Alltel Grandfather plan - AT&T wont let get a different phone. Can they do this?

[tman7078]

I have a grandfathered Alltel unlimited data plan.  My current phone is a HTC Aria.  The AT&T store said that must upgrade to new plan to get a new phone.  I was told that I could buy a phone from a non-AT&T source and use it but can't be 4G or LTE.  When I called AT&T customer service to see what phones would work I was told my plan was specific to my phone and if I changed my phone they will not honor the unlimited plan.  He said the plan is specific to my IME#?  Is any of this true or can I just buy a non-4G phone and swap the sim card?

Was with Alltel 15+ years and was forced to be a AT&T customer, maybe not for long!!

I have never been late on a payment and this is the first issue with customer service.  Is this normal?

[dmapr ACE - Champion]

This is unlikely something that anyone other than AT&T CS can answer. They can and will detect the IMEI change if you swap the SIM, whether or not they'll force the new plan on you is anyone's guess. Up until very recently they were allowing grandfathered upgrades to their own customers. Go to a corporate AT&T store and ask them to put a feature code HSDPPB on your account. If they can do that, you're clear to use an HSPA smartphone with unlimited (throttled at 3GB) data. If not, then probably you're out of options as far as unlimited smartphone data is concerned with AT&T.

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior]

To add to what dmapr said, AT&T Customer Service agents are likely to give you zero help with this when you call them. The price of keeping those grandfathered unlimited legacy data plans was that you had to support them yourself. If you bought a new phone and it didn't work properly, that was your problem rather than AT&T's. Unless you find a sympathetic CSR who will level with you, then you will probably just have to give it a try, purchase another unlocked smartphone, and see if it will work with your plan.

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tman7078 wrote:

I have a grandfathered Alltel unlimited data plan.  My current phone is a HTC Aria.  The AT&T store said that must upgrade to new plan to get a new phone.  I was told that I could buy a phone from a non-AT&T source and use it but can't be 4G or LTE.  When I called AT&T customer service to see what phones would work I was told my plan was specific to my phone and if I changed my phone they will not honor the unlimited plan.  He said the plan is specific to my IME#?  Is any of this true or can I just buy a non-4G phone and swap the sim card?

Was with Alltel 15+ years and was forced to be a AT&T customer, maybe not for long!!

I have never been late on a payment and this is the first issue with customer service.  Is this normal?

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[dmapr ACE - Champion]

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BadBadLeroyBrown wrote:

To add to what dmapr said, AT&T Customer Service agents are likely to give you zero help with this when you call them. The price of keeping those grandfathered unlimited legacy data plans was that you had to support them yourself. If you bought a new phone and it didn't work properly, that was your problem rather than AT&T's. Unless you find a sympathetic CSR who will level with you, then you will probably just have to give it a try, purchase another unlocked smartphone, and see if it will work with your plan.

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 This is definitely true. However, often times the retention department will be more willing to help, especially if the person who is out of contract is willing to bring their own device as that means a lot less money spent on keeping a customer.