Hi, all.
I realised today that having a 5GB cap on my main internet connection is pretty low, since I either go over it or edge close to it every billing cycle. It really sucks when they throttle it; it's worse than EDGE in most cases, and totally impossible to use with work. Since I found out that they now have a plan with a 10GB data cap, I figured I'd jump on it.
Turns out that not only would doing this extend my contract two more years (don't want to do this), it would actually increase the amount I pay now since the rate plan on the 5GB data plan was increased to $49.99 from $39.99. That obviously sucks.
Worse, I head over to Verizon's page and they're offering the same plans at, practically, the same prices. On top of that, they have real 4G coverage (FiOS- or cable-ike speeds) whereas T-Mobile's HSPA+ signal is not great in my area (not much better than 3.0 Mbps DSL connection).
I'm extremely close to switching (don't mind paying cancellation fees; could probably get some of them back from selling the modem) , but want to hear other people's experiences first. Does anyone here have a data plan with them and, if so, are you satisfied?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
well i just signed up with tmobile oct 17th and today i am already over 1gb. I wil be switching back to sprint simply because they have the unlimited data. I am really pissed though because i don't like any of sprints phones.
So I'm currently paying $25 a month for T-Mo's "Unlimited" plan. Basically uncapped data, gets throttled after 2GB. I started this plan about 2 years ago when that was the only thing they had at the time.
Now many a time, I've been offered an alternative "Cheaper" plan. - 2 GB cap for 15 a month. I think that they do this because deep down they're pissed that I'm grandfathered into a good plan.
I want to pay less for Data, but T-Mo is being very obtuse with me regarding their available plans currently.
I'm not even sure I should try and change. Currently I use about 1.5 gigs a month between Spotify, Netflix, and FTP/SSH on my phone.
Any help / advice?
If your usage is regularly less that 2 GB I would save the $10. I was granfathered in but I realized the badge wasn't worth $120 a year.
Generally I agree -
Thing is, data usage is always ramping up. Two years ago, most people would have laughed at you at the thought of downloading 2 Gigs a month through a mobile device.
Now, with Tethering, Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, FTP, Games, among many other things becoming mainstream mobile data hogs, I'm wondering if I'm going to see myself regret this decision in two years, because while I saved $120 a year for two years, now I have to bump up to this $40 dollar a month data plan that effectively negated all my savings.
I would like to hope that the government would come in and lay down some restrictions on these plans, or a rogue white knight cell phone carrier breeze in with low rates, but that's wishful thinking.
The fact that Texting costs $5 a month is a farce, and these Data rates are out of line for the service being delivered compared to home wireless delivery. -but that's a different argument.
So let's start this off by saying I tend to be a very frugal person. So frugal that about a year and a half ago I opted to get the Galaxy Tab (7 inch) from Verizon on a 2 year contract for only $100 on a $35 a month 3GB data plan. I slapped Skype on it, grabbed an online number and tied that into my Google Voice account and for a total of $41~ a month ($6 a month on average for an online number for Skype and unlimited minutes) I had a device with unlimited calling, unlimited texting, and 3GB of data which turned out to be plenty since I used the wifi when I was at home. This was awesome despite holding up a 7 inch tablet to my head to make phone calls, which I didn't care. I mean yeah people look at you funny but I was the one laughing since I was saving over $50 a month on my phone bill. And I could play Angry Birds on a big screen! I really really loved this setup.
I sold that tablet to my brother 9 months ago now and he just kinda carried over the plan. I did that since I moved to Chile for that amount of time and now I'm moving back to the States come next week and I want a similar setup. No carriers offer data only plans though that work well in my area. I switched from AT&T to Verizon since big red's coverage was 100x better where I mostly used my phone. However the data plan I had gotten with that tablet has gone away due to the "Share Everything" stuff although it still is only $40 a month for the share everything tablet data plan but none of the newer tablets they offer catch my eye since I really want that 7 inch sweet spot which is actually able to still fit in most of my pant's back pockets. This brings me to my best thought so far but there's one large caveat...
Mobile hotspots. I have narrowed down the choice between Verizon's Mifi 4510L and US Cellular's Samsung SCH-LC11 and then using that to connect to a Nexus 7 which looks like a better and more powerful Galaxy Tab that I had only used a year ago. I'm definitely leaning more towards US Cellular though since they offer a 2 GB plan for $25 a month and only an extra $10 per GB used above the 2GB limit while Verizon's crazy pricing for their Mifi 4510L starts at $50 a month for 4 GB of data which I'd probably never use all of it. I never even used 2 GB from what I remember from before. Although that's still a huge bargain compared to pretty much everyone else who has opted for those ridiculously overpriced plans for their rinky dinky smartphones. I kid of course. The base pricing for the devices is $188.99 out the door for a pre-owned certified Mifi 4510L without a contract and $200 (after $50 MiR) for the Samsung on a 2 year contract. After a year the Samsung would save me $300 but that's also stuck on a 2 year contract, although if I had to cancel it'd only be $150 to do so and I'd still be ahead $150 above big red. But the one large caveat to this is the battery life which on the Samsung is about 3 and half hours active usage and the Mifi 4510L says 5 hours but the Samsung has a removable battery. Now I drive fairly often and at my work and home I'll more than likely have wifi access, thus negating the need to plug in the mobile hotspot, the tablet however would also use up more battery due to the wifi being on all the time. It's definitely a trade off but one I'm willing to make I believe since on the US Cellular (Which has really great service where I live although I don't believe I can get 4G from either) side of things I'd be saving $900 a year.* So what does xda think about this? Any thoughts or insight? Other suggestions that I more than likely missed? Or mistakes in my plan? (I've been known to make plenty of those.)
Now I do know that it doesn't have to be a tablet. I'm tempted to get the Galaxy S III off-contract and just use it wirelessly the same way. However I'll still be lugging the mobile hotspot wherever I'll be. Other bonuses to the hotspot is... It's a hotspot. Super easy to share my connection. Although I was able to do that with my old Galaxy Tab very easily as well so not a huge deal. Thanks to those that stuck through my huge post and seemingly large amount of rambling. I didn't mean to post this much but it just turned out this way.
*This is accounting that I never have to pay an extra $10 for a GB over the 2GB use and accounting for a $100 for a normal plan. I could go ahead and say I'd be saving $1800 over a normal smartphone plan although I have around $400 to put down at first so saying an average smartphone goes for $200 with a 2 year plan I'm still saving $1600 once those 2 years are up.
TL;DR - I'm cheap and want to get a mobile hotspot and use a tablet (Nexus 7) connected to it via wifi as my phone to get the cheapest monthly data plan and run all my talk and texts through Google Voice / Skype.
I have been a loyal Sprint customer for ten years now (please don't judge). At one point, I was even on SERO and my wife convinced me to switch to a family plan (once again, please don't judge). Anyway, here I am today out of contract with 2 smartphones (Evo and Epic 4G), 1500 anytime minutes, an Airave (since Sprint doesn't work in my home), terrible 4G service (in Central Florida) and a $155/month bill all after a 22% discount. I'm ready to make a drastic change.
After looking at Sprint's website, combined my wife and I use a monthly average of 1200 minutes (about 1000 of them are mobile-2-mobile), 3000 text messages, and about 1.9GB data. We are pretty equal on data on texts, but I use about 300-400 minutes and she uses the rest (her phone doubles as a work phone).
I have been going back and forth with either renewing Sprint, signing my life away to Verizon, or going prepaid. The benefit of going with Verizon is that I also get a 17% discount (work) off their service. However, that only covers the data plan (stupid). So, I could fork over about $138+tax and move to unlimited everything with 4GB of shared data. My wife likes this idea because we don't have to worry about roaming and Verizon has decent service in Central Florida (as well as other places that we travel). Plus, she can get an iPhone 5 (but she may change her mind if navigation doesn't improve). Since we have a newborn though she is constantly taking pictures with her phone and sending them to family so I thought an iPhone 5 would be decent for that.
I like the idea of buying a couple of Galaxy Nexus's and going with two Straight Talk lines. We have been on Android devices for so long I hate to give them up especially after seeing Jelly Bean in action. Plus to me an iPhone is just like my iPad just pocket sized...why do I need two? However, if we travel to an area where there is no service the phone doesn't Roam, it just stops working. She is in sales and unfortunately has to work at times such as Christmas where we will be in an area where T-Mobile and/or AT&T don't work but Verizon does.
I thought about even putting her on Straight Talk and me on TMo $30 using the VOIP (since I work from home I don't see myself going over 100 cellular minutes a month if I'm careful).
Now, I've been reading about Solavei ($50/mnth) which allows roaming but I'm not to keen on MLMs. (I've seen MLMs break a few friends). However, since you don't have to participate in them this could be an option.
So, the question is, what would you do? Is the Galaxy Nexus worth the $350 on a prepaid vs. buying an iPhone 5 and getting locked for another 2 years? The money isn't really the issue (since we are already budgeted for the $155 per month but it would be nice to save some $$). How often do you find yourself Roaming on Straight Talk or TMo? How is the VOIP? What about Solavei (I read a forum about it and it sounds enticing, but once again MLMs bug the hell out of me).
I guess I'm not looking for some straight answers, but maybe someone to help me straighten out my thoughts. I really appreciate any feedback.
Thanks for reading.
I've started a Whitehouse.gov petition to fix the cell phone subsidy problems. The cost of early termination fees are out of control compared to the wholesale and retail cost of phones and I'd like to see the phone subsidy (or financing) billed separately from the service cost. This would make it extremely clear to all (even those who don't currently understand subsidies) how much the phones are truly costing them and hopefully improve pricing on the big carriers.
We need 150 signatures to get this to a public state where anyone can view it on the site. I'm requesting help from everyone to get these signatures to 150 and beyond. Please post on your Facebook and Google+ to get your friends and family to help out too.
Go here to view the Whitehouse.gov petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/require-fair-and-clear-pricing-wireless-services-and-wireless-devices/wf5hYdxd?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl
The petition is as follows:
The federally permitted duopoly of AT&T and Verizon Wireless has severely hurt competition and driven up prices in the wireless services industry. This has occurred while wireless service prices elsewhere have plummeted due to technological improvements reducing the cost to deliver service. A 3 point approach is required to protect consumers:
1. Require separation of the true cost to the consumer for the phone hardware and wireless service so that they are billed separately.
2. Prohibit early termination fees that exceed the remaining balance of the fair market value of the subsidized or financed wireless hardware.
3. Require all carriers to offer wireless service without any financial penatly or increased cost of service for using a customer owned device.
Now before anyone tells me to own my cell phone service, please note that I already have with a Nexus 4 (previously G'nex) and Straight Talk, SIMple Mobile, and Solavei. I'm pushing this petition for everyone who doesn't yet "own" their service and to improve the future market overall.
While I agree with you about how you feel about contract services, I'm not sure how I feel about needing this to be legally policed.
The thing with the phones being subsidized is that I don't see this as being a perfectly cookie-cutter direct relation to the monthly contract price. Why is it wrong for a business to offer an incentive for a customer to sign a contract ? People need to do research and have willpower - why should people have to be legally protected from making bad choices ? Casinos, liquor, and cigarettes are legal, after all.
The problem I see with point 2 is that it's not just about the hardware - it's about trying to leave a contract that you agreed to before the end of the term. Would you rather they take people to court over it ? It's like signing any contract and people should take it seriously instead of expecting to just get out of it if they want to - if you stop making car or rent payments the contract-holder isn't going to just say, "o, that's okay, I'll let you off free this time because you seem so nice". If you sign a non-disclosure or non-compete agreement, they aren't going to say, "o, you sound so nice over the phone and you're having a bad time, just go right on ahead and break the contract we won't pursue it".
The real "solution" here isn't legal action, it's public awareness. Awareness that a contract is a serious agreement - and that they have options and need to think about if a contract is best for them or not.
The solution is educating people on their other options - if people talk with their money, the companies will hear it (and at this point, they're already starting to listen).
You're preaching to the choir. A two year contract is a real commitment and shouldn't be taken lightly.
However, think about it in a little bit different light. The carriers are a legalized duopoly. This has significant benefits to us - remember when we only had regional carriers and we had to pay exorbitant per minute roaming rates? Now virtually every carrier includes roaming free, because they each have such a far reach with their existing network. We also have near seamless coverage wherever we're driving.
Despite these benefits of having only a couple major carriers, keep in mind that the carriers use public assets to provide service. Their spectrum is leased, not owned, and the spectrum is public property. Furthermore, they are in a unique position to take advantage of us, and they do. Think of the utilities that we use for our homes. You usually only have one choice for electricity and one choice for natural gas service to your home. Because if that, the utilities are regulated to protect the consumer. But, it really only makes sense to have one of each of these utilities in any area due to the high cost of the infrastructure.
I see cell carriers in the same way. Allow them to provide the benefits that they provide with their massive, high quality networks, but protect the consumer from abuse.
Let's take a look at typical discrepancies on a high end android phone subsidy.
Retail cost of phone: $500-600
Likely wholesale cost of phone to the carrier: $300-400
Cost to the consumer on contract: $200-300
Maximum amount of money to be recouped by the carrier due to subsidy: $200
Now lets look at the cost of the subsidy of two years:
Monthly contract cost: $90
Two year contract cost: $2160
Monthly prepaid plan (being conservative, they're typically lower): $55
Two year prepaid plan: $1320
You can't possibly look me in the eye and tell me that a $350 ETF is right or ethical. The carriers are recouping over over $800 to cover the cost of the phone in this scenario, and I'm erring on the low side. Remember when the ETF used to be $125-175? The carriers tell us that advanced devices cost more than feature phones did, but that's a pure lie. In the day of lower ETFs, feature phones had the same high retail pricing that smart phones do today.
You may or may not be surprised to know how many people I talk to about cell phones who don't understand phone subsidies. It's unfortunate, but not everyone understands it.
I'm on a personal mission the take as many people as possibly away from the major carriers and I've been very successful. Many people don't realize the prepaid options they have. But, we unfortunately need regulatory intervention to truly fix the problem.
I hate the fact that I don't have options right now because I'm locked into a contract until December. When I truly looked at how much I'd save over the two years, it made me sick.
If everyone just did a little bit of simple math they would leave Verizon and ATT. I am leaving to go to straight talk when my contract is up.
I think most people want what they want though. And that is the latest and fastest tech out there that's available to them and when they're offered it 5 to 6 months before they're contract is up at a "discount", then they jump at it. But we all know that in two years, your new tech will be way out dated and you will have paid twice what it's worth. It's rent-a-center for smartphones. It just doesn't make financial sense.
That's just my two cents.
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---------- Post added at 06:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 AM ----------
But I will have to disagree with you that we need regulatory measures. You would be taking away one's freedom to make choices. No one is forced to sign the contract just as no one is forced to buy a home or car that they can't afford to keep up. People need to be educated on how to live within their means by keeping a budget and sticking to it and learning to say no to themselves sometimes. Just because something is available to us or that we can afford the monthly payments, doesn't always mean we should buy it.
People no longer ask whether or not they should or shouldn't do this or buy that. They do everything they can to acquire the latest tech, gadget or possession thinking it will satisfy their unending desires. The problem is, they don't satisfy us.
Why do you think people are obsessed with rooting and constantly flashing roms? Because we get bored with our current os or how our phone looks and feels, so we think by flashing a different rom or mod, it will keep us happy and satisfied.
The only reason I'm saying this is because I'm just as guilty, but am learning how to be content with what I have. The moment I start becoming discontented with what I have, is when I buy into the lie that I just need to upgrade my phone and sign another contract to make me happy.
But to say that I need the government to tell me that I can't takes away freedoms and personal responsibility. Sometimes we need to make mistakes to realize that the decisions we made weren't so beneficial after all.
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If you read the petition, it's actually a pretty reasonable request. As a business owner myself, I am generally anti regulation.
My proposed regulations merely require separate billing of the subsidy and service and prohibits the carrier from recouping more than the value of the subsidized equipment in the event that you decide to end your contract early. It is my hope that showing people exactly how much the contract costs them might encourage people to make the right choice. I don't want the government telling people what they have to do, but I do want them to ensure that people are not lied to.
But I fully agree with you that people have lost the common sense to live within their means. I think it's particularly clear as a result of our economic crash related to the housing industry.
On the note of your contract through December, do the math. You may break even quicker than you think. I left Verizon in August, 11 months into my contract. I had a 6 month break even period, so it was a win in the end. I keep telling everyone that I know about the ROI of switching, and I've had pretty good success with friends and coworkers.
If my wife and I were to end our contracts right now, we'd save $90/month switching to straight talk. A couple of problems. The up front cost of early termination fees and buying GSM phones when both of ours are cdma only usable on Verizon. Pretty sure we'd more than break even over the course of the next 10 to 11 months. We don't have enough saved to pay up front. My wife loves her iPhone 4 and she could probably find someone on Craigslist who would trade a GSM for her cdma. I have a dx2 and could probably get 50-75 for mine. To buy a comparable GSM phone would cost me atleast 200. This all is off the top of my head. Any pointers or tips on the cheapest and best way to do this?
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Juice3250 said:
If my wife and I were to end our contracts right now, we'd save $90/month switching to straight talk. A couple of problems. The up front cost of early termination fees and buying GSM phones when both of ours are cdma only usable on Verizon. Pretty sure we'd more than break even over the course of the next 10 to 11 months. We don't have enough saved to pay up front. My wife loves her iPhone 4 and she could probably find someone on Craigslist who would trade a GSM for her cdma. I have a dx2 and could probably get 50-75 for mine. To buy a comparable GSM phone would cost me atleast 200. This all is off the top of my head. Any pointers or tips on the cheapest and best way to do this?
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The aspect of having the financial resources to buy out your contract is a very common issue. Sometimes waiting out the contract is the best thing to do and obviously only you can ultimately make the right decision for your finanaces. If you make enough money, consider setting aside an extra amount of money every paycheck to get to the point where you can buy out your contracts. Maybe you can stop going out to eat for a month? Maybe you can skip the big trip with the kids over spring break? There's often a place to cut your budget if you feel it's the right priority.
I know that the Verizon iPhone 4 devices have GSM built in and it might even be unlocked already. However, unless jailbroken, I don't believe you can access the APN settings to use a different carrier. I'm not an iPhone expert, I'm all Android. I do think it's possible, and Verizon will likely give you a SIM unlock code if you need it and ask for it, just ask for the unlock code before you terminate your service.
I purchased a GSM Galaxy Nexus, unlocked when I switched. Then I bought a Nexus 4. Those are your best bets for going contract free, however there are other options. But the Nexus phones have the right bands to work with T-Mobile or AT&T, allowing you to hop MVNOs to chase the best price.
Start by reading this thread to get an understanding of prepaid smartphone service: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
If you can't afford a Nexus phone, read this article for some ideas: http://androidandme.com/2012/12/reviews/best-unlocked-android-phone-for-any-budget-december-2012/
A great domestic source for a plethora of unlock phones: http://www.gsmnation.com/
Also, Amazon.com is a great source for unlocked phones.
Remember, you're paying less for service because you're not getting a phone subsidy. Expect to pay an exorbitant amount for your phone, but you will be rewarded by crazy cheap service!