N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

I just got back from the Maemo Summit and went to try my T-Mobile $9.99 data plan on my N900. It did not work with my N97, but I thought I'd keep the plan and try it out with the N900.

It worked great.

I used to have the $4.99 plan. A month ago, I upgraded my T-Mobile family plan to use MyFaves, and they said my $4.99 was "incompatible", so they had to "upgrade" me to the $9.99 plan. The sales droid warned me it was not for smartphones. What was weird was that she knew what the model of my phone was. And I had not told her or filled in any information on T-Mobile's Web site.

I got it anyway and -- just as she said -- it did not work on my N97.

Well, it works for now on the N900. I'm wondering how long it is before they realize I have a "computer with a phone" (I can't call it a smartphone) and "fix" it so it does not work anymore.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Are you talking about Canada? Hong Kong? Australia?

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

yeah, they started blocking iphone on the cheaper data plans too. my e71 still works fine on 9.99 plan though

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

He is talking about T-Mobile US

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

A "smartphone" on T-mobile is whatever T-mobile calls a smartphone, whether the designation is grounded in reality or not.

It's apparent at this point that T-mobile can detect your phone's IMEI number. It's just a matter of whether T-mobile has the will to force you on a higher plan knowing that you really do have an unlocked smartphone.

I would guess that the cheaper plans will work for awhile, if the n900 remains unsubsidized. They might "suggest" that you change, if use of the unlocked n900 becomes widespread. The probability that they will force a data plan change if you are on a cheap plan goes to close to 100% if they decide to subsidize the phone, even if you bought unlocked.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Ahh, T-Mobile US. T-Mobile is a big, multi-national corporation. They're world-wide, just like the dollar.

IMO it is pathetic a corporation is able to charge more based on type of device used instead of more reasonable factors such as data usage. Has anyone tried to sue T-Mobile US for this?

Reminds me of @Home here. They didn't allow one to use NAT. Customer would need to pay more then. Although they'd also get another IPv4 for the next machine. Bullocks of course. @Home should instead keep data usage into account. But then they cannot advertise with only the speed and FUP...

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Just wondering where did you buy your phone in the US? Everywhere says it is on pre-order. Or you are not talking about T-mobile US at all.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Yeah, they're owned by Deutsch Telekom, aka a German company...

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

I AM talking about T-Mobile in the US. At the Maemo Summit, each attendee got a preproduction N900 on a 6-month loan to use and comment on.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Did she actually tell you what the model of the phone was or just say it was a "smartphone"?

Its highly unlikely she knows, they can check imei numbers of calls made from a sim card (and towers connected to etc.). However, this wouldnt be real time to a customer service agent you called in to and getting information on an IMEI number they haven't sold is also extremely difficult.

I suspect she just assumed it was a smartphone because it didn't have the web'n'walk application installed and its rare for someone to query data usage on an unlocked cheap phone from a non home-network (from experience).

Now they likely have a block of iPhone imei's, obtained on request, and filter these out. I wouldn't worry really about them filtering out N900 imei's unless they do pick up the phone and put it on a special data plan.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

She explicitly said that the data plan I chose would not work because "it says here you have an N97." I believe she called it a "dataphone".

Upon further questions, she said the $9.99 plan was an "upgrade" from the $4.99 plan, but that it would not support the needs of a "dataphone" like mine. I asked what those upgrades were and she babbled about "efficiency" and "more Web sites" but could not exactly tell me what the differences between the $4.99 and the $9.99 (other than the $4.99 did not exist anymore). Of course, the $24.99 plan would support my N97.

I am going from memory here and I usually have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch. But I usually try hard to avoid telling phone droids from T-Mobile what phone I have so I don't have to deal with limitations like they pulled on my N97.

The sunny side is, of course, that for now the $9.99 works with tne N900. For now.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Deutsche Telekom AG.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

I thought the cheaper data plans (not the smartphone ones) were generally web2go plans (basically the web through TMobile's servers where things are optimized and content can be stripped out of its too heavy).

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

The main differences in the $10 and $24 plan is port access. Over in the Symbian camp, we've discovered that the $10 plan blocks certain ports, and also has a limit to the number of simultaneous connections that can be made.

I *think* they also throttle the speeds, but I can't verify that part.

For the record, AT&T also has a $15 'normal phone' data plan and a $30 'smartphone' data plan. They maintain that a smartphone has a QWERTY keyboard. I kid you not. For example, the Nokia 6650 (which runs Symbian S60v3 FP2) is not a 'smartphone' because it has a numeric keypad. However, the E71x (which also runs Symbian S60v3 FP2) is a smartphone because it has a QWERTY keyboard.

I can also confirm that AT&T knows what phone you're using, as one time I called in to do something on my account and the guy goes, 'wow, you like to switch phones often, don't you?' I said, 'excuse me?' and he goes, 'well, I see here that over the past 2-3 months, you've used' and then proceeded to read off every phone (by model name) that I'd stuck my SIM card in, lol.

Re: N900/T-Mobile Data Plan Update
 

Try this, login to the T-mobile website for your account. You can select the phone you have. Select a regular phone, not a smart phone, then it should allow you to add the 5.99 plan. In the past this is what I have done and it worked fine.