yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android General] kaijura:
He's basically using one of those box things I mentioned in an earlier post. and flashing them to IMEI's that aren't in AT&T's database. If you check the youtube of the link I posted, if you look up that IMEI the guy with the box put in then look it up on some sites.. (like swappa) it comes up as an unknown phone..

You can buy one of these things yourself for a couple hundred and up... depending on what phones they support.
[Android General] chrism.brunner:
O well, that's what I spent for him to do this..... I figured that's what they were doing, but I didn't want to mess with any legalities due to changing the imei, and the listing doesn't state that, so to me its worth the money....

Ignorance is bliss......

Evidently I read your post because I thanked you.

You hit 40 and the memory is not the same.
[Android General] redsrule2500:
It allows rooting and call-recording out of the box, that's enough for me!

My current Motorola Droid 3 XT862 doesn't have kernel source or call-recording capability.
[Android General] sucsss:
interesting.

off topic, but is this basically the same with people flashing Verizon/sprint phones to other MVNOs? I mean, how do they flash a sprint phone to say page plus? I've always wondered about the legality on that. clearly they are changing something.
[Android General] me4tux:
Hi Kaijura,

Sorry for the questions, but just wondering if I am still eligible for MediaNet plans.... and I have questions about LTE networks and MediaNet.

I have a grandfathered ATT plan. Circa 2006, with "Smartphone" exclusion on my plan.

Q1: Will I still be able add a MediaNet data plan? Is that still the old $10/month?

I am still using the old SIM card (regular size) with Cingular printed on it.

Q2: How can I ask ATT to give me a new nano SIM for my new phone but still preserve my grandfathered plan? Will MediaNet plans ride on the faster LTE networks assuming your phone supports it?

For iPhone 5c, will an overseas IMEI phone work with MediaNet?

Q3: Can an iPhone 5c (ATT issued or Overseas) work on ATT voice only, if I first put a data block on my acct before I swap the sim into the iPhone 5c?

Thanks for any advice.
[Android General] lovem:
Do you still have the mega 6.3 on medianet.

---------- Post added at 02:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 PM ----------

What ever you do. Do not take off that line item "Smartphone exclusion". Wish I still had that on a line that had it before an At&t retail dealer fluffed that up and changed the plan when an upgrade was done. That line item "smartphone exclusion"will allow you to use a Smartphone on medianet or data for non smartphones, (what medianet is called now) unless they have made the two lines incompatible. With that line, it should exclude you from getting a message to add a higher "smartphone data plan". You are lucky.

Q1: Will I still be able add a MediaNet data plan? Is that still the old $10/month?

A: yes leave phone in current device if non-smartphone and add $10 data for non smartphone online or call and have them do that to guarantee that the line item "smartphone exclusion" is not removed from your account.

Q2: How can I ask ATT to give me a new nano SIM for my new phone but still preserve my grandfathered plan? Will MediaNet plans ride on the faster LTE networks assuming your phone supports it?

A: You can buy a sim cutter and cut your SIM or go in the store and ask for a nanosim. it should be free. just tell them you are expecting a phone to arrive and want to have the sim card in hand and you will call to activate. it would be best though to get a mini or micro sim and cut it down, because if you have a nano sim active, those are usually only found in smartphones.

Q3: Can an iPhone 5c (ATT issued or Overseas) work on ATT voice only, if I first put a data block on my acct before I swap the sim into the iPhone 5c?

Answer: iphones were never eligible for the medianet plan, so that definitely is a no-go and if you put an iphone on your account you are most definitely on the way to losing that prized line item "smartphone exclusion". iphones always required iphone data plans shortly after they were released, because there were serious overage problems.
[Android General] me4tux:
Hi lovem,

Thanks for your advice. You answered all my Q's.

From OLAM, I see the $10 non-smartphone data plan, but it requires the Messaging Unlimited option ($20 extra).

The only other option is the $15 non-smartphone data plan.
[Android General] inurb:
Yes.
[Android General] lovem:
"Smartphone exclusion" is not meant for iphone devices. although it will work with other operating system phones, e.g. android, symbian (dead), if attempting to use an iphone, you still have to have data completely off by calling and "opting out" of data to be sure that a smartphone plan is not added, instead of just turning off data from the iphone. Iphones are detected with another access point, especially if it's AT&T branded. Since iphones were released they have always required a data plan so do not know how likely and lucky you'll get with iphone on medianet aka "data for non-smartphone" and "smartphone exclusion" if you do not change the access point to medianet for the iphone to access the internet. bottom line stay away from iphones unless it is undetected if you want $10 medianet plan.

2) medianet aka "data for non-smartphone" does not get LTE. it only gets 3g or HSPA+, which is fast enough. If you want LTE you'll be paying for regular data for smartphone or one of those eye gouging mobile share plans.

Your plan should be, stay away from iphone. get an android alternative. keep your sim card in a dumb phone, add data for non smartphone and make sure the line item "smartphone exclusion" remains on your account, because once it's removed, GONE FOR GOOD. pop your sim card into your new phone and you are smooth sailing.

Anyway to have received the line item "smartphone exclusion" you must have had a smartphone on the account for which at&t did not require smartphone data plans, since the device must have been released before they began tiered data plans for smartphones (to make more money), and so you were grandfathered as long as you kept the phone on your account and did not upgrade to at&t retail device or remove the medianet that was on the account. if you ever took off the medianet and you are without data you are lucky to still have that line "smartphone exclusion" on your account.
[Android General] sucsss:
smartphone exclusion automatically gets removed if you get back on contract.

all it does it allows you to not have data if you have a smartphone on the line. It doesn't allow you to use medianet on say an att iphone.

so basically it used to be pretty nice, but not much anymore since you can just add data block to prevent att from adding data to most smartphones now.
[Android General] livingitup:
I've had the smartphone exclusion on my account since 2006 and have been off contract since 2007. Since then, I haven't any problems using any non-ATT smartphones (symbian and WP8 devices) with medianet.

I had the smartphone exclusion added when I went into an ATT corporate store with my then Nokia N73 (international version) to get the data working. The rep told me I didn't need a smartphone data plan since it wasn't a Blackberry or Palm device but in order to use it on medianet he needed to add a "smartphone exclusion" to my account. After that, the phone worked fine.
[Android General] james11417:
Doubt anyone cares at this point but for completeness, I'm using the Samsung t959 (T-Mobile Vibrant) with the MediaNet plan with no problems.

In any case, sad to hear about the sgs3 not working. Perhaps it is like the i9100 in which 1 color is flagged, but the other is not. I'm going to wait longer and see what people say before I buy it. Otherwise, I might go for the One X even though it has no sd slot/battery :(
[Android General] fadinglionhart:
Using the t959 means you only get up to edge speeds due to the difference in 3g frequency bands.

Also, the i9300 can use the medianet plan:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1696025
[Android General] kaijura:
the t989 from TMOBILE gets 850/1900, it will get 3g on att. The t989d from Telus, only has the 1900 band according to what I read online.

Always look at the supported 3G/UMTS speeds listed on sites like gsmarena. If it has 850 / 1900 listed as two of the bands, you are good to go with AT&T 3G/HSPA.
[Android General] james11417:
I get 3g with t959. It only has one of the bands so sometimes I have to use EDGE, but in NYC the coverage is good enough.

Anyway, I was just responding to one of the previous posts where someone who bought an i9300 was forced to upgrade plans. I will wait and see if more people complain to see how widespread it is.
[Android General] kim319:
data bill for first month?

hi chambo I have decided to use my 2yr upgrade to get the iphone 4s + 3gb $30/mo data plan and then sell the iphone 4s and buy the international galaxy s3.

after I pop the sim into the galaxy s3, call att and ask them to switch me over to the medianet unlimited for $10/mo (I am on a family plan with the unlimited texting addon) how would i be billed for that first month?

would I be charged a full $30 for 3gb data?

only $10?

some combination of $30 + $10 pro rated?
[Android General] kim319:
the htc one x and the galaxy s3 from at&t should both come with LTE microsims correct?
[Android General] sk337sk337:
Your bill would be prorated for both plans. Not to be rude but if your looking at a phone to buy then sell the 4s isn't your best option. They are only going for about $380 on the MP but locally you might get $400-450. I would try and preorder the SGS3 and then sell that because your potentially going to get around $500.
[Android General] kim319:
No offense taken, I'm completely new to this game. I'd appreciate any and all tips on how to maximize the profit on the sale of the upgrade phone.

I've read that phones that are unlocked sell for more, could I order the s3 and then ask at&t to unlock the phone for me before I sell?

the htc one x is available at my sams club for $98 + waived $36 upgrade fee, should I still wait and get the s3? I doubt any place will be offering the s3 lower than $199 anytime soon.
[Android General] sk337sk337:
I know you can't post in the market on here but you should be able to browse. Take a look through there and you can get a general idea of the going rates for most of the phones.
[Android General] kaijura:
Consider that if you sell on PayPal or eBay they have fees too, ~3% of sale price for PayPal and ~9.5% on eBay assuming you are not a power seller.

Market prices here on xda I've seen generally run $20-50 less than eBay.
[Android General] kim319:
my preferred method of selling has always been amazon over ebay over craigslist.

I'm not very experienced/confident in board sales/trades.

but i've noticed almost all of the new phones on amazon dont have a seller option. anyone know what that is about? first time i've seen amazon limit sales to themselves only.
[Android General] sk337sk337:
Mainly because ebay has the extra fee's

yeah I looked on my seller account and couldn't find it either.
[Android General] Juicy555:
Got it working on the DROID 3 ( with the global radio flashed for att, something like that. ) And worked for about 3 hours, used wifi tether for root users for like 10 seconds and i got a messae saying i was bumped to a data plan.... not too happy because even though i got back to the medianet plan for 10$/month i hope im not getting charged 30$ for having the plan for 5 minutes...
[Android General] sumeet909:
#1. I see in your signature that you have n7000. What made you sell Rogers 717r that gets you AT&T 4G, LTE, TMobile 4G, AT&T Medianet as opposed to keeping an n7000?

#2. Do you have Medianet on n7000?
[Android General] dkotoric:
Does anyone know what the limit on MediaNet is before ATT will potentially kick you off. I'm usually always under 2gb each month but this month due to the Eurocup and me watching some games on my N7000 i am already at 1.8gb 9 days into the billing cycle.

Thanks for your help in advance
[Android General] Zaiaku:
For the most part I think its 4GB is when you start getting noticed. Highest I've been is about 3GB but that only twice.
[Android General] dkotoric:
OK thanks just making sure

Sent from my GT-N7000
[Android General] sk337sk337:
#1 development. Simple as that. And as there is no 4G (lte/hspa+) within 150 miles so it was useless.

#2 of course :D
[Android General] sumeet909:
thanks! how about light tethering? Is that a fair game on MediaNet? With ATT branded smartphones on unlimited 4G data plan, it doesn't take long for ATT to flag you. How's that situation for MediaNet users?
[Android General] sk337sk337:
I hardly ever tether so I'm probably not the best person to ask
[Android General] inurb:
this might be a dumb question but i thought i would ask.... I've had the same att sim for about 9 years (using medianet). I've cut it down to micro sim size to work in more recent devices. If I request a new sim from att will I have any issues in accessing medianet? Thanks
[Android General] bedwa:
Shouldn't. I've gotten a SIM in the last year by advising that I was having issues with my SIM (also advising that I tried my wife's SIM in my device and had no issues on the device I was using, pointing to the SIM being the issue). The other option is to get an unactivated SIM off of ebay for $3-5, then calling in. If you have the smartphone exclusion, make sure that you keep it and don't let the rep off the phone till you check your online account management (OLAM) to make sure you have it. If it has come off, ask them to get a manager to put it back on.
[Android General] inurb:
Where on OLAM can i check to see if I have the smartphone exclusion?

I have 2 smartphones on medianet and 1 iPhone with a data block.

Thanks for your help.
[Android General] bedwa:
I personally have never had the feature, but I believe it will be in your summary of features for your line. Check the last few pages, I believe it's been mentioned there. I myself used to be on the UNL Smartphone data plan till I was throttled (earliest was 6 days into my cycle) as I was working for AT&T (ironic as it was.....)
[Android General] lovem:
Smartphone exclusion would allow you to add medianet--so you can get data--now called non-smartphone data plan if you had a phone that was incorrectly showing to require a smartphone data plan although it was a grandfathered smartphone or was not a smartphone. If the phone on record with big orange was not updated by calling them and putting a new phone on record, you could continue using the line with medianet even though the sim may have been placed in a smartphone requiring data and you would never get the message because the line smartphone exclusion exempts the line or account from a smartphone data plan once the checks are done to assure all accounts with smartphones (non-grandfathered) have the appropriate requirements.

I truthfully speak from experience.

guy wants data so You wouldn't want to add data block.

Iphones always required iphone data plans shortly after release so The likelyhood of smartphone working with iphones would probably be very little, and iphones aren't that great (In my opinion) to risk putting SIM in an iphone to learn an immeasurable line item is lost for good.
[Android General] sucsss:
[/QUOTE]

you're experience was wrong. I remember the terms way back in 08 when it was added. I had it on all 5 of my lines.

It ONLY allows you to be exempt from being forced to have a data plan with a smartphone. That's it.

and it will automatically get removed if you get back on contract.

Medianet regardless of smartphone exclusion is still ONLY for feature phones.

If that guy want's medianet he'll have to get a phone with a imei that ATT doesn't recognize. There are some random phones that they should recognize but don't. Though that's very rare.

---------- Post added at 08:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:39 AM ----------

when did you add the nokia n73? that's a pretty old phone.

most Symbian's are safe. who uses Symbian anymore? lol. WP8 devices are hit or miss.
[Android General] livingitup:
I had the N73 in 2006 which was the same time I had the smartphone exclusion added to my account. I used several Symbian phones over the last few years and never had issues using them on medianet. As for the the WP8 devices, I had a lumia 810 for almost a year and it wasn't flagged.
[Android General] Endlessknight:
Interesting. What phone did you send in? Did you get it back yet?
[Android General] chrism.brunner:
I sent in a galaxy s3, and a galaxy s4 active. They just received them today, so I expect them back next week. Will let you know. If this works I might get rid of the 6 other phones I use. Tired of just waiting for the day that they don't work anymore.....
[Android General] Mephisto Zap:
Nice post btw. The Verizon iPhone 5s is working I've read a few reports about it. But will probably get blocked eventually.
[Android General] me4tux:
Hi lovem,

Thanks for your tips.

So, today I got my old regular Cingular SIM replace with a microSIM at the AT&T corporate store. They required me to supply an IMEI which I did, an old Moto phone which they scanned for the IMEI number into their database.

Some observations: (after power on with my Sony Xperia ZL - pentaband LTE phone)

1. As you noted, the micro SIM only locks onto 3G (HSPA) towers. I cannot see the LTE logo on my phone.

2. smartphone exclusion still exists on my acct, and I do not get any AT&T notifications. Maybe I shall wait for a month, when they do a "sweep".

3. When I login to OLAM, I can see the $15 media net plan as a selection option, but the $10 medianet says it requires a "messaging unlimited" plan. Is that correct?
[Android General] bedwa:
Special note for #3. If you download the MyATT app you can drop it down to the $10 data plan. You will get a "you are using this without messaging" message every once and a while, but you can just go back in and change it again.
[Android General] sucsss:
it's not the sim that limits whether you can see LTE or not.

smartphone exclusion allows you to not have data. so the sweeps will ignore you
[Android General] me4tux:
Care to enlighten me as to why I can't get to a LTE tower?

The only other thing I can think of is the IMEI number. I was hesitant to provide my Xperia ZL IMEI to AT&T 's database (the phone which I bought unlocked, carrier free)

Or, it shouldn't matter anymore these days ... (i.e trying to protect my IMEI number)

---------- Post added at 11:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:31 PM ----------

Thanks for the tip bedwa. I'll give the app a try.
[Android General] sucsss:
do you have a data plan that includes LTE? it's what plan you have on your account.

medianet has no LTE
[Android General] Mephisto Zap:
Yes media net plan is 3g only. Its meant for feature phones. When they do voice over LTE I suppose is when we might see LTE access.
[Android General] zakir1988:
Good
[Android General] me4tux:
Negative. My grandfathered plan originally was "pay per use" and I have added that Medianet $15 feature via OLAM.

Obviously, that didn't get my phone onto LTE, and I suppose it's well understood that it aint gonna happen for Medianet.

Incidently, I read from another website that if you supply an IMEI of a LTE capable phone, it "fixes" this problem. But, I am not sure if I want to deal with the ramifications of giving away the true IMEI number of my smartphone to AT&T.
[Android General] kaijura:
The APN for medianet is different from the APN for LTE AT&T phones. That is the primary reason why we can't use it, our accounts need to be provisioned for LTE access to be able to use that APN.

I've read of some grandfathered iPhone users on AT&T who had data unlimited, back when it was the iPhone 2G or 3G - if they still have their accounts they can ask CSR to migrate and move over to unlimited LTE. Of course, these are very few I think.
[Android General] me4tux:
Sorry for my lack of knowledge.... but can't we simply just change the APN config on our phone setting? Like using settings "phone APN" or "iphone APN" or some other?
[Android General] sucsss:
you can do that. but if your account doesn't have LTE you still won't get LTE.

basically you can't "sign-in" without the right "credentials"
[Android General] bedwa:
My opinion on LTE

Myself, I'm just going to wait till they plan to swap even the basic phones over to LTE service due to Voice Over LTE or VoLTE. Then, we won't have to worry about it anymore and will be able to use the proper gateways (swiped from the basic phones in stores or through generous current employees) to get LTE service on our devices. I'm not picky as I don't have broadband at home unless I pay an arm and a leg through Comcast or Dialup through AT&T itself. So I use my mobile device at 1.5-3 Mbps.
[Android General] Endlessknight:
Is the OPPO Find 5 still flying under the radar? What if it's been previously used on an AT&T family data share plan, would I still be able to use it on medianet?
[Android General] PassingThruLife:
whats the fastest speeds you guys have seen on medianet?

I got 6.5mb once but its usually 5mb=5.5mb ,always faster at night.
[Android General] Mephisto Zap:
What you read what for getting LTE on a non att phone. Like if you have a tmobile LTE phone. You won't automatically get LTE on att. They need a LTE phone from the att database so you can get LTE access. Obviously this won't work with medianet.

---------- Post added at 03:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

That's generally about what I get. Slower in the day and faster at night. The highest ive seen is about 8 or 9. But usually stays around 5-6. Still very fast for everything.

---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:02 PM ----------

Yes the oppo phones should always work. They have no ways of getting the imeis. I've been using my xiaomi mi2 since September no issues and its a Chinese phone too.
[Android General] PassingThruLife:
thanks for replying. yea,5-6mb is good enough for most things,i can even download torrents in minutes tethering off my phone if i need to.

one thing i notice is downloads in the browser seem to hang up and seldom finish when im tethered. anyone else had that issue?
[Android General] Mephisto Zap:
You can bitorrent off of your phone. Sometimes when I'm bittorrenting it will slow to a crawl a reboot fixes that. My download speed seems to max out at about 800kbs a sec.

Sometimes my downloads do hang when I'm on my phone. In miui under downloads I'm able to sometimes restart it by pausing the download and restarting it.
[Android General] me4tux:
bedwa,

so, i have my phone setup now, and using the MyATT app. The $10 medianet plan still indicates "unlimited messaging is required" but obviously not added.

so, how often do you get the nag and does the system automatically add the unlimited messaging? can you pls elaborate?

thanks!
[Android General] Endlessknight:
Get them back yet? Hey, I see you're in AK. Small world, so am I.
[Android General] chrism.brunner:
Wow. Really. Where at? I'm in Willow. No not yet. The post office on his end screwed up and left it in the vehicle after pickup....lol. will get them Monday. Had a good conversation with the guy though. He's going to start selling the hotspots soon done the same way...going to try that too. I'll post Monday when I get them.
[Android General] Endlessknight:
Thanks man. I'm really interested to know what imei he flashed them to. I wonder if he'll let me pick? I'm further north, in the frozen interior, in good ol' Fairbanks. though this has been a very mild winter by our standards.
[Android General] chrism.brunner:
I'll try to find out. Didn't ask him, though I am curious as well.....our winter has been mild too, had 54° a few weeks ago.....kinda nice.
[Android General] chrism.brunner:
He told me he used a moto RAZR....don't know if he would let you pick, but he does respond to every question I have sent.
[Android General] ClearD:
I hope he's not using the same RAZR for every phone... That might look suspicious :P

Sent using XDA-funded carrier pigeons