Develop Bugs

[Q] 4G, Prepaid?

So I had a Droid 3 on Verizon on a prepaid line ($95 for 450 talk, unlimited text, and unlimited data) but that was 3G.
With the gNexi coming out, I was wondering if I would even be able to use it's 4g capabilities on my prepaid line? I'm obviously going to buy it at full-retail price but will the 4G even work or will I be stuck on 3G all the time?
I can't do contracts...
Should I wait for T-Mobile to get it and use their 4G prepaid instead?

I'm unsure if VZW has a LTE prepay service. That's something you have to look into separately. My guess is they don't. Unless they explicitly say that your prepay covers LTE I would expect to only get 3G.
As far as switching to a different carrier no one can tell you which is better. Its all about where you will use the phone and its your call.

I just did an online chat with a VZW rep, here it is:
Please hold for a Verizon Wireless sales representative to assist you with your order. Thank you for your patience.
You are now chatting with 'Kiara'
Kiara: Hello. Thank you for visiting our chat service. May I help you with your order today?
You: I was wondering if 4G phones like the Droid Bionic are eligible for the Prepaid Smartphone plans???
Kiara: I do apologize for the inconvenience, although the Bionic is not able to be pre paid
You: Are their any 4G phones available for the Prepaid plans?
You: And/or can you tell me if there are any plans to offer any???
Kiara: I do apologize although at this time there are not
You: Ok, thank you for your help
So, looks like you can't, at this time, use a 4G phone on their prepaid plans.
I currently have a Nexus S on T-mobile's $30 month prepaid plan (100 mins, unl. text, unl. data*throttled after 5GB), and I love it but I don't use my phone much for calls... I plan on getting the Galaxy Nexus and using it on this plan once it's available.

Yeah it looks like I'll have to wait for the galaxy nexus to drop on TMobile
WoW this sucksss.... It probably won't even come out until late December...
Maybe I should just import? No idea how it works but I want my nexus asap
Sent from the parietal lobe of your cerebral cortex.

Dmw017 said:
Yeah it looks like I'll have to wait for the galaxy nexus to drop on TMobile
WoW this sucksss.... It probably won't even come out until late December...
Maybe I should just import? No idea how it works but I want my nexus asap
Sent from the parietal lobe of your cerebral cortex.
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Look on the bright side... t-mo plans are cheaper than Verizon. So you'll save money if you switch. But then again tmo reception around your area would play a big role too.

ruthlesset said:
Look on the bright side... t-mo plans are cheaper than Verizon. So you'll save money if you switch. But then again tmo reception around your area would play a big role too.
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Yeah I looked into it and Tmobile is way better than Verizon. I live in NYC so reception shouldnt be a problem at all. Now I'm just trying to figure out if I should import the 16GB model or wait for the 32GB US model :/ bleh ... I wonder when Tmobile will be getting it

Dmw017 said:
Yeah it looks like I'll have to wait for the galaxy nexus to drop on TMobile
WoW this sucksss.... It probably won't even come out until late December...
Maybe I should just import? No idea how it works but I want my nexus asap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have T-mo service in the area then its sooo much better. Just wait, don't import. You'll probably have to buy it unlocked (probably best buy, just like Nexus S) but you'll be better off for it. You don't want to sign a 2year for a Nexus on VZW and get blocked tethering and crap on it.
---------- Post added at 07:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 PM ----------
Dmw017 said:
Yeah I looked into it and Tmobile is way better than Verizon. I live in NYC so reception shouldnt be a problem at all. Now I'm just trying to figure out if I should import the 16GB model or wait for the 32GB US model :/ bleh ... I wonder when Tmobile will be getting it
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its all up in the air. As I said above ^, they might not "get it" officially at all. Might have to buy unlocked from Google/Best Buy.
But the winner is that the T-mo plans can be as low as 1/2 the price of VZW.

martonikaj said:
its all up in the air. As I said above ^, they might not "get it" officially at all. Might have to buy unlocked from Google/Best Buy.
But the winner is that the T-mo plans can be as low as 1/2 the price of VZW.
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Actually they have a $30 Prepaid plan with 100talk/unlimited text/ and unlimited data (5gb of 4G) -- available only on new line activation.
Btw can you clarify the "unlocked from google/best buy" part? Would I still have to use a sim card if Tmobile wont officially sell it

Dmw017 said:
Actually they have a $30 Prepaid plan with 100talk/unlimited text/ and unlimited data (5gb of 4G) -- available only on new line activation.
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yea their prepay options are pretty epic. 100min is a bit low for most though. I was just referring to their postpay options that are pretty cheap too. I've looked into moving from my EM+ no-contract plan to a prepay lately actually.
Btw can you clarify the "unlocked from google/best buy" part? Would I still have to use a sim card if Tmobile wont officially sell it
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Well if you want my opinion I think they'll end up just selling it exactly like they did with the Nexus S. They sold it online, and they offered it via Best Buy unlocked. You'd buy the phone, then buy your service and get a SIM card from AT&T or T-mobile (or Simple Mobile, or whatever) separately and plug it in. The GN is pentaband HSPA+ and will work with pretty much any SIM in the world.

Dmw017 said:
Yeah I looked into it and Tmobile is way better than Verizon. I live in NYC so reception shouldnt be a problem at all. Now I'm just trying to figure out if I should import the 16GB model or wait for the 32GB US model :/ bleh ... I wonder when Tmobile will be getting it
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Speaking from personal experience, the problem with T-Mobile in NYC is that as soon as you are a few feet below ground level, you lose signal. When you can get 5 bars, it's great, T-Mobile probably has the least congested network of anyone, and you enjoy superb 3/4G speeds. But you will be frustrated by how spotty the coverage is. Go 20 miles North to Westchester or 20 miles east to LI and you'll often find yourself exiting buildings to get a signal.

Chirality said:
Speaking from personal experience, the problem with T-Mobile in NYC is that as soon as you are a few feet below ground level, you lose signal. When you can get 5 bars, it's great, T-Mobile probably has the least congested network of anyone, and you enjoy superb 3/4G speeds. But you will be frustrated by how spotty the coverage is. Go 20 miles North to Westchester or 20 miles east to LI and you'll often find yourself exiting buildings to get a signal.
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Lol that's alright I don't leave the city anyways. What I am wondering is what happens when you deplete your limited use of the 4g data (I'll get 5gb). Someone told me that you get bumped down to EDGE(2G) speeds, but I thought you only go down to 3G.
Sent from the parietal lobe of your cerebral cortex.

Dmw017 said:
Lol that's alright I don't leave the city anyways. What I am wondering is what happens when you deplete your limited use of the 4g data (I'll get 5gb). Someone told me that you get bumped down to EDGE(2G) speeds, but I thought you only go down to 3G.
Sent from the parietal lobe of your cerebral cortex.
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Click to collapse
As I (and many others) explained in the other thread about T-mobile:
- You get 5GB of data, that's 4g/3g/2g.
- Once you use all 5GB in a month, you get throttled.
- Throttled speeds are in the range of what EDGE is, even though your phone still says "3G" up in the status bar.
- Once your billing period ends, you get a new 5GB batch of data.
There's no discerning between 4G and 3G by T-mobile. HSPA+ is just a fast version of T-mobile's 3G network. Its not separate.

Just curious has any one looked into metroPCS they say they allow any cdma phone on their network and they have lte. There speeds may not be the greatest and not the best coverage but the price is spot on and unlimited!

robertlawson225 said:
Just curious has any one looked into metroPCS they say they allow any cdma phone on their network and they have lte. There speeds may not be the greatest and not the best coverage but the price is spot on and unlimited!
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Don't think it'll work. You'd have to unlock it somehow, and even then I think theres going to be inconsistencies with the LTE frequencies they use, etc.

martonikaj said:
Don't think it'll work. You'd have to unlock it somehow, and even then I think theres going to be inconsistencies with the LTE frequencies they use, etc.
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I thought that all nexus devices where unlocked developer phones. also i just talked to metroPCS and they did say hardware wise any cdma ohone will work and so will the LTE but, there might be a problem with software incompatibilities. but if that is true i would think our fellow xda members would figure out how to fix any software problems

robertlawson225 said:
I thought that all nexus devices where unlocked developer phones. also i just talked to metroPCS and they did say hardware wise any cdma ohone will work and so will the LTE but, there might be a problem with software incompatibilities. but if that is true i would think our fellow xda members would figure out how to fix any software problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't be unlocked from the factory because 1) its CDMA/LTE with VZW specific bands, and 2) its being made to order for Verizon to subsidize it (which means they will SURELY dictate that its locked).
The Nexus devices have historically been sold full price without a carrier subsidy (and therefore are unlocked) because google wants them to be used anywhere in the world with any SIM card. This is different because there are carriers involved from the start (and the device is CDMA).
Also, I'm pretty sure the LTE won't be interoperable between the two carriers. Verizon will have their own proprietary network stack for use with their LTE service, and it uses slightly different frequencies from other carriers for LTE, specifically so that their devices won't be interoperable with other networks. They want you to buy a VZW phone and stay on VZW (dirty play, but that's how they roll).
Hope that clarifies things a little bit. Now no one knows for sure how much of the issues can be fixed with new firmware flashes, so I guess we'll see when it comes out. For example I know a lot of people use Sprint and Verizon phones with different custom firmware to run on networks like Virgin, Boost, and Cricket in order to cut down the monthly bill.

martonikaj said:
It won't be unlocked from the factory because 1) its CDMA/LTE with VZW specific bands, and 2) its being made to order for Verizon to subsidize it (which means they will SURELY dictate that its locked).
The Nexus devices have historically been sold full price without a carrier subsidy (and therefore are unlocked) because google wants them to be used anywhere in the world with any SIM card. This is different because there are carriers involved from the start (and the device is CDMA).
Also, I'm pretty sure the LTE won't be interoperable between the two carriers. Verizon will have their own proprietary network stack for use with their LTE service, and it uses slightly different frequencies from other carriers for LTE, specifically so that their devices won't be interoperable with other networks. They want you to buy a VZW phone and stay on VZW (dirty play, but that's how they roll).
Hope that clarifies things a little bit. Now no one knows for sure how much of the issues can be fixed with new firmware flashes, so I guess we'll see when it comes out. For example I know a lot of people use Sprint and Verizon phones with different custom firmware to run on networks like Virgin, Boost, and Cricket in order to cut down the monthly bill.
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well lets just hope some one out there can figure out how to make a phone like this run on a reasonabale priced carrier well other than t-mobile

T-Mobile S3 or AT&T?

Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
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Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).

gr4p3s said:
Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. What do you mean by 5GB UNLimited? Isn't that actually limited? :|
Is it possible to perhaps get a T-Mobile galaxy S III, Unlock it, and then use it on AT&T. And then do that $10 dumbphone unlimited hspa+ data trick?

JoJo2211 said:
Thanks. What do you mean by 5GB UNLimited? Isn't that actually limited? :|
Is it possible to perhaps get a T-Mobile galaxy S III, Unlock it, and then use it on AT&T. And then do that $10 dumbphone unlimited hspa+ data trick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means first five gigabyte of data is 4 g then after that the rest is unlimited but at slower speeds.
And yes I agree t mobile has way better plan pricing than att
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

I like how tmo does data better, throttling speeds rather than charging for overage. Sure, the speeds are slow as heck, but it's better than accidentally paying extra per month.
I don't know much about the att trick, so I can't comment on that. But I do recommend doing a mock plan on tmo's site to get a feel for the price difference you can expect.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
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Go with at&t pre pay. I just dumped tmobile after 6 years. There a joke these days. Yes plans are great but customer care is horrible and the call centers are over seas now, talking with people who barely speak English is constant. The only way to talk to American customer service is say "cancel" at the automated system.
Also got different answers to questions every time I called in. Even called a liar about past problems. Tmobile use to be awesome but now I can't stand them.
I pay $50 with att for unlimited everything.
Tmobile just over $80 for unlimited everything.
At&t customer is better. I called in with trouble setting up voice mail. He set me up and even called back 10 minutes later to make sure every thing was working right. Can't beat that lol
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I'm going to tell you why you're going with Tmobile. Yes, their customer service is over seas but only some of it is. I can tell you what to say in the beginning of the call prompt that will get you right over to the USA based retention department. Tmobile is actually addressing these issues as we speak. Their bringing more call centers back from over seas and are on a mission to get back to that top spot in customer service they held for so many years. It's kind of funny how their customer service was stellar until they started messing with AT& T. I wouldn't be surprised if ATT gave them a list of **** they wanted done before the buy out went through.
Now, onto mobile services. If you get a good signal with both of them then I would side with Tmobile. HSPA+ uses less batter power than LTE. When it comes to overages, I think ATT charges you for every MB used after 5gb and Tmobile just throttles your speeds back to the equivalent of 2G data speeds. I believe Tmobile also has a 10gb plan if you think 5gb won't be enough. In 3 years, I've never came close to going past 5gb and I use my 4G connection quite often. I tether it to my laptop and take let. I play Counterstrike through my data connection sometimes and I used to play WoW through it. I think the most I've ever used was 4600mb. As long as your not using your phone data connection to download multiple torrents a day then you should be fine. When it comes to plan prices, well that's a no brainer. Tmobile definitely has better priced plans and less nick/diming charges.
Lastly, I believe ATT along with Verizon are excluding certain features from the GS3. I just found out about one tonight. Everyone on ATT has reported the absence of a Driving Mode icon within the notification pull down menu. Tmobile does in fact have this driving mode feature. That's the only one I know of at this point but there could be more.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Just an FYI, if you go with TM and would like to take advantage of their future LTE network, the TM version of the S3 will not be compatible as stated HERE.
mustk1ll20 said:
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Quick question for mustk1ll20, did you do anything specifically besides unlocking the phone to use ATT's network? How is their 4G working for you?

Infamous_Cheez said:
Quick question for mustk1ll20, did you do anything specifically besides unlocking the phone to use ATT's network? How is their 4G working for you?
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I got a unlock code from Tmobile before I cancelled service. Went to at&t store and then set up my unlimited plan and got the SIM. After that set a apn for at&t and your good to go. Tmobile service in my area is 2 bars max and edge data speed. At&t data has been awesome where I'm at(out in the middle of no where)
You can let people tell you Tmobile is getting better but after 6 years of hearing it I gave up. Tmobile has started there "trying" to make things because they lost top spot for customer service. There gonna do nothing but blow smoke up your *** when there's a problem.
I had problems with roaming on my s3 and was calling in quit a bit. In the end there solution was to tell me that they don't have a roaming deal with at&t in my area. Funny because my old Samsung flip would roam in the same area no problem. After telling them this, he asked me to wait on hold for a few minutes while he looks into something......he transferred me to someone else instead. You go with Tmobile you'll regret it.
3 family members who also were fed up with them followed after I confirmed how much better at&t was.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

mustk1ll20 said:
Go with at&t pre pay. I just dumped tmobile after 6 years. There a joke these days. Yes plans are great but customer care is horrible and the call centers are over seas now, talking with people who barely speak English is constant. The only way to talk to American customer service is say "cancel" at the automated system.
Also got different answers to questions every time I called in. Even called a liar about past problems. Tmobile use to be awesome but now I can't stand them.
I pay $50 with att for unlimited everything.
Tmobile just over $80 for unlimited everything.
At&t customer is better. I called in with trouble setting up voice mail. He set me up and even called back 10 minutes later to make sure every thing was working right. Can't beat that lol
Edit: I'm using a Tmobile s3 with at&t. No issues with voice or data and get 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Just curious, what plan do you have with att that's actual unlimited for $50 a month?

RuizGT said:
Just curious, what plan do you have with att that's actual unlimited for $50 a month?
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Click to collapse
A prepaid gophone plan. You can find it on there website. When I went in to there store I just told them I wanted the $50 dollar unlimited prepay plan. Unlimited voice, messaging, data. So all I do is buy a at&t $50 prepaid card. Comes to$55.01 with tax. Don't know if they throttle or not but so far things have loaded quickly since I got the plan, and still going strong.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

mustk1ll20 said:
A prepaid gophone plan. You can find it on there website. When I went in to there store I just told them I wanted the $50 dollar unlimited prepay plan. Unlimited voice, messaging, data. So all I do is buy a at&t $50 prepaid card. Comes to$55.01 with tax. Don't know if they throttle or not but so far things have loaded quickly since I got the plan, and still going strong.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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How much data have you use so far and how fast is the data?

whatsitsnamenow said:
How much data have you use so far and how fast is the data?
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Click to collapse
Don't go with the att prepaid plan. I looked into it because it sounded good but the data speed is 3g ... what purpose does a galaxy s3 hspa + 44 mb modem serve on 3g. Instead if your looking for the best bang for your Buck get a value plan for t-mobile ...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

You can get unlimited minutes text and data for 59.99$... 2 gigabyte of 4g speeds included .
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Or if you don't talk too much on the phone go with 500 minute unlimited text and data for 49.99$.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Crisisx1 said:
Don't go with the att prepaid plan. I looked into it because it sounded good but the data speed is 3g ... what purpose does a galaxy s3 hspa + 44 mb modem serve on 3g. Instead if your looking for the best bang for your Buck get a value plan for t-mobile ...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I think on att you get hspa+ 3g. I think they meant 4g as in 4g LTE.
Crisisx1 said:
You can get unlimited minutes text and data for 59.99$... 2 gigabyte of 4g speeds included .
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Thanks.
Would love to but data and voice signal is pretty bad where I live. I get choppy voice calls and data is non existence inside my house. Of course I really don't need data inside my house but it just shows that signal is not very good.
Crisisx1 said:
Or if you don't talk too much on the phone go with 500 minute unlimited text and data for 49.99$.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Same as above.

JoJo2211 said:
Which is better? Where I live I get full coverage from both carriers. So what are the advantages of being with T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to jojo he said he has full coverage for both.. sorry
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

gr4p3s said:
Better plans. I have a $20 5gb Unlimited with Mobile Hotspot. T-Mobile knows how to treat its customers right if you prove you are loyal (I've only been with them for 4 years and I'm a "loyal" customer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much is the Mobile Hotspot?

Another great thing I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is T-Mobile's FREE Wifi Calling. It does not use your plan minutes and you can use it over seas instead of paying roaming charges.

jrwingate6 said:
Another great thing I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is T-Mobile's FREE Wifi Calling. It does not use your plan minutes and you can use it over seas instead of paying roaming charges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow I didn't even know about this.. it really doesn't use our whenever minutes ? Awesome now I can definitely switch to a 500 minutes plan and save money !!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

GNex on prepad services

I've searched the forum some, but I'm wondering if there's a quick, straightforward answer here. I'm going to a prepaid service (Virgin/Boost most likely). Has it been done before having and unlocked GNex run on either of those services?
I'm very unaware re: how those services run; I just know they use CDMA towers, so to me it would seem an unlocked, CDMA GNex would be able to run on say, Boost mobile.
Thanks for any info!

Not sure how well unlocking the CDMA Gnex works. but why not just get the unlocked GSM Gnex and use the tmobile 30/month plan? Better than having to worry about it working or not.

biscuitownz said:
Not sure how well unlocking the CDMA Gnex works. but why not just get the unlocked GSM Gnex and use the tmobile 30/month plan? Better than having to worry about it working or not.
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Had no idea that even existed, thanks for the help!
Like I said, I'm new to the prepaid world, I'm trying to figure this all out. 'ppreciate it!

+1 on the T-Mobile prepaid.
I don't think the concept of an unlocked CDMA phone exists. To my knowledge, all CDMA phones are carrier specific.
I came to tmobile from Virgin. The plans are good. But the 3g data speeds here in Indianapolis were abysmal, like 150 kbps down.
Since then, have move to the GNex on Tmo. Couldn't be happier.
Sent from my UPC300-2.2 using Tapatalk 2

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
Check this thread out. Everything you need to know about prepaid for the unlocked gsm galaxy nexus.
If you have/are looking to purchase a CDMA (sprint/Verizon) galaxy nexus, I suggest you read up on this thread. The benefits of an unlocked gsm gnex are insane.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Hurry up and find the best prepaid solution that meets your needs and enjoy the savings. As for me, my wife and I were paying about $185 a month on VZW for 2 smart phones. Now, it costs us $90 a month for 2 smart phones on Straight Talk's $45 unlimited minutes, text and mobile web access. Keep in mind that with Straight Talk (other prepaid providers as well) that unlimited data is actually limited. They will throttle you if you use to much.

Tmobile 30/month prepaid plan FTW
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646755 also a good thread for (mostly optional) supplements to the t-mobile 100 minutes.
Sent from my Nexus 7 "the most cost-effective iPad yet"

straight talk would also be a good option. It's $45 a month, but If you're like me and are serviced by AT&T but not T-Mobile in your area, it's a good deal. Unlimited everything btw

clayjohn said:
I've searched the forum some, but I'm wondering if there's a quick, straightforward answer here. I'm going to a prepaid service (Virgin/Boost most likely). Has it been done before having and unlocked GNex run on either of those services?
I'm very unaware re: how those services run; I just know they use CDMA towers, so to me it would seem an unlocked, CDMA GNex would be able to run on say, Boost mobile.
Thanks for any info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy the GSM model and choose one of the good prepaid options out there. Straight Talk and T-Mobile Monthly 4G are the best choices right now.
I recommend you read through the 100s of pages of great information in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014 . We've answered and covered just about every situation possible in there.

Looks like I'm going the GSM route! Just ordered the unlocked GSM Neus from Google Play.
Probably some of the most helpful responses I've ever received on a forum, thanks to everyone for all the help.
- Clay

[Q] Rogers Note 2 SGH-I317M travelling to USA

I am travelling to the USA in a couple of months, and I had some questions about using my phone while travelling. My Note2 is the SGH-I317M Rogers (ATT). I have unlocked it.
From reading it looks like if I use the $3/day Tmobile option I will be stuck at edge speeds. What are my options for full speeds. I have read about something called Straight Talk?
It looks like I can order a sim online and get a month of service for $45 without a contract? Is this correct, is it my best option? Will I get LTE with this or just 3G?
If so do I just order the ATT sim card from them (http://www.straighttalksim.com/) and pick up a card at Walmart? Do the cards expire? Can I get a family member to buy it for me and mail it to me so I have it before I leave?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

fireshot said:
I am travelling to the USA in a couple of months, and I had some questions about using my phone while travelling. My Note2 is the SGH-I317M Rogers (ATT). I have unlocked it.
From reading it looks like if I use the $3/day Tmobile option I will be stuck at edge speeds. What are my options for full speeds. I have read about something called Straight Talk?
It looks like I can order a sim online and get a month of service for $45 without a contract? Is this correct, is it my best option? Will I get LTE with this or just 3G?
If so do I just order the ATT sim card from them (http://www.straighttalksim.com/) and pick up a card at Walmart? Do the cards expire? Can I get a family member to buy it for me and mail it to me so I have it before I leave?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile will be EDGE only, It would prob be the best for you but only EDGE, and Yes Straight talk will only be 3G/HSPA+ which can be pretty good depends where you will be going Some places I get about 10-12megs on 3G on AT&T. and Yes its $45 with no Contract. And you can pick up the card at walmart But Wal-Mart does not sell the SIM`s I think. And the cards don`t expire well after 30 days after you use it anyway.
Any Prepaid Option here is only 3G/HSPA+ at the moment I bealive.

Or enable AWS as explained in some other threads here.
That way you'll have decent speeds on T-Mobile.
Sent from my SGH-T889V using xda app-developers app

fireshot said:
I am travelling to the USA in a couple of months, and I had some questions about using my phone while travelling. My Note2 is the SGH-I317M Rogers (ATT). I have unlocked it.
From reading it looks like if I use the $3/day Tmobile option I will be stuck at edge speeds. What are my options for full speeds. I have read about something called Straight Talk?
It looks like I can order a sim online and get a month of service for $45 without a contract? Is this correct, is it my best option? Will I get LTE with this or just 3G?
If so do I just order the ATT sim card from them (http://www.straighttalksim.com/) and pick up a card at Walmart? Do the cards expire? Can I get a family member to buy it for me and mail it to me so I have it before I leave?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Have you checked out roam mobility? The give you unl talk + text within US and back to Canada. You can buy the sim in Canada and refill as you need.
http://www.roammobility.com/plans

plemen said:
Have you checked out roam mobility? The give you unl talk + text within US and back to Canada. You can buy the sim in Canada and refill as you need.
http://www.roammobility.com/plans
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That runs on T-Mobile.... So Only EDGE unless they wanted to mod there phone.

I will have to google AWS I suppose. I am traveling south from toronto area and staying in Florida. For the drive I would love to use google navigation, then regular usage ince in Florida.
Sent from my SGH-I317M using xda app-developers app

plemen said:
Have you checked out roam mobility? The give you unl talk + text within US and back to Canada. You can buy the sim in Canada and refill as you need.
http://www.roammobility.com/plans
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fireshot said:
I will have to google AWS I suppose. I am traveling south from toronto area and staying in Florida. For the drive I would love to use google navigation, then regular usage ince in Florida.
Sent from my SGH-I317M using xda app-developers app
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Well if your heading to Flordia Most of the ride down I know in SC, and GA its ONLY G on T-Mobile anyways NO Edge at all I had a few EDGE spots on my AT&T line but T-Mobile had G a lot of the time

There is a thread in the android development section talking about how to enable AWS on our phones.
It sounds a bit complicated but it seems it is working for people.
In any case if you do some googling you will see that T-Mobile has added a number of US cities to 3g/4g using the 1900 band which is one of the bands our Rogers/ATT phones uses. These include Tampa/Clearwater. Miami Fort Lauderdale etc. SO there is a good possibility of getting 3g without modifications.
If not, you can get the same plan at 2$/day at Edge speeds. At least it is cheaper if u aren't going to get the faster speeds.

Moving into US, Which network should I use?

Hi,
I am moving to US soon. I would like to know which network is good in San Jose, California (95112) area.
I own an international Galaxy Note 2, would like to know whether their network support HSDPA/HSDPA+?
My question is which network has higher data speed? SMS and voice call are not so important for me.
I did do some google in AT&T and T-Mobile. Would like to know which network do you all recommended and use.
Thanks

Att is a safer bet because of the signal, but t-mobile isn't so bad also if you stay only in big cities.

I would try T-Mobile on their $30 100min, unlimited text and 5gb of hs data prepaid. If that is good enough for you stay with that or upgrade to one of their unlimited talk/text/tiered or unlimited data plans. If you see coverage being spotty where you most frequent then at&t will be the safer bet.
sent from my gt-i9505

@rbiter said:
I would try T-Mobile on their $30 100min, unlimited text and 5gb of hs data prepaid. If that is good enough for you stay with that or upgrade to one of their unlimited talk/text/tiered or unlimited data plans. If you see coverage being spotty where you most frequent then at&t will be the safer bet.
sent from my gt-i9505
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Is it with mobile phone plan or under "bring your own phone" tab?

Straight talk 42.00 unlimited everything AT&T
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

melvinchng said:
Hi,
I am moving to US soon. I would like to know which network is good in San Jose, California (95112) area.
I own an international Galaxy Note 2, would like to know whether their network support HSDPA/HSDPA+?
My question is which network has higher data speed? SMS and voice call are not so important for me.
I did do some google in AT&T and T-Mobile. Would like to know which network do you all recommended and use.
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Hello Melvin,
Welcome to USA..
I live here in Bay Area, Oakland, san Francisco and San Jose
I am using International Note 2 and S4 i1905, my carrier is Straight Talk around $45 a month unlimited text talk and data.
Straight talk is using AT&T tower, so your note2 will support HSDPA/HSDPA+
which I am using right now.
anyway hope that help ...

Jesus u.s is expensive when it comes to cell phones. In Sweden I pay 35$ unlimited calls unlimited text and mms and unlimited 4g data. And we don't have anything called long distance like in the u.s.
Skickat från min GT-N7100 via Tapatalk 2

melvinchng said:
Is it with mobile phone plan or under "bring your own phone" tab?
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It is confusing. Goto tmobiles prepaid website. I think it is T-Mobile.com/prepaidactivation. I am using it now but tmobiles post paid seems to have better service. I tried their postpaid recently and got signal almost everywhere. I am having less joy on their prepaid. It is still a great deal if it works for you.
sent from my gt-i9505

lonelime said:
Hello Melvin,
Welcome to USA..
I live here in Bay Area, Oakland, san Francisco and San Jose
I am using International Note 2 and S4 i1905, my carrier is Straight Talk around $45 a month unlimited text talk and data.
Straight talk is using AT&T tower, so your note2 will support HSDPA/HSDPA+
which I am using right now.
anyway hope that help ...
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It is very interesting, $45 for everything. Also, $60 including international call. I have checked the website and unable to find the locations of international call. If you have the location, please link me there.
So basically it runs on internet? And how is the internet actually, is it fast enough? As I am using International version of Note 2, it only support up to HSDPA+.
And lastly, is tether supported?

melvinchng said:
It is very interesting, $45 for everything. Also, $60 including international call. I have checked the website and unable to find the locations of international call. If you have the location, please link me there.
So basically it runs on internet? And how is the internet actually, is it fast enough? As I am using International version of Note 2, it only support up to HSDPA+.
And lastly, is tether supported?
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Click to collapse
for international calling I would refer you buy the prepaid phone card here for $5 bucks for around 2 hrs I think , but not sure.
for HSDPA speed is not that fast, and not that low...you can live with that speed
tether is supported, but if you abuse it, they will terminate your service...
I tether sometimes... not much.. but it work....

lonelime said:
for international calling I would refer you buy the prepaid phone card here for $5 bucks for around 2 hrs I think , but not sure.
for HSDPA speed is not that fast, and not that low...you can live with that speed
tether is supported, but if you abuse it, they will terminate your service...
I tether sometimes... not much.. but it work....
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Can I get more than 10mbps for H+ there?
Accidentally sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2