Help - Unlocked Phone!

yeah3x

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Jul 31, 2011
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Hi everyone I'm new to this board and have an urgent question.

I'm leaving for college in about a month and I'm trying to ditch my Android because I like WP7 OS better and I need to get rid of my data plan. I don't want to pay the $15 a month especially because my campus will have wifi.

My question is, if I buy an unlocked phone won't I be able to remove a data plan? I plan on putting my sim in a dumb phone until ATT recognizes it and I can remove the plan. If I'm looking into a WP7 can it only be non ATT so their network will not recognize it or does it have to be European so they absolutely could not? I know it has to be GSM but I'm clueless about specifics. I've been looking to order the Samsung Omnia 7 unlocked but will it work or will a data plan be added?

Thanks for any help!
 

yeah3x

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As long as you are not forced to sign a contract to get a reduced price you'll be OK. I believe the Dell Venue Pro has a $299 unlocked option Venue Pro Smartphone with Windows 7 Phone Another good alternative is to look for a used phone so that you don't need to sign a contract.

Ya I've been eyeing a used Samsung Omnia Unlocked on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Unloc...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU1557421 So would this plan work with no data?
 

gerrymad

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That will work. Just be very careful not to use data if you have no data plan. I am not sure about how AT&T handles it, but if they have a typical carrier mentality they won't block data just because you don't have a data plan. If you accidentally use data over the cellular network you may find yourself paying a high price for any data usage. Be sure to go into your cellular setting and turn off data. You will still be able to use Wi-Fi.
 

Rico

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Last I checked, if you have no data on your plan, you can't use it on your phone. You can always call *3283# (*DATA#) from you phone to check your data usage.

Also, you shouldn't have any issues using the Omnia on AT&T. You may have to update your APN settings, though it should get everything from the network when you pop your SIM in. AT&T seems to only worry about phones they sell, and a few oddballs like the Nexus. The Dell Venue Pro may set off an alarm since it comes with AT&T bands, but I doubt the Omnia would. It would be worth checking the AT&T forum at Howardforums to see if anyone's posted anything similar.
 

gerrymad

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Last I checked, if you have no data on your plan, you can't use it on your phone.

For a while some carriers (AT&T for sure) had a habit of allowing data access even with no plan. Some feature phones were designed with a button to hit to access the web. If you accidentally hit it then you'd end up on the web paying a high rate for data. No plan meant no negotiated rate so everything was an overage. They made it so the button couldn't be disabled. This was a couple of years back, but I went in on my mom's phone and intentionally messed up her connection configuration so that she could not successfully connect if she hit the button by accident.
 

Rico

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For a while some carriers (AT&T for sure) had a habit of allowing data access even with no plan. Some feature phones were designed with a button to hit to access the web. If you accidentally hit it then you'd end up on the web paying a high rate for data. No plan meant no negotiated rate so everything was an overage. They made it so the button couldn't be disabled. This was a couple of years back, but I went in on my mom's phone and intentionally messed up her connection configuration so that she could not successfully connect if she hit the button by accident.
I know Verizon was (is?) like this, and rather notorious for it. Last I checked, AT&T's per use data rate was something like $.02/kB; I think it's the same for Verizon, going by the story of the guy on The Consumerist who had to debate the difference between dollars and cents with Verizon's customer service.

And yeah, if that's the case I'd certainly change the APN settings. On a phone that doesn't let you disable cellular data, it's the only way.
 

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