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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!
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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...
I am thinking about switching from Sprint to T-Mo to get the GNote 2 since I feel it will offer me the most flexibility in terms of GSM frequency coverage for both here and internationally.
My company currently pays for my monthly bill only for the actual cell charges (minutes and data and text use plus taxes and gov't fees), but not the price of the phone. It has to be a postpaid plan and not a prepaid plan (since prepaid does not provide paper bills for our accounting department).
If I purchase the phone for $250 and pay the $20/month for 20 months no-interest finance, how is that itemized and shown on the paper bill? Does it show up as a separate charge under equipment or does it get rolled in the cell charges? I could go with the Classic plan, but I would pay more for the phone up front, but at least all charges on the bill will just be usage costs (voice, data, text plus taxes and fees).
adelmundo said:
I am thinking about switching from Sprint to T-Mo to get the GNote 2 since I feel it will offer me the most flexibility in terms of GSM frequency coverage for both here and internationally.
My company currently pays for my monthly bill only for the actual cell charges (minutes and data and text use plus taxes and gov't fees), but not the price of the phone. It has to be a postpaid plan and not a prepaid plan (since prepaid does not provide paper bills for our accounting department).
If I purchase the phone for $250 and pay the $20/month for 20 months no-interest finance, how is that itemized and shown on the paper bill? Does it show up as a separate charge under equipment or does it get rolled in the cell charges? I could go with the Classic plan, but I would pay more for the phone up front, but at least all charges on the bill will just be usage costs (voice, data, text plus taxes and fees).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be separate charge on the Value Plan as that is a separate "debt" that you can pay off in full anytime during your contract.
Check out wirefly for cheaper Classic Plan prices for the Note II (it's $280 w/ coupon on a Classic Plan IIRC)
Anyone try the TMoble Note2 on the $50/month GoPhone plan?
Are you talking about the T-Mobile prepaid plans? GoPhone is a registered trademark of AT&T. I'm using the $30 for 100 minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data plan. Everything's been working perfectly. All I had to do was buy the activation kit to get the activation code. I activated it online using the code and the micro-SIM that was included with the phone. The activation kit also comes with a micro-SIM in case you don't have one. The $50 a month plan isn't worth it. You only get 100MB at 4G and then you're throttled to 2G. The $30 one gives you 5GB at 4G and if you run out of minutes you can just use GrooVe IP to talk.
RabidMonkeyOnCrack said:
Are you talking about the T-Mobile prepaid plans? GoPhone is a registered trademark of AT&T. I'm using the $30 for 100 minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data plan. Everything's been working perfectly. All I had to do was buy the activation kit to get the activation code. I activated it online using the code and the micro-SIM that was included with the phone. The activation kit also comes with a micro-SIM in case you don't have one. The $50 a month plan isn't worth it. You only get 100MB at 4G and then you're throttled to 2G. The $30 one gives you 5GB at 4G and if you run out of minutes you can just use GrooVe IP to talk.
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Click to collapse
The 30$ plan is T-Mobile prepaid or att prepaid?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
pezlomd said:
The 30$ plan is T-Mobile prepaid or att prepaid?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tmob Web & Text with 100 Minutes Talk
$30per month
Talk
100 minutes Text
Unlimited Web
Unlimited*
*First 5GB at up to 4G speeds
Great for video chat, streaming music/movies/TV, playing online games, and more.
New activations only. Available exclusively in-store at Walmart, on Walmart.com, and Tmobile.com
when you say 30$ at month this include tax? is 30$ with all?
FIREONHIGH said:
tmob Web & Text with 100 Minutes Talk
$30per month
Talk
100 minutes Text
Unlimited Web
Unlimited*
*First 5GB at up to 4G speeds
Great for video chat, streaming music/movies/TV, playing online games, and more.
New activations only. Available exclusively in-store at Walmart, on Walmart.com, and Tmobile.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm talking about this ATT prepaid plan for dumb phones. $50/month, unlimited voice/data/text. Att usually blocks smart phones but some slip through the cracks. I currently have 2 smart phones on it and it works great for me. My TMobile Note2, will arrive on the 28th.
I guess I will know soon enough.
I will say TMobile customer service is absolutely horrible, ATT's prepaid customer service is so much better. I jumped on TMobile's $49.99 Note2 deal which ended up being a fiasco for many people. I figured I would give TMobile a shot, with a $200 etf, how could I go wrong. So far the deal seems to be working out well for me.
satru said:
when you say 30$ at month this include tax? is 30$ with all?
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It's $30 total. You'd probably want to add insurance, that's another $7 so total is $37 no taxes or any other fees.
OP, you bought the phone on contract and got the $300 rebate and now you're doing a $200 ETF? Well you got the phone for cheap so that's a good thing. Either way, whatever you choose AT&T still throttles just like T-Mobile does. T-Mobile has no limits on what phones you can use on what plans and theirs is cheaper if you don't care about minutes. I haven't had any problems with customer service but if that's your main draw to AT&T then go with them.
gedster314 said:
I'm talking about this ATT prepaid plan for dumb phones. $50/month, unlimited voice/data/text. Att usually blocks smart phones but some slip through the cracks. I currently have 2 smart phones on it and it works great for me. My TMobile Note2, will arrive on the 28th.
I guess I will know soon enough.
I will say TMobile customer service is absolutely horrible, ATT's prepaid customer service is so much better. I jumped on TMobile's $49.99 Note2 deal which ended up being a fiasco for many people. I figured I would give TMobile a shot, with a $200 etf, how could I go wrong. So far the deal seems to be working out well for me.
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Does the T-Mobile Note 2 work with this $50/month, unlimited voice/data/text? AT&T will flip LTE for this plan next month in June 2013
I will start by saying I am a very happy Samsung Galaxy S III owner and an extremely un-happy Sprint customer (due to the lack of 4G and my paying for 4G for the past 3 years). I have started looking at terminating my contract with Sprint and doing a prepaid service like StraightTalk, that is until I recently read on Android Central that T-Mobile now has unlimited prepaid service. I spent some time tonight at a T-mobile store and the sales rep told me some things I would like to run past you fine people who may no more than this guy (I know he works for them, but they will also say anything to get you to buy what they want you to buy... er at least Sprint does). So here are the things he told me that I would like your input on.
1) The highest prepaid plan is unlimited talk, text and data at $70/month. However, your HSPA+ data ends after 5GB of data and beyond that amount, your data speeds will be throttled to "go so slow that web pages will time-out before they load, yes I am serious" (I am quoting the sales rep here)
2) "T-mobile has separate towers that are specific for pre-paid customers. They are fewer and more far between then our contract towers and as such, your coverage area is decreased and the data speeds you can achieve on HSPA+ (up to 5GB) is slower. You cannot access the towers that our contracted customers use, these towers cover more area and with greater bandwidth"
3) "With pre-paid you cannot roam. Period." He told me that with contract service you have truly, un-throttled, uncapped data on any T-mobile tower and truly unlimited roaming (voice, text and data) on any AT&T tower.
All in all, the sales rep was quite intent on stating how terrible and useless the prepaid service is, and that I can have all the amazing, truly unlimited, un-throttled, roam-anywhere, zoom-bang-wow service at the exact same cost of a contract plan ($70/month - since I am bringing my own device - I have an unlocked GSII Skyrocket). I just don't know if this guy is lying to me about some of these things in order to make me go contract or if he really is telling all truth here. After all, it is better for T-Mobile if I guarantee I pay them the cost of service for 2 years (or a contract cancellation fee) as opposed to having me on a string for only 1 month at which time I can leave at no cost.
I believe the no roaming part (what I mean to say, is that I can see how this can and would be possible) but I really cannot see how they have separate towers for the pre-paid and contract customers as they all operate on the same GSM frequencies (to my knowledge at least). This is only my idle speculation of course, I am hoping some of you can confirm/dispel some if not all of these statements I heard today and help me make an informed decision on where I go next with my service provider.
As a final note, I should explain to you that the truly unlimited and un-throttled data is important to me as I stream almost all my content and upload (via DropBox) a high volume of photos, all in addition to the usual stuff that eats up data (lots of email, video chatting, VoIP, MMS, etc). I currently use between 6-8GB of Sprint data per month. That is saying something considering how awfully slow their data is in my area (Denver, CO). So I anticipate needing even more than that once I am on a network with greater speeds as I naturally will be using it even more.
Thanks for all your input!
I do not believe anything I just read was correct..lol not to you, but to the rep.. Starting on January 9 their $70 unlimited plan was upped from 5gb to truly unlimited uncapped data.. Also I am not positive on the roaming as I do not leave.. And as far as them having their own towers go that is a lie because when a phone gets blacklisted because you haven't paid you bill you can't just put it on prepaid.. You have to unlock the phone and go on another carrier.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
I am on the $30/mo plan available from walmart. It includes unlimited text and data (4g up to 5gb) and 100 minutes. I believe it is by far the best deal going for cell service. At $.10 a minute if you go over it's still the best deal going if you use under ~600 minutes a month on average.
The $70 plan you are talking about is actually unlimited 4G AFAIK.
Why not just buy a month or so of pre-paid, try it out - see how it goes - and if you think the contract service would work better for you, switch - there's no penalty for switching from pre-paid to contract, so why not ?
You're throttled to 50kb/s after your limit. Yes, it's slow, but pages not loading before they time out ? Maybe if you're loading super-heavy pages, but the guest WIFI at my school is throttled to the same and it's quite easy to browse the web. No, you're not going to be streaming video or anything on 50kb/s, but it's not the end of the world, either.
It looks like the $70/mo pre-paid doesn't have a data limit. If they're being sneaky and hiding it, I don't know - read the contract, but the ones where throttling does happen are worded differently.
I'm on pre-paid T-Mobile and never had coverage issues. Pretty sure there is some roaming. No, you're not going to get data-roaming, but that's kind of a given for any pre-paid service.
Don't forget. $70 plus taxes (~$10~) plus activation fee ($35 and only if done in-store). Your first month bill will skyrocket (I chose the value plan with two lines + down payment ($170/mo) when I extended my service with T-Mobile; the bill for the first month came to a close total of $300). Afterwards you'll pay a flat rate of ~$80~(taxes).
What the rep said were both true and false. The Value Plan (unlimited text + call + data with no throttle) is the better plan of the two options provided to you if you're looking for long-term but the only difference between the two is there will be a data throttle (5GB) for the Prepaid and unlimited data with no data for The Value Plan but only acquirable with a 2 year contract.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Thanks for everyone's input. I took the plunge and went with T-Mobile prepaid $70/month. I did a lot of reading and went back to a different store. Turns out that as of 1/9/13 the $70/month prepaid is unlimited data and no throttle. Your sim gets service from the exact same towers as a contracted T Mobile customer. There also was not an activation fee. I had an approx. $6 sim start fee and then taxes. After everything it was $81.56 out the door. I do also get roaming on AT&T but I have yet to use it. I plan on using it for the rest of the month that I paid for before making any final decisions. This is about $25/month cheaper than what I am paying for sprint service right now AND I have HSPA+ data. The speeds are nothing to brag about at all but SOOO much faster than sprints data. Glad I researched this further before looking elsewhere.
Pre-paid is only charged state sales tax - which is usually much less than the taxes imposed on the contract plans. They still pay the taxes - you're just not paying for them on top of your bill.
My taxes on my $40 Sprint bill were like, $6. I pay only $1-something in state sales tax on the $30 refills. Not a huge difference but would add up quite a bit if the bills were higher.
$70/unlimited is a great deal if you have good coverage in your area (we have 4G all over the city here).
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
There are Classic, Value, and Prepaid options.
Classic - You get a subsidised phone + a 2yr contract.
Value - You take the same phone subsidy that classic has but you apply it to your montly bill. As such you have the option to buy a phone at full price or bring your own. You still have the 2 yr contract.
Prepaid - No Contract.
Classic and Value are exactly the same.
The prepaid plan does have an unlimited data package, but the difference between the other packages is that prepaid customers DO NOT get ROAMING.
Over here in chicago, tmobile is partnered with ATT. If i go to an area that does not have tmobile service, I am allowed to use ATT towers. With prepaid you will simply have no service in this area.
(Note that roaming includes VOICE+TEXT but not high speed DATA. This means you will only get 1G or EDGE while roaming)
I am not sure about getting access to less tmobile towers, but less towers sounds like bull****. Keep in mind you still DO NOT get access to ROAMING towers. The rep might of misunderstood the tower explanation when she was in training but who knows, it might be true. I doubt it.
I do not work for Tmboile. Hope I explained everything.
I have a galaxy s4 sgh-m919 t-mobile variant I bought without a contract.
I purchased tmobile prepaid unlimted 70 a month plan.
While I am in the city I get 4g data, ive never seen the LTE badge appear.
My tmobile account says I have an incompatiable data plan for my device.
My actual home is about 13 miles outside town and I get extremely bad signal issues. My phone will connect to at&t and verizon towers but I do not get a data connection at all, sms is hit or miss, phone calls seem to work okay most of the time.
I am very upset with my tmobile service and plan to try net10 prepaid unlimited 4g, for 50 a month. Net10 uses at&t towers so I should get much better service at my home.
I wish there was a way to force data roaming.
I'm paying 70 a month, I should at least get 3g wherever I go.
I am open to suggestion, thanks; just wanted to share my tmobile opinion.
Slower test is tmobile prepaid 4g
faster is net10 at&t 4g
Late to the zombie thread. Our experience as a Tmobile customer, is you'll roam most likely onto ATT. Our 2nd home is in Montana, where Tmo doesn't exist. First, your data is throttled on roam from the get go, to what's tantamount to HSPA. After you use a few hundred megs (turning on your plan) bam, throttle down to G2. It's not a pretty picture ... but for some, it beats paying ATT's higher monthly fee.
I'm looking for a no contract plan that's compatible with all the cell phone's in my household. I have the OnePlus 5T using T-Mobile and several other phone's using Verizon. After doing a little research I found a service you can purchase threw eBay and Amazon for a much better price then directly from Red Pocket Mobile website.
Red Pocket Mobile Stores:
Official eBay StoreOfficial Amazon StoreOfficial Red Pocket Mobile Store
Choose any major network in the US
4G LTE available on all networks
Unlimited MMS
Free unlimited international calling to 70+ countries
Keep your phone
Keep your existing number (or get a new one)
English, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino customer service
No contracts
No activation fee
No credit checks
No overage fees
Has anyone else tried Red Pocket Mobile service or recommend another one.
Just get Metro PCS I have unlimited everything and love it... And LTE speed is super fast
Red Pocket Mobile Tethering
It looks like Red Pocket Mobile doesn't support tethering, eBay has 360 day unlimited plans for $19.00 a month that is great but I would like to find a plan that supports tethering at this price.
MintMobile
Purchase 6 months at $15 a month Mint SIM include unlimited talk, text, and 2G data, with the choice of 2GB, 5GB, or 10GB of LTE data and tethering. Currently, the three-month plans have been discounted to the 12-month plans rates as a teaser offer, making them a better deal than the six-month plans. I like that Mint SIM allows tethering for WIFI calling, many of the other plans I have found don't include tethering for this price.
Mint SIM doesn’t offer domestic roaming, but it does have international roaming plans. It offers a flat rate of five cents per outbound text (inbound are free) and 25 cents per minute for voice calls in nearly 150 countries. Mexico and Canada’s rates are discounted at two cents per text and six cents per minute of voice calling.
Mint SIM - Official Website
3 months of wireless service (regular price $23/month)
2GB of 4G LTE data per month; speeds reduce after monthly allowance
Unlimited talk, text and data delivered on the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G LTE network
Includes FREE international calls to Mexico and Canada
With our BYOP program, bring your own unlocked GSM phone (you love it, cracks and all)
Prepaid SIM card includes standard, micro and nano sizes for that perfect, Cinderella-like fit
Mobile HotSpot: turn your device into a WiFi hotspot
If anyone has tried Mint SIM, please let me know what kind of experience you had. Thanks
Ting uses Sprint and T-Mobile carriers, If you're not looking for unlimited use and don't use much data, then Ting could work for you. It looks great if your like me as far as phone use is concerned, I usually use WiFi for calling when I need to use my phone and internet purposes. It looks to be a good alternative when you need a phone for traveling in case of emergency and still be able to connect to WiFi when you reach your destination. if you can deal with a few drawbacks, you can save a lot of money.
Ting offers customization levels of service after paying a flat $6 monthly line charge. Usage is categorized into tiers: The first 1 to 100 minutes, for example, cost $3, the next tier $9, and the next $18. There are also tiers for SMS and data usage. The company’s complete rates are on its official Ting website. A moderate usage plan of 100 voice minutes, 100 texts, and 1GB data would end up costing $28 on Ting.
Ting offers free domestic roaming for voice and text, and international roaming for GSM phones in numerous countries around the world. Pricing for international roaming can be quite high, however. If you aren’t bringing your own phone, Ting sells devices directly for a lump sum or financing via Affirm.
If you’re thinking of moving to Ting, the company says it will pay 25 percent of the early termination fee (ETF) from your current carrier up to $75.
Link >> Get $25 Off at Ting
PROS
Excellent customer service
No contract
Real cell service, not voip
If you have kids, you can set and remove limits on devices very easily
Supports band 12 device and T mobile for good indoor coverage
No hidden/extra fees. You can get referral credit when you sign up
Ting on both iPhone and android phones
Cost varies according to usage (in tiers)
Additional lines only cost $6/month
Choice of two nationwide cellular networks
No limits on tethering, hotspots, and no data throttling
Free alerts and per-line limits, Straightforward control panel
Early termination fee relief
CONS
Data costs are higher than some other carriers
Coverage is not as broad as Verizon or AT&T
No physical stores
If you have used Ting Mobile services, or have a favourite service, I would love to know your experiences. Thanks
I'm looking at a Red Pocket Mobile plan you can purchase from there eBay SIM card plans that comes out at $4.00 a month with plenty of talk, text and data for home and around my local town travel.
If I go on a trip and need more that month, Add-ons are available so you don’t have to worry if you’re running low on voice minutes, texts, or LTE data. You can apply add-ons to your account at any time by logging in at www.redpocket.com/refill