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[Q] What plan to get?

Hi guys,
This may really be irrelevant to android or the nexus s but since i spend the most time in these forums and i cant find anywhere else to put this question i thought i might ask it here.
I'll be travelling the US this coming April for 3 weeks. Since i will be calling US numbers a lot (to make bookings and stuff) i decided not to go for roaming. I also want a data plan so I can tether if neccessary.
Anybody know of any prepaid data and voice plans? Also, my phone is a Nexus S I9020T from the UK (unlocked). Thanks

Well if u have tmo bands, you're gonna have to get tmo plans (or their prepaid company, idk what its called) for 3g use/tether.
Unfortunately I'm not on tmo so idk what pricing they offer. You'll just have to research their sites. Sorry
Edit: I just remembered that tmo USA now offers a prepaid unlimited everything plan. Not sure how that affects tethering but I wouldn't be surprised if ur nexus was able to pull it off. Just search into that.
Sent from my Nexus S

T-mobile will offer both monthly no contract plans and prepaid.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium

AT&T allowing iPhone owners to upgrade and keep unlimited data!

What the hell is this crap? At&t is allowing iphone owners to upgrade to i5 at a subsidized price and still keep their unlimited data. But it's only for iPhone users. First we get screwed for being on Verizon and then we get screwed for not being iSheep? Lame! Here's the info:
AT&T just released a press release announcing availability of the iPhone 5. That certainly shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but a tid-bit within the press release certainly has grabbed out attention. AT&T has announced that it will allow those who purchased AT&T’s unlimited data plans from 2007-2010 to continue to use it even when purchasing the iPhone 5 at a subsidized price. AT&T discontinued its unlimited data plan in 2010 and moved to a tiered data plan, which it has since reprised and restructured, but those who originally purchased the unlimited plan were allowed to hang on to it as long as their contract remained unchanged. AT&T has been throttling those plans for different tiers in especially in high traffic areas..
Over the past year Verizon Wireless, like AT&T, has moved away from unlimited plans as users move to new LTE data plans that feature shared data. AT&T has taken a similar approach, offering its customers shared data plans that can be used across every device on a specific plan, including tablets. AT&T is also requiring users to sign-up for the expensive shared plans in order to use iOS 6′s FaceTime over 3G feature. Verizon Wireless on the other hand hasn’t revealed its plans. At the other end, Sprint is continuing its approach to touting its “sharing is not caring” unlimited data plans.

I'd stick with Verizon. Better coverage in most areas. This is a good strategy for AT&T to keep their customers though.
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At least we aren't being forced to move to shared data plans just to use facetime over cellular data. Thats ridiculous. But I feel like this is what Verizon should be doing. Let us unlimited data users keep our unlimited data. But not let it be only for iphone users like AT&T. So if you want this phone on verizon, you'll have to pay about $700 off contract if I'm correct just to keep your unlimited data
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they are compensating for the ridiculously dissapoint iphone
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flash_27 said:
I'd stick with Verizon. Better coverage in most areas. This is a good strategy for AT&T to keep their customers though.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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True. And plus, AT&T actually DOES throttle their 4G data too! I'll stick to my Verizon unlimited thank you, even if it means I have to pay full price for my phones.
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ATTs LTE coverage is almost non existant, good strategy to keep people from jumping to Verizons LTE boat.

ilogik said:
ATTs LTE coverage is almost non existant, good strategy to keep people from jumping to Verizons LTE boat.
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really? I keep seeing these commercials where att says theyre LTE network is larger than verizon's or something like that
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xXJay_RXx said:
really? I keep seeing these commercials where att says theyre LTE network is larger than verizon's or something like that
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I don't know how they get away with that, I laugh whenever I see those. Coincidentally I work for a company that is engineering ATTs LTE national rollout and all I can say is that it will be a long while untill ATT catches up with Verizon's LTE coverage.

Even if AT&T's 4g footprint is larger it still isn't true 4g
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The only reason so many people have AT&T is because the original iPhone forced them to that carrier. Years later, most of those people realize there is better service elsewhere. People have no reason to remain loyal. This is a promotion top keep people who could go elsewhere.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

xxx420 said:
What the hell is this crap? At&t is allowing iphone owners to upgrade to i5 at a subsidized price and still keep their unlimited data. But it's only for iPhone users. First we get screwed for being on Verizon and then we get screwed for not being iSheep? Lame! Here's the info:
AT&T just released a press release announcing availability of the iPhone 5. That certainly shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but a tid-bit within the press release certainly has grabbed out attention. AT&T has announced that it will allow those who purchased AT&T’s unlimited data plans from 2007-2010 to continue to use it even when purchasing the iPhone 5 at a subsidized price. AT&T discontinued its unlimited data plan in 2010 and moved to a tiered data plan, which it has since reprised and restructured, but those who originally purchased the unlimited plan were allowed to hang on to it as long as their contract remained unchanged. AT&T has been throttling those plans for different tiers in especially in high traffic areas..
Over the past year Verizon Wireless, like AT&T, has moved away from unlimited plans as users move to new LTE data plans that feature shared data. AT&T has taken a similar approach, offering its customers shared data plans that can be used across every device on a specific plan, including tablets. AT&T is also requiring users to sign-up for the expensive shared plans in order to use iOS 6′s FaceTime over 3G feature. Verizon Wireless on the other hand hasn’t revealed its plans. At the other end, Sprint is continuing its approach to touting its “sharing is not caring” unlimited data plans.
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The part about only iphone IS NOT TRUE. You can upgrade to any smart phone be it iOS,android or WP7/8 and stay on the "unlimited" data plan.
I knew when verizon got bigger than AT&T that they would start doing crap like this and pass AT&T on pissing every one off.
I know if I could get unlimited LTE with a unlocked phone, I would say good by verizon and your sucky locked down phones and your slow as sprint 3G with "droped", but not really droped call's on any phone I have used. ( 2 Razrs and one S3)
Now I like AT&T bashing, but say some thing like they throttle or there sales men try to get you to go to the 3GB plan or send you a bill $20 over the norm with out it being listed as going over my min,text or data. ( They paid for that one)

I think it is a slap in the face to all Android users. I would rather stick with Verizon who f's everyone equally then dictates what phone they think you should use.

xXJay_RXx said:
really? I keep seeing these commercials where att says theyre LTE network is larger than verizon's or something like that
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I bet many people like you are thinking that AT&T actually has huge 4G Footprint lol

They have the largest and fastest 3g network there HSPA+ network (I think that's what they call 4g) reaches 8 mb download vs Verizon 2-3 mb on 3g but Verizon has a large and really fast 4g network
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I really with i hadn't caved so easily about loosing my unlimited plan now I'm paying $15 more a month for 5 gigs I guess its too late now.
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Think about why it is only for iphones. They are paying $199 for the number 5 instead of a 4s on the phone. It the same phone, so techniclly they have the same phone. Just they are just losing $199 for no reason.
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xxx420 said:
What the hell is this crap? At&t is allowing iphone owners to upgrade to i5 at a subsidized price and still keep their unlimited data. But it's only for iPhone users. First we get screwed for being on Verizon and then we get screwed for not being iSheep? Lame! Here's the info:
AT&T just released a press release announcing availability of the iPhone 5. That certainly shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but a tid-bit within the press release certainly has grabbed out attention. AT&T has announced that it will allow those who purchased AT&T’s unlimited data plans from 2007-2010 to continue to use it even when purchasing the iPhone 5 at a subsidized price. AT&T discontinued its unlimited data plan in 2010 and moved to a tiered data plan, which it has since reprised and restructured, but those who originally purchased the unlimited plan were allowed to hang on to it as long as their contract remained unchanged. AT&T has been throttling those plans for different tiers in especially in high traffic areas..
Over the past year Verizon Wireless, like AT&T, has moved away from unlimited plans as users move to new LTE data plans that feature shared data. AT&T has taken a similar approach, offering its customers shared data plans that can be used across every device on a specific plan, including tablets. AT&T is also requiring users to sign-up for the expensive shared plans in order to use iOS 6′s FaceTime over 3G feature. Verizon Wireless on the other hand hasn’t revealed its plans. At the other end, Sprint is continuing its approach to touting its “sharing is not caring” unlimited data plans.
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Click to collapse
Verizon offered me to keep my unlimited data, at 4G speeds, but the total price of my old plan would be higher than my unlimited voice and text with 2 GB of data. Personally, I don't use a ton of 4G, mostly only at work, so this was doable for me. Verizon told me if I moved to a new subsidized phone (the S3) I would lose my unlimited data... So I could have paid full price or brought in my own phone, but my bill went form $172 to $130. Can't complain.

yyhd said:
True. And plus, AT&T actually DOES throttle their 4G data too! I'll stick to my Verizon unlimited thank you, even if it means I have to pay full price for my phones.
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This. After you use your 3 gigs you are throttled to edge speeds... which makes Verizon 3G seem rocket fast.
But AT&T is allowing grandfathering for all devices still (though I'm glad I'm with vzw. I prefer true unlimited). And they allow people to sign up on their old plans. That is what I wish Verizon had actually done. In the past week we have signed up roughly fifteen people on AT&Ts old plans. In fact due to our system being archaic, we can't sign people up directly to the new plans.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

I think they are just advertising it for iPhone because of the boosted sales they might see. AT&T from what I hear is losing customers.

I'm glad the iPhone users can't get unlimited LTE. Less strain on the LTE network for us. Especially for me where basically everybody has an iPhone.

[Q] AT&T Nexus 4 help

So I walked into AT&T to help my girlfriend go from her non-smartphone plan to the prepaid $65 a month data plan so that she could use an unlocked Nexus 4 using the plan. Before you say she should switch to T-mobile that isn't an option (I wish it was).
The lady there said that she didn't think the Nexus could work using that plan because something about it having 4g capabilities. To my knowledge the Nexus 4 is NOT a 4g device (not LTE anyways), and I left very confused about something I thought would be extremely easy.
Could anyone explain to me how you would use the Nexus 4 on AT&T's prepaid plan, or AT&T in general. Were they just trying to bait me into getting her a 2 year contract?
Thanks for any help!

furthermore...
I am talking to a rep. online who says the $65 a month data plan only allows for 3g speeds regardless of phone, so what are my AT&T options off contract that allow for 4g speeds?

Keeping 4G unlimited Data plan.

I signed up with verizon two years ago with HTC thunderbolt with a 4G Unlimited data plan. After that I have been just buying secondhand phones. Now I am up for an upgrade, but I know if you upgrade through verizon they will strip you of your unlimited plan. But I also heard that they are doing this to customers who have 3G smartphones, in order to get everyone to 4G. But if you have been grandfathered into a 4G unlimited plan, can you upgrade and still keep your unlimited plan.
I am not able to get a correct answer from anyone. Has anyone recently, who has 4G unlimited plan been able to upgrade and keep their plan.
Thank you in advance.

diljosh said:
I signed up with verizon two years ago with HTC thunderbolt with a 4G Unlimited data plan. After that I have been just buying secondhand phones. Now I am up for an upgrade, but I know if you upgrade through verizon they will strip you of your unlimited plan. But I also heard that they are doing this to customers who have 3G smartphones, in order to get everyone to 4G. But if you have been grandfathered into a 4G unlimited plan, can you upgrade and still keep your unlimited plan.
I am not able to get a correct answer from anyone. Has anyone recently, who has 4G unlimited plan been able to upgrade and keep their plan.
Thank you in advance.
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As of right now, Verizon is making everyone go to a share everything or tiered data plan. Those of us who are grandfathered in will have to switch to one those plans. But here's the kicker. This is only if we want to take advantage of subsidized phone options. For those of us who want to continue to have unlimited data will have to pay for our phones outright. So either we can enjoy phones at a cheaper pace (at least until VZW gets rid of subsidized phone options) or we can pay the 4-700 dollars for a new phone and keep our unlimited plan.

I'm keeping my plan on principle.
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looks like no upgrading for me , just keep buying second hand phones.

I upgraded from an Incredible2 3g phone to the GN2 keeping my unlimited data by adding the new phone to one of my 2 "dumb phone" lines, then moved the GN2 to my line. The Verizon store Rep offered to do this for me knowing that it is a loophole to keep your unlimited data. I'm sure eventually that loophole will be closed, by I can speak from personal experience that it works. Several others have done the same thing. Hope this helps.
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I upgraded and kept my unlimited data as well, there's three lines on my account and as long as I always transfer the upgrade to the line that doesn't have data, then after the upgrade switching phones with that line I still keep my unlimited. So in summary as long as you have a line without data in your account you can keep unlimited by doing an alternative upgrade.

Pro-tip:
Ask for an "A-List" device at the Verizon store. A-list devices are devices returned within the first 14 days they allow exchange. Mine was from someone who could not handle the power of Android and had to dumb it down to iOS, saved me a couple hundred bucks to let them borrow it and I still got a warranty :laugh:
I payed $640 out the door (Accessories+Tax) months ago for my S3. 16GB White, Car Charger, Screen Protector 3pk, UAG case, new SIM (Do not pay for sim or activation corporate stores do it free, private will too if you mention this).

[Q] New Verizon phone advise...

I am just a very short time away from being able to walk away from Big Red (feb 20). i am very reluctant to do so. I love the unlimited data. I am on an old alltel plan from yrs ago. So my question is if i stay with verizon what would be a great phone to purchase that should have a great development like my current phone the galaxy nexus. what phones are all these great developers using who still want to stay with verizon. I am seriously considering ordering the Note 3 Developer edition for verizon off of the samsung website. i am in line for one. they were on backorder. what do you think?

I have unlimited data on multiple lines, which is pretty much the only reason why I am still on VZW. They will probably kill all unlimited data plans either this year or next year, it is just a matter of time. When you give up VZW unlimited data, you will never get it back. Ever. Yes, T-mobile offers "unlimited" data but there is a catch: you are throttled after you go over 3 GB. So before you walk away from unlimited data, be sure you have your priorities in check. What is more important to you, having unlimited data or a phone that is not locked down? If it comes down to how much money you can save on another carrier, then that is another matter, and obviously a top priority for most people. But I would strongly encourage you to think about it long and hard before giving up unlimited data until VZW forces it.
Regarding your question about phones, unfortunately VZW is notoriously anti-open and anti-consumer, and that is not going to change. With each new generation of devices, they force OEMs to make it increasingly difficult to unlock bootloaders and root. I am not telling you anything you don't know here. VZW has managed to gimp all of their latest devices so much that the development scene is very slow compared to just a few months ago. If you check out the VZW development threads, you will see what I mean. I have a Note 2 and Note 3. The Note 2 community is still fairly active considering how long it has been out, and many devs have moved on to other devices. But the Note 2 isn't crippled with Knox, which is why the Note 3 dev scene is so pale in comparison. Unless you have a Note 3 DE, you are stuck on TW based roms, probably until the end of time. And Samsung's miniscule allotment of DEs has prevented it from becoming the superstar phone that it could (should) have been. You can hold out for a DE, but the fact that so few people have it means there will be lack of interest & effort from devs to build roms for it. So in reality if you stay on VZW, you must decide if you want TW or no TW. If you like TW, then by all means get the best TW phone available (Note 3). If you want more options like AOSP-based roms, then consider the LG G2 or the upcoming G2 Pro (if it even comes to VZW). The G2 dev community is pretty active, much more so than the Note 3. Alternatively, you could get an older phone like the Note 2 or S4 with an established dev community, and just wait & see what comes down the pike.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

sublimaze said:
Yes, T-mobile offers "unlimited" data but there is a catch: you are throttled after you go over 3 GB.
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That's completely untrue. T-Mobile unlimited means unlimited. You're throttled if you are below their $70 plan. I'm currently on their $70 unlimited everything prepaid plan and haven't gotten throttled and I'm at around 5GB of usage this month. The $60 plan is 2.5GB before throttle. The $50 plan is 500 MB before throttle. There's also a $30 plan that's 100 minutes (10c/minute after), unlimited text, and 5GB before throttle. All plans include LTE.

Product F(RED) said:
That's completely untrue...
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Actually you just proved my point. Unless you are willing to pay $70/month, you WILL be throttled. But thanks for clarifying the cutoff figures.
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sublimaze said:
Actually you just proved my point. Unless you are willing to pay $70/month, you WILL be throttled. But thanks for clarifying the cutoff figures.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
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Actually, no. You made a broad-sweeping statement, insinuating that no matter what plan you're on, you'll be throttled after 3GB of usage. Try being more specific next time.

Product F(RED) said:
Actually, no. You made a broad-sweeping statement, insinuating that no matter what plan you're on, you'll be throttled after 3GB of usage. Try being more specific next time.
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The take home point is this:
The OP is currently on a Verizon unlimited data plan, which means truly unlimited and doesn't need to be qualified by how much he pays per month.
Verizon unlimited is truly unlimited and unthrottled. T-mobile's service is unlimited so long as you are willing to pay a premium. If you are unwilling or can't afford to pay that premium, then you will be throttled. My original statement may be "broad sweeping", but there is an equally broad number of people that will not pay a premium for truly unlimited service.
So comparing the OP's current unlimited data plan to T-mobile's unlimited data plan is not necessarily comparing apples to apples.
But thank you for your exceedingly helpful contribution to this thread about what phone to use on Verizon :thumbup:

sublimaze said:
The take home point is this:
The OP is currently on a Verizon unlimited data plan, which means truly unlimited and doesn't need to be qualified by how much he pays per month.
Verizon unlimited is truly unlimited and unthrottled. T-mobile's service is unlimited so long as you are willing to pay a premium. If you are unwilling or can't afford to pay that premium, then you will be throttled. My original statement may be "broad sweeping", but there is an equally broad number of people that will not pay a premium for truly unlimited service.
So comparing the OP's current unlimited data plan to T-mobile's unlimited data plan is not necessarily comparing apples to apples.
But thank you for your exceedingly helpful contribution to this thread about what phone to use on Verizon :thumbup:
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Chances are if you're in Verizon, you're already paying a "premium" over T-Mobile. Take it from me, I used to be a Verizon employee and I'm a current T-Mobile customer. Happy now?
To the OP:
Any Verizon device Galaxy S4 or later supports AWS LTE (which is what T-Mobile uses for LTE). So if you buy one of those phones and switch, as long as you live in an LTE area you will get full service (EDGE, HSPA+, LTE). However if you're looking to start new and buy or subsidize a T-Mobile phone, you have to ask yourself what you want in a phone.
Personally, I would recommend either the Moto X Developer Edition (because you maintain warranty even if you unlock the bootloader), or the Nexus 5 (a natural choice). I personally prefer and own the former and absolutely love it. It's pretty much stock Android with a few useful additions like active notifications, touch less controls, etc. And the unlocked and Developer Editions get their updates straight from Motorola. Matter of fact, I just got the 4.4.2 OTA update a few days ago.
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Thank you every one for a few choices that i really havent paid attention too. the moto x de. and the g2. Look guys... i pay 110 a month for one freaking line but is unlimited data. if i switch to tmobile i will save money per month just in the bill alone. i plan on buying any phone i get straight up. no contracts. i want to be free and clear. so tmobiles $70 unlimited plan is the way to go if i cannot manage to find me a phone on verizon that has a strong development community behind it. i KNOW what coverage is like with verizon here in my area. i was taken by the larger screen of the note3. all i want is me some AOSP roms. not a fan of TW really. the galaxy nexus has just spoiled me to AOSP. its over @ yrs strong and still running the up to date Android versions. unlike the previous droids i have owned. verizon support gone after six months. i want a good phone that will be viable in the android world for maybe the next 2 yrs.
i am scared to bite the bullet and leave big red. really dont know what their coverage is like here. 8 yrs ago it sucked.

gnexuser said:
Thank you every one for a few choices that i really havent paid attention too. the moto x de. and the g2. Look guys... i pay 110 a month for one freaking line but is unlimited data. if i switch to tmobile i will save money per month just in the bill alone. i plan on buying any phone i get straight up. no contracts. i want to be free and clear. so tmobiles $70 unlimited plan is the way to go if i cannot manage to find me a phone on verizon that has a strong development community behind it. i KNOW what coverage is like with verizon here in my area. i was taken by the larger screen of the note3. all i want is me some AOSP roms. not a fan of TW really. the galaxy nexus has just spoiled me to AOSP. its over @ yrs strong and still running the up to date Android versions. unlike the previous droids i have owned. verizon support gone after six months. i want a good phone that will be viable in the android world for maybe the next 2 yrs.
i am scared to bite the bullet and leave big red. really dont know what their coverage is like here. 8 yrs ago it sucked.
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Moto X, trust me. It doesn't need any custom ROMs. It just works. I promise you. You can root if you want and install a custom recovery. At most maybe XPosed with some modules. But ROM-wise, it's amazing out of the box. And this is coming from a guy who has a ROM'd Galaxy S4 too.

There are 3 threads devoted to discussions about devices, please repost your question in one of these three threads: The what should I buy thread or the The Device Suggestion Thread or the The Device Comparison Thread.
Thanks!