v1.25 (3 changes)
Admins, please make this a sticky as a lot of people come here looking for this information.
I will try to keep this updated as long as this is a sticky so the information can be a valuable
resource for those looking to switch.
(Thanks guys)
Switching to T-Mobile after ordering an mpx200 from Amazon:
1. Order the phone with plan and contract from Amazon. (Doesn’t matter which plan unless
you plan on keeping the account after switching). Do not try to take advantage of the rebates
as they require you to stay with AT&T and have a service contract with AT&T.
2. When you receive the phone, you will be in one of two situations:
a. Your phone is activated as soon as you turn it on.
b. Your phone is not activated yet and does not have a number attached to it yet. If this
is your situation you'll need to hold off canceling AT&T service until it does become active.
However, this does not mean you can't switch to T-Mobile right away...it just means you have to
keep an eye on when the account actually becomes active. The best way to tell is when you get the
email from Amazon telling you what your phone number is. As soon as you get this number you can
proceed with step 5 below (after you've followed the other steps first of course).
3a. Put down your phone and go to a T-Mobile store and sign up for whatever plan you want to get
with them. Get one of their free or nearly free phones and get it activated so you can make calls
from the phone.
3b. If you want to get the unlimited data plan there is one thing you must be careful about. If you
get signed up as a "SmartAccess" customer the unlimited data plan is not available to you as they
do not allow their credit-risk customers to get it for some idiotic reason (this is the reason I
went back to AT&T). You may get lucky but even threatening to leave T-Mobile will not get them to
add it on. It is apparently something that even managers cannot force.
4. Email jhongsunlock@yahoo.ca and ask about getting your unlock code, he will tell you how to
give him the correct information in order to get the unlock code. As far as I know his charge is
still $10 to get the unlock code. Unlocking the phone requires that you have a T-mobile sim (or
a sim from another carrier other than AT&T) so you must complete step 3b in order to unlock it,
unless you have a different carrier's sim already of course. After unlocking it your phone will be
active on the new carrier's network as long as you have service setup.
5. Assuming you are happy with the new service on the T-mobile network (or whichever carrier you
decided to go with), put the AT&T sim back into the mpx200 and call AT&T Customer Care by dialing
611. Request to have the service on the phone cancelled and tell exactly what you are intending to.
If they give you any crap about returning the phone tell them you paid full price through Amazon
so you are not required to return it as you own the phone outright. If they tell you that you will
not be able to switch the phone to the other network just inform them that it is unlocked and is
free to be put on whatever network you want. After getting done with the service rep verify that
your service has been cancelled by checking the phone. The phone should become inactive and it
should read no service. You will receive a bill if you used the account at all before canceling.
These are the only charges you will be billed with as long as you cancel within the first 30 days
after activation of the AT&T account (when you get your phone number). If you get charged with
anything else you either did something wrong or it's time to complain to AT&T to get the charge
removed because of their mistake. To clarify: If you cancel within thirty days you will not get charged the montly fee for your plan, the fee for your internet plan, the activation fee, or any other initial setup or monthly fee....THE ONLY THING THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR IS ANY ACTUAL USAGE OF THE PHONE ON THEIR NETWORK. ie if you made 6 calls, sent 6 text messages, and surfed the internet a few times....that is all you will have to pay for...and that is a pro-rated amount...so it's not the full price of the service plan.
At this point you are free to use it on the T-mobile network (or whatever network you chose). You
will still need to configure the phone for the internet access on the new network, but I will not
cover that now as that is outside the scope of this tutorial.
If anyone has any questions or comments please post a reply to this and I will try to answer them
as best as I can. I will make any needed changes or additions if they are needed. Any changes made
will be put in as bold so it will clarify things if they are incorrect.
Edit: The deal with how you can get that $269 price through Amazon and still be able to keep the phone...
Basically Amazon only requires that you purchase the phone with a service plan (the monthly bill plan)(you don't even have to get buy it with a service contract). If you buy it with a service plan you get the $269 price....it does not matter if you cancel as soon as you get the phone activated on the AT&T network, you can still keep the phone.
To get either of the rebates though you have to sign a service contract with AT&T otherwise you cannot get the rebates. This means basically if you plan on switching within the first 30 days of AT&T service, you cannot get either of the rebates that amazon lists on the page for the mpx200.
UPDATE 1/4/2004: Amazon has raised the price of the mpx200. It is now $269 without rebates. Also the AT&T rebated can no longer be used as of 1/3/04 as that's when it expired. You can still send in the rebate as long as you bought it before 1/3/04.
Thor, great post, an addition to:
1) Sign up for a 2 yr ATT plan, that will waive the activation $26 dollars off of the activation fee. As long as you cancel within 30 days, it won't matter.
Is the activation fee refunded if you cancel within 30 days?
I think you may get a bill from Amazon on the phone since Amazon's price is conditional upon signed contract with AT&T.
Amazon's rebate form says in order to get the $120 rebate from them, you need to submit a copy of the 1st month's phone bill showing activation to you address. This means your choice is either: pay the $169.99 for the phone and cancel the ATT new service for use on your own carrier after unlocking, or: go through the rebate by waiting for the bill from ATT and get $120 back from Amazon so phone net cost is $49.99 as you will not be able to get the rebate from ATT for the balance of $49.99 since service is canceled.
For me, I just ordered the phone and will try canceling the service(as I'm already an ATT customer), submitting after I get the 1st(final) bill from ATT, and see what Amazon will do. Guess the worst case scenario is paying $169.99 for the phone.
Amazon's full price for the phone without the service contract is $399.99. Worse case is you may have to pay total of $399.99.
I'm not sure I understand: Amazon charges $169.99, if you do not send it either the Amazon or ATT rebate, one for $120 and one for $50, the phone cost is still $169.99 out of pocket after service is canceled. Will Amazon automatically charge your credit card another $230.00?
This sounds good, but I have two questions:
1. Can I use the unlock code with the new T-Mobile SIM, giving me T-Mobile service?
2. How good is T-Mobile service? My AT&T experience was dreadful, and I canceled within a week. I still have the phone and like it a lot, so if T-Mobile is any good, I'd give them a try.
Thanks!
I don't think everyone read all the way through....
What about wait until t-mobil come out with its mpx2xx and then we can cancell att paying the fee (I think is $175).
I got the phone for one day special in att website for $99.
One question....How do I buy from them if I live in an area that isnt supported when I type in my zip??
ok...that's the first time I posted as a guest...I figured my cookie would still be valid but I guess it expired already...
Thor, that is awesome that you posted this. I wish I would have read it earlier rather than searching the forums for it. I actually had planned on doing exactly what you have listed to do a few weeks ago.
I will let you know if you can still get the $120 rebate after cancelling service. Luckily for me, my billing cycle ends on the 2nd and my 30 trial period ends on the 14th. So I am going to cancel the AT&T service on the 10th of Jan and then send in the rebate to Amazon with my first month's bill. I will let you guys know if the rebate works but it take about 2 months for the to process the rebate.
Sorry, I forgot to mention a little bit about insurance. I am on the T-mobile network with my AT&T branded MPx200. I am cancelling my contract with AT&T before the 30 day trial is over. However, I would like to insure the phone so in case i lose it or drop it in the lake, i can get a new one without having to pay out the butt for a new one.
Thor, mabey you can shed some light on this? I highly doubt T-mobile's insurance program would cover a phone that they do not offer. But would AT&T's insurance program insure the phone even if I did not have a plan? I doubt that would work, but if anyone has any input, please speak up! Thanks.
I don't think they would do that Corbett. Since you have to pay monthly you have to have an account with AT&T...and I don't think they would open an account just for the insurance...and I'm pretty sure T-Mobile wouldn't cover it either since they don't carry it...if you lost it they couldn't go to T-Mobile to get a replacement after all...
Is there anyother place can I unlock my phone? JEFF Jhongs (jhongsunlock@yahoo.ca) cannot do it until Jan 12 due to server problems
unlock it now also says not until Jan 12th.. see my post above
just a thought - why even bother telling ATT what you are doing. no need for them to wisen up. just tell them there is poor civerage in your area, house, workplace, bathroom, etc and cancel. don;t make excuse until you absolutely have to. If they get wise to what is happening, they will sooner or later make it harder for scammers to do ^&%* like this.
just ordered off of amazon WOOT! .. quick question though.. I saw the posts about doing the "hard reset" to get the three band capability... should i do this before i even switch out the ATT card? will there be anything i have to re-enter if i do it then?? thanx in advance for any answers!
Okay, I have an unlock code and I'm free of AT&T. Now the question is:
If I change to T-Mobile and the MPx200 goes belly-up -- what then? Or is this just a risk I'm running?
Insights appreciated.
Thanks!
Phone price just jumped on Amazon - its now $269.99 w/contract, $99.99 after rebates.
The phone is still $399.99 without contract though.
Where is the phone $399 on Amazon? Can anyone post a link to where you can see it at that price without the contract? Thanks!
The links I could post will be invalid once my cookie expires but here is how you get there from here, go to Amazon, find the MPx200, enter you zip code and click check availability, Click select this phone, right near the top it says "Now select a compatible service plan: (Interested in buying this phone without a service plan? click here), click there and BAM! $399.99
yes...i have tmobiles data connection and just got this mpx200..but they cannot help me configure it...can you help...they have tried ..4 times actually...and motorola keeps wanting to send me at&t...going crazy here..please help if possible...ty...........................JAS
Hi there,
I'm planning to get one from amazon, and my question does not reflect at the sticky there. here's what i'm asking for:
when the phone comes, can i don't switch on the activation? I'll get it unlock via the canadian and switch to my local network. Is it feasible? Can anyone tell me about the AT&T activation thing? I supposed when the phone comes, I can just throw away the AT&T SIM card and unlock it, insert my own SIM card and will be able to use it. There's no need to call up to cancel the AT&T service since I did not activate it.
Please help on this matter here. Is there a need to cancel AT&T since you don't activate it at all??
Thanks and regards.
miscellanous (in a rush so didn't login)
Hello to All,
New to this forum and this is my first post on this forum. First of all its nice to see an "active" forum on a specific phone. At present I'm using Nokia 3650 (AT&T) and recently got Siemens SX56 for my wife from AT&T (99.00 USD deal from AT&T). Actually Buy.com is selling mpx200 fro 59.99 USD (check this http://www.buy.com/retail/wireless/product.asp?sku=160000568&loc=12435&a=&z=02155&s=22&p=1&w=).
I am happy with AT&T coverage around my place (Boston, MA and NewEngland Area). So I dont want to jump to any other carrier. I recently checked with AT&T and I'm eligible to change my phone. Now my question is how can I get Mpx200 for 59.99 without changing my existing number. It seems AT&T will give 90 USD rebate only if you sign for 2 yrs contract. I'm not sure I want to go for 2 year contract.
thanks
MJ[/url]
you can also get Mpx200 for 9.99 USD from http://www.cng.intelenetwireless.com/after%20rebates
after rebates.
I received my phone 5 days ago and I have called ATT and they have no idea of who I am nor has my phone number been assigned. I was asked to call Amazon to see if I can clear up what happened. I fully plan on canceling and putting in my tmobile SIM. My question is should I get this all resolved so I can cancel or leave well enough alone as it appears they do not know who I am. As of now 5 days after my email from Amazon with my number I still do not have service.
FYI:
Click here for the http://207.36.160.46/mpx200.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewforum&f=36
Click here for the http://207.36.160.46/mpx200.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=1709
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