[Q] Pay as you go phone? - General Questions and Answers

[Q] Pay as you go phone? - General Questions and Answers

Hey, my daughter wants a new pay as you go phone. We are with t mobile and she gets texting and calling. All data is wifi only! Her phone is slow and takes time to process. Can I get a phone from eBay or amazon and put her sim card in and continue with the same plan?
Thanks,
Rachael

rachaelslp said:
Hey, my daughter wants a new pay as you go phone. We are with t mobile and she gets texting and calling. All data is wifi only! Her phone is slow and takes time to process. Can I get a phone from eBay or amazon and put her sim card in and continue with the same plan?
Thanks,
Rachael
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Click to collapse
I prefer craigslist. Phones are cheaper and you can ask the seller to meet you at a nearby T-Mobile store. Or at least take your SIM card with you and test prior to purchase. This will ensure the phone isn't stolen, carrier locked or incompatible prior to purchase.
Any unlocked GSM phone will fit your current needs. However, if you decide later to include a data plan it's best to be using a carrier model. Carrier Androids typically include only the 3/4g bands for their own network.

Hey, to test, do you just put the sim card in and try it?
Thanks!

rachaelslp said:
Hey, to test, do you just put the sim card in and try it?
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Yes, confirm with the seller before hand that this is what you require. If they say no, it'll save you a trip. Test as much functionality of the phone as you're able. Generally, if it looks to be in good shape you should have no problems. If it's beat up, test EVERYTHING.
Beware that there are overpriced phones on craigslist too. 10% off the average Buy It Now price on eBay is the most I'd pay.

Just post what kind of phone you are looking for and I can give you a ball park price of what you should pay.

more cheaper good smart phone in market at moment

Related

how to buy a nexus s outside US?

[Q] Help! online ordering from Best Buy
I just paid for the Nexus S through Best buy, and now I am afraid that I made a mistake. When I added the phone to my shpping cart, it asked me i I am a T-Mobile contract holder (Which i am not) and I said that I do, which gave me the option to buy the phone at the full price of $529. I am afraid that I am going to receive a LOCKED Nexus S with T-Mobile affiliations and that it's maybe not Sim Free.
Is this the case? If so, how do I order it SIM Free and UNLOCKED Online? The only options on the website was to buy it either for $199 with a T-Mobile contract or to buy it for $529, but again, I am not sure if this is fully unlocked or it is still with a T-Mobile Simcard.

jonatansofer said:
I just paid for the Nexus S through Best buy, and now I am afraid that I made a mistake. When I added the phone to my shpping cart, it asked me i I am a T-Mobile contract holder (Which i am not) and I said that I do, which gave me the option to buy the phone at the full price of $529. I am afraid that I am going to receive a LOCKED Nexus S with T-Mobile affiliations and that it's maybe not Sim Free.
Is this the case? If so, how do I order it SIM Free and UNLOCKED Online? The only options on the website was to buy it either for $199 with a T-Mobile contract or to buy it for $529, but again, I am not sure if this is fully unlocked or it is still with a T-Mobile Simcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK they are all unlocked - even the phones sold with T-Mo service.

Will the phone say T-mobile on the phone or connected with it in any way ?

nope, box has a tmobile sim in it but noowhere on the phone does it say tmobile

People at best buy online support are complete fools, they keep saying it's locked, even though twitter and their FAQ say its unlocked.
The whole point of Pure Google phone is that it's unlocked and unbranded

All Nexus S phones are unlocked by default with no carrier branding on the phone or box.
Pricing just varies based on if you want a contract or buying outright.

psp888 said:
People at best buy online support are complete fools, ...
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Well, not everybody have the intelligence required to flip burgers.

Best Buy couldn't even get the ordering live until about 10 minutes late ...
Then I tried to order 3 times; each time I got a vague credit verification error that made no sense.
Plus, they tried to switch me from my $10/mo unlimited 3G data to $10/mo 4G data with a 200MB cap... no thanks.
I was able to order by phone, but the process took over an hour. At least I got to keep my data plan.
Total cost was $250 after taxes and activation fees.

hi folks, is there anyone from from non-US/UK manage to buy a Nexus S>? If yes can let me know how? Especial from Malaysia. Thanks..

i had help from a fellow XDA member in the USA to help me buy one
as all the BestBuy stores were out of stock on the first 2 hours of the release date
make sure your phone operator works with 900/1700/2100 data

I bought two on launch day. The second is unopened. PM me if you want to buy it.

Wow!
I have a G1 and tried to upgrade to the nexus s with my existing 24.99 unlimited G1 data plan. The rep in the store said she was pretty sure I had to upgrade my plan. She said she would try it without upgrading my plan and got almost through the entire process but her system would only allow for the full price option for the phone.
Did you do anything special to get them to let it work with your existing plan??
Thanks
Bicster_ said:
Best Buy couldn't even get the ordering live until about 10 minutes late ...
Then I tried to order 3 times; each time I got a vague credit verification error that made no sense.
Plus, they tried to switch me from my $10/mo unlimited 3G data to $10/mo 4G data with a 200MB cap... no thanks.
I was able to order by phone, but the process took over an hour. At least I got to keep my data plan.
Total cost was $250 after taxes and activation fees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Has anyone actually bought this online?
I'm having problems getting Best Buy's site to let me buy this thing. It keeps getting hung up when I select a plan - just keeps asking me if I currently have T-Mo service and won't let me actually select an answer...
Also, since I'm a new customer, would I be able to sign up for T-Mo's promotional plan (1500+unlimited for 79.99)?

You have to go to the store for starting a new plan.

If just happened that you have an extra unit or you're willing to help me, please PM me. THanks; )

AllGamer said:
i had help from a fellow XDA member in the USA to help me buy one
as all the BestBuy stores were out of stock on the first 2 hours of the release date
make sure your phone operator works with 900/1700/2100 data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
one of the best buys near me still has 2 phones in stock

Marmle said:
You have to go to the store for starting a new plan.
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Click to collapse
That's ridiculous - there's not a single Best Buy here in TN that will sell it with a plan. I suppose none do T-Mo. And my local store says $529.99 - available at Bestbuy.com for $199.99.
Whose idea was this Best Buy debacle?

your going to have to sign up for t-mobile service online best buy online sells tmobile online. Call there customer service they might be able to help you out.

Hey,
Maybe this will help!
bonvu.com
never used it so not sure how safe it is, but read that people are using it to purchase what ever they want in the US.
GL,

Some options:
www.ebay.com (in advanced search you can select someone that delivers to your country, offers paypal)
www.usunlocked.com (3rd party site, buys it for you and sends it yo you).

[Q] Prepaid Infuse carrier?

Hey,
I'm recently got an infuse off contract, rooted it, etc, but I haven't been able to make myself transfer my service too it from my other phone. I'm really torn, as it is a great phone but ehhh.
Anyway.
I'm just wondering if there is some way I can use this phone on a pre paid network or something. I looked it up and saw straight talk was perhaps an option, but it seems very confusing.
Thanks.

well you could use simple mobile. (they have ads on this site alot) you could the infuse unlocking guide to unlock your phone and use it on this service. they use t mobiles towers and have 4g (hspa+) in certain areas. their plans are 40 unlimited talk and text, 50 unlimited talk text and 2g data, and 60 unlimited talk text 3g/4g data. you should check them out.hope all goes well my friend.

thank you very much! are there any cheaper options? do you know anything about straight talk?
can i use it on att month to month?

Well simple mobile is one of the cheapest prepaid gsm carriers around. And I know of straight talk. But the only straight talk smart phone is the nokia e71 I believe and that's the only straight talk phone that uses a sim card. So you would have to buy a 200+ phone JUST to get the straight talk sim card out. And yes you can use simple mobile from month to month but after 30 days of no payment they will take your number and deactivate your sim. And another good cheap prepaid option is walmarts family plan. The only thing is to start to see savings you would have to have multiple lines that's why it's good for families. Finally you could check out h20 wireless solutions they have similar rates to simple mobile but they use att towers.... Whew....that was allot of typing....lol

Itaer said:
thank you very much! are there any cheaper options? do you know anything about straight talk?
can i use it on att month to month?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on conversations on IRC with a ST user:
If your SIM was taken from one of th $200 Nokias, you can use in the Infuse. ST is a Tracfone reseller, which uses AT&T's network.
SIMs from all other ST phones are specifically locked to the phone.
ALSO: If you use a SIM from one of the $200 Nokias, you MUST keep the Nokia. If that phone is ever activated with another service, ST will drop service on your SIM.
Edit: Note, I'm an AT&T contract user, all of the above are hearsay from IRC a month or two ago.

i believe you need a $200 nokia smartphone on strait talk but never sell the nokia! the sim is locked to the imei somehow and if the nokia is activated again the old sim is deactivated. also i think strait talk is a reseller of many carriers, they have cdma phones and a few of the nokia smart phones are on t-mobile sim cards from what i understand. you can try it but i think ifg the sim has a "t" on it then you cant use it, only problem is you have know way to know which sim will be in the phone you are buying.
many of those prepay services have one of a number of methods to lock the phone to their network. do as much research as posible before dropping cash on a device that might be useless

I though Att itself has a pay as you go with no contracty plain also tat works for this for for $5 data (10 mb ha) and $.010 a min talk.

Dani897 said:
i believe you need a $200 nokia smartphone on strait talk but never sell the nokia! the sim is locked to the imei somehow and if the nokia is activated again the old sim is deactivated. also i think strait talk is a reseller of many carriers, they have cdma phones and a few of the nokia smart phones are on t-mobile sim cards from what i understand. you can try it but i think ifg the sim has a "t" on it then you cant use it, only problem is you have know way to know which sim will be in the phone you are buying.
many of those prepay services have one of a number of methods to lock the phone to their network. do as much research as posible before dropping cash on a device that might be useless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So theoretically, you could buy the 200 phone, and buy the cheap ass phone......in separate transactions, from Wal-mart and then use the expensive sim card, but put the cheap sim card in the expensive phone pkg and return the phone......only if you are evil!

I understand you could use the GoPhone plans, but you will need a new sim card, and also have to have a data plan to go with it, not sure how much the Simple Mobile plans are they talk about, but your looking at around 55-60$ for GoPhone plans with minimum data. 50$ unlimited talk and text and 5$for 10mb. Tops is 25$for 500mb, thats still not a lot of data though. I think 10mb for a phone is a joke, in my opinion. Maybe check out the Simple Mobile, you will have to unlock your phone for that though. Instructions for that are XDA.

emeralds5668 said:
So theoretically, you could buy the 200 phone, and buy the cheap ass phone......in separate transactions, from Wal-mart and then use the expensive sim card, but put the cheap sim card in the expensive phone pkg and return the phone......only if you are evil!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. If the expensive phone is EVER activated with another SIM, the expensive SIM you're using will get deactivated according to everything I've heard.

Entropy512 said:
No. If the expensive phone is EVER activated with another SIM, the expensive SIM you're using will get deactivated according to everything I've heard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but if the phone is returned, after it has been opened, then its not returned to the shelf. I think it would be considered refurb. I dont know, but they would probably reassign the imei to another sim. Dont know. I think I will just keep my edge speed in the hope that when att buys t-mobile that I will finally gtr hspda.

Does Radioshack give you a new MicroSIM/activate the new SIM for you?

Hey guys,
I'm picking up my One X tomorrow from Radioshack and I've never done an upgrade through them, so I have two questions:
1. Does Radioshack give you a new MicroSIM card with the purchase of the phone? Or do I need to go to the AT&T store afterwards to get one? My current device uses a full sized SIM card that is not LTE capable.
2. If the above answer is yes, does Radioshack activate the new SIM for your as well?
Thanks!

Yes, from my experience all mobile retailers give you the sim card for the phone you are purchasing. I went to a bestbuy mobile kiosk, radioshack, and target which uses radioshack and they all had the LTE microsim. Also interesting to note that the iPhone miroSIM won't activate on our device. I know this cause the lady that worked at bestbuy mobile tried for 20 minutes before calling AT&T to figure out why she couldn't provision the SIM for the phone, turns out she had to use a new microSIM meant for the LTE network. In the end I purchased at Target which has a partnership with radioshack for their mobile center, they had the right SIM cards. I bought the phone today.

futuregerald said:
Yes, from my experience all mobile retailers give you the sim card for the phone you are purchasing. I went to a bestbuy mobile kiosk, radioshack, and target which uses radioshack and they all had the LTE microsim. Also interesting to note that the iPhone miroSIM won't activate on our device. I know this cause the lady that worked at bestbuy mobile tried for 20 minutes before calling AT&T to figure out why she couldn't provision the SIM for the phone, turns out she had to use a new microSIM meant for the LTE network. In the end I purchased at Target which has a partnership with radioshack for their mobile center, they had the right SIM cards. I bought the phone today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, great, thank you! Saves me a bit of time travelling all the way to the AT&T store tomorrow!

You will leave Radioshack up and running 100%. However, hope you get a salesperson that knows what they're doing, or the process could take a while.
It's hit or miss with Radioshacks.

05GT said:
You will leave Radioshack up and running 100%. However, hope you get a salesperson that knows what they're doing, or the process could take a while.
It's hit or miss with Radioshacks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Radioshack is quite big (not just a normal store) so I assume that their staff is a bit more knowledgeable Or at least I hope so haha.

what if u do not want it activate it ? i purchased it on another family upgrade but i want to use it with straight talk pre paid. they sell micro sims. would this work ?

[Q] Wanting to switch to the blaze questions

Hello all, and first off, let me say congratulations on getting official CM10 and CWM support!
Here's my story (and before anyone asks, I have searched the forums for an answer, but was unsuccessful with finding my specific questions): I am currently on AT&T (was Alltel before they were bought out) with an HTC Aria and my contract for a grandfathered plan was up long ago. It is time for me to upgrade to something a little more modern and I have settled on the Blaze because of its size (I'd like a GNex, but my hands are too small) and a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that, as I understand, it has full compatibility with both AT&T and T-mobile's 3g (4g for t-mobile) and 2g/EDGE networks.
I don't really like AT&T as a company and I also really like the monthly 4g plans that t-mobile offers. My problem is that according to t-mobile's prepaid coverage map, I won't have data service for most of the area I travel back and forth in (upper midwest USA). And as much as I dislike AT&T, they have good 3g service almost everywhere I go. So, I'd like to be able to take my current sim card and switch it and a t-mobile sim at will while I test out both service providers.
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
1) Where is the best place to buy a blaze off contract? I'd like to get one on ebay because of the price (~$200 is what I have set aside for a new phone), but there aren't that many there, and even fewer that specifically say they are unlocked - which leads to question 2.
2) Can I unlock any phone that is not on a contract (basically anything I would buy used online)? I spoke with a rep from T-mobile and he seemed to indicate that I could only unlock a phone if I was the original purchaser of it and the plan (and account) to go with it. Therefore, according to him, I would have to make sure the phone I bought was already unlocked, otherwise there would be no chance of unlocking it in the future. I would think (possibly incorrectly) that as long as I have a t-mobile account (I plan on buying and activating the $30 monthly 4g plan as soon as I receive the device to compliment my current ATT service), they shouldn't have a problem with giving me the unlock code because they did not subsidize the phone. Could anyone clear this up?
3) There are a number of sites claiming to sell unlock codes for a myriad of devices. I would consider something like that if there was no other way to unlock a second hand phone, but only if I was sure it would work and the site was legit. Are any of these sites legitimate and have you had experience with any of them?
It would be considerably cheaper and easier to find a used device that isn't unlocked, but like I said, I'm not sure if that would bite me in the rear because there is a strong chance that I will stick with AT&T due to them having service where I travel. Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall, and I can't wait to join the Blaze community! Keep up the good work!

jparnell8839 said:
1.) Good luck. Not many people are willing to sell their blaze, especially after the past couple weeks three weeks ago you could have had a lot of takers ebay would be your best bet
2.) Tmobile rep led to you like they're supposed to. anybody can request an unlock code for their phone. Naturally if you're on their plan, they'll verify that you are the owner of the account, but still. That being said, just because you can ask doesn't mean they'll give out. If you had a plan (not prepaid) for a year or two in good standings with no late payments and said you were going out of the country for a couple months and want to use your phone on a foreign gsm network, they'd bee more inclined. As a brand new prepaid customer, good luck. Best of buying it unlocked or getting the unlock code elsewhere.
3.) I've had success and failure here. Most places are what they say, but some won't deliver. Always do research. Google that site or business to see if anybody has complained. And use paypal when you can, you could always claim you didn't get the service you paid for. Same goes with ebay buyer protection.
that chapter book out of the way, always always always research as much as you can. For all you know, I could be lying through my teeth right now
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
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Thanks for the advice. I would also consider buying one brand new from t-mobile if I knew I could unlock it right away. Do you think they would unlock a prepaid blaze if I bought it brand new and at full price from them through this link? http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Blaze-4G-No-Annual-Contract
Otherwise I'll be sure to buy one unlocked off ebay, as it seems that most unlock codes are $25 to $50, which would negate pretty much any cost savings by buying one off ebay that wasn't unlocked.

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Goodbye_Alltel said:
Thanks for the advice. I would also consider buying one brand new from t-mobile if I knew I could unlock it right away. Do you think they would unlock a prepaid blaze if I bought it brand new and at full price from them through this link? http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Blaze-4G-No-Annual-Contract
Otherwise I'll be sure to buy one unlocked off ebay, as it seems that most unlock codes are $25 to $50, which would negate pretty much any cost savings by buying one off ebay that wasn't unlocked.
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Like the other reply. If you bought it from t mobile and said you had to go out of county for work. And would appreciate the unlock code to use other GSM networks. While away. They get commission, so if unlock is the deal breaker, they'll prob give it to you. Or if you ask enough pple. Nicely I'm sure someones bound to give it to you.
I don't recall an unlock code thread here on xda
I've been with t mobile for 12 years if I happen to stop at a t mobile (which I plan too) ill ask for code

Goodbye_Alltel said:
Hello all, and first off, let me say congratulations on getting official CM10 and CWM support!
Here's my story (and before anyone asks, I have searched the forums for an answer, but was unsuccessful with finding my specific questions): I am currently on AT&T (was Alltel before they were bought out) with an HTC Aria and my contract for a grandfathered plan was up long ago. It is time for me to upgrade to something a little more modern and I have settled on the Blaze because of its size (I'd like a GNex, but my hands are too small) and a number of reasons. But the biggest reason is that, as I understand, it has full compatibility with both AT&T and T-mobile's 3g (4g for t-mobile) and 2g/EDGE networks.
I don't really like AT&T as a company and I also really like the monthly 4g plans that t-mobile offers. My problem is that according to t-mobile's prepaid coverage map, I won't have data service for most of the area I travel back and forth in (upper midwest USA). And as much as I dislike AT&T, they have good 3g service almost everywhere I go. So, I'd like to be able to take my current sim card and switch it and a t-mobile sim at will while I test out both service providers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you considered a carrier like StraightTalk? StraightTalk is a MVNO which resells both T-Mobile AND AT&T service. You can specify what kind of SIM you want when you order it online. Their service prices are pretty good, and in theory their network is basically either AT&T or T-Mo depending on which one you pick.
I've seen mixed reviews on their service and whether or not they'd throttle you on excessive service... some great, some bad, so it'd be caveat emptor, but if your usage pattern doesn't change, you'll likely be fine. Either way, it's up to you to do your own research (as someone else mentioned).
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
1) Where is the best place to buy a blaze off contract? I'd like to get one on ebay because of the price (~$200 is what I have set aside for a new phone), but there aren't that many there, and even fewer that specifically say they are unlocked - which leads to question 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like eBay. Craigslist can be a little scary because the phone may or may not be stolen. T-Mobile and AT&T have already started disabling phones by their IMEI that have been reported stolen by the user or by the insurance. Soon they'll also start sharing that database, so the phone won't work anywhere in North America if that's the case. There are plenty of scams when it comes to craigslist where a "brand new phone" is purchased and then suddenly reported stolen because it was noticed missing from a back room.
This was my biggest fear in buying my S3. On eBay you get to see things like ratings on the sellers so you can find someone trustworthy, like I did Also, make sure to exercise common sense. If something's too good to be true, it very well may be.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
2) Can I unlock any phone that is not on a contract (basically anything I would buy used online)? I spoke with a rep from T-mobile and he seemed to indicate that I could only unlock a phone if I was the original purchaser of it and the plan (and account) to go with it. Therefore, according to him, I would have to make sure the phone I bought was already unlocked, otherwise there would be no chance of unlocking it in the future. I would think (possibly incorrectly) that as long as I have a t-mobile account (I plan on buying and activating the $30 monthly 4g plan as soon as I receive the device to compliment my current ATT service), they shouldn't have a problem with giving me the unlock code because they did not subsidize the phone. Could anyone clear this up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can unlock any phone you buy, legal or otherwise. T-Mobile has never cared if I was the original purchaser or not, and they shouldn't. They'll only care if it's an original T-Mobile phone or not. T-Mobile will give you an unlock code for a phone as long as you've had 90 days of uninterrupted service. On prepaid they want you to have 60 days (I think) with enough of a balance in your account to pay for another month's service. Not sure about the prepaid requirements, but you can look those up online.
Also, if you just wanna test service, I wouldn't do the monthly 4g $30, I'd do a daily. $3/day gets you relatively unlimited access, and you only need a few days worth to make a decision. Plus, you likely wanna switch to one of the better all-you-can-eat plans, and wouldn't want to be stuck for a month with the cheaper plan. It isn't easy to switch until the month is up.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
3) There are a number of sites claiming to sell unlock codes for a myriad of devices. I would consider something like that if there was no other way to unlock a second hand phone, but only if I was sure it would work and the site was legit. Are any of these sites legitimate and have you had experience with any of them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had good luck purchasing codes from eBay. Never had them not work. But with everything eBay, make sure you're using someone reputable.
Goodbye_Alltel said:
It would be considerably cheaper and easier to find a used device that isn't unlocked, but like I said, I'm not sure if that would bite me in the rear because there is a strong chance that I will stick with AT&T due to them having service where I travel. Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall, and I can't wait to join the Blaze community! Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's cheaper to find it locked, then just get it locked and buy an unlock code later. If you aren't going to use AT&T service, then you don't need to SIM unlock the phone anyways. The phone will automatically work on t-mobile, unlocked or not. Finding a good carrier is difficult, I know.
If you decide to try straight talk, you could probably go with a T-Mobile SIM that wouldn't require unlocking the phone. If you find the service lacking, you could switch to an AT&T sim and then deal with unlocking the phone.
Hope this helps.

Good point about Straight Talk. I didn't mention it in my original post, but that was my third option for service. As for getting an unlocked device, I'll probably have to buy one whether it's locked or not pretty soon, after seeing how much activity has been going on here lately, lol. Ebay again seems to be the cheapest route for getting an unlock code, and I'll have their buyer protection and Paypal in case the code does not work. (I will first, of course, call and/or online request t-mobile for an unlock after I get my T-mo account setup. Maybe I'll get lucky about unlocking before their traditional 60 days of prepaid service - if not, off to ebay it is cause I need to get my current ATT sim + number on it asap)
As for ebay codes, I've seen some cheap services that promise to unlock a phone by setting up some software on my computer and plugging the phone into the computer. They then do the unlock online. They are a lot cheaper than the regular "give us carrier and IMEI and we email code" services also found on ebay and the like. Can I trust this unknown software to be running on my computer and hacking into my phone?
I have not seen or heard of T-mobile's daily plans (like the $3/day you mention). Could you provide a link to where I can find more info on these plans? Also, if you think the $30/monthly unlimited text, data, and 100 minutes plan isn't that great, what plan(s) would you recommend? I am certainly never going to sign another contract, so prepaid or monthly is the only long term option if I decide to kill my grandfathered AT&T data plan (which is looking less likely as I know that I can expect good service where I go). I'm thinking you may be pointing me to one of their plans that allows data roaming on T-mobile affiliates? Because their post-paid data map looks a lot better, even comparable to AT&T.

If it's a T-Mobile phone and you have T-Mobile as your carrier, you can call customer care and tell them you just got service with them and are going overseas and need it unlocked so you can use a foreign sim card in it. Thay usually works well.
If not, ask to speak to a supervisor. When transferred, ask the person if they are a supervisor or just an escalation rep. If they are not a supervisor, ask them if they can help you still.
If they won't, ask to speak to an actual supervisor and try again. If all else fails, you do have a window of time to cancel, so you can always tell them you are thinking of canceling and they will probably transfer you to a retention rep. That one's a gamble since you're bluffing.
If retention won't help, hang up in the middle of a sentence and call back. Chances are, you will get a different call center and you can say you got disconnected and try the process again.
That gives you up to 6 potential reps who can help... and they can. I was customer care for a couple years and then in corporate engineering for several years. They are flexible, you just have to play the game.
Probably not the answer you want, but it's what you will have to do to get it unlocked quickly

Goodbye_Alltel said:
Good point about Straight Talk. I didn't mention it in my original post, but that was my third option for service. As for getting an unlocked device, I'll probably have to buy one whether it's locked or not pretty soon, after seeing how much activity has been going on here lately, lol. Ebay again seems to be the cheapest route for getting an unlock code, and I'll have their buyer protection and Paypal in case the code does not work. (I will first, of course, call and/or online request t-mobile for an unlock after I get my T-mo account setup. Maybe I'll get lucky about unlocking before their traditional 60 days of prepaid service - if not, off to ebay it is cause I need to get my current ATT sim + number on it asap)
As for ebay codes, I've seen some cheap services that promise to unlock a phone by setting up some software on my computer and plugging the phone into the computer. They then do the unlock online. They are a lot cheaper than the regular "give us carrier and IMEI and we email code" services also found on ebay and the like. Can I trust this unknown software to be running on my computer and hacking into my phone?
I have not seen or heard of T-mobile's daily plans (like the $3/day you mention). Could you provide a link to where I can find more info on these plans? Also, if you think the $30/monthly unlimited text, data, and 100 minutes plan isn't that great, what plan(s) would you recommend? I am certainly never going to sign another contract, so prepaid or monthly is the only long term option if I decide to kill my grandfathered AT&T data plan (which is looking less likely as I know that I can expect good service where I go). I'm thinking you may be pointing me to one of their plans that allows data roaming on T-mobile affiliates? Because their post-paid data map looks a lot better, even comparable to AT&T.
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I have always stayed away from anything that requires a cable. If they can't get you a code based on your IMEI, I don't bother. I used one of those once and I don't remember if it ever worked or not.
The daily plans don't seem to be well advertised on the site. I found them this time around by going to the "no annual contract plans" and then scrolling down to the bottom for daily and other services. Check it out here. I believe their prepaid coverage map hasn't been updated in ages on the site. Supposedly their prepaid coverage map is about 98-99% like their postpaid one. The main difference between the two is that prepaid doesn't allow you to do conditional call forwarding. This is necessary if you want to use another service for voice mail instead of T-Mobile's crappy voicemail.

When I signed up for Tmo they gave me 30 days to confirm if I wanted the contract. You can get a plan and if you dont like it you can just return it before the first 30 days are up and only pay for the minutes you used. This was a big deal for me as I cam from ATT like you, but needed to knwo how well the Tmo service was. I would suggest getting the unlimited everything for $60 a month. Tmo I must say has pretty good customer service. I have had a few problems with them but all it takes is a little social engineering on the phone (saying sprint/whoever will pay your ETF) and you can get some pretty good stuff
I got $10 knocked off my bill for the duration (18months or so) off my bill for an overcharge I got. I also got two free blazes 2 months before my contract was up for free as well. Plus, when/if they are bought out there is a good chance contracts will be altered/changed allowing you to get out of your contract early

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I feel like I have all the knowledge I need to go ahead with my plans. Now I just have to play the waiting game for the "right" one to pop up on Ebay. I will report back to this thread when I receive my blaze and whether I was successful with unlocking it, and any first impressions.
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)

dispozable said:
When I signed up for Tmo they gave me 30 days to confirm if I wanted the contract. You can get a plan and if you dont like it you can just return it before the first 30 days are up and only pay for the minutes you used. This was a big deal for me as I cam from ATT like you, but needed to knwo how well the Tmo service was. I would suggest getting the unlimited everything for $60 a month. Tmo I must say has pretty good customer service. I have had a few problems with them but all it takes is a little social engineering on the phone (saying sprint/whoever will pay your ETF) and you can get some pretty good stuff
I got $10 knocked off my bill for the duration (18months or so) off my bill for an overcharge I got. I also got two free blazes 2 months before my contract was up for free as well. Plus, when/if they are bought out there is a good chance contracts will be altered/changed allowing you to get out of your contract early
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when I had tmo a couple years ago it was 30 days. I just signed up early september, its down to 7 days :/
Goodbye_Alltel said:
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I feel like I have all the knowledge I need to go ahead with my plans. Now I just have to play the waiting game for the "right" one to pop up on Ebay. I will report back to this thread when I receive my blaze and whether I was successful with unlocking it, and any first impressions.
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)
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Click to collapse
nope. there's not many devices out there that support SDXC yet. As time goes on, it'll gain more popularity, but lets face it, as awesome as it is, the blaze is only a mid range device. I wouldnt trade it for any other phone out there, i love my blaze, but still.

jparnell8839 said:
when I had tmo a couple years ago it was 30 days. I just signed up early september, its down to 7 days :/
nope. there's not many devices out there that support SDXC yet. As time goes on, it'll gain more popularity, but lets face it, as awesome as it is, the blaze is only a mid range device. I wouldnt trade it for any other phone out there, i love my blaze, but still.
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Well, that's mildly disappointing, but it doesn't affect my decision making about the phone. I'll have to somehow get by with only 32GB of storage. Speaking of which, how close is a solution to the camera only being able to save to the paltry internal storage? I do like to take lots of pictures with my phone, so this is obviously something I would hope to find a solution to.

Goodbye_Alltel said:
Well, that's mildly disappointing, but it doesn't affect my decision making about the phone. I'll have to somehow get by with only 32GB of storage. Speaking of which, how close is a solution to the camera only being able to save to the paltry internal storage? I do like to take lots of pictures with my phone, so this is obviously something I would hope to find a solution to.
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You can do that with cm9. Idk why cm10 doesn't have it :/
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G

jparnell8839 said:
You can do that with cm9. Idk why cm10 doesn't have it :/
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. In a sense, CM9 has a bunch more features. When CM10 started, they basically started from scratch, and the focus was on project butter and some other things. Then they had to start forward porting their CM9 additions into CM10. There are a bunch of things in CM10 now that weren't there just a week or two ago. I think the camera thing will come, just like other features. It seems like the features are starting to come quicker too.
Keep an eye on the changelog. It lists the changes with each release

Goodbye_Alltel said:
On a side note, does anyone know if the new 64 GB microSDXC cards are supported by the blaze? I just know that I'm gonna feel the pinch of 32 GB eventually, lol. (I already had to be picky and choosy about what was on my 16 GB card before it died)
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I bought a 64gig card off Newegg about 3 months ago and it's been working just fine in this phone. In fact, what I read online indicated that just about every "recent" Android phone had no problems reading them at all.
So hey, ther'es that.
And yeah, having 64gigs is nice, especially since this phone has such small amount of user storage on the phone.

Cirkustanz said:
I bought a 64gig card off Newegg about 3 months ago and it's been working just fine in this phone. In fact, what I read online indicated that just about every "recent" Android phone had no problems reading them at all.
So hey, ther'es that.
And yeah, having 64gigs is nice, especially since this phone has such small amount of user storage on the phone.
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Is it standard sd or sdxc? I read the specs said it doesn't support it :/ but, trial and error trumps all I suppose
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G

jparnell8839 said:
Is it standard sd or sdxc? I read the specs said it doesn't support it :/ but, trial and error trumps all I suppose
Sent from my CM10 powered Galaxy S Blaze 4G
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all 64gb microsd are categorized as sdxc, and most of recent android phones do work with them.

I just switched to T-Mobile and got 3 Blaze phones. They should arrive today. I only took them because they were free, and I didn't want to pay for GS3's. I'll be selling one right away after the Note 2 is released. If your still looking for one in a couple weeks, lemme know.

Rob the plumber said:
I just switched to T-Mobile and got 3 Blaze phones. They should arrive today. I only took them because they were free, and I didn't want to pay for GS3's. I'll be selling one right away after the Note 2 is released. If your still looking for one in a couple weeks, lemme know.
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Dude, can I ask a HUGE favor? can you not root them immediately?
I'm trying to help the dude that's been helping me with the CM access. He wants to get a copy of a partition in a virgin state (ie... not rooted or modified at all). He's trying to find a way to reset the flash counter. I'm trying to assemble a stock ROM that will be pre-rooted and won't trigger the counter.
If you can avoid rooting 1 (or better yet, 2 in case more testing necessary), I'd really appreciate it. And it'll help the community in the end

I won't root them. What do you need?
Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

Eliminating the $5 and second line charge

Is it possible. I don't really need the second number. While it may be a nice feature to have. I don't really see myself using the watch without the phone being near me. I just want to use the watch in conjuction with my phone.
It would be nice if we could use the watch without the phone, ON THE SAME NUMBER instead. But i'm good with the BT connection.

snowwy66 said:
Is it possible. I don't really need the second number. While it may be a nice feature to have. I don't really see myself using the watch without the phone being near me. I just want to use the watch in conjuction with my phone.
It would be nice if we could use the watch without the phone, ON THE SAME NUMBER instead. But i'm good with the BT connection.
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Click to collapse
Dude I was in the same situation. I got mixed feedback from many different verizon employees. This is what I did, you need to buy the device full retail price. Add on the data plan and monthly line fee. If they do not activate it for you do not accept the activation, skip it. It will never show up on your account as long as it is not activated. If you did or they activated it you need to call in and cancel the service. You should not get an early termination fee because you bought the device at full retail. Luckily they did not activate it for me so I will only activate if it is an emergency. It is kind of an indirect safety feature. Now this is solely based on the feedback I got from a Verizon chat rep. I do not know if this will work the same for other providers. I disabled 3g connectivity completely and will never touch that setting again. The only thing is if I restart the phone it asks if I want to activate it, I just skip it every time. I know it does not show up on the account because I verified with Verizon and they said nothing is on their records. The rep also told me that they it should not be required to to use a data plan for the 3g device but the local Verizon store and website say otherwise. I needed to speak to a manager to buy the device because I told the employee that I was going to cancel the plan right after I purchased the device. He said we can't sell you the device if those are your intentions because that hurts us. I said that is not my problem let me speak to a manager. I wanted the 3g device for the speaker for call forwarding, Qualcomm processor, and bigger battery. In the end I got what I wanted. I hope this helps people trying to do the same thing.

The device is already activated. And shows up on my bill as a second number.
I don't care if it hurts verizon. I could have bought the watch for teh same price from bestbuy or whatever and they would have never known i had it.
Except, i got a $50 discount by buying the watch with the phone at the same time through verizon. $5 a month isn't going to kill me, It's just the idea of paying Verizon MORE then what we should be paying as it is. I mean, DANG. i can get sprint for half the cost i'm paying verizon. And have UNLIMITED services. The only reason i have verizon in the first place is because i'm a traveling man. Once i get a local job, I'm back with sprint.
Thanks for the reply.

snowwy66 said:
The device is already activated. And shows up on my bill as a second number.
I don't care if it hurts verizon. I could have bought the watch for teh same price from bestbuy or whatever and they would have never known i had it.
Except, i got a $50 discount by buying the watch with the phone at the same time through verizon. $5 a month isn't going to kill me, It's just the idea of paying Verizon MORE then what we should be paying as it is. I mean, DANG. i can get sprint for half the cost i'm paying verizon. And have UNLIMITED services. The only reason i have verizon in the first place is because i'm a traveling man. Once i get a local job, I'm back with sprint.
Thanks for the reply.
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I hear you man. Best Buy doesn't offer the Verizon Gear S2 3g yet. So you did not pay for the device at full retail? That's where they got you I think. I'm sure you can complain by calling verizon technical support.

The issue here is the eSIM. The 3G version has no SIM card, but instead the equivalent functionality built-in.
Because of this, the 3G version is only offered through carriers at the moment, because the eSIM must be flashed by Samsung or the carrier to bind it to the carrier. There is no consumer means for doing this, hence the 3G watch is not be sold independent from a carrier.
The eSIM, once programmed for a carrier, can not be changed to a different carrier (of course, this isn't TECHNICALLY accurate, it absolutely can, but this is a business model policy). So, again, no generic version.
I doubt there ever will be.

Just wondering why didn't you just buy the non cellular version if you have no interest in using that feature? Would have saved you money, and the headache of worrying if the line ever gets activated

TheEmpyre said:
Just wondering why didn't you just buy the non cellular version if you have no interest in using that feature? Would have saved you money, and the headache of worrying if the line ever gets activated
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Likely for the speaker, bigger battery and better processor.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

jlczl said:
Likely for the speaker, bigger battery and better processor.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
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Thats exactly why I got it. Mostly for the call forwarding feature. I got the bluetooth version for christmas and thought it was really dumb that there is no speaker included. So I returned it to get the 3g version. Luckily they did not activate it for me

i didn't know about the 3g differences. And apparently that's the difference. I thought i was just buying a second gen watch. For $250. Compared to bestbuy $300.
From what you guys are saying, apparently there's more to the specs then what i've been finding on the internet. Even bestbuy isn't listing the full specs. I'm guessing they aren't selling the 3g version.
I did my researching before deciding to buy. But apparently i didn't do enough research.
I guess my watch is on the payment plan with the phone. If i want to ditch the second phone number. I'll have to pay full retail to which i was quoted $500. The guy was speaking so fast he was more mumble jumble then plain and clear. So i have no idea on the actual price. I didn't even see the things listed on verizons websight.

I was also on the fence about extra plan for $5 or classic version. Now I actually was in situations when my phone was either in my car or left home and I was able answer phone call on my wrist watch.
Also I believe that esim can be either reprogrammed or reused by provider as long there is not active reactivation lok on the device.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

jlczl said:
Likely for the speaker, bigger battery and better processor.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Can't find anywhere what the difference in specs is for the 3g version.

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