What happens if you don't have a data plan?

[aajb29]

Hello All,

I am very interested in purchasing the Treo 650. I am not interested in a data plan but I have been told by AT&T (my provider) that a data plan is necessary for the 650 to work on their network (not just email etc but the actual phone side of the unit would not work properly). They said that they have 2 separate networks, data and voice, and that the 650 is a data phone and thus will not work without a data plan. Is this really true? I would like to be able to buy the 650 from P1 directly and then just put my GSM Simm card from my current phone into the 650. Thus, I want to be able to use it as a phone and tether to my computer to sync up my emails, calendar etc. so I can view my emails/calendar on the phone.

By the way, I also asked it I bought the AT&T locked phone and needed to switch to Cingular in the future would they unlock the phone and they said no, the phone would not work on the Cingular network.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jnl2000]

As far as I know the data is only for Text and multimedia messaging, and for use of the internet. To simply use the phone you do not need a data plan. At&t is ripping you off. It was not mandatory for me to obtain a data plan at "cingular" which is now combined with at&t so I do not see where the disconnect is. Hope this helps.

[MrTimmy]

sounds like poor customer support info - even my AT & T phone started saying "Cingular" as it accessed that network... But if you get a Treo and want to utilize all of its functions, an unlimited package will save you $$$ and allow you to surf the web and access web-based email - there are threads on here regarding billing (and how to avoid billing nightmares by selecting the wrong package)

[100thMonkey]

you can get SMS and MMS without a data package....if you don't want email or internet there shouldn't be any issue with not getting a data plan

[controller]

From my experience with Cingular, you need data at least "turned on."  Without it, the triangle showing that GPRS is available does not even appear.

A data plan can simply mean pay-as-you-go as well, and doesn't have to include monthly charges.

I'm not quite sure how AT&T customers are being treated still.

c

[ratenterm]

I had a little battle with AT&T on this subject.  What they are doing is tying the two together.  Even thought the phone will work with out a data plan, you do not have that option at AT&T.  If you get the phone you have to have a data plan.  The only way to get the 650 with out the data plan is to migrate to to Cingular.  Personally I thought that was pretty cheezy.  But since I didn't want to add an $40 a month to my bill for something I really didn't want, I migrated. 
 


The phone has been great with no problems or crashes. Er... minimum crashes. Ok, I had 2. 3 at the most... honest.

You'll enjoy the phone. Good luck.

[taylorh]

That's a load of BS (what the sales people told you.)

You do NOT need a data plan to use the phone portion of the Treo on the AT&T or Cingular network.  Point of fact, when I signed up they did not activate my data plan (as they were supposed to) so for the first day I was stuck with voice only and no data until I got them to add my data plan.

Yes, if you buy an unlocked treo from PalmOne directly and just put your SIM in, it will simply just work as a phone with no data access.  If you do have data access it's because they have a data "pay per use" enabled on your account.  You can have them remove this if you like so you don't accidentally get charged if you accidentally go online.

If you get an AT&T subsidy locked phone from AT&T wireless, it will only take an AT&T SIM.  You'll still be on the Cingular network as they merge the two, but it won't be a native Cingular SIM.  I don't know if there is any reason that's bad, as far as I know they can treat your AT&T SIM as a Cingular SIM from the network and billing side if they want, but I'm not sure.
One way around this is to get the AT&T phone.  Demand the sibsidy unlock code some time in the future if you ever need/want the Cingular SIM but you have to be careful because AT&T is known for NEVER giving out unlock codes.  Cingular does have a policy of unlocking them after a while and since they are merging, I don't know how that affects the old AT&T policy.  Does it follow the AT&T phone?  I don't know.

Per the whole data plan thing.  I recommend at least getting the $10 Cingular MEdia Basic bundle https://www.cingular.com/media/media_net_purchase
This gives you a very very small handful of SMS, MMS, and data.
But if you want to save $10, that's your call.  At least this way you get some very limited use of the addtional messaging and data features for a low price.
But $10 is $10, if you don't want any of that, you do not need it.  The treo is simply a phone like any other and can work with just the voice plans.

WHen I got my Treo 600 a long time aga on AT&T, they considered it a data device with a phone attached (Primary data, secondary phone) vs. the other way around like most phones.  I think they still have this perspective.

For SMS and MMS, you don't need a data plan, you only need a voice plan.  MMS and SMS (multimedia and text messaging) is part of the voice network and without a multimedia or text messaging package they will simply charge you per message.  MMS and SMS "pay per use" is enabled by default.  But again it may be more cost effective to get a MEdia Net bundle.

[WiggyFife]

So have we come up with a definitive answer as to whether you need to purchase a data plan inorder to buy a Treo 650- specifically one for Verizon, in my case. Please advise? Thanks...

[scottjb]

Verizon requires a data plan on an account with a pda phone.  They do, however, have a pay-as-you-go plan with no monthly fee.  I do not think that plan is listed on the Web site.  I  believe the charge is .015 cents per Kb.

[WiggyFife]

Verizon requires a data plan on an account with a pda phone.  They do, however, have a pay-as-you-go plan with no monthly fee.  I do not think that plan is listed on the Web site.  I  believe the charge is .015 cents per Kb.

that is a far better deal for me as I mainly want a treo650 to converge my phone & PDA into 1 device. I can deal w/ pay-as-you-go...

[PDA User]

it sounds like the phone will work on AT&T without a data plan, does the same apply to T-Mobile?  I'm considering a Treo 750 - I don't have (and don't need) a data plan but need to be able to sync with PC (calendar appts, contacts, etc) and need the phone and texting to work.  If someone has knowledge about this I would appreciate responses.

Thanks