Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
hiddenriverninja
May 10, 2013

life is locomotion
keep moving
trust that you'll find your way

Rastor posted:

I'm having a problem on T-Mobile right now where if I roam from LTE to 2G nothing works, but if I go into the cellular network options and switch the network type preference to 2G I am able to do basic web browsing. I called T-Mobile but the representative didn't seem to believe me or fully understand, just kept saying that 2G is very slow compared to LTE.

I would bother to call back hoping for a more technical person, but I almost never roam out of their LTE coverage and if I do I have the manual workaround.

Yeah I'm out in the boonies visiting family, barely getting any 4g at all. I might try changing those settings you mentioned.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Qwijib0
Apr 10, 2007

Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?

Fun Shoe
After a week in Canada on free international data, I'm a fan. Email, maps, Twitter, sportacular and other things that I wouldn't expect to use a lot of data were only slightly laggy compared to what I am used to in the states and I was even able to stream from my slingbox at a data rate that made a sporting event on just this side of watchable (app reported ~140kbps). There was never a point when I felt like I was in the zone of "just fast enough to give you hope but so slow as to be frustrating". I guess it would depend on the infrastructure of the country you are visiting but if they have a decent 4g infrastructure I think you'd be fine. I was on LTE the whole time and ping speeds were very good which also probably contributed to the usability.

Uncle Lizard
Sep 28, 2012

by Athanatos

hiddenriverninja posted:

What is the point of 2G if nothing fully loads on it, not even regular web browsing?

I was on 2g earlier today and could even send a hangouts message or read reddit at all.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Qwijib0 posted:

After a week in Canada on free international data, I'm a fan. Email, maps, Twitter, sportacular and other things that I wouldn't expect to use a lot of data were only slightly laggy compared to what I am used to in the states and I was even able to stream from my slingbox at a data rate that made a sporting event on just this side of watchable (app reported ~140kbps). There was never a point when I felt like I was in the zone of "just fast enough to give you hope but so slow as to be frustrating". I guess it would depend on the infrastructure of the country you are visiting but if they have a decent 4g infrastructure I think you'd be fine. I was on LTE the whole time and ping speeds were very good which also probably contributed to the usability.
I'm going to Vietnam on the 14th. Free international data will no longer be available there starting on the 13th. :negative:

ilkhan
Oct 7, 2004

I LOVE Musk and his pro-first-amendment ways. X is the future.
If you tether an android tablet to your phone and play one of the free steaming services on the tethered device does it count your data usage against your cap?

repeating
Nov 14, 2005

ilkhan posted:

If you tether an android tablet to your phone and play one of the free steaming services on the tethered device does it count your data usage against your cap?

Yes. It's only whitelisting the actual music stream on the approved services on their official apps. All data used on hotspot counts normally.

WhyteRyce
Dec 30, 2001

repeating posted:

Partly that, partially people not realizing how low their data use off wifi is, jumping at the "awesome" unlimited deal, then burning 3gb or less a month.

I used to think that was me but the first month after I replaced my poo poo S3 with a Moto X I exceeded my 3gb cap half way through the billing cycle.

BrandonLakeTruck
Jan 10, 2004
dog poster its a hell of a ride
I burned up my 3gb a month really quick this billing cycle (which ends on the ninth) and I was wondering if there was a way I could be using that bonus 10gb they give you before the rollover starts or if there is any way to see it on the website or something. The whole thing is very confusing to me. I got the message that I was going to be throttled just the other day but on LTE I'm still getting 10-15mbit down.

Maker Of Shoes
Sep 4, 2006

AWWWW YISSSSSSSSSS
DIS IS MAH JAM!!!!!!

BrandonLakeTruck posted:

I burned up my 3gb a month really quick this billing cycle (which ends on the ninth) and I was wondering if there was a way I could be using that bonus 10gb they give you before the rollover starts or if there is any way to see it on the website or something. The whole thing is very confusing to me. I got the message that I was going to be throttled just the other day but on LTE I'm still getting 10-15mbit down.

You get it on the first day of your new cycle this month. You'er kinda stuck until that happens. When you finally get it you'll get a text about it and you'll see a new progress bar in your account with the stash under the Usage tab.

BrandonLakeTruck
Jan 10, 2004
dog poster its a hell of a ride

Maker Of Shoes posted:

You get it on the first day of your new cycle this month. You'er kinda stuck until that happens. When you finally get it you'll get a text about it and you'll see a new progress bar in your account with the stash under the Usage tab.

Cool sounds good to me. I'm not a big data user outside the house but my home internet was down for a night and I watched some netflix while I forgot I was tethering. Probably will not make that mistake again.

Tacos Al Pastor
Jun 20, 2003


Thanks for this!

Ramadu
Aug 25, 2004

2015 NFL MVP


So I have a couple of questions. I recently quit my job and my job paid for my phone bill. THat is going away on friday. I was planning on getting T-Mobile since 50 bucks seems to be about the best deal out there for me. I have a iphone 5s that I used on verizon in pretty good quality. Can I use it on t-mobile or do I have to get a new phone? Will I be able to keep my phone number? This is the first time in like a decade I've had to look for a new phone service so I'm wondering if poo poo is different now.

Nostalgia4Butts
Jun 1, 2006

WHERE MY HOSE DRINKERS AT

Ramadu posted:

So I have a couple of questions. I recently quit my job and my job paid for my phone bill. THat is going away on friday. I was planning on getting T-Mobile since 50 bucks seems to be about the best deal out there for me. I have a iphone 5s that I used on verizon in pretty good quality. Can I use it on t-mobile or do I have to get a new phone? Will I be able to keep my phone number? This is the first time in like a decade I've had to look for a new phone service so I'm wondering if poo poo is different now.

yes on using the iphone (I used my verizon iphone 5 on t-mobile) 99% no on keeping the number. The company paid for that number, it is theirs to keep.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Yes, your 5S will work on T-Mobile without an issue. Just order a SIM kit either online or at a store. In either case you'll be asked if you want to port your number. If you go to a store, go ahead, since you'll be walking out with your SIM, but if you get it online, do NOT do it since the port will start immediately, and you'll be without service for a few days until it arrives. You'll be able to port your number once you get it, though, so no worries there.

Fake edit: Good point about the company owning the number. You'd have to ask them, though I doubt they care if it's a case where they're reimbursing you after the fact.

IuniusBrutus
Jul 24, 2010

If I purchased a phone from a T-Mobile store, do I need to return it to the exact same store? Or can it be any T-Mobile store?

Ramadu
Aug 25, 2004

2015 NFL MVP


FAT SLAMPIG posted:

yes on using the iphone (I used my verizon iphone 5 on t-mobile) 99% no on keeping the number. The company paid for that number, it is theirs to keep.

Yeah of course I just broke the screen on mine. THanks applecare I guess. I'm 99% certain they won't care about the number, it's been my personal number for liek 10 years like I said.

adorai
Nov 2, 2002

10/27/04 Never forget
Grimey Drawer

FAT SLAMPIG posted:

yes on using the iphone (I used my verizon iphone 5 on t-mobile) 99% no on keeping the number. The company paid for that number, it is theirs to keep.
Eh, we let most people keep their numbers when we paid for phones. Even loan officers, which I personally thought was insane, but senior management thought it was ok so I went along with it.

Linco
Apr 1, 2004
Is it worth signing up for the jump program?

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



A 0% interest loan is pretty enticing to me. You're paying the same as you would be buying the phone outright. Granted, it's not like investing the money you would be spending on a phone elsewhere is going to earn you a whole lot.

Matt Zerella
Oct 7, 2002

Norris'es are back baby. It's good again. Awoouu (fox Howl)
We do Change of Responsibility for people who want to keep their number and phone when they quit/get fired.

Basically it just spins the line off from a company plan to a personal one. Is there anyone you can talk to about it?

Astro7x
Aug 4, 2004
Thinks It's All Real

Linco posted:

Is it worth signing up for the jump program?

I personally don't think so , unless you break your phone a lot and want insurance, since Jump includes insurance. But otherwise, I think it's an idiot tax for those that don't know how to use eBay to sell their 1 year old phones.

Say you get an iPhone for $650. Jump is $10/mo. In order to trade in your phone you have to pay a minimum of half the value of your phone. So you paid $120/year for Jump, plus $325 for your phone, for a total of $445. Can you sell your 1 year old iPhone on your own for more than $205? Probably, so it's stupid to use Jump. And when you use Jump, your payments start all over again.

I traded in my iPhone 4 this year for $251, a 4 year old iPhone... If you love to upgrade your phone every year, buy the new one full price and sell the old one.

You can pay for your phone in installments with T-Moible over 2 years which is the interest free loan mentioned, so why not take it. That is not Jump though, that's the Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) which you can do if you buy the phone through T-Mobile.

Burden
Jul 25, 2006

Astro7x posted:

I personally don't think so , unless you break your phone a lot and want insurance, since Jump includes insurance. But otherwise, I think it's an idiot tax for those that don't know how to use eBay to sell their 1 year old phones.

Say you get an iPhone for $650. Jump is $10/mo. In order to trade in your phone you have to pay a minimum of half the value of your phone. So you paid $120/year for Jump, plus $325 for your phone, for a total of $445. Can you sell your 1 year old iPhone on your own for more than $205? Probably, so it's stupid to use Jump. And when you use Jump, your payments start all over again.

I traded in my iPhone 4 this year for $251, a 4 year old iPhone... If you love to upgrade your phone every year, buy the new one full price and sell the old one.

You can pay for your phone in installments with T-Moible over 2 years which is the interest free loan mentioned, so why not take it. That is not Jump though, that's the Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) which you can do if you buy the phone through T-Mobile.

It also depends on the phone. iPhone it probably isn't worth getting JUMP! on unless you are prone to losing it or physically damaging it. Android phones don't typically have as good of resale value as iPhone does. I have JUMP! and I do use it. It is also for the lazy as you don't have to mess with ebaying or craigslisting your phone. You can just take it to the store trade it in and start your payments on the new phone. It is also worth noting that if the phone has a larger trade in value then what you owe on the device then you get the difference credited back on your bill. JUMP! also gets you Lookout Premium Protection which is a nice added feature. If you like to have the latest and greatest phones I say it is worth it.

Civil
Apr 21, 2003

Do you see this? This means "Have a nice day".
Oh hey, my old Tmo value family plan seems to have been upgraded to one of the new plans. My data allotment went from 2GB to 3GB invisibly, but I'm still paying the old rate. I assume I'll also get the streaming music and data stash to go with it. I'd avoided going to one of the newer plans because they cost more than what I was paying, and I never hit the data limit.

:thumbsup:

Astro7x
Aug 4, 2004
Thinks It's All Real
So is it too late to get the 10GB data stash?

Also, what is stopping me from upgrading to a 3GB plan, using $13 GB of data the first month, and downgrading back to my 1GB plan?

I am too cheap to play for a big plan forever, but I would love to enjoy a month with 13GB of data for $10.

ChadSexington
Aug 12, 2004
I am so not competitive. In fact, I am the least non-competitive. So I win.
I'm currently on the 30/month nerd plan, but it turns out that I'm less of an antisocial shut-in than I originally thought, as I've burned through the 100 minute monthly limit a couple times now, on top of putting some reserve money in my account. I'm looking at the 60/month postpaid plan right now, as it gets me unlimited minutes, 3GB of data, and the data rollover if I'm not mistaken.

I'm also looking at Cricket, which offers the same basics (unlimited talk/text, data limits) for 45/month with autopay. Am I missing out on anything obvious with TMo? The data rollover is nice, but it would be rare for me to top 3GB in data a month in the first place.

Brock Landers
Jul 28, 2004

You're a donkey. I like that.

ChadSexington posted:

I'm currently on the 30/month nerd plan, but it turns out that I'm less of an antisocial shut-in than I originally thought, as I've burned through the 100 minute monthly limit a couple times now, on top of putting some reserve money in my account. I'm looking at the 60/month postpaid plan right now, as it gets me unlimited minutes, 3GB of data, and the data rollover if I'm not mistaken.

I'm also looking at Cricket, which offers the same basics (unlimited talk/text, data limits) for 45/month with autopay. Am I missing out on anything obvious with TMo? The data rollover is nice, but it would be rare for me to top 3GB in data a month in the first place. All of T-Mobile's postpaid plans have prepaid equivalents if you don't care about stash or international roaming.

Why not do T-Mobile prepaid for $60 and no taxes? If you don't need data rollover and you're coming from the nerd plan, this would be a no brainer.

sweart gliwere
Jul 5, 2005

better to die an evil wizard,
than to live as a grand one.
Pillbug

ChadSexington posted:

I'm also looking at Cricket, which offers the same basics (unlimited talk/text, data limits) for 45/month with autopay. Am I missing out on anything obvious with TMo? The data rollover is nice, but it would be rare for me to top 3GB in data a month in the first place.

One alternative is doing a cheap one-time fee of choosing Google Voice, then using the hangouts dialer for free minutes on wifi/data via your second number (and being able to use your second number to call from a tablet etc). Cricket would likely have better coverage, but if you're generally happy with T-Mo service it's hard to find something comparable without jumping up in price. Hangouts even does picture messaging for Gvoice now.

Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.

Ramadu posted:

So I have a couple of questions. I recently quit my job and my job paid for my phone bill. THat is going away on friday. I was planning on getting T-Mobile since 50 bucks seems to be about the best deal out there for me. I have a iphone 5s that I used on verizon in pretty good quality. Can I use it on t-mobile or do I have to get a new phone? Will I be able to keep my phone number? This is the first time in like a decade I've had to look for a new phone service so I'm wondering if poo poo is different now.

You won't have access to T-Mobile WiFi calling & you might not have access to the LTE bands. My spouse's Verizon iPhone 5 does not get LTE on T-Mobile.

If you want to port your Verizon number, you'll need the account number and billing pin for Verizon.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Evil SpongeBob posted:

You won't have access to T-Mobile WiFi calling & you might not have access to the LTE bands. My spouse's Verizon iPhone 5 does not get LTE on T-Mobile.

If you want to port your Verizon number, you'll need the account number and billing pin for Verizon.
He's on a 5S, not a 5, which will get T-Mobile WiFi calling and at least the major LTE bands (I think there might be one of the newer ones they opened up that it doesn't support). Source: Used a Verizon iPhone 5S with iOS 8 on T-Mobile.

Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
Yeah, I know that the 5s does do WiFi vs the 5 (I just bought a tmo 5s on Swappa). I was told by tmo that byod from others wouldn't work regardless of phone & os (which now seems to be wrong). I'm assuming that there are still limitations on the full LTE though.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



No, the only T-Mobile band the Verizon/GSM iPhones 5S and 6 are missing are Band 12, which isn't in many areas, anyway. They both support bands 2 and 4, which are T-Mobile's major LTE bands. Again, I've used both a Verizon 5S and unlocked 6 (same model as the Verizon one) and have no problems with LTE coverage except for in places where I have little to no signal at all. The iPhone T-Mobile sells is the exact same model as the Verizon one, it just doesn't have access to Verizon's CDMA network.

r0ck0
Sep 12, 2004
r0ck0s p0zt m0d3rn lyf

sweart gliwere posted:

One alternative is doing a cheap one-time fee of choosing Google Voice, then using the hangouts dialer for free minutes on wifi/data via your second number (and being able to use your second number to call from a tablet etc). Cricket would likely have better coverage, but if you're generally happy with T-Mo service it's hard to find something comparable without jumping up in price. Hangouts even does picture messaging for Gvoice now.

I use google voice with the hangouts dialer, I havent used a minute of cell service in months. Hangouts voice sounds even better and works on 3g, using very little data.

Bentai
Jul 8, 2004


NERF THIS!


I know not all 5S models have the same LTE band support, but the newer CDMA model for Verizon should have enough coverage for TMob.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



There's only two 5S models in the US: Sprint and AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile/unlocked. It's all on the website. It looks like even the Sprint model has the appropriate bands for T-Mobile, but they won't unlock it for US use, that's irrelevant. The only different between Verizon-specific ones is they also support CDMA.

sweart gliwere
Jul 5, 2005

better to die an evil wizard,
than to live as a grand one.
Pillbug

r0ck0 posted:

I use google voice with the hangouts dialer, I havent used a minute of cell service in months. Hangouts voice sounds even better and works on 3g, using very little data.

Yeah, I wanted to be sure that the G-Voice option was mentioned, since the dork plan might not be available for newbies when T-Mobile has a broader coverage base in a few years. My only complaints are that not everybody can readily handle you having two personal numbers (old people), and that being able to call from a wifi tablet will make your lazy times even lazier.

But those are really just discipline problems rather than any sort of indictment on the services mentioned.

Evader
May 20, 2008

One morning, when I woke up, there was a lizard in my room.
Okay. I have some cash to blow and an evil mindset. Someone check my logic:

I currently have the Unlimited Voice/Data plan, simple choice post paid. I have a Nexus 5. I pay 95 a month for it. On asking, I was told I'd only pay 110 a month for a second unlimited line with their current deal.

I want to get a Nexus 9 and have unlimited data on it, which is not something T-Mobile sells. I also want one of the crazy Asus wifi-calling routers for my home, but since the Nexus 5 doesn't have wifi calling I am not eligible to get one for the tiny deposit fee. My solution:

1. Buy a crappy phone from best buy that supports t-mobile LTE and wifi calling.

2. Buy a SIM kit.

3. Call in, activate my new SIM on this phone while adding a second unlimited voice/data plan. Activate wi-fi calling.

4. Get one of those routers now that I have a wifi calling capable phone on my account.

5. Buy a Nexus 9 32GB LTE. Toss in the new SIM.

6. Return the crappy phone, get my money back for it. (It's 80 bucks)

7. Enjoy unlimited data on new state of the art tablet. Enjoy having a second badass router as an access point elsewhere in my home.

8. BONUS OBJECTIVE: Tether my Nexus 9 to my existing badass Asus router when not in use, using it as a secondary internet source for my home, upping my bandwidth a bit. It's only good for 5 gigs a month like this, but eh.

This feasible? Am I missing something here that will collapse this all down on my greedy little head?

Evader fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Jan 8, 2015

heffray
Sep 18, 2010

Phones and tablets (or hotspots, laptops) are differentiated on the network side, and plans are restricted to each device category. You might be able to do this with a less-recognizable device, or spoof IMEI somehow, but I would expect dropping an active phone SIM into a Nexus 9 to result in a message that it doesn't match, and please call customer service to move to an appropriate plan.

Big Bowie Bonanza
Dec 30, 2007

please tell me where i can date this cute boy
T-Mobile's network will be able to tell the difference. I believe the only network this would actually work on is Verizon's.

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

I don't think it will work on any US carrier. They sell phone plans and they sell tablet plans and they have established technical methods of distinguishing between a phone and a tablet.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Big Bowie Bonanza
Dec 30, 2007

please tell me where i can date this cute boy
I can guarantee it works on Verizon because I'm also a Verizon rep and I currently use a Mobile Broadband device on an old unlimited line :toot:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply