Buy new phone, but keep AT&T Charter plan?
Hi. My AT&T Nokia 6590 is on it's last leg. I've been meaning to replace it for some time, but haven't gotten around to dealing w/ it.
Apparently I'm going to have to buy an unlocked phone; I can't just put my SIM card in a new phone from the Cingular store, right?
Anybody gone through this? Can I buy a phone from Cingular, get it unlocked somewhere, and be good to go? Is that more advantageous than buying an unlocked NON-Cingular phone? In either case, will I run into any problems, e.g., not be able to use the internet, or something?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially from people that have been there and done that. I don't want to buy a new phone (expensive w/out new contract discount), get in unlocked, find-ou...
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Apparently I'm going to have to buy an unlocked phone; I can't just put my SIM card in a new phone from the Cingular store, right?
Anybody gone through this? Can I buy a phone from Cingular, get it unlocked somewhere, and be good to go? Is that more advantageous than buying an unlocked NON-Cingular phone? In either case, will I run into any problems, e.g., not be able to use the internet, or something?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially from people that have been there and done that. I don't want to buy a new phone (expensive w/out new contract discount), get in unlocked, find-ou...
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Consult https://www.phonescoop.com/carriers/forum.php ?fm=m&ff=4&fi=451906
Ebay is the best bet, you can find phones there that are still SIM locked for ATTW as well as unlocked phones.
Ebay is the best bet, you can find phones there that are still SIM locked for ATTW as well as unlocked phones.
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No you can't just buy a Cingular phone and get it to work with your AT&T sim card.
Purchasing a phone from Cingular and trying to get it unlocked is a bad idea if you have no experience. If you do go this route, purchase a Nokia as the unlock process for these phones in almost all cases has been reduced to layterms.
If you buy a unbranded phone your internet, text messaging and multimedia messaging settings will have to be manually configured. Some phones that were previously carrier locked (like T-Mobile) often times have software locks that prevent customers from manually editing those very settings. Additionally it is very likely that your voicemail inidicator will not function properly or at all. Additionally if you ever happen...
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Purchasing a phone from Cingular and trying to get it unlocked is a bad idea if you have no experience. If you do go this route, purchase a Nokia as the unlock process for these phones in almost all cases has been reduced to layterms.
If you buy a unbranded phone your internet, text messaging and multimedia messaging settings will have to be manually configured. Some phones that were previously carrier locked (like T-Mobile) often times have software locks that prevent customers from manually editing those very settings. Additionally it is very likely that your voicemail inidicator will not function properly or at all. Additionally if you ever happen...
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If you buy a Nokia, then don't buy a Nokia 6682 or any of the newer Symbian 60 series phones, they are still trying to figure out the unlock sequence after the phone has been out 6 months...
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Just remember 3 thingsifyou go through buying a unlocked device.This may seem harsh but there are reasons for it:
1) If you buy a unlocked device, you cannot have it activated on the Siebel system, because they can only activate devices that were built for the ATTWS syatems, ifit works withpopping your sim in, ifnot, don't call and ask for help, you are on your own.
2)If you have any issues like ie: my voicemail not showing up, my mmode is not working, my texts are not working right, don't call customer care, as a trained rep we arenot allowed to help you, there are some independant websites to refer to but customer has been told by the top man down (wecannot offer assistanc,trouble shooting to any device that is not a "ATTWS" branded ...
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1) If you buy a unlocked device, you cannot have it activated on the Siebel system, because they can only activate devices that were built for the ATTWS syatems, ifit works withpopping your sim in, ifnot, don't call and ask for help, you are on your own.
2)If you have any issues like ie: my voicemail not showing up, my mmode is not working, my texts are not working right, don't call customer care, as a trained rep we arenot allowed to help you, there are some independant websites to refer to but customer has been told by the top man down (wecannot offer assistanc,trouble shooting to any device that is not a "ATTWS" branded ...
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Your promo Charter plan is set to expire the end of this year regardless of your contract.....so to help out....
Buying an unlocked phone and poping in your AT&T card will allow the voice and text messaging to work perfectally.
However the mMode and MMS settings will need to be provisioned. If you need the settings don't hesitate to ask.
If you don't care about internet and MMS then it is all good. The others are correct in stating that buying an AT&T phone off ebay would be the best option. This gets you the support from CS and perhaps a little warranty left on your phone.
Will
Buying an unlocked phone and poping in your AT&T card will allow the voice and text messaging to work perfectally.
However the mMode and MMS settings will need to be provisioned. If you need the settings don't hesitate to ask.
If you don't care about internet and MMS then it is all good. The others are correct in stating that buying an AT&T phone off ebay would be the best option. This gets you the support from CS and perhaps a little warranty left on your phone.
Will
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There have been posts saying our long expired unlimited $99 plans will go away "soon". These all expired a couple years ago - and are still working fine. You can put the SIM into any unlocked phone w. no problem.
(We only use our phones as phones. We don't use them as a substitute computer to connect to the internet etc. - so this may have a bearing on what you can or can't do - I don't know.)
...mike
(We only use our phones as phones. We don't use them as a substitute computer to connect to the internet etc. - so this may have a bearing on what you can or can't do - I don't know.)
...mike
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If you dont want that plan, can you pass it on to me.I guess we have to talk to cingular/at&t about how to do that. I desperately need one of these plans, since i am on the phone all day.
Bigmaharaja
Bigmaharaja
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Its hard to find attws phones aside from used ones or expensive new ones (because manufacturing companys rarely consider non-conformists to the cingular reign)... Personally I like ebay. Eventually ALL attws phones will be goners anyway so why buy expensive gear for retro service??
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