Develop Bugs

What are you ppl paying per month for your Inc?

I ask because a lot of the promised discounts aren't materializing for me, so I might not be keeping this phone after all.
RIght now I pay $30 for a SERO plan on sprint. 500 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data
The best I came up with on VZW was $40 for 450 minutes, $10 for 500 texts a months, and $30 for unlimited data: That's $80 a month, for less minutes and texts.
When I was asking about work discounts, the WZA people said it was 20% off evrything, which then became 19% everthing, then I found out that required a contract, the non contract discount was 17% and only on the voice plan, not the text or data plan. the $10 one bill disocunt required singing a new 2 year contract with FIOS with a $315 ETf, which I'm not signing, I am so sick of being locked into service contracts, I'm done with those things.
So with my big discount, my $80 bill turns into a $73.20 bill. Wheee.
Yes, the Incredible is a great device, but more than doubling my cell phone charges is a tough pill to swallow. Whats everyone else out there paying?

Well I too got tired of paying out the ass.. I took my ding and went to metropcs ( I know that's not an option for many) but 40 bucks a month rocks for unlimited everything. Ya it sucks using the slow 1x speed for data. But it works fine for emails and Facebook. Etc. I don't stream music or movies when I'm not home so it works for me.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

I am paying $88 a month
$40 for my half or a 700 shared minute Talk plan (again, the smallest as I do mostly in-network which is unlimited)
$30/month unlimited data
$10/month for 500 text mesasges (got the smallest as I just needed texting period, almost all of mine are in verizon network and therefore unlimited)
$8/month for Assurion insurance
I am locked in on this until July 2012 at which point I will be evaluating if I want to stay with Verizon or switch to sprint (ATT is out as their data plan disgusts me)

My wife tells me were paying 180 a month. For what I have no idea. Apparently I shouldn't of asked. What the hell Verizon. What the hell me why aren't I paying attention to our bills.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

My wife and I both have data plans and we are on my parents' plan to save money. We all split 1400 anytime minutes. We have have the $5/mo texting (gotta love GTalk), and unlimited data and it usually comes out to $120/mo for the 2 of us (in total). Too much, IMO, but I dont know what else to do. Dropping the minutes doesnt change the price THAT much.

Added to my parents plan after my ex shut off my sprint phone, pay $50 a month, love it!
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

RyanTX said:
My wife and I both have data plans and we are on my parents' plan to save money. We all split 1400 anytime minutes. We have have the $5/mo texting (gotta love GTalk), and unlimited data and it usually comes out to $120/mo for the 2 of us (in total). Too much, IMO, but I dont know what else to do. Dropping the minutes doesnt change the price THAT much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reason many pay out the ass for verizon is because they have good coverage and data speeds. No other carrier in my area has solid coverage, it's all spotty.
I seriously have not been in any place without a signal unless it was underground or inside a meat locker, so for now I'll swallow the big bill for what I'm getting. Hopefully other carriers will eventually widen their network range out so people like me can have more of a choice.
I pay ~70$ with corporate discount.

You guys got it good. I pay 200+ a month for 4 phones. 2 on unlimited android (25$ each)1 with 200mb(10) family txt (10) 750m shared (59) then 2 phones with insurance (7each) yep.. Tmobile isnt so vad with the bill they cut my android unlimited to 25 each instead of 30. But I'm getting sick of it going to make the fam pay soon (evil laugh)
I use swype so expect bad grammar and errors

125 a month. 900 minutes, unlimited data, 500 texts. Bout to drop my texting plan which will drop me 10 bucks. Not much but I'll take it. Google Voice ftw.

Im on an old allltel plan, 1200 sharrd, unlimited text n mms, data for the 2 phones cost $20 together and is unlimited. My bill is $180 a month for both smattphones. Is a little high, but as im sitting in the can typing this in the middle of nowhere, ks, i realize my coverage is superb.
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

POQbum said:
Reason many pay out the ass for verizon is because they have good coverage and data speeds. No other carrier in my area has solid coverage, it's all spotty.
I seriously have not been in any place without a signal unless it was underground or inside a meat locker, so for now I'll swallow the big bill for what I'm getting. Hopefully other carriers will eventually widen their network range out so people like me can have more of a choice.
I pay ~70$ with corporate discount.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I get worse coveragr than I do with sprint, which I would think is impossible since they both roam with each other, right?
I took my ding and went to metropcs ( I know that's not an option for many)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How'd you get them to activate a non MPCS phone? I wish phones weren;t carrier branded so I could use my Dinc on Sprint.

I have the lowest smartphone plan on Verizon, 450 minutes, unlimited data and 500 texts for $79 plus tax which comes out to $81 per month. I came from Sprint and the cheapest smartphone plan they had ran $69 per month plus tax. The $10 difference in plans being Sprint includes texts and Verizon doesn't. The reasons I switched from Sprint were; one terrible service and, two they lacked a good choice in phones. The SERO plan you are talking about is not compatible with the new smartphones and you will have to upgrade to the $69 plan and sign a two year contract to get it.

Me and my wife have a plan through my work (17% discount). our total is $130.50/month for 700minutes, my phone has unlimted (30$/month) my wifes has 150MB, and my wife added 200 texting for $5 but I use google voice since I have unlimeted data.
all in all not a bad price. as mentioned it has to do with the service. On AT&T I never got a signal at my families cottage, with verizon I do (Not sure if that was a good call since my wife can not get a hold of me on the guys weekends hehehe )
SoBBie

It is good to see that what I am paying is somewhat common on verizon and I am not missing some considerable discount haha

Also, with my circle and my 1200 min plan, my wife and i use about 5000 to 6500 minutes a month and never go over, thats a good plan
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

Paying around 60$ /month with VZW. I got unlimited calling/data/texting though.

emkorial said:
Funny, I get worse coveragr than I do with sprint, which I would think is impossible since they both roam with each other, right?
How'd you get them to activate a non MPCS phone? I wish phones weren;t carrier branded so I could use my Dinc on Sprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to get the esn added to metro. then have it flashed.. .. I saved my apn's for data. so when i flash a new rom. I can restore them. and have working data again.. again. if you can put up with 1x speeds. and have metro coverage. then the price cant be beat...

kzoodroid said:
I have the lowest smartphone plan on Verizon, 450 minutes, unlimited data and 500 texts for $79 plus tax which comes out to $81 per month. I came from Sprint and the cheapest smartphone plan they had ran $69 per month plus tax. The $10 difference in plans being Sprint includes texts and Verizon doesn't. The reasons I switched from Sprint were; one terrible service and, two they lacked a good choice in phones. The SERO plan you are talking about is not compatible with the new smartphones and you will have to upgrade to the $69 plan and sign a two year contract to get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can upgrade to SERO premium and get a new phone for $50 a month. I still have an ancient smartphone so I still get the $30 a month plan.
I just found out that with no contract I get no discounts at all, so I just cancelled with Verizon. I'll just play with my Inc over wifi I guess.
I think I'm just going to buy a TP2 on Sprint, it's the last smartphone they had that you could get that still works with the $30 SERO plan. The Inc is an awesome device, I love it, but I don't use my phone nearly enough to justify spending an extra $50 a month on it, that's crazy.

Prepaid is cheap!
I am on a prepaid plan that costs $27.70 per month, with no taxes, which can range from 15-20% on top of the post-paid rates. It is on the Verizon network with Verizon voicemail and 3G data, but I purchase it through a virtual network operator that buys Verizon network capacity at a discount and provides their own customer service. The company is PagePlus cellular. In turn, PagePlus cellular has dealers that are authorized to sell their plans, and the one I use is KittyWireless.com. KittyWireless offered a deal where I paid (one-time) $50 and now I get a discount on my monthly rate for life. PagePlus cellular charges $29.95 for the plan I described, and with my KittyWireless discount, I pay $27.70 per month.
I have 1200 voice minutes, 2000 text messages, and 100 MB of data per month, and I'm set up on an autopay plan that charges my credit card each month.
This plan works great if you have wifi at home and at work, and don't do a lot of music & video streaming, and you are smart about updating apps, etc. I just use email, Google navigation, and some light web browsing and come in well below the 100 MB. I also have three additional family members on the same plan, and we are all very satisfied (three of us use HTC Droid Incredibles, two rooted). There are no family plans or sharing of minutes, we each have the $27.70 plan.
The downside is that you have to provide your own device (buy on eBay, etc) and they only provide assistance if you buy a device through them, and they don't have Droid Incredibles, so you are completely on your own if you have any technical issues. Also, some of the Verizon "services" are not available, such as visual voicemail, and some other stuff that I consider as junk anyway.
Also, PagePlus cellular does not have the same level of customer service as Verizon. Expect to be on hold for 20 minutes before you get to talk to anyone. This is not for people that need hand-holding, but seems like it would be appropriate for a lot of people in the XDAdev community who are willing do research on forums, etc to solve any issues.

Hmmm, I'm paying $84.28 give or take a few cents from month to month.
Verizon Wireless
Nationwide Talk & Text 450 (unlimited text/picture messages) --- $59.99
Email & Web for SMARTPHONE --- $29.99
TEC Advanced Devices - Asurion --- $7.99
Taxes --
Then a nice 22% discount from company I work with

[INFO][GSM] Own Your Cell Service ..with Prepaid and the Galaxy Nexus [UPDATED 5/24]

WARNING: This guide should not be considered definitive nor accurate at all times. I'm going to try to keep things up to date if only to serve my own needs, but the responsibility to make your own choices in cell providers and how you spend your money are yours. Please do your own research.
Hey... up until recently I've been a loyal Sprint customer. Ten years worth of arguing with my friends who passed through Analog, TDMA, and finally GSM. I had better coverage, better data speeds, and frankly, a whole raft of why CDMA beat out GSM in technical merit. But what I did have in common with all my friends was a contract. The revolving 2 year door was a giant chain around our necks. When in 2008 I got laid off from my job at a hedge fund, I tried to get Sprint to let me out of my expensive data card contract and just keep my phone. They didn't.
Since then I've become rabidly anti-contract as cell service becomes more and more a commodity. But few people really understand what it means .. or even how .. to commoditize their cell service. We've become so used to the 2 year contract setup and postpaid system (as well as stigmatized that prepaid is for losers and deadbeats) that I've had to walk out on wireless store clerks who still argued data speeds, coverage, and their lineup of phones. The phone is becoming a PC, we want hardware features (dual core, screen size, amoled) and not software .. we bring what our phone does with us, just like our laptops and desktops. So why would we treat it any different from commodity hardware in other parts of the market? Insanity.
What is a commodity market, why is it good for me, and how do I participate?
A commodity market, simply put, is a range of products that are interchangeable with each other. Using one product does not provide a substantive difference from another. In the case of cell service, we all want three things: minutes, texts, and data. There are some differences in the products in this space, but they're negligible. Sure, one guy may have more coverage than another .. but the networks are built out enough where unless you live in some kind of hole, you can choose. Phone calls all sound (roughly) the same, text messages are all the same, and data rates are all very similar (1.5-5Mb/s is 'good enough', though some providers have some seriously high speed stuff .. with the data caps, I'm just going to download the giant BlueRay Rip on my home connection so it doesn't matter.) For most of us, all providers do the same thing. And this is good, that means we as consumer can choose based almost solely on price. Whoever has the best price will get the monthly fee, and whomever sticks it to their customer gets left with lots of people jumping ship. Overall, prices go down. But it only works if you take on the mentality of dealing with a commodity ...
Rules for Participation
- Define your minimum needs. I need unlimited minutes and at least 2GB of data a month. You have tons of tools to figure out your average usage, so work it out.
- A cell provider SHOULD NEVER be a commitment. Contracts are like HIV, once you get it they're not going away unless you have Magic Johnson amounts of cash.
- Names, branding, and customer service are to be ignored. I don't care if this month I'm using Retard Cellular, if they've got the best deal for my minimum needs I'm using it!
- Reevaluate the market regularly. I need to make sure I'm not blindly paying into my provider, I need to reward the best priced provider with my money!
That last line is really important and it's part of what makes our shiny new GSM phones absolutely brilliant. If you want you can jump between providers EVERY MONTH. We can do everything that is GSM and it makes no substantive difference. With the inclusion of the AWS bands usually only found on stuff labelled "T-Mobile" (or i9020T) this frees us from the horrors of vendor lock-in and truly makes commoditization of cell service possible.
Question: What about non-GSM providers like Sprint and Verizon?
Good question! Screw them. Both Sprint and Verizon have the ultimate in vendor lock-in, they have every phone they'll ever activate in their databases custom made for them. It's a dying model. GSM/LTE style SIM based technologies are the way forward. It's a worldwide standard and you'll be likely to see mega-band radios (5 or more!) as we progress into the future.
Question: So besides sticking it to the man, what do I gain from going to a commoditized model?
Cost savings. That's what this all comes down to. Saving your money and being smarter about how you spend it. Sprint sure loves their $10 you-have-a-cool-phone fee. F that. Screw extra fees, screw overage costs, screw desperately holding on to that grandfathered plan that you get $5 off on. Right now you'll pay pretty much $60 a month for unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data. My guess is that there's going to be a race to the bottom of costs as this model takes off (and it is, AT&T lost a pile of postpaid - that means contract - users and gain a ton more prepaid customers in Q4 2011).
Ok, so you're sold. What do you need?
1 - A GSM Galaxy Nexus Pentaband phone.
This phone allows you to use any GSM provider and get the maximum data rates from them. But you already know how awesome this phone is, you own it already!
2 - A stack of unactivated SIM cards.
If you're going to jump providers a lot, buy a pile of SIM cards off eBay. You'll usually be able to find SIM cards for a buck ($1). Buy 10 of each vendors' and have a variety.
3 - Optionally: Google Voice
This service has really matured over the last few years. It's free and works great with your Android phone. Port your number to GV if you want to keep it, or get a new one and tell all your friends you have a new number. (My God, you people who hold onto numbers like they're your own children need to understand that your number goes into someone's phonebook and is never seen again. No one memorizes numbers anymore, get over it and go through the new number process .. you'll see it's not hard. AND you'll be able to leave some people you don't want to have your number behind.) GV allows you to switch providers instantly without having to change you number with every SIM swap. Just set your new SIM's number up in GV and you're done. Also, GV's web based (and some windows clients) text messaging is really great for cube farmers like me who'll use it all day without having my phone's beeping pissing off the entire floor of cubes.
If you don't go the GV route, be prepared to port your number a lot. It can be done, but GV is so much easier.
So, the idea is simple. Review the plans offered by all of the providers. Choose their SIM, activate it, and pay for the month. At the end of the month, do the same thing again .. or stick with what you have if you want (most can be set up to do automatic payments) After 30-60 days (usually) an unused and zero value SIM card will be permanently deactivated. Shred it.
About the Providers
Service in the USA is really only provided by 2 major GSM carriers. You know them, they're AT&T and T-Mobile. Both have good coverage and both support HSPA+ (the fast data) in most metro places. HOWEVER, these two providers lease their towers to other companies called MVNO's (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). These guys give you the same coverage and service as AT&T and T-Mobile, but often at different price schemes. Below I've got a list of TEN (10) different operators you can buy service from! And they're not all the same price or features! This is where commoditization hits home. These 10 providers change prices and play against each other. Some are even the same company using different names but using different pricing and feature sets. The beauty of this arrangement is that YOU CAN CHOOSE. At any time (though it make sense monthly on your personal billing cycle) you can switch providers.
At the core it's still AT&T and T-Mobile. So let's look at the underlying networks:
AT&T: Signal at 850/1900, HSPA+ in metros (I haven't heard of much past 12Mb/s though) with great coverage nationwide, except for Nebraska and a big chunk of Maine. 850Mhz signal penetrates buildings better and repeater systems (like the one in my truck) will work with these bands. Data is overloaded in some places, most notably New York, but data rates may suffer in any major downtown .. you need to do your homework or try an AT&T SIM in the places you use it.
T-Mobile: Slightly less coverage, but quite built out in the last 10 years. 1700/2100 AWS band has a hard time with buildings sometimes and there's no install base of repeaters. Data is FAST where available, up to 42Mb/s. Less loaded than AT&T, but again, you need to test and see what works best for you.
Most of us in the US should be covered, but if you're not, it's not my problem. Try a contract on VZW if you can't get GSM coverage. I live in a city, and though I travel rurally frequently, metro functionality is my main requirement for coverage .. and both AT&T and T-Mobile work great.
Question: What about roaming?
There's no such thing on prepaid. Take a look at AT&T's coverage for postpaid contract and prepaid. There's a difference! Same goes for T-Mobile. Again, if you're in a position that you HAVE to roam on all these podunk little operators, then do what you must. But I do suggest you think critically on whether you really need coverage at that cabin in the mountains you go to once a year... is it worth the contract game for that one weekend a year?
REMEMBER: What works for one person may not be the right thing for another. Some people I know need only 250MB/mo .. they're on WiFi all the time. Me, I need about 1GB realistically, 2GB is my established minimum in case I need to do some tethering while on the road. Some people do just fine with the coverage of Simple Mobile (smallest national coverage) while others are better off with AT&T MVNOs. You need to make the decisions yourself. Just remember, you can change your mind at any time .. so if your test of Simple Mobile isn't working out, try an AT&T MVNO. If 2GB isn't enough, that $70 5GB plan on T-Mobile might do the trick. I always keep a few various sims in my laptop bag so if I'm on the road and I need more data or have poor coverage I can always pop in and activate a new one.
So, that's it. Free yourself from the carrier's contracts and postpaid bills and go prepaid. With a little bit of planning and effort you'll be riding the deals down in cost as the prepaid war heats up. It's just starting to boil ... and you're in a the perfect place to take advantage of it.

RAW PROVIDER DATA - 02/27/2012
I'm still collating this.
T-Mobile Prepaid - http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/
Coverage: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-coverage
$30/mo 100m unlim text 5G
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 100MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB
$70/mo unlim min unlim text 5G
Throttled to EDGE after data cap
Can disable voicemail
SIMs available on T-Mobile's site for $1, get a free SIM in-store for any of the above plans
WARNING: Activation requires an “activation code” that is not printed on the SIM. It is in the activation kit, but SIMs on eBay DO NOT HAVE THEM usually.
AT&T GO Phone -http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/go-phones/index.jsp
Coverage: http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/?type=gophone&opt=payg (Click GoPhone)
Pretty much crappy plans for our device. The GNex is a "smartphone" and requires a "data package", all of which suck.
$75/mo ($50/mo plan plus 500MB data) unlim min unlim text 500MB
SIMs on eBay $1, activate online
Simple Mobile (T-Mobile MVNO) - http://www.mysimplemobile.com/
Coverage: http://www.mysimplemobile.com/Simple-Mobile-Coverage.aspx
$40/mo unlim min unlim text 5-8GB (not published) at 119kb/s
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 5-8GB (not published) HSPA+ speeds
SIMs on eBay $1 – activate online
H20 Wireless (AT&T MVNO) - http://www.h2owirelessnow.com UPDATE: Data size changes
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 500MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB "500MB at 4x speeds"??
SIMs on eBay $1 – activate online
Red Pocket Mobile (AT&T MVNO) – http://goredpocket.com
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 250MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB
SIMs on eBay $1 – activate online
Jolt Mobile (AT&T MVNO) - www.joltmobile.com
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 250MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB
SIMs hard to find online (ebay, ~$10), activate online
[
Skyview (AT&T MVNO) -http://www.skyvw.com UPDATE: Data size changes
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 500MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB "500MB at 4x speeds"??
SIMs Hard to find on eBay, activate online
MyBlack Wireless (AT&T MVNO) - http://myblackwireless.com/
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 250MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 1GB
SIMs Hard to find on eBay, activate online
AirVoice Wireless (AT&T MVNO) - http://www.airvoicewireless.com/
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 100MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 500MB
SIMs on eBay $1 – activate online
Pure Talk (AT&T MVNO) - http://www.puretalkusa.com/
Coverage: AT&T Go Phone
$43.95/mo unlim min unlim text 300MB
SIMs hard to find on eBay, activate online
Straight Talk (AT&T/T-Mobile MVNO) – http://www.straighttalksim.com/
Coverage: AT&T and/or T-Mobile (depends on local coverage, select when you order a sim)
Additional Note: ST voice (not data) roams on other networks (including a lot of the little ones), potentially even on sister networks (AT&T will voice roam on T-Mobile and vice-versa). This likely is the largest coverage MVNO out there.
$45.00/mo unlim min unlim text "unlim" data*
* Data usage limits are not specified in the documentation .. the going theory is that 100MB/2GB a month is about "safe", though there's a lot of stories that talk about different (even more) usage. This is the sticking point of ST, you really don't know what metrics they use and you can get cut off .. so YMMV. AT&T users, including myself, are getting the standard att.mvno APN speeds of 7Mb/s or so .. so it's not throttled like the Simple Mobile $40 plan or anything.
SIMs found on their website for $15 with free 3-day shipping. Activate online.

I Am Personally Using:
Straight Talk $45 unlim talk/text with ~2GB (see notes above on data limits)
I have used:
Red Pocket $60 unlim talk/text with 2GB
T-Mobile $70 unlim talk/text with 5GB
Simple Mobile $60 unlim talk/text with ?? GB
*** NEW ***
Some AT&T MVNOs have changed to some kind of 500MB at "4x" speeds, then some kind of slowdown up to 2GB. I have no idea what this means ... if anyone actually uses these offbeat plans, please report it.
StraightTalk appears to be the best deal for full "unlimited", given the caveats about data use.
T-Mobile's $30 still rocks for high data with 100mins.
Some notes: T-Mobile activation of SIMs can take "up to 24 to 48 hours". (as said by several CSRs) Mission activation codes CAN be overridden if they do not work, but they will backtrack the source of the SIMs by order number and tracking number. I had trouble with shipped SIMs with activation codes online, and CSRs took forever to get activated.
Simple Mobile SIMs can be activated online without CSR intervention and are immediately provisioned and available. (Other MVNOs do the same as well)

I read through all your info even though I am in the UK. It just amazes me how much your service provides rip you guys off over there. $70 for unlimited calls, texts and 5GB of data. That's just ridiculous. Over here a company called GiffGaff (<<<<) uses o2's signal and towers. I get for £10 (~£7) 250 minutes (not much off a call guy) unlimited texts and unlimited data (tethering not allowed). It just seems they rip you guys off so much because they can tbh.
I do agree with your point about GSM though. Its a thing of beauty. If my service provider hikes prices up or lowers data/text limit and The is a better option I can just jump ship. I bought the phone and own it outright why should we have to stay with just one provider when other companies can give us more bang for our buck. That's the whole point of capitalism, competition.

Jameslepable said:
I read through all your info even though I am in the UK. It just amazes me how much your service provides rip you guys off over there. $70 for unlimited calls, texts and 5GB of data. That's just ridiculous. Over here a company called GiffGaff (<<<<) uses o2's signal and towers. I get for £10 (~£7) 250 minutes (not much off a call guy) unlimited texts and unlimited data (tethering not allowed). It just seems they rip you guys off so much because they can tbh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I *really* don't want to stand up for our cost structure ... but there might be a mitigating circumstance ..
United States Of America: Total size area: 9,631,418 sq km
United Kingdom: Total size area: 244,820 sq km
"The state of Wisconsin in America is almost the same size as the UK [...]" or "[...] slightly smaller than Oregon."
My phone works in a significant portion of that 9,631,418 sq km. Some of the really regional providers can be cheaper (like MetroPCS), but it's still a problem of lots and lots and lots of infrastructure.
Also .. I should mention that from the US on my business line I can call the UK (land lines) for the same price as calling down the street. (About a cent and a half) However, if I call a UK cell phone, I get hit with a 30c/m charge. That's a significant difference in how the calling rates are structured.

LionAR10 said:
RAW PROVIDER DATA - 01/20/2012
I'm still collating this.
T-Mobile Prepaid - http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/
Coverage: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-coverage
$30/mo 100m unlim text 5G
$50/mo unlim min unlim text 100MB
$60/mo unlim min unlim text 2GB
$70/mo unlim min unlim text 5G
Throttled to EDGE after data cap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are missing one more prepaid plan - http://www.tmonews.com/2012/01/t-mobile-and-walmart-upgrade-to-unlimited-web-on-family-mobile-plan/

denis_y_s said:
You are missing one more prepaid plan - http://www.tmonews.com/2012/01/t-mobile-and-walmart-upgrade-to-unlimited-web-on-family-mobile-plan/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good call, though this is an odd one .. postpaid, but no contract .. and 5GB for a couple months then 250M. But I love the fact that TMO is playing with prices like this though. Their offerings post-AT&T debacle seem to show a real interest in pushing some boundaries. And AT&T said the merger would be good for competition ... smh

Good info, and interesting timing! My pre-paid SIM activation kit for T-Mobile is in the mail to my house right now Shooting for the $30 100min / UL text / UL (5GB) Data.
I also found it interesting about Simple Mobile. I'd looked at them before but thought it was kinda shady how they offer different plans for "3G speeds" and "4G speeds".
Found 1 typo:
$75/mo ($50/mo plan plus 500GB data) unlim min unlim text 500GB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming that is 500mb?

martonikaj said:
Good info, and interesting timing! My pre-paid SIM activation kit for T-Mobile is in the mail to my house right now Shooting for the $30 100min / UL text / UL (5GB) Data.
I also found it interesting about Simple Mobile. I'd looked at them before but thought it was kinda shady how they offer different plans for "3G speeds" and "4G speeds".
Found 1 typo:
Assuming that is 500mb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That $30 5GB is a killer plan for the data, I'm all over it if I need to run a tablet or USB modem.
As far as Simple goes, yeah, I can personally confirm the 119kb/s throttle. But it works great for my gf, who still does email, surfs the web, and plays Pandora on it all day at work ... she doesn't notice it being slow. I, however, being the obvious cellphone geek I am, want more than that!
And thanks, typo fixed.

LionAR10 said:
That $30 5GB is a killer plan for the data, I'm all over it if I need to run a tablet or USB modem.
As far as Simple goes, yeah, I can personally confirm the 119kb/s throttle. But it works great for my gf, who still does email, surfs the web, and plays Pandora on it all day at work ... she doesn't notice it being slow. I, however, being the obvious cellphone geek I am, want more than that!
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Click to collapse
Yep the plan is a good deal for sure. I'm not a huge voice user, but I easily push 5GB data per month right now. I'm on a $60 ($70 after taxes) Even More+ Plan right now and dropping it for pre-paid. Gonna save ~$40 a month, therefore subsidizing my purchase of the Galaxy Nexus Plan on using GrooVe IP to substitute out a few minutes. I'm having mixed results atm.
If its too few minutes for me, I'm just going to bump up to the $70 UL voice / UL text / UL (5GB) data pre-paid plan. Same price as current but with UL voice lol. Really win-win.

martonikaj said:
Plan on using GrooVe IP to substitute out a few minutes. I'm having mixed results atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purchased both GrooVe IP and gVoice but haven't really used them yet. I did a bang-up job last time I was in the UK with TMO UK prepaid there and just getting data, then doing SIP calls (CSipSimple) while on Wifi. (TMO UK blocks SIP on cell data). But GV texting still worked fine, so no one really even knew I had left the states. I'm hoping the GV clients like GrooVe work on their data network, but it'll be a few more months until I'm back there to test.
BTW, if you're passing through Heathrow, you *can* buy a SIM from a vending machine in the international terminal .. but it's a ripoff. Buy one or more on eBay before you go.

LionAR10 said:
I purchased both GrooVe IP and gVoice but haven't really used them yet. I did a bang-up job last time I was in the UK with TMO UK prepaid there and just getting data, then doing SIP calls (CSipSimple) while on Wifi. (TMO UK blocks SIP on cell data). But GV texting still worked fine, so no one really even knew I had left the states. I'm hoping the GV clients like GrooVe work on their data network, but it'll be a few more months until I'm back there to test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GrooVe IP has very mixed results from the reviews I see. There are so many factors and settings in play that can change the quality. It really seems hit or miss right now. Trying to figure it out.

LionAR10 said:
I *really* don't want to stand up for our cost structure ... but there might be a mitigating circumstance ..
United States Of America: Total size area: 9,631,418 sq km
United Kingdom: Total size area: 244,820 sq km
"The state of Wisconsin in America is almost the same size as the UK [...]" or "[...] slightly smaller than Oregon."
My phone works in a significant portion of that 9,631,418 sq km. Some of the really regional providers can be cheaper (like MetroPCS), but it's still a problem of lots and lots and lots of infrastructure.
Also .. I should mention that from the US on my business line I can call the UK (land lines) for the same price as calling down the street. (About a cent and a half) However, if I call a UK cell phone, I get hit with a 30c/m charge. That's a significant difference in how the calling rates are structured.
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Click to collapse
I see your point but also I would say big american cities are more densely populated. London and Manchester aside most other cities (Am from Liverpool) aren't as big so shouldn't require as many towers as say the other cities would. But in the likes of major cities in america the would be millions of people in a small area. That would be a lot of market potential and therefore more money.
Also I could understand it costing slightly more due to more areas being coverd but the likes of $60-&70 on a pay as you go. Thats a heck of alot of money.

Jameslepable said:
Also I could understand it costing slightly more due to more areas being coverd but the likes of $60-&70 on a pay as you go. Thats a heck of alot of money.
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Click to collapse
And to think, I was paying $180/mo on Sprint for my EVO and a data card. I feel downright giddy paying only $60/mo! (And the data card is a moot point with decent tethering)

I'm tempted to cancel my ATT plan ($165 ETF) and go to Red Pocket. Make that ETF back after a few months. Thanks for the write up!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

Hi. Welcome to gsm.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.

I've been telling people this for YEARS now. Thanks for the fantastic write-up though - very clear.
Howardforums has a lot of different threads about each specific provider's cheap plans, but this single resource is very helpful. I'd hope that all of us with GSM phones take advantage of the fact that we can swap out sims whenever we want, and Google Voice lets us free ourselves from the tethers of the carriers.

I'm planning on visiting Orlando and Washington in the summer and going on t-mo's $30 for a month but i've heard that they are getting rid of that plan and I don't want to spend like $60 for two weeks of usage

T-Mobile has a NO CONTRACT POST PAID plans. It's called Monthly4G. It's on their website.
And yes, PrePaid is for losers
Sent from Galaxy Nexus (GSM)

Monthly 4G is pre-paid...

T mobile impressions

I just switched from att to tmo because i was able to get the phone cheaper on value plan (250 down and 20 a month) and mainly because they are the only ones who have good unlimited data, sprint sucks, who knows when lte will eventually be available for sprint...
The plans are really cheap! im on the value plan because i bought the phone outright, but i moved my mom and dad over from att family plan too.
before we were paying about 340 for all 3 unlimited everything, now it comes to 177, and we were able to get 8 percent off every bill because of my fathers company which happens to be on their list. And, we can add my sister for free for 500 minutes and unlimited night, weekends, and mobile to mobile and text.
The question was service, but i didnt care and my parents said that to save like 150 a month, they dont care either. i live in brooklyn, ny. service seems to be pretty good. The data is amazing! Honestly, you dont need more than 5-10 mbps and i get solid 10-15 or sometimes 8. thats amazing! who needs effing LTE! and according to tmo store employees theyll have lte next year.
From what i hear, customer service sucks... i havent had that yet....
My mother does sales, so she drives all over the tri-state area not just in heavily populated areas so it remains to be seen how happy she will be with it... but still Its so freaking cheap it doesnt matter
anyone else's thoughts

We have been with T-Mobile going on 8 years now. Currently have 5 phones on the Classic Unlimited Family plan. The coverage is great, with few dropped calls. Customer service is good, but their Automated Directory is a pain in the [email protected]#$. 1 suggestion to get to a live agent is to say "Loyalty" when asked what you want to do. My biggest grip with them, and I'm sure this goes for the majority of carriers is their Tech Support is worthless.

I switched after 5 years with Sprint. Since they keep dropping support for the device I purchased it was time for a change. Plus with all the same features on the plan I had, I'll pay 147 at Tmo vs 194 at sprint.
And Hspa+ 42 is soooooooo much faster the the wimax I had on my Photon
noted for future reference on my Note 2

I had switched to Sprint for the EVO 3D and the plan at the time seemed like a good deal.. biggest mistake ever leaving T-Mobile.. 3 months of painful service from Sprint... they canceled both contracts, kept the phone, sold em and moved the wife and I back to T-Mobile. Not planning on leaving for the foreseeable future.

The gf had an AT&T iphone and after 2 years and no longer in contract..., she wanted to cancel her $30 dollar dataplan and continue to just use the phone. They said No to her and that she must keep the dataplan. She said she would go to T-mobile. They didn't care and dare her.
So now she's on T-mobile with her iphone, no data plan required. T-mobile is very flexible.
Also Sim based phone > CDMA phone all day. Not only is the resale value higher, you can actually use it outside of the US.

I've been a TMO customer for 10 years. I would disagree with the poster that said their Customer Service is a negative. I haven't called recently other than lighting up the SIM that came with the Note 2 from Wirefly (I wasn't cutting my GS2 SIM) and that went similarly to every other call I have ever had with them. Outstanding every time. The only issue I have ever had with Tmobile is coverage. It sucks at my house so WiFi calling is mandatory IF I care about talking on the phone, I don't. This part of the country is Verizon for excellent coverage. Tmobile struggles in rural areas but again, I don't really care about that. It's rare I find myself in those areas. Customer support, in my experience, has always been a very positive experience.

You can't cancel your data plan on AT&T while on contract, you can pay a min of $25 a month for the data plan. I moved from ATT to Tmobile because of unlimited data. My contract is up with ATT in Jan. Was paying $50 for 5G, $30 unlimited text and on a $69. 99 family plan of 700 min. a month. Screw them... Moved to Tmobile for a valu plan of $79.99 + tax... UNLIMITED EVERYTHING. I don't miss ATT' lte cuz there ain't none in my area and seriously Tmobile runs faster.
Sent from my GNote ll from T-Mobile

Love Tmobile. I'm on their prepaid Monthly4G $30/mo plan. Can't beat it. Sure i only get 5GB of 4G data, but with WiFi all day at work and at home, I don't really need the unlimited data.

I've been reading a lot about some of the carriers LTE and how TMO is faster. What I have heard is TMO is going LTE sometime next year, I'm hoping this doesn't effect our current speed?

AG0087 said:
You can't cancel your data plan on AT&T while on contract, you can pay a min of $25 a month for the data plan. I moved from ATT to Tmobile because of unlimited data. My contract is up with ATT in Jan. Was paying $50 for 5G, $30 unlimited text and on a $69. 99 family plan of 700 min. a month. Screw them... Moved to Tmobile for a valu plan of $79.99 + tax... UNLIMITED EVERYTHING. I don't miss ATT' lte cuz there ain't none in my area and seriously Tmobile runs faster.
Sent from my GNote ll from T-Mobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats exactly what I had with att and exactly why I left. But it sounds like youre paying 10 dollars to much now. I'm paying 69 for unlimited everything with no data cap.

AG0087 said:
You can't cancel your data plan on AT&T while on contract, you can pay a min of $25 a month for the data plan. I moved from ATT to Tmobile because of unlimited data. My contract is up with ATT in Jan. Was paying $50 for 5G, $30 unlimited text and on a $69. 99 family plan of 700 min. a month. Screw them... Moved to Tmobile for a valu plan of $79.99 + tax... UNLIMITED EVERYTHING. I don't miss ATT' lte cuz there ain't none in my area and seriously Tmobile runs faster.
Sent from my GNote ll from T-Mobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds just like what I had but it sounds like youre paying 10 dollars too much now. I have unlimited everything with no data cap for 69.99...

at&t is so stupid........you can't even cancel your data plan even if you're not on contract. Smartphone = data plan REGARDLESS.
That's why I have T-Mobile even though I work for at&t.
I have 5 smartphones on my plan but only have data plans on 2 of them. My kids only use data wherever there is wifi. Why can't at&t understand that I don't know but T-Mobile does.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

jlczl said:
at&t is so stupid........you can't even cancel your data plan even if you're not on contract. Smartphone = data plan REGARDLESS.
That's why I have T-Mobile even though I work for at&t.
I have 5 smartphones on my plan but only have data plans on 2 of them. My kids only use data wherever there is wifi. Why can't at&t understand that I don't know but T-Mobile does.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. They won't let you cancel your data plan even if you're off contract. If you're using any smart phone, they required you get a data plan. lol. Plus i think they have a 2GB data cap on their LTE and if you go over, they charge for it.

OP, I was in a smilar boat as you. Transferred the fam over to value and have 4 great lines for less than $140. I thought service would suck compqred to AT&T, but quite the opposite. The only carrier coverage and speed envy I have is for VZW, but with their dumb CDMA, locked bootloaders, and double high prices they can keep it lol.
Very happy Tmo customer for the last 14 months.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

How to Add Accidental Damage Warranty to T-Mobile Note 2 as a non-T-Mobile Customer?

How do you Add Accidental Damage Warranty to T-Mobile Note 2 as a non-T-Mobile Customer? Squaretrade won't work with Carrier-Mobiles, even though you unlock the device, right? I'm thinkin' of buying the Note 2 from T-Mobile; however, I'm not thinking about service just yet until I get my facts straightened out about unlimited plans.
Are there any companies that provide the Accidental Damage Warranty?
T-Mobile doesn't provide this kind of warranty to non-T-Mobile customers, right?

I purchased this coverage via ensquared which also covers theft.
*Signature blocks shouldn't default to free advertising.*
Sent from my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 2 via Solavei.

That I don't know. I am currently a T-Mobile customer.
Correct, T-Mobile doesn't provide insurance to non-T-Mobile customers.
What are your questions about the Unlimited plans on T-Mobile?
Unlimited without Hotspot:
Unlimited Plus plan you get 2gb 4G speeds then give you 2G speeds
Unlimited Nationwide 4G plan is truly unlimited.
No roaming limits on these plans.
Unlimited with Hotspot has two plans that either give you 5gb or 10gb 4G speeds. Then they give you 2G speeds for the rest of the monthly billing cycle. Roaming is either 100mb for 5gb plan or 200mb for the 10gb plan.
These are the same with Individual and Family plans. Though the prices differ between Individual and Family plans.
T-Mobile is the best service plan for "Smartphone" devices as long as you have coverage. Unlimited Nationwide 4G plan is truly unlimited for "Smartphones"
T-Mobile is Good too Fair for Hotspot users as long as you have coverage. Even the 10gb 4G speeds plan is very good plan and best for the price. Again just as long as you have coverage.
If coverage is an issue or wanting highest speeds are an issue than Verizon for most coverage areas is the best. But they are the most expensive and without unlimited plan. Other areas AT&T wireless is the better option for coverage. But they are the second highest cost service with no unlimited plan and not as fast as Verizon.
For me if I was Hotspotting then I would go for the 10gb 4G speed plan. 10gb is fair for me. And it is less expensive than Verizon and AT&T. But I don't need Hotspot right now so I went for the Unlimited Nationwide 4G plan that is truly unlimited. That is the best deal that I can find. Only other provider that I would look at is Verizon. Verizon has both the best coverage area and the best speeds on the market. But Verizon is the most expensive service in the market.
So what is more important?
Highest speeds and largest coverage, but the most expensive: Verizon.
In some areas better coverage and good speeds, but not as good of speeds as Verizon and still very expensive: AT&T.
Or unlimited and very low cost, but limited coverage and not as fast of speeds (but still decent speeds) : T-Mobile.
Note - I didn't add Sprint because of higher cost than T-Mobile, very limited coverage, roaming can be very costly and speeds not so good to really bad. There is no advantage to use Sprint. Which is why Sprint is not worth talking about here.
I didn't talk about the prepaid service providers because I was not shopping for that. So I don't know their plans. But this is a run down of my findings from researching the major service providers.

are there any others like ensquared?

Google "cell phone insurance".

Lol, I want to know what many of you might by knowing
Obviously, I can go copy and paste lmgtfy , but I want want to know is what insurance companies you might be knowing and recommending to colleagues and friends

What I want to know from you is: Where are you going to find a better priced unlimited service that has an overall best package & service for the price deal than from T-Mobile? And what are you needing to know about T-Mobile Unlimited plans?
Sorry I don't know of an insurance company outside of what the carriers gives us that I can trust. So many people have been burned by outside insurance companies that they got very high recommendations. Insurance companies are not going to risk loosing business from carriers that they provide service for. That is why I have more trust with insurance companies that provide the service to carriers. Yes, insurance is a gamble on both sides. I just feel that outside insurance companies are so much larger gamble for me that I am not willing to take that risk.

Well, presently, I don't intend to use T-Mobile's service; that's why I asked initially in other threads if Squaretrade would be applicable for the T-Mobile phones. However, I was informed by a few XDA members that the phone must be purchased from an authorized reseller and not be carrier-branded. Don't know if this is the actual case or not.
JaguarXT said:
What I want to know from you is: Where are you going to find a better priced unlimited service that has an overall best package & service for the price deal than from T-Mobile? And what are you needing to know about T-Mobile Unlimited plans?
Sorry I don't know of an insurance company outside of what the carriers gives us that I can trust. So many people have been burned by outside insurance companies that they got very high recommendations. Insurance companies are not going to risk loosing business from carriers that they provide service for. That is why I have more trust with insurance companies that provide the service to carriers. Yes, insurance is a gamble on both sides. I just feel that outside insurance companies are so much larger gamble for me that I am not willing to take that risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

T-Mobile REQ Pref Android Web

So I am in a great grandfathered plan (myfaves 800 family) and I now wanted to add unlimited $30 to my line. They will not put the real unlimited plan on my line because it is only for new rate plans. So they put me on the Preferred android web plan that is throttled at 5gb. They claim that there is no option to put me on a full unlimited plan because I am in a grandfathered plan that no longer exists.
I have heard about people with this data plan not getting throttled, is this true?
Also, is there a way to get a truly unlimited data plan even though I am in a grandfathered myFaves plan?
Thanks friends.... this has been pissing me off now for a while as I wanted the $30 real unlimited (knowing I can still tether)

I've been throttled once, on my current 2 gig plan. They do it.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk HD

The $20 android preferred plan definitely gets throttled. I'm on it.

Cricket, not ATT, TMOBILE, VERIZON, SPRINT, but even a less reputable carrier like Cricket, for years now have offered better services(edge, 3G, 4G, and even their version of 4G LTE) that force "grandfathered customers" into switching up their entire service rates or miss out on the upgrade... long story short...
Years ago, my sister had a friend buy her a tmobile nokia that had clear plated cases with internal lights that flashed on que and was willing to pay her first few months service... therefore my sister gave her old $20/mo cricket phone to my mom and paid her bill as my mom was old school and didnt care about cell phones
Fast forward a better part of a decade (to about 2008 and my mom (being grand fathered into her 20/mo payment had switched phones tons of time without ever increasing her bill)
Fast forward to 2008 and I was really intrigued by a cricket preAndroid phone and my mom offered to add me to her service (cricket had a promotion, keep your rate while adding additional services like caller ID, call waiting, etc. with any new Family plan) so we bit and no hitch). Even down the road we were able to add my step-dad and my brother to the family plan all at no additional monthly charge ($20 per line)
Here is where, I think, your problem lies...
Finally, fast forward to 2011, cricket came out with the Huawei Ascend and I bit (as I needed a cheap replacement).. we went in and upgraded my phone (I bought the phone outright but was forced into the new "Android" plan at $45/mo) and that then forced the "Grand Father Reset" as my mom, stepdad and brothers plans were all increased to $35/mo for basicaly the same service (actually even less as the 35/mo plan didnt include some of the original 20/mo nationwide min/txt freebies)...
Essentially I had a weak-ass android (crickets very first and nothing compared to market value at the time like the EVO) while also, very inefficiently, increasing 4 lines of service from 80/mo, up to 150/mo for the same 4 lines...
At the end of that same year of increase, cricket came out with a ZTE Score for cheap and my Mom, brother, and stepdad all purchased resulting in all 4 lines increasing the family plan to 45/mo each and at that rate, 200/mo total, I effectively defected to TMO.... lol
Smart decision on my part but with your 30 dollar plan I would suggest, or atleast advise, you anticipate rate increases to better service packages!!
Believe me, if cricket found a way, so has TMO, ATT, Verizon, etc
73/mo after I pay off the GN2 with hopes for a moderately priced LTE in the future... im so stoked... crickets LTE is a joke compared to TMO AWS... just saying
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

tmobile is still telling me that there is no way to get the unlimited without throttle plan because I have an older myfaves plan at it will not allow them to add real unlimited.

Thats my point, even crick has been pushing the cheaper rate customers onto more expensive plans to experience an upgraded service plan... just something that we all need to get used to as chances are when lte rolls out, all of us who have chosen the unlimted packages (no throttle) will be forced into paying even more for the unlimited LTE or for the same 70/mo be stuck with LTE throttles... its inevitable at this point
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app