AT&T plans and tethering

[Dave00]

Hoping someone familiar with the AT&T plans can help me. We currently have Sprint, but I'd like to switch due to poor network coverage in one particular area, which I know is better on AT&T since others with AT&T have no problem there. We have two lines, an iPhone 6 and an iPhone 6s, and use about 3GB of data per month. Couple questions:

(1) Is there a way to do tethering without the unlimited plan? I'd really like the option to tether / hotspot if necessary. If you get one of the limited data plans, does unused data roll over to the next month?

(2) I was planning on getting new phones in the fall. Can I bring either of our phones to use until the new phones come out? I was under the impression they used different technology, but per AT&T's online tool I can just get a new sim card. Anyone know if that's true?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jetsam]

1) All limited AT&T plans include tethering, subtracted from your data bucket.

The 3GB AT&T plan costs $40/month for data, and $20/line. Your cost will be $80/month +taxes and fees. After 3GB, your speed will be reduced to 128kb/s. If you use less than 3 GB, the remainder will rollover to the next month.

2) Your iPhone 6 and the 6S should work fine on AT&T. You'll just need to get AT&T SIM cards for them. Note: if the phones are locked to Sprint, they must be unlocked to work on AT&T.

 

[jent]

Tethering / mobile hotspot is included in the AT&T Mobile Share Advantage plans. Whatever you don't use in your data bucket rolls over to the next month, but if it doesn't get used in the next month, it doesn't continue to carry over. Meaning every month your total data bucket includes your standard data amount plus whatever amount is left over from your regular (not rollover) data from the previous month.

 

[Dave00]

Thanks, jetsam and jent. I'll assume that it's locked to Sprint, because I got it on contract (long since expired). If I recall correctly, Sprint is required to unlock on request, right? When I do get new phones in the fall, if I'm reading the details correctly, it looks like there's no advantage to buying the phone outright, since the installment plan adds up to the same price over time, and then you can stop making those payments or upgrade.

That's pretty sneaky about the accumulation of rollover data. Although, it's much nicer to get that than to just run out and get cut off or hit by overages.

 

[Brandonjr36]

Thanks, jetsam and jent. I'll assume that it's locked to Sprint, because I got it on contract (long since expired). If I recall correctly, Sprint is required to unlock on request, right? When I do get new phones in the fall, if I'm reading the details correctly, it looks like there's no advantage to buying the phone outright, since the installment plan adds up to the same price over time, and then you can stop making those payments or upgrade.

That's pretty sneaky about the accumulation of rollover data. Although, it's much nicer to get that than to just run out and get cut off or hit by overages.

I would make sure the sprint phone can be used on at&t first cause sprint is a tricky carrier sometimes they won't work on other carriers.

 

[jetsam]

Thanks, jetsam and jent. I'll assume that it's locked to Sprint, because I got it on contract (long since expired). If I recall correctly, Sprint is required to unlock on request, right? When I do get new phones in the fall, if I'm reading the details correctly, it looks like there's no advantage to buying the phone outright, since the installment plan adds up to the same price over time, and then you can stop making those payments or upgrade.

That's pretty sneaky about the accumulation of rollover data. Although, it's much nicer to get that than to just run out and get cut off or hit by overages.

Sprint will unlock on request if you're out of contract. Their unlocking policy is here:
https://www.sprint.com/legal/unlocking_policy.html
Perhaps things have changed, but Sprint used to have a reputation for dragging their feet on unlocking requests. And, once they claim to have unlocked your phones, it's best to test the phones with a non-Sprint SIM as soon as possible. If there are issues with the unlock after you've ported out, things can get complicated.

The AT&T Next plan is a no-interest 24 or 30 month loan. During the course of the loan, your phones will be locked to AT&T. Unless you need your phones unlocked sooner for foreign travel, there's no advantage to paying the full price up front. You can pay off the Next plan balance early if you do need the phone unlocked.