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To continue with the T-Mobile talk here: I'm already a T-Mobile customer, I see that I need to buy the new SIM card online in order to get that $30/mo web exclusive plan. A. Someone on this page said it was for new customers only, so would I have a problem doing this? Should I cancel my plan first? I'm not on a contract with them anymore. B. I don't really know what information is stored on a SIM card. Would I lose anything when I swap out the SIM card in my G2 for the new one?
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Nov 21, 2012 18:00
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Truman Sticks posted:To continue with the T-Mobile talk here: I'm already a T-Mobile customer, I see that I need to buy the new SIM card online in order to get that $30/mo web exclusive plan. Do you want to keep your phone number? If the answer is no then just activate the new SIM and get a new number and everything is good. If you do want to keep your number you'll have to transfer your phone number to another prepaid service and then transfer it back to be a "new customer". You could transfer your phone number to Google Voice and use Google Voice as your phone number. If your contacts are in your GMail account then nothing should be stored on your SIM card. Usually dumb phones will store contacts on your SIM.
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Nov 21, 2012 18:07
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Thanks for the quick reply. Would porting my number to Google Voice and back count as becoming a "new customer?" And if so, is porting your number to Google Voice instantaneous enough that I could switch my number to it, then to my new sim card? I just want to minimize how long I'll be out of service/without my old number.
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Nov 21, 2012 18:41
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Is that Canuck from Ting/Tucows still hanging around? What's the current status of the Bring Your Own Phone beta? I'd like to get a few Sprint Android phones onto a Ting share plan to tide us over until we get some StraightTalk compatible phones. Can you get us into the beta?
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Nov 21, 2012 20:19
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Truman Sticks posted:Thanks for the quick reply. Would porting my number to Google Voice and back count as becoming a "new customer?" And if so, is porting your number to Google Voice instantaneous enough that I could switch my number to it, then to my new sim card? I just want to minimize how long I'll be out of service/without my old number. Porting your number from GV and back to TMo probably would count as becoming a new customer. But why would you? You can keep your number and GV and have it forward all calls to your phone, and you can call out using your original number (now GV) making use of the GV app. It makes things easy if it turns out that Tmo sucks for you, or you want to switch to AT&T or some other MVNO that comes along with a better deal.
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Nov 21, 2012 21:53
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I was about to get off the Triumph and Virgin Mobile, and pick up a GNEX from the Play store, but it has been replaced with the LG Nexus 4. How does that phone compare to the GNEX? Probably going to be using it on ATT Straight Talk.
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Nov 21, 2012 23:13
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MAJOR STRYkER posted:I was about to get off the Triumph and Virgin Mobile, and pick up a GNEX from the Play store, but it has been replaced with the LG Nexus 4. How does that phone compare to the GNEX? Probably going to be using it on ATT Straight Talk. The nexus four is better in every conceivable way.
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Nov 21, 2012 23:32
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Gourd of Taste posted:The nexus four is better in every conceivable way. Except for the non-removable battery...
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Nov 21, 2012 23:36
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I'll take a phone with a sealed battery and decent battery life (N4) over a phone with lovely battery life that forces you to juggle spares (GNex).
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Nov 22, 2012 00:17
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So I bit the bullet last night and decided to leave AT&T after 12 years. Ported my number to Google Voice and will use with the much-ballyhooed $30 prepaid T-Mobile plan. Of course I picked the absolute worst time to initiate the port. GV says "up to 3 business days" to complete. Well, today is Thanksgiving and tomorrow is mostly a holiday. It seems I may not have a working phone until Wed of next week...that's 7 days(!). It's my fault for picking the worst possible time to port, but why does the port require "business days?" Is there really someone sitting at a desk during 8-5 working hours pushing the port through? I would think it's all automated. My family is going to think I fell off the face of the earth when they try to call me.
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Nov 22, 2012 19:17
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So, are you activating a new number with t-mobile and just forwarding your GV calls to that number? Or are you just going to make calls over data using GV and not even worry about the number? I am trying to figure out if I should just port my number to T-Mobile, or if I should do the GV set-up.
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Nov 22, 2012 21:37
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IuniusBrutus posted:So, are you activating a new number with t-mobile and just forwarding your GV calls to that number? Or are you just going to make calls over data using GV and not even worry about the number? I have a T-Mobile number I don't even know. I signed up a few months ago on the $30 plan and just use the Google Voice app to place/receive calls. I ported my AT&T number I've had forever to Google Voice and plan on using it with the Android Google Voice app. So I can place/receive calls on my phone using my AT&T (now GV) number I've had for years. This will give me full control over calling as I can route calls via GV to any phone (my work iPhone and home internet phone). Now that my primary number is with GV, I will never lose it regardless of what carrier I'm on. Freedom! So I'm not ever going to worry about the T-Mobile number I have. Will never need to give it out and can use GV to handle all calling with my AT&T number I've had for 12 years. Here is a good guide (if you have Android): I know, XDA, but it's surprisingly useful.. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646755
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Nov 22, 2012 21:57
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My family has taken in a married couple from another country who are in the US on refugee status. I'd like to get them setup with mobile phones so they can get around easier. Budget is obviously a consideration but here's the criteria I'm trying to help them meet. 1) Two lines 2) Two cheap smartphones 3) Ideally unlimited text + data 4) They will do international calling, but this can be done through Google Voice or through a phone card, so no need for an international plan. Is there an ideal setup for two people, or should I get them setup on Straight Talk for $45/mo *2 or Virgin Mobile's $35/mo plan? Thanks and happy Thanksgiving, all!
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Nov 22, 2012 22:37
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Jeratain posted:My family has taken in a married couple from another country who are in the US on refugee status. I'd like to get them setup with mobile phones so they can get around easier. Budget is obviously a consideration but here's the criteria I'm trying to help them meet. Unfortunately, Google Voice cannot do international calling/text. It won't even text to Puerto Rico. The only one I can think of that does international anything is Straight Talk's International plan. My mother uses Boost Mobile and I believe they have international as well.
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Nov 22, 2012 22:43
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Google Voice wont be a dealbreaker for them, they can use phone cards. Any reason not to get them two HTC One Vs for $99 / each off contract and get them Virgin Mobile accounts? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13221631&prodFindSrc=cart
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Nov 22, 2012 23:07
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Jeratain posted:My family has taken in a married couple from another country who are in the US on refugee status. I'd like to get them setup with mobile phones so they can get around easier. Budget is obviously a consideration but here's the criteria I'm trying to help them meet. I think the straight talk setup would work out week for them. After setup it's very easy to pick up refill cards at Wal-Mart and that may be important for a foreigner without a credit card to pay online
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Nov 22, 2012 23:08
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Instead of prepaid cards, my parents use Rebtel for international calling. You put credit into an account an give them numbers you wish to call. They give you a local number for each of those contacts which you can call off of any registered phone (for us, my parents' home and cell phones, plus my sister and my cell phones, are registered), which connects to your contact using VOIP that Rebtel runs. Once set up, it's pretty transparent and slightly cheaper than using calling cards.
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Nov 22, 2012 23:32
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SB35 posted:I think the straight talk setup would work out week for them. After setup it's very easy to pick up refill cards at Wal-Mart and that may be important for a foreigner without a credit card to pay online I mean you can also buy virgin mobile cards at most big stores, straight talk has a lot more minutes though i think? I'm not sure where your refugees are coming from but a lot of the Burmese refugees I worked with would blow through three hundred minutes in a week talking to family so vm for 35 might not be ideal there.
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Nov 22, 2012 23:36
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Thanks for the tips. They are refugees from Iran, so I don't think they will have crazy minute usage (a lot of Skype calling though). Will also refer them to Rebtel.
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Nov 23, 2012 00:39
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Have a buddy who wants a S3 and the $30 tmobile plan. He should make sure to buy the Tmobile version of the S3, right? SGH-T999? Is the only place (other than shady ebay/amazon private sellers) to get that model a tmobile store?
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Nov 23, 2012 04:46
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He really should take a look at the N4 just because it's a comparable phone at half the price, if he wants to wait a few weeks. But the T-999 is the correct model to get if he does, as it gets full T-Mobile speeds in all cases. Yes, you can get the SGS3 phone from the TMobile Store off-contract for I think around $650. But, there's a shitload of deals going around for a free S3 with a contract. You can sign up for the contract and immediately cancel and pay the setup fee, early termination fee, and first month. It is a lot of paperwork but after all the dust settles you wind up paying about $300-400 and have the phone to use off-contract. Lastly, eBay and especially Amazon are not as shady as you'd think and paying through your credit card on either site affords you multiple layers of protection. They are both all-too-happy to refund your money back from sellers when they try to scam you, sellers know this and typically play it straight. Amazon sellers have to clearly list the return policies and Amazon enforces them. I've bought a dozen high-end phones and just one was network disabled. I firmly threatened to do a chargeback on the seller and he relented and took the thing back for a full refund. Everything else worked perfectly. Whatever you do, do not buy from Craigslist, because you have no recourse.
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Nov 23, 2012 05:48
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Help thread, I am trying to switch my families plan from AT&t to something cheaper and nice and fits with our emergency style use of cell phones. Three people total and I am the only person who may do web browsing. Any ideas? I am thinking of the T-Mobile online straight talk thing but I am not sure how to apply multiple people to it. Something with roll-over-esq mins would be great. edit: we are in CA Bay Area
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Nov 23, 2012 09:22
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Prepaid just about never offers family plans. You just get a separate account for each person. Maybe Virgin Mobile and/or Ting and other stuff on the CDMA side might, but for the GSM carriers, you just get a SIM for each account. You save more than a post-paid family plan anyway. One thing that comes to mind though, if neither of them use data like you imply, there's a T-Mobile dumbphone plan that after you've put $100 worth of refills into the SIM, they make it so the minutes don't expire for a year, and reset the year with each refill. It is called Gold Rewards. As I recall that was the most rock-bottom emergency only thing I've seen. Plus you can find SIMs on eBay that are low or empty on minutes, but have the Gold Rewards status from previous purchases. More info here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go-plans Or if you're of lower economic standing, you could look into qualifying for the free Assurance Wireless phones for the spouse(s)/kid(s).
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Nov 23, 2012 09:35
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Thank you Zero, this is looking great for us. I am gonna run the numbers by the family asap. Do you know if the dumb phones and the prepaid let us keep our numbers at all?
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Nov 23, 2012 09:47
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Herr Tog posted:Thank you Zero, this is looking great for us. I am gonna run the numbers by the family asap. Do you know if the dumb phones and the prepaid let us keep our numbers at all?  (would post a link, but am phone-posting)
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Nov 23, 2012 16:00
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Tigerdirect has $5 Tracfones today only. Does anyone know if these are unlocked and can be used on T-Mobile Pre-Paid? Cross posted in the TMO Thread. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2932987&sku=TPN10-1002
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Nov 23, 2012 17:49
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Whoa, I'd like to know, too. It would be a good backup phone or a replacement for my parents' lovely one.
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Nov 23, 2012 18:26
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As far as I know, Tracfones, Net10 phones, StraightTalk phones, and any other prepaid phone can only be used on their intended network. You can't buy them and use them on another network, even if you replace the SIM (due to whatever software/firmware is on the phone, I believe).
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Nov 23, 2012 18:40
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I noticed that, if you change the APN name, the phone will display it as your carrier. I was wondering, if I don't want "Straight Talk" as my APN name, could I just put whatever I want? I've noticed some ST users around the net having "Home". I wouldn't mind just putting AT&T or Sprint or whatever to freak people out. I'm just not sure if it has to 100% match with what ST has on their site (which is "Straight Talk").
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Nov 23, 2012 19:26
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Zero VGS posted:He really should take a look at the N4 just because it's a comparable phone at half the price, if he wants to wait a few weeks. But the T-999 is the correct model to get if he does, as it gets full T-Mobile speeds in all cases. Thanks for the advice! I recommended a N4, but he had a SGS2 and loved it so he wants the S3.
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Nov 23, 2012 22:34
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ThermoPhysical posted:I noticed that, if you change the APN name, the phone will display it as your carrier. How is your service with ST, anyway? My father turns out to have had ATT on his ipad last time he visited and said he was able to get a decent signal and decent speeds whenever he needed. I'm currently visiting him in FL right now (went to the beach today  ) and Sprint is absolute poo poo. I mean, loving terrible. This exurb sprawl poo poo is for the birds, it's goddamn 20 minutes drive to anywhere of importance and my phone turns into a handwarmer en route.
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Nov 24, 2012 05:33
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The Entire Universe posted:How is your service with ST, anyway? I have yet to actually use the service or the SIM card because I'm waiting on the Nexus 4. I'm $50 away from being able to get it so I figure I'll just wait it out. I talked to a few friends with AT&T and they all said that its much better than Sprint. However, I haven't been able to test it myself just yet. I'll have the Nexus S 4G and Nexus 4 in service at about the same time since I anticipate I'll be able to buy a Nexus 4 in a week or so, so we'll see how they compare. Surprised to hear about your problems with Sprint in Florida, though. I have a friend who's in Texas but moved from Florida, he says his phone wasn't so bad there. Then again, maybe it was because he got an iPhone now and I don't think he's on Sprint anymore. Also, you're lucky about the beach. It's loving freezing here. ThermoPhysical fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 07:41
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LiquidRain posted:We run on Sprint, but Ting is practically made for what you're looking for. If you're not a big data user, give our calculator a go. Oh man thank you for pointing me towards this.
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Nov 24, 2012 08:42
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So Amazon has the HTC somethings for $99 that are for Virgin Mobile. Am I correct in assuming that I can buy 2 of these and activate them and pay $70 a month instead of the $180 I'm paying Verizon? Are there any hidden caveats that I'm missing in going prepaid? Also, how far out from my contract with Verizon being over should I start the porting process? I'm actually super excited right now at saving over $2000 over the next two years.
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Nov 24, 2012 17:06
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Ariza posted:Are there any hidden caveats that I'm missing in going prepaid? 1. Virgin Mobile is Sprint service ONLY. If you have a sprint Post paid you will roam on Verizon. Sprint service is not as good as Verizon but as always your use area matter only. Virgin Mobile's data is Sprint 3G only and the speeds are terrible compared to any other 3G or heaven help you Verizon LTE comparison. So if you are OK with the service being super slow and not always working (if you are out of reach of Sprint Towers) then by all means join us prepaid and enjoy saving buckets of money. I sound negative, but I'm not, myself and many others run prepaid of various formats (I'm on the $30 TMO plan, and love it). I have another household user on TMO pay by the minute ($100 for 1 year but only 1000 minutes all year) because they have no interest in data. Also porting can be difficult with prepaid, most of us just ported to GV or got a new GV number and then pointed it at the new numbers. Depending on your chosen service you generally can't get visual voicemail (not a problem for you as you are not looking at iPhones). When you make a port request with the new service your old service dies immediately so one day out of contract would work fine, but might take a while for the number to point to the new phone. This among other reasons is why many suggest porting to GV (or getting a new GV number) and then handling number assignment yourself. You might also want to look at the HTC Evo V 4G. It's $150 instead of $100 but might be a better phone. Also having two of the same phones is nice but sometimes results in them getting confused for each other. You might consider the HTC for yourself and the Reverb for the lady. Stick100 fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 19:53
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Stick100 posted:1. Virgin Mobile is Sprint service ONLY. If you have a sprint Post paid you will roam on Verizon. Sprint service is not as good as Verizon but as always your use area matter only. Virgin Mobile's data is Sprint 3G only and the speeds are terrible compared to any other 3G or heaven help you Verizon LTE comparison. Thank you so much for all of this info. I'm not too concerned about speed, my average data usage with Verizon has been under 250mb every month, and we've never come close to the 700 minutes that Verizon gives us every month. 3g is really only used if I want to go somewhere and forget to look up directions before I leave. When I first got a smartphone I went nuts getting apps and doing lots of stuff with it. But now, other than normal phone things, I really only use my phone for checking my daughter's crib cam, shopping list, and Wordfeud. I think I might try porting my number to GV. I've seen it mentioned quite a few times in this thread, but I'm not real sure what any of it means. I think I'll read up on it and probably do that so I can switch to a new service easier in the future if Virgin sucks around here. edit - So I can buy and activate the other phones now, and then in a week when my contract expires, just port my existing Verizon number to GV, right? And then add my new Virgin number into GV as a forwarding number? I think it makes sense to me. Ariza fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 20:56
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I've got a Sprint Evo 3D, is it possible to use this on a Verizon or Sprint MVNO? Verizon preferably since Sprint's network is trash in my area?
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Nov 24, 2012 21:49
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Ariza posted:edit - So I can buy and activate the other phones now, and then in a week when my contract expires, just port my existing Verizon number to GV, right? And then add my new Virgin number into GV as a forwarding number? I think it makes sense to me. As far as I know the only negative of porting to GV is you lose the ability to receive MMS. But having your voicemails emailed to you is so incredibly awesome as to make it by far worth it. Also keep in mind if you use that setup your out going calls will show as your Sim number (or Virgin number) and will sometimes confuse whoever you call. To your plan, yes you can do that, and make calls and get a feel for Virgin before porting the number. Most of us like doing this (or just getting an new google voice number) because once you break off of carriers for number porting you don't have to deal with them for porting numbers ever again. I love living contract free with unlocked GSM phones and Google voice because I can swap phones and SIMs and manage everything myself. Feel like taking a trip, grab an old Motorola RZR drop your Sim in. Set your house on fire and have nothing left in the world, go guy a $10 prepaid phone, load some time on it find a computer redirect google voice. However word of caution: ONLY REDIRECT GOOGLE VOICE TO 1 NUMBER AT A TIME! If you redirect google voice to more than 1 number Google Voice might ring one phone, might ring the other, or might ring both. What happened to me is I set Google voice to call 2 numbers and forgot about it, eventually one of the Sims defaulted back into the carrier pool and one day I stopped getting 90% calls. Some poor guy had gotten a new phone, then all of my calls redirected through google voice to both of us. He got annoyed and started sending all the calls to voicemail. For several days no one was getting through and I didn't know.
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Nov 24, 2012 22:24
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blargle posted:I've got a Sprint Evo 3D, is it possible to use this on a Verizon or Sprint MVNO? Verizon preferably since Sprint's network is trash in my area? I don't think the CDMAs are compatible with each other. But you should be able to take it to a Sprint MVNO or Cricket wireless. All of the Sprint MVNOs will have the same bad service. Suggestion you've probably heard. Sell your phone, wait 2 weeks for the N4 to come back, buy one for $299 or $349 if you need 16Gb of storage, and go with TMO/straight talk prepaid. If you use less than 250 minutes per month, go $30/100 minute plan if you use more look at the $45 straight talk unlimited everything plan. You get the arguably the best phone in the world, nearly the best data speeds (about 1/2 speed of LTE) and your 2 year cycle cost will be roughly $1200 (Including tax) while most other combinations of phones and plans your 2 year cycle cost will be at least $2600. To rub salt in the wounds of everyone paying $100 per month it's also possible that the N4 will get TMO LTE eventually. Stick100 fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 22:26
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Stick100 posted:However word of caution: ONLY REDIRECT GOOGLE VOICE TO 1 NUMBER AT A TIME! If you redirect google voice to more than 1 number Google Voice might ring one phone, might ring the other, or might ring both. What happened to me is I set Google voice to call 2 numbers and forgot about it, eventually one of the Sims defaulted back into the carrier pool and one day I stopped getting 90% calls. Some poor guy had gotten a new phone, then all of my calls redirected through google voice to both of us. He got annoyed and started sending all the calls to voicemail. For several days no one was getting through and I didn't know. I have been redirecting to multiple phones for years without incident. The moral of your story is "remember to remove redirection from phone numbers you've abandoned", not "don't redirect to multiple numbers".
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Nov 25, 2012 00:40
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