yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
that's good. so you should be all up and running now?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] SNaReX:
Yes works great.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Great to hear.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Ulver:
I recently switched to this plan and I'm very happy with it. I was on contract with T-Mobile for 10 years! I tested it out for a few days before I cancelled my contract and there was no difference between the two. I feel free with no contract and I'm saving lots of $$$
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jjjsong:
I just switched to this plan over the weekend and everything is working great!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
That's awesome for both of you. Glad to see it worked.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] AfroCreame:
I purchased a $29 phone and after a phone call with a CSR, I was able to add the $30 plan. Works as advertised but man, I'm not sure if I can deal with T-Mobile's coverage. Where I live, I would be stuck using Edge most of the time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
You need to check these things before you buy, man.

But even if you decide not to use it, it only cost you $59.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] AfroCreame:
Yeah I did. I live on the fringe so I was hoping to get lucky.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xaviercomputers:
Tethering via a T-mobile 4g phone

Hello Everyone!

This is why I want the $30 plan. My wife and I use cricket wireless flashed phones (Evo 4G & Epic 4G) for unlimited voice and cdma 3g data,

But we want to take advantage of the 5 GB of 4g data from t-mobile on our cricket phones for business. So here is my plan...

1. I already ordered the sim card and kit from T-mobile.com for 1.99 (Its on sale!)

2. I’m currently looking for a cheap 4g t-mobile android phone off craigslist

(Most likely a mytouch 4g or something similar) BTW (Would any At&T android phones use the same 4g data network from t-mobile?)

3. Activate sim and phone on t-mobile.com

4. Root and change the rom on android t-mobile phone to enable free tethering of 4g data, turn down all settings to save battery power and buy a extended battery.

5. Allow my 2 cricket phones to share the T-mobile phone's 4g data via wifi tethering.

So all in all, the t-mobile phone would be turned into a hot spot only device. Who cares about the 100 voice minutes right? Also I did look into the hotspot only devices and their $30 plan only supports up to 1 GB of 4g data.

We hope this option would really help our little business as we work around the city of Portland, And need a faster data option than cricket can provide.

What do you guys/ladies think? Will this option work out for me?

Much respect!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
It'll work just fine. Theres no reason why you can't just buy a device and use it as a hotspot and nothing else. It'll be a good choice for you. If you don't have anything on the phone and turn off background data/autosync and leave the screen off, it should give you 4+ hours of WiFi hotspot on a stock battery. Depends on the usage of course. And of course if you really need it for voice you can use it in a pinch.

No AT&T branded phones (to my knowledge) have 1700/2100 AWS bands for HSPA+ on T-Mobile. You'll need either a T-mobile branded phone, or an unlocked "pentaband" phone, of which there are very few. If you don't plan on switching to use an AT&T plan (if you're just needing data theres no reason why you would) just get a branded T-Mobile phone.

All I'd say is just try to grab a good deal on a T-Mo phone with at least a 21mbps HSPA+ radio. Some of the previous models are only 14.4mbps (like the original MyTouch 4G, HTC G2, etc.), which will give you real-world speeds 2-3mbps lower than 21mbps devices. But you can of course get better deals. Kinda depends on what you can find on craigslist or the like. Even a 14.4mbps device will be faster than Sprint 3G, but remember also you'll be splitting it between 2 people and I'm sure computers etc..

Just looking at some "last gen" devices, I'd say the Galaxy S 4G (not the original Galaxy S!) is a good choice. It's a single core older device that should be good and cheap, but it has a 21mbps HSPA+ radio and a 1650mAh battery, and surely extended battery options.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Instead of doing this all you have to do is literally call and 100% cancel your current postpaid plan. Cancel cancel cancel it! Once it's cancelled your # is free to be moved and you just port it to your prepaid. If your plan is cancelled theres nothing that gets in the way of you going to prepaid. Not to mention that this special $30 is supposed to be only for

new activations

, which just makes it even harder to convert postpaid to prepaid.

Of course switching to Straight Talk (or any other prepaid) then back works too, but you waste a month...

I think where people are running into problems with this transition is trying to get their current postpaid to just "convert" to prepaid. The easiest way to do it is just completely cut ties with T-mobile for a day and cancel then come back as if you're a new customer.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ivoniko:
It would be great if it was that easy I wonder no one had mentioned it before. As far as I've heard once you cancelled you cannot really port a number you do not any longer own. You have to port first and then cancel. But if it works as you say it's definitely the best thing to do.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
That's how I did it. I bought a SIM kit and activated a prepaid account before I even cancelled my postpaid.

I then called and cancelled postpaid and told them I was going to port that number once its done. After it was finished I called and had the number moved to my prepaid account. Voila, done.

My biggest struggle, archived in this thread, was the severe misinformation I received talking to several different CS reps before I started the move. Once I figured everything out it really wasn't that difficult. If I had to recommend a way to do this move, it'd be the way I just mentioned. Even simpler if you're using GV# for your primary # and don't care about porting. Then you can just cancel.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ivoniko:
Yes, that's exactly what I was planning to do and tried to do but they told me it doesn't work and tricked me into switching directly which was a mistake and that is why I wrote my post pretty much.

On another note I don't agree that going to Straight Talk for a month is a waste of time. It would have been fun to try for a month how the AT& T network is around here and once back on the $30 plan have a spare AT&T card in my pocket. But maybe I'll give it a try anyway some time soon.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
It's a waste of time if you're only doing it so that you can come back to the $30 Walmart plan. Its obviously a good idea to use it to compare if you want that. I would try Straight Talk but I don't think I can keep my data usage down to 2gb.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ivoniko:
Agree to disagree, for me waste of time was dealing with the retarded CS, would love to have tried AT&T reception instead.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] gokpog:
I'm visiting a friend over the summer and like to use this plan during my vacation. Can he just order an activation kit, activate it 2-3 day before I arrive and then just give me the SIM to use in my Nexus?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
yep no problem at all.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] gypsyman:
Thanks Meter 2 for all your help. What is the best route to go if you already have a Tmobile pre paid. I am going to get a new Nexus. Can I cancel my prepaid or do I have to burn the minutes out and let it expire and then activate the new phone. Could I then request my old number be ported to my new Nexus acitvation?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
If you're happy with your current prepaid plan just take the SIM out of your current phone and put it in the Nexus.

If you're trying to switch to this $30 plan you're gonna have to get a new SIM activation kit and do it that way because the plan is for "new activations only". So you can activate that then port from your old prepaid to the new prepaid when it runs out.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] samsking:
So I am a current T-Mobile customer and my 2 year contract expires in a month, I would like to keep my number and begin this walmart plan. What would be the best route to keep my number? I was thinking either I would port my number to GV and then port it back to T-Mobile after a month or so. Is this a good method?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Only port to GV if you plan on going all-in with GV. Otherwise, just port from postpaid to prepaid if you are gonna keep the number with the carrier.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] SNaReX:
I have a question. Even though we use Google Voice, it deducts minutes from 100 minutes talking limit(100 minutes) isn't it? In addition to that, if someone calls it deducts the minutes.

I'm already out of limit actually even though I use google voice.

Which way is the best to save minutes?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Buddy Revell:
Download Talkatone or GrooveIP from the Market and use with your Google Voice number. It uses your data connection or wifi and doesn't use up your minutes. Talkatone works better for me, but some people like the other app better.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] SNaReX:
I will try. When someone calls me do minutes decrease? If yes is there any solution for that too. Now I'm out of talk limit...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Buddy Revell:
You can receive calls through both apps as well as send. Let me know how well it works for you.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
As is

well discussed in this thread

, Google Voice is a call forwarding service. It will 100% use your minutes if you simply forward from your GV# to your T-Mobile phone, or call from your phone via GV#.

In order to call for free, you need to use a VoIP solution like GrooVe IP or Talkatone, or make calls from GMail in the browser of your computer. To set these up, download the app, go to GMail and make a call out from Google Talk to any #, then go into your Google Voice settings (in the browser) and setup your calls to forward to "Google Chat".

For example now if you have both your T-Mobile # and Google Chat as forwarding options, when someone calls your GV# your phone will ring (costing minutes) and your GMail in browser will ring (no minutes). Pick up whichever is more convenient. If you decide to use GrooVe IP or Talkatone, instead of forwarding to GMail it'll forward to the app on the phone (which thinks its Google Chat) and ring as a VoIP call (not costing minutes).

Quality and consistency is much lower with VoIP when you're on HSPA+. On WiFi its quite serviceable, but I wouldn't wanna make an hour long call on it. I'm using GMail to make a lot of calls and the quality is great.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] gypsyman:
Ok, I went to the tmobile online site, selected this $30 plan and activated my new SG2. I went so far as to get my new phone number but did not fund the account. I then called tmobile and the csr was great. I told her I wanted my old tmobile prepaid number transfered (not ported) to replace the new number that I was assigned. She said no problem, she cancelled my old number and then said it would take 7-10 days for my old number to replace my new number. She even transfered my $59 in funds from my old account. She said that should show up in an hour. Just like the Staples button, that was easy.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sammy76:
Hi,just a quick question here.I am considering switching to this plan since I don't ever use my phone for voice calls and an currently on crickets android plan.rite now I get 1gb of so called unlimited 3g data before I get throttled.I am only getting 600kbps max speeds so I would be thrilled to get even the low end speeds people are reporting.however I saw several articles saying that the 5gb data cap will be cut to 250mbs starting March 16th. Do any of you know if that's the case here or is it for the other walmart plan?also what kind of speeds do you get on 2g once you throttled?and lastly is it possible to port my number from cricket to tmobile? Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Haven't heard anything of the sort. They offer different levels of data. They can throttle at 250mb, 2gb, or 5gb depending on the plan you have. Maybe there is some confusion there.

You actually aren't forced onto 2g. You stay on 3G/HSPA but the speeds are cut to about .5mbps. You keep the low ping times of HSPA+.

Should be just fine as long as Cricket doesn't have weird policies on porting.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sammy76:
Thanks for the quick reply:).the source of my info was from a couple sites when I googled the unlimited Wal-Mart plan.they were all dated like January 12th of this year. Rite now I'm paying 120 to cricket for my flashed evo and finances cricket phone and never get above 600kbps max n average closer to 300. The tmobile coverage map says I live in a good 4g coverage area with great coverage two blocks in every direction lucky me lol. Will be listing my evo for sale here and picking up a tmobile phone to jump on this plan. One last question,I saw on the other walmart plan u can add a second line for less can you do that with this plan as well?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Don't think there are any options like that... you'd each be on your own individual plan.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] GPSRider:
Surprised

I'm surprised to hear they did that because the $30 plan says new activations only. Maybe they mean new activations of pre-paid...

GR
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] twiztidninja:
cricket is cdma and T-Mobile is GSM so I'm assuming u know you are going to have to buy a new phone I had tmoble for a week they are good out doors but when inside expect your phone to switch two 2g and to miss calls
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Picked a SIM up the other day. I've started to use this as a alternative to my main AT&T line. Changed out the SIM earlier today, grabbed some stuff, swapped back. Makes a smashing backup to my main data line.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bpm2000:
That is indeed what it means. I was activate going from post-paid to this account. Then I made a new account again porting out to google voice. Each time a "new activation" and it worked fine.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
well thats region dependent... I get fantastic 3G/4G indoors and out...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sammy76:
Yea twizted I know that,honestly it can't be slower than crickets horrendous data speeds.and since they started the tethering thing I can't even go to sites like Facebook w/o being redirected to the tethering page.plus even when I'm unthrottled my data is under 200kbps.same for my fiance.tmobile lists my house as being in good 4g area. Plus their almost half the price of cricket for my needs. Besides if it doesn't work I can always go back to cricket or even try att. Cricket is great for people that need unlimited talk w a little data thrown on but the android plan is worthless for data. As far as the phone goes I got my evo for free from my friends daughter cuz she broke the screen,$50 later I have a new evo. I'm sure I can sell it for enough to buy a nice tmo android with 4g.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] IronSheik:
1st month of use has been nice on my Amaze (picked-up from CL for $380 sealed)...although GrooveIP calls have been spotty and BT over the app doesnt sync to my car (but regular dialer does)....running a dual sim set-up with ATT 1000 Rollover grandfathered plan for $30 so not a big issue with voice mins for me

Just in time too as this deal is rumored to be ending on 3/31...after that u'll be throttled after 100MB : http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=48622378&postcount=2912
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Thanks a lot. Does that mean if we got in before that, we won't be throttled? Or they're changing the throttle point for everyone? If so, that's pretty rough.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JosepiOT:
That's for the Walmart family plans, afaik, monthly4g remains as is.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Hoping that's true. But I thought the family plans were always like this, therefore there wouldn't be a rumor about it changing.

I'll be going to Straight Talk if it happens. I'd be extremely surprised though, as the $30 becomes useless at that point.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] IronSheik:
my understanding is anyone who activates a line on or after 4/1 will get the 100MB throttling....no changes for existing customers. cellular plans are grandfathered as long as u dont change ur plan (they wont let u switch back if its NLA)

family plan is 250MB so thats different & was stated as such (that it would be temporary) when the promo was announced: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/18/t-mobile-walmart-announce-contract-free-unlimited-family-plan/
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Guess we'll find out in a week :p
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Saw the memo on this the other day at work. Shame.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Will people be grandfathered in if they've signed up before the 31st? I'd hope so.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
The next couple days the T-Mobile rep is in. I'll find out for you guys.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Sounds good. There are some people in the general Prepaid thread that are wondering too.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
It better not be true. I eat about 3 gigs a month regularly.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Well no matter how much I use, it'll be more than 100mb :p . I'm really hoping they'll grandfather people in. I wanna ride this plan at least another 4-5 months.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
I don't know, I'm kinda thinking we'd be grandfathered if it actually changes. I guess worse case scenario is that I'd have to bump up to the $50 2gb plan. I would prefer to save that money though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
If the $30 plan peaces out I'm going to Straight Talk $45 probably. The $50 T-Mo plan is similar, but $5 more and definitely throttles at 2gb. The Straight Talk one is a little more "shady" on data... sounds like 2gb to 3gb is safe, but they might crack down on tethering? Idk.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Dug this link up for classic data plans:

http://www.tmonews.com/2012/03/tmob...b-and-10gb-data-features-beginning-april-4th/

I should have an answer today.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JosepiOT:
Even in that link, it looks like the classic/value plans, aka contract plan, with zero mention to monthly4g. Should point out that it's noting a price increase on a 5 gig and 10 gig plan, and there's no such thing as a 10 gig plan on the monthly4g product tier.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
That's my take on it as well. I posted it even though it doesn't pertain to this thread but it might be useful to somebody at some point.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
This. Also, the only price increases being noted are for "classic" contracted plans. The "value" plans aren't increasing though. I kinda feel like this reduced data thing is:

1.) For family plans

or

2.) For the Walmart exclusive plans.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
The signs at work are definitely confusing. The new ones clearly state 100mb but the AB promo stickers still quote the 5GB. Awaiting word from the Rep.

New style Darts clearly mark the change. Awaiting word about grandfathering.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
Thanks for the pics. I am definitely hoping for us to be grandfathered. If not, I guess I will be making the switch to Straight Talk. Question: I know they have AT&T and T-Mobile sims for it... does it make any difference in what you're paying or getting?

Edit: T-Mobile's site is still advertising the plan with 5GB of data so it kinda seems like it might be for new customers. Damn it all. The confusion!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JosepiOT:
Not to sound like I'm harping, just being the devil's advocate here.

Given the amount of existing confusion about the plans I wouldn't put it past anyone to make an error on the signs. Wouldn't be the first advertising error in the history of man.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
Well, not just that but it would also make the $50 plan redundant. I don't know anyone in their right mind who would pay $20 extra for 100MB of data. T-Mobile and Wal-Mart might get in bed together from time to time but they don't call the other the next day.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Thanks for the headsup. Well the $50 plan is already throttled at 100mb, so we just want to see if the $30 plan gets the restriction too.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if maybe they dropped the $30 plan to 2gb throttle?

Doesn't make a difference. Same plan, same price. You're just paying depending on what has better coverage for you. For almost everyone, its probably a no-brainer to go with the AT&T one because it has wider coverage. Although you will get slightly better speeds on T-Mobile probably. Also if you're in a big city (like when I'm in Seattle), T-Mo might be a better choice overall. SO MANY AT&T CUSTOMERS! But T-Mo does worse with all the high buildings.

When I've thought about it I've been of the mind of "well if I'm gonna pay $15 more, I'm gonna get AT&T service". But it really just depends on your local area. Honestly T-Mobile is great for me now, but I'd have to leave if they change the $30 plan. You can also consider that getting the AT&T SIM means you can swap out to other phones more easily.

Yeah I'd figure they would be, as its rumored to be changing on March 31. My account renews on the 31st so I have at least another month on it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ceejay83:
$50 plan = unlimited talk

$30 plan = 100 min talk

What's the confusion?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Well the $50 plan has unlimited talk. So that's the differentiator. You choose lots of data or lots of minutes. weird that the lots of minutes is so much more expensive though.

Its also well behind Straight Talk (and a couple other TracFone MVNOs) which offer unlim talk/text with "2gb" of data for $45. Absolutely blowing away T-Mobile's offering.

T-Mobile's official prepaid services only have 2 good plans really: the $70 Unlim/Unlim/5gb plan and $30 100/Unlim/5gb plan. Their middle plans are all worse than Straight Talk (and similar TracFone plans).
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Add to that the end cap I just built:

And I'd shocked if the Rep came after 4. Looks like tomorrow.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jonathan3579:
The confusion is that it would make no sense for $30 to only include 100 minutes and 100MB. In fact, that is just a downright terrible offering if true.

That's what I have been thinking about myself. Good to know I'm not crazy, lol. It sounds like Straight Talk is gonna be the next best for multiple reasons so I'm keeping an eye on what unfolds with this.

And the pictures above seem to indicate no change in plans. Hmm...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Thanks again. Looks like no change, then.

---------- Post added at 01:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:51 PM ----------

Yes, it would make the $30 plan about 99% useless. Not sure who would buy it at 100mb throttle. That's why I was saying maybe they would drop it to 2gb throttle if anything.

It definitely is the next-best alternative. I bet about 95% of people in the Prepaid Thread are using $45 Straight Talk, or $30 T-Mobile / Walmart.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
The Rep will be in a day or so. I'll get us a straight answer. (At least the Northern Ohio T-Mobile district version.)

Found the current flyer we give out to everybody if that helps?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Don't think it can get much clearer than that. They may be changing the plan eventually but theres no reason why they'd do it now given that all the literature says 5gb still.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
For what it's worth I just met with our Rep. Everything is as I posted a couple back. All signage, end caps and promo material are correct and will continue to be correct for the future. I take it as is. Hope that helps.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Baller. Thanks a ton for looking into it so much. Good to know!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] IRageQuitHard:
Thanks for the info, it's really helpful since this is the main reason why I'm going to be buying the GSM nexus. If they throttled down the 5GB data limit, I would not be a happy person, lol.