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Telcos like AT&T are scum and they have a thousand shady ways to get money out of customers. But I don't think this is one of them. There is no way to use a sm
by padmanabhan01 14y ago
Telcos like AT&T are scum and they have a thousand shady ways to get money out of customers. But I don't think this is one of them.
There is no way to use a smartphone without using data. Smartphone OSs use data in the background for so many things, for even voicemail. So, in this case, I think they are justified in adding a data plan. It is near impossible to use iOS or android without data, even when using them without any apps.
- edandersen 14y ago>> There is no way to use a smartphone without using data? Er, turn off mobile data and rely on wi-fi. Calls and texts still work and your phone will behave as if you are roaming abroad (i.e if you crack and turn on mobile data, prepare to open your wallet).
- padmanabhan01 14y agoBefore you get a chance to go to settings app and turn off mobile data, the OS probably already made 10 data requests to check 20 settings. It is data call. Whether the telco should count that as data and charge for it is a different question.
- coopdog 14y agoSo.. change the setting before you put the sim in? And if they don't have data in the plan the carrier by default just doesn't forward the packets
- padmanabhan01 14y agoThat must be possible I guess
- andrewflnr 14y agoThe first thing I did with my galaxy nexus was turn off mobile data, and I haven't turned it back on since. It's not that hard.
- r00fus 14y agoAh, but why do that when you can just charge usurious rates for those who don't have the "benefit" of a data plan? AT&T (and most of the wireless industry) are merely toll-gate operators - they are very good at making sure you pay for any usage - even the usage you didn't want to make (ie, receiving an MMS on your non-data flip phone that you didn't intend - sorry, that's $2).
- ewbuoi 14y agoSo? It's not necessary. It's not like your phone wont work without service.
- gcb0 14y agoReading that i think that the worst offender is the iphone that keeps phoning home. Not that at&t is not wrong as well. just that the iphone manges to screw the user even more. if apple hadn't bent over so badly to allow telcos to screw the customers with the whole tethering fiasco (which is still going on. unbelievable. all you sheeple giving out free money) they wouldn't even know you had a special needs phone.
- bestham 14y agoWell, the phone does not phone home per se but AT&T analyses the IMEI number. In Sweden if you try to use data without a balance it simply does not work. What AT&T is doing is simply wrong, throwing services down OPs throat.
- X-Istence 14y agoIf you turn off data on the iPhone it does no phoning home. If it did phone home when data is turned off explicitly then I'd have been completely and utterly screwed by AT&T for the month I spent in Europe.
- gcb0 14y agoright... doesn't that void the purpose of having a smart phone to begin with? what if i need to use data and plan to control how much i use? As i did on all my travels for the first day or two until i could secure a local SIM card.
- easternmonk 14y agoIf you turn off the data your phone is as good as a dumb phone it can not use data at all unless you are on a wifi network.
- learc83 14y ago> it can not use data at all unless you are on a wifi network. Which is >95% of the time for me, and many people.
- ctbeiser 14y agoIf you turn the data off on say, an iPhone, it's as good as say, an iPod touch with calling capabilities, which is really all a lot of people want.
- officemonkey 14y agoI would love a phone that only made cell calls and texts and used wifi for everything else. I suspect most people would too.