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Pre-paid plans using CDMA Rhodium

I have been a long time customer (more than 10 years) with Iowa Wireless. I LOVE the plan I have, and the rate I haven't been able to find a match to. I'm a big fan of GSM and how I can change phones at will, but alas, I am moving to an area of North Dakota that doesn't have any GSM data, and very poor GSM voice coverage.
I have to move to Verizon (or any other CDMA provider), so I have taken this as my chance to get a new Rhodium to upgrade from my Kaiser to. Yay me.
BUT...
I don't like it, but I have had some financial difficulty, and now must pay a heafty deposit to get 'normal' service from Verizon (which is over priced to begin with).
If I get the Verizon pre-pay unlimited plan *shudders*, can I add a TP2 from eBay by just providing the correct serial numbers?
What about other pre-pay CDMA providers? Wal-Mart's Straight Talk is the right plan at a reasonable price, but can I mount a CMDA TP2 to thier network?

If you have access to MetroPCS in your area, and are willing to jump through a few hoops in getting the device configured, you can use a TP2 there. I have a Sprint TP2 that I bought on eBay running on MPS without issue. Data speeds will take you back to 2003, but the $40 unlimited call/text/data plan is hard to beat.

goldenu said:
If you have access to MetroPCS in your area, and are willing to jump through a few hoops in getting the device configured, you can use a TP2 there. I have a Sprint TP2 that I bought on eBay running on MPS without issue. Data speeds will take you back to 2003, but the $40 unlimited call/text/data plan is hard to beat.
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Wow, I'll have to check them out. Is MetroPCS GSM, or CDMA based? Unfortunatly (in this case) the TP2 can run both GSM and CDMA... as for speeds, I'm used to a trunkated 20K, so anything is fine with me. *chuckles*
Thanks for the pointers!

Check out Page Plus it resells Verizon service thier data plans are crap 20megs and 50 megs and then prepaid $3 a meg (I think) lol but if you setup you phone right you can get allo the free data you can use. I had some issues but had it working pm me if you want details. thei unlimited plan talk and txt with 20megs of data is ~$40
Otherwise see if US Cellular is in the area still expensive for my plan but better than Verizon.
1000 anytime National plan, free nights and weekends starting at 7pm, free incoming calls txts and pics~$45
+txt plan 750 msgs ~$10
+data $24
+phone insurance ~$6
+taxes ~however much the government steals
gets my bill ~$100 per month
But I do pull about a 1megabit down and reasonable upload with 200ms to 250ms latency in my service area when tethered on my pc and I've only been in two places in all of america I did not get coverage so I like them allso the costumer service is the best I've ever had from ANY COMPANY HANDS DOWN.
If their was one company that deserves a hug in the whole world is US Cellular they are the best!
sorry for typos it's late I'm tired and lazy.

How do you get free unlimited data from Page Plus?

I am also curious as to whether or not you can tie an unlocked Touch Pro 2 to the Straight Talk network. Anybody have any ideas?

Verizon Wireless Basic Pre-Paid Plan
I've got a Blackberry through work and use that to read my work mails and for calls. I was still using the HTC P3600 as my PDA/MP3 player/Navigation/snapshots/movies/games/etc. and was thinking it's time for an upgrade. The TP2 seemed to be a worthy successor... thank god - I was waiting long enough. Anyway, I was also looking for a plan that I could use every now and then without any monthly commitments and related high charges. So the Verizon basic pre-paid plan seemed ideal for my situation - it costs 99 cents per day you use it - while giving you unlimited data for that day. I'd get a $100 charge so they let me keep my number for 1 year and I'd get OTA data for every third day during that year. So much for the plan...
First attempt: Try to get the Vz TP2 with the basic pre-paid plan. FAILED ... although the pre-paid guys told me the phone would work with the plan, they wouldn't be able to sell it to me without a monthly plan. I could have gotten it for the month-to-month price and then cancelled the plan after the first month - but I didn't want to go that far.
So I bought the phone through eBay. Slight complication - but I am very happy with my new phone so far!
Second attempt: Get the Vz pre-paid plan setup to my new TP2 that I bought off eBay. FAILED althought initially I was informed the pre-paid plan would WORK with the TP2 - Verizon Wireless refuses to set it up with the TP2 (which they will recognize as soon as you give them your MEID). They told me "the pre-paid network is not able to handle the traffic generated by the TP2 phone" right, like there's a separate pre-paid network....
Third attempt: PENDING I want to get some low-cost CDMA phone, either off eBay or from Vz directly (~$40 dollars one-time costs) and set that up with the basic pre-paid plan. Then I'll just "repair"/clone that phone's ESN to my TP2 and theoretically will be able to use my TP2 finally with the Verizon Wireless Basic Pre-Paid plan.
Anyone has any thoughts or - even better - real life experience? Will this work? Any ideas for a cheaper solution? I don't mind the workaround - it's fun so far...

Bizzled - THIS IS EXACTLY the kind of information I wanted to know! I'm reading this intently, I can't wait to hear how this went. I have a little bit of time before I have to change companies, I'd really like to do this...
I think I can get you a phone that is from VZ... used to be on the network, let me know if you need one, I'll go do the research on my end.

Page Plus is a prepaid service that uses the Verizon network. They will activate any unlocked CDMA phone (even phones from another carrier).
Most Verizon PDA phones work out of the box with no unlocking or anything needed.
See here:
http://www.pagepluscellular.com/
Sounds like exactly what you are looking for.

bizzled said:
I've got a Blackberry through work and use that to read my work mails and for calls. I was still using the HTC P3600 as my PDA/MP3 player/Navigation/snapshots/movies/games/etc. and was thinking it's time for an upgrade. The TP2 seemed to be a worthy successor... thank god - I was waiting long enough. Anyway, I was also looking for a plan that I could use every now and then without any monthly commitments and related high charges. So the Verizon basic pre-paid plan seemed ideal for my situation - it costs 99 cents per day you use it - while giving you unlimited data for that day. I'd get a $100 charge so they let me keep my number for 1 year and I'd get OTA data for every third day during that year. So much for the plan...
First attempt: Try to get the Vz TP2 with the basic pre-paid plan. FAILED ... although the pre-paid guys told me the phone would work with the plan, they wouldn't be able to sell it to me without a monthly plan. I could have gotten it for the month-to-month price and then cancelled the plan after the first month - but I didn't want to go that far.
So I bought the phone through eBay. Slight complication - but I am very happy with my new phone so far!
Second attempt: Get the Vz pre-paid plan setup to my new TP2 that I bought off eBay. FAILED althought initially I was informed the pre-paid plan would WORK with the TP2 - Verizon Wireless refuses to set it up with the TP2 (which they will recognize as soon as you give them your MEID). They told me "the pre-paid network is not able to handle the traffic generated by the TP2 phone" right, like there's a separate pre-paid network....
Third attempt: PENDING I want to get some low-cost CDMA phone, either off eBay or from Vz directly (~$40 dollars one-time costs) and set that up with the basic pre-paid plan. Then I'll just "repair"/clone that phone's ESN to my TP2 and theoretically will be able to use my TP2 finally with the Verizon Wireless Basic Pre-Paid plan.
Anyone has any thoughts or - even better - real life experience? Will this work? Any ideas for a cheaper solution? I don't mind the workaround - it's fun so far...
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Did you buy a verizon branded TP2? Just curious, since I'm dealing with my own issue with verizon.

@cdmccul - I'll definitely share the results once I'm done. Got a Verizon Phone already for the cloning process... just need to figure the cloning out now. Thanks for the offer though!
@SaltyDawg - thanks for the hint. I won't go with PagePlus though since they charge you $1.20/MB for data and that's all I'm interested in for my future TP2 plan...

MadM3rlin said:
Did you buy a verizon branded TP2? Just curious, since I'm dealing with my own issue with verizon.
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Yes I did.

bizzled said:
@cdmccul - I'll definitely share the results once I'm done. Got a Verizon Phone already for the cloning process... just need to figure the cloning out now. Thanks for the offer though!
@SaltyDawg - thanks for the hint. I won't go with PagePlus though since they charge you $1.20/MB for data and that's all I'm interested in for my future TP2 plan...
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$1.20 per MB? That's only if you take the standard plan.
http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Plans/Talk n Text 1200.aspx
That says you get 1200 minutes, 1200 text messages, and 50 MB of data for $29.99 per month (which is the same as the $1.00 per day that you were talking about on Verizon). And data is billed at .60 per MB if you go over the 50 MB.

I looked at PagePlus, but the web site wasn't working well for me, and it appears as though they won't get me a phone number near where I need one. Doesn't mean I won't try a different area code, but for now, if I can get Verizon to work, that would be 'better.
However, Verizon doesn't have any LOCAL numbers to exactly where I am. The closest town to where I am moving to is considered long distance to where I will be living.

cdmccul said:
I looked at PagePlus, but the web site wasn't working well for me, and it appears as though they won't get me a phone number near where I need one. Doesn't mean I won't try a different area code, but for now, if I can get Verizon to work, that would be 'better.
However, Verizon doesn't have any LOCAL numbers to exactly where I am. The closest town to where I am moving to is considered long distance to where I will be living.
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Just port your number in. Keep your existing number. If you don't have an existing number, buy a cheap prepaid phone and then port that number.

SaltyDawg said:
Just port your number in. Keep your existing number. If you don't have an existing number, buy a cheap prepaid phone and then port that number.
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I'll have to see if I can find any - the town I'm moving to isn't THAT small, but I haven't found any local cell numbers. I'll have to do more research, there's got to be somebody... That or I'll try to do something with the GoogleVoice thingy I read about a while ago.

Well if push comes to shove, you can port landline numbers too. So you could sign up for a landline from whoever the local phone company is, and then after a few days port it out to your cell phone.

Considering Sprint? Read This First!

I have been searching all of the forums for the last two weeks regarding the TP2 and Sprint service, which on the surface sounded good. I purchased a brand new (in the box advertised as not requiring a contract) TP2 and called Sprint to port my number and was informed that even providing my own (paid for) hardware, they will not activate service without a 2 year contract. I'm stunned! Even Verizon will allow activation of your own handset without a contract. I called the CS line and was told that they will not activate without a contract. I guess I will sell this one and go with Verizon. No wonder Sprint has been loosing customers!

IIRC its actually illegal to do that, there was a big class action suit several years ago that forced all cellular providers to allow users to buy the phones and activate without contract
FWIW i activated my TP2 without a contract, i already had sprint (my previous 2 year contract was up and i have the 30 dollar SERO plan so i didnt want to change)

bs. all of my phones have been activated without 2 year. ive been with sprint 8 years.

You can activate the phone online.
I, too, recently activated my TP2 w/Sprint after being out of contract for just over a year. You probably fell on bad luck talking to people who were out of the loop. There are some corporate Sprint stores in malls (not kiosks) that will hook you up.

I actually started with a Sprint store ( 2 hour drive) as I intended to port my number. The Sprint employee at the store is the one that first informed me of the 2 year contract requirement. I then tried CS on their toll free number. The CS person was very polite, and did put me on hold while she supposedly spoke with a supervisor, but the answer was still 'no contreact, no service'. Considering that we do not have GSM service in our area, my only option is to get rid of this phone and go with Verizon. At least I know they will activate my equipment without a contract. It will be interesting to see if the legislation currently being considered by Congress will also include regulation over some of the policies of the cell carriers...

defaultdotxbe said:
IIRC its actually illegal to do that, there was a big class action suit several years ago that forced all cellular providers to allow users to buy the phones and activate without contract
FWIW i activated my TP2 without a contract, i already had sprint (my previous 2 year contract was up and i have the 30 dollar SERO plan so i didnt want to change)
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Do you have a link to that legal decision? I have been searching all morning looking for the case, and court ruling. Thanks!

timm9 said:
Do you have a link to that legal decision? I have been searching all morning looking for the case, and court ruling. Thanks!
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this is interesting information, do u mind sharing the actual court ruling document?

i dont remember the details, it was between when i got my first and second cell phone, my first you couldnt just buy a phone, they would only sell you a phone if you got a contract, and when i got my second you could buy the phones (for like $200 more) and activate without a contract, and i was told it was because of a lawsuit
this all like 10 years ago though, so i dont know if that was even the case

http://forums.precentral.net/palm-p...-if-they-buy-phone-full-cost.html#post2231359

Sometimes to get a good deal or something usually requires a 2year contract. No big deal IMO since I have no interest in leaving Sprint anytime soon. Another plus was I was able to get ahold of the department that does discounts and such. (2 years ago I got called for a survey in exchange for a 10% discount). It disapeared from my bill and since I didn't know it was a 2 year only discount (thus the reason for the 2 year contract renewal when they first asked) I asked if there was any way to get another discount. The woman on the phone was really helpful and hooked me up with a $10 off discount for another 2 year contract. HELL YA! So now I have a 1250 Sero plan + $7 insurance - $10. On the bill for April my total after tax, fees, etc was exactly $50.00 on the dot. Love Sprint, Love their service, and their phones are getting better and better. (TP2 has been sweet and the EVO looks ever sweeter. As long as they hook it up with some dang good WM7 phones this summer I can see they have learned a lot about getting into the market with a damn good device to keep competitive.

you need a contract with sprint to get service. They dont do month to month plans.

THATS THE BIG PROBLEM WITH SPRINT THEY HIRE SOME OF THE DUMBEST CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE,but when i have problems i go into the store BECOUSE I KNOW THE PEOPLE THERE HAVE THEIR BRAIN CELLS AND THEY TAKE GOOD CARE OF ME.Sprint has its drawbacks but what company doesnt overall im very satisfied with the company i mean verizon may have better service in my area but they cost more and i have free roaming so now i have better service and im content

At this point I have returned the TP2, and have gone with Verizon without a contract. On this site a post indicated that the 'contract required' is no longer legal based on litigation, but it's not worth my time and energy to fight over it. Like my wife said, "After all this, why would you want to do business with Sprint"?
That about sums it up...
Thank you all for the responses!

Existing Customer - New Customer
I read through some of the posts. I have activated several phones with Sprint, out of contract. I have 4 lines with Sprint, and I've not been on contract with them for maybe 3 years now. During this time I have activated maybe 6-8 different phones that I have bought on my own (usually on ebay), and never once been required to enter a contract.
The difference with me (and most other respondents) and yourself is we are existing Sprint customers; we have gone through our 1yr or 2yr contract with Sprint.
Verizon is obviously different in that, if you don't get a free or discounted phone from them, then you can obtain service without a contract.

Those of you sharing experiences of not signing a contract when swapping ESn's are off track here.
O.P is NOT an existing customer (*mentions porting his number to Sprint) and was wanting to join Sprint as a new customer but with his own Sprint handset. Sprint does not do month to month service (anymore, though they use to for an additional $10/month yrs ago).
Any current Sprint customer can change out hardware as much as they want and they're not required to modify their contracts. But a new customer joining Sprint whether he/she is bringing their handset is being required to sign a contract, it seems.

LordLugard said:
Those of you sharing experiences of not signing a contract when swapping ESn's are off track here.
O.P is NOT an existing customer (*mentions porting his number to Sprint) and was wanting to join Sprint as a new customer but with his own Sprint handset. Sprint does not do month to month service (anymore, though they use to for an additional $10/month yrs ago).
Any current Sprint customer can change out hardware as much as they want and they're not required to modify their contracts. But a new customer joining Sprint whether he/she is bringing their handset is being required to sign a contract, it seems.
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this is true to a certain extent....if you bring a line from a shared account into a separate (new) line but have bad credit, you only have to sign a 6 month contract and go month to month from there. (trust me, i know )

timm9 said:
I guess I will sell this one and go with Verizon. No wonder Sprint has been loosing customers!
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timm9 said:
At this point I have returned the TP2/QUOTE]
:| why didnt u just flash it to verizon..
well if u lost no money doing this then w/e.....
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This is really on how you play it out man. You can't give up like that homie. Really someone gave you bad info in the first call. You have to be in a contract to get service. But you can get out your contract really easy down the road. If you sign up you have 30 days to kill your service no questions. So if you were going to leave them someone might fix it for you spri-nt is dumb like that. But you have to keep calling you might get someone who is like F&*k my job I'm doing what ever today I'm going to quit. Talk to a female, guys their be tryin to mr tough I know everything you know.

Just wondering and thinking out loud i guess but you could goto a sprint store or online get a crappy feature phone with the cheapest plan that meets your needs then go online and activate your TP2 or whatever smartphone you want. I mean you will be stuck with sprint for 2 years but there prices are really good and if you want to switch devices again say when WP7 comes out your going to have to buy it used or pay full price again anyway idk just my 2 cents
EDIT:
sorry to revive a dead thread

sprint fan
i am more than happy with sprint.
while sprint has always bent over backwards to help me out other providers with whom i dealt to help out friends and family seem to tun around with their heads so far up their ass they need a glass stomach to keep from running into things.
go sprint

Does Google Voice voicemail not work with T-Mobile FlexPay plans?

I've been unable to get the forwarding code to work (even tried individually editing the call forwarding settings in the menu), and it says that out doesn't work with "prepaid" plans. I don't think that FlexPay counts as prepaid, though.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

Google voice with flex pay does not support the forwarding needed to use google voicemail. I went through this with my N1. I switched to the post paid plan just for this reason. To switch you need to have decent credit and have had your flex pay account for over 6 months with no delinquent payments.
That was the deal six months ago when I switched.

irishrally said:
Google voice with flex pay does not support the forwarding needed to use google voicemail. I went through this with my N1. I switched to the post paid plan just for this reason. To switch you need to have decent credit and have had your flex pay account for over 6 months with no delinquent payments.
That was the deal six months ago when I switched.
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Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to wait six months then switch over. Did you have any problems changing over?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

No problems except finding competent T-Mobile employee that knew how do this fairly rare task.
I'd call T-Mobile just to make sure the 6 month rule is still valid.

This is my only issue on the even more plus plan I have. It's killing me!
Sent from my Nexus S

If you have good credit you don't need to wait 6 months necessarily depending on why you are currently flex pay.
They put me on a flex pay account without asking or even checking my credit (> 750) when I signed up with my nexus s at the store (emp 500 plan). I called T-Mobile and told them to get me off of this terrible flex pay and on to a proper post paid account. I found out it was a flex pay after I tried to forward my voicemail and it kept failing, logged into the website to see I was flex pay. They were apologetic on the phone and quite helpful.
They will do a hard pull on your credit, but as long as you qualify they should switch you.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

krohnjw said:
If you have good credit you don't need to wait 6 months necessarily depending on why you are currently flex pay.
They put me on a flex pay account without asking or even checking my credit (> 750) when I signed up with my nexus s at the store (emp 500 plan). I called T-Mobile and told them to get me off of this terrible flex pay and on to a proper post paid account. I found out it was a flex pay after I tried to forward my voicemail and it kept failing, logged into the website to see I was flex pay. They were apologetic on the phone and quite helpful.
They will do a hard pull on your credit, but as long as you qualify they should switch you.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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My credit is fairly nonexistent since I'm a college student, but hopefully after half a year of on-time payments and a bit of arm-twisting I can get a normal account.

I was suckered into FlexPay once, and I literally had to cancel the account to move to a postpaid account. On the second account, I was nearly forcibly sold a flexpay account again; the phone rep. literally denied knowledge of any non-contract postpaid accounts. It took another call (on a Saturday, no less) to move to a "regular" postpaid account.

TheBiles said:
My credit is fairly nonexistent since I'm a college student, but hopefully after half a year of on-time payments and a bit of arm-twisting I can get a normal account.
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Actually, good news on that front, no arm twisting needed! They will change your account over to postpaid if you've had 6mo of consistent on-time payments.
I stopped my local T-Mobile store when the G2 came out, curious about my ability to purchase it on contract with them given my good account history (also a college student with shoddy credit). Sure enough, the only thing that's required is the 6mo of on-time payments, took a few minutes to change my account over, and everyone walked out happy. They did ask me for my SSN, not sure if they looked up my score or not, but it didn't matter. They did stress the importance of the consistency. If you make your payment on time for 5mo, then miss it, the clock starts over.

URPREY said:
This is my only issue on the even more plus plan I have. It's killing me!
Sent from my Nexus S
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I have Even More Plus, and it works fine for me.

unremarked said:
Actually, good news on that front, no arm twisting needed! They will change your account over to postpaid if you've had 6mo of consistent on-time payments.
I stopped my local T-Mobile store when the G2 came out, curious about my ability to purchase it on contract with them given my good account history (also a college student with shoddy credit). Sure enough, the only thing that's required is the 6mo of on-time payments, took a few minutes to change my account over, and everyone walked out happy. They did ask me for my SSN, not sure if they looked up my score or not, but it didn't matter. They did stress the importance of the consistency. If you make your payment on time for 5mo, then miss it, the clock starts over.
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Awesome! Thanks for the info! I've got automatic payments set up, so it would be tough for me to miss one!
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

I'm a T-Mobile employee so I figured I can shed some light on this situation. Yes, the 6 month on-time payment policy is still in effect. In fact, they just starting that policy not too long ago. When T-Mobile runs credit, it is NOT a hard pull and doesn't effect your credit like your applying for a mortgage or a car loan. We also don't see an exact credit score either. It actually goes by credit class. From what I was told by tech support about Google Voice and call forwarding, FlexPay does not have call forwarding as a feature which is one of the reasons why Google voicemail doesn't work with FlexPay plans. A far as the conversion from FlexPay to Postpaid, it's a good idea to have automatic scheduled payments taken out of a credit or debit account just to make sure the payments are on time and to avoid paying the 4.99 Control Charge.

If you are within the 14-day Buyer's Remorse period, you do not need to wait 6 months. Just cancel your FlexPay plan under Buyer's Remorse. They will refund your payment. Then go to a T-Mobile store and start new service with a non-contract postpay plan.
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For anyone who wants to feel my pain, this is how I found out:
I bought my Nexus S without contract ($529 at Best Buy) and called T-Mobile to activate service. At that time, I was told that FlexPay and post-pay without contract would give me the same features, and I chose FlexPay.
After a week of Google Voice voicemail mostly not working, I Googled and found the threads about FlexPay not supporting this feature. Called T-Mobile phone support and had the following conversation:
Me: Hi, I bought a Nexus S at full retail price less than a week ago, activated a non-contract FlexPay plan after being told it had all the same features as a post-pay plan, but have come to find out that this is not true and that the FlexPay plan doesn't fully support Google Voice, which is one of the advertised features of this phone. I would like to switch to a non-contract postpay plan.
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to assist you... In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: That makes no sense. I just bought the phone. I am within my return period for the phone at Best Buy, and I am within my trial period with T Mobile. I'm entitled to cancel my plan altogether and start a new one, right? So why can't I switch plans?
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to assist you. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: Did you really just repeat exactly the same thing to me? Did you understand a word I just said?
T-Mobile Representative: I am sorry for your frustration. We have certain eligibility requirements. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: I would like to speak to a supervisor.
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to get you to a supervisor, but there are very few supervisors available right now. It may be better for you to go to a T Mobile store for help.
Me: My closest T Mobile corporate store is pretty far away. I'll hold for a supervisor.
I then held for about 20 minutes with the representative occasionally checking in with me to ask if I'd rather go to a store instead of continuing to hold. I finally gave up and called back. Got a new representative this time.
Me: I just called and explained to someone my predicament. She showed no understanding and repeatedly read eligibility guidelines to me. Hopefully you will comprehend what I am calling about. Please refrain from reading me any eligibility guideline involving waiting 6 months.
T-Mobile Representative #2: Sorry for your frustration. How can I help you?
Me: I bought a Nexus S at full retail price less than a week ago, activated a non-contract FlexPay plan after being told it had all the same features as a post-pay plan, but have come to find out that this is not true and that the FlexPay plan doesn't fully support Google Voice, which is one of the advertised features of this phone. I am within my return period for the phone at Best Buy, and I am within my trial period with T Mobile. I would like to switch to a non-contract postpay plan.
T-Mobile Representative #2: I would be happy to assist you. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: This is very frustrating. I am within the 14 day Buyer's Remorse period entitled to cancel my service with T Mobile for a full refund. At that point I could start new service as postpay. I could understand if you were to tell me "I understand that what I am telling you makes no sense, but unfortunately my system does not allow me to do what you ask"; however, you showing no comprehension and repeating these eligibility criteria is very frustrating.
T-Mobile Representative #2: I am sorry for your frustration. Our eligibility guidelines specify that in order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
At this point, I said goodbye and disconnected. It was some of the most unhelpful customer support I had ever encountered. I can only assume that those workers are not allowed to express any thoughts which aren't written on the page/screen in front of them.
I drove to my local T Mobile store, and the support there was top notch. The representative there explained that the phone support training was very limited and that in order to get what I wanted with them, I would have to have called and said "I would like to cancel my service under Buyer's Remorse", cancel, and then set up new service (which would be much easier to do with a new SIM, so better that I came into the store). Apparently, the training of the phone support was such that they were to do anything possible to avoid canceling a customer's service, so they were not going to suggest that as the solution for my issue.
The in-store customer service representative then called back the same folks I had just spoken to at phone support and had them cancel my FlexPay plan and refund all that I had paid (that's how Buyer's Remorse works). He then promptly set up non-contract postpay service for me, and I walked out with working Google Voice.
The T Mobile phone support experience made me thing twice about sticking with T Mobile, although the excellent in-store customer support made up for it at least partially.
Verizon phone support is so much better. For starters, I called Verizon on Christmas day and got a US-based rep without any hold time. The T-Mobile phone reps had clearly been outsourced, although this would not have been an issue to me if they had been helpful.
Here's how my conversation went with the Verizon rep:
Me: I got a new phone with T Mobile and would like to know what the early termination fee would be for my Verizon contract which ends in April.
Verizon Representative: That fee is $280
Me: Ouch. Can I drop the data plan from my contract?
Verizon Representative: Unfortunately you are required to have a data plan with that particular phone (HTC Incredible). If you won't be using the phone much, you could pay for the $15 data plan, which gives you 150MB, instead of the $30 data plan you are currently using. Do you or someone you know have an old Verizon phones which is currently not in use?
Me: Yes, why?
Verizon Representative: You can associate your Verizon plan with a non-smartphone and then stop paying for a data plan.
Me: Great!
She then helped me change over to the other phone and also saved me a few extra bucks by putting me on a family plan with my wife. Bottom line is that for the next five months, instead of paying $70/month for a phone I'm not using, I'll be paying $20/month for that phone thanks to a thinking customer representative who did more than read to me from a script.

Amin Sabet said:
If you are within the 14-day Buyer's Remorse period, you do not need to wait 6 months. Just cancel your FlexPay plan under Buyer's Remorse. They will refund your payment. Then go to a T-Mobile store and start new service with a non-contract postpay plan.
----------------------------------
For anyone who wants to feel my pain, this is how I found out:
I bought my Nexus S without contract ($529 at Best Buy) and called T-Mobile to activate service. At that time, I was told that FlexPay and post-pay without contract would give me the same features, and I chose FlexPay.
After a week of Google Voice voicemail mostly not working, I Googled and found the threads about FlexPay not supporting this feature. Called T-Mobile phone support and had the following conversation:
Me: Hi, I bought a Nexus S at full retail price less than a week ago, activated a non-contract FlexPay plan after being told it had all the same features as a post-pay plan, but have come to find out that this is not true and that the FlexPay plan doesn't fully support Google Voice, which is one of the advertised features of this phone. I would like to switch to a non-contract postpay plan.
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to assist you... In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: That makes no sense. I just bought the phone. I am within my return period for the phone at Best Buy, and I am within my trial period with T Mobile. I'm entitled to cancel my plan altogether and start a new one, right? So why can't I switch plans?
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to assist you. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: Did you really just repeat exactly the same thing to me? Did you understand a word I just said?
T-Mobile Representative: I am sorry for your frustration. We have certain eligibility requirements. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: I would like to speak to a supervisor.
T-Mobile Representative: I would be happy to get you to a supervisor, but there are very few supervisors available right now. It may be better for you to go to a T Mobile store for help.
Me: My closest T Mobile corporate store is pretty far away. I'll hold for a supervisor.
I then held for about 20 minutes with the representative occasionally checking in with me to ask if I'd rather go to a store instead of continuing to hold. I finally gave up and called back. Got a new representative this time.
Me: I just called and explained to someone my predicament. She showed no understanding and repeatedly read eligibility guidelines to me. Hopefully you will comprehend what I am calling about. Please refrain from reading me any eligibility guideline involving waiting 6 months.
T-Mobile Representative #2: Sorry for your frustration. How can I help you?
Me: I bought a Nexus S at full retail price less than a week ago, activated a non-contract FlexPay plan after being told it had all the same features as a post-pay plan, but have come to find out that this is not true and that the FlexPay plan doesn't fully support Google Voice, which is one of the advertised features of this phone. I am within my return period for the phone at Best Buy, and I am within my trial period with T Mobile. I would like to switch to a non-contract postpay plan.
T-Mobile Representative #2: I would be happy to assist you. In order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
Me: This is very frustrating. I am within the 14 day Buyer's Remorse period entitled to cancel my service with T Mobile for a full refund. At that point I could start new service as postpay. I could understand if you were to tell me "I understand that what I am telling you makes no sense, but unfortunately my system does not allow me to do what you ask"; however, you showing no comprehension and repeating these eligibility criteria is very frustrating.
T-Mobile Representative #2: I am sorry for your frustration. Our eligibility guidelines specify that in order to be eligible for changing from FlexPay to a postpay plan, you should have 6 months of on time payments and...
At this point, I said goodbye and disconnected. It was some of the most unhelpful customer support I had ever encountered. I can only assume that those workers are not allowed to express any thoughts which aren't written on the page/screen in front of them.
I drove to my local T Mobile store, and the support there was top notch. The representative there explained that the phone support training was very limited and that in order to get what I wanted with them, I would have to have called and said "I would like to cancel my service under Buyer's Remorse", cancel, and then set up new service (which would be much easier to do with a new SIM, so better that I came into the store). Apparently, the training of the phone support was such that they were to do anything possible to avoid canceling a customer's service, so they were not going to suggest that as the solution for my issue.
The in-store customer service representative then called back the same folks I had just spoken to at phone support and had them cancel my FlexPay plan and refund all that I had paid (that's how Buyer's Remorse works). He then promptly set up non-contract postpay service for me, and I walked out with working Google Voice.
The T Mobile phone support experience made me thing twice about sticking with T Mobile, although the excellent in-store customer support made up for it at least partially.
Verizon phone support is so much better. For starters, I called Verizon on Christmas day and got a US-based rep without any hold time. The T-Mobile phone reps had clearly been outsourced, although this would not have been an issue to me if they had been helpful.
Here's how my conversation went with the Verizon rep:
Me: I got a new phone with T Mobile and would like to know what the early termination fee would be for my Verizon contract which ends in April.
Verizon Representative: That fee is $280
Me: Ouch. Can I drop the data plan from my contract?
Verizon Representative: Unfortunately you are required to have a data plan with that particular phone (HTC Incredible). If you won't be using the phone much, you could pay for the $15 data plan, which gives you 150MB, instead of the $30 data plan you are currently using. Do you or someone you know have an old Verizon phones which is currently not in use?
Me: Yes, why?
Verizon Representative: You can associate your Verizon plan with a non-smartphone and then stop paying for a data plan.
Me: Great!
She then helped me change over to the other phone and also saved me a few extra bucks by putting me on a family plan with my wife. Bottom line is that for the next five months, instead of paying $70/month for a phone I'm not using, I'll be paying $20/month for that phone thanks to a thinking customer representative who did more than read to me from a script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel your pain. The reason why the customer service was very poor when you first called in was due to the fact that you were speaking to the Flex Pay customer care department and they are 80% outsourced. Every other department is not, especially Post Paid Customer Care.
However, your situation is different than a lot of other people in the same position as you. You were approved for a postpaid account but opted for the Flex Pay account and not everyone will be qualified for both because it's based on credit.

drew_grant said:
I feel your pain. The reason why the customer service was very poor when you first called in was due to the fact that you were speaking to the Flex Pay customer care department and they are 80% outsourced. Every other department is not, especially Post Paid Customer Care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ Truth. When I had my Nexus One, I was on the FlexPay plans and the support was pretty terrible. But once I went postpaid with my G2 and MT4G, support was vastly improved aside from this one jerk who tried to convince me that my last eventually returned MT4G had received it's update while in it's box, while unpowered, and that Android 2.2 was the latest version.
Once I got past him and talking with an actual phone tech about my issue, I was very impressed with her knowledge/skills/customer service. I wish I had written down her name, because I'd pay extra/wait on hold forevers just to talk with someone who knows her stuff again. She even threw in a $10 account credit just because. Heh.

I just got back from the T-Mo store - they switched me to a post-paid account and my Google Voice works now. It's still the same Even More Plus plan, but it's post-paid instead of Flex-Pay. I have no idea why they stuck me on that plan in the first place.
I got a new number, but I really didn't care because I use Google Voice anyway.

Amin Sabet said:
If you are within the 14-day Buyer's Remorse period, you do not need to wait 6 months. Just cancel your FlexPay plan under Buyer's Remorse. They will refund your payment. Then go to a T-Mobile store and start new service with a non-contract postpay plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was extremely helpful, and exactly what I did. Thanks!

drew_grant said:
I feel your pain. The reason why the customer service was very poor when you first called in was due to the fact that you were speaking to the Flex Pay customer care department and they are 80% outsourced. Every other department is not, especially Post Paid Customer Care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm happy to hear that!
drew_grant said:
However, your situation is different than a lot of other people in the same position as you. You were approved for a postpaid account but opted for the Flex Pay account and not everyone will be qualified for both because it's based on credit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish that when I had been presented with the options, they had given me a bit more info to differentiate them. All I was told:
- FlexPay costs $5 more per month unless you have automatic recurring payments
- Post pay has $35 activation fee and FlexPay does not
- Post pay checks your credit and FlexPay doesn't
- Post pay you pay after and FlexPay you pay before
- Same features - no differences at all
I figured I'd save myself the activation fee, avoid a credit check (in case this was not good for my credit) and go with FlexPay with automatic/recurring payments. If they had told me that FlexPay doesn't have call forwarding or that there was a different level of phone support, I never would considered it.

Amin Sabet said:
Thanks, I'm happy to hear that!
I wish that when I had been presented with the options, they had given me a bit more info to differentiate them. All I was told:
- FlexPay costs $5 more per month unless you have automatic recurring payments
- Post pay has $35 activation fee and FlexPay does not
- Post pay checks your credit and FlexPay doesn't
- Post pay you pay after and FlexPay you pay before
- Same features - no differences at all
I figured I'd save myself the activation fee, avoid a credit check (in case this was not good for my credit) and go with FlexPay with automatic/recurring payments. If they had told me that FlexPay doesn't have call forwarding or that there was a different level of phone support, I never would considered it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flex Pay is a HUGE hassle. It's all systematic and if one thing goes wrong it can mess everything up for the customer and for T-Mobile. As a technicality, I don't expect many people to know about the call forwarding thing on Flex Pay because it's hardly ever used except in the case of GV. The only way I found out about it was last year and it was for on a Sidekick. But like I said, if you can qualify for a Postpaid account, go for postpaid. There's no 4.99 control charge, and you don't have to pay everything up front as far as changes in plans and features goes...and last but no least, the CS is WAY better . Also when they run credit, it's a soft pull that won't damage your credit unless you go to every single wireless carrier around and have them run your credit; THAT will affect it negatively.

URPREY said:
I just got back from the T-Mo store - they switched me to a post-paid account and my Google Voice works now. It's still the same Even More Plus plan, but it's post-paid instead of Flex-Pay. I have no idea why they stuck me on that plan in the first place.
I got a new number, but I really didn't care because I use Google Voice anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man, if you want your old number back, it is possible. I'd call the store you went to or just go up there and have the rep request your old number back. It migrates over in 36 hours or so. But yeah, it's totally possible if you would like it back.

$30 unlimited LTE data plan for Thunderbolt

The ThunderBolt™ by HTC, the First 4G LTE Smartphone for Verizon Wireless Arrives March 17
ThunderBolt™ by HTC Available Beginning March 17
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and HTC today announced that the ThunderBolt™ by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, is available on March 17 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Powered by Android™ 2.2, the ThunderBolt by HTC is the first smartphone to take advantage of Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network. The ThunderBolt by HTC features the latest version of the HTC Sense™ experience, which offers enhancements including new personalization options, a consolidated e-mail inbox, and unique camera effects and filters. The ThunderBolt by HTC is equipped with support for Google Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™ and Android Market™ with thousands of free apps. Additionally, the ThunderBolt by HTC will feature 4G LTE optimized apps such as EA's Rock Band, Gameloft's Let's Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop.
Additional features:
4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area
4.3" WVGA display
8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording
1.3- megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities
Newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor
Mobile Hotspot capability – share 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices
8 GB of onboard memory and a pre-installed 32 GB microSD card (Actual formatted capacity will be less)
Built-in kickstand for easy media viewing
With the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.
Mobile Hotspot allows users to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the nation's fastest wireless network via an application available on the ThunderBolt by HTC. Mobile Hotspot will be included through May 15 for no additional charge. After May 15, customers may choose to activate Mobile Hotspot for $20 for 2 GB of data per month. Customers can track their data usage by downloading the My Verizon app available in Android Market or by logging on to their My Verizon accounts online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.
For additional information on Verizon Wireless 4G LTE visit www.verizonwireless.com/4glte. For more information about the ThunderBolt by HTC please visit www.verizonwireless.com/thunderbolt. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, Nasdaq: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless

yup, good news for all. the only thing that i and some others are wondering is how long unlimited 4G/LTE plans will be available and if verizon will someday alter existing plans to avoid grandfathered data plans.

This was confirmed yesterday....

Sweet!
Sent from my Droid

I was kinda underwhelmed by the incremental upgrade of this phone (though everything of course looks good about it...) but seeing the unlimited 4G without a price hike makes me seriously itch to see about jumping on this while it's still unlimited.
What do you figure the odds of being able to retain that unlimited data plan for your next phone after the tbolt are? For forever we kept an old verizon plan that was far cheaper and had unlimited data...until they coerced us to "upgrade" to use any new phones

I'm on At&T right now and I've been considering buying a contract for Verizon while the 4g unlimited plans are still available. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan right now and it includes 4g service (for my Atrix), but they haven't activated the HPSA+ in my area and it seems like they never will.
Does Verizon have a history of altering contracts whenever they feel like it or is it like what I have with AT&T where I can keep the contract, grandfathered, for as long as I don't alter it?
I would just hold out for the Bionic to come out, but it seems like that could be a few months and I don't want to miss out on the plan if it goes away...

ApplCobbler said:
I'm on At&T right now and I've been considering buying a contract for Verizon while the 4g unlimited plans are still available. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan right now and it includes 4g service (for my Atrix), but they haven't activated the HPSA+ in my area and it seems like they never will.
Does Verizon have a history of altering contracts whenever they feel like it or is it like what I have with AT&T where I can keep the contract, grandfathered, for as long as I don't alter it?
I would just hold out for the Bionic to come out, but it seems like that could be a few months and I don't want to miss out on the plan if it goes away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grandfathered plan is grandfathered plan. Droid Bionic is supposed to arrive this quarter, so hop on board now.

johnchad14 said:
I was kinda underwhelmed by the incremental upgrade of this phone (though everything of course looks good about it...) but seeing the unlimited 4G without a price hike makes me seriously itch to see about jumping on this while it's still unlimited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ THIS. When I heard about that this morning when I called VZW and tried to get them to give me the Wirefly price for the phone, I almost just said yes anyway. Living in Jersey City, right outside of NYC, i'm almost guaranteed that I will get 4g coverage. Now I just have to decide if I want to let go of my Incredible, it's so hard...

g00s3y said:
^ THIS. When I heard about that this morning when I called VZW and tried to get them to give me the Wirefly price for the phone, I almost just said yes anyway. Living in Jersey City, right outside of NYC, i'm almost guaranteed that I will get 4g coverage. Now I just have to decide if I want to let go of my Incredible, it's so hard...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did they match the price? I am thinking of doing the same to add two new lines to a plan. I might walk into a store and see if they will match wirefly or their own online 199 and waive activation. Effectively same as Wirefly in the end. Except for tax.

No they didn't match it, so I just bought it at their 2 year price. I didn't really try that hard cause it didn't matter that much to me . I'm sure with a little pressure you can get them to match it. I didn't have activation fees either.
Some guy was there actually getting 4 Thunderbolt's. 1 was an upgrade, 3 were for the family plan he was getting. They were working with him to make the total as cheap as possible for him. So like I said, with a little conversation, i'm sure you can get them to help you out in some way.

g00s3y said:
No they didn't match it, so I just bought it at their 2 year price. I didn't really try that hard cause it didn't matter that much to me . I'm sure with a little pressure you can get them to match it. I didn't have activation fees either.
Some guy was there actually getting 4 Thunderbolt's. 1 was an upgrade, 3 were for the family plan he was getting. They were working with him to make the total as cheap as possible for him. So like I said, with a little conversation, i'm sure you can get them to help you out in some way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting.....as seen in other threads here there are certain discounts online if you have an employee discount (e.g. my employer's verizon store portal shows $229/1 year and $199/2 year contract). i was going to go to a verizon store today to see the thunderbolt in person before purchasing, maybe i can get them to give me the online prices available to me. i'll head there after work and let you all know if i have any success in getting cheaper online prices in-store.

Yea, our company is one of the ones that offers 199/229 for 2/1 year contracts. So I can pick it up online for 229 for 1 year but tax and 35 activation put me way above Amazon or Wirefly+Fatwallet.
On the upside, if I do 1 year I can probably upgrade and sell the TB and recoup a large chunk of the difference if I need to.

HTC wasn't kidding when they said this isn't the phone you want, its the one after that.
I am more than happy with my G2 because I love having a hardware keyboard, but the unlimited LTE data plan is the reason I am leaving. I'm probably going to buy a multi-core phone well before my 2 year contract is up.

Just Bought ThunderBolt online and after Company Discount and Upgrade priceing I got it for 199.99 plus tax. Payed 250 ish Straight up. Im a Added line so I only pay 10$ a month plus 30$ Unlimited 4g Data plus 5$ insureance. My Monthnly bill is now gonna be 45$. *SNORTS*

bummer....the verizon i went to (and it was a corporate store, not an authorized retailer) said for whatever reason they don't match online corporate discounts. i'm heading back north to where i live tomorrow so i'll check out stores there, otherwise i'll have to get it online and wait for delivery.......blah.
i guess other people have nice verizon reps nearby who are either more accommodating or more eager to make sales.

bkiminfinity said:
bummer....the verizon i went to (and it was a corporate store, not an authorized retailer) said for whatever reason they don't match online corporate discounts. i'm heading back north to where i live tomorrow so i'll check out stores there, otherwise i'll have to get it online and wait for delivery.......blah.
i guess other people have nice verizon reps nearby who are either more accommodating or more eager to make sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
free online 2 day shipping. pretty fast.

Mine was $199 in store, but only because of my NE2 $50 discount.

Took advantage of work discount. -$50 off of price of phone but tax rapage on list price ate that and some. 22% off 450 min voice plan (no text since I use Google Voice). Activation waved. I'll be happy if I can get Verizon to add 450 bonus mins per month to match my Sprint plan.

T-Mobile for nexus 5

Ok so i plan on getting the $30 tmobile plan on the nexus 5 but that 100 minute thing is going to kill me. what can i do as an alternative?

havy15 said:
Ok so i plan on getting the $30 tmobile plan on the nexus 5 but that 100 minute thing is going to kill me. what can i do as an alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an alternative you can.... not get it.

buy 40$ refills since minutes after 100 are 10c per min. Then whatever you dont use is carried over. I usually use 34$ a month.

havy15 said:
Ok so i plan on getting the $30 tmobile plan on the nexus 5 but that 100 minute thing is going to kill me. what can i do as an alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume this is a non-contract plan? Do they have more that are non-contract? T-Mobile, in my opinion, has royally screwed its customers. By not allowing customers to upgrade their phones the old way (getting a phone for next to nothing when the customers signs a new 2 year agreement). And their customer service, in my opinion (again) used to be amazing. It has gone to complete crap.
I left them, in contract, so I was happy to pay the 200$ early termination fee to get rid of them.
Doesn't TMobile now have non-contract plans for every new customer? I am not too familiar with them now, since I switched, but I thought this was the case?
---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 PM ----------
overlord727 said:
buy 40$ refills since minutes after 100 are 10c per min. Then whatever you dont use is carried over. I usually use 34$ a month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh I fellow Maryland-er, in the same city as me... Good deal.

gsteelx said:
I assume this is a non-contract plan? Do they have more that are non-contract? T-Mobile, in my opinion, has royally screwed its customers. By not allowing customers to upgrade their phones the old way (getting a phone for next to nothing when the customers signs a new 2 year agreement). And their customer service, in my opinion (again) used to be amazing. It has gone to complete crap.
I left them, in contract, so I was happy to pay the 200$ early termination fee to get rid of them.
Doesn't TMobile now have non-contract plans for every new customer? I am not too familiar with them now, since I switched, but I thought this was the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah its non contract now. and since they bought out metro they have increased their coverage. which i live in Cali so i heard its good reception.

overlord727 said:
buy 40$ refills since minutes after 100 are 10c per min. Then whatever you dont use is carried over. I usually use 34$ a month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i heard there are apps you can use though but i tried googling they said google voice, but some say it doesn't work.

umm
havy15 said:
Ok so i plan on getting the $30 tmobile plan on the nexus 5 but that 100 minute thing is going to kill me. what can i do as an alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe not go with that plan?

havy15 said:
Ok so i plan on getting the $30 tmobile plan on the nexus 5 but that 100 minute thing is going to kill me. what can i do as an alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are other choices - might I kindly suggest that you "skim" thru this thread with extensive info & how-to's, etc. - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2476995&page=82 (yes, I know & understand that, like most, "we" all hate to read to try to understand how things work .. )
You did NOT indicate what your data needs or usage pattern are - but if you plan to use the Nexus 5 for lots of mobile air minutes to talk, there are unlimited plans for that. Priced accordingly & competitively, they do vary & might / might not have good coverage for your location.
There is Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, and the Walmart plan ... Lately, Target has its own exclusive "Brightspot" plans. Like here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2511152&page=3
Or, do as I say & listen to what I do - leave a reserve fund (like a credit line) for excess minute charges to be deducted once you go over & yes, T-Mo will SMS alert you and you can do short codes to check your account status.
The "Search" button here on XDA - it does miracle finds, usually & often - use it. Have a nice day !

gsteelx said:
I assume this is a non-contract plan? Do they have more that are non-contract? T-Mobile, in my opinion, has royally screwed its customers. By not allowing customers to upgrade their phones the old way (getting a phone for next to nothing when the customers signs a new 2 year agreement). And their customer service, in my opinion (again) used to be amazing. It has gone to complete crap.
I left them, in contract, so I was happy to pay the 200$ early termination fee to get rid of them.
Doesn't TMobile now have non-contract plans for every new customer? I am not too familiar with them now, since I switched, but I thought this was the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all (new) plans from tmobile are non-contract
Tmobile basically separated the phone subsidy with the phone line.
(I don't know the exact numbers, but someone can chime in)
Before, you would be paying $130{?} for 2 lines on t-mobile. now, you'll be paying $80 for 2 lines. You can CHOOSE to finance two Samsung Galaxy S4 phones @ $25/month for 24 months with $0 down, which gives you a monthly fee of $130, similar to before... but the extra $25 a month stops exactly after 24 months. you just can also choose not to take the "free" phone...
As you said, you aren't happy with what T-mobile is doing, then go back to the other 3 carriers (which do the same contract thing. though at&t finally follow t-mobile and added a off-contract $15 discount)... I'm happy with what T-mobile is doing...

paperWastage said:
all (new) plans from tmobile are non-contract
Tmobile basically separated the phone subsidy with the phone line.
(I don't know the exact numbers, but someone can chime in)
Before, you would be paying $130{?} for 2 lines on t-mobile. now, you'll be paying $80 for 2 lines. You can CHOOSE to finance two Samsung Galaxy S4 phones @ $25/month for 24 months with $0 down, which gives you a monthly fee of $130, similar to before... but the extra $25 a month stops exactly after 24 months. you just can also choose not to take the "free" phone...
As you said, you aren't happy with what T-mobile is doing, then go back to the other 3 carriers (which do the same contract thing)... I'm happy with what T-mobile is doing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I am on another carrier now.
Who would finance a phone? That's asinine. I mean if you have to do it, you have to do it, but that doesn't make sense to me.
For me, I was with T-Mobile for 7+ years. I felt as though I got screwed. It may be good for new customers, but not previous customers. It was a big slap in the face for long time customers.

gsteelx said:
Yeah, I am on another carrier now.
Who would finance a phone? That's asinine. I mean if you have to do it, you have to do it, but that doesn't make sense to me.
For me, I was with T-Mobile for 7+ years. I felt as though I got screwed. It may be good for new customers, but not previous customers. It was a big slap in the face for long time customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and you are just playing into the trap that AT&T/Verizon/Sprint/{T-mobile} have been playing for the past 10x years.... let the customers get "free" phones every 2 years, but hide the cost within the phone line
now, it's separate... it's the same price as before, just that customers can choose to finance a phone, or not finance a phone(and save $25/month). if you can't see that you have better choices, then sorry, AT&T/Verizon/Sprint would love you. you are the customer that they want
if you had a grandfathered plan, t-mobile would actually give you a better deal(than new customers), to entice you to switch
http://slickdeals.net/f/6340984-heads-up-t-mobile-grandfathered-plans-are-being-eliminated

paperWastage said:
and you are just playing into the trap that AT&T/Verizon/Sprint/{T-mobile} have been playing for the past 10x years.... let the customers get "free" phones every 2 years, but hide the cost within the phone line
now, it's separate... it's the same price as before, just that customers can choose to finance a phone, or not finance a phone(and save $25/month). if you can't see that you have better choices, then sorry, AT&T/Verizon/Sprint would love you
if you had a grandfathered plan, t-mobile would actually give you a better deal(than new customers), to entice you to switch
http://slickdeals.net/f/6340984-heads-up-t-mobile-grandfathered-plans-are-being-eliminated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could be right, but I am happy with that way of doing business... No worries.

yeah im on verizon now and its just ridiculous .

I'm not going to read the T-Mobile$30 plan thread since I have a working solution.
But for my daughter I set her up with a Callcentric number, Google Voice and Google Voice Callback (available in the Amazon app store) and now she receives and makes all calls over IP.
I find the quality ok when I talk to her though occasionally there are voice delays when I'm using internet calling also.