internet access Hi I am thinking of getting one of these phones. Is the internet access included in the minutes plans or is that seperate? Meaning do I need to upgrade bc I plan to use the internet frequently? internet access Hi I am thinking of getting one of these phones. Is the internet access included in the minutes plans or is that seperate? Meaning do I need to upgrade bc I plan to use the internet... » Read More internet access Hi I am thinking of getting one of these phones. Is the internet access included in the minutes plans or is that seperate? Meaning do I need to upgrade bc I plan to use the internet frequently? « Show Less
1315880
Virgin's "Beyond Talk" plan starts at $35/month (although I'm grandfathered at $25 :) which includes 300 min of talk time (plenty for me but maybe not if you're a big talker) and has unlimited texting and data (that means INTERNET!) So the easy answer to your question is NO UPGRADES NECESSARY.However, they just started throttling data once you go past 2.5gig. But it resets each monthly pay period. And that's a fair amount of data IMHO.Anyway, if you're considering this phone/plan then you must be looking for a rock-bottom price for a good (not great) service. It delivers. But if you want truly HUGE amounts of data and a cutting edge phone then you'll have to look elsewhere . . . and pay at least 3 times as much! Virgin's "Beyond Talk" plan starts at $35/month (although I'm grandfathered at $25 :) which includes 300 min of talk time (plenty for me but maybe not if you're a big talker) and has unlimited texting and data (that means INTERNET!) So the easy answer to your question is NO UPGRADES NECESSARY.However, they just started throttling data once you go past 2.5gig. But it resets each monthly pay period. And that's a fair amount of data IMHO.Anyway, if you're considering this phone/plan then you must be looking for a rock-bottom price for a good (not great)... » Read More Virgin's "Beyond Talk" plan starts at $35/month (although I'm grandfathered at $25 :) which includes 300 min of talk time (plenty for me but maybe not if you're a big talker) and has unlimited texting and data (that means INTERNET!) So the easy answer to your question is NO UPGRADES NECESSARY.However, they just started throttling data once you go past 2.5gig. But it resets each monthly pay period. And that's a fair amount of data IMHO.Anyway, if you're considering this phone/plan then you must be looking for a rock-bottom price for a good (not great) service. It delivers. But if you want truly HUGE amounts of data and a cutting edge phone then you'll have to look elsewhere . . . and pay at least 3 times as much! « Show Less
1315881
you get unlimited internet and messaging with the $35 monthly plan, (no contract) and 300 minutes
1028816
Posting from the phone now. I simply disabled packet data in the phone settings, shut it down, inserted a non data plan Tmobile pay as you go Sim, started up and logged onto a wifi network.Haven't noticed any difference in internet accessibility. Hope that helps.
172553
This is one of very few that can be a smart phone, but is not required to carry a data plan, which is where the extra money comes in. So you can have this touch screen with out any extra charges. You don't have to pay extra for the data (or internet usage) just know that if you don't get a data plan, you won't be able to connect to the internet with this phone. I hope.this helps :)
675020
Dc urbanite said he was able to use this phone on consumer cellular service, I have not been able to get internet working on the service even with consumer cellular help when not on my wifi network. The phone works, but not mobile internet. If anyone has been able to get the the Internet working I would love to know how!
212834
Using Facebook would require you to have internet access and that is dependent on whether you have a data plan with your Carrier.We recommend contacting your Carrier and making sure they provide their services to this model phone without any restrictions.
1186519
This phone was for my mom and she already had an AT&T account. She isn't the best with technology so she only uses WiFi at home without any data plans. The phone still works perfectly well without a data plan. Normally when you get a new smartphone from an AT&T store they HAVE you get a data plan but when it comes to just switching phones with a you don't exactly have to get a data plan since you already have a pre-existing account. That's from what I see from how she uses it.
490293
why are people paying for wifi access? finding a place where its free is not really difficult... also, any idea if these phones will support text messaging over skype as well? i suppose not...
211676
The unit is self contained. Meaning you don't need access to the Internet if you don't want to; and you can control it completely from your internal network. If you want Cloud access, then that is also supported but in that case you need to make sure the unit can access the internet. In other words it supports both local access and cloud access, but you get to choose if it should use the Cloud or not.
319992
I do have a plan that has data but I don't use it because it eats up my minutes so I turned off the data on the phone. I don't know if you need a plan with data.
934528
This phone requires a 3G Verizon plan. Assuming the "basic phone" being replaced was not internet compatible, you may be required by Verizon to purchase a monthly data allowance of approximately $10 tacked on to your current plan, if you are Verizon contract customer. Pre-paid Verizon usage would depend on the cards available in your area. This is an obsolete phone, compared to the other 4G smartphones available on the current market. Good phone for those who like touchscreens, but don't need to utilize it for networking/internet activity. Get a case for it & use screen protectors to prolong life of phone. This phone requires a 3G Verizon plan. Assuming the "basic phone" being replaced was not internet compatible, you may be required by Verizon to purchase a monthly data allowance of approximately $10 tacked on to your current plan, if you are Verizon contract customer. Pre-paid Verizon usage would depend on the cards available in your area. This is an obsolete phone, compared to the other 4G smartphones available on the current market. Good phone for those who like touchscreens, but don't need to utilize it for networking/internet activity. Get a case for it & use screen protectors... » Read More This phone requires a 3G Verizon plan. Assuming the "basic phone" being replaced was not internet compatible, you may be required by Verizon to purchase a monthly data allowance of approximately $10 tacked on to your current plan, if you are Verizon contract customer. Pre-paid Verizon usage would depend on the cards available in your area. This is an obsolete phone, compared to the other 4G smartphones available on the current market. Good phone for those who like touchscreens, but don't need to utilize it for networking/internet activity. Get a case for it & use screen protectors to prolong life of phone. « Show Less
1381244
You can text and talk. Plus, there is a browser I choose not to use because it is expensive and awkward. I chose this because of the slide out keyboard for texting. It is NOT a smartphone. It came with a TracFone minutes plan and THIS phone came with triple minutes. This means if I buy 200 minutes I get 600 minutes. TracFone has many ways you can buy your minutes. The beauty, for me, is not having that monthly phone bill. That said, I THINK TracFone has started a plan for those who want more sophisticated phones that need to receive data.
1028814
Hi Gourd, You are so awesome! Thank you so very much for testing it for me. I appreciated it very much. It is fantastic to know that the phone can surf the web FREE. So, what is the data plan if I already can log into wifi network and surf the web FREE?
956476
They typically will charge you 10$ a month for internet, when I had this phone. Otherwise if you can get around not getting a data plan (the 10$ was as low as I could get them to go), they'll charge you by how much data you use (which can get pretty pricy!!)
653279
I had one and I think it needed Internet however it wasn't what I expected . Bulky and not that easy to use . Good luck!&#128526;&#127797;
1367390
you can use internet with this phone - but you can use the phone without internet too.
523797
I don't think so. I only use it for calling and texting and not the internet, but we've had the plan for a while. Might be worth a quick call to AT&T; to see what is available.
543290
To be honest, it has been so long that I no longer have this device that I truly do not remember many of its details, positive or negative. I can say one thing: If you're thinking about accessing the internet in the same manner that you would do so in a PC, tablet or smartphone, this is not it. But one can access what we can call a very limited version of the internet and at a very slow pace. If accessing the web is central to your interest in a cellphone, perhaps this is not a good choice. Both Net10 and Straight Talk have other options that will meet your needs and wants. I hope this helped some! To be honest, it has been so long that I no longer have this device that I truly do not remember many of its details, positive or negative. I can say one thing: If you're thinking about accessing the internet in the same manner that you would do so in a PC, tablet or smartphone, this is not it. But one can access what we can call a very limited version of the internet and at a very slow pace. If accessing the web is central to your interest in a cellphone, perhaps this is not a good choice. Both Net10 and Straight Talk have other options that will meet your needs and wants. I hope this... » Read More To be honest, it has been so long that I no longer have this device that I truly do not remember many of its details, positive or negative. I can say one thing: If you're thinking about accessing the internet in the same manner that you would do so in a PC, tablet or smartphone, this is not it. But one can access what we can call a very limited version of the internet and at a very slow pace. If accessing the web is central to your interest in a cellphone, perhaps this is not a good choice. Both Net10 and Straight Talk have other options that will meet your needs and wants. I hope this helped some! « Show Less