att cell phone data package (credit, buy, subsidized)

[jess1803]

My att cell phone contract is up soon so i went in today to look at new phones. I am vry happy with my plan. I was told today that if i did not want to add a data package for 20 extra dollars a month that i could only choose from one of their 4 basic phones. none of which looked like they would lasst very long. i understand that if i get a large discount on a phone they want to get that cost back and they do that by adding a data package. However i was also told that if i got a phone online from ebay they would know what kind of phone it was and they would still charge me for the data package. i know that att can tell what kind of phone you are using because a friend bought a phone on ebay and her new phone showed up as the active phone on her account. This seems crazy! does anyone know if this is true? i want a phone that will last me but i dont think i should have to pay an extra 20 dollars a month for internet i wont use.

[Beermat]

I think it's $30 per month for the Data Plan (unless they recently reduced the cost), and yes they know exactly why type and model of phone you have. Go online to your AT+T page and you will see a picture and details of your handset on your account profile. I buy my handsets on eBay so that I have 'independance' and no 2 year contract - what they do is give me one month a year free which more than pays for the cost of the handset so I am happy with that arrangement. If I needed the data plan I would pay the $30 a month, but I don't as I generally have PC access which meets all of my data needs.

Originally Posted by jess1803

My att cell phone contract is up soon so i went in today to look at new phones. I am vry happy with my plan. I was told today that if i did not want to add a data package for 20 extra dollars a month that i could only choose from one of their 4 basic phones. none of which looked like they would lasst very long. i understand that if i get a large discount on a phone they want to get that cost back and they do that by adding a data package. However i was also told that if i got a phone online from ebay they would know what kind of phone it was and they would still charge me for the data package. i know that att can tell what kind of phone you are using because a friend bought a phone on ebay and her new phone showed up as the active phone on her account. This seems crazy! does anyone know if this is true? i want a phone that will last me but i dont think i should have to pay an extra 20 dollars a month for internet i wont use.

[wheelsup]

You can block the data on the phone - so it can't be used. I assume they won't charge you. I know this because my wife got one of the el cheapo phones when I got an iPhone. Her el cheapo phone sounded like high frequency radio (lots of squealing and hissing). I took it back and they said it was normal for that phone...so I tried an older Cingular Blackberry that my dad had. It was a little better.

Later that day I handed them back my iPhone (they gasped, it was funny) and her el cheapo phone and said I'm going back to Verizon, thanks but no thanks .

AT&T's cheap phones sound like crap. They literally sound like a cell phone. Don't get one...find a way around it at all costs.

I've since tried the same phone on someone else's plan and it sounded exactly the same. I dialed on mine (Verizon) to show him the difference and his eyes lit up. Sorry didn't mean to turn this into an AT&T bashfest...they just suck.

[bcattwood]

I thought that they must be feeding you a line of bull, but then I went on to the AT&T website and a number of the phones say a data or messaging plan is required when purchasing the phone. I tried to "order" a phone that didn't have that listed only to have something pop-up instead that said the same thing.

[CPA_on_tap]

Well I would go the route of ebay, I haven't had a subsidized phone for 10 years now, and I have been through allot of phones, the last 3 phones have been "smart" phones, including my current iphone 2G. I don't have a data plan, and I probably never will at that cost. I can't justify that type of cost, when most phones have wifi built in. I do however use data on my iphone occasionally, but it is very limited since they charge me .05 a kB, but if I am stuck and need to check something I can. I noticed that at&t started warning people that they are reserving the right to add a data plan if you don't already have one attached to your account. However I half wonder if they are referring to use of their 3G network, cause after using their Edge network on my iphone I think they are gouging at .05 kB. If you do get a phone from ebay you just choose from any unlocked or AT&T branded GSM phone, and you should be good.

[annesg]

Can someone educate me a bit more than this? Our current plans are up and we'd LOVE to go without the 2-year hassle. We have Sprint. It's okay. We have 2 year old Palm Treos. They're OK.

So here's my question: If you buy, say, an iPhone from ebay and don't get the data plan, what are you doing without? Can you get all the bells and whistles? Download stuff from iTunes? What are you sacrificing?

I'm thinking of ditching our data plans on our current phones to see if we can take the withdrawal (lol). Just not sure how it all works. I do know our current bills for cell phone and Time Warner are ridiculous!

[wheelsup]

No data plans mean no email, internet, weather, stocks, not sure what else you do but no data period. You can pay for it a la carte by the kb (kilobit) but that can get expensive fast. Downloading from iTunes or the app store will be expensive...better off just getting the data plan.

It means using a phone for what it is - a phone...

PS Just wanted to make sure you knew iPhones don't work on Sprint. iPhones are GSM phones where as Sprint is a CDMA carrier. Sprint and Verizon are the two big CDMA carriers in the US where as AT&T and T-Mobile are the two big GSM carriers.

[steve54]

Originally Posted by annesg

Can someone educate me a bit more than this? Our current plans are up and we'd LOVE to go without the 2-year hassle. We have Sprint. It's okay. We have 2 year old Palm Treos. They're OK.

So here's my question: If you buy, say, an iPhone from ebay and don't get the data plan, what are you doing without? Can you get all the bells and whistles? Download stuff from iTunes? What are you sacrificing?

I'm thinking of ditching our data plans on our current phones to see if we can take the withdrawal (lol). Just not sure how it all works. I do know our current bills for cell phone and Time Warner are ridiculous!

What do you pay at the moment and what do you get for it?
At the end of your contract your in quite a good bargaining position and sprint will offer deals to keep you. You probably have $150 upgrade credit also

We just switched our sprint treos out for samsung intrepid and I love it but we have the SERO (now defunct) plan which is 430 per month for unlimited data , text and 500 mins speech

When we renewed they wanted us to swith to $128 per month for 2 lines unlimited everything

[CPA_on_tap]

annesg

I can only speak for me and my iphone on At&t, but without of data plan I am only limited by not being able to check my email or browsing the web (without paying .05 kb) when I am NOT near WiFi. When I am at home, or the office, or Panera, BestBuy, etc..... I can tap into Wifi and use every feature of the iphone for free, itunes, weather, web etc... Never been a very big inconvenience for me, and certainly not one that I would consider paying $20-$30 to overcome.

[annesg]

Thanks, guys! We are debating leaving Sprint (it's ok but you know, nothing stellar) and going with an iPhone or maybe the new Nextel phone--the one using Android OS. OR just getting phones and being over the "need" to be connected all the time. Our cell phone bill is usually $160 with 2 phones with data, unlimited texts, and I don't remember how many minutes but we don't go over. I kind of like the idea of rollover minutes. UGH.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like we can scrap the data for now, either, according to sprint's website.