Data packages are completely separate for GoPhone today, and not required. But you CAN, however, buy a data package for a GoPhone with smartphone. Supposedly pay-per-use data is not available on smartphones. The data part does not apply as the user I know does not use cellular data -- just WiFi.
Keep in mind, when I am talking about using an iPhone, in all cases it is an iPhone that is already OFF CONTRACT, and either jailbroken/unlocked or officially unlocked. Works either way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Must anything be done on your end to ensure you don't rack up any data charges?
Supposedly pay-per-use data is not available on smartphones. The data part does not apply as the user I know does not use cellular data -- just WiFi.
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
No, it will say something like data cannot be activated, or similar... I forget the exact message.
Also, you do realize there is a "Cellular Data" on/off button in Settings...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
The trick in that case is to ensure you don't leave more prepaid balance on your phone than you actually require for the foreseeable future.
Assuming you did start racking up unintentional pay-per-use charges, as soon as those charges exceed your prepaid balance, you would run out of credit. When you have no prepaid credit anymore, everything stops. That would serve as a pretty clear indication that you need to re-examine your usage before purchasing your next prepaid top-up.
AT&T claims, however, that pay-per-use data isn't even an option for smart phones on the GoPhone service. I honestly don't know if I should interpret that to mean that they'd actively prevent any pay-per-use data from passing through such a phone, or conversely if it means that they'd attempt to deduct funds from your prepaid balance to pay for a data add-on package.
However, iPhones running iOS 4 and above do have a configuration switch you can flip to turn off all cellular data on a system wide basis. This ought to protect you from the consequences of finger trouble in any other components of iOS or in 3rd party Apps.
Been there, doing that right now in Finland and enjoying it. Data only subscriptions are soooooo 2008...
When I got my first iPhone it added € 10 per month on top of my € 20 for the data. Increased to 12,50 last year, so no sweat over here in The Netherlands. Feel sorry for the Americans, they are certainly being ripped off. Are the Finnish subscriptions cheap?
The one thing that they are good at is billing you for substandard service. You can bet that their billing will be on time every month, regardless of how crappy their service is.
To what problem? Doesn't the iPhone still allow you to dial 911 without a SIM card/subscription/prepaid/whatever? Mine works (though I dial 112)
In the USA, the FCC has mandated a requirement that cellular telcos must process every 911 call from every technologically compatible mobile telephone, even if the mobile phone has never been registered for service with the telco, or if its previous service agreement has lapsed.
Under relevant GSM standards, it is technologically possible for a GSM phone to place a call to the designated emergency number without a SIM card being inserted in the phone. (In fact, most phones are preprogrammed to recognize 911, 999, and 112 as interchangeable, and will automatically handshake with the local GSM service provider to route the call to the correct call center, regardless of which of those three numbers were dialed.) Therefore, it follows that, in the USA, calls to 911 from such SIM-less phones are legally required to be serviced.
So, AT&T will fully unlock say an original iPhone and 3GS that are no longer on contract after two years, but Verizon and Sprint will not on the 4S?
Seems AT&T would as well for a 4S, once it also met the criteria, no? What am I missing?
You can pay AT&T to unlock an iPhone that's still in contract. Don't remember how much it costs, but I think it depends on how much is left on the contract.
In the USA, the FCC has mandated a requirement that cellular telcos must process every 911 call from every technologically compatible mobile telephone, even if the mobile phone has never been registered for service with the telco, or if its previous service agreement has lapsed.
Under relevant GSM standards, it is technologically possible for a GSM phone to place a call to the designated emergency number without a SIM card being inserted in the phone. (In fact, most phones are preprogrammed to recognize 911, 999, and 112 as interchangeable, and will automatically handshake with the local GSM service provider to route the call to the correct call center, regardless of which of those three numbers were dialed.) Therefore, it follows that, in the USA, calls to 911 from such SIM-less phones are legally required to be serviced.
The problem had to do with the problem of locating where the call from a VOIP device was coming from, a requirement for 911 calls. In the beginning, the location couldn't be guaranteed.
I think the Finnish phone rates and subscriptions are some of the lowest in the world. I am getting "real" unlimited data for about 20 dollars or so a month.
The problem had to do with the problem of locating where the call from a VOIP device was coming from, a requirement for 911 calls. In the beginning, the location couldn't be guaranteed.
Ah, so the assumption was that a person using an iPhone on a data-only plan would naturally use Skype (or something equivalent) for all his/her telephone calls, and therefore that person would automatically pull up Skype when an emergency arose and they needed to place a call to 911. Certainly a valid concern. How has Skype managed to convince the FCC that it either complies with, or else ought to be exempt from, that regulation when it comes to calls originating on its regular PC application?
On the other hand, certainly the Skype app could also recognize the fact that somebody was attempting to dial an emergency number, and automatically redirect the request back to the iOS native cellular dialer -- in the USA, as established above, such a call would be guaranteed to go through even if the phone isn't attached to a voice plan. Then, all the normal geo-location mechanisms associated with all cellular phone calls would be available.
Ah, so the assumption was that a person using an iPhone on a data-only plan would naturally use Skype (or something equivalent) for all his/her telephone calls, and therefore that person would automatically pull up Skype when an emergency arose and they needed to place a call to 911. Certainly a valid concern. How has Skype managed to convince the FCC that it either complies with, or else ought to be exempt from, that regulation when it comes to calls originating on its regular PC application?
On the other hand, certainly the Skype app could also recognize the fact that somebody was attempting to dial an emergency number, and automatically redirect the request back to the iOS native cellular dialer -- in the USA, as established above, such a call would be guaranteed to go through even if the phone isn't attached to a voice plan. Then, all the normal geo-location mechanisms associated with all cellular phone calls would be available.
I believe that Skype came after Vonage. I don't know of you remember, but Vonage was advertising itself as a phone replacement, both for your home phone, and then later, for your cell. Even for your home phone, VOIP couldn't tell where you were without some complex routines. Vonage didn't want to apply that to every sub, because they said it cost too much.
It's easier now that cell phones have GPS. But think upon when they didn't. How would 911 know where you were calling from?
I believe that Skype came after Vonage. I don't know of you remember, but Vonage was advertising itself as a phone replacement, both for your home phone, and then later, for your cell. Even for your home phone, VOIP couldn't tell where you were without some complex routines. Vonage didn't want to apply that to every sub, because they said it cost too much.
It's easier now that cell phones have GPS. But think upon when they didn't. How would 911 know where you were calling from?
When cell phones didn't have GPS, telcos used to use tower triangulation to get (at least) a rough idea where a call was coming from. As long as the telcos could guarantee that these location techniques generated results that were accurate to within 300 metres over a certain percentage of their subscription base, they satisfied E911 requirements. This data might be computed by the phone and transmitted back to the telco, or it might be computed by the towers themselves; in the latter case it might not have been directly accessible by the handset itself (or, consequently, by any software running within the handset). Clearly, then, it would be cumbersome to include this information as part of a 911 call being transmitted over a VoIP app running on the phone -- unless either the VoIP provider or the handset manufacturer had some sort of protocol in place with the telco to share that tower location information. (Apple's pre-GPS original iPhone model did have such a cell tower triangulation system, and the coordinates derived from that service was made available to any apps running on the phone.)
On the other hand, since we've established that it's possible to complete a voice-over-standard-cellular-service call to 911 originating on any cell phone in the USA regardless of whether or not any voice plan has been activated on that cell phone, it follows that a perfectly reasonable workaround would be, as I stated before, for the VoIP app to detect all 911 calls and automatically redirect them to the phone's native dialer. In that case, all the normal techniques for locating the origin of a cellular phone call would apply.
Comments
Data packages are completely separate for GoPhone today, and not required. But you CAN, however, buy a data package for a GoPhone with smartphone. Supposedly pay-per-use data is not available on smartphones. The data part does not apply as the user I know does not use cellular data -- just WiFi.
Keep in mind, when I am talking about using an iPhone, in all cases it is an iPhone that is already OFF CONTRACT, and either jailbroken/unlocked or officially unlocked. Works either way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Must anything be done on your end to ensure you don't rack up any data charges?
Quote:
Originally Posted by libertyforall
Supposedly pay-per-use data is not available on smartphones. The data part does not apply as the user I know does not use cellular data -- just WiFi.
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
So, AT&T will fully unlock say an original iPhone and 3GS that are no longer on contract after two years, but Verizon and Sprint will not on the 4S?
Seems AT&T would as well for a 4S, once it also met the criteria, no? What am I missing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blah64
Also, EVERYONE should read this:
How US Carriers Fool You Into Thinking Your iPhone 4s Is Unlocked
Someone else posted a link to this recently, and it's a very, very informative article.
There are actually 4 different versions of iPhone 4s. They just don't tell you.
No, it will say something like data cannot be activated, or similar... I forget the exact message.
Also, you do realize there is a "Cellular Data" on/off button in Settings...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
The 4S hasn't been out long enough to be "off contract" yet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So if you use an app that requires data and you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi network, it won't call out to the network and rack up off-plan charges?
Even my flip phone will do that if you press the wrong button (by default, which I'm certain was their intention. You make one mistake on the home screen and boom, a $5 charge for 00:00:00 data time after you cancel immediately) or menu selection…
The trick in that case is to ensure you don't leave more prepaid balance on your phone than you actually require for the foreseeable future.
Assuming you did start racking up unintentional pay-per-use charges, as soon as those charges exceed your prepaid balance, you would run out of credit. When you have no prepaid credit anymore, everything stops. That would serve as a pretty clear indication that you need to re-examine your usage before purchasing your next prepaid top-up.
AT&T claims, however, that pay-per-use data isn't even an option for smart phones on the GoPhone service. I honestly don't know if I should interpret that to mean that they'd actively prevent any pay-per-use data from passing through such a phone, or conversely if it means that they'd attempt to deduct funds from your prepaid balance to pay for a data add-on package.
However, iPhones running iOS 4 and above do have a configuration switch you can flip to turn off all cellular data on a system wide basis. This ought to protect you from the consequences of finger trouble in any other components of iOS or in 3rd party Apps.
When I got my first iPhone it added € 10 per month on top of my € 20 for the data. Increased to 12,50 last year, so no sweat over here in The Netherlands. Feel sorry for the Americans, they are certainly being ripped off. Are the Finnish subscriptions cheap?
Probably outsourced. AT&T: All Telco Tragedy
To what problem? Doesn't the iPhone still allow you to dial 911 without a SIM card/subscription/prepaid/whatever? Mine works (though I dial 112)
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilBoogie
To what problem? Doesn't the iPhone still allow you to dial 911 without a SIM card/subscription/prepaid/whatever? Mine works (though I dial 112)
In the USA, the FCC has mandated a requirement that cellular telcos must process every 911 call from every technologically compatible mobile telephone, even if the mobile phone has never been registered for service with the telco, or if its previous service agreement has lapsed.
Under relevant GSM standards, it is technologically possible for a GSM phone to place a call to the designated emergency number without a SIM card being inserted in the phone. (In fact, most phones are preprogrammed to recognize 911, 999, and 112 as interchangeable, and will automatically handshake with the local GSM service provider to route the call to the correct call center, regardless of which of those three numbers were dialed.) Therefore, it follows that, in the USA, calls to 911 from such SIM-less phones are legally required to be serviced.
You can pay AT&T to unlock an iPhone that's still in contract. Don't remember how much it costs, but I think it depends on how much is left on the contract.
The problem had to do with the problem of locating where the call from a VOIP device was coming from, a requirement for 911 calls. In the beginning, the location couldn't be guaranteed.
I think the Finnish phone rates and subscriptions are some of the lowest in the world. I am getting "real" unlimited data for about 20 dollars or so a month.
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
The problem had to do with the problem of locating where the call from a VOIP device was coming from, a requirement for 911 calls. In the beginning, the location couldn't be guaranteed.
Ah, so the assumption was that a person using an iPhone on a data-only plan would naturally use Skype (or something equivalent) for all his/her telephone calls, and therefore that person would automatically pull up Skype when an emergency arose and they needed to place a call to 911. Certainly a valid concern. How has Skype managed to convince the FCC that it either complies with, or else ought to be exempt from, that regulation when it comes to calls originating on its regular PC application?
On the other hand, certainly the Skype app could also recognize the fact that somebody was attempting to dial an emergency number, and automatically redirect the request back to the iOS native cellular dialer -- in the USA, as established above, such a call would be guaranteed to go through even if the phone isn't attached to a voice plan. Then, all the normal geo-location mechanisms associated with all cellular phone calls would be available.
I believe that Skype came after Vonage. I don't know of you remember, but Vonage was advertising itself as a phone replacement, both for your home phone, and then later, for your cell. Even for your home phone, VOIP couldn't tell where you were without some complex routines. Vonage didn't want to apply that to every sub, because they said it cost too much.
It's easier now that cell phones have GPS. But think upon when they didn't. How would 911 know where you were calling from?
Quote:
Originally Posted by melgross
I believe that Skype came after Vonage. I don't know of you remember, but Vonage was advertising itself as a phone replacement, both for your home phone, and then later, for your cell. Even for your home phone, VOIP couldn't tell where you were without some complex routines. Vonage didn't want to apply that to every sub, because they said it cost too much.
It's easier now that cell phones have GPS. But think upon when they didn't. How would 911 know where you were calling from?
When cell phones didn't have GPS, telcos used to use tower triangulation to get (at least) a rough idea where a call was coming from. As long as the telcos could guarantee that these location techniques generated results that were accurate to within 300 metres over a certain percentage of their subscription base, they satisfied E911 requirements. This data might be computed by the phone and transmitted back to the telco, or it might be computed by the towers themselves; in the latter case it might not have been directly accessible by the handset itself (or, consequently, by any software running within the handset). Clearly, then, it would be cumbersome to include this information as part of a 911 call being transmitted over a VoIP app running on the phone -- unless either the VoIP provider or the handset manufacturer had some sort of protocol in place with the telco to share that tower location information. (Apple's pre-GPS original iPhone model did have such a cell tower triangulation system, and the coordinates derived from that service was made available to any apps running on the phone.)
On the other hand, since we've established that it's possible to complete a voice-over-standard-cellular-service call to 911 originating on any cell phone in the USA regardless of whether or not any voice plan has been activated on that cell phone, it follows that a perfectly reasonable workaround would be, as I stated before, for the VoIP app to detect all 911 calls and automatically redirect them to the phone's native dialer. In that case, all the normal techniques for locating the origin of a cellular phone call would apply.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blah64
Also, EVERYONE should read this:
How US Carriers Fool You Into Thinking Your iPhone 4s Is Unlocked
Someone else posted a link to this recently, and it's a very, very informative article.
There are actually 4 different versions of iPhone 4s. They just don't tell you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns
Proof as in a link confirming this.
Just getting back to this. Are you asking for a link when I posted a link? huh?!