Hello everyone. Glad to be a new member of you community.
Recently I moved from Europe, now I'm living in California. At home I was enjoying a super fast Internet, here my free wireless service is a nightmare. Now I'm looking for a wireless unlimited solution for my laptop. That's why I want to buy a 4G LTE smartphone, using tethering to get unlimited bandwidth nationwide. Firstly, I made some research, I have find out that only 3 carriers have unlimited plans : T-Mobile, Sprint and MetroPCS. Because Sprint and MetroPCS is using CDMA technology, I'll go with T-Mobile 70 $ Unlimited plan, but unfortunately only 500 MB for tethering. So, my questions are:
1) Is T-Mobile the right choice in this matter?
2) Which 4G LTE capable smartphone is best suited for this job ? (I'm ok with rooting, custom roms, etc.)
3) Is there another reasonable solution, maybe not using my smartphone for this job but let's say, a usb modem or a contract with a Wireless ISP ?
I don't care much about the smartphone's futures, like camera, screen, design or battery as long as I can tether it on 4G LTE network. Thanks in advance.
P.S: Sorry for my terrible English, it's not my first language.
Related
Is there a way to use simple mobile on the sidekick?
If soo could someone point me to a thread to (unlock the sidekick 4g to another simcard) would help a lot
Thank you
Shystep
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
simple mobile can be used on the sidekick. i personally am on tmobile, but have looked extensively at simple mobiles website. they have detailed instructions on how to set up android devices to run on simple mobile. as far as unlocking, do a search. there is a thread on this website about unlocking the sidekick. keep in mind that simple mobile does not allow tethering (connecting phone to pc to use as modem), so if you plan on tethering, simple mobile may not be for you. they may turn your data off if they catch you doing it, as it is a violation of their terms and conditions. but other than that, simple mobile sounds like a good idea. i chose not to switch because i dont want to break my contract with tmobile and also dont want to change phone numbers again. in the last three years, i have had 11 different numbers.
Wow!
Thank you for the information
Ill be looking at there website since i switch my phones out (sidekick4g to the Samsung Galaxy s 2)
both on t-mobile and since i like my sidekick i use it for personal use and my sg2
for business use
and since t-mobiles plans like to charge me up the wall i cant afford both phones atm
I hear ya. for $60 a month, you can get unlimited talk, text, and high speed 4g data from simple mobile. for two phones that would be $120. thats a better price than tmobile.
Yes 200$ a month is crazy
I pay $150/mo. for two lines, and I share 1,000 min with my wife. we also have unlimited text and web with 2gb of high speed data per line included. I think its like the second cheapest family plan, but the cheapest only includes like 500 min or something like that. the 150 is after taxes though.
But what simple mobile did not tell you is on the 4g you only get so much data
Sent from my HTC cm7 g2 using xda premium
Nope. Nevermind, casper. You're the guy who made that other post complaining about simple mobile. the data is unlimited on the phone, they just dont allow tethering. it says right on the webpage they dont allow that, and its a violation of their terms and conditions. thats your fault, not theirs. so dont come in here talking trash just because you are mad that you cant tether.
Sidekick 4G works just fine on Simple Mobile. No unlock is needed as Simple is a Tmobile MVNO.
APNs need to be changed per instructions available online just like all other Androids.
they might be on a tmobile network in your area, but they might use other providers' networks in other areas. a lot of prepaid providers use several different carriers networks, spread out over different areas. tmobile might have offered them the cheapest price in your area, but att or someone might offer them a cheaper price in my area. tracfone for example, uses tmobile, att, and even sprint. their phones are all gsm, but sprint provides airtime to some of their devices. and they use more than one network in the same area. it wont tell you that on their website or in a user manual. i called tracfone to ask if an unlocked phone could be used with a tracfone sim. they said no and gave me all the info i just explained above.
Alienworx
I'm using an unlock ATT samsung galaxy s2 skyrocket and yes I'm rooted only difference is that I flashed a T mobile radio to get the 4G as to before it was only 2G
Hi,
I will be moving onto a houseboat on saturday and am looking for an internet solution.
I am hoping to find the cheapest plan that offers me good speeds and unlimited data (if not at least a lot of GBs, MIN 10)
I will be living in marina del rey, in los angeles.
I am currently using a samsung galaxy S 1 (GT-i9000m) with straighttalk as my carrier. I pay 45$ a month for unlimited talk text and web (though the reviews say that if you go over 2GB you will likely get disconnected), the fineprints say that i am not allowed to do mobile hotspot on this plan (and they dont have an option to add that feature) but I use it everyday on the bus for webbrowsing and have not yet received any notifications (2 months in)
I would like to buy a seperate mobile hotspot device (be it a cheap used phone, or a dedicated device) and use it as my internet router on the boat. I also refuse to sign a contract, so am only considering monthly plans.
I am a heavy data consumer who sometimes uses over 100GB a month, but if need be, i will curb my habits when on the boat.
I have already done a somewhat rudimentary comparison of my options which i will list below.
T-Mobile has a cheap hotspot device for 40$ here http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Phones/cell-phone-detail.aspx?class=prepaid&cell-phone=T-Mobile-4G-Mobile-HotSpot-No-Annual-Contract-Refurbished
and they have a plan that has unlimited 4G speeds for the first 5GBs for only 30$ a month. http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans
I do not think I would be allowed to hotspot on this plan, and i do not know if they have an option to add that feature for xx$
also, that hotspot device is not LTE compatible (i think), but could I get LTE speeds on that plan if i bought an LTE hotspot phone/device?
Virgin Mobile has a plan for 35$ that claims unlimited 4G (though the fineprints say that only the first 10GB are 4g speeds), this plan is made for hotspots, so theres no problems there. http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband-plans/broadband-2-go/overview/
and they have hotspots for 80$ here http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop...-2-go/sierra-overdrive-pro/features/#features
MetroPCS has a reasonable offer as well
they have a 55$ plan that has true unlimited LTE service http://www.metropcs.com/metro/detail/per+month+4GLTE/4G4ME55
but i have been told by one of their reps that I cannot hotspot with this plan and cannot pay to add that feature.
Would they know if i put their SIM in a hotspot device and used it as such?
Which hotspot device would work well with MetroPCS LTE?
I think those are the only options i have found.
do you guys know of any other ones?
did i miss anything?
how does the carrier know if i am tethering?
thanks!
With my OG Evo coming to a slow end in support (Thanks to ALL the devs btw for the BEAUTIFUL roms) and my contract coming to an end in March, I'm looking to decide to either stay on Sprint, or switch to the other two widely known markets.
I would like some pros and cons from REAL users and devs here please. Any dope can google, but I trust only those said in XDA. I would like to get a GS3 for xmas, but I need to decide to either get it for sprint, or wait and see what I can do when my contract comes up. A close friend of mine says ATT atm is the way to go with their HSPA+ networks as 4g is old, and LTE isn't as widely available yet. But I'm worried about dropped calls and customer support... AND/OR pricing plans. I'd like something under 100$/mo as my sprint atm is only 85.
It really depends on your area and the infrastructure. Personally, switching to T-Mobile was a great choice for me - I have great coverage all over my city. I'm on the $30/mo plan with 100 minutes, unlimited texting and 5Gb of data at 4G speeds (throttled after). It's great for me because I used an average of 100 minutes a month (all minutes factored in) - some people use VOIP to make that go farther, but it depends on your needs.
What carrier offers what you need ? Do you really want to enter another contract ? Does a contract offer give you any benefits (roaming, mobile-to-mobile, et cetera) ? What do you actually need and use ? How many minutes / texts / data ?
As for network technology and "the future", I don't know. Do you use tons of data ? Does it have to be super-fast ? Chances are that by the time a contract is up or a phone has seen better days, the technology is going to be in a different place, anyway. Streaming Netflix is about as heavy use as I do and it only uses 1/5 of the bandwidth available to me. I'm sure data and use will be changing in the future, but who knows what it will be like when it's time to get a new phone / contract ? Who knows what mergers and agreements will happen between then and now ?
I never experienced a "dropped call" on any network - and although I spend most of the time in the city (where there's great coverage on any network), I live in the boonies and routinely made calls on my way to and from work - and I've done so on every network but ATT. But clearly I don't make THAT many calls if I'm only using an average of 100 minutes a month.
I would think for that kind of information, it would be best to ask locally. When I was shopping around for a new phone-plan, I asked all my co-workers who they had and if they liked it.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Stay with Sprint!!
Hey there,
Stick with Sprint for sure. Although other carriers are presently better in coverage in certain areas, you can't beat what is on the horizon for Sprint!! Nextel is being decomissioned, towers being migrated to Sprint, LTE being integrated into them as well as existing towers. Exciting frontier of change coming from Sprint. Sprint also has the most spectrum (essentially air rights regulated by the fcc inhibiting wireless growth) aka wireless realestate! Sprint comes in slightly higher than double the nearest carrier being verizon. Once what Sprint calls Network Vision (their network overhall) is complete, we will be so far advanced compared to nearest competitor. Not to mention the prices in correlation to being the only carrier who offers truly unlimited, unthrottled data blows it all up out of the water. This is both publicized and internal information known in correlation to recent and soon mergers. Trust me
If you found this information helpful feel free to hit the thanks button!
Hi All,
I live in a remote area and need an unlimited connection for home use... The Sprint network is great here, however the "unlimited" plan limits tethering to 5gb. I was looking at the LG G2, or Nexus 5, (I have a Nexus 7 and love it) but it seems as if Pdanet/Foxfi will not work.
Is there a work around for the G2 or is there a similar phone that will allow me to share my unlimited data? (Don't mind rooting, just not too familiar with it)
Want to be totally informed before signing up for a 2 year agreement.
Thanks for any feedback, and sorry if this isn't posted in the right area.
Have you considered a Sprint Mobile Hotspot. I have the newest Netgear 4G LTE version and it has been outstanding. This device comes with TRUE Unlimited Data. It's the 3rd Sprint Hotspot device I've had and this Netgear blows the other two out of the water in reliability, connection stability, speed, and a battery that will last 2 (business) days with moderate to heavy use. --- It also recently lit up with the Sprint Spark icon. While this upgraded service is not yet available, the device is obviously ready for implementation.
http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/sho...Product_Feed&gclid=CPfxs6nK97wCFUiEfgodhHsANA
This summer I maybe going up to to a cabin a few times that has very marginal reception. There is no internet there, we have a few phones with unlimited data and 5gb tethering. Of which I use a few hundred mb each month and my parent's use like 10mb a month. Other people going can live without their phones and internet for a weekend but I just can't, plus I need my netflix fix.
I'd like hotspot my phone, put my dd-wrt router into repeater bridge and point it to my hotspot phone.
My question is 2 fold
1) which phone has the best reception ability, my phone will jump from 2g, hspa, to 4g LTE (lg g2 vs980 running tmobile rom). 2g and shotty hspa is not good enough to stream some video.
2) which phone is easiest to hotspot without it registering going over 5gb has I think 5gb only lets me watch one or two netflix movies. I'm not sure editing the apn still works for this.
Thanks
jedisurfer said:
This summer I maybe going up to to a cabin a few times that has very marginal reception. There is no internet there, we have a few phones with unlimited data and 5gb tethering. Of which I use a few hundred mb each month and my parent's use like 10mb a month. Other people going can live without their phones and internet for a weekend but I just can't, plus I need my netflix fix.
I'd like hotspot my phone, put my dd-wrt router into repeater bridge and point it to my hotspot phone.
My question is 2 fold
1) which phone has the best reception ability, my phone will jump from 2g, hspa, to 4g LTE (lg g2 vs980 running tmobile rom). 2g and shotty hspa is not good enough to stream some video.
2) which phone is easiest to hotspot without it registering going over 5gb has I think 5gb only lets me watch one or two netflix movies. I'm not sure editing the apn still works for this.
Thanks
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Boost Mobile has a Moto e4 right now at Walmart. It's an inexpensive phone with a lot of networking abilities. I have read somewhere outside of XDA that if you don't have the boost sim in the device during the first time boot; it doesn't bind to the sprint/boost carrier or prl update (citation - 1). I haven't confirmed the carrier lock, but I can confirm the boost e4 variant to have an unlockable bootloader through Motorola. There are several great guides for the E4 here, and right now Best Buy and Walmart have em cheap (around 50 bucks)
The E4 works well on both GSM and CDMA networks. Oh, and hey. If you happen to get better service out at your cabin on CDMA (Boost/Sprint) channels and decide to go with their service you can get 25$ added to your account by clicking the referral here ---> https://refer.boostmobile.com/aRUsDjz-9p55CL
*Citation* https://slickdeals.net/f/10235008-s...talk-text-data-free-w-eligible-device-sim-req