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T-Mobile Sidekick Data Plans Now Off-Limits for iPhone Users
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I said it USED to. Now it works with the Unlimited Web and SMS plan. It is a Nokia N82.
yes, you can add the data plan ($34.99) to a pre paid account on Tmobile. I have been doing that on my iphone since last December. I also just had my data "forcibly" upgraded from the $20 unlimited data/text to the $34.99 data plan. Brings my total to $86 per month. I'm okay with the bump, its still significantly cheaper than AT&T's options. I was just upset at their draconian style of the upgrade. One morning, my data stopped working and when I called to get help, they told me I needed to talk to Tech Support to upgrade to the appropriate plan. This was mid billing cycle and I had to go through several levels of customer service to get anything remotely acceptable. Usually Tmo is great, but the rollout of this change was so poorly excuted. I would have been fine with it, had I received notice in advance. 1 strike for Tmo, but for almost a year on them, thats pretty good having been with AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
They were nice enough to give me a call about it and a txt message stating billing changes. I wasn't happy with the upgrade until I got my G1 which wasn't too long after. The comparable iPhone plans made me alright.
My biggest peeve was the 3G promise that T-Mo made and hasn't fulfilled. I don't know what political nonsense is going on in Ohio, but they have the towers and 3G equipment, just not the go ahead to switch on. This is what you get for buying a frequency from the government, a headache. I'm surprised Google hasn't had more sway in getting the switch to happen.
Hmmm...
Why should I care that you, an Apple user/proponent(?) is frustrated when you are breaking an Apple agreement that other users adhere to?
Why should I care that you, an Apple user/proponent(?) is frustrated when you are breaking an Apple agreement that other users adhere to?
First off, I do not have to adhere to Apple's agreement to uphold it's stupid AT&T exclusivity. That's why I cancelled my contract in the first place.
Second, I really don't want to argue about AT&T at the moment as there is plenty to say about them and many other people have ranted about it plenty in these here forums. Nonetheless, I don't expect you to care. However, many other T-Mo users who are in this situation have plenty to care about.Those of us with unlocked iPhones are not breaking any agreement. The DMCA exemption gives us explicit rights to modify our phone's software for the purposes of unlocking the radio to work on other carriers, regardless of the EULA of said phone software.
On a side note, those with the legacy $5.99 T-Zones plan better hold on to it. It still works for me.
There are also people who have first generation iPhones that already completed a two year contract. In order to activate that iPhone again, AT&T requires yet another two year contract. You can't blame people for not wanting to get another two year contract and such a phone.
Dooomed??????????
Does this switch affect those that are non prepay customers or just the prepaid side? I just bought a 2g iphone off ebay and was going to do the myfaves plan for 39.99 and add the 20.00 unlmtd internet package. Is this still available or not?
Does this switch affect those that are non prepay customers or just the prepaid side? I just bought a 2g iphone off ebay and was going to do the myfaves plan for 39.99 and add the 20.00 unlmtd internet package. Is this still available or not?
They should honestly bring back $1/day prepaid data services for all smartphones and go after people implementing these various T-zones hacks instead. You guys are going to ruin it for everyone with appropriate data packages.
(Still have $19.99 total internet from before the price change, still works fine).
The reason for this must be that iPhone users are bandwidth hogs, something many carriers have told us before. AT&T had the problem for a while, now T-Mobile is getting it and Verizon will soon as well. I wonder how many more years it will take until the networks are ready. I wish the US carriers could just forget about 4G until 2015 and make sure their 3G networks are ready for half the population moving to smartphones.
Interesting thoughts... it's possible -- people using all smartphones on the T-Mo prepaid plans are affected, but TBH it was never an issue until the past year when the iPhone became the hot data device.
I think it might also have something to do with the way Sidekicks use their server, though. I actually really suspect that, particularly if people complain to T-Mobile, they'll just provide a different prepaid data service that doesn't allow use of the hiptop APN.
The other non-iPhone issue that intersects here is the evolution of the "new" gen prepaid services like Cricket. They offer essentially monthly non-contract plans that are much cheaper than even T-Mobile's postpaid plans (like $50 for what I currently pay $70) but only via CDMA. Outside of the iPhone, that seems really tempting to me.
OTOH, I haven't noticed a lot of slowdowns or issues with T-Mobile EDGE... they generally seem to be able to provide bandwidth. And their fabulously incompatible 3G is not going to get overwhelmed by iPhones sadly. T-Mobile essentially said about 2 years ago that, strategically, they were not going to invest heavily in 3G and instead would try to be in LTE earlier and more seriously than others. Sadly in the US it comes down to the same issue that there's always a race for the high end of the market -- urban users with expensive plans -- and not for the middle or lower end of the market. So its profitable to offer a slim LTE presence in cities and no one bothers with extensive UMTS service.
Ouch, for those who blame AT&T for price-gouging...
The more I read this article, the more I suspect that, even if Verizon was to have the iPhone, the purported 'mass exodus' to a better service provider would be crushed by Verizon's tacking of fees once they had snared the 'victims'!
Let me get this straight. T-Mobile knows that, at the very least, those using iPhones on their networks are technically not following AT&T policies of iPhone usage exclusivity. They then 'ban' those 'illegals' because the 'illegals' are using the T-Mobile plan illegally? (Does this explain why immigration reform is so complicated?!!!)
AT&T is beginning to look saintly...
The more I read this article, the more I suspect that, even if Verizon was to have the iPhone, the purported 'mass exodus' to a better service provider would be crushed by Verizon's tacking of fees once they had snared the 'victims'!
Let me get this straight. T-Mobile knows that, at the very least, those using iPhones on their networks are technically not following AT&T policies of iPhone usage exclusivity. They then 'ban' those 'illegals' because the 'illegals' are using the T-Mobile plan illegally? (Does this explain why immigration reform is so complicated?!!!)
AT&T is beginning to look saintly...
They should honestly bring back $1/day prepaid data services for all smartphones and go after people implementing these various T-zones hacks instead. You guys are going to ruin it for everyone with appropriate data packages.
(Still have $19.99 total internet from before the price change, still works fine).
i have the 19.99 unlimited plan for the sidekick and have a iphone but can't seem to make the internet work. does this internet cut off affect those who have a plan?
I'm an original 2G owner and my contract ran out a few months ago. In the last year I've gone from 3 bars to 1 bar/Searching at my house where I also work. I've contacted att numerous times and they can't or won't do anything about my situation. When they blamed the phone Apple was kind enough to swap it out with a new one to prove it was the network (and I also swapped out the sim card as well).
I would like to wait a year and see if Apple goes with a different carrier but I need a cell phone in my house. I have the cheapest plan I can get with att ($59.99+) which gets me 450 min, 200 sms and unlimited data. I will be calling t-mobile this weekend to go over calling plans but am I to understand they've cranked up their data plans so it is now price wise the same or worse than what I am paying now? I'm hoping to go with a 1 yr contract so I'm not stuck if there is something new in a year.
I would like to wait a year and see if Apple goes with a different carrier but I need a cell phone in my house. I have the cheapest plan I can get with att ($59.99+) which gets me 450 min, 200 sms and unlimited data. I will be calling t-mobile this weekend to go over calling plans but am I to understand they've cranked up their data plans so it is now price wise the same or worse than what I am paying now? I'm hoping to go with a 1 yr contract so I'm not stuck if there is something new in a year.
If you have a "Sidekick" account you ARE a T-mobile customer....who should care what phone you use? What difference does it make if you download 1GB with a Sidekick or an iPhone??? Bandwidth is bandwidth, the end user device shouldn't matter what so ever.
AT&T and T-Mobile have a lot of tower sharing agreements so very possible that a switch to T-Mobile would make no difference at all. We used to get bad service on a T-Mobile prepaid phone at house. Now, get great service and when turn on it says "Welcome to AT&T." I'd stick with 2G and AT&T for now. Might want to look into one of those cases with built in antennas (Belkin?) to improve signal.
At one point, Sidekick HTTP traffic went through special servers (run by Danger) that compressed and converted web pages to make them faster and formatted more properly for the Sidekicks browser. Don't know if that's still the case, but sometimes things aren't as cut and dry as you'd think.
While bandwidth is bandwidth, one device makes it easier to use more bandwidth. It's sort of like the situation with toilets: one is low flow, while the other uses more water.
Unless I'm mistaken, it's not as easy to surf the internet using the sidekick as it is on the iPhone. If you're T-Mobile, you want to make sure that your legitimate customers have the necessary bandwidth. You can argue all you want, but the iPhone users aren't legitimate customers.
Personally, I want Apple to offer an unlocked version. This way, I can choose between T-Mobile or AT&T.
Hmmmm, interesting. Before the iPhone came out I was on t-mobile and I was getting 5 bars at my house and had great service here in Denver. The day I came home with my iPhone (and att) I was at 3 bars. Then they rolled out their 3G network and I went to 2 bars and in the last several months I went to 1/0 bars. It's well documented they're moving cell space from 2G to 3G to accommodate all the new users and I have no hope they'll ever amp up their reception in my area ever again. As a sidenote, there are spots in Denver I can get 3, 4 & 5 bars, it's just my neighborhood which has taken such a hit.
I wonder....if I can found a friend who'll let me, if I can take their Tmo sim card and throw it into my phone to test coverage (after I unlock of course) with a few phone calls. That way I'm not jumping into a contract and getting screwed like I am now. If it sucks then I just wait for something better down the road, hopefully next June. Hmmmm...