I currently have Tmobiles $60 monthly 4G prepaid plan. I have been using an HTC G2 I bought off of craigslist. I just sold a Galaxy S and my G2 on ebay and have enough money to get an HTC Sensation 4G.
Will it be better to open a contract with Tmobile and get the phone for $100, or buy the phone off of ebay or the BST here for around $300. I do not know if there are any hidden fees or anything, and don't want to stray to far from $60 a month. What would you guys do? Im leaning towards buying the Sensation 4G off of ebay.
Extra: What phones are like the Sensation 4G and work with Tmobile 4G?
Screw the contracts. I'm on Simple and pay on $40 a month.
Pay cash for all of my phones.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Stay
Stay where you're at if you're happy with it - I pay about $180/month on contract with Verizon for just 2 phones....
I would stay on prepaid. My spouse was with US Cellular and the plan was supposed to be $79.99 a month for unlimited everything. It always came out to be about $140 with all the extra charges. Fees for this, fees for that. We're both on Simple Mobile now and pay $40 each... can't beat that!
if your on Prepaid Stay with it, one of the best things about T-mobile was the use of any phone on prepaid. Still kicking myself over going to a contract
Saito2185 said:
Still kicking myself over going to a contract
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Haha! Same...
pputhoo quoted
I vote for prepaid! No more unwanted bills, just pay and play each month
Especially if you get free extra bonus for extending your account balance with prepaid
Contract ends up cheaper in the long run.
I pay 29EUR a month. For me cheaper as prepaid... With prepaid i was at 60EUR or more a month... And i got a HTC Sensation XE but SGS 2 is better
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
I vote prepaid. I was on their monthly plan and it felt good being able to go to Verizon without paying them anything.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium HD app
Depends on where you use it for. Contracts in my country are obvious cheaper when you call alot, but if you only use mobile internet like me and almost never use up my montly call & sms limit then you might as well stay with prepaid, unless you can score a new phone without having pay high contract costs.
WiFi and voip are the combo I use, I just pay € 10 exclusive tax and then I call for 120 days free with a fup ofcourse and after those 120 days I just start using my credit and pay € 0,02 per min.
But my contract was with a free new phone on that moment worth about € 500 so that;s reason I have a contract with mobile internet, because it just cost me about € 4 each month, so I don't mind that I don't call so much.
But next time I will just stick with WiFi and use no sim card or prepaid as I think in my country the contracts are not cheap any more.
Yeah
I definitely think you should stay with what you have if your happy with it. I'm paying about $155/month on Sprint for 2 phones.
Verizon does offer prepaid for smartphones too, you just need to bring your own device. But, it's gonna run you $80.
Now, you can stay on Tmobile prepaid and use any GSM phone that's locked to Tmobile, or unlocked for any GSM provider(Granted that the phone has the right bands to support Tmobiles HSPA+ connection for full data speeds), but like any prepaid service you're gonna get the bottom of the barrel service. You do pay more with contracts 9/10, but you get so much better service and support. Sprint is going to be the cheapest and most flexible contract service at about $75-$85 after taxes with the starting 450 data plan(unlimited mobile talk, text, and data, 450 land line minutes nights and weekends start at 7), and phone selection isn't too bad either. Now you will be limited on 4g, since Sprint's Wimax service is next to nothing. If you don't have credit, you're looking at $50-$100 for a deposit.
AT&T is known to be the more expensive one out of the 3 carriers, but AT&T is actually just as much as Verizon would be. If you have no credit, you're looking at maybe $200-$400 for a deposit. For $90 a month, you get 450 land line minutes plus any minutes you don't use roll over to the next month, 5000 night and weekend minutes with rollover, unlimited texting, and 3gb of data. For service, it's hit or miss. AT&T will claim they have service in one area, but how AT&T does it is if they can even pull a single bar of service and connect to their towers, it counts as having service. Their LTE network isn't so big right now, but it's growing. Device selection is actually pretty decent right now, about the same as Sprint with the SII, the GS, a dual core Motorola device, a single core HTC phone, a dual core HTC phone, and the Iphones.
Verizon hands down has had the best service, and if you don't have credit maybe $125-$200 for a deposit. Verizon does have the biggest LTE network, and has a deal right now where you can get 4gb for the price of 2gb until the 31st of March on any LTE phone(but it has to be an LTE phone). Their plans are kind of limited though, $90 for 450 minutes, unlimited texts, and assuming you're going for an LTE phone 4gb of data. You only get unlimited to verizon phones, and nights and weekends start off at 9pm instead of 7 like Sprint. You can go up to 900 minutes for $20 more and get 10 numbers to get free minutes to however. Device selection is pretty decent for Verizon, but expensive. The cheapest LTE device Verizon pretty much has that's worth anything is the Stratosphere, but there's hardly any development for it. I love the service I get with Verizon, they're the only company in the Toledo area that has any type of 4g service, but the only reason I have Verizon now is because of the dealer plan Verizon offers to Radioshack employees.
If you're looking for your first contract phone, I wouldn't recommend Tmobile right now, but after they get the spectrum they got from AT&T setup then I would probably consider them, but easily for first contract go Sprint. Flexible, requires almost nothing to be approved, and decent service for Sprint. EVO 3d right now through Radioshack is $50 as well as the Photon, which would be the 2 most cost effective phones on Sprint right now.
vbetts said:
You do pay more with contracts 9/10, but you get so much better service and support.
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If by "service" you mean connection, are there any stats for this? I'm about to switch to their $30 prepaid, and would love to know if there's a catch.
i pay about $100.00 a month with AT&T and i don't have unlimited data. i'm about thinking about switching to prepaid as well when my contract ends.
thebobp said:
If by "service" you mean connection, are there any stats for this? I'm about to switch to their $30 prepaid, and would love to know if there's a catch.
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Most prepaid services are only going to have access to certain towers, meaning you couldn't use a Boost mobile phone that uses Sprint towers and roam off of Verizon or Clearwire, or any CDMA towers.
vbetts said:
Most prepaid services are only going to have access to certain towers, meaning you couldn't use a Boost mobile phone that uses Sprint towers and roam off of Verizon or Clearwire, or any CDMA towers.
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Is this a limitation for GSM-only phones (like mine)?
Edit: or is there any other limitation that you know of?
^ no he's referring to CDMA. Death to contracts.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Yeah... I regret going into a contract.. Paying around $100 a month just for 1 line and its not even unlimited data.
Luckily its up in July and I can hopefully go prepaid
Related
They always seem to have the best lineup (Nexus One, Nexus S, G2, MyTouch 4G, etc) but the absolute worst coverage and expensive plans! I know they're huge in Europe, but why are they so loaded in the US? Is there something I'm missing here? Sprint, who easily has the best prices and very good service, only has two "top-tier" phones in the EVO and Epic with nothing new on the horizon. Someone, please enlighten me!
expensive plans really? They are the cheapest compare to the other three.
samven582 said:
expensive plans really? They are the cheapest compare to the other three.
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Thank You. My wife and I had reps from Sprint, Verizon and, AT&T tell us that they cant touch Tmobiles prices. I know people with Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T and they all talk about how high their bills are and how they get charged for everything.
samven582 said:
expensive plans really? They are the cheapest compare to the other three.
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Sprint's "Everything Data - with Any Mobile, Anytime" gives you unlimited mobile-to-mobile (any carrier), unlimited nights and weekends, 450 "anytime" minutes, and unlimited everything else. Given the fact that pretty much everyone has a cell phone now this is essentially unlimited talk time. Price: $69/month + $10/month luxury tax = $79/month.
T-Mobiles's "Even More™ 500 Talk + Unlimited Text + Unlimited Web" is essentially the same as Sprint's aforementioned plan, but you can only call other T-Mobile customers with unlimited minutes, which is the smallest percentage of cell phone owners. Price: $79/month.
As you can see, you get the same price, but with Sprint you have a MAJOR advantage in the unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. A similar plan on T-Mobile is $99/month (same as Sprint's "Simply Everything," though unless you make it a habit to call landlines in the middle of the day the "Everything Data" is already fairly unlimited). This was my major problem with T-Mobile's pricing, so unless there's a secret plan that I don't know about Sprint is still cheaper.
there is....T-Mo has holiday plans 79.99 for 1500 mins...
basically the same plan you mentioned with a free 1k mins...
family plan avail aswell $150 for 3k...
i work at radioshack, we sell sprint, t-mo, and att
there is a BIG gotcha in those any mobile any time plans BTW.....
sprint has a huge list of rules for calls that qualify for anymobile any time...
such as you cannot be roaming, you must have data service not just voice service for said call to qualify (as in if you are not currently recieving a data signal your calls go against your minutes)
any call...
oh yeah and sprint's CDMA, thats the biggest reason they will never get my business, keep your grubby little hands outta my phone damnit!
ESKIMOn00b said:
there is....T-Mo has holiday plans 79.99 for 1500 mins...
basically the same plan you mentioned with a free 1k mins...
family plan avail aswell $150 for 3k...
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Click to collapse
Is that "holiday plan" eligible for further discounts (i.e. student) though? I'm assuming that you can only get it in-store since it isn't on the website.
dunno... i can get em over the phone but i am an inderect dealer... so try and find out, if not go hit up yout local RadioShack and ask for it
dunno about discounts...
you should also read my edit above
ESKIMOn00b said:
dunno... i can get em over the phone but i am an inderect dealer... so try and find out, if not go hit up yout local RadioShack and ask for it
dunno about discounts...
you should also read my edit above
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I saw that, but I've never used more than like 15 "anytime" minutes a month, and those were when I was calling my house. I can't really think of any times that I'm roaming, so that's a non-issue.
my MAJOR gripe is i cannot change phones at will, i have a MT4G G2 N1 G1 MT3G MT3G 1.2....
i like to bounce between the G2 MT4G and N1...
I would think that tmo (and other non-CDMA) carriers get the phones because they are GSM, which is closer to, if not the very same standard for those areas outside of North America.
Best regards,
-boggsie
ESKIMOn00b said:
my MAJOR gripe is i cannot change phones at will, i have a MT4G G2 N1 G1 MT3G MT3G 1.2....
i like to bounce between the G2 MT4G and N1...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is it that you can't change phones at will?
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Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
With CDMA you are stuck with your carrier's discretion when you want to switch phones(IE, you have to call them up go through an annoying process when you want to switch). With GSM it is your discretion, since its swaping over the SIM to the other phone you want to use.
First off, GSM ftw. CDMA need to just, die. WTF did they decide to invent it anyways. Dumb assest move.
Either way. T-Mobile is THE BEST. AT EVERYTHING. *if* you get good coverage where you live.
My plan with T-Mobile is 59.99 for 500 minutes (which I only use 200~ of), unlimited texting, and unlimited data (at 7.2mbps on my vibrant!), free WiFi tethering, and WiFi calling. Even More Plus ftw. No contract. Eff contracts. Did I mention the reps are nicer than any reps of *any* company? And actually speak English?
Also AT&T are overpriced pricks, Verizon same, but also CDMA, Cricket, too small, Sprint, their 4g is slower than T-Mobile's 3g, and they're CDMA...
The only issue with T-Mobile is the AWS bands being incompatible with euro 3g / at&t 3g. These phones need to come with radios to support both in all honesty :/. If I move to somewhere T-Mobile sucks, I'll cry a river. Can't go AT&T... Freaking thieves. We need more GSM providers.
~~Tito~~ said:
With CDMA you are stuck with your carrier's discretion when you want to switch phones(IE, you have to call them up go through an annoying process when you want to switch). With GSM it is your discretion, since its swaping over the SIM to the other phone you want to use.
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Oh, I thought you were griping about T-Mobile, so that's why I thought it made no sense.
Anderdroid said:
First off, GSM ftw. CDMA need to just, die. WTF did they decide to invent it anyways. Dumb assest move.
Either way. T-Mobile is THE BEST. AT EVERYTHING. *if* you get good coverage where you live.
My plan with T-Mobile is 59.99 for 500 minutes (which I only use 200~ of), unlimited texting, and unlimited data (at 7.2mbps on my vibrant!), free WiFi tethering, and WiFi calling. Even More Plus ftw. No contract. Eff contracts. Did I mention the reps are nicer than any reps of *any* company? And actually speak English?
Also AT&T are overpriced pricks, Verizon same, but also CDMA, Cricket, too small, Sprint, their 4g is slower than T-Mobile's 3g, and they're CDMA...
The only issue with T-Mobile is the AWS bands being incompatible with euro 3g / at&t 3g. These phones need to come with radios to support both in all honesty :/. If I move to somewhere T-Mobile sucks, I'll cry a river. Can't go AT&T... Freaking thieves. We need more GSM providers.
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What plan is that? Were you grandfathered in from a previous agreement, or is that an actual plan that I could sign up for?
That 500 min plan is a plan you can sign up for right now. You have to get it in store though.
~~Tito~~ said:
That 500 min plan is a plan you can sign up for right now. You have to get it in store though.
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?! No I got it online. Pay full price for the phone then get the discounted even more plus plan with no contract. And no. I switched over from Verizon. Well. Had Cricket for a year (was under 18 lmao) then tried Verizon out, which wasn't much better than Cricket, so I got T-Mobile. And even more plus. And I've been flying on the real, true nation's fastest mobile data network since. Except that I tried AT&T for 20 days and ended up losing 400$ out of that as well as 80% of my calls being dropped. Terrible month.
Anderdroid said:
?! No I got it online. Pay full price for the phone then get the discounted even more plus plan with no contract. And no. I switched over from Verizon. Well. Had Cricket for a year (was under 18 lmao) then tried Verizon out, which wasn't much better than Cricket, so I got T-Mobile. And even more plus. And I've been flying on the real, true nation's fastest mobile data network since. Except that I tried AT&T for 20 days and ended up losing 400$ out of that as well as 80% of my calls being dropped. Terrible month.
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Why is the plan with no contract cheaper than one with a contract? It seems like it would go the other way.
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Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
on the contract plan they are subsidizing the phone....
no contract = outright purchase of handset.
Tmo is way cheaper than I can get anywhere else, my wife and I have 5 lines on our plan with 3000 minutes, unlimited texting on all lines, and unlimited data on hers and mine. For about 200 a month.
My parents have two iphones on ATT with data and unlimited text and I think only around 500 minutes for like 120.
ESKIMOn00b said:
on the contract plan they are subsidizing the phone....
no contract = outright purchase of handset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that makes sense.
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Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
The ThunderBolt™ by HTC, the First 4G LTE Smartphone for Verizon Wireless Arrives March 17
ThunderBolt™ by HTC Available Beginning March 17
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and HTC today announced that the ThunderBolt™ by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, is available on March 17 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Powered by Android™ 2.2, the ThunderBolt by HTC is the first smartphone to take advantage of Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network. The ThunderBolt by HTC features the latest version of the HTC Sense™ experience, which offers enhancements including new personalization options, a consolidated e-mail inbox, and unique camera effects and filters. The ThunderBolt by HTC is equipped with support for Google Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™ and Android Market™ with thousands of free apps. Additionally, the ThunderBolt by HTC will feature 4G LTE optimized apps such as EA's Rock Band, Gameloft's Let's Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop.
Additional features:
4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area
4.3" WVGA display
8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording
1.3- megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities
Newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor
Mobile Hotspot capability – share 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices
8 GB of onboard memory and a pre-installed 32 GB microSD card (Actual formatted capacity will be less)
Built-in kickstand for easy media viewing
With the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.
Mobile Hotspot allows users to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the nation's fastest wireless network via an application available on the ThunderBolt by HTC. Mobile Hotspot will be included through May 15 for no additional charge. After May 15, customers may choose to activate Mobile Hotspot for $20 for 2 GB of data per month. Customers can track their data usage by downloading the My Verizon app available in Android Market or by logging on to their My Verizon accounts online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.
For additional information on Verizon Wireless 4G LTE visit www.verizonwireless.com/4glte. For more information about the ThunderBolt by HTC please visit www.verizonwireless.com/thunderbolt. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, Nasdaq: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless
yup, good news for all. the only thing that i and some others are wondering is how long unlimited 4G/LTE plans will be available and if verizon will someday alter existing plans to avoid grandfathered data plans.
This was confirmed yesterday....
Sweet!
Sent from my Droid
I was kinda underwhelmed by the incremental upgrade of this phone (though everything of course looks good about it...) but seeing the unlimited 4G without a price hike makes me seriously itch to see about jumping on this while it's still unlimited.
What do you figure the odds of being able to retain that unlimited data plan for your next phone after the tbolt are? For forever we kept an old verizon plan that was far cheaper and had unlimited data...until they coerced us to "upgrade" to use any new phones
I'm on At&T right now and I've been considering buying a contract for Verizon while the 4g unlimited plans are still available. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan right now and it includes 4g service (for my Atrix), but they haven't activated the HPSA+ in my area and it seems like they never will.
Does Verizon have a history of altering contracts whenever they feel like it or is it like what I have with AT&T where I can keep the contract, grandfathered, for as long as I don't alter it?
I would just hold out for the Bionic to come out, but it seems like that could be a few months and I don't want to miss out on the plan if it goes away...
ApplCobbler said:
I'm on At&T right now and I've been considering buying a contract for Verizon while the 4g unlimited plans are still available. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan right now and it includes 4g service (for my Atrix), but they haven't activated the HPSA+ in my area and it seems like they never will.
Does Verizon have a history of altering contracts whenever they feel like it or is it like what I have with AT&T where I can keep the contract, grandfathered, for as long as I don't alter it?
I would just hold out for the Bionic to come out, but it seems like that could be a few months and I don't want to miss out on the plan if it goes away...
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Grandfathered plan is grandfathered plan. Droid Bionic is supposed to arrive this quarter, so hop on board now.
johnchad14 said:
I was kinda underwhelmed by the incremental upgrade of this phone (though everything of course looks good about it...) but seeing the unlimited 4G without a price hike makes me seriously itch to see about jumping on this while it's still unlimited.
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^ THIS. When I heard about that this morning when I called VZW and tried to get them to give me the Wirefly price for the phone, I almost just said yes anyway. Living in Jersey City, right outside of NYC, i'm almost guaranteed that I will get 4g coverage. Now I just have to decide if I want to let go of my Incredible, it's so hard...
g00s3y said:
^ THIS. When I heard about that this morning when I called VZW and tried to get them to give me the Wirefly price for the phone, I almost just said yes anyway. Living in Jersey City, right outside of NYC, i'm almost guaranteed that I will get 4g coverage. Now I just have to decide if I want to let go of my Incredible, it's so hard...
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Did they match the price? I am thinking of doing the same to add two new lines to a plan. I might walk into a store and see if they will match wirefly or their own online 199 and waive activation. Effectively same as Wirefly in the end. Except for tax.
No they didn't match it, so I just bought it at their 2 year price. I didn't really try that hard cause it didn't matter that much to me . I'm sure with a little pressure you can get them to match it. I didn't have activation fees either.
Some guy was there actually getting 4 Thunderbolt's. 1 was an upgrade, 3 were for the family plan he was getting. They were working with him to make the total as cheap as possible for him. So like I said, with a little conversation, i'm sure you can get them to help you out in some way.
g00s3y said:
No they didn't match it, so I just bought it at their 2 year price. I didn't really try that hard cause it didn't matter that much to me . I'm sure with a little pressure you can get them to match it. I didn't have activation fees either.
Some guy was there actually getting 4 Thunderbolt's. 1 was an upgrade, 3 were for the family plan he was getting. They were working with him to make the total as cheap as possible for him. So like I said, with a little conversation, i'm sure you can get them to help you out in some way.
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interesting.....as seen in other threads here there are certain discounts online if you have an employee discount (e.g. my employer's verizon store portal shows $229/1 year and $199/2 year contract). i was going to go to a verizon store today to see the thunderbolt in person before purchasing, maybe i can get them to give me the online prices available to me. i'll head there after work and let you all know if i have any success in getting cheaper online prices in-store.
Yea, our company is one of the ones that offers 199/229 for 2/1 year contracts. So I can pick it up online for 229 for 1 year but tax and 35 activation put me way above Amazon or Wirefly+Fatwallet.
On the upside, if I do 1 year I can probably upgrade and sell the TB and recoup a large chunk of the difference if I need to.
HTC wasn't kidding when they said this isn't the phone you want, its the one after that.
I am more than happy with my G2 because I love having a hardware keyboard, but the unlimited LTE data plan is the reason I am leaving. I'm probably going to buy a multi-core phone well before my 2 year contract is up.
Just Bought ThunderBolt online and after Company Discount and Upgrade priceing I got it for 199.99 plus tax. Payed 250 ish Straight up. Im a Added line so I only pay 10$ a month plus 30$ Unlimited 4g Data plus 5$ insureance. My Monthnly bill is now gonna be 45$. *SNORTS*
bummer....the verizon i went to (and it was a corporate store, not an authorized retailer) said for whatever reason they don't match online corporate discounts. i'm heading back north to where i live tomorrow so i'll check out stores there, otherwise i'll have to get it online and wait for delivery.......blah.
i guess other people have nice verizon reps nearby who are either more accommodating or more eager to make sales.
bkiminfinity said:
bummer....the verizon i went to (and it was a corporate store, not an authorized retailer) said for whatever reason they don't match online corporate discounts. i'm heading back north to where i live tomorrow so i'll check out stores there, otherwise i'll have to get it online and wait for delivery.......blah.
i guess other people have nice verizon reps nearby who are either more accommodating or more eager to make sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
free online 2 day shipping. pretty fast.
Mine was $199 in store, but only because of my NE2 $50 discount.
Took advantage of work discount. -$50 off of price of phone but tax rapage on list price ate that and some. 22% off 450 min voice plan (no text since I use Google Voice). Activation waved. I'll be happy if I can get Verizon to add 450 bonus mins per month to match my Sprint plan.
Just want an opinion on 'Pay as you go' through T-mobile. My contract is up soon and I don't feel like paying the insanely high t-mobile bill as I do now for 2 lines. It would be cheaper to just get the $50/mo card. My question is, is it worth it? And is the service as far as 4G comparable if not the same? And will it work on my SGS4G using the 'Pay as you go' SIM?
Just trying to clarify for myself.
Look into Simple Mobile.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk
Simple its good service ....what I dont like that they slow ur internet if u use alot ...
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium
I'm just curious about the T-mobile pay as you go. If its worth it.
The monthly 4g is ok if thats what u mean, $50.00 unlimited everything but with 200mb of 4g. Its the exact same service as the contract plans. Its $60.00 for 2gb of 4g and $70.00 for 5gb. At least in my area, now the value plans are $100.00 for 2 lines unlimited everything with 2gb of 4g but I believe you have to sign a two year contract with those and have unsubsidized phones.
out west you only get 100mb of 4g for $50/mo, then it slows down to 2g speeds. If you use wifi a lot, this plan is okay, otherwise, you'll want the $60 or $70 plans.
Also, those monthly fees include tax and everything, so if you are on the $50/mo plan, all you pay is $50, no extra taxes or fees unlike the contract plans which add that stuff on top of your monthly plan cost
T-Mo PayGo
@thegoo
I had the T-Mo prepaid for almost a year before switching to a contracted plan and it worked well for me. I had the one with a 2GB cap (~$60 as D12005 mentioned) and the data speeds were pretty fast in my area (Tampa Bay, FL). As far as voice quality...I don't really know. I only use minutes in an emergency ("Where's my pizza?!") or when talking to my parents (which I avoid these days).
Their customer service (in-store) has always been very nice and helpful, as well.
Straight talk or Actual two year agreement? I can decide what to go with.
I went from Sprint to Straight Talk AT&T with a Galaxy S III (i9300). It depends;
1. Talk is Unlimited on Straight Talk
2. Text is Unlimited
3. Data is "Unlimited". There is no predetermined amount, but 2-3GB would be considered a safe amount. Anything over is grounds for getting your account terminated and requiring a new SIM and phone number.
Coverage is the same as AT&T (or T-Mobile if you pick a T-Mobile SIM) and you get the same HSPA+ speeds as AT&T (or T-Mobile with a T-Mobile SIM). The SIMs will worked in locked phones from the same carrier as the SIM (T-Mobile to T-Mobile SIM, AT&T to AT&T SIM). Both will work in unlocked phones. 99% of international phones are AT&T-compatible for 3G and 4G. Generally you get better coverage with AT&T, and speeds for me are great in here NYC, which is notoriously congested. I can go up to 5 Mbps in good areas, but more like 1.5-2 Mbps on average, which is great.
If you constantly stream and use a crapload of data, it's not for you. But if you use your data use is average or below average, you'll be fine. I've heard of people going up to 5GB of data and still being ok, but just know you're putting your account in danger if you do that. A good way to not lose your number if your data use is a little high (as in the one you have right now) is to port it to Google Voice for $20, and then use the Voice app to send and receive texts from your current number. You can also make your phone make and receive calls to and from that number as well. So if they cancel your account for whatever reason, you make another one and change the forwarding number in the Google Voice settings. That's it.
You really can't beat $45 a month. Unless you're not a big talker, then I would recommend T-Mobile's $30 plan that includes 100 minutes, unlimited text, and 5GB of data @ 4G speeds (unlimited altogether, but you get throttled after). But then you'll be sacrificing coverage vs. AT&T's coverage.
Product F(RED) said:
I went from Sprint to Straight Talk AT&T with a Galaxy S III (i9300). It depends;
1. Talk is Unlimited on Straight Talk
2. Text is Unlimited
3. Data is "Unlimited". There is no predetermined amount, but 2-3GB would be considered a safe amount. Anything over is grounds for getting your account terminated and requiring a new SIM and phone number.
Coverage is the same as AT&T (or T-Mobile if you pick a T-Mobile SIM) and you get the same HSPA+ speeds as AT&T (or T-Mobile with a T-Mobile SIM). The SIMs will worked in locked phones from the same carrier as the SIM (T-Mobile to T-Mobile SIM, AT&T to AT&T SIM). Both will work in unlocked phones. 99% of international phones are AT&T-compatible for 3G and 4G. Generally you get better coverage with AT&T, and speeds for me are great in here NYC, which is notoriously congested. I can go up to 5 Mbps in good areas, but more like 1.5-2 Mbps on average, which is great.
If you constantly stream and use a crapload of data, it's not for you. But if you use your data use is average or below average, you'll be fine. I've heard of people going up to 5GB of data and still being ok, but just know you're putting your account in danger if you do that. A good way to not lose your number if your data use is a little high (as in the one you have right now) is to port it to Google Voice for $20, and then use the Voice app to send and receive texts from your current number. You can also make your phone make and receive calls to and from that number as well. So if they cancel your account for whatever reason, you make another one and change the forwarding number in the Google Voice settings. That's it.
You really can't beat $45 a month. Unless you're not a big talker, then I would recommend T-Mobile's $30 plan that includes 100 minutes, unlimited text, and 5GB of data @ 4G speeds (unlimited altogether, but you get throttled after). But then you'll be sacrificing coverage vs. AT&T's coverage.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Straight to me sounds like a go.. My next question would be phone compatibility? I've been looking at several phones and i think either the DROID3, At&t skyrocket, Iphone4 or motorola atrix 2. Does any of these phones have to be unlocked.
Protip 1: Prepaid is the way to go. You can chop and change at any time then.
Protip 2: Always buy your phone outright. That gives you maximum flexibility. Unless it's a CDMA handset, then you'll need to be with a crowd that has CDMA network.
MrDavon24 said:
Thanks for the info. Straight to me sounds like a go.. My next question would be phone compatibility? I've been looking at several phones and i think either the DROID3, At&t skyrocket, Iphone4 or motorola atrix 2. Does any of these phones have to be unlocked.
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Click to collapse
As long as they're AT&T branded or unlocked they'll work (for the AT&T network). The DROID 3 will need to be unlocked and you'd also need to enable domestic GSM on it (I know it's a Verizon phone but not sure if it's global).
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium HD app
Product F(RED) said:
I went from Sprint to Straight Talk AT&T with a Galaxy S III (i9300). It depends;
1. Talk is Unlimited on Straight Talk
2. Text is Unlimited
3. Data is "Unlimited". There is no predetermined amount, but 2-3GB would be considered a safe amount. Anything over is grounds for getting your account terminated and requiring a new SIM and phone number.
.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tks for info :good:
For me a 2 year contract is better
here in my country it's more economic and you feel free to talk, text, data like whatsapp
Don't ever go with prepaid unless you are tough with cash !!
Hesham_3del said:
For me a 2 year contract is better
here in my country it's more economic and you feel free to talk, text, data like whatsapp
Don't ever go with prepaid unless you are tough with cash !!
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Click to collapse
Like you said, in your country it's better. Not here. Here it's crazy expensive to go with a contract.
Another for prepaid. You will definitely get more bang for your buck, if you are ok with coming out of pocket for a non-subsidized phone.
lowandbehold said:
Another for prepaid. You will definitely get more bang for your buck, if you are ok with coming out of pocket for a non-subsidized phone.
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Click to collapse
Which you would end up paying more for over a 2 year period with a contract.
I would provide to buy a phone when the contract is not so good. For example my contract:
monthly 27€ for phone and 5€ for the internet flat with 50sms/min
24x27=648
24x5=120
24x??? what i have more to pay
The easiest way would have been that i bought my phone for a price of <600€ on some portals and than a cheaper contract.
Let's do the math. On Sprint, 1 line with unlimited text and data (and however many minutes, I forget), is like $80 before tax. So let's say it's $90 after.
$90 * 24 = $2160
+ $200 for a phone (average price, not counting tax) = $2360.
Prepaid on Straight Talk (unlimited talk, text, and data*)
$45 a month, about $50 for me after taxes.
Let's say you spent $700 total for a Galaxy S III after taxes. This is the most expensive phone I can think of, so think of this as the lowest possible savings. You can get a cheaper phone like a One X or just bring your own AT&T/T-Mobile phone and not pay anything!
$50 * 24 = $1200
+ $700 = $1900.
$2360 - $1900 = $460 savings, and even more if you buy a cheaper phone or bring your own phone! And it's even BIGGER if you're coming from a more expensive plan. To be clear you're getting the SAME coverage and data speeds as AT&T or T-Mobile on Straight Talk.
Product F(RED) said:
Let's do the math. On Sprint, 1 line with unlimited text and data (and however many minutes, I forget), is like $80 before tax. So let's say it's $90 after.
$90 * 24 = $2160
+ $200 for a phone (average price, not counting tax) = $2360.
Prepaid on Straight Talk (unlimited talk, text, and data*)
$45 a month, about $50 for me after taxes.
Let's say you spent $700 total for a Galaxy S III after taxes. This is the most expensive phone I can think of, so think of this as the lowest possible savings. You can get a cheaper phone like a One X or just bring your own AT&T/T-Mobile phone and not pay anything!
$50 * 24 = $1200
+ $700 = $1900.
$2360 - $1900 = $460 savings, and even more if you buy a cheaper phone or bring your own phone! And it's even BIGGER if you're coming from a more expensive plan. To be clear you're getting the SAME coverage and data speeds as AT&T or T-Mobile on Straight Talk.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for all the replies
depends on your service provider.
if this can handle growing subscribers with no problem on service then go for it..
but for me i'll go for prepaid,
in 2 years there will be a time that you will hate your phone not using it right...
$90 a month
That is alot. Buy a huawei and a top up card. Get a prepaid data bundle with the top up,get a prepaid text bundle with the topup,use the balance to call.
Edit: I think sprint calls them prepaid phonecards. I could be wrong.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Well, my sister ended up giving me her Iphone 3Gs. I will be using this for the time being until I can save up to get one of the other phones that was listed. After I get the BYOD sim. What else needs to be done. Would the MMS work properly?
MrDavon24 said:
Well, my sister ended up giving me her Iphone 3Gs. I will be using this for the time being until I can save up to get one of the other phones that was listed. After I get the BYOD sim. What else needs to be done. Would the MMS work properly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not without jailbreaking, I believe. However, you can go here on your iPhone: http://www.unlockit.co.nz and select US - Straight Talk and it should automatically set up your APN for you.
How do you get a att phone to work on straight talk anyways?
Sent from my Kindle Fire
Mark930 said:
How do you get a att phone to work on straight talk anyways?
Sent from my Kindle Fire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you choose the AT&T ST SIM, you just put the SIM in it and then fill in the APN info for data. That's it. There's no unlocking necessary because the phone thinks it's an AT&T SIM. When you fill in the APN info though, don't fill in the Proxy parts (except for MMS Proxy, that you'll need for MMS).
Product F(RED) said:
Assuming you choose the AT&T ST SIM, you just put the SIM in it and then fill in the APN info for data. That's it. There's no unlocking necessary because the phone thinks it's an AT&T SIM. When you fill in the APN info though, don't fill in the Proxy parts (except for MMS Proxy, that you'll need for MMS).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool is there a good website that shows you step by step I might try that out.
Sent from my Kindle Fire
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.