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LiquidRain posted:Was a bit thickheaded earlier, now I finally understand what you want to do and you're not trying to scam us. Why not use google voice' available sprint number porting to port the sprint number to GV, get new number on sprint phone (I'm assuming that's how it works), and port that to sprint?
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Jan 17, 2013 18:24
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I've posed the question direct to the main Ting developer and the answer is yes, this will work exactly as you intend. (his words: "why wouldn't it?") Port in to Ting -> get ETF promo credits -> port out to GV -> re-activate on Ting -> retain ETF credit. I'll go upstairs and doublecheck with support as well.
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1karus posted:Yeah, I still have mine. I never had any of the crazy problems most of the people in this thread did. I didn't have any crazy problems, the thing just died after an hour of 3g use. And took a couple minutes to lock onto gps. on a good day. Going from the triumph to the S was like "wow this is what a smartphone is actually supposed to be like" because i never had to turn off 3g or go on wifi or watch my battery life on the S. The triumph is straight up one of the worst android phones ever made
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Jan 17, 2013 18:30
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ilkhan posted:You should be able to go into a T-Mo store and request a microSIM. Thats what I did when I got my N4. No cost, but that seems to be variable. I went and asked for one and gave it to me for free. But while the rep was doing computer bullshit she made small talk and asked what new phone I got. I said i got the nexus 4 and she did the "this person has no idea what they're talking about i'm just gonna let them keep talking" nod and smile. I guess they hadn't gotten the memo that tmobile is getting it on contrct 
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Jan 17, 2013 18:34
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Tedronai66 posted:Why not use google voice' available sprint number porting to port the sprint number to GV, get new number on sprint phone (I'm assuming that's how it works), and port that to sprint?
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Jan 17, 2013 18:47
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LiquidRain posted:The marketing promotion requires him to port his existing number to Ting and provide proof of an ETF for that number. That's what I mean though, he'd get a new number from sprint, which becomes his existing number. Which he can port. Unless I'm missing something, and you don't get a new "real" number tied to your sprint phone anymore.
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Jan 17, 2013 19:02
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The Ting marketing staff are working on a FAQ, including the whole port-after-the-fact scenario. Something will be prepared before the promo starts that will address the scenario specifically. 
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Jan 17, 2013 19:57
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Tedronai66 posted:That's what I mean though, he'd get a new number from sprint, which becomes his existing number. Which he can port. Unless I'm missing something, and you don't get a new "real" number tied to your sprint phone anymore. That would mean two etfs: 1. Port from sprint to GV, canceling your contract and paying the etf 2. Starting a new contract with sprint to get another number 3. Port that number to ting, which would cancel your new sprint contract and have to pay an etf 4. Ting pays for your etf for the number you ported to them
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Jan 17, 2013 21:33
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Long Francesco posted:That would mean two etfs: http://www.google.com/voice/sprint They support porting number from sprint. While keeping sprint contract. The thing I don't know is if they give you a new sprint number or do some other hackery
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Jan 17, 2013 21:45
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Tedronai66 posted:http://www.google.com/voice/sprint That's not a port, it's allowing you to use your Sprint number as both a Google Voice number and a Sprint number. It's free and a part of their partnership with Google that started with the Nexus S 4G. I ported from Sprint to Google Voice and it cancelled my contract as normal and I got hit with an ETF last week.
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Jan 17, 2013 21:47
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ThermoPhysical posted:That's not a port, it's allowing you to use your Sprint number as both a Google Voice number and a Sprint number. It's free and a part of their partnership with Google that started with the Nexus S 4G. Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up. That's kind of crappy.
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Jan 17, 2013 22:06
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The wording on the Ting ETF buyout page seems to imply you can cancel your Sprint contract on your own and you'll get the credit as long as you provide proof of ETF within 30 days. That would let me cancel Sprint by porting to Google Voice, then sign up with Ting. I'll have to call them to verify. I didn't think getting my number into GV would be this tricky.
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Jan 17, 2013 23:06
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I wonder if anyone looking at jumping from, say, T-Mo to Ting would be willing to trade their unlocked GSM GNex for a Sprint one. Why anyone would go from T-Mobile's to Sprint's network is beyond me unless they've got LTE in their area.
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Jan 18, 2013 01:28
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Is it me, or is the ST Samsung Galaxy Proclaim at $149, beat out Verizon's Samsung Illusion at $99 in only a month and a half of service?
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Jan 18, 2013 01:37
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I'm all for people buying whatever phone they want and can afford and while those phones should do basic smartphone things ok, it is not a good idea to buy a new gingerbread phone in 2013.
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Jan 18, 2013 02:06
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Long Francesco posted:I'm all for people buying whatever phone they want and can afford and while those phones should do basic smartphone things ok, it is not a good idea to buy a new gingerbread phone in 2013. What would you say to get then?
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Jan 18, 2013 02:28
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The typical answer is a Nexus 4 or a Galaxy Nexus but that's because Goons Love Purestrain Android. The less flippant answer is you'd probably be happy with a used Samsung Galaxy S 2, A Nexus S, or the aforementioned Gnex/N4. It just depends on how much you want to spend, what your exact needs are, and how much time you want to spend trolling ebay or craigslist. Wal Mart sells a SGS2 for $329 new in box for any Tmobile prepaid plan. That's still a very viable device, though it doesn't hold a candle to the likes of an Optimus G rocking a silly fast quad core. But for basic poo poo like email, texts, phone calls, minimal gaming, and forum surfing you could do a whole lot worse.
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Jan 18, 2013 02:34
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It really depends on what carrier you're on and your budget, but you'd probably be happy with any high end popular phone from the last generation or the current one if you can swing the bucks for it. The sgs2 is still a great phone for most things and there's the nexus phones if you want to sperg out about software. And people seem to be happy with the razr and it's variants if you're looking Verizon. It's just really not worth saving what's relatively not all that much on a new low end phone when spending a little more can save you from suffering in crap phone hell.
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Jan 18, 2013 02:55
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blargle posted:The wording on the Ting ETF buyout page seems to imply you can cancel your Sprint contract on your own and you'll get the credit as long as you provide proof of ETF within 30 days. That would let me cancel Sprint by porting to Google Voice, then sign up with Ting. I'll have to call them to verify. I didn't think getting my number into GV would be this tricky.
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Jan 18, 2013 04:45
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MC Hawking posted:The typical answer is a Nexus 4. I could see those working if you had the cash, and they were finally in stock. Hell, I'm still using my Droid 2 and see no reason to upgrade anytime soon.
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Jan 18, 2013 05:09
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The recommend thread suggested I look at Ting. I need something for my family with 4 phones, 2 of which need to get laptops online, but I think data use will actually be low. Some rough math showed we would probably pay less with Ting than someone else over 2 years even counting phones. Had a couple questions: 1. My house is in a place that has poor service to all carriers. There should be no issue or charge for using my local wifi for data correct? But if I want voice I would need to setup google voice or something? Which does texts fall under? 2. Are there warranties or options for insurance on the phones? What software comes on them and can we remove it? 3. I read Sprint is upgrading their whole network. However no one in my family is in an area that even has Wimax from Sprint. Would it be safe to assume LTE isn't coming all that soon? The cheapest LTE phone on Ting is $300 and we are looking to save money. I assume Ting doesn't have any sort of upgrade or trade in program.
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Jan 19, 2013 00:18
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LiquidRain, I ordered my phone but I guess it isn't in stock so I am still waiting for it to be shipped. I haven't been billed yet which is nice. I am wondering if I need to transfer the phone lines after I get all the phone i will need to move my family or can I kind of do it piece by piece and what if the first number isn't the primary number on the AT&T contract.
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Jan 19, 2013 00:48
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CampingCarl posted:The recommend thread suggested I look at Ting. I need something for my family with 4 phones, 2 of which need to get laptops online, but I think data use will actually be low. Some rough math showed we would probably pay less with Ting than someone else over 2 years even counting phones. Had a couple questions: What do you mean by get laptops online? I don't think Ting currently offers hotspots, and if they do Ting data rates are very expensive. CampingCarl posted:1. My house is in a place that has poor service to all carriers. There should be no issue or charge for using my local wifi for data correct? But if I want voice I would need to setup google voice or something? Which does texts fall under? There is no charge to use your own wifi for data. You can use google voice for texts and it will send you an email (in addition to the text) every time you get a text. You could use something like this for calls from the house. http://www.amazon.com/OBi100-Telephone-Adapter-Service-Bridge/dp/B004LO098O Also if your wifi is good enough you can use that to make phone calls (both out going and incomming) for free. It's a decent bit of a hassle but worth it if you're trying to save money. CampingCarl posted:2. Are there warranties or options for insurance on the phones? What software comes on them and can we remove it? Why do you want insurance, it pretty much always is a total scam. What software comes on them is a difficult question without what phones your talking about. And in general nowadays you the extra stuff that comes on the phones is not to offensive. CampingCarl posted:3. I read Sprint is upgrading their whole network. However no one in my family is in an area that even has Wimax from Sprint. Would it be safe to assume LTE isn't coming all that soon? The cheapest LTE phone on Ting is $300 and we are looking to save money. I assume Ting doesn't have any sort of upgrade or trade in program. Ask in the Sprint thread and give them your market (city name/area) and they can answer, they have a pretty good idea. But Ting data rates are VERY expensive so if you or anyone on the plan has interest in streaming a lot of video or music you probably should look at something else. For comparison Ting charges $60 for 3 Gb while TMO has a plan that gives you 5Gb at full speed and then unlimited after that for $30 and they also give you free texts and 100 minutes. Obviously you are concerned about value and if you can train you're family to mostly use WiFi and to minimize the least number of minutes and texts you could get your bill down under $40 per month which is phenomenal for 4 phones. With GVoice and some work you can get free calls and texts but it's a hassle. Also the suggestion from Ting was to set all of the values at the smallest and let them bill you. You might be able to pick up some cheap phones on ebay/craigslist instead of having to purchase them.
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Jan 20, 2013 11:46
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The Entire Universe posted:I wonder if anyone looking at jumping from, say, T-Mo to Ting would be willing to trade their unlocked GSM GNex for a Sprint one. Why anyone would go from T-Mobile's to Sprint's network is beyond me unless they've got LTE in their area. I might be interested in that trade sometime in the short future.
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Jan 20, 2013 11:47
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Mr.Radar posted:That's a good idea, but terrible execution. First, dual-band 2G-only in 2013? Really? Also, that's going to be a problem when phone companies start phasing out 2G GSM service to make more room for 3G and LTE over the next decade. T-Mobile USA is already planning to reduce their 2G allocation to just a handful of channels by 2015 in major markets, though they are the most bandwidth-strapped of US Big 4. 2G-only also means it won't be useful in the large areas of the western US where the only GSM coverage is AT&T 3G (with no AT&T 2G or T-Mobile anything available). I thought when phasing out the 2G that would only be for 2G data, and that GSM voice would still work in the same way. Are you saying that GSM voice also works on the 3G bands? It's common for me to have no data but will have voice in a often, is that because I'm roaming to some voice only option?
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Jan 20, 2013 11:50
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You're probably roaming onto att and there's no way they would let you have data service on their network.
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Jan 20, 2013 15:39
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Stick100 posted:But Ting data rates are VERY expensive so if you or anyone on the plan has interest in streaming a lot of video or music you probably should look at something else. Stick appears to recognize this, but just to make clear to Carl, streaming over wifi is not a problem--there would be no Ting charges for that. Since Carl's house is "in a place that has poor service to all carriers" I'm not sure he has streaming over mobile data in mind anyway. I agree that if one person uses a lot of data every month, that specific person might be better off with their own T-Mobile plan . . . assuming there is coverage where the person wants to use it. Ting is not really suitable for people who want to use gobs and gobs of data on the cheap, but you've said that this is not what you're looking for. The nice thing about no-contract plans is you can try them out for a while and see how they suit your actual usage. Buying/selling used or refurb phones can help minimize the cost of a trial. CampingCarl posted:There should be no issue or charge for using my local wifi for data correct? But if I want voice I would need to setup google voice or something? Which does texts fall under? What Stick said is right but to clarify, if you use Google Voice for texts, there would be no Ting charges for texts you send/receive while you're on wifi. You have to use the Google Voice app and you're limited to SMS (no MMS). Yes you can get notifications by email (if you want them), but the Google Voice app works like a regular texting app. (On the surface; in the background it is using a different mechanism to send/receive the texts, but that's transparent to the user). Stick100 posted:With GVoice and some work you can get free calls and texts but it's a hassle. It is not a hassle at all to get the free texting. The voice part does require some more work--you need to configure not only Google Voice but also a VOIP app like GrooVe IP. Stick100 posted:What do you mean by get laptops online? I don't think Ting currently offers hotspots The specific suggestion was to use the hotspot feature that is now built into many Android phones. Obviously anybody who wants that will need to get a phone that supports it.
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Jan 20, 2013 17:32
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You guys have all the details right, except we do offer data sticks and WiFi hot spots. We also carry femtocells/in- home extenders/whatever you want to call them. We suck for data but for voice and text with multiple devices on 1 account? Hard to beat.
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Jan 20, 2013 17:53
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I'm kind of scared for Ting - my first bill with them would be something like $15. I don't know how they'll manage to stay in business.
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Jan 20, 2013 17:55
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blargle posted:I'm kind of scared for Ting - my first bill with them would be something like $15. I don't know how they'll manage to stay in business. Ting is a great endeavor for the company and we're on track as far as financials go. We're not going anywhere. (Ting's parent company is Tucows, we've been around for ages)
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Jan 20, 2013 18:08
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Stick100 posted:What do you mean by get laptops online? I don't think Ting currently offers hotspots, and if they do Ting data rates are very expensive. Stick100 posted:Why do you want insurance, it pretty much always is a total scam. What software comes on them is a difficult question without what phones your talking about. And in general nowadays you the extra stuff that comes on the phones is not to offensive. Stick100 posted:But Ting data rates are VERY expensive so if you or anyone on the plan has interest in streaming a lot of video or music you probably should look at something else. For comparison Ting charges $60 for 3 Gb while TMO has a plan that gives you 5Gb at full speed and then unlimited after that for $30 and they also give you free texts and 100 minutes.
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Jan 20, 2013 18:37
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I'm now one of the many that did the T-Mobile $30 and Google Voice port. I bought GrooveIP and upon startup it says it needs access to rhe Internet and to make sure my carrier allows calls over the internet. tl;dr Does T-Mobile allow calls over thr Internet not made through its own Wi-Fi calling application?
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Jan 20, 2013 19:51
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Long Francesco posted:I'm all for people buying whatever phone they want and can afford and while those phones should do basic smartphone things ok, it is not a good idea to buy a new gingerbread phone in 2013. This is true. Not only is 4.0+ just so much nicer, prettier, faster, and easier to use in general, more and more apps will start phasing out support for Gingerbread in the 1-2 years you'll be using that phone. Friends don't let friends buy Gingerbread phones in 2013.
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Jan 20, 2013 19:54
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I recently switched to the T-mobile $30 plan from my butt-rapingly expensive AT&T mobile share plan. I love the plan, and it suits my needs. I am looking at doing the other leg of the mobile share plan (my wife) and I cannot find a good prepaid plan that will work for her (her restraint threshold is a lot lower than mine). As much as I'd like to keep the $30 plan, I think moving to the $80 value plan with 1000 shared minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data (throttled after 2gb, individually I believe, but shared wouldn't be bad either). With AAA Michigan I think I get a 10% discount, so that's $72 or $36/line. I'd be paying more than I like, but netting out better. I'm not happy about getting put into a contract with an ETF without receiving a subsidy. But $72 pretax for smartphones is good enough to lock in and deal with that. I know T-Mobile is launching new contract-free plans soon, but may want to lock in with what I know is good now rather than the devil I don't. What would be the best method to get my prepaid number ported to a postpaid plan? The eligibility tool shows I am not eligible. Should I get my wife set up on a plan and then call customer service to convert my plan? If it's not possible, what's the cheapest porting-around to get back to T-mobile that I can do? Appreciate any feedback!
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Jan 21, 2013 00:43
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TraderStav posted:I recently switched to the T-mobile $30 plan from my butt-rapingly expensive AT&T mobile share plan. I love the plan, and it suits my needs. I am looking at doing the other leg of the mobile share plan (my wife) and I cannot find a good prepaid plan that will work for her (her restraint threshold is a lot lower than mine). How much data does she use? Under 100MB is 50 for the line, with unlimited talk/text. Or bump it up to ~2gb limit for 60. 10 bucks more a month but no contract at that rate. Not to mention CallingMart and other sites can knock that down to maybe 5 more a month.
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Jan 21, 2013 01:47
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Tedronai66 posted:How much data does she use? Under 100MB is 50 for the line, with unlimited talk/text. Or bump it up to ~2gb limit for 60. 10 bucks more a month but no contract at that rate. Not to mention CallingMart and other sites can knock that down to maybe 5 more a month. She uses about 300-800 a month, mostly Pandora. Tell me about this CallingMart place, very interesting to me. I only see <$1 savings on Tmobile prepaid cards though.
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Jan 21, 2013 04:28
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TraderStav posted:She uses about 300-800 a month, mostly Pandora. In that case, there's also the unlimited talk/text Straight Talk plan on T-Mobile. If your wife stays under the Arbitrary Unpublished Data Limits mentioned in the OP (i.e., 1-2GB per month, and possibly 100MB/day), she would get the equivalent of T-Mobile's $60 plan for $45. If you decide to change your plan to postpaid, why not port to Google Voice? It's $20 but you won't need to port again so long as Google Voice is around.
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Jan 21, 2013 05:27
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Cuttlefish Party posted:In that case, there's also the unlimited talk/text Straight Talk plan on T-Mobile. If your wife stays under the Arbitrary Unpublished Data Limits mentioned in the OP (i.e., 1-2GB per month, and possibly 100MB/day), she would get the equivalent of T-Mobile's $60 plan for $45. Unfortunately straight talk has issues with iPhones. No MMS. If here's a way around that the plan sounds great. GV has the same issue, no mms. If it weren't for that, I think porting to GV may be the best way to avoid all this. Ill do some digging to find out if there's a good way to get it working on straight talk, I'm sure there is a way. Thanks!
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Jan 21, 2013 12:01
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The Merkinman posted:I'm now one of the many that did the T-Mobile $30 and Google Voice port. I bought GrooveIP and upon startup it says it needs access to rhe Internet and to make sure my carrier allows calls over the internet. T-Mobile can't tell if you're making data VoIP calls or doesn't seem to care because I've been using them daily for more than a year.
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Jan 21, 2013 15:57
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TraderStav posted:Unfortunately straight talk has issues with iPhones. No MMS. If here's a way around that the plan sounds great. GV has the same issue, no mms. If it weren't for that, I think porting to GV may be the best way to avoid all this. Things like that make me wish whatsapp was more prevalent. No one I know uses it, but I'd love to port to google voice. Maybe this year they'll add it...
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Jan 21, 2013 16:28
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CampingCarl posted:I mean use the hotspot feature on the android phones. Even the cheapest ones have this feature I think. Ok it looks like you've done your research and as I said Ting could well get your bill down to $40 for 4 lines which is impossible to beat, but if you have any user that wants to stream a lot it might be more expensive then some other options. You are correct that most carriers charge to add hotspot but just as an FYI most of the time you can tether without official hotspot, as an example you can tether on the $30/mo TMo plan for quite a bit with no modifications. Eventually they will catch on if you don't change your user client and give you a pay wall for like an hour then you can do it again. If you change your user client to look like an android phone you can tether as much as you want. Best of luck with Ting, it looks like a compelling package and will be real hard to beat once LTE reaches most markets.
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Jan 21, 2013 17:45
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