Help!!! I don't understand!

[SeeItPrinted]

I don't understand, I saved up money for a year to up grade my families phones and wanted to get the Samsung Epic. I looked into the phone first by going to Samsung.com to ask question about the phone before I purchase it.

I asked if the voice and text will work without data? He said yes!
I asked if the camera and camcorder will work without data? He said yes
Then I asked if we can download movies, music and games from our USB, plus can I use calender and to do list without data? He said yes, not all apps and andriod require data to work and the phone were design for the everyday consumer and business man... so people who do not need or what data can deactivate it and just use Wi-Fi!

I was so excited I called Sprint told them I want to buy the Samsung Epic and to deactivate the data since I wont be needing it and would like to keep my plan! They said that the phone requires data and they wont sell me the phones without data plan!

I told them I don't need data so why do I have to pay for data I wont use?
They said sorry, but here are some cheap crappy phones you can buy!!!

I just don't understand! If the phones work without the data why can't I buy it?

Thanks,
Ann

 

[lunatic59]

The short answer is that the $99.00 you pay for a $500.00 device is subsidized by the voice and data plans that are part of the contract. You do have some options. You can buy the phone for full price and have sprint activate it on their network or you could try and buy a used phone.

 

[SeeItPrinted]

yes, I asked if I bought the phone from a store will they activate it? They said I will still have to switch to a data plan!

Ann

 

[Lucky Armpit]

Yes, the phone will function without a data plan but most carriers will not allow a smartphone on their network without a data plan. As lunatic59 explained, it's how carriers can sell you a $500 phone for $50. They make their money back, and then some, with your $30/month data plan over 2 years.

 

[Mada]

You will have to pay that full ~500 dollar price for the phone if you do not want a data plan, that is, if your carrier allows you to do so.

 

[mob.sh]

yes, I asked if I bought the phone from a store will they activate it? They said I will still have to switch to a data plan!

can you switch to another operator then?

 

[dan330]

OP..
the statements are all true.. you can use the phones that way... without data.
but you have to have a data plan to activate a "smartphone" on sprint's network. most carriers have the same restrictions in usa.

i think Tmobile lets you use your smartphone without data plan.. but you can not get any discounts on the phones from them.

 

[Mark D Jelicks]

you get what you pay for.. you pay less you get less...

 

[chanchan05]

Its a restriction that applies to USA networks. Here in my country I know of people who use all ranges of smartphones, even SGS2 without a data plan.

 

[rui-no-onna]

can you switch to another operator then?

Only operator that won't force you into a data plan if you bring your own device is T-Mobile (they'll put you on pay per use) and that one's on GSM. CDMA tends to be trickier as the carrier will have to approve your phone for use with their network or you'll have to do some ESN spoofing.

@chanchan05
Yes, this appears to be a US-only restriction (at least, I don't know of carriers in other countries having such draconian rules). The thing is, most folks in the US tend to get sticker shock if they have to pay full price for their phones. They'd rather pay $100~200 upfront then $70/month (total of $1,780~1,880 for 2 years + taxes) than pay $400~500 upfront for the device and only pay $50/month or less for service and not be tied to a contract. I'd love to see carriers offering plans similar to T-Mobile's Value Plans. Unfortunately, I just don't see those being all that popular.

 

[SeeItPrinted]

I don't mind paying for service, just not so much! I pay for my family to have talk service for just $79.00 month, and if the data was only $10 month per phone it wouldn't be so bad, but $130 + $20 for added line + smartphone, $10 Premium Data add-on charge. = $160 a month, that is a big jump and unfortunately can't afford it!

Ann

 

[Lucky Armpit]

I don't mind paying for service, just not so much! I pay for my family to have talk service for just $79.00 month, and if the data was only $10 month per phone it wouldn't be so bad, but $130 + $20 for added line + smartphone, $10 Premium Data add-on charge. = $160 a month, that is a big jump and unfortunately can't afford it!

Ann

I understand, trust me. My wife and I are on Verizon and we pay a premium for service... ~$160/month for two smartphones (Droid X and iPhone 4) and 1400 minutes that we share. Since we have smartphones, we have to have a $30/month data plan for both phones. We have no choice. The ~$160/month is with discounts too - we both work for a bank that's partnered with Verizon so we get discounts on the service and data plans.

We could reduce our bill by $60/month easily if we didn't have smartphones. But Verzion - and most other US carriers - require that the customer have a data plan if they have a smartphone on the network.

 

[zuben el genub]

Only operator that won't force you into a data plan if you bring your own device is T-Mobile (they'll put you on pay per use) and that one's on GSM. CDMA tends to be trickier as the carrier will have to approve your phone for use with their network or you'll have to do some ESN spoofing.

@chanchan05
Yes, this appears to be a US-only restriction (at least, I don't know of carriers in other countries having such draconian rules). The thing is, most folks in the US tend to get sticker shock if they have to pay full price for their phones. They'd rather pay $100~200 upfront then $70/month (total of $1,780~1,880 for 2 years + taxes) than pay $400~500 upfront for the device and only pay $50/month or less for service and not be tied to a contract. I'd love to see carriers offering plans similar to T-Mobile's Value Plans. Unfortunately, I just don't see those being all that popular.

TMobile has postpaid plans that allow you to bring your own phone. I've got a family one. I bought my phone outright. You can buy unlocked from Amazon, or find a used phone.

With a GSM phone, you can use it wifi only without a SIM. So if you use Skype or Fring you can also make calls. I had an unlocked Galaxy 3 that worked that way. Get on my own wifi. TMO does have wifi calling, but it uses minutes. It's good for where there is a lousy signal.

 

[rui-no-onna]

I'd love to see carriers offering plans similar to T-Mobile's Value Plans. Unfortunately, I just don't see those being all that popular.

TMobile has postpaid plans that allow you to bring your own phone. I've got a family one. I bought my phone outright. You can buy unlocked from Amazon, or find a used phone.

Yep. Those used to be called the Even More Plus but I believe they changed the name to Value plan which I referred to in my previous post.

With a GSM phone, you can use it wifi only without a SIM. So if you use Skype or Fring you can also make calls. I had an unlocked Galaxy 3 that worked that way. Get on my own wifi. TMO does have wifi calling, but it uses minutes. It's good for where there is a lousy signal.

Personally, I'm using a combination of Google Voice (text) + GrooVe IP (calls) on my prepaid Android smartphones. Works pretty great. I can have multiple phones on different carriers and I only need to give out one number (Google Voice) to people. Other niceties include visual voicemail with transcription, consolidated SMS, call logs and voicemail, cloud backup, etc.

 

[zuben el genub]

It was actually the poster you answered who said "pay per use."
We agree that TMO has decent Value Plans that are postpaid.

 

[rui-no-onna]

It was actually the poster you answered who said "pay per use."
We agree that TMO has decent Value Plans that are postpaid.

Actually, I was the one who said pay per use:
T-Mobile To Add Pay-Per-Use Data To All Smartphone Accounts On September 15th

If you have a smartphone and choose not to have a monthly data plan, T-Mobile will put you on pay per use data. Of course, if you disable cellular data on your phone, then you don't have to pay anything.