Any way to disable the 3G if you were to use the N900 on AT&T without a data plan?

[jaysin22]

I did a quick search but was unable to find any reference to this. I am really drooling over the N900 but have AT&T which it appears it would work with and I would only get Edge speeds. But I don't have the Data Plan contract and really don't want to get one right now. Is there any reference to being able to disable the use of the 3G/Edge network when you don't have wifi or will the apps try to connect automatically to what ever is available. I just wondered if there was a way to turn that feature off and use it like a souped up N8x0 but with a real Phone and a better camera/video camera. Would love to hear if any knows anything about this. This would be my deciding factor as I don't want to switch to T-Mobile or have to get a data plan.

[zerojay]

I did a quick search but was unable to find any reference to this. I am really drooling over the N900 but have AT&T which it appears it would work with and I would only get Edge speeds. But I don't have the Data Plan contract and really don't want to get one right now. Is there any reference to being able to disable the use of the 3G/Edge network when you don't have wifi or will the apps try to connect automatically to what ever is available. I just wondered if there was a way to turn that feature off and use it like a souped up N8x0 but with a real Phone and a better camera/video camera. Would love to hear if any knows anything about this. This would be my deciding factor as I don't want to switch to T-Mobile or have to get a data plan.

As far as we know, phone network and internet network are treated separately. You can decide to disconnect the internet connection while still receiving phone calls... or even connect to wifi and still receive over-the-air calls. In other words, this shouldn't be an issue for you.

[brendan]

i would think that if you dont have a data plan, then you cant do data stuff. it seems that the data part is a function of the service and not the device, so it should not matter if you try to do something that requires a data plan on the device, as your carrier is not providing you with a data connection.

think of it like this. take the ethernet cable out of your pc. you can open a browser, but you have no data connection, so you cannot get to the internet.

[jaysin22]

i would think that if you dont have a data plan, then you cant do data stuff. it seems that the data part is a function of the service and not the device, so it should not matter if you try to do something that requires a data plan on the device, as your carrier is not providing you with a data connection.

think of it like this. take the ethernet cable out of your pc. you can open a browser, but you have no data connection, so you cannot get to the internet.

I know from my experience in testing on AT&T even if you don't have a data plan you can still access the internet with their phones they just charge you literally an arm and a leg for each Kb of data. The Data plan just gives you cheaper rates for your access.

My concern was that certain programs will try to access the internet but I wanted to know if you can restrict that to only try to connect when wifi is present. kinda like you can do now with the N8x0 and telling it not to pair with a phone to access the internet.

I know you can just not run any apps but that kinda negates the point of having the N900. The apps on the N8x0 still run fine but only access if there is a wifi connection.

[zerojay]

I know from my experience in testing on AT&T even if you don't have a data plan you can still access the internet with their phones they just charge you literally an arm and a leg for each Kb of data. The Data plan just gives you cheaper rates for your access.

My concern was that certain programs will try to access the internet but I wanted to know if you can restrict that to only try to connect when wifi is present. kinda like you can do now with the N8x0 and telling it not to pair with a phone to access the internet.

I know you can just not run any apps but that kinda negates the point of having the N900. The apps on the N8x0 still run fine but only access if there is a wifi connection.

You can just put yourself into offline mode to stop that from happening.

[jaysin22]

Gotcha. Thanks!

[andrewfblack]

ATT also allows you to block all data access if you want just like you can block SMS. That way you wont use data when you didn't mean to.

[lemmyslender]

The best thing to do would be to call AT&T and have data access blocked from your plan. That way even if it does try to access, it won't be able to. **edit** andrew beat me to it.

Are we sure if there will be separate off-line modes for each type of service (cell, wifi, bluetooth)? Or does off-line turn everything off?

[zerojay]

The best thing to do would be to call AT&T and have data access blocked from your plan. That way even if it does try to access, it won't be able to. **edit** andrew beat me to it.

Are we sure if there will be separate off-line modes for each type of service (cell, wifi, bluetooth)? Or does off-line turn everything off?

I rethought this a little bit from my previous answer.

Bluetooth has always had its own toggle switch which is under Control Panel. Internet connection will handle internet traffic through wifi/cell (depending on what you are connected to at the time, also accessable through Control Panel). Phone in Control Panel probably will allow you to disable voice through 3G/others. I think offline mode turns it all off at once completely.

[sondjata]

I'm not sure about the claims about data access without a plan. I had a Chinese phone that could use GPRS to get out to the web. I added a mediaNet plan and then decided against it when the N800 wouldn't tether with it. When I did that all access to the Net stopped working and only started working again when I got a data plan with a new phone specifically for tethering. The thing is that under the plan I have, if I am not in reach of a 3G signal I get no data connectivity. So I would think that a 900 under such circumstances would have the same issue. I'll probably end up testing out a unit at a Nokia store to see what happens. I don't want to pay more just to get edge network access and I'm spoiled now that I can access the 'net anywhere I go.

[zerojay]

I'm not sure about the claims about data access without a plan.

It all depends on how greedy your provider is. Some block all data access if you don't have a data plan, others will gladly give you data and charge you an arm and a leg for it. I'm dealing with similar issues because I do not have a voice plan and I keep getting the same crazy woman calling me, thinking it's her son's number and I'm being charged for the incoming calls. Arrrrghh!

[Ayle]

Doesn't it work like Symbian where whenever an app want to access the data connection you have to allow it first?

[zerojay]

Doesn't it work like Symbian where whenever an app want to access the data connection you have to allow it first?

No, it does not.

[aironeous]

T mobile is going hspa+ (21mps) so maybe you should reconsider not getting a data plan. I am reconsidering since the announcement.
http://hotcellularphone.com/tmobile/tmobile-usa-starts-nationwide-hspa-deployment-starting-philadelphia/

[somedude]

I did a quick search but was unable to find any reference to this. I am really drooling over the N900 but have AT&T which it appears it would work with and I would only get Edge speeds. But I don't have the Data Plan contract and really don't want to get one right now. Is there any reference to being able to disable the use of the 3G/Edge network when you don't have wifi or will the apps try to connect automatically to what ever is available. I just wondered if there was a way to turn that feature off and use it like a souped up N8x0 but with a real Phone and a better camera/video camera. Would love to hear if any knows anything about this. This would be my deciding factor as I don't want to switch to T-Mobile or have to get a data plan.
just delete the apn settings on the phone or just change it to something else than your providers that way even if accidentally you hit something you wont be able to get online costing you your first born.;)

[texaslabrat]

As others have mentioned, the only sure-fire way is to call AT&T and tell them to disabled "Pay per use data". Actually, it's a good idea to do this even WITH a data plan, so you are immune to "glitches" that occassionally happen where your data plan doesn't get applied properly and they charge you per kilobyte (and instead the data either works under the plan, or not at all). It's rare, but it does happen (happened to my boss once).

[khalid]

I'm not sure about the claims about data access without a plan.

I am pretty sure one can access data on AT&T without a data plan. I did that for couple of months (on my LG Vu phone) before signing up for the $15 medianet plan. AT&T simply charged me per kb.

[sondjata]

It all depends on how greedy your provider is. Some block all data access if you don't have a data plan, others will gladly give you data and charge you an arm and a leg for it. I'm dealing with similar issues because I do not have a voice plan and I keep getting the same crazy woman calling me, thinking it's her son's number and I'm being charged for the incoming calls. Arrrrghh!

I'm on ATT

[jaysin22]

I am pretty sure one can access data on AT&T without a data plan. I did that for couple of months (on my LG Vu phone) before signing up for the $15 medianet plan. AT&T simply charged me per kb.

Agreed. I have a Nokia 6555b and no data plan. But if I want to access the web and check a few things I can. They just charge me per kb. Thats why I wondered if there was an easy way to disable the switch to 3g/edge (whatever it is called on the phone) so that the internet apps would only work on wifi and not try to trigger the cell provides network. I don't want the data plan but I also don't want to get billed for lets say Mauku trying to access twitter if I left it running and am driving in my car. I know it will be able to get access as my 14 month old has gotten a hold of my phone and activated a few websites. LOL. I didn't know if anyone who had an early N900 would know.

[lorthirk]

And what about international roaming? iPhone has an option which allows you to block GPRS/UMTS traffic when abroad (since, at least here in Italy, you can get a flat rate for internet but you have to pay on a per-kb basis if you go abroad). It would be useful to have such an option.