AT&T 30$ a month solucion? Change IMEI?

[ALEXRUSS55]

Hello Thread,

Ive had AT&T for over 4 years and i have purchased an htc hd and htc hd 2 overseas unlocked, but ive never been hable to use them as phones on AT&T because since thei are smartphones i get charged 30$ a month. I NEVER use anything else than wifi, and even DISCONECED any kind of internet service for my family plan, but still it dosnt matter.

AT&T will not let me use my phones unless i have a data plan, i donot want to pay fr this service since i dont use it.

There is no point of buying an unlocked full priced phone, if i am obligated to do this.

Please does anybody have a solucion for this? maybe change my IMEI?

Thanks in advance

 

[jdwrrzmm]

I would tell you get an TMOUS HD2 (should have an IMEI not in AT&T's records) off ebay, but recently I saw someone having problems with a different carrier's HD2 (or was it TP2?) being automatically switched to a smartphone plan. Someone can surely provide more infomation.

I think changing IMEIs is outright impossible though. Or at least not really practical.

 

[samsamuel]

I think changing IMEIs is outright impossible though. Or at least not really practical.

not impossible, but impractical and very illegal.

 

[ALEXRUSS55]

I would tell you get an TMOUS HD2 (should have an IMEI not in AT&T's records) off ebay, but recently I saw someone having problems with a different carrier's HD2 (or was it TP2?) being automatically switched to a smartphone plan. Someone can surely provide more infomation.

I think changing IMEIs is outright impossible though. Or at least not really practical.

Thanks for the reply! but i already purchased the international version, because i can flash anything to it, TMOUS has limits on what can you flash to it.

I suggested the IMEI because i cant think of another way to avoid AT&T from finding i have a smartphone, its incredible to me that being that i have totally disconected my internet on te phone, they will still make me pay 30$ a month to have unlimited plan, it will en up being way more than what i payed for the phone in the end of the contract.

Anybody got another idea???

 

[teddmf]

Thanks for the reply! but i already purchased the international version, because i can flash anything to it, TMOUS has limits on what can you flash to it.

I suggested the IMEI because i cant think of another way to avoid AT&T from finding i have a smartphone, its incredible to me that being that i have totally disconected my internet on te phone, they will still make me pay 30$ a month to have unlimited plan, it will en up being way more than what i payed for the phone in the end of the contract.

Anybody got another idea???

get a free non-data phone and voice plan from AT&T....then take the SIM card out of it and put it into your HD2

 

[ALEXRUSS55]

get a free non-data phone and voice plan from AT&T....then take the SIM card out of it and put it into your HD2

Thank you for you reply!

I actually do have a non smartphone RZRV9 and am using it on a voice plan, but the problem is that when i was renewing my contract i asked AT&T representatives, various ones, and them not knowwing who i was, and the told me the same:

¨even if you donot have an active internet conection on your phone, and we find out that you are using a smartphone, even if the sim is inserted for a short amount of time, the 30$ a month will be added to your account with ought notice¨

My reaction was WTF??????? are you kidding me?

How can i use my unlocked, international version htc hd 2 and htc hd (that i only use wifi with , again i dont have an internet data conection) as an actual phone? with ought at&t charging me for having a smartphone?

please help

 

[goldt]

They can't do that, tell them if they don't fix it you will move to t-mobile, i would.

 

[friend'scatdied]

They can't do that, tell them if they don't fix it you will move to t-mobile, i would.

If you upgraded to a new phone or renewed or opened or otherwise extended a contract after November 2009, they have every right to do it. It's become a very explicit part of the contract since then. The only way out of the contract is still to pay those fat ETFs.

If they detect the phones you own as smartphones there is no recourse except to eat the data package price or dump the phones. They will always be detected in the system as smartphones, and the appropriate plan will always be appended for the unlucky owner.

AT&T has the IMEIs of all AWS Nexus Ones and likely most TMOUS HD2s. I know a number of people with TMOUS HD2s who have been automatically provisioned onto the $30 smartphone plan while on AT&T.

It is exceptionally unusual that an international phone would be detected as a smartphone by AT&T's system. I would question the history of the phone.

 

[polo735]

Yeah, I've been running an imported european HD2 on AT&T for a while and have had no problems with automatic smartphone data plan. Before this I was auto data planned by AT&T with a Nokia E71x. I thought the rule was that AT&T could only mandate data plans on phones they sold.

 

[davewang]

oh man! that's ridiculous. Then what's the point of buying straight out with full price on the phone? If you buy a smartphone with full price or from other third party and doesnt stick with any contact, you should be good to go. They can't force or longer require you to pay the web service of $30/month. The reason that they force you to pay the data plan is because of the instant discount when you buy a phone with new/extend contact.

 

[ALEXRUSS55]

You know one thing that i noticed that was just crazy for me, was that if you think about it, any AT&T provided phone that is able to use wifi (to pick up in hotspots, withought having to pay) Is a smartphone, thus it MUST have a 30$ a month plan! :-0! whats the point of wifi?????!! to get a little faster internet maybe, but you are paying for your phone plan anyways? why use wifi?

It dosnt make sense and it is not fair to the consumer, especially when the sales representatives tells you ¨Oh yeah, the reason we add the plan is because since you have a phone that uses alot of internet, it is unfair to others to take away their data, so you need an unlimited plan¨ there are alot of problems with that right there:

1) If i do use the internet on the cellphone and consume alot, and have no unlimited data plan then i am going to pay aloooooooooooooooooooooot of money to use it because the prices are incredibly rediculous, so why is my carrier complaning? I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE IF I WANT TO PAY OR NOT.

2) If in MY CASE i have my internet completely and utterly disconnected, and never plan on adding it on, then how am i consuming internet from others??....

Anymore thoughts?

Thank you

 

[jan-willem3]

And what if you buy a european version (or doesn't that work?)
My phone said it can use this bands
850,900,1800,1900,2100

I don't know wich are used in the usa.

 

[ProjektFuze]

if you change sim cards to a cheap phone and change the data plans.... they will allow you..

but once you change back into hd2... not only will they INSTANTLY change your plan back the second they notice (it varies... sometimes it takes a couple hours... sometimes it takes a couple months.. BUT IN THE END...THEY ALWAYS FIND OUT) but you are also in a direct breach of your contract...... if you were one of the extremely few people who actually read the small print at the bottom of contract.. it states something along the lines of.. bla bla bla attempting to use companies service without direct notification.. bla bla bla.. waives users service rights bla bla bla...


so yea.. the way i see it... if you want to use a phone like the hd2... might as well get the plan... if you want a phone for a phone.. just stick to the good ol flip phones... you'll save a fortune.. and it doesn't make any sense otherwise...

 

[PoisonWolf]

What's wrong with getting a phone for a phone that is Windows Mobile based? Not everyone is interested in using internet on the go.

if you change sim cards to a cheap phone and change the data plans.... they will allow you..

but once you change back into hd2... not only will they INSTANTLY change your plan back the second they notice (it varies... sometimes it takes a couple hours... sometimes it takes a couple months.. BUT IN THE END...THEY ALWAYS FIND OUT) but you are also in a direct breach of your contract...... if you were one of the extremely few people who actually read the small print at the bottom of contract.. it states something along the lines of.. bla bla bla attempting to use companies service without direct notification.. bla bla bla.. waives users service rights bla bla bla...


so yea.. the way i see it... if you want to use a phone like the hd2... might as well get the plan... if you want a phone for a phone.. just stick to the good ol flip phones... you'll save a fortune.. and it doesn't make any sense otherwise...

 

[friend'scatdied]

AT&T doesn't have a huge repertoire of IMEIs they recognize. The ones that are most at-risk are AT&T-branded phones, AWS Google Nexus Ones, and T-Mobile-branded phones. This is why I find the original poster's predicament extremely unusual. I am able to use my own HD2 with a dumbphone plan ($30 unlimited texting and data package) and it works perfectly. Moreover I get access to AT&T's HSDPA which the OP does not.

 

[madindehead]

Threaten to leave if they add the $30 data plan to your account. Phone carriers do all kinds of crazy stuff when you say you are going to their rivals. Do not however think about tampering with your IMEI. It is illegal.

 

[friend'scatdied]

Threaten to leave if they add the $30 data plan to your account. Phone carriers do all kinds of crazy stuff when you say you are going to their rivals.

True, but it is beyond their power to drop the data charges from what is a detected smartphone. It has been explicitly in the terms of service since November of last year.

 

[Agoattamer]

AT&T doesn't have a huge repertoire of IMEIs they recognize. The ones that are most at-risk are AT&T-branded phones, AWS Google Nexus Ones, and T-Mobile-branded phones. This is why I find the original poster's predicament extremely unusual. I am able to use my own HD2 with a dumbphone plan ($30 unlimited texting and data package) and it works perfectly. Moreover I get access to AT&T's HSDPA which the OP does not.

I second what is stated here. I have been switching phones for some time. I have had the T9193 since January on the non smartphone data plan. ATT has no idea what phone I am using. Phones stated above would be the danger phones. Evidentally the previous owner of your T8585 reported the IMEI to ATT. That is the only way they know you have a smartphone.

 

[g2tl]

I have a tmo version of hd2 and it shows up as blackberry 7290. The rep I spoke to thinks it's because the imei of the tmo hd2 has "similar patters" to those old blackberrys.

This is very much unusual, as i though euro ver would not get recognized at all. i have not seen a single thread re: this issue for the euro ver, whereas I've seen a handful for the tmous ver.

 

[firefly123]

Since when did corporations care about whether our products were stolen? There subsidize model is under attack and they've found a new scam to charge us more. It's like being charged more for gas if I drive a cadillac and less if I drive a Prius. I bought my phone without their subsidy or contract. It has nothing to do with them. It's a GSM cell phone and I want to pay for service. Why should I be charged more for the kind of phone I'm using. If I use more data OK, but it isn't a certain that I'll use more just because I have a smartphone. And the whole IMEI # nonsense is bull%$^#$. The IMEI is nothing more than a serial number. It's not the KI #. it's not about cloning or finding terrorists or anything else. It's about these orifices subsidized model being threatened by people buying there own phones and so some clever master of bull&&*# administration has figured out a new gimmick.

*this post should in no way be construed to be condoning imei changing. it's illegal.