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Any way to NOT get reamed on phone+data+texting plans?

Just wondering if there are any good tricks or deals to minimize the monthly cost of owning and actually using one of these devices. I've been using LetsTalk for the last few years as I've not really found any cheaper way to get phones & plans, so most of my numbers are based on this. I did a quick spreadsheet for 24 month cost of ownership (ignoring taxes and fees for simplicity) and have attached that. Basically with AT&T you can go with the $40 voice plan and get the phone for $200, or the $60 plan and get it for free. Then add on $30 for data (the letstalk deal requires this for at least 6 months anyway) and another $5 for basic texting. I broke these down with comparisons to the iphone, sidekick 2008, the cricket slider my friend bought and the dirt-cheap samsung propel. I know this isn't exactly apples to apples but I'm doing this more to evaluate the cost/benefit of having a nice smartphone vs a decent voice/text platform with no data plan. Just kinda throwing this out there for feedback, I'm sure you guys know a lot more than I do about what is available and what can be done...

thats easy to answer..... nope. Im on ATT and my bill ends up ~150$ a month

behrouz said:
thats easy to answer..... nope. Im on ATT and my bill ends up ~150$ a month
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Mine is unlimited EVERYTHING and 100% free, and so is the second, third, forth and fifth line.
Ohh yea the data card is also.
Sorry I couldn't resist.

Ok, to make a long story short, I pay $20 a mo for unlimited data. I have had it for years from when I was with Cingular. I pay $5 for 250 texts and 39 for the lowest minutes. I own my own phone and have always bought unlocked phones and haven't had a contract in years.
So I wanted the Fuze and went to the Att store and was willing to sign a 2 year contract to get the phone for $299 but wanted to keep my plan EXACTLY like it is. Hre said no prob....until he started ringing me up. Stated my data plan was not compatible with the Fuze and I had to upgrade to the $30 a mo. I said no, he said you can't get the speacil price with the $50 rebate if I didn't. I said stuffit.
So, I am willing to pay $500 for the unlocked, no commitment phone from Att and will leave my plan as it is.
Question.....Does anyone know if the phone will be COMPLELTY unlocked or uncripled if I buy it for full price from Att? I want to take my sim out, put it in the new Fuze and keep on keepin on as I have for years.
Thanks

techspy said:
Ok, to make a long story short, I pay $20 a mo for unlimited data. I have had it for years from when I was with Cingular. I pay $5 for 250 texts and 39 for the lowest minutes. I own my own phone and have always bought unlocked phones and haven't had a contract in years.
So I wanted the Fuze and went to the Att store and was willing to sign a 2 year contract to get the phone for $299 but wanted to keep my plan EXACTLY like it is. Hre said no prob....until he started ringing me up. Stated my data plan was not compatible with the Fuze and I had to upgrade to the $30 a mo. I said no, he said you can't get the speacil price with the $50 rebate if I didn't. I said stuffit.
So, I am willing to pay $500 for the unlocked, no commitment phone from Att and will leave my plan as it is.
Question.....Does anyone know if the phone will be COMPLELTY unlocked or uncripled if I buy it for full price from Att? I want to take my sim out, put it in the new Fuze and keep on keepin on as I have for years.
Thanks
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Search for my threads regarding media net. It will tell you all about it.
As for the device (full price) or (with contract renewal) its the same phone, it will be locked.

I don't know how but ATT knows what phone you're using on their network and will probably make you change it anyway. It happened to me when I got a Tilt.

behrouz said:
I don't know how but ATT knows what phone you're using on their network and will probably make you change it anyway. It happened to me when I got a Tilt.
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Well, I happen to know a thing or two about how AT&T works.

Thanks for the info KD8DNS. I sent you a PM

KD8DNS said:
Mine is unlimited EVERYTHING and 100% free, and so is the second, third, forth and fifth line.
Ohh yea the data card is also.
Sorry I couldn't resist.
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Yeah well enjoy trying to procriate with all that radation from your high and mighty tower!
*coveting your glowing in the darkness right about now*

telegraph0000 said:
Yeah well enjoy trying to procriate with all that radation from your high and mighty tower!
*coveting your glowing in the darkness right about now*
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My procreating happened to yield 2 kids. So Im the least bit concerned.

HA!!!!!! Look at me!! I'm teary eyed!! That's one of the funniest thints I've seen!!!!

Want to get a phone for development, but have a question.

Hi Guys,
I've been trying to get a phone for development for around 250ish but havn't been successful. Well, it seems my chance might be comming up since T-Mobile is having a Free Smart Phone sale this weekend.
My plan is to go buy the phone, use it for 16 days and cancel my contract. If everything's done fair, it should cost $200 + 16 days of service + any taxes/activation fees.
So I have a few questions.
1) Has anyone done this before? Where there any suprises?
2) Is WP7 functional with Wifi? (i.e. marketplace, games, internet, etc).
3) Think I'll still be able to get updates or what not?
4) Anything else I should be looking for?
Thanks!

A bill from t-mobile for full price of the phone.

I don't get it, you want to develop for 16 days?

vetvito said:
A bill from t-mobile for full price of the phone.
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From experience?
orangekid said:
I don't get it, you want to develop for 16 days?
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Umm, no, T-Mobile requires you return hardware when you cancel your contract within 15 days. But they don't charge a fee.

If you keep the phone, that whole special goes out the window. Read the contract. They will charge you full price.

cohowap said:
Umm, no, T-Mobile requires you return hardware when you cancel your contract within 15 days. But they don't charge a fee.
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don't they charge an ETF when you sign a contract and cancel it after 16 days?

orangekid said:
don't they charge an ETF when you sign a contract and cancel it after 16 days?
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No, they don't charge an etf if you cancel and return everything before the 15th day.

cohowap said:
No, they don't charge an etf if you cancel and return everything before the 15th day.
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ok now im confused...
you want to get a phone on a discount with a contract, then return it for a refund? I don't get what you're trying to do here.

orangekid said:
ok now im confused...
you want to get a phone on a discount with a contract, then return it for a refund? I don't get what you're trying to do here.
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looks like the op is trying to get the phone for just the subsidized price... then kill contract, and not owe tmo money. good luck, not going to happen. they'll bill for the difference.

orangekid said:
ok now im confused...
you want to get a phone on a discount with a contract, then return it for a refund? I don't get what you're trying to do here.
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No... I'm trying to get a WP7 phone to develop with. But I don't have the 600 bucks to buy if "off contract".
So, if I enter a contract, get the phone discounted for FREE this weekend, then "Terminate" the contract a month later, I have to pay the $200 ETF + the month bill + taxes which would be significantly less than the 600 bucks off contract.
Once I terminate the contract, I have no obligation on returning the device, I was asking to see what the outcome would be. T-Mobile online rep blantly said, I'd be responsible for the ETF + Monthly Fee + Taxes, but god knows if they are right, I wanted to see if anyone else tried this.

cohowap said:
No... I'm trying to get a WP7 phone to develop with. But I don't have the 600 bucks to buy if "off contract".
So, if I enter a contract, get the phone discounted for FREE this weekend, then "Terminate" the contract a month later, I have to pay the $200 ETF + the month bill + taxes which would be significantly less than the 600 bucks off contract.
Once I terminate the contract, I have no obligation on returning the device, I was asking to see what the outcome would be. T-Mobile online rep blantly said, I'd be responsible for the ETF + Monthly Fee + Taxes, but god knows if they are right, I wanted to see if anyone else tried this.
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I see, let's take a look though.
$200 ETF
$80 monthly fee (cheapest monthly price you can get on WP7 with tmobile)
$35 activation fee
$35 (approx.) taxes and fees
$350 total for the phone.
not sure where you live but here you could get it for something like this:
http://houston.craigslist.org/mob/2205022524.html
or
http://houston.craigslist.org/mob/2202253067.html
of course there are people asking fro $400 but I can guarantee they will not get near that money for this phone.
If you really want to try what you're talking about then go for it, it seems like it would work, but:
1) they may have a stipulation where you cannot cancel your contract for X months due to the "free" phone or you owe the difference, I'd check the fine print on that one.
2) seems like too much work and drama.
retail for an HD7 on tmobile is $500,

This is why Verizon & att (real carriers in the usa) have $350+ ETFs.
watch for mail in rebate that will void if your contract is expired before xx days
orangekid pointed out the actual higher cost though. You might want to check ATT price for a Focus off-contract i've heard can be had for $399 but ymmv. better phone and more coverage if you ever needed to use it as a phone later.
The phone will be fully functional (on wifi) but sim locked to the carrier.

gcianc said:
This is why Verizon & att (real carriers in the usa) have $350+ ETFs.
watch for mail in rebate that will void if your contract is expired before xx days
orangekid pointed out the actual higher cost though. You might want to check ATT price for a Focus off-contract i've heard can be had for $399 but ymmv. better phone and more coverage if you ever needed to use it as a phone later.
The phone will be fully functional (on wifi) but sim locked to the carrier.
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I don't know what you mean by "real carrier" @ att, since in my city they drop more calls than tmobile ever does even though they probably have more subscribers. ATT's monthly rates (as verizon's) are insanely high too, and they have tiered data, whereas tmobile does not.
off contract they usually give you the sim unlock code, but on contract they generally don't from my experience.

Ugh 2 pages and no answer. The answer to your question is this.
1. You don't need an actual phone to develop apps. The development tool package comes with a simulator.
2. You cannot install apps you are developing on the phone without having it being flagged for development. This process costs 99$ a year and requires you send some identification data to the company that verifies your identity.
So buying a phone for 16 days is pointless. Even if you had the phone you couldn't put any apps on it without paying Microsoft 99$. Personally I would use the simulator to learn how to develop an app, develop one and then buy the phone when you're ready to release. The advantage here is obviously newer better phones in the future compared to right now.
hope that helps

very good points, I figured since OP is trying to scratch, claw, gamble, and steal his way to get the phone, he was just going to use Chevron on it instead of dropping $99 on the fee.

Buying GS3 from friend

I was looking to buy a GS3 from craigslist. But, my friend just bought a GS3 with verizon on a 2 year contract. He is switching to AT&T with an international GS3. He offered to sell me his verizon GS3, even though he is tied to a 2-year contract on it with verizon. I assume he is not going to fulfill his contract with verizon and jump ship to AT&T. My question is, can I just put my SIM into the phone and keep it for myself, or will the phone not work because I did not transfer the ESN to my account? And finally, will verizon allow me to transfer the phone to my account even though it is tied to a 2-year contract on another account. I guess I want to know all this because he wants to sell it to me at his cost, which is the $148 he paid at Walmart, and I won't be tied to a contract extension and get a great deal on the phone. Thanks for your input.

if you already have an account with verizon, then your friend will just have to pay his early termination fee and you can buy his phone and put your SIM in it. If you do not have Verizon or a SIM card, his plan can be transferred to you

I don't think he has the intention to pay the early termination fee. He just wants to sell me the phone and leave verizon. I already have verizon, so I wondering if I can just take the phone with no issues on my end, even if he defaults on his account.

ms2knights said:
I don't think he has the intention to pay the early termination fee. He just wants to sell me the phone and leave verizon. I already have verizon, so I wondering if I can just take the phone with no issues on my end, even if he defaults on his account.
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No, verizon will blacklist the imei until the amount is paid up.

ms2knights said:
I don't think he has the intention to pay the early termination fee. He just wants to sell me the phone and leave verizon. I already have verizon, so I wondering if I can just take the phone with no issues on my end, even if he defaults on his account.
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That's not good for his credit
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

xXJay_RXx said:
That's not good for his credit
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
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I guess he doesn't really care about it, lol. I was hoping this could work out in my favor, but it seems that it will not. I thought that I could just pop my sim in the phone and use it as my own. I guess I can't get that deal.

Not at all, but if it's in nice shape you could pay his 300 or so termination fee and still be ahead, it's an expensive phone

I appreciate everyone's input. I think I may steer away from this, to avoid any problems.

People like your friend are the reason why verizon has a 350.00 early termination fee.

All he has to do is activate another phone on his line. Like an old flip phone. The SG3 will be taken off his line. And the you can add it to yours with no probelm.
Then he has to deal with ending his contract. The phones are separate from the contracts.
Rocking T2 on the S3 (V)

so if your friend wants to cancel its gonna be $350 no matter what phone he currently has (feature or smart) there might be activation fees also when switching phone on top of that

PSA: Unlocking your phone is illegal starting today

This just popped up in my news feed. androidcommunity.com/psa-unlocking-your-phone-is-illegal-starting-today-20130126/ WTF?!? What gives them the right to say what I can, or can not do with my own property? They get money for the purchase, regardless of which carrier I wish to use. I know this won't affect much, but just the notion alone grinds my gears. Please weigh in your opinion, I'd like to see what others think/feel about this.

This is not a surprise. Itbis not locking down the OS just the SIM lock and nice you pay off the contract you will be able to unlock it. Or if you pay full retail price for it. Either way they have the right until you pay for it in full. Most Americans think they own the device when they get a new contract but this is not true. They don't own it till the contract is up.
Sent from Batcom-SIII

zelendel said:
This is not a surprise. Itbis not locking down the OS just the SIM lock and nice you pay off the contract you will be able to unlock it. Or if you pay full retail price for it. Either way they have the right until you pay for it in full. Most Americans think they own the device when they get a new contract but this is not true. They don't own it till the contract is up.
Sent from Batcom-SIII
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This I do understand, but whenever I upgrade through T-Mobile, I never actually use the phone I upgrade to. IE: I upgraded to a HTC Marvel I never took out of the box and currently use a SGS2 T989 which I rooted and unlocked. I only unlocked it for resale value. Anyone who thinks they 'bought' a phone for $1 with a two year service agreement is a fool, yet just the prospect of criminal charges for someone who bought an unlocked phone from Ebay worth $400+ for only $150 aggravates me to no end...

Just another reason I should consider going contract free. Unless you are grandfathered into some unlimited plan, you can get Straight Talk (GSM on At&t/T-Mobile) with unlimited text calls and ~2GB data for $45 a month. I am currently with Verizon but am growing tired of how carriers think they own your device and lock it down. Hopefully the Nexus 4 will set a trend of making more phones available without a contract at an affordable price.

$145 Essential Phone on Sprint!

The essential phone is currently $145 on sprint!! Not a promo. This is the new normal pricing. This is basically a steal!!

Is there a way to buy it, pay off the contract and unlock? What would be the total cost? I am going to visit US in December and that might be a deal I am looking for, if possible.

hellot1M said:
The essential phone is currently $145 on sprint!! Not a promo. This is the new normal pricing. This is basically a steal!!
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You might want to go to the Sprint website and do a little more reading. The $5 x 18 months is a lease price. If you want to purchase it after your lease ends you still have to pay the difference between retail $699.99 and what you've paid in on the lease. The full retail price is listed as $699.99 as of a few minutes ago.

foopy said:
You might want to go to the Sprint website and do a little more reading. The $5 x 18 months is a lease price. If you want to purchase it after your lease ends you still have to pay the difference between retail $699.99 and what you've paid in on the lease. The full retail price is listed as $699.99 as of a few minutes ago.
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The buy out is 30.00(written on contract) for this phone as I did the lease (5.00X18) = STEAL:good:

To unlock the device if going this route you have to have the phone activated on their Network for 50 days

foopy said:
You might want to go to the Sprint website and do a little more reading. The $5 x 18 months is a lease price. If you want to purchase it after your lease ends you still have to pay the difference between retail $699.99 and what you've paid in on the lease. The full retail price is listed as $699.99 as of a few minutes ago.
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Nope, it's actually $145 (plus taxes) Activation can be waived through purchasing online, otherwise I believe it is $30 instore. $25 down, $5/month (flexlease) then a $30 payoff after the lease payments are complete. Yes you can pay the lease off early then payoff the phone. Getting it unlocked immediately after is a little more complicated/"hit or miss". Many people are able to unlock right after paying it off, others have been told they have to stay on Sprint for 50 days. You do have to upgrade/add a line or open an account.
But the price is confirmed and there is many accounts of this in the https://www.reddit.com/r/essential/ subreddit.

Warlord721 said:
Nope, it's actually $145 (plus taxes) Activation can be waived through purchasing online, otherwise I believe it is $30 instore. $25 down, $5/month (flexlease) then a $30 payoff after the lease payments are complete. Yes you can pay the lease off early then payoff the phone. Getting it unlocked immediately after is a little more complicated/"hit or miss". Many people are able to unlock right after paying it off, others have been told they have to stay on Sprint for 50 days. You do have to upgrade/add a line or open an account.
But the price is confirmed and there is many accounts of this in the https://www.reddit.com/r/essential/ subreddit.
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I just got this price on it last night, buying the phone through Best Buy.
I thought the buyout price was still $175 at Sprint stores or sprint.com, rather than the $30 that's showing up at Best Buy... but maybe not?

I had my phone paid for and unlocked within 12 hours of receiving.
25 down + 90 + 30 + taxes
I can verify first hand this is legit. View my post history where I went into more detail in another thread.

Okay I stand corrected. Online it still shows that info on the site. I guess they have a special "pay off" price.

Just signed up for this one. Phone should be here Tuesday. Contract shows $25 down, $5 a month for 18 months with buyout of $30. With taxes my total is $157.
I'll report back when I pay it off and any issues with it.

JoRocker said:
I had my phone paid for and unlocked within 12 hours of receiving.
25 down + 90 + 30 + taxes
I can verify first hand this is legit. View my post history where I went into more detail in another thread.
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How did you get the phone unlocked? Chat on website or call support?

bricky23 said:
How did you get the phone unlocked? Chat on website or call support?
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I didn't even have to deal with customer support. Paid off the phone, next day went to UICC unlock in the phone menu, it unlocked fine. Put in an AT&T sim to test out calls and data work just fine.

im0rtalz said:
I didn't even have to deal with customer support. Paid off the phone, next day went to UICC unlock in the phone menu, it unlocked fine. Put in an AT&T sim to test out calls and data work just fine.
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Can't seem to find UICC unlock. I have undated to Oreo. Don't know if that makes a difference. Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: never mind. Found it. Under about phone/ omadm updates. Mine still says locked, will try again tomorrow. Just paid it off today. New account.

Let me know if there are any off contract deals.. i wouldn't mind picking up 2 more
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

bricky23 said:
Can't seem to find UICC unlock. I have undated to Oreo. Don't know if that makes a difference. Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: never mind. Found it. Under about phone/ omadm updates. Mine still says locked, will try again tomorrow. Just paid it off today. New account.
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Don't worry if it isn't unlocked yet tomorrow either. Took mine two days after paying it off before I could do the UICC unlock, but it's been working great ever since.

I'm new in the US and i dont know how the contract works, i went to Sprint store to buy this and they told me that i'll have to get a plan with the phone which was 45$ a month. I wanna know if there's a way to get just the phone and not the plan. And if i have a friend who uses sprint, can i get the phone showing his plan and not getting any new plan?

Manish54 said:
I'm new in the US and i dont know how the contract works, i went to Sprint store to buy this and they told me that i'll have to get a plan with the phone which was 45$ a month. I wanna know if there's a way to get just the phone and not the plan. And if i have a friend who uses sprint, can i get the phone showing his plan and not getting any new plan?
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You have to get the plan, but you can transfer it or cancel it anytime. What I did (as recommended by the internet) is the following: Get the phone and the $45 plan, pay off the lease, wait +-2 days until the phone is unlocked, then get this simcard off of amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B013OUS19E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You then transfer your sprint line to that simcard. Because it is a pay as you go sim you don't have to pay anything for it and can just let the number die, at the same time it will disappear from your sprint account and because the month wasn't over yet you won't be charged for it.
The only problem if you're new to the us might be your credit score. If you don't have one or it's low then I don't think they'll approve you for the lease.

Gambler_BE said:
You have to get the plan, but you can transfer it or cancel it anytime. What I did (as recommended by the internet) is the following: Get the phone and the $45 plan, pay off the lease, wait +-2 days until the phone is unlocked, then get this simcard off of amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B013OUS19E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You then transfer your sprint line to that simcard. Because it is a pay as you go sim you don't have to pay anything for it and can just let the number die, at the same time it will disappear from your sprint account and because the month wasn't over yet you won't be charged for it.
The only problem if you're new to the us might be your credit score. If you don't have one or it's low then I don't think they'll approve you for the lease.
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Great post! You da man. Thanks

Manish54 said:
I'm new in the US and i dont know how the contract works, i went to Sprint store to buy this and they told me that i'll have to get a plan with the phone which was 45$ a month. I wanna know if there's a way to get just the phone and not the plan. And if i have a friend who uses sprint, can i get the phone showing his plan and not getting any new plan?
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You can buy the phone directly from essential website with no contracts. You can buy it from Amazon with no contracts. And you can buy it from Best Buy with no contracts. The price is $499.09 from essential and Amazon, and sometimes it's $449.00 at Best Buy.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

NavySpark said:
Just signed up for this one. Phone should be here Tuesday. Contract shows $25 down, $5 a month for 18 months with buyout of $30. With taxes my total is $157.
I'll report back when I pay it off and any issues with it.
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Phone was locked right off the bat, online order. I popped in the Cricket sim before the Sprint with no luck. Popped the Sprint sim back in, let it register on the network and then called customer service. Pay off was $120 on top of the $37 i had already paid, so $157 total. Amount matched the lease with purchase price option (buyout)
Requested the phone unlocked for international travel and the agent put in the request and I have the confirmation #'s for ending the lease and the request for phone unlock. Told 3-5 business days for unlock. We will see how it goes. Plan to check the UICC button over holiday weekend.