Data Service on Advantage - Page 2

Julie · 03-30-08, 11:47 PM

I signed up for Cingular's MediaNet unlimited data plan for $20 a month about a year ago.....that plan seems to have been discontinued (or maybe just renamed, who really knows...), but I've been using it with my hw6925 ever since. I've also setup the hw6925 as a bluetooth enabled modem to my computer and can surf the internet from my computer when wifi is not available.

03-31-08, 09:51 AM

...yes he was full of it.

this is why i tell everyone to do this online where the salesman cant try to talk you into stuff you dont need

jd :approve:

stevenator65 · 03-31-08, 11:55 AM

Thanks for all the help.

04-02-08, 01:46 PM

I've tried to order the BJII and the Tilt and the $20 plan is not offered to me. I've tried doing this through the regular AT&T site as well as the Business Center site. I've also tried letstalk.com. No luck with any of them. The only thing that's offered is the $30 PDA Personal Add-On.

Do you have to buy the device first and then sign up for the $20 plan after the account is set up? Is there another site that has more details on how to do this? TIA.

04-02-08, 02:21 PM

im not a representitive of att, and i havent done this in a while. only by logging into my account and looking at the service options, did i confirm what ive posted.

i had an existing account and ive been using unlocked devices from the manufacturer for a few years now.

if i were to purchase a new device from att or sign up for their service initially, i would reccommend signing up for a very inexpensive plan, then set up your account online, and add the features and services you want at that point. this way they wont sign you up for anything you dont need/want.

on a side note, sometimes the salesman at the store will set you up with this service at the store, but thats hit or miss. some will lie to you and tell you it wont work or you cant do that.

its best if you dont know what youre doing to ask someone here, and echo some details about your device and your current plan. maybe we can help. otherwise you should do it online, or if your totally clueless just go to the store and let them have their way with you

jd :approve:

stevenator65 · 04-20-08, 05:24 PM

When I go to my account on AT & T online, it gives me an option to add a new line, but it doesn't give me an option to get a data plan / sim card. How do I do it?

stevenator65 · 04-21-08, 11:51 AM

I couldn't figure out how to add the data plan, so I called AT&T. They told me I'd have to go to a store. The guy at the store tells me I have to bring the "phone" in to get the service. Does anyone know how to order it online? It can't be this difficult.

meadowlark · 04-22-08, 09:31 AM

Hello Steve,

I did bring the Advantage into a corporate AT&T store (v. a reseller) to get the SIM card and have it activiated. The sales person was very nice, and loved the Advantage, but not quite sure what to do.

What happened with mine was I got a SIM card, selected a phone number, and put on only the PDA Data Plan ($35.00/mo.) I also called the AT&T 800 number to cancel any voicemail options, as I did not want ignored calls to kick to voice mail.

When I had spoken with the customer service people about the plan, prior to going to the store, they suggested I could also just go in and ask for a SIM card, and then have it activated by calling back the 800 number.

I decided to just get it all done at the store, since the person was so enthused about the Advantage.

I think you do have to go to a store at least to get a SIM card.

stevenator65 · 04-22-08, 01:44 PM

Thanks for your input, Meadowlark. I spoke to 3 people on the phone. They suggested I go to a store, which sort of ruins the whole "not dealing with a saleman" thing. So the first store wanted me to buy a voice plan for $40 plus the data plan of $19.99. The second store told me I could upgrade my wife's plan for $10 more, which would give her an extra 100 minutes, then I could get the sim card and data plan. The idea being that they can only give me a sim card / data plan to a phone with a phone number. My wife's plan would become a "family plan" so I would have a phone and my minutes would be charged against the plan. I wold get their cheapest phone, remove the sim card and put it in my advantage.

I've done a bit of research and found that the pda plan is $40/mo and smartphone plan is $20/mo. The difference is whether the phone has a qwerty keyboard or not. According to Jdigital, the other difference is whether the ip is static or not, which makes no difference to me.

So long story short, I get the feeling that the $19.99 data plan is only available as an addon to a voice plan. That defeats the purpose of having just a data plan for the advantage.

Julie · 04-22-08, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by stevenator65

So long story short, I get the feeling that the $19.99 data plan is only available as an addon to a voice plan. That defeats the purpose of having just a data plan for the advantage.

I think that's the way it works. I use AT&T for voice and data and adding unlimited data to my existing contract only costs me an additional $19.99 a month. If you don't currently use the voice capability on your pocket pc and so you don't already have a SIM card, then there's no way to just add the data component to it unless you purchase this as a separate service from AT&T (although you might be able to purchase it under a family plan kind of arrangement) and you'd need to get a SIM card to use in the pocket pc.

meadowlark · 04-22-08, 07:50 PM

Steve,

You and Julie are correct. The 19.99 plan is only if you already have an existing voice plan on an existing SIM card.

The plan I have is called "PDA Personal." Although I had to have a phone number assigned to the SIM card, I have no voice plan at all. My guess is that if I mistakenly answer the Advantage it will cost me a ton per minute! That is the reason I wanted to make sure that any rogue phone call was not kicked to voicemail. AT&T customer service blocked the voicemail option for me.