when using with the T989.
Ive compared ATT, Verizon, Virgin, Boost, Net10. All of um I could find. None were cheaper and none offered so much.
I really wanted to stay with Tmobile, but I gotta tell ay, they sucked. They have a few different so called unlimited plans. The price goes stupid high to like $70 just to get full bandwidth speeds to decent usage. With StraightTalk its always fullbandwidth and the kicker is that they use Tmobile towers!
Its $45 a month.Vs anywhere from 50 to $70 depending on the useage for internet you want.
Check my other thread about the roms Ive used.

Net10
I have net10 with a sgh-t989 which is the titanium samsung galaxy s2 variant of the phone. I use net10 and it works great,on official released stock roms.So far I've to find a custom rom on which it works well,or at all.I unlocked my phone,because at first I had the wrong ATT sim type card for the phone.Then I ordered the T-Mobile sim type and so far it's been working fine on ICS 4.0.3. I had about 5mbps downstream, 1-2 mbps upstream with the ATT type sim card. I found with the ATT sim I never had less than 4 bars service,it was usually 5.But I live in a large city,and as long as I've had this service i've only driven about 70 miles outside that.Still had great service.Not sure how rural areas do though.I am currently looking for a custom rom that meshes well with the unlocked, net10 service.Pac man rom worked.

T-Mobile S3 or AT&T?

Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
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Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).

gr4p3s said:
Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).
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Thanks. What do you mean by 5GB UNLimited? Isn't that actually limited? :|
Is it possible to perhaps get a T-Mobile galaxy S III, Unlock it, and then use it on AT&T. And then do that $10 dumbphone unlimited hspa+ data trick?

JoJo2211 said:
Thanks. What do you mean by 5GB UNLimited? Isn't that actually limited? :|
Is it possible to perhaps get a T-Mobile galaxy S III, Unlock it, and then use it on AT&T. And then do that $10 dumbphone unlimited hspa+ data trick?
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It means first five gigabyte of data is 4 g then after that the rest is unlimited but at slower speeds.
And yes I agree t mobile has way better plan pricing than att
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

I like how tmo does data better, throttling speeds rather than charging for overage. Sure, the speeds are slow as heck, but it's better than accidentally paying extra per month.
I don't know much about the att trick, so I can't comment on that. But I do recommend doing a mock plan on tmo's site to get a feel for the price difference you can expect.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
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Go with at&t pre pay. I just dumped tmobile after 6 years. There a joke these days. Yes plans are great but customer care is horrible and the call centers are over seas now, talking with people who barely speak English is constant. The only way to talk to American customer service is say "cancel" at the automated system.
Also got different answers to questions every time I called in. Even called a liar about past problems. Tmobile use to be awesome but now I can't stand them.
I pay $50 with att for unlimited everything.
Tmobile just over $80 for unlimited everything.
At&t customer is better. I called in with trouble setting up voice mail. He set me up and even called back 10 minutes later to make sure every thing was working right. Can't beat that lol
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I'm going to tell you why you're going with Tmobile. Yes, their customer service is over seas but only some of it is. I can tell you what to say in the beginning of the call prompt that will get you right over to the USA based retention department. Tmobile is actually addressing these issues as we speak. Their bringing more call centers back from over seas and are on a mission to get back to that top spot in customer service they held for so many years. It's kind of funny how their customer service was stellar until they started messing with AT& T. I wouldn't be surprised if ATT gave them a list of **** they wanted done before the buy out went through.
Now, onto mobile services. If you get a good signal with both of them then I would side with Tmobile. HSPA+ uses less batter power than LTE. When it comes to overages, I think ATT charges you for every MB used after 5gb and Tmobile just throttles your speeds back to the equivalent of 2G data speeds. I believe Tmobile also has a 10gb plan if you think 5gb won't be enough. In 3 years, I've never came close to going past 5gb and I use my 4G connection quite often. I tether it to my laptop and take let. I play Counterstrike through my data connection sometimes and I used to play WoW through it. I think the most I've ever used was 4600mb. As long as your not using your phone data connection to download multiple torrents a day then you should be fine. When it comes to plan prices, well that's a no brainer. Tmobile definitely has better priced plans and less nick/diming charges.
Lastly, I believe ATT along with Verizon are excluding certain features from the GS3. I just found out about one tonight. Everyone on ATT has reported the absence of a Driving Mode icon within the notification pull down menu. Tmobile does in fact have this driving mode feature. That's the only one I know of at this point but there could be more.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Just an FYI, if you go with TM and would like to take advantage of their future LTE network, the TM version of the S3 will not be compatible as stated HERE.
mustk1ll20 said:
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Quick question for mustk1ll20, did you do anything specifically besides unlocking the phone to use ATT's network? How is their 4G working for you?

Infamous_Cheez said:
Quick question for mustk1ll20, did you do anything specifically besides unlocking the phone to use ATT's network? How is their 4G working for you?
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I got a unlock code from Tmobile before I cancelled service. Went to at&t store and then set up my unlimited plan and got the SIM. After that set a apn for at&t and your good to go. Tmobile service in my area is 2 bars max and edge data speed. At&t data has been awesome where I'm at(out in the middle of no where)
You can let people tell you Tmobile is getting better but after 6 years of hearing it I gave up. Tmobile has started there "trying" to make things because they lost top spot for customer service. There gonna do nothing but blow smoke up your *** when there's a problem.
I had problems with roaming on my s3 and was calling in quit a bit. In the end there solution was to tell me that they don't have a roaming deal with at&t in my area. Funny because my old Samsung flip would roam in the same area no problem. After telling them this, he asked me to wait on hold for a few minutes while he looks into something......he transferred me to someone else instead. You go with Tmobile you'll regret it.
3 family members who also were fed up with them followed after I confirmed how much better at&t was.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

mustk1ll20 said:
Go with at&t pre pay. I just dumped tmobile after 6 years. There a joke these days. Yes plans are great but customer care is horrible and the call centers are over seas now, talking with people who barely speak English is constant. The only way to talk to American customer service is say "cancel" at the automated system.
Also got different answers to questions every time I called in. Even called a liar about past problems. Tmobile use to be awesome but now I can't stand them.
I pay $50 with att for unlimited everything.
Tmobile just over $80 for unlimited everything.
At&t customer is better. I called in with trouble setting up voice mail. He set me up and even called back 10 minutes later to make sure every thing was working right. Can't beat that lol
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Just curious, what plan do you have with att that's actual unlimited for $50 a month?

RuizGT said:
Just curious, what plan do you have with att that's actual unlimited for $50 a month?
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A prepaid gophone plan. You can find it on there website. When I went in to there store I just told them I wanted the $50 dollar unlimited prepay plan. Unlimited voice, messaging, data. So all I do is buy a at&t $50 prepaid card. Comes to$55.01 with tax. Don't know if they throttle or not but so far things have loaded quickly since I got the plan, and still going strong.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

mustk1ll20 said:
A prepaid gophone plan. You can find it on there website. When I went in to there store I just told them I wanted the $50 dollar unlimited prepay plan. Unlimited voice, messaging, data. So all I do is buy a at&t $50 prepaid card. Comes to$55.01 with tax. Don't know if they throttle or not but so far things have loaded quickly since I got the plan, and still going strong.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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How much data have you use so far and how fast is the data?

whatsitsnamenow said:
How much data have you use so far and how fast is the data?
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Don't go with the att prepaid plan. I looked into it because it sounded good but the data speed is 3g ... what purpose does a galaxy s3 hspa + 44 mb modem serve on 3g. Instead if your looking for the best bang for your Buck get a value plan for t-mobile ...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

You can get unlimited minutes text and data for 59.99$... 2 gigabyte of 4g speeds included .
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Or if you don't talk too much on the phone go with 500 minute unlimited text and data for 49.99$.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Crisisx1 said:
Don't go with the att prepaid plan. I looked into it because it sounded good but the data speed is 3g ... what purpose does a galaxy s3 hspa + 44 mb modem serve on 3g. Instead if your looking for the best bang for your Buck get a value plan for t-mobile ...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I think on att you get hspa+ 3g. I think they meant 4g as in 4g LTE.
Crisisx1 said:
You can get unlimited minutes text and data for 59.99$... 2 gigabyte of 4g speeds included .
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Thanks.
Would love to but data and voice signal is pretty bad where I live. I get choppy voice calls and data is non existence inside my house. Of course I really don't need data inside my house but it just shows that signal is not very good.
Crisisx1 said:
Or if you don't talk too much on the phone go with 500 minute unlimited text and data for 49.99$.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
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Same as above.

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
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Click to collapse
I was referring to jojo he said he has full coverage for both.. sorry
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

gr4p3s said:
Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much is the Mobile Hotspot?

Another great thing I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is T-Mobile's FREE Wifi Calling. It does not use your plan minutes and you can use it over seas instead of paying roaming charges.

jrwingate6 said:
Another great thing I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is T-Mobile's FREE Wifi Calling. It does not use your plan minutes and you can use it over seas instead of paying roaming charges.
Click to expand...
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Oh wow I didn't even know about this.. it really doesn't use our whenever minutes ? Awesome now I can definitely switch to a 500 minutes plan and save money !!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Thinking about jumping ship from Sprint and coming over to AT&T, looking at the GS3

Thinking about jumping ship from Sprint and coming over to AT&T, looking at the GS3
Thinking about buying a AT&T GS III today.
I have a Sprint Samsung Galaxy II now but I'm sick of Sprints data, what good is unlimited when you get 20 kbps on average or it times out completely. I've tried countless ROMS, Modems and Kernels with little to no luck.
We have no 4G where I work and the 3G is a joke.
I'm currently using the corporate PRL file along with ROAM Control to permanently use Verizon's towers. I was hoping they would give me the boot but no such luck. Even on Verizon, the speed just isn't that great because I can't use Verizon's enhances data network.
Everyone I work with has AT&T and the speeds look great, even when not on LTE the HSPA+ looks really good. My friends got the Skyrocket and I WISH I had his HSPA+ speeds lol.
Couple questions before I make the move though. Does AT&T offer discounts for various types discounts? I'm an ISD School District, Technology's Department. I have a discount because of this threw Sprint, 15% off.
Also, the plan I'm looking at is the 70 dollars unlimited with 4G of data. If this LTE data or both LTE and HSPS+? My friend says when you hit your LTE data cap, the phone still works on 3G. Someone else said that is not true, you get 4G of everything, when you hit the cap, you get charged.
Also can someone explain to me why the $70.00 dollar plan, or any plan for that matter has a surcharge of $40.00 dollars for "Smartphones"? Sprint does something similar, they charge $10.00 dollars for premium data which most Sprint users thing is BS. I actually have a 2 year monthly revolving monthly credit because I called and *****ed that we don't even HAVE 4G in this area. Sprint used to call this a 4G data charge, they have sense changed it to a "Premium Data" fee so they don't get so much crap about it.
Looks like I'm looking at $70.00 for the service, $40 for a "Smartphone" fee, $10.00 dollars for insurance and $3.00 for Roadside, I've used this more times then I can count on Sprint so I might at well get it for AT&T too. About $130 a month with everything.
My work gives me $40.00 a month towards my phone but if I can snag a school employ discount, maybe I can get this down to the same range as my Sprint service.
Has anyone here come to AT&T from Sprint and or Verizon? What is your impressions of AT&T's data other then LTE?

Dumping Sprint was the best thing I ever did.
I now have data that "just works" throughout Florida, and it's fast as hell almost everywhere I've checked along the ring formed by by I-4/I-75/I-95 + Turnpike. Half my drive to work used to be a de-facto dead zone. It's not, anymore.
I get ~26mbps in SE Florida and Orlando, and reliably get ~10-16 in Naples & Bradenton (hspa+ speeds, but supposedly LTE; I suspect it's a backhaul-imposed limit. Either way, it beats Sprint like an unloved child.)
I can't speak for other parts of the country, but AT&T's coverage *and* speed is rock-solid south of I-4, and I have no reason to think it's any slower in northern Florida (with the possible exception of the hardcore rural area between Tallahassee and Pensacola)
Just one major annoyance. If I'm visiting my parents in Naples & using wi-fi, sometimes the phone slips into non-UMTS/HSPA(+) mode, and causes annoying "GSM noise". I wish I could figure out how to lock the phone into 3G mode so it won't do that. I know it saves battery life, but I *really* hate "GSM noise." I'm sure there's a way to do it, I just haven't found it yet.

kdoggy said:
Also can someone explain to me why the $70.00 dollar plan, or any plan for that matter has a surcharge of $40.00 dollars for "Smartphones"? Sprint does something similar, they charge $10.00 dollars for premium data which most Sprint users thing is BS. I actually have a 2 year monthly revolving monthly credit because I called and *****ed that we don't even HAVE 4G in this area. Sprint used to call this a 4G data charge, they have sense changed it to a "Premium Data" fee so they don't get so much crap about it.
Looks like I'm looking at $70.00 for the service, $40 for a "Smartphone" fee, $10.00 dollars for insurance and $3.00 for Roadside, I've used this more times then I can count on Sprint so I might at well get it for AT&T too. About $130 a month with everything.
My work gives me $40.00 a month towards my phone but if I can snag a school employ discount, maybe I can get this down to the same range as my Sprint service.
Has anyone here come to AT&T from Sprint and or Verizon? What is your impressions of AT&T's data other then LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think that is the new tiered data plan structure. The $70 is for unlimited talk and text. The $40 is for the pool of data. I'm on a grandfathered unlimited data plan, so I can't guarantee that the previous is 100% accurate. I know that they switched to something similar to verizon's plans.
ATT 3G blows verizon and sprint speeds out of the water. On 3g, I get close to 4 Mbps downstream on a good day and 1Mbps downstream on a slow day. I got that on my old galaxy s1 as well. Plus, you get a different tier of data speed with ATT...HSPA+. ATT has a theoretical speed of 21Mbps for HSPA+, although I've only ever seen mine go up to around 10Mbps. I have LTE just about every where I go. I get 30-50Mbps on LTE.

To the OP I was in the EXACT same boat your in. I had a Sprint GS2. With useless data speeds. Ran on different PRL's and received the roaming data threat. I asked myself the same thing..... why have unlimited data if it takes 5 minutes to open up a web page and calls always dropping.
I can't really speak for your plan questions but my wife is an RN and we get 15 percent off our bill.
Switching to AT&T was the best decision for us. Data speeds are so much faster then Sprint here in WV.
Good luck bro.....

kdoggy said:
Thinking about buying a AT&T GS III today.
I have a Sprint Samsung Galaxy II now but I'm sick of Sprints data, what good is unlimited when you get 20 kbps on average or it times out completely. I've tried countless ROMS, Modems and Kernels with little to no luck.
We have no 4G where I work and the 3G is a joke.
I'm currently using the corporate PRL file along with ROAM Control to permanently use Verizon's towers. I was hoping they would give me the boot but no such luck. Even on Verizon, the speed just isn't that great because I can't use Verizon's enhances data network.
Everyone I work with has AT&T and the speeds look great, even when not on LTE the HSPA+ looks really good. My friends got the Skyrocket and I WISH I had his HSPA+ speeds lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similar performance I had on Sprint. I got sick of it when my girlfriend got a GS3 on AT&T and I saw how fast LTE and HSPA+ really were. I decided to jump ship and pay the ETF too. Very glad with the move.
Couple questions before I make the move though. Does AT&T offer discounts for various types discounts? I'm an ISD School District, Technology's Department. I have a discount because of this threw Sprint, 15% off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah they do. You can do the check here for what your discount is: https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/
Also, the plan I'm looking at is the 70 dollars unlimited with 4G of data. If this LTE data or both LTE and HSPS+? My friend says when you hit your LTE data cap, the phone still works on 3G. Someone else said that is not true, you get 4G of everything, when you hit the cap, you get charged.
Also can someone explain to me why the $70.00 dollar plan, or any plan for that matter has a surcharge of $40.00 dollars for "Smartphones"? Sprint does something similar, they charge $10.00 dollars for premium data which most Sprint users thing is BS. I actually have a 2 year monthly revolving monthly credit because I called and *****ed that we don't even HAVE 4G in this area. Sprint used to call this a 4G data charge, they have sense changed it to a "Premium Data" fee so they don't get so much crap about it.
Looks like I'm looking at $70.00 for the service, $40 for a "Smartphone" fee, $10.00 dollars for insurance and $3.00 for Roadside, I've used this more times then I can count on Sprint so I might at well get it for AT&T too. About $130 a month with everything.
My work gives me $40.00 a month towards my phone but if I can snag a school employ discount, maybe I can get this down to the same range as my Sprint service.
Has anyone here come to AT&T from Sprint and or Verizon? What is your impressions of AT&T's data other then LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They don't have unlimited data plans for us new customers. What you're looking at is unlimited talking and texting most likely. They have a 300mb, 3gb, and 5gb data plan. The 5gb plan includes tethering.
My biggest complaint about AT&T compared to Sprint is that they really do nickle and dime you to death. 4 things that get me:
SMS. Sprint had unlimited included. AT&T it's 20/mo unlimited or 0.20/message
They *charge airtime* for 800 numbers. Sprint didn't.
Using GV to forward voicemail uses 2 anytime minutes for every call.
Sprint was mobile to mobile any network. AT&T is only to AT&T customers unless you add that 20/mo unlimited SMS plan.

At&t has updated plans, not sure of the new data plans, but they have a plan to talk and text to any carrier for unlimited
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

kdoggy said:
Thinking about buying a AT&T GS III today.
I have a Sprint Samsung Galaxy II now but I'm sick of Sprints data, what good is unlimited when you get 20 kbps on average or it times out completely. I've tried countless ROMS, Modems and Kernels with little to no luck.
We have no 4G where I work and the 3G is a joke.
I'm currently using the corporate PRL file along with ROAM Control to permanently use Verizon's towers. I was hoping they would give me the boot but no such luck. Even on Verizon, the speed just isn't that great because I can't use Verizon's enhances data network.
Everyone I work with has AT&T and the speeds look great, even when not on LTE the HSPA+ looks really good. My friends got the Skyrocket and I WISH I had his HSPA+ speeds lol.
Couple questions before I make the move though. Does AT&T offer discounts for various types discounts? I'm an ISD School District, Technology's Department. I have a discount because of this threw Sprint, 15% off.
Also, the plan I'm looking at is the 70 dollars unlimited with 4G of data. If this LTE data or both LTE and HSPS+? My friend says when you hit your LTE data cap, the phone still works on 3G. Someone else said that is not true, you get 4G of everything, when you hit the cap, you get charged.
Also can someone explain to me why the $70.00 dollar plan, or any plan for that matter has a surcharge of $40.00 dollars for "Smartphones"? Sprint does something similar, they charge $10.00 dollars for premium data which most Sprint users thing is BS. I actually have a 2 year monthly revolving monthly credit because I called and *****ed that we don't even HAVE 4G in this area. Sprint used to call this a 4G data charge, they have sense changed it to a "Premium Data" fee so they don't get so much crap about it.
Looks like I'm looking at $70.00 for the service, $40 for a "Smartphone" fee, $10.00 dollars for insurance and $3.00 for Roadside, I've used this more times then I can count on Sprint so I might at well get it for AT&T too. About $130 a month with everything.
My work gives me $40.00 a month towards my phone but if I can snag a school employ discount, maybe I can get this down to the same range as my Sprint service.
Has anyone here come to AT&T from Sprint and or Verizon? What is your impressions of AT&T's data other then LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart move i just switched to At&t waiting on my phone to arrive Tues cost was 24.00 with job discount, its a refurb...selling my galaxy s3 and iphone4 with sprint for 500 if anyone interested

superm1 said:
They *charge airtime* for 800 numbers. Sprint didn't.
Using GV to forward voicemail uses 2 anytime minutes for every call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but att has rollover minutes, so I've never worried about going over on minutes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Jbluedodge said:
At&t has updated plans, not sure of the new data plans, but they have a plan to talk and text to any carrier for unlimited
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an employee discount, so my unlimited text/data with 450 prime minutes w/rollover 2000 night weekend is on $80/month.

I made the exact same switch about 1 month ago & it's the best move I've made! On a good day (more like a minute) with Sprint, I'd get 1 mbps, but I'd average .30 mbps or less. Unlimited data is useless.
I was nervous about the 3gb cap with ATT, but after now having it, 3gb is alot more than I thought is was. Using my phone like I did with Sprint, maybe being a little more careful, I haven't even used 1gb yet (the 9th is actually 1 month, so plenty of data for me). I just now make sure if wifi is available somewhere I to use it. I set the data limt on my GS3 to 2.5gb limit just incase.
I now average 5-7mbps on 4g. I've speedtested a few times I've had LTE & get well over 20mbps. I maxed out 54.46 & I got 36,11 once too, The LTE is unbelievable, sometimes faster than my Verizon Fios at home where I get 43 mbps.
Also in comparison to VerizonWireless, I've had a better phone signal in a lot more places & faster data.
What made me pull the plunge...When I thought about the slow 3g & barely getting 4g. I couldn't ever hit 3gb of data with Sprint even if I tried on pupose. So why not have usable data with a cap, instead of unusable without a cap? & the phone service for me has been on a decline. No signal, unusable in more places.
Now I can actually open websites, pictures load on FB & Instagram almost instant! The most important thing, my GPS connects in less than 5 seconds everytime & navigation actually works now (not using as much data as I thought it would either). If you download GPS Test & compare the phones side by side, you'll see what I mean for yourself.
Make the switch, you won't regret it!

The Sammy GS III was looking nice but I just finished reading some reviews on the upcoming LG Google Nexus 4, I think I might hold out another week or so and pick one of those up $349.00 with no contract sounds damn appealing.
If I'm reading this right, it should work on AT&T right?

I would......
Certainly the SIII is an awesome superphone. I use Bell Canada and I am very happy with the hardware.

kdoggy said:
The Sammy GS III was looking nice but I just finished reading some reviews on the upcoming LG Google Nexus 4, I think I might hold out another week or so and pick one of those up $349.00 with no contract sounds damn appealing.
If I'm reading this right, it should work on AT&T right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it doesn't have lte...only hspa+.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

drwx said:
Yes, but it doesn't have lte...only hspa+.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have no LTE service here anyway.

kdoggy said:
We have no LTE service here anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i had no option of having lte, it would still be a tough decision between the 2. fortunately, we have lte in the nashville area, so my decision is easy.

Just did it today.got tire of waiting for sprint to upgrade their slow 4g ...AT&T flies ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

mikeku said:
Just did it today.got tire of waiting for sprint to upgrade their slow 4g ...AT&T flies ...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the att forums, my uncle has Sprint and is also frustrated on his iPhone about data speed in LA which is supposed to be pretty good here
AT&T SGS3 Marble White
AoCP The Collective 4.4 ROM
KT747 10/31 OC'ed & UV'ed
Medical MJ Supporter

[Q] Wireless Hotspot?

Here is the scenario:
There are around 10 of us in my office who have beefed up data plans because we stream all day ER DAY. Instead of us paying $30 each every month, we (actually me) came up with an idea to buy a hotspot for the office, and then split the cost 10 ways. after doing a lot of reasearch as far as prices and data caps and speeds I have come up with the following ideas:
1. Sprint phone with bad ESN flashed to Metro PCS ($60, no 4g LTE)
2. Add an existing T-Mobile line ($60, 10GB soft cap)
3. ???
Assume the device we will be using is a rooted, unlocked Samsung S3. Does anyone have any better ideas? We live in OC California, its 70 degrees outside if that helps.

farberstyle said:
Here is the scenario:
There are around 10 of us in my office who have beefed up data plans because we stream all day ER DAY. Instead of us paying $30 each every month, we (actually me) came up with an idea to buy a hotspot for the office, and then split the cost 10 ways. after doing a lot of reasearch as far as prices and data caps and speeds I have come up with the following ideas:
1. Sprint phone with bad ESN flashed to Metro PCS ($60, no 4g LTE)
2. Add an existing T-Mobile line ($60, 10GB soft cap)
3. ???
Assume the device we will be using is a rooted, unlocked Samsung S3. Does anyone have any better ideas? We live in OC California, its 70 degrees outside if that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
get unlimited data on your smartphone and download the trevee tethering app and get free tethering with unlimited data...

eurohomie said:
get unlimited data on your smartphone and download the trevee tethering app and get free tethering with unlimited data...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have T-Mobile's 10GB top-tier data plan and I am already 7.7GB and I am only halfway through the month. I am looking for an uncapped data plan only, no voice or mms.
It really sucks when you are the person who knows the most about phones in your life, there is no one to ask for help =(

farberstyle said:
I have T-Mobile's 10GB top-tier data plan and I am already 7.7GB and I am only halfway through the month. I am looking for an uncapped data plan only, no voice or mms.
It really sucks when you are the person who knows the most about phones in your life, there is no one to ask for help =(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ummm T-mobile has an uncapped data plan... it's called unlimited everything and costs 89.99/mo with contract and i think $70 without...

Why don't u by a tmobile hotspot in stead of getting a phone and tethering??
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

horr1blek1tten said:
Why don't u by a tmobile hotspot in stead of getting a phone and tethering??
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hotspot is not unlimited and that's what the OP wants.
OP, in my humble opinion; add a tmobile line for the said GS3 and get the unlimited data plan. There are many ROMs for that phone that support tethering, even thought the plan does not.