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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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."

Captivate WITHOUT Data Plan?

Hey everyone! Hopefully I will go to the at&t store to pick up my Captivate tomorrow. However, I have a problem.
You see, my family has 5 members who have phone line, 2 of which have data plans. My father has a data plan and is content with his iphone 3gs and is eligible for an upgrade. So, he plans to pay $250 for a new Samsung Captivate that will SUPPOSEDLY be for him and his line. However, he is going to give it to me instead, and I don't have a data plan.
Is there any way I could unlock my phone in the sense that I can use it without a data plan? Like can I have 3g turned off 24/7? I plan to get my phone rooted, does rooting automatically do this/allow me to do this?
Thanks in advance.

No as soon as you put an AT&T Sim in it it will register on their network and a data plan will be added...

Sadly AT&T requires smartphones to have Data plans. You're not going to have any choice. Hopefully your old man won't notice, eh?
$250?!? How long has he had the contract with them? I picked mine up for $99.

terrigan said:
Sadly AT&T requires smartphones to have Data plans. You're not going to have any choice. Hopefully your old man won't notice, eh?
$250?!? How long has he had the contract with them? I picked mine up for $99.
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For a little less than a year, he didn't wait out his whole 2 years lol.

well thats not possible if you have att but if you pay like 250 more and buy a vibrant off contract and unlock then you only pay 10 dollars for unlimited data

You can have AT&T put a data block on your phone, but that blocks mms also. Then the system wont put you on a data plan. btw data block is free to do, we know how they like to charge for most of there features.

Gaidheil said:
You can have AT&T put a data block on your phone, but that blocks mms also. Then the system wont put you on a data plan.
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Click to collapse
You better research this - AT&T won't put a datablock on a smarthphone that requires data. Phones transmit their IMEI numbers when on the network - AT&T will see it is a Captivate and force a data plan on the customer.
If you bought it off contract, you may have a chance, but if you buy it via the subsidized contract price you need to play by their rules.

no even if u buy the captivate off contract you still have to pay for data but if you buy a vibrant off contract unlock it then its up to you whether or not you want a data plan

If you have a GoPhone sim card in it, they won't charge you for data. I have a GoPhone sim in mine and I've never been required to purchase data for it. I'm not sure about monthly bills though...they may require data on those.

NeoXer0 said:
Hey everyone! Hopefully I will go to the at&t store to pick up my Captivate tomorrow. However, I have a problem.
You see, my family has 5 members who have phone line, 2 of which have data plans. My father has a data plan and is content with his iphone 3gs and is eligible for an upgrade. So, he plans to pay $250 for a new Samsung Captivate that will SUPPOSEDLY be for him and his line. However, he is going to give it to me instead, and I don't have a data plan.
Is there any way I could unlock my phone in the sense that I can use it without a data plan? Like can I have 3g turned off 24/7? I plan to get my phone rooted, does rooting automatically do this/allow me to do this?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i dont understand why people even want to try this.
if he is getting it for that price just unlock it and try to go to another provider....

alphadog00 said:
You better research this - AT&T won't put a datablock on a smarthphone that requires data. Phones transmit their IMEI numbers when on the network - AT&T will see it is a Captivate and force a data plan on the customer.
If you bought it off contract, you may have a chance, but if you buy it via the subsidized contract price you need to play by their rules.
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Click to collapse
i spoke with them about this yesterday, as i wanted to open a 3rd line w my old blackjack, and they told me that it would HAVE to have the min 15$ data plan on the phone, no way around it.
smartphone = smartphone plan. thats just how it is now.

It's odd, I've had mine for about a week now, and I still don't have a data plan. Hasn't been added, I've checked data usage, it says "information not available"...
I have a text and data block on it... but I'm not completely sure on that. Prick of a sister did that.

pokedoke said:
It's odd, I've had mine for about a week now, and I still don't have a data plan. Hasn't been added, I've checked data usage, it says "information not available"...
I have a text and data block on it... but I'm not completely sure on that. Prick of a sister did that.
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Click to collapse
LOL! dude! I am also in the same boat. I had a data block put on my line about a year ago. I bought my captivate one week ago and no data plan yet. Its not on my bill and I can't connect.
I really have no need of a data plan. Everywhere I go, there is WiFi available.
I am loving it so far, lets hope they dont get wise to it.

xtremekilla09 said:
LOL! dude! I am also in the same boat. I had a data block put on my line about a year ago. I bought my captivate one week ago and no data plan yet. Its not on my bill and I can't connect.
I really have no need of a data plan. Everywhere I go, there is WiFi available.
I am loving it so far, lets hope they dont get wise to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed...but I was kinda looking forward to a data plan... living in the city = real time traffic updates are pure bliss. But I suppose the areas with traffic are areas with wifi anyway...haha.
What differs from yours is that my block started when I got the phone. You'd think somebody would catch on...

For some reason they allowed me to use the unlimited family data plan (non-smartphone) for my Tilt2 in the beginning of the year even though it clearly showed in my account that I was using a Tilt2 (bought off eBay). I did have a data block on my phone prior to the Tilt2. Picked up the Captivate off contract and still enjoying unlimited data since launch.

hey guys. i work at att as a sales rep and there is a way to get it without data...
lmk if interested.

People who have blocks on data plans are being grandfathered in.
You can no longer block data on smartphones.

again. im telling you i know how to do it

I didn't see your post, but I can already tell it's not available to just anyone.

lol ive been working with att for over a year. im tellinmg you i can do it. for Blackberry, iphone, any smart phone

[Q] Data Plan

Hi, I've recently heard that AT&T has a way of now detecting if you're using a smartphone and will automatically bill you with a data plan if you dont already have one. I was wondering if rooting the phone would help bypass this cause my brother is using a jailbroken iphone without a data plan. Thanks guys!

illegit said:
Hi, I've recently heard that AT&T has a way of now detecting if you're using a smartphone and will automatically bill you with a data plan if you dont already have one. I was wondering if rooting the phone would help bypass this cause my brother is using a jailbroken iphone without a data plan. Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to accomplish this you would have to get involved in much more complicated and nefarious things than just rooting your phone.
This forum is not the place for it, so for you the answer is no.

It is not so much they can detect a smartphone, but they can detect the type of phone, iPhone, Captivate, etc. If these are on the smartphone list, they will add a dataplan if you don't have one - or if you have the wrong type.
You can't change this -when the phone is on the network, it broadcasts information about itself - rooting doesn't change this.
AT&T has millions of subscribers and this information probably has to be mined out of a data base - pull list of all smarthpones seen on the network in the past X days; check all accounts related for data plans, etc. They probably have a bunch of older unconnected systems too. So, it may not happen the first day you connect or even 3 months later, but at some point they will figure it out.

Its true. Before I got my fiance her iphone 3gs, she had a blackberry pearl without data and a few months before she switched they added data to our bill unexpectedly and wouldn't let us drop it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

i dont get why someone buys a 500 dollar phone if they are too cheap to get the datra plan with it.
I could understand if you got a blackjack, but come on now....

iamamp3pimp said:
i dont get why someone buys a 500 dollar phone if they are too cheap to get the datra plan with it.
I could understand if you got a blackjack, but come on now....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think some people are convinced they are near wifi all day and don't want to waste the money on data they won't use.. But they do have that 200MB plan for $15 - i think it is overpriced - should be $5 - but if you buy a smartphone you should be ready to add a data plan.
If you don't want to add data, get a dumb phone and ipod Touch.

I work for AT&T so I'll give you some inside info. The phones have a sim registration program that talks to the local server through the towers. Within 60 seconds of your phone being turned on it tells the network what kind of phone it is. It can tell the network the make/model but not the IMEI. If it could detect the IMEI then stolen phones would pretty much be useless. The only way around the forced data plan is to have a tag on your account for "smartphone exclusion". Everyone got this tag in September 2009 so we could all be grandfathered with no data plans. When you upgrade to a new phone with a 2yr agreement it removes the tage automatically. But if you buy your own smartphone, this tag allows you to keep data removed if you dont want it. Or in my case it allows me to have a samsung captivate with the $10 family data unlimited plan for dumbphones. The network knows I have a captivate but it cant force the data plan because I have "smartphone exclusion". You can go to a local AT&T store and see if someone is willing to tell you if you have this tag. If you don't have it then it is pretty much impossible to get it. And no I can't add it for you. Hope that helps.

Actually the IMEI is reported when the phone talks to the network. It is part of the GSM protocol. Europe enforces a ban on stolen phones via IMEI. American carriers just dont seem interested in banning stolen phones as they would rather have the revenue and not turn off the ebay buyer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

alphadog00 said:
Actually the IMEI is reported when the phone talks to the network. It is part of the GSM protocol. Europe enforces a ban on stolen phones via IMEI. American carriers just dont seem interested in banning stolen phones as they would rather have the revenue and not turn off the ebay buyer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
while this is true at&t actually uses the IMSI on the SIM to do its dirty work. Also the captivates ONLY transmit the IMSI while on 3G (reduces over head for more throughput on EDGE) which is why the option to force 2G is hidden on the captivate.

captivatesuperuser said:
The only way around the forced data plan is to have a tag on your account for "smartphone exclusion". Everyone got this tag in September 2009 so we could all be grandfathered with no data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been with AT&T since before 2009, does this mean I'll automatically have the tag? And how would I know if my account has this tag or not?
When you upgrade to a new phone with a 2yr agreement it removes the tage automatically. But if you buy your own smartphone, this tag allows you to keep data removed if you dont want it. Or in my case it allows me to have a samsung captivate with the $10 family data unlimited plan for dumbphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean buying your own smartphone outside of AT&T? I currently have the $10 unlimited data plan for my "dumbphone". Talking to AT&T indicated there was no way to keep the existing data plan and I've have to move to one of the 2 new plans if I got the Captivate.

iamamp3pimp said:
i dont get why someone buys a 500 dollar phone if they are too cheap to get the datra plan with it.
I could understand if you got a blackjack, but come on now....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would be interested in this simply because i want unlimited data. Hell i would pay the extra 5 bucks if they would let me in on the unlimited smartphone plan but it seems like fooling their network would be an easier task lol. Also i have had my sim for over 2 years now and they still were able to change me from the dumbphone plan to the smartphone one.

[Q] Is there an additional cost for "Mobile AP" use on Froyo

I've upgraded to the Froyo floating around here and there is the Mobile AP option in the wireless settings. Talking to my friend who has an Incredible, he says that Verizon charges $20 a month to use what I am assuming to be the equivalent thing but on their network.
What I want to know is, do you have to pay to use the built in Mobile AP setting, or should I download a different wifi tether app, or what?
Thanks!

vsboxerboy1 said:
I've upgraded to the Froyo floating around here and there is the Mobile AP option in the wireless settings. Talking to my friend who has an Incredible, he says that Verizon charges $20 a month to use what I am assuming to be the equivalent thing but on their network.
What I want to know is, do you have to pay to use the built in Mobile AP setting, or should I download a different wifi tether app, or what?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you don't have to pay to use it.

Thanks! Would you happen to know if my friend is correct in saying that he has to pay $20 / month to use the Incredible's version of this?
It seems so un-ATT not to charge for something....

My understanding of it is that the mobile ap option in the leaked froyo is free but not because att is deciding not to charge for it, it is because this is in fact a leaked version of froyo and when it officially comes out they will find a way to charge for it or just include an att version of it that you will have to pay for and this new application that will be on the official froyo will be the equivalent of what your friend has for verizon. Hope that helps and if you want to be extra careful just download one of the wireless tethering apps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

vsboxerboy1 said:
Thanks! Would you happen to know if my friend is correct in saying that he has to pay $20 / month to use the Incredible's version of this?
It seems so un-ATT not to charge for something....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ATT would love to have you believe you have to pay their twenty dollar subscription fee to enable tethering on your phone as well.
My guess (and this is just a guess as I have no experience with verizon) is if your friend can get either easy tether or another such app on his phone he would not need to pay them either. Again I don't know anything about verizon or the contract your friend has with them.

Yeah, I poked around a bit on the Incrdible subforum and it seems like all curernt wifi tether apps require root access, which he does not have (I don't want to be his IT guy so I'm not gonna root it for him lol)

vsboxerboy1 said:
I've upgraded to the Froyo floating around here and there is the Mobile AP option in the wireless settings. Talking to my friend who has an Incredible, he says that Verizon charges $20 a month to use what I am assuming to be the equivalent thing but on their network.
What I want to know is, do you have to pay to use the built in Mobile AP setting, or should I download a different wifi tether app, or what?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What Data Plan do you have with AT&T? If you weren't grandfathered in on the old $30 unlimited plan and you exceed your cap you could end up paying quite a bit for tethering.

ranjo65 said:
What Data Plan do you have with AT&T? If you weren't grandfathered in on the old $30 unlimited plan and you exceed your cap you could end up paying quite a bit for tethering.
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Click to collapse
how can you "exceed a cap" on an "unlimited plan"?

dayv said:
how can you "exceed a cap" on an "unlimited plan"?
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Click to collapse
You can't.
But there was a point at which you would raise flags and be investigated.

MikeyMike01 said:
You can't.
But there was a point at which you would raise flags and be investigated.
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Click to collapse
Investigated for what exactly? Who would do the investigating? And a what point would the flags raise?

dayv said:
how can you "exceed a cap" on an "unlimited plan"?
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Click to collapse
Read a little slower next time. I said if he wasn't ("weren't") grandfathered in on the unlimited plan.

dayv said:
Investigated for what exactly? Who would do the investigating? And a what point would the flags raise?
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Click to collapse
1. Excessive data usage, even on an unlimited plan. (A clue to tethering when tethering isn't allowed...like, say, with a Captivate.
2. AT&T
3. Don't know.

edited out by me.

ranjo65 said:
Read a little slower next time. I said if he wasn't ("weren't") grandfathered in on the unlimited plan.
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I am a slow reader, but I still missed that up. LOL

dayv said:
I am a slow reader, but I still missed that up. LOL
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Click to collapse
No worries.

I have unlimited data, grandfathered in.
My friend has unlimited data as well, but AFAIK there isn't an easy root solution for the Incredible yet - thus, there is no wifi tether app (that I know of) for him to use.

vsboxerboy1 said:
I have unlimited data, grandfathered in.
My friend has unlimited data as well, but AFAIK there isn't an easy root solution for the Incredible yet - thus, there is no wifi tether app (that I know of) for him to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The simple answer is - if you use tethering and not paying for it, then you are violating the terms of service. Tethering is officially a separate product.
But, the captivate has no AT&T tethering app, so they have no easy way to monitor tethering usage. If you use a lot of data, they may start looking, and even then, they have to do some deep packet inspection to determine that you are tethering and not doing all this on your phone - and even deep packet inspection is not 100% conclusive as you could say you are using a custom browser that makes your phone look like Firefox on Windows 7.
So even if they were suspicious, all they could first is send you a letter about bandwidth. They would have a hard time proving anything. BUT, they can always terminate service - they can say they don't want you as a customer any more.
The only people that get in trouble for tethering are the ones that run their whole house internet off their phone. Occasional use, and under 5GB per month, and they wont bother you.

alphadog00 said:
The simple answer is - if you use tethering and not paying for it, then you are violating the terms of service. Tethering is officially a separate product.
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Click to collapse
What? If this is true, and by this logic, I must be violating my terms of service every time I use google navigator -- after all att has their own paid subscription for att navigator.
I must be violating my terms of service every time i use dropbox since att paid service net share and storage.
I must be violation my terms of service every time i use google talk to send a text message since att has a texting plan.
I must be violating my terms of service every time i use a non att product or service on my phone if att offers a paid version of that service.
As far as tethering being an "officially separate product" exactly what do I get from att if I pay them for their subscription tethering plan and I have a captivate? I will tell you, I would get nothing, nada, zilch. ATT has no tethering product for the captivate, even though they are more than happy to charge anyone willing to pay for it.

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm not all that concerned, I pay for the phone, the data, and the rest of the services, I shall use them as I want to. Mind you I will be smart about it as I only have a 200MB a month plan, but that's not a lot of usage and would probably never raise a red flag to AT&T.
To tether or not to tether! It's not really a question anymore.

dayv said:
What? If this is true, and by this logic, I must be violating my terms of service every time I use google navigator -- after all att has their own paid subscription for att navigator.
I must be violating my terms of service every time i use dropbox since att paid service net share and storage.
I must be violation my terms of service every time i use google talk to send a text message since att has a texting plan.
I must be violating my terms of service every time i use a non att product or service on my phone if att offers a paid version of that service.
As far as tethering being an "officially separate product" exactly what do I get from att if I pay them for their subscription tethering plan and I have a captivate? I will tell you, I would get nothing, nada, zilch. ATT has no tethering product for the captivate, even though they are more than happy to charge anyone willing to pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Important distinction being that tethering may be a violation of your services contract. Nothing seems to indicate that "duplicating core functionality" (thanks for the term, Apple) constitutes a violation of AT&T's acceptable use policy.
I just browsed through some of the restrictions listed on AT&T's website. I did see some information about plans that do include tethering, but I did not find an express prohibition of tethering for other plans. Seemed that the tethering plans may have just eased the process. I am personally on an unlimited plan, but since this isn't offered anymore I was not able to find the specific terms of this plan. Can anybody point to an actual paragraph in a terms of use statement or contractual language expressly prohibiting tethering?
Also, has anybody actually been "flagged" for tethering? I'm curious because it seems that warnings abound, but I've yet to see a person actually complain of having been so much as given notice of violation by AT&T.
Thanks. My first post. I like this place.

Tmobile throttling unlimited 4G users who use "too much data"?

This month I decided to upgrade from the $30 5gb value plan to the $70 unlimited 4g plan in order to save on my home internet by tethering via wifi for my home network. I've had tmobile since february and I always go over the 5gb limit rather quickly and end up spending almost as much as the unlimited 4g plan per month because I have to top up early or suffer painfully waiting for a page to load with their god-awful 2g speeds.
Well, it seems tmobile isn't happy about how much data I've used since upgrading (close to 50gb in 3 weeks), and my internet speeds have PLUMMETED to the point where I'm lucky if I get 10kbps download speeds. Hmmm....that seems eerily similar to the speeds I would get when throttled down to 2g speed prior to upgrading my service plan.
In the past weeks I've been re-routed to a tmo page that says I'm either over my limit or not authorized to tether a couple of times, but I was able to bypass this by simply resetting my wifi access point, or at worst rebooting my phone. Well, now it seems they're tired of me outsmarting them, so they just throttled me. BTW, my phone shows I'm able to connect to h, h+, and 4g.
Having said that, here's why I'm so upset about all of this: Last night I called tmo customer service, and a rep told me there is an outage in my area, and it's expected to be resolved in a week (hmmm....my month ends in a week....coincidence???) So I called up my buddy and had him bring his nexus 4 over to my house so we could see if it really was an outage. Guess what??? He was able to connect to h, h+, and 4g, and when he ran a speedtest he got the results we both expected....normal h, h+ and 4g speeds....NOT 10kbps like I've been getting.
So, my summation: Tmobile is lying to their customers who use too much data, telling them that there is an outage in order to keep them on a leash. I don't remember signing/agreeing to anything that says "I will agree to pay for unlimited 4g data, as long as I limit my monthly data usage"
Anyone else experience this issue, or am I the only one?

Lets see if I got this straight..
you were tethering
They told you, you were not authorized to tether. Probably because you were over your 500mb allowance.
You tethered anyways, raking in 50gb of data used.
and you complain they are throttling you?
So you break their policy and complain they do something about it?
Move along here....nothing to see.

SinisterDragon said:
Lets see if I got this straight..
you were tethering
They told you, you were not authorized to tether. Probably because you were over your 500mb allowance.
You tethered anyways, raking in 50gb of data used.
and you complain they are throttling you?
So you break their policy and complain they do something about it?
Move along here....nothing to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't wait for the "but unlimited means unlimited!" crap to come.
You paid for unlimited mobile data usage, without tethering. What made you think you could then turn around and use this as your home internet service provider?

SinisterDragon said:
Lets see if I got this straight..
you were tethering
They told you, you were not authorized to tether. Probably because you were over your 500mb allowance.
You tethered anyways, raking in 50gb of data used.
and you complain they are throttling you?
So you break their policy and complain they do something about it?
Move along here....nothing to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who told me I wasn't authorized??? A random webpage I was re-routed to, not any service agreement I signed.
also, if you acually read my post you would see that I didn't complain I'm throttled. I'm pissed they lied and said it's an outage, rather than just coming clean and saying "you tethered too much"

You did something bad...they did something bad. You both are even. Why get mad over something you're not supposed to be doing?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

defnow said:
You did something bad...they did something bad. You both are even.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did nothing wrong. I didn't agree to not tether, and my phone (sold officially by tmo with the same firmware and capabilities) comes with the option to tether. If they don't want me doing it, it should 1. clearly state in the agreement this is prohibited. 2. stop selling phones with the ability to tether out of the box.

hp420 said:
and my phone (sold officially by tmo with the same firmware and capabilities) comes with the option to tether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This logic is flawed due to the fact that phones come with the option of using mobile data, you still need to pay for the option to utilize it.
"But my phone came with the functionality to make phone calls, why should I have to pay to do so?"

Whether they lied or not, it's right on their site that the limit of tethering is 500MB on the $70 plan and you abused it. Be lucky they didn't terminate you.

hp420 said:
1. clearly state in the agreement this is prohibited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/mobile-broadband-plans.aspx
Limited-time offers; subject to change. Taxes and fees additional. Compatible device required; not voice-capable. Domestic use only; no domestic roaming. Mobile Internet Plans: Partial megabytes rounded up. Full speeds available up to monthly allotment; then slowed to up to 2G speeds for rest of billing cycle. Domestic use only; no roaming. Roaming charges may apply to use via non-T-Mobile-owned Wi-Fi networks. Credit approval, deposit and $10 SIM starter kit may be required. If you switch plans, you may be bound by existing or extended term (including early termination provisions) and/or charged an up to $200 fee. Regulatory Programs Fee of $1.61 per line/month applies. Taxes approx. 6–28% of your monthly bill. Full speeds available up to monthly allotment; then, slowed to up to 2G speeds for rest of billing cycle. On-network and domestic roaming data allotments differ: 500 MB full-speed plan includes 10 MB roaming; 2.5 GB, 4.5 GB and Unlimited 4G full-speed plans include 50 MB roaming; 6.5 GB and 8.5 GB full-speed plans include 100 MB roaming; and 10.5 GB and 12.5 GB full-speed plans include 200 MB roaming. Unlimited text includes unlimited nationwide text, and picture and video messaging.Pay-In-Advance Mobile Internet Plans: Service available for time period and/or usage amount provided by Pass. For time period, a day is 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., based on time zone associated with account phone number. Usage rounded up to the nearest KB each session. Only one Pass may be active at a time. Account suspended after 365 days of inactivity. Data only; does not include voice, messaging or Wi-Fi services. Domestic only; no roaming. $10 Mobile Internet Discount: Requires one other line of post-paid phone service with T-Mobile on the same account as Mobile Internet line. Smartphone Mobile Hotspot: Qualifying plan required. Plan data allotment applies; Unlimited 4G data plan includes 500MB of tethering. No domestic roaming. Use of connected devices subject to T-Mobile Terms and Conditions. Coverage not available everywhere. Network Management: Data traffic of plans with limited high-speed data allotments greater than 2GB will be prioritized over other currently offered plans during periods of congestion. Service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse, abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users, or significant roaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

hp420 said:
I did nothing wrong. I didn't agree to not tether, and my phone (sold officially by tmo with the same firmware and capabilities) comes with the option to tether. If they don't want me doing it, it should 1. clearly state in the agreement this is prohibited. 2. stop selling phones with the ability to tether out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether you knowingly accepted it or not you did. When you purchased the $70 unlimited you agreed to only 500mb of tether data. It says it on your paper work, I know cause I just looked. It says it online. Whether you noticed that or not is a different questions. As far as lying to you, oh well. You were going behind their back and doing something you weren't supposed to do. As someone said before, you are lucky they didn't just terminate you.

What does this have to do with Nexus 4, apart from the fact it was used to tether?

kzakhar said:
What does this have to do with Nexus 4, apart from the fact it was used to tether?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you see a tmobile forum?
Also, afaik, nexus devices are the only ones I know of that come with the ability to tether built into the firmware. All other devices (again, afaik) may have the option in settings, but you have to pay for the plan to actually enable it.

As said already, you are only allotted 500mb of tethering with that plan. You went over, they throttled you.
As far as the CSR that lied to you, I'm sure they didn't know what was going on, so they just said there's an outage because they weren't sure what else to say. Getting mad at T-Mo because one CSR didn't know what they were talking about (none, from any company, do) is like getting mad at Red Lobster because a waiter recited the wrong specials of the day. It was a mistake that one CSR made. It's not like the T-Mo board put the order down to all CSR's to outright lie to customers so they could sit around their meeting table and laugh as customers get angry.

hp420 said:
Also, afaik, nexus devices are the only ones I know of that come with the ability to tether built into the firmware. All other devices (again, afaik) may have the option in settings, but you have to pay for the plan to actually enable it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see you complaining that you have a phone bill because you bought a phone that makes phone calls. Same logic.. you need to pay to play.

algorhythm said:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/mobile-broadband-plans.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Limited-time offers; subject to change. Taxes and fees additional. Compatible device required; not voice-capable. Domestic use only; no domestic roaming. Mobile Internet Plans: Partial megabytes rounded up. Full speeds available up to monthly allotment; then slowed to up to 2G speeds for rest of billing cycle. Domestic use only; no roaming. Roaming charges may apply to use via non-T-Mobile-owned Wi-Fi networks. Credit approval, deposit and $10 SIM starter kit may be required. If you switch plans, you may be bound by existing or extended term (including early termination provisions) and/or charged an up to $200 fee. Regulatory Programs Fee of $1.61 per line/month applies. Taxes approx. 6–28% of your monthly bill. Full speeds available up to monthly allotment; then, slowed to up to 2G speeds for rest of billing cycle. On-network and domestic roaming data allotments differ: 500 MB full-speed plan includes 10 MB roaming; 2.5 GB, 4.5 GB and Unlimited 4G full-speed plans include 50 MB roaming; 6.5 GB and 8.5 GB full-speed plans include 100 MB roaming; and 10.5 GB and 12.5 GB full-speed plans include 200 MB roaming. Unlimited text includes unlimited nationwide text, and picture and video messaging.Pay-In-Advance Mobile Internet Plans: Service available for time period and/or usage amount provided by Pass. For time period, a day is 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., based on time zone associated with account phone number. Usage rounded up to the nearest KB each session. Only one Pass may be active at a time. Account suspended after 365 days of inactivity. Data only; does not include voice, messaging or Wi-Fi services. Domestic only; no roaming. $10 Mobile Internet Discount: Requires one other line of post-paid phone service with T-Mobile on the same account as Mobile Internet line. Smartphone Mobile Hotspot: Qualifying plan required. Plan data allotment applies; Unlimited 4G data plan includes 500MB of tethering. No domestic roaming. Use of connected devices subject to T-Mobile Terms and Conditions. Coverage not available everywhere. Network Management: Data traffic of plans with limited high-speed data allotments greater than 2GB will be prioritized over other currently offered plans during periods of congestion. Service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse, abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users, or significant roaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for pointing that out... I never saw any of that
Now...as I said, I was aware that it's prohibited, but I was not aware of any TOS stating this.
I'm still not happy about them lying to me, though lol They could have at least said "you were a data hog, so we throttled you, as per our TOS". At this point I would have shrugged my shoulders, and been happy they let me go 3 weeks at the rate I had. Lying to customers, no matter what the reason is definitely not winning them any awards, to say the least. I mean, hypothetically speaking, if they terminate my service for using this much data, what are they gonna say? "our tower is completely inoperable, and maybe we'll have it fixed in two years"???? lol

hp420 said:
Do you see a tmobile forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
support.t-mobile.com/
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

thedudejdog said:
support.t-mobile.com/
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it went without saying that I was referring to this website. I wasn't aware I had to clearly state every single detail as if I'm lawyering this sh!t
way to be a douchebag

Come and ask a random unrelated question that eventually leads to someone reading and highlighting some ToS for you, exercise passive-aggressive behavior when someone disagrees with your opinion.
way to be a douchebag

they didnt disagree....they pointed to a completely different website!!!
way to miss the point entirely! and still be a douchebag
Sent form my Paranoid Nexus 4

Instead of calling people douchebags, try this next time:
1. Open the 'Nexus 4 General' forum
2. Locate the 'Nexus 4-T-Mobile U.S.A Thread'
3. Open the 'Nexus 4-T-Mobile U.S.A Thread'
4. Ask your very important question
5. ???
6. Profit.