Carrier without automatic data plan

[magnificence]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying an unlocked android phone and using it without a data plan, I can live with wi-fi only. But with which carriers am I able to use my android without automatically being charged for a data plan, unlike AT&T?

Thanks.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

You should be able to on AT&T or T-mobile, being that they use GSM, and you can swap out phones at any time. It's far harder to do so on Verizon or Sprint.

Just get a dumbphone plan and dumbphone on Tmobile or AT&T, and swap out the SIM card to the Android phone as you wish.

 

[UncleMike]

This is probably not an answer you would consider, but the i1 on Boost Mobile would not require a data plan. Last time I used an iDEN phone, any data usage by apps was not even something they tracked, much less billed for. If you wanted to use the built-in browser, that was $10/month on Boost, but using Opera Mini was free. Things may be different with an iDEN Android phone though.

 

[Eazail70x7]

Kricket?

 

[magnificence]

You should be able to on AT&T or T-mobile, being that they use GSM, and you can swap out phones at any time. It's far harder to do so on Verizon or Sprint.

But when I chatted with one of the AT&T helpers (s)he said that I would be charged for a data plan automatically with any smartphone. So you mean that that isn't true at all?

This is probably not an answer you would consider, but the i1 on Boost Mobile would not require a data plan.

I know, but I'm not sure if that's the phone I want.

 

[clutchy]

But when I chatted with one of the AT&T helpers (s)he said that I would be charged for a data plan automatically with any smartphone. So you mean that that isn't true at all?


I know, but I'm not sure if that's the phone I want.

it's not true, if you are NOT on contract they can't charge you for anything you didn't agree to. If you buy an unlocked phone then you can do whatever you want with it.

I have an N1 and I use data tethering fairly frequently... do they charge me $20/mo. for it? no b/c i'm off contract and didn't sign up for it. My software supports it so i can do whatever i want. I pay for a data plan b/c i like using data, but if i didn't want data i could call up at any time and have them remove it from my plan.


if more people understood this concept we'd have alot more accountable service providers...

walk into the store ask for the plan you want, pick up your SIM chip. Leave the store and stick it in your phone...

 

[AndroidSPCS]

But when I chatted with one of the AT&T helpers (s)he said that I would be charged for a data plan automatically with any smartphone. So you mean that that isn't true at all?

That's not exactly true.

If you use a smartphone, but don't use the data, you'll be fine.

But if you start using data on the phone, the carrier *may* detect that you're using a smartphone, and *may* require you to get a data plan.

But more often than not, you may just get charged per kilobyte of data you use, and never hear from the carrier. So it all varies depending on how you use the phone and how the carrier may or may not react.