Non smartphone recommendation please

[toddreg]

I need a phone that will work on our ATT plan however it can not require a data plan. I have seen several such phones from the ATT website but when researching them they all seem to get pretty poor reviews, the HTC Freestyle for example.

I would like to have PDA type functions, bluetooth and camera features in that order of importance. Any such animal exist?

 

[chanchan05]

Android is a smartphone OS: basically, as long as it runs Android, its a smartphone.

 

[aysiu]

Just buy the phone off-contract (the full price, not the subsidized one), and you can get it without a data plan.

For example, in the attached screenshot, the $.01 price is the subsidized one (that would require a data plan) and the $449.99 price is the non-subsidized price (that would not require a data plan).

 

[chanchan05]

Just buy the phone off-contract (the full price, not the subsidized one), and you can get it without a data plan.

For example, in the attached screenshot, the $.01 price is the subsidized one (that would require a data plan) and the $449.99 price is the non-subsidized price (that would not require a data plan).

That's not possible in the US. Once you insert a sim into your phone and turn it on to activate it, the operator detects that you are using a smartphone and automatically slaps your account with a data plan.

Not sure how this would go with a pay as you go sim though.

 

[John Redcorn]

That's not possible in the US. Once you insert a sim into your phone and turn it on to activate it, the operator detects that you are using a smartphone and automatically slaps your account with a data plan.

Not sure how this would go with a pay as you go sim though.

I've heard they detect it as a smartphone by the imei, they know its a smartphone imei cause they (ATT) sold it to someone at some point and they have a record of it.

I don't know if it still works but some people used to buy canadian androids that had att compatible bands and they could use a $10 dumbphone unlimited data since att didn't have a record of that imei.

 

[aysiu]

Wow... they detect by IMEI? Geez.

I was thinking you could buy it off contract, get a plan with no data, skip signing in, connect to wireless, and then sign in, and turn off data.

 

[rui-no-onna]

Wow... they detect by IMEI? Geez.

I was thinking you could buy it off contract, get a plan with no data, skip signing in, connect to wireless, and then sign in, and turn off data.

Sorry, not gonna work, at least with AT&T. There's a data block on 2 of our lines and when I temporarily popped in the SIM card to my LG Quantum (for like 15 minutes), the Quantum showed up on my account page the next day. Wasn't hit with the data plan, though, since I switched it back right away to a dumb phone.

AT&T can't recognize all IMEI numbers, though. If you buy one of those China Androids, you probably won't get slapped with a data plan.

The data package is optional for prepaid/pay as you go.