Ok, so I called the AT&T dorks at their "Business Center" and this question:
"Can I use the WiFi from my own personal wireless router on my phone? If I do, do I have to pay for it? I ask because there is no reason that I should be paying for internet 2x."
The response:
"If you access the internet on your phone regardless if it is WiFi or if it is over the AT&T network, you will be charged for it if you do not have a Data Plan."
Is this correct? I mean, if I turn off the "phone" on my phone, will it still charge me? Can anyone tell me if there is a way to get around this garbage? I would like to use the WiFi on my phone, but I don't really want to pay the 50 cents a Kb or whatever for it. Thanks for the help!
They do rip u off ALLL the time, that the same question I thought of when I was getting my tilt. but tell u what, start using UR phones wifi and if they charge u for data , U can sue them for extortion. Call them now and tell them to disable data connection and start using ur WIFI.
such a RIP OFF att is sometimes.
Yea, using Wifi has nothing to do with ATT. If you connect to your router, and you don't see the little E or G or 3G icons, then your NOT using any data from ATT. - they can see your data usage as it is sent from your router to your phone.
Your fine.
^ yep, you will NOT incur any fees/charges from AT&T for using wi-fi.
Oh boy if they had told me that I think I would have been crying with laughter.. Yeah man you can take your sim card out and wifi... Stupid at&t, you should call them back and say something about that.
AT&T, like any other large corporation, does have its share of idiots working there. You managed to talk to one...lol
Great
Thanks for the help, guys, I thought I was just going to get ripped off. Appreciate it greatly!
There is no way for them to tell if you're online on your phone if you're not connecting through MediaNet. Trust me, I bought a wireless router a couple years ago just so I could browse the net on my phone. They can't tell. Just go into Settings, Connections tab, Connections, Advanced tab, Select Networks, Adjust both dialog boxes to anything but MediaNet. That fixes that. I called them and asked the same question just like the next man a few years ago & got the same answer. It all depends on who you talk to. If you can get someone on the phone that has a similar device that you do, they'll know better. Trust me, been surfing wirelessly for years now with absolutely no fluctuation. If I'm not connecting through thier servers, then how would they know?
They will charge you, dont listen to the people that dont know, they just THINK that they cant charge you, but they have not talked to any reps like you and I. And I did get a $119 for using my wifi, and when I called I was told that wifi is not free if I dont have a pda package. Also I have a No Data installed on my phone to ensure I do not use up any data services except for wifi.
kolombok said:
They will charge you, dont listen to the people that dont know, they just THINK that they cant charge you, but they have not talked to any reps like you and I. And I did get a $119 for using my wifi, and when I called I was told that wifi is not free if I dont have a pda package. Also I have a No Data installed on my phone to ensure I do not use up any data services except for wifi.
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If that is the case and you are 100% sure that you werent streaming data via edge/3G, take it to court. They WILL loose. Period.
You do NOT have to have a Sim card in the phone to use the WiFi via a Wireless Router. Your device will get online and surf without it ( the sim ). If they charged you for using your OWN Wifi and you let them charge you, then the yolk is on you.
For all of the other posters, I will tell you a Simple way to make sure you dont dial out and accidentally catch onto a 3G / Edge network.
Just DELETE The damn Medianet / MyISP settings inside of network connections. Make sure it is 100% empty and void of any and all other connection types. Also, Make sure you take your phone OFF of THEIR proxy. Doing this will 100% prevent them from even knowing that you are using the phone at all with data.... as this is their only means of tracking the data usage on the phone.... ( Research the word Proxy and you will be all the more wiser )
Good luck and I hope I have helped some of you!
P.S.
My father was given my old hermes when I got the kaiser. He is too cheap to buy a data plan however has wifi in his house as well as his office ( Both of which I set up ) and has absolutely no problems with ATT. They have NO IDEA he is using the phone with his own Wifi.
kolombok said:
They will charge you, dont listen to the people that dont know, they just THINK that they cant charge you, but they have not talked to any reps like you and I. And I did get a $119 for using my wifi, and when I called I was told that wifi is not free if I dont have a pda package. Also I have a No Data installed on my phone to ensure I do not use up any data services except for wifi.
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There is absolutely no reason why they would have charged you if you were actually using just wi-fi. I have no data package and I only use wi-fi and I have never been charged for it. I havent even deleted the media-net connection or 3G connection...just be smart and pay attention to your title bar and it will tell you where your internets coming from...Hope this helps,
-John
Johnster988 said:
There is absolutely no reason why they would have charged you if you were actually using just wi-fi. I have no data package and I only use wi-fi and I have never been charged for it. I havent even deleted the media-net connection or 3G connection...just be smart and pay attention to your title bar and it will tell you where your internets coming from...Hope this helps,
-John
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Exactly. He more than likely was streaming via Edge and didnt know it.
Related
This probably sounds stupid but If I am using my 8125 to chat on MSN and I turn off the phone and have the WIFI only on will there be any charges to me from my Cingular? I thought I read where a guy was charged somehow.
But he might have been smoking something too...
I might turn off my Media Net for a few months and if so I still can use my WIFI in local cafe shops to do MSN.
Thanks all,
you only pay for data which requires to sim card to be in (gprs, text, calls) and any account that you would log onto via wifi.
So if I am using it at home with WiFi only on my network then there should be no charges, correct?
I might be turning the Media Net off for a while but still want to get access to the emails through my LAN.
ok, if you take out you sim, can you still do it?
yes = free
no = $$/££s
but if you pay for the amount of mb you use with your Internet connection, you pay for that instead
Bobby I understand kinda what you are saying but my internet here at home is unlimited. So free if I pay my internet fees.
What I mean to ask is this. If I have my sim card still in place and go to Comm Manager and turn off the Phone Connection and have the WI FI on and my phone connects to an IP on my router, Will the data that is transfered be charged to me from my Cell Phone carrier (Cingular)?
Thank you for replying so often.
redneckms said:
What I mean to ask is this. If I have my sim card still in place and go to Comm Manager and turn off the Phone Connection and have the WI FI on and my phone connects to an IP on my router, Will the data that is transfered be charged to me from my Cell Phone carrier (Cingular)?
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NO!!!! WIFI IS FREE!!!!!
Thats what I like. A straight answer.
Thanks
If you are going to do that, understand if your Wifi drops, the phone will revert to GPRS connection if its available. So I'd recommend you install the NoData cab as this will allow you to completely turn off any other access.
newbie2 said:
NO!!!! WIFI IS FREE!!!!!
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i of course understand that wifi is free, but something just came to my mind...
when you encounter an accesspoint that requires you to pay for the connection, how does it work? is it a contract with user and passwd you get to login onto the ap network, or is it possible that they charge your sim(home network of course)? i ask this stupid question because i can see some Orange (mobile operator) hotspots in my town, and just started to think about it;]
on the other hand, these hotspots require you to login prior to use WWW, but seems that you can use any other service with no limits (mail, ftp), funny ;]
Data connection & Chat
redneckms said:
This probably sounds stupid but If I am using my 8125 to chat on MSN and I turn off the phone and have the WIFI only on will there be any charges to me from my Cingular? I thought I read where a guy was charged somehow.
But he might have been smoking something too...
I might turn off my Media Net for a few months and if so I still can use my WIFI in local cafe shops to do MSN.
Thanks all,
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Hi Guys,
I past I have some experience where I thought that I am using my WiFi for the Chat.
But infact the bill from Tmobile shows my text message bucket was used for the chat.
I clarified with Tmobile. they confirmed that the chat will be based on the SMS/ Text messaging wich will be using your SIM card not the WiFi.
That was with WM5 I do not know about WM6 though.
If you use WIFI to IM through either AIM or MSN you will be charged for TXT messaging, not internet usage... if you have unlimited TXT messaging then you have nothing to worry about.
banerjeez said:
Hi Guys,
I past I have some experience where I thought that I am using my WiFi for the Chat.
But infact the bill from Tmobile shows my text message bucket was used for the chat.
I clarified with Tmobile. they confirmed that the chat will be based on the SMS/ Text messaging wich will be using your SIM card not the WiFi.
That was with WM5 I do not know about WM6 though.
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T-mobile only cost £1 a day anyway for GPRS, so it shouldn't matter what ya do.
(Unless you live in USA, the charges may be different)
Madcap180 said:
If you use WIFI to IM through either AIM or MSN you will be charged for TXT messaging, not internet usage... if you have unlimited TXT messaging then you have nothing to worry about.
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So much misinformation!!!
No WiFi is TOTALLY FREE they can not tell what you are doing on it, when you are on it, or anything about it!
If you leave the phone on and WiFi drops, it uses GPRS instead which costs money.
If you use the IM program that comes with stock firmware (from T-Mobile, Cingular, etc) then that program uses SMS for the messages and you will be charged whether the WiFi is on or not, but it will NOT be sent over WiFi. If you use that program and turn off the phone and turn on the WiFi, it will not work.
Get an IM program that uses IP not SMS.
No WiFi is TOTALLY FREE they can not tell what you are doing on it, when you are on it, or anything about it!
If you leave the phone on and WiFi drops, it uses GPRS instead which costs money.
If you use the IM program that comes with stock firmware (from T-Mobile, Cingular, etc) then that program uses SMS for the messages and you will be charged whether the WiFi is on or not, but it will NOT be sent over WiFi. If you use that program and turn off the phone and turn on the WiFi, it will not work.
Get an IM program that uses IP not SMS.
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I agree for now. I have Media Net package for 19.95 Unlimited with 200 TXT messages. So far I have been using both WiFI and GPRS this month and I have use 24 MB of usage with only 3 txt messages. I have been using MSN all month. I dont see any extra charges yet.
My $0.02
When I first got my kaiser, I could use the Google Maps "My Location" (location via tower position) while connected to WIFI with the 3G logo in the top bar.
Now, I have upgraded to the HTC ROM (so much better), and if I turn off HSDPA (so 3G is showing on top bar), I cannot use the "My Location" feature. As soon as I enable HSDPA and soft reboot, the "My Location" feature works.
Now... the question. Since I am on WIFI, my in house network, am I using the HSDPA to transfer data? I know that the map data comes via my 802.11 network, but why the heck does HSDPA have to be enable? If so, am I being charged for it? I just switched to ATT and have not received a bill, so I am hoping every time I use the HSDPA and google maps on my WIFI, I am not getting charged?
I do not have a data plan, but it still lets me open a data session (which I assume costs a ton). When HSDPA is on an H icon is at the top bar. When its off it goes back to 3G. When I click on the H is says "No Data Sessions Active", so I'm safe right, even though it has to be on for Google Maps?
Also, I cant seem enable GPS with Google Maps. It searches for a satellite forever and never gets anywhere. Does using GPS cost money with ATT? Is there a good program for GPS usage?
My main concern is NOT getting charged cause I do not have a data plan. I only use the WIFI. Thanks for you help.
You need to go to your ATT rep and tell them to turn off the pay per use data package. If not, they usually leave this on, you will be charged. Google Maps uses a data plan. It will not work without one as the maps are loaded as you and your phone are moving. To use GPS without a data plan, you will need to purchase software, ie: Tom Tom 6. around $100 to $150. Hope this helps.
wchildress said:
You need to go to your ATT rep and tell them to turn off the pay per use data package. If not, they usually leave this on, you will be charged. Google Maps uses a data plan. It will not work without one as the maps are loaded as you and your phone are moving. To use GPS without a data plan, you will need to purchase software, ie: Tom Tom 6. around $100 to $150. Hope this helps.
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Cool. To clarify... as long as I am using WIFI (say, to get directions from a cafe with free WIFI with Google Maps) I will NOT be charged? Even though the HSDPA is enable but it NOT my source for data because WIFI is?
Also, there is no way to disable ATT data connection locally on the phone?
Ok, I think I figured it out. I used KaiserTweak to disable data, but I can still use wifi and the "My Location" in Google maps work.
Now when I am off WIFI and a program calls for data, the phone it tells me that I can't do it because of my settings, which is exatly what I wanted. The H icon remians, but it seems that it can't connect so the H is just telling me it's available, from what I understand. I hope so, cause I dont want it to connect and run up my bill!
Thanks KaiserTweak!
xconradx said:
Ok, I think I figured it out. I used KaiserTweak to disable data, but I can still use wifi and the "My Location" in Google maps work.
Now when I am off WIFI and a program calls for data, the phone it tells me that I can't do it because of my settings, which is exatly what I wanted. The H icon remians, but it seems that it can't connect so the H is just telling me it's available, from what I understand. I hope so, cause I dont want it to connect and run up my bill!
Thanks KaiserTweak!
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if you're worried about data bills running up the bill, call AT&T to block data service.
While you're on the phone with them, figure out how much data you used this month and get a MediaNet package to cover data use already used this month (they can backdate it) -- if you used over 4-5 MB you want at least the $5 medianet package, will save you money -- Please don't let your data usage for the first month go unchecked.... otherwise it could be a really big first bill shocker :-/
BBM-Lee said:
if you're worried about data bills running up the bill, call AT&T to block data service.
While you're on the phone with them, figure out how much data you used this month and get a MediaNet package to cover data use already used this month (they can backdate it) -- if you used over 4-5 MB you want at least the $5 medianet package, will save you money -- Please don't let your data usage for the first month go unchecked.... otherwise it could be a really big first bill shocker :-/
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Ok, I am going to call them. Although I've only used WIFI so far and was accidentally connected to their service only once and didn't use any data-required programs.
We will see when I call them.
WTF... seriously, ATT call centers are closed?
I'm used to tmobiles 24/7 service centers.
Oh well, tomorrow I'll find out. I'm already expecting a big bill. It's my fist one, so prorated plus activation fees.
My rebates have come in and I'm ready to drop the data plan on my bill.
I'm trying to prep to keep the majority of the functionality that I have been use to through the Tilt's wireless connection. I hope that I can learn from others that have dropped their data plan.
My first concern revolves around dropping the data plan and making sure that I don't pile up per-kb charges. I know that I can call AT&T and request a stop data, but that also stops my text messages. I've read that KaiserTweak works as well and will probably be the route that I use, unless there are other suggestions.
Furthermore, I need to find a way to make the device look to the wireless connection as the primary connection. For instance, how can I change it so that Outlook and even HTC Home Weather uses wireless connection. Is there a menu or registry setting I can use for that?
For those of you that have gone through this process, I would appreciate in suggestions.
Thanks!
Would also like to know, never got a data plan...
tyeo098 said:
Would also like to know, never got a data plan...
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It's so freaking easy. I don't know why nobody uses this method.
Create an empty Network setting and that's it. No APN, no "modem" settings, nothing. Just create a new one, name it something like NoData, set it as the default network for "The Internet" and "Work", and that's it.
It will never get online except what you feed it through WiFi.
It was great traveling through Japan for few weeks and no data billed, no worries if I needed Modaco NoData or KaiserTweak to setup something shady that might heal itself and nail me with charges.
Lol, its called stop being cheap.
People get stuff and don't want to pay to maintain it. IE, get a car, drive it 4 years, and never want to put new tires on it, but as soon as it doesn't pass inspection, you're ready to snap.
What was the purpose of getting a PDA phone without the data plan...?? Shoulda got a regular phone if that was the case, or perhaps a palm pilot.
Why pay your provider $40+ if you are not using it? I myself have an unlimited data plan, but I rarely use it. I have WiFi at work and at home and I am on WiFi network most of the time. It is critical for me to access my email at all times and I need to pay for the data plan. But for most people, it is not that important and they can still get access 80% of the time. Don't judge people because they don't live by your rules.
Recently, my internet at home has went down. So I decided to use the Wi-Fi Router app that was cooked into the ROM that I'm using to connect my laptop to the internet through my phone (i guess this is called tethering?). I have AT&T service on my phone with the "PDA Personal Max Unlimited Messaging". My question is: would I receive additional charges for using my phone to connect my laptop to the internet under this plan? Or am I able to do this "tethering" for free under this plan?
I am on U.S. AT&T and just so you know, yes you can, but it is explicitly forbidden under any non-tethering plan. If they discover you are doing this (usually by downloading too much data like video streaming) then they may charge you a LOT of money because they will void your unlimited plan and potentially charge you a TON of money by requiring that you pay by the KB. I have heard that 5GB is the magic amount, but I have no idea how much it actually takes for them to notice.
So yes, you can, but you may not want to. Read your Terms of Service very carefully, and perhaps ask at a local AT&T store (although don't let them know you are doing it now).
so if i used it for just general browsing then i should be fine?
can i ask which rom ur using? i've tried installing this wifi router program on gtrab's rom and can't get it to work at all. it never turns on my wifi and i can't get it to work..
Bennieficial said:
so if i used it for just general browsing then i should be fine?
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I can make no promises... Just passing on info I got. your Terms of Service will explain better.
killerskincanoe said:
can i ask which rom ur using? i've tried installing this wifi router program on gtrab's rom and can't get it to work at all. it never turns on my wifi and i can't get it to work..
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im using EnergyROM Photon. Very good ROM in my opinion. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=524043
I have an HD7 and want to minimize my account data usage so I'm connected to Wifi when I'm at home. It was my understanding that when I'm connected to Wifi, all data goes through that, rather than my 3G service. However, when I check my data usage, I show some data being used during times that I know I was at home. Any ideas?
I can see some of the data and know that it is the Yahoo mail being pushed to the phone since that is 2 hours apart. And I know that the phone disconnects from Wifi when the screen turns off, so I understand the data being used there. But there is some data being used (>1mb) when I know I'm at home and awake and obviously doing something on the phone.
This is a very good question and one that I would like to see answered as well!
jkxklutz said:
This is a very good question and one that I would like to see answered as well!
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I used simple mobile in the US which is tmobile mvno, you dont even need to unlock your phone. It was $60 a month unlimited everything no contract so I never worried about that. If your bill is killing you use that.