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So I bought an iPhone...but hear me out!

Nevermind, I can't come up with any reasonable excuse. At the time I thought it would make a nice gift for my girlfriend, but then she surprised me by wanting my Fuze....yeah I lost that battle. Wasn't even a battle really; just handed it over LOL
So anyway I also figured I could sell the iPhone for more than it would take to buy another Fuze. Does anyone know if there will be any SIM problems? Or anything else I might not foresee? I don't know much about the iPhone; only that I've had it for less than a week and hate it more every day. So please, HELP ME.

Unless the Fuze is simlocked, it should not be a problem.
Well and if it is simlocked,...

It wouldn't matter; I'm going to be using it with AT&T. I'm more concerned about the "iPhone data plan." When I purchased the iPhone I was told that I was required to keep it for the duration of my contract. I'm not sure whether I can use that with the Fuze.

btstarcher said:
It wouldn't matter; I'm going to be using it with AT&T. I'm more concerned about the "iPhone data plan." When I purchased the iPhone I was told that I was required to keep it for the duration of my contract. I'm not sure whether I can use that with the Fuze.
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no you dont have to buy the iphone data plan. i currently own the HTC FUze and iPhone 3G 16gb and i am only paying for the pda data plan. ive been using the pda plan for unlimited text and internet for about 3 years. $15 is pretty decent a month. okay so the reason why they tell you that it is REQUIRED for the iphone is because they want to make more profit by adding an additional $15 a month for the same exact data plan except for the name and saying its exclusive for iphones. i first realized this when i first had a few qwerty keybaord phones from at&t 5 years ago and used the media net package and when i first got my blackjack and then the tytn ii, i never had a problem with the $10 a month plan and was able to surf the web and text. at&t never complained or called. now they cant do anything about it since you can buy iphones without contracts now. im about to save up for the Nokia N97. but anyways, you dont need the iPhone data plan. i know every at&t customer rep tells you to but you really dont have to. they cant charge you more. its not legal to do so. but yes, enjoy the iphone. its not really that bad. its just as much fun as flashing my fuze cept its alot more easier. haha i got the set up like my fuze. 300+ games, apps, etc. etc. modified interfaces for os x leaopard, vista, xp, etc. etc. haha i love all my windows mobile phones and my first iphone

Which unlimited data/messaging plan costs only $15/month? Mine was $30, and it was the cheapest one I saw! Also I think they can require it or make you pay full price for the phone. It's one reason they discount their phones so heavily.
The iPhone has a decent interface, and I like the way I can connect it to my car stereo; I just like to be able to access more settings. Plus the applications I use are free, and also business related. I have to pay for the same basic things on the iPhone. I can't even find a way to sync with MS Money! And the calendar on the iPhone is practically useless. In any case, it's on eBay now; I'm pretty sure I can leave my plan as-is. It costs the same as unlimited data for the Fuze anyway.

You have 30 days to return it to the store. Just run back there and get you a Fuze.

I could, but the Fuze will run $250; the iPhone was only $100. The average price on eBay for the iPhone is $428; I can get a Fuze for $350. So if I can do this without any trouble I'll make money instead of paying more.

btstarcher said:
I could, but the Fuze will run $250; the iPhone was only $100. The average price on eBay for the iPhone is $428; I can get a Fuze for $350. So if I can do this without any trouble I'll make money instead of paying more.
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no you don't. i got mine for $150. Just call in to customer service and ***** at them about how you have been with att for x years and that they're just giving you a $50 discount off the normal price when refurbs are going for free and how you pay subsidy fees to get the prices down and it adds up over time, etc etc you get the piont
good luck if u try to do this. took me about an hour and a half back in feb

Ah, if only I had been with them longer than 5 months....lol
I've already got everything done; got $410 for the iPhone, bought a practically new Fuze for $350. So it all worked out, and I ended up making $60 net. I also can switch to a PDA plan now, since I no longer have the iPhone.
I just have to say, I feel so free again!

btstarcher said:
Ah, if only I had been with them longer than 5 months....lol
I've already got everything done; got $410 for the iPhone, bought a practically new Fuze for $350. So it all worked out, and I ended up making $60 net. I also can switch to a PDA plan now, since I no longer have the iPhone.
I just have to say, I feel so free again!
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pop your sim into a nonpda phone, call them up and get the $10 or $15 a month data plan. if you have a family plan, get the $30 a month messaging plan with the $10 a month unlimited data on your line with the nonpda sim. switch back to the fuze and you're saving 20 a month! works GREAT for me!

I have a question here and I may have missed something, but how in Gods name did you get the PDA plan for $15...nhshah7 I'm familiar with doing that sim card swap but don't they have some sort of automated "scanner" that scans for non-PDA IMEIs or something like that?

slapdaddy said:
I have a question here and I may have missed something, but how in Gods name did you get the PDA plan for $15...nhshah7 I'm familiar with doing that sim card swap but don't they have some sort of automated "scanner" that scans for non-PDA IMEIs or something like that?
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mwahahaha
they have a scanner but it doesn't actually report the conflicting IMEI or anything to them. i just need to be careful what I say when I call in for support, etc, but it works great. It was just the sim swap but they dont really seem to notice/care. amazing, huh?

Thats..mmmm..grabbing my old RAZR now...lol

Id like to see if anyone else can do this without getting caught. thats awesome news... if this is true!~
15 bucks!????

slapdaddy said:
Thats..mmmm..grabbing my old RAZR now...lol
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hahahah have fun. just be like i dropped my phone and it broke
systematicdecline said:
Id like to see if anyone else can do this without getting caught. thats awesome news... if this is true!~
15 bucks!????
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lol no, $10 if you're on a $30 unlimited family plan

I'm still on a "smartphone unlimited" plan from when I bought my first Moto MPx200 - $10/mo. I called once (when I had my 3125) to see if there were other plan options and the CSR said "oh, I don't think the plan you have covers your phone, we offer this $30 plan" and (oops) we got disconnected. I'm still paying $10/mo for the smartphone plan with my Fuze. I just bought my wife a Samsung Epix and added a $10 "family unlimited" data plan to her line with her SIM in her old Samsung SYNC. Unless I rock the boat, we're going to keep getting two lines of data for $10 less than one line would cost at their "PDA" level. Seems ridiculous - nobody can do over 5GB/mo anyways...

hyachts said:
I'm still on a "smartphone unlimited" plan from when I bought my first Moto MPx200 - $10/mo. I called once (when I had my 3125) to see if there were other plan options and the CSR said "oh, I don't think the plan you have covers your phone, we offer this $30 plan" and (oops) we got disconnected. I'm still paying $10/mo for the smartphone plan with my Fuze. I just bought my wife a Samsung Epix and added a $10 "family unlimited" data plan to her line with her SIM in her old Samsung SYNC. Unless I rock the boat, we're going to keep getting two lines of data for $10 less than one line would cost at their "PDA" level. Seems ridiculous - nobody can do over 5GB/mo anyways...
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hah unless you tether...then torrent

AT&T
Oh boy, did I hate AT&T when I was with them. I used to have a Samsung Blackjack II, which is a SmartPhone. I added the SmartPhone unlimited data plan, I guess it was $15 a month, and once when I had to call about some bogus charges the rep said "Oh, I see you have a Blackjack II, that is a PDA not a smartphone, let me adjust you to the right data plan". Well, of course I argued with her for a few then just flat out told her she better not touch my account other than to deal with the bogus charges or my entire family will be canceling their service immediately. It wasn't a threat, it was a warning. I was on a family plan with my mom and pops, and my mom will pretty much do anything I recommend in the tech world.
Well, a few months ago, I got fed up to the gills with them and we canceled the account and all 5 phones on it and switched to MetroPCS and haven't looked back. I am now trying to convert any AT&T subscriber I see, not just to Metro, but to ANYONE else. I am doing my part to try to hurt AT&T. Down with them!

Tekzel said:
Oh boy, did I hate AT&T when I was with them. I used to have a Samsung Blackjack II, which is a SmartPhone. I added the SmartPhone unlimited data plan, I guess it was $15 a month, and once when I had to call about some bogus charges the rep said "Oh, I see you have a Blackjack II, that is a PDA not a smartphone, let me adjust you to the right data plan". Well, of course I argued with her for a few then just flat out told her she better not touch my account other than to deal with the bogus charges or my entire family will be canceling their service immediately. It wasn't a threat, it was a warning. I was on a family plan with my mom and pops, and my mom will pretty much do anything I recommend in the tech world.
Well, a few months ago, I got fed up to the gills with them and we canceled the account and all 5 phones on it and switched to MetroPCS and haven't looked back. I am now trying to convert any AT&T subscriber I see, not just to Metro, but to ANYONE else. I am doing my part to try to hurt AT&T. Down with them!
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...down with all ridiculously overcharging terrible and evil carriers! Damn them all!

[Q] Upgrading from Sprint Mogul to Evo 4G

I'm not sure where to ask this, but xda-developers was my first thought. I currently have a Sprint Mogul that is aging a bit too much lately and wanted to upgrade by buying an Evo 4G on ebay, however I just talked to a sprint store employee that said that the 4G phones REQUIRE an extra $10 fee. I already have $5/mo unlimited data, and no current 4G available anywhere near here. Is this a requirement that I can avoid or should I look for a good 3G android phone?

As far as I know it's a requirement for ALL smartphones now, not just 4g, so you might as well get an Evo. I'm spending roughly $80 a month after everything which is what I was paying at Verizon for a non-data, nothing unlimited plan. I'm on a plan with my boyfriend, but it's only $10 cheaper, so with the lowest required plan for the Evo, by yourself you'll be paying ~$90-$100. I think it's worth it, but you might not.

Well, the thing is, by any definition the mogul is a smartphone. What I want to do is change phones and not tell sprint what phone it is, it would allow me to maintain my plan at its current rate, but 4G is a different service, though without the towers I don't see how they would know it had the ability. I only wonder because the sprint employee seemed to think I could do this with any non-4G phone and not increase my rates, which is what I want.

Tb0n3 said:
Well, the thing is, by any definition the mogul is a smartphone. What I want to do is change phones and not tell sprint what phone it is, it would allow me to maintain my plan at its current rate, but 4G is a different service, though without the towers I don't see how they would know it had the ability. I only wonder because the sprint employee seemed to think I could do this with any non-4G phone and not increase my rates, which is what I want.
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I asked this exact same question a few months ago when i got an evo. The answer is yes you can, but it might be illegal since you have to clone your mogul phone onto your evo. I forget which number it is, but there's a unique ID number for every cell phone - if you can copy the one from the mogul onto the evo, you should be able to just use it without sprint knowing any better.
But i believe it's illegal to do that and was told I shouldn't ask how to do that on here since it would probably just get deleted/i'd get banned.
I finally gave in and paid the stupid $10 a month even though i never use the 4g.
btw, i also had a mogul from sprint. If it's just going to cost you $10 more a month then what you are paying now, i'd say it's worth it, even if the extra $10 month is complete BS.

I guess that answers my question, though $10 is ten dollars a month, no matter how you look at it, it's not like I'm getting any extra service from them. From my experience, however, they aren't above negotiation over the phone, which is how I got my $5/mo unlimited data.

merkk said:
I asked this exact same question a few months ago when i got an evo. The answer is yes you can, but it might be illegal since you have to clone your mogul phone onto your evo. I forget which number it is, but there's a unique ID number for every cell phone - if you can copy the one from the mogul onto the evo, you should be able to just use it without sprint knowing any better.
But i believe it's illegal to do that and was told I shouldn't ask how to do that on here since it would probably just get deleted/i'd get banned.
I finally gave in and paid the stupid $10 a month even though i never use the 4g.
btw, i also had a mogul from sprint. If it's just going to cost you $10 more a month then what you are paying now, i'd say it's worth it, even if the extra $10 month is complete BS.
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That $10/month extra, does that include the $5/month that I pay already for unlimited data or will that stack onto it?

Tb0n3 said:
That $10/month extra, does that include the $5/month that I pay already for unlimited data or will that stack onto it?
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not sure - all i know is if you go to the sprint site and act like you are ordering a new phone with new service - if you pick one of the older smart phones you'll pay $10 less then what you'll pay if you pick one of the newer/4g phones. You wont get anything extra for the $10 - you get the same exact plan.
wow - what a rip off - i just checked the sprint site and now they are charging the $10/mo extra even for the older non-4g phones, like the touch pro 2.
If you are on an older plan, my guess is you'll have to upgrade to one of their current plans. so lets say $70 for the 450 minute plan and you'll have to pay an extra $10 on top of that if you buy any smartphone.
That's sort of what happened to me. I was on the old SERO plan - fortunately they started offering an upgrade path for sero users. So i wound up paying a little more then what i was paying before, but still cheaper then what regular new users get stuck with. Since they made me upgrade to a current plan, i'm guessing they'll make you do the same. So the $10 charge should replace the $5 charge you pay now.

I upgraded from a Sprint Mogul to an Samsung Epic and I to had to pay the 10 dollars, But the good think I noticed about the Epic. You can turn 4G feature on and off. When you are in an area that offers 4G and turn it on the Data bandwidth is a whole lot better verses a 3G area. If you have a phone that can do both next time you are in a 4G area do a speedtest and you will see the difference in bandwidth.

You are required to have the $10 dollars a month. It doesn't stack with the $5, I just replaces it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

9 Months to Go on Contract

Anyone see a way to get a Thunderbolt when I have 9 months to go on my current contract? I realize I could pay full price but not looking to do so. Thanks for any suggestions. My current phone is an amoled incredible.

Add a line? $10. a month.

jdk2 said:
Add a line? $10. a month.
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if you added a line and got the contract pricing wouldn't you also have to sign up for a data plan, which then cannot be removed without breaking the contract and incurring ETFs. then it'd be $10 + $29.99/month......seems buying retail would be better/equivalent to that.
ebay is always an option, but since it's so new it would be quite difficult to get anything much less than retail cost.
i don't know much about it but i've seen mention of early upgrade fees on verizon, maybe you could talk to verizon employees and see if you have any options there. i haven't had much luck with them but people have posted about experiences with verizon people where they are really accommodating and friendly.

sitrucz said:
Anyone see a way to get a Thunderbolt when I have 9 months to go on my current contract? I realize I could pay full price but not looking to do so. Thanks for any suggestions. My current phone is an amoled incredible.
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Back when I got my Droid 1, I was only 12 months into my 2 year contract. VZW let me do an early upgrade but did charge me a $20.00 fee. I recomend you calling *611 from your phone.
good luck !!!

Verizon did the same with me for my tbolt. I was 13 months into contract, they let me upgrade for 2 year contract price + 25.00$
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

Buy retail or try to get an early upgrade...
it is actually really annoying. everyone always wants the latest phones and cannot wait to get them... and then they scramble to find the best way to get them when they still have "x" months left in their contract (x usually being greater than 6, closer to 12).
at that point, why not just get a 1 year contract to begin with. pay the extra $70 for your device up front but then have the freedom and flexibility at 10 months to do as you choose (and be able to get a new device without trying to "work the system" and weasel your way out of a contract or find some fishy way to add another line). you will end up spending more if you do not get a 1 yr contract.
I am a firm believer of this!
*EDIT*: and Verizon does not always allow early upgrades for 2 yr contracts, so you cannot rely on that

bmcclure937 said:
Buy retail or try to get an early upgrade...
it is actually really annoying. everyone always wants the latest phones and cannot wait to get them... and then they scramble to find the best way to get them when they still have "x" months left in their contract (x usually being greater than 6, closer to 12).
at that point, why not just get a 1 year contract to begin with. pay the extra $70 for your device up front but then have the freedom and flexibility at 10 months to do as you choose (and be able to get a new device without trying to "work the system" and weasel your way out of a contract or find some fishy way to add another line). you will end up spending more if you do not get a 1 yr contract.
I am a firm believer of this!
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That, I'm never getting another phone at a two-year contract ever again unless the whole market system changes with it, which i dont see happening.
Regardless, if you are stuck in a contract, do the add a line thing, as with that, you can get the new phone on a new line, then switch it over to a crappy cheap phone that doesn't need a data plan, and disable everything on it, so you're only paying the $10 a month for an extra line.

Russ36363 said:
Regardless, if you are stuck in a contract, do the add a line thing, as with that, you can get the new phone on a new line, then switch it over to a crappy cheap phone that doesn't need a data plan, and disable everything on it, so you're only paying the $10 a month for an extra line.
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maybe i'm not well-versed on verizon's contract terms. are you all sure that the contract doesn't forbid cancelling the data plan? i was basing my knowledge on an experience with at&t more than two years ago, haha. at that time i did the secondary line upgrade to get a new blackberry and at&t's terms were that in order to get an upgrade price it is required to sign up for a data package. the loophole there for me was that the data plan could be cancelled after two months at no cost at all. later on a friend who tried to do the same thing as me could not because at&t changed their policy and would not allow people to remove data plans after two months without an ETF.
is verizon's policy better and either doesn't require a data plan upon upgrade or allows you to remove it immediately after upgrading? (note: i tried to look up verizon's policy on this by going to the site and pretending to be a new customer but it started to ask for payment and personal info before showing me the terms and conditions. it did require me to sign up for a data plan when purchasing a smartphone though) i'm curious to know what the fine details are.

bkiminfinity said:
if you added a line and got the contract pricing wouldn't you also have to sign up for a data plan, which then cannot be removed without breaking the contract and incurring ETFs. then it'd be $10 + $29.99/month......seems buying retail would be better/equivalent to that.
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make sure you have an older dumbphone to transfer your existing line to. then you can drop data to your heart's content.
i have done this twice now, once for x and once for thunderbolt. $10/mo each.

bkiminfinity said:
maybe i'm not well-versed on verizon's contract terms. are you all sure that the contract doesn't forbid cancelling the data plan? i was basing my knowledge on an experience with at&t more than two years ago, haha. at that time i did the secondary line upgrade to get a new blackberry and at&t's terms were that in order to get an upgrade price it is required to sign up for a data package. the loophole there for me was that the data plan could be cancelled after two months at no cost at all. later on a friend who tried to do the same thing as me could not because at&t changed their policy and would not allow people to remove data plans after two months without an ETF.
is verizon's policy better and either doesn't require a data plan upon upgrade or allows you to remove it immediately after upgrading? (note: i tried to look up verizon's policy on this by going to the site and pretending to be a new customer but it started to ask for payment and personal info before showing me the terms and conditions. it did require me to sign up for a data plan when purchasing a smartphone though) i'm curious to know what the fine details are.
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From the experiences I've had and others who've posted about it, the only restriction AFAIK from verizon is that you need a data plan on the line when you activate the phone on that line, so you'd need to add a data plan on the line when a smartphone is activated for it. However, if the phone isn't a smartphone, i've been able to add and remove the data to the line as needed (I've had an old enV phone where theres been a few times where I've needed the data, so I've just turned on the data plan for the two weeks or so, and never gotten charged outside of that, or fees)

Bodero said:
make sure you have an older dumbphone to transfer your existing line to. then you can drop data to your heart's content.
i have done this twice now, once for x and once for thunderbolt. $10/mo each.
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i have an old blackberry pearl flip, does that count? seeing that it is a blackberry i would think it doesn't......
but a follow-up question i have is that is it worth it paying the extra $10/month? price speculation for tbolt: $319 for 1-year contract, add the $10/month for a year = $120 for a total of $439. retail is $599 so you save $160.....as opposed to paying $319 alone and saving $280. i guess for someone with an upgrade available the method of adding a line and then moving the new phone saves you an upgrade and costs $120 more to get the tbolt. so you are paying an extra $120 above the cost of the phone itself to save your upgrade.
makes more sense for someone with no upgrade option then.

But i didn't think it could be just 10 dollars a month. The phones are required to have their own 29.99 data plan
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

Thanks all I'm thinking *611 and see if I'm eligible for that early upgrade and will do the 1 year contract.

Bodero said:
make sure you have an older dumbphone to transfer your existing line to. then you can drop data to your heart's content.
i have done this twice now, once for x and once for thunderbolt. $10/mo each.
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Or call Verizon and tell them you no longer want a phone on that line and they'll put a dummy ESN on it. That's what I did the last time I pulled the add a line and drop it for a discount.

It turns out I'm eligible for the early upgrade on 5/10 of this year which puts me on my incredible for 1 year. My full upgrade is up on 1/10/12. So I guess I'll see what's out there in May. Thanks again.

just keep calling *611 and get someone that is nice. after 4 calls to CS i begged the lady to ask her supervisor to advance my upgrade (from Dec.). I paid the $20.00 fee. good luck.

I found an official document on verizon's FAQs under "Worry Free Guarantee". Easier to get to through google. When I have the link I can post it.
Basically it states that if you are in a two year plan already you will be able to take advantage of one more annual upgrade at discount price or if you so choose wait until your 20th month and get your "New Every Two" credit.
I had to print this sheet and make sure the full url was across the top in order to show it to a verizon rep. He then put a remark under my account stating that I was indeed elgible for an early upgrade. The problem is just with the changes verizon is now implementing.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using XDA App

I bought my thunderbolt on craigslist for $540. Was a little shady as the guy didn't have the box, but had all the accessories Verizon employee maybe? Just can't imagine how a day old phone is missing the box. Anyway I activated the phone with no issue.

When you guys are paying the $20 or whatever to get the early upgrade, so they just reset your account so that Wirefly/Amazon/etc see you as upgrade eligible, or do you then have to buy the phone from VZW? I'd like to upgrade 4 months early (and have multiple lines to upgrade, so the "new every 2" would only take care of one phone) but I don't want to pay VZW an extra $50/phone if I can avoid it.

They are sadly apparently getting rid of the annual upgrade feature Anyway should you want to go the full retail route I got mine cheapest through VZW at 599.99 vs the 749.99 it seemed to be listed everywhere else. I don't get my annual upgrade which they are still honoring for the time being until July of this year (still can get it should I want to grab another device this summer).
The only reason I could see to upgrade earlier than your annual upgrade date is in the off chance verizon changes the way they do 4G data plans for new 4G phones at that point? Currently they are offering 4G at 3G data prices w/ unlimited data, and they can't suddenly start charging those of us who are on these unlimited plans more or force us to the tiered plan concept... so we'd be grandfathered in sorta like the unlimited data AT&T users are currently. Was the main reason for me jumping the gun and upgrading early at full retail, that and the speeds are amazing.

Questions for T-Mobile users.

Alright, so currently I have an S3 with T-Mobile and I'm paying around $100 for just my line that includes 500mins, unlimited data and text.
I rarely break the 150min mark each month so I would definitely like to change my plan to something that offers less minutes. Makes no sense on paying for something I don't use, right.
What would be my best option right now? Go on a prepaid plan and buy the Nexus 5 from the playstore? Is there a hassle from switching to a normal plan to a prepaid plan with T-Mobile?
I would be more than happy paying less to get 200mins, unlimited text, and data. 2.5 or 5gb before throttling is fine with me.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

The T-Mobile $30 plan.. 100 minutes, unlimited texts, 5GB of 4G LTE.
Just add like $50 every month and you'll have around , what.. 275-300 minutes you can use.
But if you're still on contract with T-Mobile, the ETF is $200.
And yes, you can buy the phone from the Play Store.

Wow that's crazy expensive. My T-Mobile plan is $120/month for 3 lines, unlimited everything. Data IS throttled after 500mb though. Not an issue for me since I'm always on wifi. I can bump it to unlimited for an extra $20

IXChicharitoXI said:
Alright, so currently I have an S3 with T-Mobile and I'm paying around $100 for just my line that includes 500mins, unlimited data and text.
I rarely break the 150min mark each month so I would definitely like to change my plan to something that offers less minutes. Makes no sense on paying for something I don't use, right.
What would be my best option right now? Go on a prepaid plan and buy the Nexus 5 from the playstore? Is there a hassle from switching to a normal plan to a prepaid plan with T-Mobile?
I would be more than happy paying less to get 200mins, unlimited text, and data. 2.5 or 5gb before throttling is fine with me.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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Not sure how you're paying so much for the classic 500min plan, maybe you got extra services along with it? Should only be $85/w tax. And if you said you don't use as much minutes then go with the prepaid $30/mo like that person said. Or you can go with straight talk for $45/mo unlimited talk text and web (might throttle 2.5gb). I'm not sure if they are still selling GSM sim cards because they kept being pulled off the shelves.
Synyster06Gates said:
Wow that's crazy expensive. My T-Mobile plan is $120/month for 3 lines, unlimited everything. Data IS throttled after 500mb though. Not an issue for me since I'm always on wifi. I can bump it to unlimited for an extra $20
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Well you're on the new simple/value plans that T-mobile has. 3 lines should cost you $90 ($50 first line $30 second $10 add a line) for unlimited talk text and unlimited web throttled at 500mb. You might be over paying as well unless you have the 2.5gb data plan or the jump plan services.

Deekayy said:
Well you're on the new simple/value plans that T-mobile has. 3 lines should cost you $90 ($50 first line $30 second $10 add a line) for unlimited talk text and unlimited web throttled at 500mb. You might be over paying as well unless you have the 2.5gb data plan or the jump plan services.
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Unfortunately I am over paying by $30. I didn't get the simple value plan. I switched from AT&T right before they ended the classic unlimited contracts. What really sucks is the T-Mobile service went to **** in my area a few days after my "2 week trial period" (that was really maybe a week after getting the phones shipped and activated) and they refuse to help me out in any way. It's a story for another time, but I'm absolutely furious at T-Mobile.

I got the Ptel Paygo plan (on T-Mobile network), I don't really need data (on wifi almost everywhere, with T-Mobile 4G hotspot at $17.50/mo for 1.75gb). 5 cents per minute. Bought a $100 card with coupon for $78, so 2000 minutes for a year. Haven't got my sim yet, will run speed test once I get it.

Deekayy said:
Not sure how you're paying so much for the classic 500min plan, maybe you got extra services along with it? Should only be $85/w tax. And if you said you don't use as much minutes then go with the prepaid $30/mo like that person said. Or you can go with straight talk for $45/mo unlimited talk text and web (might throttle 2.5gb). I'm not sure if they are still selling GSM sim cards because they kept being pulled off the shelves.
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Yeah, I think I'm being charged $8 or $10 for insurance on the phone.
How exactly do pre paid plans work? I assume the bill won't arrive to my house anymore? Do I have to to to the T-Mobile store before the month ends to pay for the following month before it gets disconnected?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Also if I were to sign up for the pre paid plan. Could I bring the phone to a T-Mobile store and could they activate the new sim at the store or do I have to do it myself online?
Thank you for the responses everyone, i really appreciate it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Synyster06Gates said:
Unfortunately I am over paying by $30. I didn't get the simple value plan. I switched from AT&T right before they ended the classic unlimited contracts. What really sucks is the T-Mobile service went to **** in my area a few days after my "2 week trial period" (that was really maybe a week after getting the phones shipped and activated) and they refuse to help me out in any way. It's a story for another time, but I'm absolutely furious at T-Mobile.
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That's unfortunate, sorry to hear. So you're on a 2-year contract then I suppose? Did you get basic phones or smart phones when you signed up? If anything you can always try to call customer service (Dial 611) and ask to be switched to the new simple choice plan but they might charge you a $200 migration fee per line. In that situation, you can probably argue that your service has not been working well ever since you got it and hopefully they'll work something out.
IXChicharitoXI said:
Yeah, I think I'm being charged $8 or $10 for insurance on the phone.
How exactly do pre paid plans work? I assume the bill won't arrive to my house anymore? Do I have to to to the T-Mobile store before the month ends to pay for the following month before it gets disconnected?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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The only service that does that still bills to your house is T-Mobile Family Mobile (only in walmart) $39.88/mo unlimited talk text unlimited web 2.5 throttle (3G, some say 4G). That service is no contract and you can set auto pay with your debit/credit card or pay at any walmart location.
Other T-mobile pre-paid services is the "monthly 4G" which you will need to purchase a pre-paid card at any convenience store and refill your service at the end of each month. Or you can pay the balance of the bill online through T-Mobile prepaid website. If you don't pay your remaining balance by the end of the month it will get shut off and I believe T-Mobile will hold for 7-14 days before they release the number.
I can't give you a suggestion on which service you should use because I use both Verizon and T-Mobile services (note 2 and nexus 5) on a dealer line. Believe it or not, T-Mobile pulls off 21mb vs verizon 12mb in my home. If anything i'd start with the $30 pre-paid plan and test out the service to see whether or not it works in your area. If you feel that you get a lot of drop calls, you can try the actual T-Mobile service (Simple choice plan) because it's running on a primary network. Don't want to get too technical on why contracts vs pre-paid services are good or bad.
Replying to your second question:
You can purchase a Sim starter kit on the actual T-mobile site and you can activate it yourself, very easy. Follow the steps and select the plan that you desire.
t-mobile (dot) com/shop/plans/activatecodes (dot )aspx

Deekayy said:
That's unfortunate, sorry to hear. So you're on a 2-year contract then I suppose? Did you get basic phones or smart phones when you signed up? If anything you can always try to call customer service (Dial 611) and ask to be switched to the new simple choice plan but they might charge you a $200 migration fee per line. In that situation, you can probably argue that your service has not been working well ever since you got it and hopefully they'll work something out.
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I will attempt to do this over the weekend. I am on a 2 year contract. When we signed up, I got a Galaxy S3, an LG F3, and an LG F6.
Since we started, none of the phones will reliably get phone calls or text messages. More often than not when people try to call us (even the T-Mobile reps calling me back) the phone will ring on their end, but I never get a ring or even missed call notification. A voice-mail will randomly pop up later in the day. Text messages will stop for hours on end then all of a sudden 10 or so will come to my phone at once. MMS won't reliably send or download. It's been a FRUSTRATING experience to say the least.

Best Buy/Sprint My Way Student Promotion

My plan with VZW is about to expire and I'm ready to upgrade my GNex to a N5. I was just going to buy it from Google and go with the $30 T-Mobile Walmart plan. Then I heard about the promotion Sprint and Best Buy are doing. Basically you overpay for a phone and get unlimited T&T and 1GB of data for free or unlimited data for $10 a month. The N5 is one of the only phones it works out ahead for. Can somebody check my math? After the first year, you can just leave.
Original Plan: $350 for N5 + $30 a month for TMobile plan = $710 for first year
Sprint Plan: $450 for N5 + $10 a month for unlimited data = $570 for first year
The promo is only available in store at Best Buy, but at least I don't have to wait for my phone to ship.

Your math is correct but it all depends on what model nexus you get. The deal sounds a little too good to be true but I could be wrong. 1GB of data isn't crap. If you are looking for the cheap route I would look into straight talk.
edit: either way tell verizon to have a nice life

mistahseller said:
Your math is correct but it all depends on what model nexus you get. The deal sounds a little too good to be true but I could be wrong. 1GB of data isn't crap. If you are looking for the cheap route I would look into straight talk.
edit: either way tell verizon to have a nice life
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I have had my sim card for one day. I already used .76 gigs running a few speed tests and updating a few apps. 1gb is mega crap.

Don't just take the first year into consideration. The deal is for a 2 year contract. How much will that second year cost you per month?

lowandbehold said:
Don't just take the first year into consideration. The deal is for a 2 year contract. How much will that second year cost you per month?
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It's not for a two year contract. You get one year free (or $10) and can leave anytime. There is no ETF.
"Sprint will send the account holder a text message 30 days before the completion of free service on the student's line. Upon completion of free service, the student line will be charged regular price for service for Unlimited, My Way ($70/month for unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data on smartphones ($50/month on basic phones with blocked data); additional $10/month for unlimited data, if applicable). To avoid charges, the account holder can terminate the student line by calling Sprint or dialing *2 from their mobile phone before the end of 12 months."

ari6126 said:
It's not for a two year contract. You get one year free (or $10) and can leave anytime. There is no ETF.
"Sprint will send the account holder a text message 30 days before the completion of free service on the student's line. Upon completion of free service, the student line will be charged regular price for service for Unlimited, My Way ($70/month for unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data on smartphones ($50/month on basic phones with blocked data); additional $10/month for unlimited data, if applicable). To avoid charges, the account holder can terminate the student line by calling Sprint or dialing *2 from their mobile phone before the end of 12 months."
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Touche. Just read the whole agreement and there is no ETF after 12 months. Well at least add in the $36 activation fee in your calculation! That does apply.

lowandbehold said:
Touche. Just read the whole agreement and there is no ETF after 12 months. Well at least add in the $36 activation fee in your calculation! That does apply.
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If I buy the Nexus 5 from Best Buy for this promotion, is it unlocked? I currently have AT&T, so could I switch Sim cards between AT&T and Sprint with the Nexus 5 whenever I want?

yeee707 said:
If I buy the Nexus 5 from Best Buy for this promotion, is it unlocked? I currently have AT&T, so could I switch Sim cards between AT&T and Sprint with the Nexus 5 whenever I want?
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Yes. It is completely unlocked.

I've been doing the same calculation and am leaning toward making the jump, too. Here's the calculation I did (let me know if i'm missing something other than sales tax on the phone...):
Tmo $30 plan:
Phone: $350 (via google play)
Plan: ~33 (includes fees)
Per mo cost in 1st year (amortizing phone up front cost over 12 months): $62
Per mo cost in 2nd year (for just the service since phone was amortized above): $33
Sprint Free Student:
Phone: $450+$36 activation = $486 (via BB)
Plan: ~$15 (assuming i would need the $10 unlimited data. Also includes line fees/taxes)
Per mo cost in 1st year: $55
2nd year: $70, though I'm not really comparing this for the time being.
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For the first year, this nets out to a savings of about $74 when you amortize the phone cost. For this vs Tmo you get: unlimited talk, >5GB data, and a phone in your hand via best buy instead of waiting 4-5 weeks; at a cost of needing to swap lines at the end of the contract if you aren't cool with paying full price for Sprint.
Assuming all of my numbers are right, the two deals are shockingly close to being equal for the first year. For me, I'd probably end up with some overages with the Tmo 100 minute cap, so I think I'm going to go for the Sprint deal for now, but this is hardly the no brainer I was expecting before I ran the numbers. The game changer is the Nexus 5 itself: dual compatibility with CDMA and GSM make it possible to swap between these two services without taking another device hit to the wallet. That flexibility is really nice.