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- 10-23-2006, 04:44 PM #1JoeGuest
My phone is not working well and I want a new one but I still have nine
months till my two years is up. While in Wal-Mart yesterday I noticed you
could buy a cheap GoPhone for about $30. Could I buy this GoPhone and put my
sim card in it and use it on my plan.
Joe
› See More: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
- 10-23-2006, 06:53 PM #2Mike S.Guest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
In article <tAb%[email protected]>,
Joe <[email protected]> wrote:
>My phone is not working well and I want a new one but I still have nine
>months till my two years is up. While in Wal-Mart yesterday I noticed you
>could buy a cheap GoPhone for about $30. Could I buy this GoPhone and put my
>sim card in it and use it on my plan.
There are reports of Cingular locking out "normal plan" (i.e. postpaid)
accounts when used with un-activated Gophone handsets - ESPECIALLY those
from mass marketers like Wal-Mart. The popular wisdom seems to be that
this is OK to do, provided that you make sure the IMEI# is scanned when
you pay for it (so it will not be blacklisted as potentially stolen),
and activate the phone for a prepaid plan with Cingular.
I just bought a Pantech C300 from the Cingular website, activated it on
25c/min flat rate, and have tried it with my postpaid SIM card with no
problems so far.
- 10-25-2006, 04:42 PM #3JDeatsGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
If they aren't now, they could do something in the future and I'm a bit
suprised they aren't stoping this.
Every device handset (pay-as-you-go up to the most expensive PDA-phone)
has a IMEI# which is sent when you connect to an incoming call or make
an out going call. Cingular has the ability to audit this, it's likely
all pay-as-you-go phones are within a certain IMEI# range which they
have logged. They could easily assoicate all pay-as-you-go phones to
pre-paid accounts and flag your account if they detect a pay-as-you-go
IMEI# is using a non pre-paid account.
So if they aren't doing this it's because they choice not to, not
because they can't -or- that they won't in the future.
Joe wrote:
> My phone is not working well and I want a new one but I still have nine
> months till my two years is up. While in Wal-Mart yesterday I noticed you
> could buy a cheap GoPhone for about $30. Could I buy this GoPhone and put my
> sim card in it and use it on my plan.
> Joe
- 10-25-2006, 07:14 PM #4JoeGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
So is what you are saying that Cingular actually knows what phone you are
calling from and not just the type. So if the same Nokia phone was sold for
use with prepaid and normal that they could still shut you off?
Joe
"JDeats" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> If they aren't now, they could do something in the future and I'm a bit
> suprised they aren't stoping this.
>
> Every device handset (pay-as-you-go up to the most expensive PDA-phone)
> has a IMEI# which is sent when you connect to an incoming call or make
> an out going call. Cingular has the ability to audit this, it's likely
> all pay-as-you-go phones are within a certain IMEI# range which they
> have logged. They could easily assoicate all pay-as-you-go phones to
> pre-paid accounts and flag your account if they detect a pay-as-you-go
> IMEI# is using a non pre-paid account.
>
> So if they aren't doing this it's because they choice not to, not
> because they can't -or- that they won't in the future.
>
>
>
> Joe wrote:
>> My phone is not working well and I want a new one but I still have nine
>> months till my two years is up. While in Wal-Mart yesterday I noticed you
>> could buy a cheap GoPhone for about $30. Could I buy this GoPhone and put
>> my
>> sim card in it and use it on my plan.
>> Joe
>
- 10-25-2006, 07:23 PM #5mcGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:iZT%[email protected]...
> So is what you are saying that Cingular actually knows what phone you are
> calling from and not just the type. So if the same Nokia phone was sold
> for use with prepaid and normal that they could still shut you off?
> Joe
Note that what you are replying to is speculation. Does Cingular actually
limit the phone you use? I doubt it. I have an ex-T-Mobile unlocked phone
that I use on my Cingular account and Cingular has been quite helpful to me.
Admittedly this is not for prepaid.
I don't see how Cingular could object to people taking a prepaid phone and
using it for some other purpose. After all, that means they've been prepaid
and don't have to provide service that was paid for! It's like the Post
Office and stamp collectors.
- 10-25-2006, 07:54 PM #6Mike S.Guest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
In article <A6U%[email protected]>,
mc <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:iZT%[email protected]...
>> So is what you are saying that Cingular actually knows what phone you are
>> calling from and not just the type. So if the same Nokia phone was sold
>> for use with prepaid and normal that they could still shut you off?
>> Joe
>
>Note that what you are replying to is speculation. Does Cingular actually
>limit the phone you use? I doubt it. I have an ex-T-Mobile unlocked phone
>that I use on my Cingular account and Cingular has been quite helpful to me.
>Admittedly this is not for prepaid.
>
>I don't see how Cingular could object to people taking a prepaid phone and
>using it for some other purpose. After all, that means they've been prepaid
>and don't have to provide service that was paid for! It's like the Post
>Office and stamp collectors.
Well, sometimes the prepaid phones are considerably cheaper than
full-retail customers would pay for them otherwise, so Cingular may want
to restrict their usage to prevent mass purchases and resales of Gophone
handsets for profit. Cingular has been known to freeze postpaid accounts
where they suspect this is the case.
There are threads on HowardForums with entries from people who have
exactly that happen - postpaid account frozen after use in a Gophone
handset. Supposedly this only applies to mass-market (e.g. Wal-Mart)
packages which may be pilfered from the store. When Cingular does a
"sweep" of the system, Gophone handsets that are being used on their
accounts without having been legitimately activated have the SIM cards
blocked. Note that if you buy a Gophone from a Cingular company store, or
via the website, it is activated for you.
- 10-25-2006, 08:23 PM #7JoeGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
Ok Say I buy the Go Phone from Wal-Mart not steal it but purchase it and
then actually activate it for go phone usage as I think it comes with some
minutes. Am I going to get shut off if I use it regular? I just want a cheap
replacement phone that works and I do not want to sign up for another two
years with a penalty of $175 if I cancel just to get another phone.
Joe
"Mike S." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> In article <A6U%[email protected]>,
> mc <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:iZT%[email protected]...
>>> So is what you are saying that Cingular actually knows what phone you
>>> are
>>> calling from and not just the type. So if the same Nokia phone was sold
>>> for use with prepaid and normal that they could still shut you off?
>>> Joe
>>
>>Note that what you are replying to is speculation. Does Cingular actually
>>limit the phone you use? I doubt it. I have an ex-T-Mobile unlocked
>>phone
>>that I use on my Cingular account and Cingular has been quite helpful to
>>me.
>>Admittedly this is not for prepaid.
>>
>>I don't see how Cingular could object to people taking a prepaid phone and
>>using it for some other purpose. After all, that means they've been
>>prepaid
>>and don't have to provide service that was paid for! It's like the Post
>>Office and stamp collectors.
>
> Well, sometimes the prepaid phones are considerably cheaper than
> full-retail customers would pay for them otherwise, so Cingular may want
> to restrict their usage to prevent mass purchases and resales of Gophone
> handsets for profit. Cingular has been known to freeze postpaid accounts
> where they suspect this is the case.
>
> There are threads on HowardForums with entries from people who have
> exactly that happen - postpaid account frozen after use in a Gophone
> handset. Supposedly this only applies to mass-market (e.g. Wal-Mart)
> packages which may be pilfered from the store. When Cingular does a
> "sweep" of the system, Gophone handsets that are being used on their
> accounts without having been legitimately activated have the SIM cards
> blocked. Note that if you buy a Gophone from a Cingular company store, or
> via the website, it is activated for you.
>
>
- 10-26-2006, 05:53 AM #8Mike S.Guest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
In article <IZU%[email protected]>,
Joe <[email protected]> wrote:
>Ok Say I buy the Go Phone from Wal-Mart not steal it but purchase it and
>then actually activate it for go phone usage as I think it comes with some
>minutes. Am I going to get shut off if I use it regular? I just want a cheap
>replacement phone that works and I do not want to sign up for another two
>years with a penalty of $175 if I cancel just to get another phone.
>Joe
"Probably" that would not cause a problem.
- 10-26-2006, 07:44 AM #9Todd AllcockGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
At 25 Oct 2006 21:23:55 -0400 mc wrote:
> I don't see how Cingular could object to people taking a prepaid phone
and
> using it for some other purpose.
I can- Cingular subsidises the purchase price of their prepaid phones.
Not to quite te same degree as postpaid, but those GoPhone hansets
probably get a $40-50 subsidy from Cingular that they hope to recoup in
future airtime sales.
> After all, that means they've been prepaid
> and don't have to provide service that was paid for!
Not really. The service (other than a small $10 "startup" airtime
allotment is sold separately.
> It's like the Post
> Office and stamp collectors.
No, it's more like the Post Office and those free "Priority Mail"
shipping boxes they give out. The boxes cost them money, but they give
them away with the expectation you'll use them to ship things with their
Priority Mail service. If your son uses them to store his baseball card
collection instead, it's a loss.
Arguably, Cingular shouldn't be too annoyed if you used their prepaid
handsets on postpaid service, since Cingular still collects revenue from
you. But they'd be less happy if you buy the GoPhone with their subsidy
and usd it, say, on T-Mobile service...
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
- 10-26-2006, 01:31 PM #10John NavasGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:44:37 -0600, Todd Allcock
<[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:
>Arguably, Cingular shouldn't be too annoyed if you used their prepaid
>handsets on postpaid service, since Cingular still collects revenue from
>you. But they'd be less happy if you buy the GoPhone with their subsidy
>and usd it, say, on T-Mobile service...
Which it couldn't prevent short of blacklisting the phone, which would
probably be unlawful (since you own it).
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
- 10-26-2006, 02:00 PM #11Mike S.Guest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
In article <[email protected]>,
Todd Allcock <[email protected]> wrote:
>At 25 Oct 2006 21:23:55 -0400 mc wrote:
>
>Arguably, Cingular shouldn't be too annoyed if you used their prepaid
>handsets on postpaid service, since Cingular still collects revenue from
>you. But they'd be less happy if you buy the GoPhone with their subsidy
>and usd it, say, on T-Mobile service...
Well, that's what SIM subsidy locks are for. Then, for the end user, the
cost of unlocking factors into the equation. If its cheap or free (e.g.
many Nokia models) then it might make sense. If the cost plus hassle are
worse than simply buying an unlocked phone on eBay, it might not be worth
it.
- 10-27-2006, 05:39 AM #12JoeGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
Ok This is where I take issue with contracts. I would have no issue with
signing a longer contract if the penalty for canceling early was for the
amount of the subsidy. I just take issue with the fact that I have sign a
contract that says I owe them $175 if I cancel early when all I ever got in
the first place was a $40-50 subsidy. Now granted it is unlikely I will
cancel but if I was to fall on hard times I just want to know I can get out
of a $70 a month bill without having to pay a $175 penalty.
Joe
> I can- Cingular subsidises the purchase price of their prepaid phones.
> Not to quite te same degree as postpaid, but those GoPhone hansets
> probably get a $40-50 subsidy from Cingular that they hope to recoup in
> future airtime sales.
- 10-28-2006, 10:01 AM #13John NavasGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
The subsidy is roughly $50/year of contract, or $100 for a 2-year
contract.
On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 06:39:12 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:
>Ok This is where I take issue with contracts. I would have no issue with
>signing a longer contract if the penalty for canceling early was for the
>amount of the subsidy. I just take issue with the fact that I have sign a
>contract that says I owe them $175 if I cancel early when all I ever got in
>the first place was a $40-50 subsidy. Now granted it is unlikely I will
>cancel but if I was to fall on hard times I just want to know I can get out
>of a $70 a month bill without having to pay a $175 penalty.
>Joe
>
>> I can- Cingular subsidises the purchase price of their prepaid phones.
>> Not to quite te same degree as postpaid, but those GoPhone hansets
>> probably get a $40-50 subsidy from Cingular that they hope to recoup in
>> future airtime sales.
>
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
- 01-07-2007, 08:06 PM #14David A. LessnauGuest
Re: Go phone for Normal Plan use, can you
Ditto. I've got a 2 year Family Plan contract with Cingular (3 phones) that
I'm 1 year and 21 days into. Today, one of my phones (a Razr V3) apparently
died (all keys except "OFF" try to make a voice recording -- unusable). The
phone is 21 days out of warranty. I've got, essentially, 1 year left on the
contract. I can't get out of that contract without a huge penalty (and
don't want to), I can't fix the phone without a big cost (it looks like
out-of-warranty repairs start at $75), I can't "upgrade" to a new phone for
another 7 months, and I can't replace the phone without a huge cost (it's
not subsidized this time around so the same phone will cost several hundred
dollars and even "cheap" phones have a cringe-inducing price). I'm stuck.
So, I , too, was thinking about the Go Phone and moving the SIM chip over.
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ok This is where I take issue with contracts. I would have no issue with
> signing a longer contract if the penalty for canceling early was for the
> amount of the subsidy. I just take issue with the fact that I have sign a
> contract that says I owe them $175 if I cancel early when all I ever got
> in the first place was a $40-50 subsidy. Now granted it is unlikely I will
> cancel but if I was to fall on hard times I just want to know I can get
> out of a $70 a month bill without having to pay a $175 penalty.
> Joe
>
>> I can- Cingular subsidises the purchase price of their prepaid phones.
>> Not to quite te same degree as postpaid, but those GoPhone hansets
>> probably get a $40-50 subsidy from Cingular that they hope to recoup in
>> future airtime sales.
>
>
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