[Q] Phone plans with my android! - General Questions and Answers

Hello,
I will be moving to the US next Thrusday and I still can't understand some thing regarding plans.
I just bought a Nexus 5 here it Italy.
Now my question is:
My relatives have family plans with a 2 year contract with a phone which is going to end in december.
I was wondering if they could do another family plan with 3 sim cards (2 phones, 3 sims) so that I can get the advantage of the discount being in the family plan but without purchasing a new phone..
Is it possible?
If yes is it limited to some companies or you can actually do it with any carrier?
Thanks

Your relatives should be able to add a 3rd line to their plan pretty easily.... most carriers allow it.
The kicker is going to be if your Nexus 5 from overseas will play nice with American cell service.
Do you know what carrier your relatives use? I know Verizon will not accept the Nexus 5 due to their policies.

DarthDestroyeis said:
Your relatives should be able to add a 3rd line to their plan pretty easily.... most carriers allow it.
The kicker is going to be if your Nexus 5 from overseas will play nice with American cell service.
Do you know what carrier your relatives use? I know Verizon will not accept the Nexus 5 due to their policies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have AT&T,
but then I'm planning to suggest them to get T-Mobile unlimited text data and calls family plan for 3 which is really cheap!

If they go to T-moblie you shouldn't have too many issues... T-Mo's service is GSM like overseas and the phone should be fine on their towers.
Good Luck!

Related

Going to School internationally; what to do about Cellphone plan?

I started a 2 year plan with T-mobile in September, not ever considering going to school in Canada, but now that is the prospect that I'm facing.
The biggest problem is that I'm still going to need a phone here in the states for breaks, so I can't just get a new Canadian plan. The reason I have posted this in the XDA forums is cause I have a rooted G2 + google voice. I know the chances are slim, but is there anything I can do with these two things that could help me not lose either a ton of money on cancelling a plan early, or lose the phone that I have paid $250 for?
Thanks for any help.
Maybe you can sell the phone with the contract to somebody else and just get a new one?
by law plans are pro-rated so if you have a 2 year plan and you are 1 year into it the penalty is 50% of the early termination fee. So look at the fine print the cost may not be as bad as you think.
What about the phone, since it is unlocked, would it work if i got like a prepaid plan in canada?
It should have the GSM bands that Canada operates on, so yes, but that's edge speeds only. I don't know which 3g bands the G2 has or what canada's 3g operates on, so look into that to see if you can get speeds above edge.
You should cancel your plan & for the states use prepaid t-mobile (or whatever) phone should still work. Just make sure you get tmobile to unlock it for you

[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

[Q] Off Contract Advantage?

I am on the Sprint Network and will stay with them for a variety of reasons. I have always had a contract with them and upgraded whenever that opportunity presented itself. I am no longer on a contract and I'm considering a few options. The Note 3 (probably won't go that way due to problems on voice calls), The LG G2 or the Nexus 5. Advantage of the Nexus 5 is that it is off contract but if I am staying with Sprint anyway what advantage is there to being off contract? Sprint won't discount my monthly bill as far as I know so the off contract advantage has me a bit puzzled from the purely dollars and cents point of view. I'd be happy to hear views from others as to why this seems like a good idea. I'm leaning toward the LG G2 which will likely have a better camera and battery than the Nexus 5 and it's only $99 at Sprint with the 2 year contract. I'd go for the Nexus 5 at 399 for the 32GB model if it meant something off my monthly bill but I don't see Sprint giving me a discount just because I bought the Nexus 5 off contract. What am I missing?
I am in the exact same situation as you, except I bought a Note 3 and just returned it. If the Sprint Nexus 5 is available through google play, you buy that, use your upgrade towards an iphone 5s and sell it sealed. If the Nexus 5 winds up being only available through Sprint, then I'm not so sure what I'm going to do.
You can change your mind and leave whenever you want. And with the nexus you will be able to go to any carrier you want (except Verizon).
All in all, it gives you more options on what service provider you want. I would recommend seeing what offers the best service (data and calls) and pick that carrier or see if you can go prepaid. I know straight talk offers at&t and T-Mobile Sim cards and its like $51 a month after taxes for unlimited everything with 2.5 GB uncapped data.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
ricecake2000 said:
You can change your mind and leave whenever you want. And with the nexus you will be able to go to any carrier you want (except Verizon).
All in all, it gives you more options on what service provider you want. I would recommend seeing what offers the best service (data and calls) and pick that carrier or see if you can go prepaid. I know straight talk offers at&t and T-Mobile Sim cards and its like $51 a month after taxes for unlimited everything with 2.5 GB uncapped data.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I totally agree that there are A LOT of options. I've even thought about picking up Tmo @ $30/month, but I'm on Sero, only pay $50/month for unlimited everything, and my Sprint service has been fantastic since relocating to Orlando, FL. Oh decisions decisions
Jocelyn said:
I am in the exact same situation as you, except I bought a Note 3 and just returned it. If the Sprint Nexus 5 is available through google play, you buy that, use your upgrade towards an iphone 5s and sell it sealed. If the Nexus 5 winds up being only available through Sprint, then I'm not so sure what I'm going to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boom Baby. Haha
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Trying to weigh my options as well.
My 2 year contract expired many months ago. I can buy the 16g Nexus 5 for $150 if I sign a new 2 year agreement, I can change to the Sprint One Up plan so I can be eligible for a new phone once a year (not sure pricing details), or I can buy through the Google Playstore for $350/$400. I have so many family members tied to the plan I am on I probably wouldn't switch carriers.
So if I bought through Google and in a year's time I wanted to switch phones I guess I could sell the Nexus 5 then use my upgrade to buy whatever phone I wanted. If I buy through Sprint, the upfront cost is cheaper, but I will have to wait a couple years if I want to switch phones.
Decisions, what do ya'll think?
For someone off-contract but that wants to stick with their post-paid account, the only advantage is flexibility. If coverage or financial conditions changed, you have the choice to be able to switch providers with no termination fees.
The only real exception to that would be the newer T-Mobile post-paid accounts where they do offer plans with lower base costs per month because they split off the phone subsidy, so if you bring your own phone you pay less since you aren't using a subsidy.
If you have a high degree of confidence you will be staying with your current contract provider and that other things like your financial situation will remain stable, I would say it makes more sense to just re-up with them and choose whatever phone you want from them. As far as which one, read some reviews and then try them out in-person at your local provider's store. Everyone has slightly different things they want out of phones, so without specific criteria it would be hard to say whether a Nexus 5 would still be the best phone for you.
I agree with you, flexibility is the main advantage of staying off contract. I've had an S3 for the last couple of years and am getting the itch to switch. If the HTC One came out today I would probably get that because I love the looks and build of it and I liked my original Evo, but it's so "old" now I want something newer - LG G2, Nexus 5 or some other upcoming phone.
electricpope said:
For someone off-contract but that wants to stick with their post-paid account, the only advantage is flexibility. If coverage or financial conditions changed, you have the choice to be able to switch providers with no termination fees.
The only real exception to that would be the newer T-Mobile post-paid accounts where they do offer plans with lower base costs per month because they split off the phone subsidy, so if you bring your own phone you pay less since you aren't using a subsidy.
If you have a high degree of confidence you will be staying with your current contract provider and that other things like your financial situation will remain stable, I would say it makes more sense to just re-up with them and choose whatever phone you want from them. As far as which one, read some reviews and then try them out in-person at your local provider's store. Everyone has slightly different things they want out of phones, so without specific criteria it would be hard to say whether a Nexus 5 would still be the best phone for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It always amazes me how people would rather be in a contract that will require them to pay between $1-2,000 more over two years, instead of buying a phone outright and upfront, and save the money. Unless someone is too broke to afford a phone upfront... Of course if you can't afford a phone upfront, you likely can't afford a $100 monthly cell phone bill either.
wvcadle said:
It always amazes me how people would rather be in a contract that will require them to pay between $1-2,000 more over two years, instead of buying a phone outright and upfront, and save the money. Unless someone is too broke to afford a phone upfront... Of course if you can't afford a phone upfront, you likely can't afford a $100 monthly cell phone bill either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but for people who only pay $50/month for essentially unlimited everything ( 1000 landline minutes, unlimited mobile minutes, texts, and data), subsidizing phones works in our favor.
We've been w/Sprint forever and have numerous phones on the account. I'm one of the ones who pays $50 for unlimited. I'm assuming I would continue to pay $50/month whether I bought a phone outright or through contract. I doubt if I bought a phone off contract my bill would be lower than $50/month.
Jocelyn said:
Sure, but for people who only pay $50/month for essentially unlimited everything ( 1000 landline minutes, unlimited mobile minutes, texts, and data), subsidizing phones works in our favor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your on contract, why not buy the phone through google play and just use that on Sprint til you leave for ATT/Tmo?
I'm off contract, like a year now.
SageWilliams said:
If your on contract, why not buy the phone through google play and just use that on Sprint til you leave for ATT/Tmo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Can you recommend a pre-paid plan for a visitor visiting US?

Hello everyone.
I have a nexus 5 and I visit US 3 times a year, each time for 3 weeks. I used to use my european simcard but now I am considering getting some sort of pre-paid plan (with more toward a data usage rather than call minutes usage). If you have any recommendation (and the network should be compatible with nexus 5) please let me know.
Maybe something like 2-3 GB per month and each time I am visiting I can buy a 1 month top-op for it.
Thanks.
legolas.w said:
Hello everyone.
I have a nexus 5 and I visit US 3 times a year, each time for 3 weeks. I used to use my european simcard but now I am considering getting some sort of pre-paid plan (with more toward a data usage rather than call minutes usage). If you have any recommendation (and the network should be compatible with nexus 5) please let me know.
Maybe something like 2-3 GB per month and each time I am visiting I can buy a 1 month top-op for it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The national carriers that are compatible with Nexus 5 are T-Mobile and ATT. ATT is basically evil and I hate them. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom, which may or may not mean anything to you coming from Europe. The problem with T-Mobile is that while they are "national" they are not "universal". If you get out of the major markets you're going to be challenged for service. T-Mobile was very late to the LTE party, but this means the places they have it (which is a great many places indeed by now) it is among the fastest service available - all 4th Generation equipment.
T-Mobile recently bought Metro PCS, so that might be the best choice for a pre-paid SIM. They also offer direct no contract service so even that might work? I found out about a year ago ATT too has pre-paid offerings but I don't know much about it.
Your only options are AT&T and T-Mobile. I have my Nexus 5 on AT&T and I get good coverage. They have some decent prepaid plans here: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html but you have to add more money to add data.
What about AT&T and T-Mobile's MVNOs?
legolas.w said:
Hello everyone.
I have a nexus 5 and I visit US 3 times a year, each time for 3 weeks. I used to use my european simcard but now I am considering getting some sort of pre-paid plan (with more toward a data usage rather than call minutes usage). If you have any recommendation (and the network should be compatible with nexus 5) please let me know.
Maybe something like 2-3 GB per month and each time I am visiting I can buy a 1 month top-op for it.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try a keepgo data only sim, which uses att network, just do the math on your length of stay, i did a price of 11 days in the screenshot -
$65= 500mb (fair use) of lte data per day (in US only),
http://www.keepgo.com/order
i know not, if you could get it cheaper from tmobile of att, prepaid..
Check out straight talk. $45 a month unlimited text and min 2.5 GB at 4g speeds then throttled to 2g and unlimited data. You can choose at&t or T-Mobile as a network when you get the starter pack.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
jwhyte said:
Check out straight talk. $45 a month unlimited text and min 2.5 GB at 4g speeds then throttled to 2g and unlimited data. You can choose at&t or T-Mobile as a network when you get the starter pack.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on StraightTalk. It is actually 3GB now. I got a text from ST direct to confirm.
Note that your European Nexus 5 is probably the European one D821 which uses different LTE bands to the USA D820 meaning your probably won't get 4GB speeds, but I get 1Mbit-6Mbit on 3G on StaightTalk on my Nexus 4 in USA (just today bought a Nexus 5).
Suggest you order from ST and deliver to a friend in USA, and register and buy a month's credit before you land in USA, so its working on landing.
I do the equivalent opposite direction, I visit UK and use GiffGaff which is about half the cost of StraightTalk
If you're staying in a decent sized city (aka one with good tmobile coverage), tmobile's $30 plan (100 minutes, unlimited text & 5gb data) could be a good option.
Or, like many others have said, straight talk's $45 plan is a good balance for minutes & data.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Check Please - *Holds up Verizon Bill*

Sad to say but I'm tossing my hands in the air with the S6 and Verizon. I can't believe Verizon killed this phone so badly with development while asking such a premium price for their service. Even with a 15% enterprise discount I'm still paying $150+ for 2 phones and 3GB of shared data.
Last night I gave in and ordered a Nexus 6P for myself and a Nexus 5X for the wife and we'll be buying out our phones from Verizon, porting our numbers over to Cricket, and selling the S6's on Swappa. $70 flat per month for 2.5GB per line on Cricket beats the pants of Verizon. Now I know the LTE is capped at 8MB/s and although using ATT network its not quite as good as Verizon, but I'm in WiFi range all day at work and we don't travel across the country much to worry about backwoods coverage.
Anyone else moving to Cricket? Anyone make the move to a Nexus phone, how do you like it?
Good luck getting service anywhere... You may be saving a ton of money, but Cricket sucks terribly.
All traffic goes through a proxy on Cricket and has lower priority than their postpaid customers.
You get what you pay for. Since I use my phone daily, I'd rather err on the side of paying extra to get dependable service. VZW service is second to none. The nexus line works with Version as well.
Yes, I agree with all of you. That said, an open phone is an open phone. I can go to Page Wireless if I want to go back to the Verizon network, I could go Boost wireless, a handful of others as well. I was just tired of being locked into Verizon with their locked down phones and high prices.
Also, I got the Nexus 6P yesterday and it's quite good. I went to Cricket and got it activated after updating and rooting/romming the hell out of it and so far so good. Time will tell, I'm just happy I can pull the sim card and toss it and change to another provider at any time with no ill effects. This is the future!
Budwise said:
Yes, I agree with all of you. That said, an open phone is an open phone. I can go to Page Wireless if I want to go back to the Verizon network, I could go Boost wireless, a handful of others as well. I was just tired of being locked into Verizon with their locked down phones and high prices.
Also, I got the Nexus 6P yesterday and it's quite good. I went to Cricket and got it activated after updating and rooting/romming the hell out of it and so far so good. Time will tell, I'm just happy I can pull the sim card and toss it and change to another provider at any time with no ill effects. This is the future!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let me know how you like the size and build compared to the s6, im considering doing the same. Also if you dont use data too kuch i recommend considering lycamobile. 23 dollar plan for unlimited talk and text and unlimited 3g data though only 500 mb of 4g. I use it though as i normally have wifi and it saves me so much money and when i do need data its there but a bit slower. Runs on tmobile towers though so if tmobiles bad in your area then avoid it.
abdel12345 said:
Please let me know how you like the size and build compared to the s6, im considering doing the same. Also if you dont use data too kuch i recommend considering lycamobile. 23 dollar plan for unlimited talk and text and unlimited 3g data though only 500 mb of 4g. I use it though as i normally have wifi and it saves me so much money and when i do need data its there but a bit slower. Runs on tmobile towers though so if tmobiles bad in your area then avoid it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Size is definitely bigger but it took me all of 15 minutes to get used to it. With an Otterbox case on my S6 it's not much different for one handed use. I don't use a ton of data but 1.5GB per month is normal usage for me so the 2.5GB Cricket plan is just about right. So far today I've made several calls and texts and no issues. The phone speaker is not quite as loud as the S6 but it gets the job done. The front speakers are way louder than the S6's little downfiring one but the sound quality is not quite as good as the HTC phones with boomsound.
Budwise said:
Sad to say but I'm tossing my hands in the air with the S6 and Verizon. I can't believe Verizon killed this phone so badly with development while asking such a premium price for their service. Even with a 15% enterprise discount I'm still paying $150+ for 2 phones and 3GB of shared data.
Last night I gave in and ordered a Nexus 6P for myself and a Nexus 5X for the wife and we'll be buying out our phones from Verizon, porting our numbers over to Cricket, and selling the S6's on Swappa. $70 flat per month for 2.5GB per line on Cricket beats the pants of Verizon. Now I know the LTE is capped at 8MB/s and although using ATT network its not quite as good as Verizon, but I'm in WiFi range all day at work and we don't travel across the country much to worry about backwoods coverage.
Anyone else moving to Cricket? Anyone make the move to a Nexus phone, how do you like it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What company allows you to have corporate email on an unlocked phone? That's the entire point of why Verizon and Samsung lock the phones down. That's why Knox is the best security out there, to meet compliance standards. For me it's not even a question, no way to have an unlocked phone with corporate data on it. I have an unlocked S5 Dev model I can switch to if I want to play with ROMs but can't have corporate data on it, security tools will catch me in a second.
thuddome said:
What company allows you to have corporate email on an unlocked phone? That's the entire point of why Verizon and Samsung lock the phones down. That's why Knox is the best security out there, to meet compliance standards. For me it's not even a question, no way to have an unlocked phone with corporate data on it. I have an unlocked S5 Dev model I can switch to if I want to play with ROMs but can't have corporate data on it, security tools will catch me in a second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the Admin. ☺
Budwise said:
I'm the Admin. ☺
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a Security Consultant... Not good
thuddome said:
I'm a Security Consultant... Not good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, our company of 20 people is super casual, nearly anti-corporate. Everyone uses their own phones on their own plans for the most part. The joys of small business
Why cricket? Why not T-Mobile? $80/month Unlimited all w/ 7gb Tethering. All at LTE. I currently use it without a contract and use a Droid Turbo for the moment(had a Nexus 5, but I wore it out way too much, getting back to the Nexus line in the next month. Been using all Nexus models since the Nexus S 4G)
Or you can do like Metro PCS or a lower plan on T-Mobile and save alot since it looks like you don't use much data anyways.
If you bought a 6P use project fi. It's really great, plus with wifi you may save even more money. 2 lines would be $40 then you pay for your data at $10/GB. We have 4 lines at $80 and use very very little data. My total bill is under $100 every month!!
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
xBr4v3x said:
Why cricket? Why not T-Mobile? $80/month Unlimited all w/ 7gb Tethering. All at LTE. I currently use it without a contract and use a Droid Turbo for the moment(had a Nexus 5, but I wore it out way too much, getting back to the Nexus line in the next month. Been using all Nexus models since the Nexus S 4G)
Or you can do like Metro PCS or a lower plan on T-Mobile and save alot since it looks like you don't use much data anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlimited is 95 now.
Budwise said:
Sad to say but I'm tossing my hands in the air with the S6 and Verizon. I can't believe Verizon killed this phone so badly with development while asking such a premium price for their service. Even with a 15% enterprise discount I'm still paying $150+ for 2 phones and 3GB of shared data.
Last night I gave in and ordered a Nexus 6P for myself and a Nexus 5X for the wife and we'll be buying out our phones from Verizon, porting our numbers over to Cricket, and selling the S6's on Swappa. $70 flat per month for 2.5GB per line on Cricket beats the pants of Verizon. Now I know the LTE is capped at 8MB/s and although using ATT network its not quite as good as Verizon, but I'm in WiFi range all day at work and we don't travel across the country much to worry about backwoods coverage.
Anyone else moving to Cricket? Anyone make the move to a Nexus phone, how do you like it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2 lines too. The service fee is $70 plus tax for 4gb shared data. The Go90 app will give you 2gb free data for 3 months. If you want to cheap service, Ringplus maybe the best option in the market. Please check ringplus.net and it has Leonardo free plans available now. I signed up the service using my old Nexus 5 and it was supported by advertisement to cut down the service fee.
anewday said:
Unlimited is 95 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't see that. Well my account still only charges me $80/month.
MetroPCS is still $60/Month for Unlim all, so that's a plus at least. Better than Cricket.
xBr4v3x said:
Didn't see that. Well my account still only charges me $80/month.
MetroPCS is still $60/Month for Unlim all, so that's a plus at least. Better than Cricket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's for new customers.
anewday said:
That's for new customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm about to keep T-Mobile as my main and get a Karma with its unlim. plan in the next week or two, since I kinda have 7 phones, a tablet, and 2 laptops....
thuddome said:
What company allows you to have corporate email on an unlocked phone? That's the entire point of why Verizon and Samsung lock the phones down. That's why Knox is the best security out there, to meet compliance standards. For me it's not even a question, no way to have an unlocked phone with corporate data on it. I have an unlocked S5 Dev model I can switch to if I want to play with ROMs but can't have corporate data on it, security tools will catch me in a second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience, companies that require you to have a mobile device AND have it locked down to access corporate e-mail will often times either provide you with a company cell phone or give you the choice to use your own device.
I've yet to work for a company that required I have access to a corporate e-mail and network account and not provided me with a company cell phone. Then, I have the company phone which is all locked down, stock, and only used for company business but the plus side is I do not pay for it. Then I carry my personal cell phone on which I can do whatever I please.
Budwise said:
Sad to say but I'm tossing my hands in the air with the S6 and Verizon. I can't believe Verizon killed this phone so badly with development while asking such a premium price for their service. Even with a 15% enterprise discount I'm still paying $150+ for 2 phones and 3GB of shared data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the $150 includes the monthly phone payments? I just recently gave up grandfathered unlimited data for the Verizon no contract 24 payments phone purchase. I am paying about $147 monthly with 3 gigs of shared data. That includes about $55 for monthly phone payments. If I purchased the phones outright, a S6 and iPhone 6S, the payments would be around $92 a month. Apparently you puchased your phones outright. I would think another $20 would be worth the much better service you would receive with Verizon.

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