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Android phone without DATA plan

ttpm15

Newbie
Feb 11, 2012
17
2
I'm on T-mobile Even More for Families 750 Talk and unlimited text plan ( NO DATA )

I'm thinking about buying the Galaxy Nexus ( International version, Unlocked )
Will T-Mobile force me to sign up to their data plan if i put my T-mobile sim card with no data plan into my Galaxy Nexus.

i heard that T-mobile force their customer to get a data plan if they find out that you use a smartphone, i also heard that if you use a Non T-mobile branding phone ( International or AT&T version will not get force onto a data plan because T-mobile don't know the IMEI, therefore they don't know that you use a smartphone and cannot force you to sign up for their data plan )

Is that true ? have anyone successfully using an android smartphone on T-mobile without data plan ?


p/s ?i think forcing someone to sign up for a data plan is really stupid. I spend most of my day in a Wifi zone, so data plan is a total waste of money.
 
He could use any VOIP service and no carrier. I had a Galaxy 3 that would work on wifi with no SIM. SKype, Fring and many others offer wifi calling. You would need a GSM phone that uses a SIM to do this.

It would be no different than using an Android wifi only tablet that will support VOIP, and a front facing camera for video calls.

TMO does have wifi calling.
 
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but im in the wifi zone most of the time, i don't want to waste $20 every month ( $240 every year )

p.s : i don't want to carry my dumb phone and a smartphone w/o data plan either ( i'm actually carry a dumb phone with a Nexus s 4g atm )
i like to text on my nexus s ( the keyboard is a lot easier to type with )
 
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Don't know if this is what you are after, but I used to have a smartphone and hated the high charges. So I changed to a plain cell phone with no extra anything. Then I use a Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 for everything else...texting, games, WiFi phone calls, movies, GPS navigation, etc.

I incur NO charges except the basic phone. Everything else is totally free.

The downside (which I happily accept) is that you carry 2 devices, and that SGP5 must have WiFi available for some functions.
 
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Don't know if this is what you are after, but I used to have a smartphone and hated the high charges. So I changed to a plain cell phone with no extra anything. Then I use a Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 for everything else...texting, games, WiFi phone calls, movies, GPS navigation, etc.

I incur NO charges except the basic phone. Everything else is totally free.

The downside (which I happily accept) is that you carry 2 devices, and that SGP5 must have WiFi available for some functions.

i'm doing the exact same thing you are doing right now ( i carry my uncle old Nexus s 4g CDMA ) instead of galaxy player.

i want to get a Galaxy nexus and no data plan so i can carry 1 device instead of 2 devices.
 
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You could try using wi-fi on it but, I think you would need a SIM card with a data plan on it in order for it to work.

Unless US devices work differently from UK ones, no. I'm able to use all my handsets without a SIM card; obviously there are no network services such as SMS or MMS, but everything else works perfectly via wifi.
 
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Isn't the purpose of smartphones to be online at all times?

Not really, all depends on one's uses and requirements, e.g. does one need email, streamed music, Facebook, Twitter, etc. access at all times? I don't need that sort of thing, email can wait until I get home. Not just smart-phone, I'm regularly using my PC offline as well, as often internet connectivity is unavailable
 
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You could try using wi-fi on it but, I think you would need a SIM card with a data plan on it in order for it to work. By the way, good choice on the galaxy nexus.

I've never heard of that with Android phones. Except for some carrier's special locked version might though. I know the original IPhones wouldn't activate without a valid SIM in them.
 
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Not really, all depends on one's uses and requirements, e.g. does one need email, streamed music, Facebook, Twitter, etc. access at all times? I don't need that sort of thing, email can wait until I get home. Not just smart-phone, I'm regularly using my PC offline as well, as often internet connectivity is unavailable
If you aren't going to use any of that, why consider a smartphone in first place?
 
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It's smaller and easier to carry than even a 7" tablet. I want my nature guides available at all times. If I'm on foot, the phone fits in a small case. I simply don't want to carry five or six books to look something up. I like having hands free at all times, and I don't want to carry a camera and a bag for a tablet at the same time.

Besides, since we all pay for our phones, we are entitled to use them as we see fit within carrier's regulations.

If you want to stick your home movies on your SD card, that's your business. If you prefer Skype or Fring to call an overseas relative via wifi, that's your business too.

If you want all the social goodies - that's ok. Just remember that some of us simply have different ideas of convenience.
 
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If you aren't going to use any of that, why consider a smartphone in first place?

Because I can't play Angry Birds on a simple dumb-phone. :)

Seriously though there's plenty of things one can do on a smart-phone without internet. Office productivity, calendar and schedule, e-books, games, photos, movies, music, city guides, dictionaries, that's why considered a smart-phone. TBH I'm not really interested in internet social networking, apart from QQ sometimes, email is never urgent. If people want me urgently they'll phone or txt. Obviously browsing the Market and installing apps requires internet, but I do that at home on wifi. When I'm at work, I've got a PC.

Many people here have Android phones and tablets that have never been connected to the internet. They're often pre-loaded with many apps and games by the manufacturer.

EDIT:

BTW I've been using handheld smart devices for over 25 years now, Casio pocket computers, various Psions, Windows CE devices. We called them PDAs back in the day. A modern smart-phone is basically only an advanced PDA with a phone built-in.
 
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Thanks - someone else finally admitted using a phone as a PDA. You need the faster processor and memory to run some of the apps you want. Dumbphone won't cut it.My Sony Clie UX50 still works(except for wifi) but the screen is so small and you need a stylus although the UX had a fully functional keyboard and a slot for the stylus onboard. I've found most of the programs I had or the equivalents transferred over.

Docs to Go has been around that long, so has Pocket Money and I've seen a few others.
 
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Thanks - someone else finally admitted using a phone as a PDA. You need the faster processor and memory to run some of the apps you want. Dumbphone won't cut it.My Sony Clie UX50 still works(except for wifi) but the screen is so small and you need a stylus although the UX had a fully functional keyboard and a slot for the stylus onboard. I've found most of the programs I had or the equivalents transferred over.

I know a few Chinese who like stylus operated devices. Because using a stylus on a resistive screen is quite an efficient and accurate method of entering Chinese characters(Hanzi) into a PDA, phone or tablet. Chinese handwriting recognition can work very well, because the strokes of the characters have to be done in a set order.

I see.

It seems I'm too dependent on internet - when I'm outta range, I see my device as a paperweight.

I was effectively out of range for three weeks last month, on holiday with a friend's family in a remote part of Hubei province. Was in the national paper as well.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/hubei/2012-01/19/content_14500671.htm

The only internet access was very slow CDMA wireless from China Telecom(50-60kbps), OK for looking at forums, IM, email and checking the news. Certainly couldn't stream anything. The only tech my friend's family had was a CRT TV set, a radio-cassette player and basic mobile phones, that was it. IMO it feels good to unplug from the 21st century once in a while, doing it again in the summer. :)
 
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IMO it feels good to unplug from the 21st century once in a while, doing it again in the summer. :)
I know the feeling, not as radically as you, of course.

My father-in-law has a countryside house and there's no cell reception over there, only in downtown, so I only go there to buy something every other day and update my stuff.

Feels kinda good to be disconncted from the world... But not for more than 5 days hehe.
 
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