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Using Verizon's Service with No Data Plan

Used properly and wisely, you should have no problems with using data without a data plan (Using EN-MOU = Express Network - Minutes Only Use).

Rule #1: If you intend on using your Treo without a data plan, DO NOT install wireless sync. There's absolutely no way to keep a reign on your data if you use this service.

The big thing to remember is that the data connection must be completely turned off for you to not be using minutes. The data arrows are green when data is being actively sent/received and grey when in a passive mode waiting to send/receive data. If it's grey, it can still go active by itself, so you need to remember to always shut it completely off (no green or grey arrows).

The easiest way to kill the data connection across all apps is from the Network menu inside of Prefs. You can connect/disconnect from here, but it's not convenient to get to.

The default applications (other than SMS) won't do this for you. When using Blazer, you must go into the menu (menu-options-disconnect) after use. My big worry (and something that's hard to control) is MMS. I don't use it much at all, but it's something that will not shut itself down after sending a MMS, and more importantly after it receives a MMS. It's possible that someone could send you a MMS message without you seeing it for four hours and you've been connected the entire time.

Some applications (Snappermail. 4Cast, etc) have an option to disconnect the data connection after updating their data. This comes in handy as I often check email after browsing and it takes care of the connection.

I also use an application called Battery Dr. You can set the program up to kill the data connection whenever power is turned off. This is convenient not only as an easy way to kill any data connections you start, but those that you don't like MMS as if the Treo is powered on by a MMS that you receive, when the auto-off powers the Treo off after the prescribed time you've set (30 secs, 1 min, 2 min) it will also kill the data connection.

I also recommend making a call to #646 somewhat frequently to monitor your minutes usage. This will send you a text message detailing the minutes used during this billing cycle and will break it down by peak/non-peak, in minutes and night/weekend minutes. It's often a few days behind, especially on data usage, so don't count on up to the minute reliable figures.

Of course, without a data plan, the threat of a large bill is always hanging over you. But myself and others have had no problems using the Verizon Treo 600 without one using a few tools, safe practices and common sense.

In the event that you do see a large bill, Verizon has been crediting the account back to normalize the bill, but then requires you to get on a data plan. So I guess you can cross that bridge if you (hopefully don't) come to it. There's always the chance that Verizon will demand payment for the bill, but as most people who purchased the Treo were not informed of a required data plan, I'd say thery're likely to give some consideration.

Verizon sent this letter out recently (click to enlarge):

...which seems to imply that it won't be ending the EN-MOU practice anytime soon, but keep in mind that it probably also serves as fair warning should you get hit with a very large bill.

Hopefully Verizon will offer a competitive unlimited data plan in the near future, but in the mean time, you can use EN-MOU if you are a light data user and don't want to double your cell phone bill for the ability to check your email every few days or look up the weather or movie times while away from the house.

Good luck!

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CategoryUserguide - CategoryTreoGeneral