I've seen people saying they have their Nexus 4 on AT&T's Prepaid GoPhone service at $50.
I was wondering the best way to go about doing this.
Do I go into the store and get a GoPhone SIM with the $25 Monthly Plan (250 minutes, unlimited texts) along with the $25 1GB data package?
Or do I just get the SIM with the $50 Monthly Unlimited Plan? The AT&T rep I spoke to said that I would only be able to access mobile web via a feature phone with the $50 plan.
Thank you guys for any help.
-Randy
I am also curious about this. I am probably going to do the $25 plan plus a 1gb dataplan for $25, coming to $50/month. However, I want to know the best action. I've heard that you have to give AT&T a different IMEI because they don't integrate well with N4 (although I think that is only for LTE; so you don't have to for HSPA+?) Sorry, I'm kind of new the whole mobile development scene, and I'm switching to the N4 so I can start developing for and tinkering with Android (plus, it's an amazing device).
I guess what I'm (and I think the OP is) asking is, which GoPhone plan to sign up for, and do I just walk in to the store with my Nexus 4, say "I need x GoPhone plan for this phone", pop in the sim they give me, and I'll have access to full HSPA+ speeds? If not, do I just need to change the APN (if so, to what)? If not that, do I need to give them a different IMEI to get access to HSPA+ like I've heard you need to do for LTE?
Johmama said:
I am also curious about this. I am probably going to do the $25 plan plus a 1gb dataplan for $25, coming to $50/month. However, I want to know the best action. I've heard that you have to give AT&T a different IMEI because they don't integrate well with N4 (although I think that is only for LTE; so you don't have to for HSPA+?) Sorry, I'm kind of new the whole mobile development scene, and I'm switching to the N4 so I can start developing for and tinkering with Android (plus, it's an amazing device).
I guess what I'm (and I think the OP is) asking is, which GoPhone plan to sign up for, and do I just walk in to the store with my Nexus 4, say "I need x GoPhone plan for this phone", pop in the sim they give me, and I'll have access to full HSPA+ speeds? If not, do I just need to change the APN (if so, to what)? If not that, do I need to give them a different IMEI to get access to HSPA+ like I've heard you need to do for LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just walked into an AT&T store (corporate not an authorized dealer) and asked for a GoPhone microsim and they handed me one for free. The rep then said that they could port my number over and set up my service for me if I wished or I could do it myself. I let them setup my service, the $25 monthly plan + $25 1 GB data plan, took him about 10 minutes to get it all setup and the number ported over. Once it was all setup and good to go the store manager walks out and says to me that my phone won't work with that data plan as it not for 4G phones (meaning LTE). I showed him my data was working just fine and said the Nexus 4 isn't a 4G phone anyways. He said it was a fluke that it was working but I knew better from the threads in here. It's now been 3 weeks and I've had no problems. The APN settings I used were the default ones already on the phone after I restarted it with the new microsim card in place (they are listed in the other thread linked to below).
GoPhone discussion in General Section:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2195150&highlight=gophone
The $25 monthly plan is the third one down:
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html
Data packages are right below the monthly plans; 1GB, 200 MB or 50MB. That's all that's offered with these plans.
kzoodroid said:
I just walked into an AT&T store (corporate not an authorized dealer) and asked for a GoPhone microsim and they handed me one for free. The rep then said that they could port my number over and set up my service for me if I wished or I could do it myself. I let them setup my service, the $25 monthly plan + $25 1 GB data plan, took him about 10 minutes to get it all setup and the number ported over. Once it was all setup and good to go the store manager walks out and says to me that my phone won't work with that data plan as it not for 4G phones (meaning LTE). I showed him my data was working just fine and said the Nexus 4 isn't a 4G phone anyways. He said it was a fluke that it was working but I knew better from the threads in here. It's now been 3 weeks and I've had no problems.
GoPhone discussion in General Section:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2195150&highlight=gophone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks for the reply; that's exactly what I was asking (and hopefully the OP. I feel like I kind of hijacked his thread if he didn't gain anything from it). When you bought the service and had them set it up all up, you had your Nexus 4 device there with you and had them do what needed to be done on it? Thanks for the link too.
I have to say, one of the reasons I'm excited to go to prepaid is the service I get from cellphone companies/representatives. About 2 weeks ago, before I even decided to go with the Nexus 4 and prepaid service, I walked into an AT&T store to inquire about how that all works, and if they could work with a Nexus 4 and everything (I was ignorant, I like to think I've learned from browsing these forums). Anyway, the first thing they tried to sell me was post-paid service for like $90/mo. I then said I wanted to try prepaid. Without hesitation the woman helping me said "Ok, that'll run $65/mo". That is their most expensive prepaid plan, she didn't even lay out the options of the other plans. I then said I found on their site online that there are these other plans like the $25/mo plan and I wanted to add $25/mo for a gig of data. She then said "Yeah, you can do that." then walked over to where the prepaid plan info things were hanging and handed them to me.
If you're still reading this unnecessarily long post, I guess the point I'm trying to make is: I'm browsing for info here and asking for a lot of advice on here because everyone here knows what they're talking about. Even if the people working for AT&T know what's going on, I feel like all they're trying to do is sell me the most expensive plan and not outlining options (I get it, it's their job; they're salesmen, but still). That's a big reason why I want to go to prepaid. If I catch them signing me up for stuff or all-around jerking me around, I can tell them to buzz off and take my business elsewhere.
Johmama said:
Wow, thanks for the reply; that's exactly what I was asking (and hopefully the OP. I feel like I kind of hijacked his thread if he didn't gain anything from it). When you bought the service and had them set it up all up, you had your Nexus 4 device there with you and had them do what needed to be done on it? Thanks for the link too.
I have to say, one of the reasons I'm excited to go to prepaid is the service I get from cellphone companies/representatives. About 2 weeks ago, before I even decided to go with the Nexus 4 and prepaid service, I walked into an AT&T store to inquire about how that all works, and if they could work with a Nexus 4 and everything (I was ignorant, I like to think I've learned from browsing these forums). Anyway, the first thing they tried to sell me was post-paid service for like $90/mo. I then said I wanted to try prepaid. Without hesitation the woman helping me said "Ok, that'll run $65/mo". That is their most expensive prepaid plan, she didn't even lay out the options of the other plans. I then said I found on their site online that there are these other plans like the $25/mo plan and I wanted to add $25/mo for a gig of data. She then said "Yeah, you can do that." then walked over to where the prepaid plan info things were hanging and handed them to me.
If you're still reading this unnecessarily long post, I guess the point I'm trying to make is: I'm browsing for info here and asking for a lot of advice on here because everyone here knows what they're talking about. Even if the people working for AT&T know what's going on, I feel like all they're trying to do is sell me the most expensive plan and not outlining options (I get it, it's their job; they're salesmen, but still). That's a big reason why I want to go to prepaid. If I catch them signing me up for stuff or all-around jerking me around, I can tell them to buzz off and take my business elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I walked into the store with my phone, said I need a microsim for the GoPhone plans. The guy handed me one and said he could set it up for me if I liked. I said I wanted the $25 plan + the $25 data package and if he couldn't do it for me I could do it myself. He said it was no problem setting it up on my phone. It was the manager who later came out at the end who tried to up sell me into a higher priced plan but I showed him my phone was working just fine with what I had and I walked out.
kzoodroid said:
I walked into the store with my phone, said I need a microsim for the GoPhone plans. The guy handed me one and said he could set it up for me if I liked. I said I wanted the $25 plan + the $25 data package and if he couldn't do it for me I could do it myself. He said it was no problem setting it up on my phone. It was the manager who later came out at the end who tried to up sell me into a higher priced plan but I showed him my phone was working just fine with what I had and I walked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks, I feel more confident walking in there now. Appreciate you answering my questions. My phone is in the mail and should arrive tomorrow. Today, I'm going to walk in and see if they have MicroSIM cards on site. If not, I need to order one or maybe try Radioshack.
Related
Long story short, I changed my cellphone to N1 last month from my old Nokia 5800 XM with the unlimited $15 data plan. Not surprisingly, they forced the $25 dollars smartphone data plan on me soon after I swapped the sim card.
But considering I use wifi mainly on my phone, I called today to downgrade my data plan to the $15 200mb tier as the option doesn't show up in my online account feature section. And apparently, the lady on the phone doesn't know her business too much. She asked me what phone model I was using several times and asked me if it's a smart phone. I had to articulate word by word "google. nexus. one." to her so she could put it down. Before that, she just assumed I was using an iPhone, lol. And also she sounded quite confused about the data plans AT&T has. After some long wait on hold, she cheerfully told me she successfully changed my data plan to $15. So I logged into my account and surprisingly found out the feature of my data plan is:
Data Unlimited: Quick Messaging/Basic Phones
AT&T Recommends $15.00 N/A Unlimited Current
Didn't the honest me just tell her that I was using a nexus one and it's a smart phone? I guess she really doesn't know too much about phone tech even though she works as a customer service rep for AT&T. But I don't blame her for that. Well, even though if somehow in the future they find out there's some mistake and revoke the change, I wouldn't mind because I don't use that much 3g data anyway.
I wouldn't go out of my way, but if that force you to upgrade or realize the error just know it's the correct charge.
Wow you got an awesome plan that is hard to get anymore. Nice
Not a bad plan! Hopefully it will last...
yea i hope it lasts for you too. hey guys on a side note. is that whole "Google charing you on your phone bill" option in place already? because im buying apps and oddly enough, my AT&T bill is coming up $10-$40 dollars extra for the past 3 months
also....since we both got AT&T.....you happen to have her rep number? i wanna call and try to get her so i can try my luck with her
Oh everyone, I guess I spoke too soon. This morning I found out they changed my plan to $25 again. I guess it's the system automation.
I called them again and this time the Guy there apparently know I'm using a HTC phone. But still he couldn't change my plan as he needed me to call from another phone to get the IMEI number. I guess I'll try to call again then.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Yeah that's what has been happening to everyone else. The system automatically sweeps accounts and puts the correct data plan. Oh well.
RogerPodacter said:
Yeah that's what has been happening to everyone else. The system automatically sweeps accounts and puts the correct data plan. Oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you're on an old att "blue" plan
* Orig att wireless, pre cingular
best of luck in getting it changed, I was tempted to jump to iphone 4 but would like to have the unlimited data. On local carrier I have the nexus one with a $14.99 unlimited data & unlimited text, tough to find another carrier that can do that.
Right now I really want the vibrant, but i'm not eligible for full upgrade from tmobile so i can't get the phone for 100 from costco where its on sale. Since my brother whose in a family plan with my parents is eligible, he could get me the phone since he says he's fine with his old sidekick.
So would it be as simple as him ordering the phone, giving it to me, and myself putting the sim card in, and using it right away? Also, I understand he has to get the data plan since it's required, but could he technically call tomobile to take it off and say he lost it? Because he's fine with his old sidekick and not wanting a data plan added on his bill. I would appreciate any responses thankyou.
Yes that should work fine. They may require you to add a data plan to your line though.
as for using a different line for upgrading the phone on another line, that is fine - I do this all the time (my company has over 30 lines, and most employees are still on the same phone they got in 2002)
the data plan will be an issue - technically, the price of the phone is subsidized by the data plan, so he would not be able to just cancel the data plan. if that were possible, tmobile would lose money, and that is a big NO-NO
But, I've heard from different people, that if you did report the phone lost, they would take the data plan off. Or that could go to your online t-mobile account and change what phone you have, like if you change that you have a "dumbphone". Can anyone else confirm this?
I was able to cancel the data plan here is how: Once you buy the phone and the data plan is active login at the t-mobile website and change the phone to another phone. On the left click on the line you just bought the phone on, then under the picture of the phone you just bought click on "not your phone/device" then choose a cheapo phone from the list (one that does not require an internet plan). Now you should be able to go under that accounts plan and cancel the internet. If this does not work then you would have to start begging tmobile to remove it (just explain to them the real situation and that you will add the plan to your line) usually if you have been a long time well paying customer they will help you.
Just have your brother, or whomever's name under the account, call in and ask to remove the Android data plan and put back the Sidekick plan. Of course, your brother's sim card needs to be in the sidekick at the time you request the change. If they ask for a reason, just say "I didn't like it, so I gave it to my brother." That's it. Keep it simple.
Cool, appreciate all the responses guys. I don't think my brother has the Sidekick plan, he just has the regular family plan line with no data or anything.
Okay, it's been about 2 weeks, and so I decided to call about the phone and switching the data plan. However, T-mobile would not allow my brother to switch his data plan over to my account. They won't allow him to get rid of the data charge on his account period. The only option the rep gave me was to downgrade to a sidekick plan for his account which basically cost the samee anyways. Anyone know what I should do now?
That will work, but like others said they will require you to have that data plan. So your brother will be stuck with his sidekick data plan and the data plan for the Vibrant. Unlike other phones I do not think he can use the Android data plan with his Sidekick. I have used my G1 plan with the Mytouch 3g, Cliq, HD2, and now my Vibrant. As you can see I used it with a non-adroid device (HD2) and it worked fine, but I think sidekicks are in a whole different league.
Just wait it out. How much longer is your contract. Also go to walmart instead of costco. If you go anywhere else you will get taxed on the full price of the phone when walmart only tax the cost shown. For example walmart taxes on 98.99. Whereas everyone else will tax 500.00.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Talk to a T-mo representative in store and ask them if you have a equipment credit line. I'm not eligible for upgrade until Nov but I have like $300 ECL. So I still got the phone at the same price of an upgrade.
Appreciate the responses guys, but right now I have the phone and it's great and everything. I even got the data plan myself. But what im trying to figure out is how to take the data plan completely off my brothers account since he technically doesnt own the phone anymore and having the plan would be useless.
I've talked to 3 different reps and each refused to take his plan off. One rep recommended to go to the store and buy a cheap "dumbphone" for like 50 bucks which takes his data plan off. It seems like my only option now and would you guys recommend that?
Well the terms are that you signed into a 2yr contract knowing there is a data plan requirement for 2 years. And now you want help getting it off? I don't think it would be appropriate to ask that here.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Hi, I just upgraded my N97 to the G2 and got the HD7 free on black Friday.
I didn't have a data plan before, but when I look up my service it says I have 4g unlimited? I can't seem to find the service fee for it either.
I don't want to get a surprise at the end of the month and be hit with a $30 data plan.
Should I be worried?
The Rep told me the upgrade is only for the phone and does not affect the plan.
If I did get free 4G service then WOOT!
highly doubt it. when you upgrade, they change your data rate plan to the required one for your device. you're most likely going to get charged for it
thanks,
My brother got the HD7 and he had the 5.99 tmobile web plan, does this mean he lost his tmobile web plan forever? We he don't plan on keeping the phone and plans to go back to his Milestone.
For tmobile I know that if you upgrade a phone to a "data service required" model, YOU WILL NOT NEED A DATA SERVICE TO USE IT. They pull that bs to get more money out of you on the upgrade offer. All you need is a sim card for the phones designated provider. I know this because I handle the phones in the family plan for my family and have seen nearly every situation and outcome. Every 2 years each of us has a phone we get an upgrade for that individual line. We do not take upgrades always in turn and in the past have bought these "data plan required" phones off craigslist or ebay. They still work. If you use the data without a plan you will get charged out the ass. Luckily you can restrict yourself from doing that just incase you can't remember not to. You will also not lose the web features that are registered to your sim card. If you have the edge package (the cheaper one) and stick your sim in another phone, that phone now becomes "edge" enabled. Same goes for 3G package unless you put it in a HSPA compatible phone, then you will have the HSPA capabilities. Kinda nice that they aren't charging a jacked up fee for their new data service, but my connection locally sucks for it anyways so go figure.
One other rule about tmobile that I like is that they grandfather you on certain things. For example, I pay a flat $55 monthly for unlimited minutes/texts/data and they no longer have this plan available but since I've had it for the last few years, I am an exception to any plans they have now and that makes me a happier camper.
Thanks
so should I call the rep at the store back and tell him to remove the 4g unlimited?
I never had a data plan before the update, but my bro had the 5.99 plan.
or should i switch to a dumb phone and remove it myself?
thanks
You will NOT be able to keep the phone if you want to cancel the data plan. Tmobile requires the data plan as a part of the deal on the upgrade. I have a hard time believing this wasn't made abundantly clear to you before you upgraded.
Sent from my HTC Vision
That's what I heard, but I kept asking the Rep, Will the upgrade add or change anything to my current, plan and he kept saying no. And he assured me that the upgrade is only for the phone. He told me the Data plan is only for new subscribers.
Ray_jai said:
That's what I heard, but I kept asking the Rep, Will the upgrade add or change anything to my current, plan and he kept saying no. And he assured me that the upgrade is only for the phone. He told me the Data plan is only for new subscribers.
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Click to collapse
Ray as much as I would like to say woohooo for you, it is a well know problem with T-Mo Reps...They hay no clue what they are talking about! I would check your online account in the next few days, but you may not see it until your new billing cycle. These folks really suck at getting their fact straight!
Anyway, i hope that ou do get what you wanted, and keep us posted on the long term outcome.!
I find that no one ever knows what they are doing. I upgraded to the G2 and was very happy until the website said that another data plan was added to our contract for 30 a month. I've had a data plan for quite a while and it was 25 a month. When we called Tmo, they said I had to have that data plan on top of my old one to keep the phone. They were obviously mistaken but refused to do any of the leg work to get it fixed. I had to make calls to Best Buy and Tmo many times to make sure that it was fixed. Sorry for the rant, I just find it hard to believe that anyone has gone through this process smoothly when it has been a huge pain in the ass every time I have upgraded a phone.
I checked online and i saw the $30 data plan. I knew it wasn't going to be free, but oh well.
Do you guys know if i could change it to the $15 data plan?
thanks
I would recomend to anyone getting phones on contract.... buy the phone outright and all the plans become cheaper. Once gou have a contract you loose all your bargining chips. If i have a problem with my service i can call them up and say fix this or i cancel. They will quickly transfer me to a level whatever rep that has the power to change anything oon my plan to keep me happy. Just an fyi if you dont have the cash to buy the phone tmo has a plan that you pay them 20 a month till it paid off no interest. Even going that route monthly rate is still less then being on contract.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Reps will generally tell you whatever they can to make a sale. The rep outright lied to you when he said it wouldn't require a data plan.you should've asked for it in writing.
All subsidized smartphones require a compatible data plan (except the Nokia Nuron) for the life of the contract.
He didn't say I didn't need data, he just said he wouldn't add or change anything. He just never mentioned I will need a data plan.
looks like my bro won't be getting his 5.99 tzone plan back.
Does forcing us to get a data plan go under that net neutrality thing?
Ray_jai said:
He didn't say I didn't need data, he just said he wouldn't add or change anything.
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Click to collapse
Well, I guess he didn't really lie then... the computer did it automatically.
Seriously though, he probably assumed you already had a data plan due to having an N97 smartphone.
Does forcing us to get a data plan go under that net neutrality thing?
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Click to collapse
Not a chance. It's a term stipulated by the contract in order for you to get the discounted price. All spelled out in the terms and conditions paper you sign.
On the G2, you can just use the "My Account" app, "Plan and Services" tab - it will show you up to the minute info regarding your plan, details, and monthly costs. Nothing is free, but TMo is as close as you can get in the US.
What happen is for some reason when upgrading 2 lines only the first one gets the "unlimited 4g" I ran into this problem a few days ago. The system doesn't automatically add the web on the second device(the "free" one) So the customer leaves the store with out the internet of the second device. Now unless he went into your account and changed the tzone package then you should be fine. But in the case that he did just call customer care and have them put the old feature on. They will be reluctant to do so and say that it doesnt exist anymore but they keep all of the plans in the system. Reps just dont like to go into the system and find the package. Hope this helps.
i am going to go off on quite a story here but i hope that my struggles and experience might save someone my troubles.
to start off i was on Verizon. I had the thunderbolt w/ grandfathered unlimited data plan. it was unlimited text/data but no minutes on plan. Any used minutes were $0.25 so i was basically paying $80-$90/mo for the exact same plan as this new tmo/walmart one... plus it was $50 less!
if i would have known the hassle i was about to go through i just might have stayed with verizon and waited for the nexus... If you are not planning to port a number this process might go a lot easier.
this is my experience...
To start the whole process I pulled the trigger on a local SGSII for a steal on craigslist. i thought about how to leave verizon for a few days then decided to go for it. I purchased a sim kit from tmobile.com but was unable to wait for the SIM kit (over a week to ship!) i head over to a local tmobile B&M store. i told them the plan i wanted and show them online, they said they had heard ( i call BS) of it and that i could go online and choose it. They activate the SIM and began the number port from verizon. I was told to go online at home and select the plan i wanted, so i get home and go online to select my plan, but it isn't available. Every other plan was available but not the $30 5gb plan!
I called tmo support (prepaid support is an offshore callcenter) and was told because the SIM card was activated in store i was not eligible to get this plan. i was told i could purchase another SIM kit and it would work with no problems and i would still be able to port my number (that was already in the process).
At this point i visited another tmobile store and was successfully able to swap the activated SIM kit for an unactivated one. Only after several hours (and reps over the phone) and a trip to Walmart i find this in store bought SIM would not work either.
A SIM ACTIVATION KIT PURCHASED IN A B&M TMO STORE WILL NOT WORK
FOR THIS PLAN YOU MUST PURCHASE A SIM ACTIVATION KIT FROM TMOBILE.COM OR WALMART
ok. ok. now that the confusion was cleared (i was told differently by phone and in store reps) off i head to a local Walmart for the second time. surprise surprise, for the second they were clueless of this plan and were absolutely no help at all.
Next day my SIM kit from tmobile.com finally arrives!!! YES! at this point i am pretty sure this is the only way and this will go fine and i will be activated immediately through my.tmobile.com. i go online to activate. i enter all my info and activation code. I am presented with plan options and BINGO the $30 5gb plan is there! I choose the plan click next and get a "Review your order and submit" page. when clicking on "submit" the page just errors out. FAHHHHHH! i tried again and again and from 3 computers. same error at the same place!!!!! I call support and of course their response is "we can not activate this plan over the phone. you must activate online or at walmart" and when i replied "but neither of these options are working for me!!!!!!!!!" the call mysterioulsy dropped. at this time its 4 days from starting the number port from the original SIM and i start worrying about losing my ported number... eventually (several reps and hours later) I was able to get a CS rep on the phone that put me on hold very willing to help and found a way to get me on the correct plan. I then get transfered to the number porting dept to get my number moved to this correct account. WHEW! that evening everything is working fine and im getting data and relieved to finally have this experience behind me. I am just waiting for the number port to go through then i am done and on the road to $50 savings a month! not so fast...
The next day as soon as i noticed the number port went through i got a text from TMO that i had reached my data limit!?! WTF how could i go through 5gb in a week, most of it w/o service? i used the tmobile app to check my data usage and found they changed my plan on me!!! now i have the other $30 plan with like 100mb data! i call customer support furious! little good does that do. another day on the phone and multiple hangups later i was able to find someone who said i was basically screwed and that i would have to order a new SIM online and start over. WTF!?!?!?!?!
at this point im done fighting and just order another SIM.
after some research i call back to discuss this whole ordeal w CS and find out how they will transfer my $100 deposited to this bad account to my new account when i get the new SIM in the mail. i finally found a simpathetic rep who fought to get this fixed. using my my original activation code for verification that the plan was available (from the 1st sim purchased online) the rep found a manager that was able to over ride the plan back to the correct $30 5gb plan. I refused my new (replacement)SIM when it arrived and was credited the money back. Its been almost 2 weeks now and everything seems ok... FINGERS CROSSED!
some things to i found that you should know:
A SIM ACTIVATION KIT PURCHASED IN A B&M TMO STORE WILL NOT WORK
FOR THIS PLAN YOU MUST PURCHASE A SIM ACTIVATION KIT FROM TMOBILE.COM OR WALMART
If you purchase in B&M store IT WILL NOT WORK
A FAMILY MOBILE SIM KIT WILL NOT WORK
if you are a current tmobile customer they WILL NOT PORT YOUR NUMBER.
TLDR?
1. do not expect a port of your current tmo number.
2. purchase your sim kit from tmobile.com
3. hope like hell they have the kinks out of this system!
WOW! that's quite a horror nightmarish story you got there for Halloween
i feel for yah
most people would have quit at that point and moved on to another company
AllGamer said:
WOW! that's quite a horror nightmarish story you got there for Halloween
i feel for yah
most people would have quit at that point and moved on to another company
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after dropping my unlimited data at verizon i figured i was pretty much screwed and any other company (AT&T and Sprint suck in DFW from my experience) it was gonna cost more for worse... I was pretty determined to get this plan working. i guess its the cheapo in me
My experience was super simple……after reading up online prior to attempting.
Walked into T-Mobile store after seeing Wal-Mart did not have the SIM only activation kits. I paid 10$ for the kit after insisting to the Tmo store that I did not need them to set me up with anything.
Went home then plugged in the EMI,SIM & Activation code to the T-Mobile website. Funded the account and picked the plan… Done
(using Google voice for my number)
Did not have to talk with anyone and the whole process took maybe an hour.
My experience is delightful too. Since i read about ur post, i have little bit of scare about the walmart prepaid SIM card and Tmobile prepaid SIM card.
Luckily, I been into the shop so many time. All the employee know me, when i get in...they thought i getting the 49.99 value family plan, but i tell them i got the $30 prepaid plan from walmart but walmart run out of SIM card and was told to get one from Tmobile store. They had their time, they were very puzzle when i told them. But there is one experience lady went online and read about the plan, and surprisingly, she manage to figure thing out. One thing she mentions is "they had to activate the SIM card through the Tmobile website instead of their system" I think that is what saved me.
From my experience, if you going to let Tmobile employee do this, be sure they know what they are doing and you know what they are doing.
---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 AM ----------
btw, i join Tmobile Samsung Galaxy S2 family. Welcome me?
hahhahhahahah!
I did this today, didn't have any problems at all activating.
Followed the discussion on Slickdeals on this, and bought my sim card from Amazon for less than free, like 2 something, and it came with 3 something of T-Mobile credit on it.
I went onto the T-Mobile online activations website, and activated my sim card on the 5GB $30 plan. To pay I bought a discount refill pin that came instantly from CallingMart.
Smooth sailing all around.
theyownus said:
i am going to go off on quite a story here but i hope that my struggles and experience might save someone my troubles.
to start off i was on Verizon. I had the thunderbolt w/ grandfathered unlimited data plan. it was unlimited text/data but no minutes on plan. Any used minutes were $0.25 so i was basically paying $80-$90/mo for the exact same plan as this new tmo/walmart one... plus it was $50 less!
if i would have known the hassle i was about to go through i just might have stayed with verizon and waited for the nexus... If you are not planning to port a number this process might go a lot easier.
this is my experience...
To start the whole process I pulled the trigger on a local SGSII for a steal on craigslist. i thought about how to leave verizon for a few days then decided to go for it. I purchased a sim kit from tmobile.com but was unable to wait for the SIM kit (over a week to ship!) i head over to a local tmobile B&M store. i told them the plan i wanted and show them online, they said they had heard ( i call BS) of it and that i could go online and choose it. They activate the SIM and began the number port from verizon. I was told to go online at home and select the plan i wanted, so i get home and go online to select my plan, but it isn't available. Every other plan was available but not the $30 5gb plan!
I called tmo support (prepaid support is an offshore callcenter) and was told because the SIM card was activated in store i was not eligible to get this plan. i was told i could purchase another SIM kit and it would work with no problems and i would still be able to port my number (that was already in the process).
At this point i visited another tmobile store and was successfully able to swap the activated SIM kit for an unactivated one. Only after several hours (and reps over the phone) and a trip to Walmart i find this in store bought SIM would not work either.
A SIM ACTIVATION KIT PURCHASED IN A B&M TMO STORE WILL NOT WORK
FOR THIS PLAN YOU MUST PURCHASE A SIM ACTIVATION KIT FROM TMOBILE.COM OR WALMART
ok. ok. now that the confusion was cleared (i was told differently by phone and in store reps) off i head to a local Walmart for the second time. surprise surprise, for the second they were clueless of this plan and were absolutely no help at all.
Next day my SIM kit from tmobile.com finally arrives!!! YES! at this point i am pretty sure this is the only way and this will go fine and i will be activated immediately through my.tmobile.com. i go online to activate. i enter all my info and activation code. I am presented with plan options and BINGO the $30 5gb plan is there! I choose the plan click next and get a "Review your order and submit" page. when clicking on "submit" the page just errors out. FAHHHHHH! i tried again and again and from 3 computers. same error at the same place!!!!! I call support and of course their response is "we can not activate this plan over the phone. you must activate online or at walmart" and when i replied "but neither of these options are working for me!!!!!!!!!" the call mysterioulsy dropped. at this time its 4 days from starting the number port from the original SIM and i start worrying about losing my ported number... eventually (several reps and hours later) I was able to get a CS rep on the phone that put me on hold very willing to help and found a way to get me on the correct plan. I then get transfered to the number porting dept to get my number moved to this correct account. WHEW! that evening everything is working fine and im getting data and relieved to finally have this experience behind me. I am just waiting for the number port to go through then i am done and on the road to $50 savings a month! not so fast...
The next day as soon as i noticed the number port went through i got a text from TMO that i had reached my data limit!?! WTF how could i go through 5gb in a week, most of it w/o service? i used the tmobile app to check my data usage and found they changed my plan on me!!! now i have the other $30 plan with like 100mb data! i call customer support furious! little good does that do. another day on the phone and multiple hangups later i was able to find someone who said i was basically screwed and that i would have to order a new SIM online and start over. WTF!?!?!?!?!
at this point im done fighting and just order another SIM.
after some research i call back to discuss this whole ordeal w CS and find out how they will transfer my $100 deposited to this bad account to my new account when i get the new SIM in the mail. i finally found a simpathetic rep who fought to get this fixed. using my my original activation code for verification that the plan was available (from the 1st sim purchased online) the rep found a manager that was able to over ride the plan back to the correct $30 5gb plan. I refused my new (replacement)SIM when it arrived and was credited the money back. Its been almost 2 weeks now and everything seems ok... FINGERS CROSSED!
some things to i found that you should know:
A SIM ACTIVATION KIT PURCHASED IN A B&M TMO STORE WILL NOT WORK
FOR THIS PLAN YOU MUST PURCHASE A SIM ACTIVATION KIT FROM TMOBILE.COM OR WALMART
If you purchase in B&M store IT WILL NOT WORK
A FAMILY MOBILE SIM KIT WILL NOT WORK
if you are a current tmobile customer they WILL NOT PORT YOUR NUMBER.
TLDR?
1. do not expect a port of your current tmo number.
2. purchase your sim kit from tmobile.com
3. hope like hell they have the kinks out of this system!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you werent soo impatient you would'nt have has the problems you had, smh its only a week.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
I'd love to do a deal like this. How do you get the phone? They go for over $500! I'm getting one via T-Mobile corporate rate and it's still twice that $30 rate for only 2gb data,unlim text and 500 talk! I'd much rather have the $30 5g data unlim text 100 min deal....
Quite the horror story indeed...can't help but wonder if you had waited for your original sim in the mail if you would have had all these issues...
I really wish reps would read their email. But it may have been indirect you went to. This plan is only avalible at walmart and online. Tmobile retail stores have no way of activating this plan or switching you to it. If for some reason you change off of it there is no going back you will need to start again per the training materials provided by corporate. As for the number once a number is ported to tmobile no you cant port it again. They need to do a reuse request that can take up to 72 hours to complete. Glad its all working for you now and am very impressed you got prepaid to credit you anything.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
iloveandroid16 said:
If you werent soo impatient you would'nt have has the problems you had, smh its only a week.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This must be the most helpful answer in the history of xda! You win!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Born_Immaculate88 said:
Quite the horror story indeed...can't help but wonder if you had waited for your original sim in the mail if you would have had all these issues...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not as much trouble for sure, but remember after I received it I still ran into problems trying to activate online...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Hotspot?
Can you get an Android phone to act as a hotspot with this plan?
Dang, I feel for you man.
I didn't have to go through all that though.
I was already a T-Mobile customer out of contract. I seen that the prepaid plans were so much cheaper than the 95 something I was paying a month, so I switched over to prepaid.
All I did was pick up a prepaid phone from Target that was $30, popped the prepaid sim card into my Galaxy S2, and activated it online with the $30 web only offer.
No hassle whatsoever
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
kikbuttcheerleader said:
All I did was pick up a prepaid phone from Target that was $30, popped the prepaid sim card into my Galaxy S2, and activated it online with the $30 web only offer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you able to keep your old T-Mobile phone number, or did you need to activate with a new number?
My ordeal was not as bad as yours (for which sounds like a hell of a time.)
I purchased a $30 dollar phone from Wal-Mart the night prior to the $30 dollar plan being released.
Then purchased outright a GS2 from the local T-Mobile store, activated the SIM card on the $30 dollar pre-paid phone, then called T-Mobile support to port the number over.
I was quoted 24-48 hours, I was previously on Virgin Mobile with a Triumph and realized this really takes like 5 minutes.
After 48 hours I called and complained, they told me, it'll port over soon, no worries.
Called 24 hours after that, demanded to talk to the 'porting department' if there is one, and I talked to someone who did it right then and there, right to the point where he told me to reboot the phone and voila, my number was ported. From then it took about 4 hours to get full service/data, and a full 24 hours before I could go in and edit settings/profiles and stupid WebGuard settings on T-Mobile.com
Here's to hoping T-Mobile stays afloat and the pre-paid plan, If I have to port again i'm going to literally just call directly to the port department.
We all learn from these things, but the $30 plan is sooo worth it.
I'm on an unlimited family plan with my best friend right now & we're splitting the $150 bill, but he's been seriously pissing me off lately & I'm thinking of just telling him to go to hell & switching to this plan. Are there free night & weekend minutes or mobile to mobile with this? If not I'm thinking I could get around that with google voice & GrooveIP. Hmm.......
kabuk1 said:
Are there free night & weekend minutes or mobile to mobile with this? Hmm.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately not, and I haven't dabbled with VOIP yet. I'll share what I find out
Yeah, it kind of went like that for me too... I was a post-paid customer (on the old Even More Plus, 500 & UL text/data for $60) and they converted me to pre-paid, but I couldn't pick the WM plan online. I had to order a SIM kit and wait for it to get here. Supposedly WM won't sell just the activation kit (I cannot confirm or deny this, didn't try).
I was told the whole time that I could port my old T-Mobile number over once it was done. That was wrong, basically ran into the same problem the OP had... I would lose the WM plan if I did. Not a huge deal to email all of my friends with a new number and put a voice mail message on the old number, small hassle to cut my monthly nut in half.
Keeping on forum topic, my new SGSII is pretty sweet!!
djmasters said:
Yeah, it kind of went like that for me too... I was a post-paid customer (on the old Even More Plus, 500 & UL text/data for $60) and they converted me to pre-paid, but I couldn't pick the WM plan online. I had to order a SIM kit and wait for it to get here. Supposedly WM won't sell just the activation kit (I cannot confirm or deny this, didn't try).
I was told the whole time that I could port my old T-Mobile number over once it was done. That was wrong, basically ran into the same problem the OP had... I would lose the WM plan if I did. Not a huge deal to email all of my friends with a new number and put a voice mail message on the old number, small hassle to cut my monthly nut in half.
Keeping on forum topic, my new SGSII is pretty sweet!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something to consider, unless you have already cancelled your post account, is to port your number out to another service provider without picking up hardware (to avoid restock fees/wasting a store's on-hand stock) then giving the activations department a ring and having them port in your number from X to replace the "temp" number you have now with the WM plan.
Went inside best buy mobile today to pick up my pre ordered note 4, and they told me that i had to switch my plan in order to walk out with the phone! The new plan they were trying to get me on would make me pay 800$ for my note and be "off contract". In order to switch to that plan id have to cancel all 5 of my lines, with the ETF fees up in the thousands of dollars. I told him no way and that id call sprint, and ge told me that even if I call i'd still have no choice. Anyone else encounter something similar?
Daevionne said:
Went inside best buy mobile today to pick up my pre ordered note 4, and they told me that i had to switch my plan in order to walk out with the phone! The new plan they were trying to get me on would make me pay 800$ for my note and be "off contract". In order to switch to that plan id have to cancel all 5 of my lines, with the ETF fees up in the thousands of dollars. I told him no way and that id call sprint, and ge told me that even if I call i'd still have no choice. Anyone else encounter something similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had something similar happen to me today at the Sprint Store. The clerk insisted that I couldn't keep my plan. I told him to get bent. After a heated exchange, I turned on the phone, had the phone go through the automated activation process and viola, I was activated on my existing plan. He sheepishly mumbled something under his breath and I walked out with my phone.
I'm guessing they only make the sweet commission when they sign you up for a new plan.
I had trouble with keeping my plan at Best Buy as well but the Best Buy Mobile guy called Sprint. I didn't even have to push. He did that on his own. The woman at Sprint wanted to speak to me to get permission to speak with the clerk about my account. They were able to fix it so that I was able to keep my plan. It took a few minutes but didn't seem to be a problem. I have the old Everything Data 450 plan which I've had for a couple of years now. Got it with my Galaxy S3.
When I looked it up on Sprint's website a few days ago, it just said that you had to have an Everything Data plan (or some other type of plan but I can't remember the name) and it didn't specify that you had to have a higher plan. I'm glad I got to keep my plan. It's already more than I need. The plan he was looking to switch me to would've been $90 before taxes. Right now I pay $80.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
Im glad I'm not the only one. I'm calling sprint tomorrow first thing and heading back to BB
I was told we could keep our current plan.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Free mobile app
Been There Done That
I bought the Note 4 for my fiance` yesterday. We had been shopping around for phones for a while. Many of the sales rep's said the same thing, in that we had to switch plans and we could not buy the phone out right but instead had to make a $30/month payment for 24 months. This was not going to happen. I mean, what about my rebates and the 2 year contract discounts. Finally I called up the HQ corporate store in Reston VA to get the skinny on the situation. They instructed me to go to any corporate store and that they could get me the phone with my discounts and continue to use the plan I have on my phone, the S4. Long story short YES you can keep your old plan, YES you can buy the phone outright and not pay nearly $800 for the device! Now you know and anyone who says otherwise should win the employee of the month award.
PS The employees at sprint whom I have worked with at both HQ and other corporate locations are extremely knowledgeable and go out of there way to make sure you are happy with their service. One employee sat and entertained my son while the other explained how to best utilize the phones features while yet another went of to find an assortment of accessories. I felt like I was a celebrity. And they did this for every customer. It doesn't get much better than that.
Pre-order thru BB picked up yesterday no issues upgraded my line. Traded a old evo 4g got 200$ paid 123$ total for note 4. Can't beat that deal never tried or force me to change plan family 1500 here unlimited data
Daevionne said:
Went inside best buy mobile today to pick up my pre ordered note 4, and they told me that i had to switch my plan in order to walk out with the phone! The new plan they were trying to get me on would make me pay 800$ for my note and be "off contract". In order to switch to that plan id have to cancel all 5 of my lines, with the ETF fees up in the thousands of dollars. I told him no way and that id call sprint, and ge told me that even if I call i'd still have no choice. Anyone else encounter something similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I went to pre-order at BB, that's what I was told as well.. They are saying that Sprint is forcing this issue.. I pre-ordered anyway, only because I want the 200 rebate on the old phone. I figured I'd argue the point when I pick it up.
Otherwise, I would have had my phone in hand already from Sprint instead of waiting on BB.
I picked up the note4 from the sprint store yesterday and ended up going with the new plan. They spelled out the two programs and said either are available with pros and cons of both and I ended up going with the "new" plan. Did I make a mistake ? Its still unlimited data and seemed to be mostly the same ?
So now you are paying 720 for the phone... Good deal?
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
Seems wrong, here is mine
Monthly Charges, See below
Sprint Keep Existing Plan
With 2-year contract extension
Maybe you have 1 line and thats how? In mine case I got 4 lines and they cannot do anything to my plan because 3 lines have no change
I had the same issue in a sprint retail store. Im going to call tomarrow to try and get the plan back because i did not take that 720 dollar plan.
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
pchoward said:
I picked up the note4 from the sprint store yesterday and ended up going with the new plan. They spelled out the two programs and said either are available with pros and cons of both and I ended up going with the "new" plan. Did I make a mistake ? Its still unlimited data and seemed to be mostly the same ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the two new plans we offered now says in small writing, your plan can be throttled while watching a movie to 1 megabyte per second and people with other plans have priority over data than you do.
I tried to add a second line to my account which I have the 450 data unlimited plan and they said that they had to go into a new plan you have two phones I stated about the new rules of being throttled me act like you didn't know anything about it and would not look it up.
I don't watch alot of video over cell. So I'm fine with switching over. I can see for people who are using 10+ gigs a month that being a problem.
It's not just video. You get on the web at peak times, guess who gets bumped first. The peeps with the new plans. It might not matter to some. I live out in the boonies and have only one tower to connect to and sucks during peak. But Sprints my only choice, unless back to satillite.........NOT
I ended up getting my way by calling sprint in the best buy store to keep my existing plan, but he told me sprint was going to make me switch one way or another sooner than later.
Again that's not a bad thing. I don't get kicked off data. I just don't get priority data service. That's no different then other unlimited plans.
My data usage is somewhere between 1-2 gigs a month. I don't see it being that big of a deal. If its not your only source of net.
Plan Change
I was told by Sprint rep that I would have to change plans if I upgraded through them. One Sprint rep told me other retailers such as BB could do the upgrade without changing plans. Both BB stores I talked to confirmed this. I had no problem when getting mine.
I pre-ordered two at BB and picked them up Friday. The guy during pre-order didn't have a problem with me keeping my plan and neither did the guy I picked them up from. Seems like it is hit or miss on knowledgeable versus not knowledgeable employees in both sprint and BB. It also sounds like someone us perpetuating something false to lots of people making it worse.
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Daevionne said:
Went inside best buy mobile today to pick up my pre ordered note 4, and they told me that i had to switch my plan in order to walk out with the phone! The new plan they were trying to get me on would make me pay 800$ for my note and be "off contract". In order to switch to that plan id have to cancel all 5 of my lines, with the ETF fees up in the thousands of dollars. I told him no way and that id call sprint, and ge told me that even if I call i'd still have no choice. Anyone else encounter something similar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same issue, but at a Sprint corporate store! They kept telling me that we would have to call Sprint customer care and get their permission for us to keep our current plan (the grandfathered in 1500 Everything data plan). We called customer care from home, and they said they will put something on our account that says we wouldn't have to change our plan. When I went back to pre-order it, they told us we would have to call customer care in store in order to get this change approved. After a bunch of arguing everything was handled and I pre-ordered the phone (about 2 weeks ago). Friday comes, and that store never got the phone in. I was going out of town so I was a bit upset that I wasn't going to have my new phone. Saturday I went to a Sprint store where I was at for the weekend and they had Note 4's in-stock. While purchasing we weren't told we had to change our plan at all, and it was a very smooth process. The $80 that Samsung would send me 1-2 months from now for pre-ordering the phone was irrelevant at this point.
TLDR- One store said we had to change our plan and would not budge, Other store didn't even bring up changing our plan.