[Q] Prepaid + S4 (SGH-M919)? - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4

I have been trying to get the $630 S4 (SGH-M919) from t-mobile with the $30/mo pre-paid plan. Has anyone swung that yet? I have tried stores, online, and calling a few times and they all semi-fumble their way through the process before saying "oops, it isn't letting me, sorry".
Should I just buck up and pay $750 for the i9505? Is there any difference between i9505 and SGH-M919? They look close on this wiki page wiki: Samsung_Galaxy_S4#Model_variants (sorry, XDA isn't letting me post links yet), but there are some differences for 4G LTE that I don't understand.

jmblock2 said:
I have been trying to get the $630 S4 (SGH-M919) from t-mobile with the $30/mo pre-paid plan. Has anyone swung that yet? I have tried stores, online, and calling a few times and they all semi-fumble their way through the process before saying "oops, it isn't letting me, sorry".
Should I just buck up and pay $750 for the i9505? Is there any difference between i9505 and SGH-M919? They look close on this wiki page wiki: Samsung_Galaxy_S4#Model_variants (sorry, XDA isn't letting me post links yet), but there are some differences for 4G LTE that I don't understand.
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Are you willing to pay full price for the phone?
If you are, you can do what I did (and a bunch of other people on here) just by the phone full price with a new line and when you get the phone call and cancel that line right away and keep the phone.

I was planning on paying the $630 up front. I am a bit confused by the process you mention. So you sign up for their individual 1-line plan ($50/mo), buy the phone for $630, and then cancel and do prepaid? It seems like you would get hit with $200 fee.

jmblock2 said:
I was planning on paying the $630 up front. I am a bit confused by the process you mention. So you sign up for their individual 1-line plan ($50/mo), buy the phone for $630, and then cancel and do prepaid? It seems like you would get hit with $200 fee.
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Why do you think you're going to get hit with a $200 fee if there's no contract involved? You buy the phone outright for $630 from their website and pick the $50 plan since it's the cheapest, call them a couple of days later to cancel the plan. That's what I did since I already had the $30 prepaid plan.

Correct,
There is no termination fee because there is no contract.

It just seems to good to be true! Thank you for the explanations. I took the leap and purchased 2 phones.
Thanks!

just buy it
I paid $630 to Wally World for a SGH-M919 or SGS4 yesterday. Lady only asked if I already had a SIM. No mention of me buying a "plan".

jmblock2 said:
I have been trying to get the $630 S4 (SGH-M919) from t-mobile with the $30/mo pre-paid plan. Has anyone swung that yet? I have tried stores, online, and calling a few times and they all semi-fumble their way through the process before saying "oops, it isn't letting me, sorry".
Should I just buck up and pay $750 for the i9505? Is there any difference between i9505 and SGH-M919? They look close on this wiki page wiki: Samsung_Galaxy_S4#Model_variants (sorry, XDA isn't letting me post links yet), but there are some differences for 4G LTE that I don't understand.
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Click to collapse
i ordered the phone as soon as the order page went up on tmobiles site. got it next day. threw out the sim card that came with it and threw in my prepaid sim. activated the sim online with the $30 100min/unlim text/5 gig high speed data. Also paid off my bill till october.
So to answer your question yes it IS possible. You will probably have to do it yourself though, (or go to a wallmart like the reps reccomend for this plan, but meh) order the prepaid sim online, then activate online. Simple as that
and yes, i did buy the phone outright (obviously)

Related

T-mobile Galaxy SIII $80 more than other carriers

Went online to buy the Galaxy SIII as Baltimore is not one of the top 30 markets included in T-mobiles launch of the "new Jesus phone".
I was forced to switch to a classic plan , previously had an even more plan for about the same features and cost but them when I looked at the pricing I see that T-mobile sells the phone for $80 more than Sprint, ATT and Verizon are for both the subsidized price and the full retail price.
What gives? Did I just sign up for a 2 new year contract only to be scammed into dishing out more money to T-mobile?
BTW, the Pebble Blue 32GB version is still backordered online.
rhesus98 said:
Went online to buy the Galaxy SIII as Baltimore is not one of the top 30 markets included in T-mobiles launch of the "new Jesus phone".
I was forced to switch to a classic plan , previously had an even more plan for about the same features and cost but them when I looked at the pricing I see that T-mobile sells the phone for $80 more than Sprint, ATT and Verizon are for both the subsidized price and the full retail price.
What gives? Did I just sign up for a 2 new year contract only to be scammed into dishing out more money to T-mobile?
BTW, the Pebble Blue 32GB version is still backordered online.
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By the phone outright. Pay full price, and sign up for a $30 a month plan, bring your own device. This, although contrary to popular opinion, is EASILY the most cost effective route. If you can not pay $650 for a phone outright, then you have a tough choice to make if you want instant gratification.
I just bought mine, and it was $300 after mail in rebate. I am annoyed to, but there is nothing I could do about it.
I'm a little annoyed too and will be watching T-Mobile closely. If they they have some super-Sale of July 4th (which is within the 14 day return policy) I hope they don't put up a fight.
In general, all prices should be good for 30 days on any product, with no-hassle price adjustments.
lamenramen said:
By the phone outright. Pay full price, and sign up for a $30 a month plan, bring your own device. This, although contrary to popular opinion, is EASILY the most cost effective route. If you can not pay $650 for a phone outright, then you have a tough choice to make if you want instant gratification.
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Well, if you need a data plan however and you're paying for it anyway I think it's better to get the device subsidized.
My last phone was the Galaxy S and I paid $500 with a $30 plan at the time. A year later, I realized I needed more talk time, mobile email I added a data plan as well. Now it doesn't make sense to pay full retail for the phone.
My biggest issue is even the full retail price from T-mobile is $80 more than other carriers. Is that the premium we have to pay for getting the phone from the carrier who had the device on the market before the other? (even though they were the last to make an announcements).
that part still doesn't make sense... 3 other carriers are selling the exact same phone for substantially cheaper. Why are TMo's prices hiked up?
free 50GB Dropbox isn't so free?
could it be they are trying to make us pay for the free 50GB dropbox by charging us $80 more?
The T-Mob version should be roughly the same as the ATT version. Unless the radio for the 42 MBps data is significantly more costly than whatever radio ATT uses, I don't see where the difference should be.
Even so, if I had $700, I'd be buying one outright today. My Vibrant would become a dev/backup device with no looking back.
Although I want one VERY badly, I am kinda glad that I am going to have to wait a bit more before I can afford it. This way I can monitor the S III topic here and see if there are any lurking issues before I buy.
I called customer care and they gave me a full months credit to get and use the savings to buy my phone
I would talk to rententions if you want to see if you can get a better deal. Depending on how long you've been with them, how long you've been out of contract, etc, they may be able to get you a better deal. The key is to be nice to them.
I already posted in the stickied thread, but I'll repost here:
Well, T-mobile continues to amaze me in a good way. Of course I was disappointed as everyone else with T-mobile's pricing, so I thought I'd give retention a call and see if they could do something.
I was really nice about it. I just said I'm looking to upgrade my phone from a Vibrant (I paid full price on the Vibrant, so I haven't been on contract for a long time). I've waited a long time to upgrade and I'm disappointed with the pricing. That's it. I wasn't rude or anything, just laid it out there.
The rep apologized for my disappointment and then she offered the following with no hesitation:
1. $200 credit to offset the cost of the phone. The credit has been applied to my account.
2. She said she could give me 500 more minutes on my plan AND reduce my monthly bill by $15.
3. She said I could pick it up in any store for $279.99 or call back on the 27th when they get them in their system at Customer Care.
4. I had overage on my bill for the first time. $100 worth. She took care of that too!
Bottom line, she gave me the phone for $79.99, saved me money on my monthly bill, AND wiped off overage.
Can't wait to get my S III once it's readily available. I won't mind the wait.
Maverick777 said:
I would talk to rententions if you want to see if you can get a better deal. Depending on how long you've been with them, how long you've been out of contract, etc, they may be able to get you a better deal. The key is to be nice to them.
I already posted in the stickied thread, but I'll repost here:
Well, T-mobile continues to amaze me in a good way. Of course I was disappointed as everyone else with T-mobile's pricing, so I thought I'd give retention a call and see if they could do something.
I was really nice about it. I just said I'm looking to upgrade my phone from a Vibrant (I paid full price on the Vibrant, so I haven't been on contract for a long time). I've waited a long time to upgrade and I'm disappointed with the pricing. That's it. I wasn't rude or anything, just laid it out there.
The rep apologized for my disappointment and then she offered the following with no hesitation:
1. $200 credit to offset the cost of the phone. The credit has been applied to my account.
2. She said she could give me 500 more minutes on my plan AND reduce my monthly bill by $15.
3. She said I could pick it up in any store for $279.99 or call back on the 27th when they get them in their system at Customer Care.
4. I had overage on my bill for the first time. $100 worth. She took care of that too!
Bottom line, she gave me the phone for $79.99, saved me money on my monthly bill, AND wiped off overage.
Can't wait to get my S III once it's readily available. I won't mind the wait.
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I'm certainly going to have to do this Thanks for the tip!
To be clear, which number did you call exactly though? haha
Xenoism said:
I'm certainly going to have to do this Thanks for the tip!
To be clear, which number did you call exactly though? haha
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611. Asked for retentions when I got someone on the line.
Maverick777 said:
611. Asked for retentions when I got someone on the line.
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Much appreciated my friend ^^
Maverick777 said:
I would talk to rententions if you want to see if you can get a better deal.
2. She said she could give me 500 more minutes on my plan AND reduce my monthly bill by $15.
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Hi!
I have a question to ask you, what type of plan are you on and is T-Mobile reducing your plan by $15.00 a month by giving you a $15.00 a month credit for two years, for example? Thanks!
What I think everyone fails to realize is T-Mobile has the best rates out of all carriers and you still end up saving even with the extra your spending on the device. T-Mobile takes that into account when pricing devices. So overall its not really all bad. Just seems like it when your dropping all that money up front.
Sent from my Buddy using xda premium
for those of you who did call retentions, did you do so before or after ordering the phone? I ordered the 32gb pebble blue online, and after taxes and fees and whatnot, it came out to a little under 450... that seems quite high to me fore some reason.
neoslink1 said:
for those of you who did call retentions, did you do so before or after ordering the phone? I ordered the 32gb pebble blue online, and after taxes and fees and whatnot, it came out to a little under 450... that seems quite high to me fore some reason.
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Doesn't sound high for 32gb they start at 379 before taxes, shipping and upgrade/activison fees.
Sent from my Buddy using xda premium
FRuiTBoOT said:
Doesn't sound high for 32gb they start at 379 before taxes, shipping and upgrade/activison fees.
Sent from my Buddy using xda premium
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Think they could still waive my activation if I was an angel to them? I'm just a student, lol. 450 stings a bit, but its looking like it'll definitely be worth it.
That's the same amount you would pay at amazon and on the go solutions but you get a bonus when buying from on the go solutions it will come rooted if I was to spend $700 on a phone that would be the choice I would make the international version are way better
Sent from my Sensation Z710e using xda premium
for some reason, I was given a 6 months full upgrade without any notification. Would really love to get this but, the price on this is insane. Anyone walking into a target, bestbuy or any local chain will see 4 galaxy s3. who in their right mind would pick the tmobile at 90$ more? I was told by a support rep that their computer currently doesn't reflect the real value, so this is probably some release day insanity. they will probably automatically credit the difference, or at least i would hope so.

T-Mobile contract cancellation

Anybody guys made contract cancellation once you received phone?
Nope. You have 14 days to do so, 30 days to return if you buy outright. Have fun.
This belongs in Q&A.
k0nane said:
Nope. You have 14 days to do so, 30 days to return if you buy outright. Have fun.
This belongs in Q&A.
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Thanks.
I use TMobile prepaid and just would like to cancel contract and keep using GS4 on my existing prepaid. I've paid full price for the GS4. So when I receive it I can just cancel my contract and this will not affect any additional fees and/or blacklisting IMEI etc. ?
BTW sorry for the wrong forum
escknx said:
Thanks.
I use TMobile prepaid and just would like to cancel contract and keep using GS4 on my existing prepaid. I've paid full price for the GS4. So when I receive it I can just cancel my contract and this will not affect any additional fees and/or blacklisting IMEI etc. ?
BTW sorry for the wrong forum
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Go talk to a rep in-store. If you signed up for another plan, while also paying full price for the GS4, you have no contract. You can cancel that plan at any time, you own the device.
k0nane said:
Go talk to a rep in-store. If you signed up for another plan, while also paying full price for the GS4, you have no contract. You can cancel that plan at any time, you own the device.
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Right I just mentioned that for now GS4 is unavailable for prepaid users so I had to subscribe for a contract to order it.
I did the same thing.
I have a prepaid account but I signed up for a new line and purchased the phone outright.
i know a bunch of other people on this forum did the same thing.
I am wondering if anyone canceled yet also and how they did it.
Can it be done on the live chat?
Yeah I looked on the T-Mobile site...no Galaxy S4 for prepaid phones. You have to give them your State ID and SSN to subscribe to a "no contract plan" where you pay the full price of the phone+$70/month. Which is complete bullcrap, because prepaid is the exact same thing, minus being forced to give T-Mobile your State ID/SSN for no reason at all. It's not just T-Mobile either, it's the same way with Sprint. Carriers want as much of your information as they can get; it's not enough you pay for service and the phone anymore.
My issue was much more interesting that anyone here experienced I believe.
When I ordered to my SSN and ID they haven't approve me and I was very wondering why cause I have a great credit score.
Then I contacted credit bureau and find out that my credit score fall <<400 that is unbelievable. Further speech and I realized that I've become a victim of identity theft. Now they confirmed this and recalculated my credit score as it should be. But to save time I had to order GS4 with my girfriend's papers.
Thanks GS4 that I've found identity theft so early.
The only one thing I have to do is cancel the contract once I receive it tomorrow.
So as I bought phone outright should I call somewhere to cancel it or I can just utilize sim card that I receive?
I'm also a prepaid customer, ended up buying the phone full price. Just hate the fact that even if you're paying the ful price you still have to sign up for service. I hope the only thing we have to do is give them a call and cancel the new line.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I did the same thing. I've been a prepaid customer for a year or so, and I opened a post-paid plan account so I could get the GS4. I also paid for the phone in full. I received it today and I already put my prepaid plan sim card on it. I need to cancel the post-paid plan but I'm not sure if I should do it now or wait. The sim card that came with the phone is still untouched inside the box.
Masonfield said:
Yeah I looked on the T-Mobile site...no Galaxy S4 for prepaid phones. You have to give them your State ID and SSN to subscribe to a "no contract plan" where you pay the full price of the phone+$70/month. Which is complete bullcrap, because prepaid is the exact same thing, minus being forced to give T-Mobile your State ID/SSN for no reason at all. It's not just T-Mobile either, it's the same way with Sprint. Carriers want as much of your information as they can get; it's not enough you pay for service and the phone anymore.
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If you paid full price for the phone it's only $50/mo. The other option is to pay $149 up front for the phone, then it's $70/mo.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Towle said:
If you paid full price for the phone it's only $50/mo. The other option is to pay $149 up front for the phone, then it's $70/mo.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Plus data fees either way.
I'm on a special plan.
Towle said:
If you paid full price for the phone it's only $50/mo. The other option is to pay $149 up front for the phone, then it's $70/mo.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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It's only $50 if you unlimited talk/text+500MB data pool. If you want prepaid with unlimited data it's $70.
k0nane said:
Plus data fees either way.
I'm on a special plan.
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The new plan $50/mo including data. But you need to be out of contract to use it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------
Masonfield said:
It's only $50 if you unlimited talk/text+500MB data pool. If you want prepaid with unlimited data it's $70.
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Ok I was thinking that it included 2.5 gb data, but that's an extra $10. So it's $60 if you want 2.5 gb or $70 if you want unlimited.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
sim locked?
I ordered mine yesterday night am planning to cancel service and use the phone also out of the country. Reading carefully through threads, but cannot find an answer: is the t-mobile S4 sim-locked? If yes and I paid the full price, can I get an unlocking code from t-mobile? Thanks
ua2 said:
I ordered mine yesterday night am planning to cancel service and use the phone also out of the country. Reading carefully through threads, but cannot find an answer: is the t-mobile S4 sim-locked? If yes and I paid the full price, can I get an unlocking code from t-mobile? Thanks
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Click to collapse
I dont think it is SIM unlocked.
I havent read yet on any forums if anyone has been able to have it unlocked yet by t-mobile.
---------- Post added at 10:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 AM ----------
ua2 said:
I ordered mine yesterday night am planning to cancel service and use the phone also out of the country. Reading carefully through threads, but cannot find an answer: is the t-mobile S4 sim-locked? If yes and I paid the full price, can I get an unlocking code from t-mobile? Thanks
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Click to collapse
pilot_xphile said:
I did the same thing. I've been a prepaid customer for a year or so, and I opened a post-paid plan account so I could get the GS4. I also paid for the phone in full. I received it today and I already put my prepaid plan sim card on it. I need to cancel the post-paid plan but I'm not sure if I should do it now or wait. The sim card that came with the phone is still untouched inside the box.
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Click to collapse
Same thing with me. I am trying to decide when to cancel the new line. SIM card is untouched in the box.
Waiting to see who cancels first and how the process went.
escknx said:
My issue was much more interesting that anyone here experienced I believe.
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Click to collapse
I think my experience might rival yours in "interesting"...
I also want to use the S4 on the $30 prepaid plan, and therefore intended to go the route of buying the phone with a $50 line and then cancel it.
I tried to buy online, but it told me I needed to contact a sales rep to complete the order. After starting an online chat with a sales rep, it turned out they required me to pay an additional $400 deposit. (I am pretty sure I never had an incidence with my credit rating so I am not sure why) As I intended to move over to pre-paid, I asked about the policy of how to get back the deposit if I cancel the line before the 1 year is up after which you automatically get back the deposit. After that she started to accuse me of committing fraud! and that t-mobile is not in the business of selling phones. I then asked her how asking about cancellation would violate their new un-carrier marketing and she asked me "where I came up with such a thing as un-carrier". She then simply canceled my order and hung up on me.
I don't think I have ever been accused of committing fraud before for wanting to pay a store over $1000 to buy their product!
I then tried to order again to get a more knowledgeable and competent representative. Unfortunately this time my bank decided t-mobile was "committing fraud" because they thought a $1000 was an unreasonably large amount for a internet transaction.
After the bank unblocked my credit card, because I told them I really do want to spend that much on a phone, I tried it again. Unfortunately on the third time the "account verification department " declined my request without an explanation of why they wouldn't take my $1000.
So I spent about 3 hours on the phone with t-mobile on Monday and I still don't have a S4 I don't think I have ever had a company as adamant to not taking my money as t-mobile. Now I'll have to wait till the 15th before I can try and buy it in a store
Does anyone know what might have gone wrong, or how to convince t-mobile to sell me a phone?
apmon said:
I think my experience might rival yours in "interesting"...
I also want to use the S4 on the $30 prepaid plan, and therefore intended to go the route of buying the phone with a $50 line and then cancel it.
I tried to buy online, but it told me I needed to contact a sales rep to complete the order. After starting an online chat with a sales rep, it turned out they required me to pay an additional $400 deposit. (I am pretty sure I never had an incidence with my credit rating so I am not sure why) As I intended to move over to pre-paid, I asked about the policy of how to get back the deposit if I cancel the line before the 1 year is up after which you automatically get back the deposit. After that she started to accuse me of committing fraud! and that t-mobile is not in the business of selling phones. I then asked her how asking about cancellation would violate their new un-carrier marketing and she asked me "where I came up with such a thing as un-carrier". She then simply canceled my order and hung up on me.
I don't think I have ever been accused of committing fraud before for wanting to pay a store over $1000 to buy their product!
I then tried to order again to get a more knowledgeable and competent representative. Unfortunately this time my bank decided t-mobile was "committing fraud" because they thought a $1000 was an unreasonably large amount for a internet transaction.
After the bank unblocked my credit card, because I told them I really do want to spend that much on a phone, I tried it again. Unfortunately on the third time the "account verification department " declined my request without an explanation of why they wouldn't take my $1000.
So I spent about 3 hours on the phone with t-mobile on Monday and I still don't have a S4 I don't think I have ever had a company as adamant to not taking my money as t-mobile. Now I'll have to wait till the 15th before I can try and buy it in a store
Does anyone know what might have gone wrong, or how to convince t-mobile to sell me a phone?
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That's horrible. The reps are obviously just confused with the whole new setup. Every rep I talk to gives me a different story on how/when my classic plan will convert over to the new value plan.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Reps are stupid. I would try and see if you can get it price matched at best buy and buy it there. They should since it will be off contract and you're paying full price. I just don't think they have it in stock yet.
apmon said:
I think my experience might rival yours in "interesting"...
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Click to collapse
Looks like you won't be able to do it before 15 except asking your relative/friend to do it for you, as I've done it.
Their credit dept haven't approve me since I had credit alert on my credit history due to identity fraud.
Your situation, did they tell you why you should pay 400 deposit?
Have u ever had their postpaid account before? Cause if you've never cancelled their contracts before and had no issues with credit score then I'd suggest to contact credit score bureau and figure out from there why you've been declined.

The Cheapest Way to join T-Mobile...

Okay, so I spent the bulk of the morning reading and researching and talking to various representatives of T-Mobile. Me and AT&T had a bit of a... dispute... so I decided to jump ship. The only problem I had was deciding on what prepaid safety boat to land on. After finding out about enabling full speed 4G with T-Mobile, and found out about free unlock, it was easy to decide.
First I started with the site. I read... I chatted... I read forums and such... I came to this conclusion.
They charge $10 for the sim kit (which essentially includes activation as the rep told me) and then pay for the first month of service. Since I wanted the $30 100 minutes talk | Unlimited text | First 5GB at up to 4G speeds plan, it'd add up to around $40 and I'd have to wait until the card arrived to start my service.
Not wanting to wait, I called into the store. When I asked about the price of the SIM, he originally said $10. Cool. But when asked about the $30 plan, he said they can only offer the $30 1500 minutes talk | 30MB of data plan.... which only gives me 30MB of data at 4G speed and doesn't even mention texting. Nope. How much for just the sim? $24.99. According to him, they had to charge retail price if I just buy the sim. :silly: Total price if I bought it in store and activated online for my plan of choice? $54.99. Psssshhhhh. Whatevs.
Finally, I figured I'd call in and ask my questions to another person. Just to verify. I told her what I was planning on doing and she said it actually includes the first month of minutes on the $50 plan. My jaw dropped. I proceeded to ask her a few times afterward just to make sure. "So, I'm getting my first month totally free? No activation fees, no credit checks, no SURPRISE! You went over! Here's your bill? Nothing? Just $10 for the sim and I get that first month for free ninety-nine?" After laughing at me, she said "Yep." I told her I didn't want to wait since I didn't really have another phone at the moment, and she told me they can overnight it for $11 something. (which probably varies based on location). I agreed. Final price: $21.00
To recap. Buying a T-Mobile Sim and getting first month of that $30 service plan costs:
$40 - Through the site.
$55 - Buying the sim at the store and activating online.
$21 - OVernighting a sim bought over the phone.
$10 - Buying a sim over the phone.
I think the answer is obvious. Cue 80's movie victory music.
:victory::victory: I just saved a bunch of money by switching to T-Mobile. :victory::victory:
allin1der said:
Okay, so I spent the bulk of the morning reading and researching and talking to various representatives of T-Mobile. Me and AT&T had a bit of a... dispute... so I decided to jump ship. The only problem I had was deciding on what prepaid safety boat to land on. After finding out about enabling full speed 4G with T-Mobile, and found out about free unlock, it was easy to decide.
First I started with the site. I read... I chatted... I read forums and such... I came to this conclusion.
They charge $10 for the sim kit (which essentially includes activation as the rep told me) and then pay for the first month of service. Since I wanted the $30 100 minutes talk | Unlimited text | First 5GB at up to 4G speeds plan, it'd add up to around $40 and I'd have to wait until the card arrived to start my service.
Not wanting to wait, I called into the store. When I asked about the price of the SIM, he originally said $10. Cool. But when asked about the $30 plan, he said they can only offer the $30 1500 minutes talk | 30MB of data plan.... which only gives me 30MB of data at 4G speed and doesn't even mention texting. Nope. How much for just the sim? $24.99. According to him, they had to charge retail price if I just buy the sim. :silly: Total price if I bought it in store and activated online for my plan of choice? $54.99. Psssshhhhh. Whatevs.
Finally, I figured I'd call in and ask my questions to another person. Just to verify. I told her what I was planning on doing and she said it actually includes the first month of minutes on the $50 plan. My jaw dropped. I proceeded to ask her a few times afterward just to make sure. "So, I'm getting my first month totally free? No activation fees, no credit checks, no SURPRISE! You went over! Here's your bill? Nothing? Just $10 for the sim and I get that first month for free ninety-nine?" After laughing at me, she said "Yep." I told her I didn't want to wait since I didn't really have another phone at the moment, and she told me they can overnight it for $11 something. (which probably varies based on location). I agreed. Final price: $21.00
To recap. Buying a T-Mobile Sim and getting first month of that $30 service plan costs:
$40 - Through the site.
$55 - Buying the sim at the store and activating online.
$21 - OVernighting a sim bought over the phone.
$10 - Buying a sim over the phone.
I think the answer is obvious. Cue 80's movie victory music.
:victory::victory: I just saved a bunch of money by switching to T-Mobile. :victory::victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will be winning if you have tmo service in your area. I tried switching two months ago and found out while their map shows 4g where I live inside the building is a complete dead spot.
I'm guessing the dispute with at&t was over tethering? Did you have to pay an etf to get out of the contract?
Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 2
Goodluck with that signal tmobile offers
Is that sweet plan still online only? It doesn't SAY that anymore on the website...
bob60626 said:
Is that sweet plan still online only? It doesn't SAY that anymore on the website...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 50/60/70 plans are the new tmo plans. They're still available
No, the high data $30 plan.
Good luck with reception. Good if you live in big cities but not much else.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
allin1der said:
Okay, so I spent the bulk of the morning reading and researching and talking to various representatives of T-Mobile. Me and AT&T had a bit of a... dispute... so I decided to jump ship. The only problem I had was deciding on what prepaid safety boat to land on. After finding out about enabling full speed 4G with T-Mobile, and found out about free unlock, it was easy to decide.
First I started with the site. I read... I chatted... I read forums and such... I came to this conclusion.
They charge $10 for the sim kit (which essentially includes activation as the rep told me) and then pay for the first month of service. Since I wanted the $30 100 minutes talk | Unlimited text | First 5GB at up to 4G speeds plan, it'd add up to around $40 and I'd have to wait until the card arrived to start my service.
Not wanting to wait, I called into the store. When I asked about the price of the SIM, he originally said $10. Cool. But when asked about the $30 plan, he said they can only offer the $30 1500 minutes talk | 30MB of data plan.... which only gives me 30MB of data at 4G speed and doesn't even mention texting. Nope. How much for just the sim? $24.99. According to him, they had to charge retail price if I just buy the sim. :silly: Total price if I bought it in store and activated online for my plan of choice? $54.99. Psssshhhhh. Whatevs.
Finally, I figured I'd call in and ask my questions to another person. Just to verify. I told her what I was planning on doing and she said it actually includes the first month of minutes on the $50 plan. My jaw dropped. I proceeded to ask her a few times afterward just to make sure. "So, I'm getting my first month totally free? No activation fees, no credit checks, no SURPRISE! You went over! Here's your bill? Nothing? Just $10 for the sim and I get that first month for free ninety-nine?" After laughing at me, she said "Yep." I told her I didn't want to wait since I didn't really have another phone at the moment, and she told me they can overnight it for $11 something. (which probably varies based on location). I agreed. Final price: $21.00
To recap. Buying a T-Mobile Sim and getting first month of that $30 service plan costs:
$40 - Through the site.
$55 - Buying the sim at the store and activating online.
$21 - OVernighting a sim bought over the phone.
$10 - Buying a sim over the phone.
I think the answer is obvious. Cue 80's movie victory music.
:victory::victory: I just saved a bunch of money by switching to T-Mobile. :victory::victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You overpaid for the SIM card. You could have just went online and bought it for .99 cents. Then called tmobile to activate, which is free, and get on the $30 plan. It's what I did.
bob60626 said:
No, the high data $30 plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans
Bottom left, read the fine print.
What I don't get is how they do the data for each of these plans. I'm sure it's all about marketing but for me, it seems better to get the $30 plan and add an extra $10 a month for an extra 100 minutes. It's still cheaper than getting on the $50 plan that only allows 500mb of data at 4G speeds. Even though it's .10 cents a minute after the first 100 minutes, you're still getting 200 talk minutes for essentially $40. But if you don't go over the 100 minutes in the plan then you're really only paying $30 a month.
I really don't see online only for that plan anywhere, even in the fine print.
bob60626 said:
I really don't see online only for that plan anywhere, even in the fine print.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<10 char>
Exactly, it doesn't say available online only anymore (though I think I get what you think I meant).
bob60626 said:
Exactly, it doesn't say available online only anymore (though I think I get what you think I meant).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, sorry. I guess I was misunderstanding what you were asking.
I got the $30 plan for a total of $30. I went to walmart and bought a $20 tmobile prepaid phone and took out the sim and activation kit. Paied the $30 to turn the service on and then sold the phone on craigslist as new for $20. Simple.
Sent from my Note II
bob60626 said:
Exactly, it doesn't say available online only anymore (though I think I get what you think I meant).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because its a walmart only plan,
you have to specifically mention that you want the walmart plan ( walmart has the pamphlets in the store in the cell phone section )
It's not Walmart only, it's on the revamped website and was on the old one as well.
It does not have to be gotten at walmart you can get it from tmobile.com but the only reason that perticular plan exists is because of walmart partnering with tmobile.
Sent from my Note II

AT&T Grandfathered Unlimited Data vs. T-Mobile Unlimited 4G LTE?

Hi Guys,
I'm a current AT&T customer. I have a grandfathered LTE unlimited data plan. And about 400 phone minutes + unlimited texting. I pay about $75 out the door including taxes & etc.
AT&T is irking me right now, so I'm considering moving over to T-Mobile and looking for advice on a few questions.
Just FYI, T-Mobile is getting LTE in my area this month (Austin, TX). And I'm interested in their top of the line, $70/month "Unlimited Nationwide 4G" data plan.
1) My AT&T throttles me pretty hard after 5GB of use. Does T-Mobile do this?
2) Will the $70/month plan T-Mobile offers apply to LTE or just the faux 4G (3G)?
3) Should I just stay where I am on AT&T since I'm grandfathered?
4) Is there a chance T-Mobile will revoke my "Unlimited" next year like Verizon has done in the past?
Thanks for any advice.
1) My AT&T throttles me pretty hard after 5GB of use. Does T-Mobile do this?
No. If you have Unlimited Nationwide 4G you will never be throttled.
2) Will the $70/month plan T-Mobile offers apply to LTE or just the faux 4G (3G)?
Both.
3) Should I just stay where I am on AT&T since I'm grandfathered?
That's up to you.
4) Is there a chance T-Mobile will revoke my "Unlimited" next year like Verizon has done in the past?
Not a chance, this is their main selling point.
CZ Eddie said:
Hi Guys,
I'm a current AT&T customer. I have a grandfathered LTE unlimited data plan. And about 400 phone minutes + unlimited texting. I pay about $75 out the door including taxes & etc.
AT&T is irking me right now, so I'm considering moving over to T-Mobile and looking for advice on a few questions.
Just FYI, T-Mobile is getting LTE in my area this month (Austin, TX). And I'm interested in their top of the line, $70/month "Unlimited Nationwide 4G" data plan.
1) My AT&T throttles me pretty hard after 5GB of use. Does T-Mobile do this?
2) Will the $70/month plan T-Mobile offers apply to LTE or just the faux 4G (3G)?
3) Should I just stay where I am on AT&T since I'm grandfathered?
4) Is there a chance T-Mobile will revoke my "Unlimited" next year like Verizon has done in the past?
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) With the unlimited nationwide 4g data plan, there is no throttling and its unlimited 4G data.
2) Yes it does apply to LTE but you need a LTE enabled device.
3)If you think that the 5 dollar difference is worth it. But in all reality its unlimited everything with no data caps when you get the 70 dollar plan, plus LTE is coming to your area soon so i'd go for it.
4)I highly doubt they would do something like that as they are trying to get ahead of Sprint, At&t, Verizon with the simple choice uncarrier plans.
lol someone answered while i was typing...oops.
Aww crud.
It looks like TMO does things a little differently.
Sure, the phone is only $149 up front. But then you have to pay $20/month for the next 24 months. Which effectively raises the $70/month plan to $90/month. Or a bunch more than what my AT&T plan would be if I get the $199 phone up front and stay with my current $70/month plan.
CZ Eddie said:
Aww crud.
It looks like TMO does things a little differently.
Sure, the phone is only $149 up front. But then you have to pay $20/month for the next 24 months. Which effectively raises the $70/month plan to $90/month. Or a bunch more than what my AT&T plan would be if I get the $199 phone up front and stay with my current $70/month plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind - with AT&T you gotta contract for that $199 phone. Whereas with TMobile, you don't have a contract..
CZ Eddie said:
Hi Guys,
I'm a current AT&T customer. I have a grandfathered LTE unlimited data plan. And about 400 phone minutes + unlimited texting. I pay about $75 out the door including taxes & etc.
AT&T is irking me right now, so I'm considering moving over to T-Mobile and looking for advice on a few questions.
Just FYI, T-Mobile is getting LTE in my area this month (Austin, TX). And I'm interested in their top of the line, $70/month "Unlimited Nationwide 4G" data plan.
1) My AT&T throttles me pretty hard after 5GB of use. Does T-Mobile do this?
2) Will the $70/month plan T-Mobile offers apply to LTE or just the faux 4G (3G)?
3) Should I just stay where I am on AT&T since I'm grandfathered?
4) Is there a chance T-Mobile will revoke my "Unlimited" next year like Verizon has done in the past?
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) hell no
2) full LTE
3) hell no
4) hell no
coyttl said:
Keep in mind - with AT&T you gotta contract for that $199 phone. Whereas with TMobile, you don't have a contract..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh, so I do have to pay $20/month for the phone for 24 months and that part is a "contract".
But the $70/month data plan is NOT a contract and I can quit that at any time.
Sounds nice I guess.
I wish T-Mobile website had a "chat" capability so I can talk to a salesperson. But they removed that feature.
CZ Eddie said:
Aww crud.
It looks like TMO does things a little differently.
Sure, the phone is only $149 up front. But then you have to pay $20/month for the next 24 months. Which effectively raises the $70/month plan to $90/month. Or a bunch more than what my AT&T plan would be if I get the $199 phone up front and stay with my current $70/month plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you dont have to pay $20 a month for 24 months if you pay the $149, and then make a $300 payment after you account is created. you'll only pay $20 a month for 9 months after.
this is what i did.
f*** ATT bro.
f*** em'
make the jump.
i was with ATT mobile for ~15 years and couldn't be happier ive left those f**ks
f*****g bit*es
CZ Eddie said:
Ahhh, so I do have to pay $20/month for the phone for 24 months and that part is a "contract".
But the $70/month data plan is NOT a contract and I can quit that at any time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think (however, I'm not sure, maybe someone else can tell me if I understand right or not..) If you terminate your plan with TMobil, you'll owe TMobile the rest of the price of the phone.
And if you don't have a contract with ATT, and don't owe them the rest of the money, then buy the phone for $199, cancel your plan the next month and sell the phone for $600. You'll make $400. DO it over and over, and you'll be rich.
The biggest selling point for me was the lack of contract. I plan on giving them an extra $100/month for a few months to get the phone paid off.
Regarding 2) Faux 4G/LTE:
I know quite a lot of ppl have issue with this as a matter of topic. But to be honest the "faux" 4G / LTE is pretty darn fast. It's HSPDA+ which at its worst runs at 4meg down and 1 meg up. I know plenty of ppl in Nyc that don't get that on their cable modems reliably. Also it's pretty challenging to really push the need for more unless you are downloading a rom.
I think it's a lot of media hype that ppl "need" 20 meg down and 10 meg up... It's like advertising a car that can do a 200+ mph top speed. Is it nice to have? Sure it is... Do you often have the opportunity to show it off I real life or day to day use? Not really... 100mph is plenty fast lol
Sent from my SCH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
coyttl said:
I think (however, I'm not sure, maybe someone else can tell me if I understand right or not..) If you terminate your plan with TMobil, you'll owe TMobile the rest of the price of the phone.
And if you don't have a contract with ATT, and don't owe them the rest of the money, then buy the phone for $199, cancel your plan the next month and sell the phone for $600. You'll make $400. DO it over and over, and you'll be rich.
The biggest selling point for me was the lack of contract. I plan on giving them an extra $100/month for a few months to get the phone paid off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome idea except that when you get a subsidized priced phone from att you are committing to 2 more years under contract with them...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
CZ Eddie said:
Ahhh, so I do have to pay $20/month for the phone for 24 months and that part is a "contract".
But the $70/month data plan is NOT a contract and I can quit that at any time.
Sounds nice I guess.
I wish T-Mobile website had a "chat" capability so I can talk to a salesperson. But they removed that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the phone is not a contract. It's just T-Mobile financing the phone to you. Just like buying a car, you put so much down and you pay it off when you pay it off, but your MINIMUM monthly payment is 20 bucks.
If you put the down payment, then 200 down the first month, and another 200 down the next month, and another 80 or so down the third month then cancel your service you now own the phone completely and T-Mobile will give you an unlock code and be like "Alright bro, thanks for the business, hope you come back yo." No early termination fees, no nothing.
However, if you cancel your service while you still owe money on the phone, you still owe money on the phone. You either pay it off at a rate of at minimum 20 per month OR you don't and they sell the finance to a collection agency.
It's just simple financing rather than being put into actual contracts like the big guys.
coyttl said:
I think (however, I'm not sure, maybe someone else can tell me if I understand right or not..) If you terminate your plan with TMobil, you'll owe TMobile the rest of the price of the phone.
And if you don't have a contract with ATT, and don't owe them the rest of the money, then buy the phone for $199, cancel your plan the next month and sell the phone for $600. You'll make $400. DO it over and over, and you'll be rich.
The biggest selling point for me was the lack of contract. I plan on giving them an extra $100/month for a few months to get the phone paid off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...except the ETF for ATT is 325 dollars... plus tax... plus tax when you buy the phone for 199... So you're looking at 525 plus tax for a phone you can MAYBE sell for 600. Not to mention whatever the rediculous cost of the first month plus activation fees, plus hidden charges, plus whatever the **** ATT feels like adding to your first (only in this case) bill.
Plus I'm sure ATT has somewhere in fine print you will have to pay more if you try some stupid **** like this.
Great idea, you should try it and end up paying probably around 150 bucks for the lesson.
TeknoGodz said:
You either pay it off completely you don't and they sell the finance to a collection agency.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FTFY. If you end service before the end of the phone payment term, you owe the balance of the phone there. If it's $20, you pay $20, if it's $200, you pay $200.
k0nane said:
FTFY. If you end service before the end of the phone payment term, you owe the balance of the phone there. If it's $20, you pay $20, if it's $200, you pay $200.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh really, I thought you could still pay it monthly... Well that kinda sucks.
TeknoGodz said:
Oh really, I thought you could still pay it monthly... Well that kinda sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I'm pretty sure you can still pay it off monthly even after you cancel the service according to one of the corporate T-Mobile agents I spoke to.
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xXchrizhurtyXx said:
No I'm pretty sure you can still pay it off monthly even after you cancel the service according to one of the corporate T-Mobile agents I spoke to.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then again I would NOT trust a word that comes out of their mouth. They no nothing. I asked 3 different people and they told me I could not use the 100 dollar cards that you can buy at walmart or target for my simple choice plan. They told me there was no way and there are no prepaid cards that allow you to do this. The next day I was at target and saw the card.... It clearly states "For use with prepaid or monthly plans". Bought it and used it no issues.
Haven't believed a word from their mouth since.
TeknoGodz said:
Then again I would NOT trust a word that comes out of their mouth. They no nothing. I asked 3 different people and they told me I could not use the 100 dollar cards that you can buy at walmart or target for my simple choice plan. They told me there was no way and there are no prepaid cards that allow you to do this. The next day I was at target and saw the card.... It clearly states "For use with prepaid or monthly plans". Bought it and used it no issues.
Haven't believed a word from their mouth since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's bad luck lol. Usually the people I talk to are usually right but I do customer service over chat.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Yeah, it's really clever marketing by T-Mobile, this whole "un-carrier" thing. You end up paying $20/month for the privilege of not having a contract. I don't know about most of you, but I don't switch carriers THAT often. And even so, if your termination fee is pro-rated, then why not let the carrier eat the subsidy for as long as you were a customer? You're going to have service for a period of time anyway, you might as well get device subsidy credit for it. With T-Mobile you get nada. Assuming you're a T-Mobile customer for 2 years, you just paid full price for the phone AND $70/month for service. It's really genius and AT&T has to be pissed they didn't think of it first those livered lilly money grubers!
I have the AT&T Unlimited Data plan, but at 5gb and then throttled, they can s!#k it.
kevroc said:
Yeah, it's really clever marketing by T-Mobile, this whole "un-carrier" thing. You end up paying $20/month for the privilege of not having a contract. I don't know about most of you, but I don't switch carriers THAT often. And even so, if your termination fee is pro-rated, then why not let the carrier eat the subsidy for as long as you were a customer? You're going to have service for a period of time anyway, you might as well get device subsidy credit for it. With T-Mobile you get nada. Assuming you're a T-Mobile customer for 2 years, you just paid full price for the phone AND $70/month for service. It's really genius and AT&T has to be pissed they didn't think of it first those livered lilly money grubers!
I have the AT&T Unlimited Data plan, but at 5gb and then throttled, they can s!#k it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From each carrier's website, new contract, two lines, assuming purchase of two S4s:
Sprint: $249.99 per phone ($149.99 if transferring your number), $149.99 per month for 1500 shared minutes and unlimited text/data ($209 per month for unlimited everything)
AT&T: $199.99 per phone, $149.99 per month for 550 shared minutes, unlimited text, 3 GB data per phone (more per month for more minutes, 209.99 if you want unlimited; $20 extra per phone to upgrade to 5 GB, their max allowed)
Verizon: $199.99 per phone, $149.99 per month for unlimited talk/text and 4 GB of shared data ($160 for 6 GB, up to $190 for 12 GB)
T-Mobile: $149.99 per phone up front, $140 (includes phone payment) for unlimited talk/text and 2.5 GB of data per phone, $160 for unlimited data instead
*That* is the point of T-Mobile's plans, the no-contract thing is merely a nice convenience. Even including the phone cost it's $10/month cheaper than the other carriers for their cheapest useful plans (assuming you want more than a few hundred megs of data each month) and just $10 more per month than the fairly limited plans Verizon and AT&T offer at that price level gets you full unlimited.

Contract Buy-out. How does it work?

I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
TriBeard said:
I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might wanna post this at the Sprint forum.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I just figured that since the people here were t-mobile, some might have gone through the process already and would know about it first hand.
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
shook187 said:
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
TriBeard said:
That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
boxdgm said:
I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really have 1300 dollars or so that I can spare, so I guess I'll just have to hope it comes quick and they don't ding me too bad. I'm just excited for a new phone and (hopefully) more reliable service. T-mobile claims to have LTE around me, and pretty decent HSPA where that is lacking, so hopefully it's better than sprint, where we just recently got spotty LTE
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
nsuviolin2005 said:
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
Click to expand...
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tkoreaper said:
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
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My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
TriBeard said:
My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
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The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
tkoreaper said:
The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
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There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
wase4711 said:
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
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That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
TriBeard said:
That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
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you can call the tmobile store and ask them how much any phone might be worth, or, I think their website gives an approximate amount you would get on a trade in.
Obviously, you always get more selling a phone on ebay/Craiglist than you ever would on a trade in, but some folks dont want to bother selling them, and just trade it in and are done with it..
BTW, my wife and son traded their M7's in, and got 100 bucks each for them; when we bought them from Sprint, we only paid 49, so even trading them in we made a little $$ :good:
TriBeard said:
There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
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So if you were to cancel your whole account you'd get $1400 (350 x 4) alone just for the ETFs. It's $350 per line, not account.
I just traded my Nexus 5 in for the M8 today and they gave me $135. I cold have sold it to a company that buys them for $200, but oh well. I probably could have gotten a little more even if I cut out the middle man, but Nexus devices are already cheap enough as it is.
Well if they wanted to give me 120 or so I'd be tempted to just go ahead and trade them in. Just when I spoke with whoever it was on the online chat for t-mobile, they only were offering 85, which is significantly low that I would take the time and effort to sell one myself if I could.
Lol. Has anyone traded in a rooted device to t mobile? Just wondering if they check before I go through the hassle of unrooting 2 devices. I know somebody has. Lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
if its for a "jump" then dont bother, as long as it starts, thats all they care about.
as a matter of fact, I have also returned/replaced under warranty with them phones that were rooted, and once again, they didnt care one bit; I didnt tell them they were rooted, and they didnt ask, but there was no problem getting a replacement..
I work for tmobile. When you want your contract paid for you can pretty much trade in any phone in. It doesn't have to even turn on. Obviously if it doesn't then you won't get and trade in value but tmobile will still pay your efts as long as you do trade in a phone, buy a new phone and port in your number. They pay up to 5 lines per account.

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