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Grandfathered Unlimited Data

J

J_Droid23

Member
Last week on the 8th I picked up my Inspire 4G, which I love btw. Right when I get home I notice a problem, my device won't connect to the internet thru mobile data. I call ATT and asked what the deal was.. well they told me that I couldn't keep my grandfather unlimited data plan with a 4g phone. Second I hear that, I was pissed! So I went ahead and switched to the "4G" 2gb data plan which I was so mad about.. it made me feel like I had to be limited in what I did with the phone because I was afraid to go over.

So flash forward to yesterday, I call ATT and raise hell about my unlimited data.. and what do you know.. they put me back on the unlimited almost instantly ;) They told me that since I had the unlimited plan before it didn't matter if the phone was 4G or not, it would still transfer over. The first guy I talked to from ATT when I had issues flat out lied to me and pretty much forced me to change my plan. I thought that since they did this I wouldn't get the "4G" speeds, but ever since I've had the phone I've been doing speed test. Those speed test results over network data have been the same with the 2gb capped plan and the unlimited, so I'm guessing either way it's still 4G.

Just a heads up to people who were tricked like me into leaving my unlimited data plan, you can call and raise hell to get it back!
 
greg4android said:
This has already been discussed in multiple previous threads.

Are you in a 4G coverage area?
Click to expand...

Just wanted to share the love lol, I was extremely happy when I found out I could keep it :D Sorry just a little excited.

Yup, I'm in Houston, TX and I'm in a 4G area of the map. I just don't get why my speeds have been so slow, has the 4g not really been "turned on"?
 
J_Droid23 said:
Just wanted to share the love lol, I was extremely happy when I found out I could keep it :D Sorry just a little excited.

Yup, I'm in Houston, TX and I'm in a 4G area of the map. I just don't get why my speeds have been so slow, has the 4g not really been "turned on"?
Click to expand...

I'm in Houston as well and there is no 4G speed.

I get around 4.5-5Mbps down and 1.3 up near Stafford and SW Houston.

Highest I've seen so far is 6.3Mbps near Kirby area.
 
shawn1224 said:
I'm in Houston as well and there is no 4G speed.

I get around 4.5-5Mbps down and 1.3 up near Stafford and SW Houston.

Highest I've seen so far is 6.3Mbps near Kirby area.
Click to expand...

Ok cool, I'm literally right near the Downtown area when I'm at home.. and the highest I've seen were 3.5Mbps. That includes when I'm at work too which is right across the street from the big AT&T store on 59 near Kirby.

Glad I'm not the only one with these slow speeds still. Guess it hasn't gone into full effect yet.
 
J_Droid23 said:
Ok cool, I'm literally right near the Downtown area when I'm at home.. and the highest I've seen were 3.5Mbps. That includes when I'm at work too which is right across the street from the big AT&T store on 59 near Kirby.

Glad I'm not the only one with these slow speeds still. Guess it hasn't gone into full effect yet.
Click to expand...

Yea, I work near Beltway 8 and Westheimer and I normally see around 3.5Mbps or somewhere in that range. I was reading an article in the Chron and they said that a few test areas went live with the backhaul. The village near Kirby was one of them. Hopefully the entire city will get the backhaul this quarter.
 
When I started looking at new phones I first went to At&t and was told that I could keep my unlimited plan if I upgraded my phone. I later found the Inspire at Radio Shack for $49 (it was $99 at At&t), so I decide to get it there. Radio Shack tells me that I cannot keep my unlimited plan. I argue with them and refuse to buy the phone unless they call At&t and verify that I can keep my plan. Sure enough I was able to.

It's amazing how much mis-information is out there.
 
The folks at Radio Shack have argued with me a number of times of policies/procedures of buying a phone with them.

Earlier, when I had a VM Optimus V prepaid phone, Radio Shack insisted THEY activate it for me (other than the regular POS activation)., but they could never provide a valid reason of WHY they should do it.... I just went to Target and got one.

Later on, when I actually DID buy an Inspire, the guy would NOT let me upgrade because I wasn't the primary account holder. As long as I was an authorized user on the account, I can upgrade if eligible. After I called att and had them on the phone, I handed the phone to the radio shack clerk, and he said "OH". then he proceeded.

Radio Shack doesn't know it all, yet they claim to be the mobile phone experts.


Richard-SSV said:
When I started looking at new phones I first went to At&t and was told that I could keep my unlimited plan if I upgraded my phone. I later found the Inspire at Radio Shack for $49 (it was $99 at At&t), so I decide to get it there. Radio Shack tells me that I cannot keep my unlimited plan. I argue with them and refuse to buy the phone unless they call At&t and verify that I can keep my plan. Sure enough I was able to.

It's amazing how much mis-information is out there.
Click to expand...
 
On the topic of Radio Shack, I stopped in there today to pick up a new in-dash stereo for my boat. I asked the sales guy where they were and he told me that they don't carry car stereos anymore. WTF??? Since the name of the company is RADIO Shack shouldn't they carry, I don't know, RADIOS??????

The sales guys agreed with me, but said that the company's main focus was now cell phones.
 
I am sure there is a good percentage of profit margin on the cell phone business as far as retail resellers go.

A store like Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, or BestBuy has got to be paid a good commission for selling a 2 yr contract for a carrier.

I am sure the carrier absorbs the cost of the phone selling them for $1.00 /etc.....I'm sure the retailer doesn't loose any profit margin up front.


Richard-SSV said:
On the topic of Radio Shack, I stopped in there today to pick up a new in-dash stereo for my boat. I asked the sales guy where they were and he told me that they don't carry car stereos anymore. WTF??? Since the name of the company is RADIO Shack shouldn't they carry, I don't know, RADIOS??????

The sales guys agreed with me, but said that the company's main focus was now cell phones.
Click to expand...
 
Just got off the phone with AT&T. It seems as though they had so many complaints about not having an unlimited plan for smartphones that they've created one. You won't find it available on your account on their website. It's called "personal data unlimited smartphone". It costs $30 for unlimited instead of $25 for 2GB.

I had unlimited data on my basic phone before upgrade so I'm not sure if this was a grandfather move on their part or an offer of new plan you have to know about. Don't argue with other retailers selling AT&Ts phone and plans. Conduct your business then call AT&T. You'll find AT&T will work with you more. The retailers have certain things they're contractually obligated to sell.

If you're interested it's worth the call. They even threw in an instant $25 credit on this months bill.
 
"personal data unlimited for smartphones" isn't really a NEW program...it was created for people that had unlimited on a previous smartphone or the iphone PREVIOUSLY and since they grandfathered into the unlimited with the Inspire.

I've asked multiple times, and you MUST HAVE HAD UNLIMITED on a SMARTPHONE prior to upgrading to the Inspire. (as well, as stating information about this plan, they say "there is no such thing")... Well, most of us know that it DOES exist, but not everyone can just waltz their way into one.

You can't just call and demand this plan if you never had an unlimited plan before (and unlimited data on a NON Smartphone didn't count).

So, I'm quite interested in how you managed to convince the folks at AT&T to put you on this plan (however, you didn't specifically say you WERE ON this plan.)

If this was the case, everyone could call and get the same plan.

Perhaps you could post us a screen shot of your Data Plan in the wireless.att.com site.

i'm not convinced its this easy to request an unlimited plan.....

TXSNAFU said:
Just got off the phone with AT&T. It seems as though they had so many complaints about not having an unlimited plan for smartphones that they've created one. You won't find it available on your account on their website. It's called "personal data unlimited smartphone". It costs $30 for unlimited instead of $25 for 2GB.

I had unlimited data on my basic phone before upgrade so I'm not sure if this was a grandfather move on their part or an offer of new plan you have to know about. Don't argue with other retailers selling AT&Ts phone and plans. Conduct your business then call AT&T. You'll find AT&T will work with you more. The retailers have certain things they're contractually obligated to sell.

If you're interested it's worth the call. They even threw in an instant $25 credit on this months bill.
Click to expand...
 
I would like to know how this conversation went down cause my cousin got the inspire and had to get the 2gb plan and she had an unltd non smartphone plan (which we all know doesn't count when switching to a smart phone).

And as requested before, screen shot of your current data plan from the ATT wireless webpage?

TXSNAFU said:
Just got off the phone with AT&T. It seems as though they had so many complaints about not having an unlimited plan for smartphones that they've created one. You won't find it available on your account on their website. It's called "personal data unlimited smartphone". It costs $30 for unlimited instead of $25 for 2GB.

I had unlimited data on my basic phone before upgrade so I'm not sure if this was a grandfather move on their part or an offer of new plan you have to know about. Don't argue with other retailers selling AT&Ts phone and plans. Conduct your business then call AT&T. You'll find AT&T will work with you more. The retailers have certain things they're contractually obligated to sell.

If you're interested it's worth the call. They even threw in an instant $25 credit on this months bill.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, I would have liked to be on that conversation.

2manyPHONES said:
I would like to know how this conversation went down cause my cousin got the inspire and had to get the 2gb plan and she had an unltd non smartphone plan (which we all know doesn't count when switching to a smart phone).

And as requested before, screen shot of your current data plan from the ATT wireless webpage?
Click to expand...
 
TXSNAFU, you claimed in another thread you got your phone
Saturday 2/21 at a CarToys store. Offer good thru 2/22/11.

If you had a data plan since 2/21, when did AT&T decide to do this
"plan" change, and why now?

TXSNAFU said:
Just got off the phone with AT&T. It seems as though they had so many complaints about not having an unlimited plan for smartphones that they've created one. You won't find it available on your account on their website. It's called "personal data unlimited smartphone". It costs $30 for unlimited instead of $25 for 2GB.

I had unlimited data on my basic phone before upgrade so I'm not sure if this was a grandfather move on their part or an offer of new plan you have to know about. Don't argue with other retailers selling AT&Ts phone and plans. Conduct your business then call AT&T. You'll find AT&T will work with you more. The retailers have certain things they're contractually obligated to sell.

If you're interested it's worth the call. They even threw in an instant $25 credit on this months bill.
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure what TXSNAFU is saying is true or not. I highly doubt it though. The way I see it is, if you've had the unlimited SMARTPHONE data plan then you can keep it. If you've never had it, then you'll never get it in life lol. No way ATT would budge and just hand out unlimited data plans for no reason.
 
that's why we're questioning it. As greedy as ATT is, I can't see this happening.

J_Droid23 said:
I'm not sure what TXSNAFU is saying is true or not. I highly doubt it though. The way I see it is, if you've had the unlimited SMARTPHONE data plan then you can keep it. If you've never had it, then you'll never get it in life lol. No way ATT would budge and just hand out unlimited data plans for no reason.
Click to expand...
 
greg4android said:
"personal data unlimited for smartphones" isn't really a NEW program...it was created for people that had unlimited on a previous smartphone or the iphone PREVIOUSLY and since they grandfathered into the unlimited with the Inspire.

I've asked multiple times, and you MUST HAVE HAD UNLIMITED on a SMARTPHONE prior to upgrading to the Inspire. (as well, as stating information about this plan, they say "there is no such thing")... Well, most of us know that it DOES exist, but not everyone can just waltz their way into one.

You can't just call and demand this plan if you never had an unlimited plan before (and unlimited data on a NON Smartphone didn't count).

So, I'm quite interested in how you managed to convince the folks at AT&T to put you on this plan (however, you didn't specifically say you WERE ON this plan.)

If this was the case, everyone could call and get the same plan.

Perhaps you could post us a screen shot of your Data Plan in the wireless.att.com site.

i'm not convinced its this easy to request an unlimited plan.....
Click to expand...

It's actually called "SmartPhone Personal" and it will be listed under the HSPA+/4G section like mine which I attached. I had a iPhone 4 with Unlimited before this, the transition was fine. I have unlimited family plan SMS/MMS so I don't have messaging attached to my data plan.
 

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Ok, so I got the freaking wording backwards. Me and some other members aren't disputing that people are on this plan...

what we ARE questioning is a member that WAS NOT on the unlimited plan BEFORE they upgraded to the Inspire, who was able to convince ATT (supposedly) to change them to unlimited...

PSXBatou said:
It's actually called "SmartPhone Personal" and it will be listed under the HSPA+/4G section like mine which I attached. I had a iPhone 4 with Unlimited before this, the transition was fine. I have unlimited family plan SMS/MMS so I don't have messaging attached to my data plan.
Click to expand...
 
I upgraded from a Samsung Eternity that I had an Unlimited data plan on. This was a BASIC phone. Cartoys told me I could not get unlimited data with the Inspire.
All I know is when I called AT&T a couple days ago and asked about unlimited data I got it.
 
TXSNAFU, you claimed in another thread you got your phone (Inspire)
Saturday 2/21 at a CarToys store. Offer good thru 2/22/11.

What DATA PLAN did you have from 2/21/11 until April 2011?

Interesting that you waited almost two months to call AT&T to inquire about an unlimited plan....(and they switched you).

TXSNAFU said:
I upgraded from a Samsung Eternity that I had an Unlimited data plan on. This was a BASIC phone. Cartoys told me I could not get unlimited data with the Inspire.
All I know is when I called AT&T a couple days ago and asked about unlimited data I got it.
Click to expand...
 
TXSNAFU said:
I upgraded from a Samsung Eternity that I had an Unlimited data plan on. This was a BASIC phone. Cartoys told me I could not get unlimited data with the Inspire.
All I know is when I called AT&T a couple days ago and asked about unlimited data I got it.
Click to expand...


I believe AT&T out of the pure goodness of their heart switched you to the unltd plan even though you didnt have a smart phone prior as much as i believe the the easter bunny will be at my house on sunday...
 
I had the 2Gig data plan until I called the other day. The reason I called was because I had heard a couple of people talking about being grandfathered onto an unlimited plan. I don't know if the girl made a mistake putting me on an unlimited plan or what but I got no resistance.
 
AT&T states that the "SMARTPHONE PERSONAL" does not exist anywhere in their system. I talked to two retention reps and a supervisor (two 25 minute calls).

they're pretty solid about not admitting this plan exists.

We know it exists because grandfathered folks are on it.
 
it doesnt exist in their system as an option to choose now but they do have the billing code to force it through for those that had the unltd SMART phone plan before and are moving to another SMART phone.

i was also on the phone for like an 20mins and was told if you didnt have a SMART phone unltd plan before they stopped offering it the system will NOT let them add the plan code to your line because the system runs a check to see if there was unltd data for a smart phone prior to getting the new phone. not sure how true this system check is, but if it is i dont think it is fooled between non smart phone unltd and smart phone unltd plans. this is why the iphone 2g trick works because once it shows as having an unltd plan on that line the rep on the phone is allowed by the system to then add the code to the new phone.
 
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