yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] noneone:
Short answer = Tmo s2 is fast on tmo, Att s2 is slow on tmo, nexus is fast on att and on tmo, but not as fast on tmo as the tmo s2, att s2 skyrocket a maybe on tmo.

MANY folks are grabbing the nexus from the play store, it works att and tmo, and are using it for this Tmo plan, and / or switching off with the straigt talk pre pay plans (works on both att and tmo, 45 unlimited, see other thread in nexus forums)

Personally, I liked the faster data speeds of the tmo s2 over the nexus, and, honestly, I got a s2 tmo for $225 barely used. (great deal at the time)

I would, personally, pay $100 for a new nexus unlocked over a used s2.

Good luck with your upgrade! And yes, you can just pop your exhibit 2 sim into a new tmo phone.

I have had my current S2 sim, started in an unlocked att iphone, voice worked great but, edge speeds on tmo was terrible, borrowed a friends HTC sensation for a week, same sim, same plan, worked great, purchased a used S2 tmo, works awesome, same sim, same plan.

Now to find a new home for my nexus LTE and plan on verizon .... regular 25mbs on verizon way beats tmo and att 4g speeds but verizon is just to expensive compared to this $30 tmo deal.

/sigh, too many phones too little time ....

DETAILS

1) Tmo S2 = t989

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_t989-4129.php

2) att s2-i777 note no 1700 band

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_i777-4130.php

3) THIS thread indicates att s2 (i777) no, but yes on att skyrocket if you root + flash etc. ...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1462484&page=3

NEXUS not S2, international works fast on both:

4) https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa

a) note all the bands! all att and tmo bands ....

b) BUT, it is only 21mbs speeds, not the newest 48, so it will be a little slower than the tmo S2, but faster than the sensation, on tmo

5) http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1455014

Great thread, he explains it, the pentabands is one of the reasons the nexus from google is so popular, because it can switch from att to tmo with fast speeds.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] schlongs:
Ah, that makes sense. I realize now that I bought the CallingMart refill card last week but didn't apply it until Tuesday (one day before recharge). Next time I'll refill earlier to be safe.

Thank you, sir.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ja5219:
It could also be a glitch on their system. I've applied refill codes on the day of the service cutoff date and it instantly recognized the funds and reset for a month.

I also had one case on another phone with a $30 plan where the exact same thing happened as you, I had to call in and in 15 mins they fixed it up. That only happened once and that was back in March. So far so good.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Yes. The international SGSII only supports 850mhz and 1900mhz HSPA+, whereas T-Mobile currently uses 1700/2100mhz (AWS,

not

the same as 1700 and 2100 separately!).

You'll either need a "pentaband" HSPA+ device like the Galaxy Nexus that supports 5 bands of HSPA+ (to include 1700/2100), or you'll need a T-Mobile branded device. As T-Mobile starts to roll out 1900mhz HSPA+ (starting around now), this will be less and less of an issue, but right now you can't expect to ever see 1900mhz HSPA+. Its just at the end of testing phases now.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] srkelley:
I've been searching all over the web for an answer to the question below. I may just suck at searching, can anyone help me out?

I was looking at the pre-paid T-Mobile plan with 100 minutes and unlimited data (up to 5 gigs, 2g speeds after). This seems like a good deal as I use little voice and nave Google Voice if necessary (via data network).

Just assume I'm speaking about the $30, 5GB Unlimited plan.

How does T-Mobile measure data usage on their Monthly 4G plans?

A. The first 5 gigs period count towards that 5GB limit.

B. Only the first 5 gigs of HSPA+ use count towards the 5GB limit.

If it's B, then that works out great for me. I'd be happy to set my phone to just use EDGE for sync/when the screen is off. That way I'm only tapping into their faster speeds when I actually want to use it.

I know that I can stop sync and become more vigilant on usage, but if I could plan around when I'm actually using data that's going towards my high speed limit, I could more reasonably enjoy using my phone. Let the slower data network handle sync while I get to use the faster one for services that make sense. Like video streaming gaming on a console/handheld via tethering.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
It appears to be option A. I just put my phone into 2g only mode, checked data usage through T-Mobile.com, and ran a few speed tests on 2g. Checked the T-Mobile site again and data usage had increased.

Sorry to disappoint. It's still a great plan. I use almost all of my data each month due to having no Wi-Fi at work, but have yet to go over.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] srkelley:
Thank you! It's great to finally have an answer to this question. It would have been awesome with option B, but at least I know what to expect now.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Option A. 5GB is 5GB.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jaybeeunix:
Unless you're REALLY, REALLY anxious for that 5GB of data, I'd recommend buying the activation kit directly from T-mobile.com: It costs $0.99 + free S/H and comes with a credit of $3.34 on the account. The free shipping is listed as "2-4 business days" (I received mine in three business days).

The only wrinkle I had was that the automated systems (neither the web and touch-tone one) would recognize my activation code, but the touch-tone system forwarded me instantly to a CSR and I was activated in ~5mins. The entire conversation with the CSR was "Where did you buy your activation kit? We have known problems with direct-from-the-Internet activation kits, so I'll be happy to activate it manually. What's your SIM card's number and your activation kit's number? What's the PIN for your refill card? Here's your new phone number..."

That's a lot less hassle than buying a phone I'm not going to use from Wal-Mart, or, worse, trying to return a phone to them after I've taken the activation kit and SIM out of it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] spikex:
Hello guys

im from germany and driving through the country right now. I bought a galaxy nexus and need a prepaid kit. shipping is not an option. i really want the t-mobile prepaid plan, however can any one tell me what i need to buy at walmart (which prepaid phone i guess) to get the sim + activiation code? im stopping by there later.

thanks in advance!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
Any of the cheap "T-Mobile Prepaid" phones should work. They will probably be hanging on a separate display or near the contract phones and should be clearly marked as Monthly 4G or prepaid. I think this was the cheapest one at the store local to me:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/LG-GS170-RED-Prepaid-Refurbished

There will be a sim card and activation code inside the box. I'd activate it myself online rather than having them do it for me, but that's your call.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] noneone:
I have used a $25 walmart t-mobile pre paid flip type phone to activate this plan.

I have also used a $19 activation kit (no phone) from Best Buy to activate this plan.

Online with shipping the activation kit is only $1 ..... but sometimes some folks just need it now, with cash. Walmart or BB both work then.

GL!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] OmgitzFire:
Quick question , I've heard that if you don't pay for a month using this plan , that will cause you to lose this plan (4g unlim text/web) is that true ?

For example I'm currently paying but lets say next month I'll be out of the states and don't want to be charged but then when I come back will this plan still be available ?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] c0LdFire:
I believe so - it's for "new activations only". With that being said, you can grab a new $1 SIM and re-activate the plan that way. You're still saving $29 if you go that route.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] iceshark:
Okay, 10 year TMOBILE DM here and I just went to Verizon. However I can clear some air for how the $30 Wally world plan works and clear some wrong info.

1.It is ONLY for new activations and you must either buy prepaid phone and chuck it and use sim and activation code or better yet order from Tmobile the 3 buck activation kit. REMEMBER IT MUST HAVE ACTIVATION NUMBER. Having just a new sim wont do it.

2.You do not have go thru Walmart. You can order activation kit from TMobile, Amazon, Ebay or pay 19.99 for it at Best buy if your in a hurry. YOU MUST HOWEVER ONLY ACTIVATE IT ONLINE AT TMOBILE WEBSITE TO GET THE PLAN! you will see a choice for it when you activate!

3. You must re-fill or auto pay to keep plan going. IF YOU ARE OFF FOR 90 DAYS or more you can not start back up the plan! You would have to buy another activation kit and get new phone number. Just dont let it get turned off for 90 days and you can keep plan forever.

4. You can use any phone that will work on TMOUS system. I DO NOT THINK VERIZON GNEX WILL WORK ON TMOUS HSPA but maybe I am wrong?

5. There is an issue many times when during activation it asks for your phones IMEI number. To bypass this simply put in 9 zeros or nines!

It works everytime!

6. Yes after 5g you get slowed down to 2g or slower like snail! Good luck with even trying to use mail. ITs snail slow!

7. You can not buy extra Data and must wait till next start of new billing to get back phone.

8. GOOGLE VOICE DOES NOT GIVE YOU FREE MINUTES! So many people are wrong about this! However there are free phone internet plans that will give you free minutes over the 100 you get from TMOUS> But they work with Voice and they suck most of the time!

9. TMous prepaid is the best around as you get full cell tower useage and if your in strong TMOUS area its the same service quality as contract customers. Unlike Sprint and ATT that suck eggs on prepaid.

Any questions let me know.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Only GSM phones with 1700/2100mhz 3G bands. Aka a T-Mobile branded device, or one of the few pentaband unlocked devices like the Galaxy Nexus. No Verizon phones will ever work on T-Mobile without serious hacking of a worldphone model. Just stick to GSM phones.

You can actually get away with most background data and push notification services when throttled. You get a capped speed of 60kbps down / 150kbps up. You can even switch to "2G only" (EDGE) in network settings and get faster speeds, but with higher ping times. Its completely passable for everything but streaming and non-mobile site web browsing.

Incorrect. At

any

time you can call T-Mobile and have them re-start your plan from that day forward. You'll remove your throttle and get another 100 minutes for the regular price of $30.

Wouldn't necessarily throw all other prepaid carriers under the bus here. Straight Talk (running on AT&T or T-Mobile) and Simple Mobile (T-Mobile) are well accepted and I've not heard any issues with quality of service on them.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I appreciate that you probably have some good information to contribute but your tone could really use some work. Calling the guy who has contributed the most in these prepaid threads a liar is pretty bad forum form. He and several others have spoken from personal experience about being able to restart their cycle early (and thus get another batch of data to play with). It may not be what is supposed to happen but it does happen, and that's a fact buddy.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] noneone:
Note to self, rhyming doesn't make one's statements factually accurate.

I have used up my data and / or minutes, and called T-moblie, and THREE TIMES they have simply reset my account, took the $30 out that day, and started a new month from that day forward.

In fact, I did it just today, 8/6/2012.

So, you may know some stuff, but, you're just wrong on others. I just "restarted" my $30 a month plan. Maybe they're not supposed to, maybe you know company policy, but, THE FACT IS I've done it 3 times already. Recently, too.

And why would you want to? DUH because I used up my minutes and data. Alternatively, I could simply have TWO sim cards, use one for 15 days till its capped, THEN use the other for 15 days, and so on, and get a 200 minute 10 GB plan for $60 still a good deal.

BUT, I don't need to get two sim cards, cause Tmo just restarts me when I call them.

GL with your new Verizon relationship.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
So is it 4g or 5g now? ;)

Anyways I'm sure you have plenty of experience with the customer care side, but if you read this thread and on other forums you will see quite a few people enjoying straight talk / net10 / simple mobile / etc. I believe the OP has been on straight talk for months and hasn't come back to complain yet. As long as you have the right expectations going in (clearly outlined in the OP.. basically don't expect customer service) it is a very good deal.

EDIT: Forgot which prepaid thread I was in. I was referring to the OP for this thread:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] iceshark:
Fair enough.> I may be jaded as I was with TMOUS for so long. However I trained the Walmart mini DM for W. WA and can tell you Straight talk and Simply Mobile are terrible. Net 10 is of course just really Trac Phone. And if you think Trac Phone is good then oh my. But again, if people are happy then I wish them well.

PlusI am with Verizon now. They to seem to have a decent prepaid. The 2 buck unlimited for only days used it decent. I do not like there extra 15 bucks per gig of data though

As for 4g. Of course we both know its not true 4g. That said it test faster them Sprint WIMAX by triple. And beats ATT on same system. Only Verizon LTE tops out faster but has poor signal indoors and on hand off from towers.... So ya, Your right in picking on it. But its still the best in the PNW I think. Even over Verizon in metro areas of PNW.

---------- Post added at 10:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 PM ----------

What the F! Do NOT try and tell me how to talk here. I too am a senior member and that really means crap! I posted a thread to help people based on my history with Tmous and HE responded with a POMPUS INCORRECT! I have a right to set the record straight. It was not rude in anyway! So if you want peace love and granola then move to the west coast. God knows we have enough of that crap here.

Now back to the thread. As for the users claiming to pay before term. That is against the policy. HOWEVER of course if you call in ( you can not do this online) and stupidly ask to pay for another month 2 weeks in to your paid month they are going to take the funds! While I wlll make a call to verify this I do not doubt it. Many of us including myself loved TMOBILE since Voice Stream days. However the German board of directors hates Tmobile and are loosing money daily so again I am not suprised they now are breaking there own rules when it comes to making any more extra money from people crazy enough to want to pay another 30 bucks before months end.... Thats just plain foolish.. Even a dying company will take the foolish player if it puts money into the bottom line. As for dual Sim cards. Again does not take a brain surgeon to figure out thats foolish as well....

In fact, hey friend paying all that money. Here is an idea. Why not go to the UNLIMITED calls, text and 5gig for just 70.00 a month? Hell, your already paying 60 bucks for 200 minutes total and 10g data. Who uses 10g data.... Sounds like you should look at the other prepaid option,.. Just trying to help. Oh and I WORK AS A DM for Verizon. Not just a customer relationship move if thats what you were thinking.... I still prefer Tmobile service over my new companys. Tmobile customer service is second to none!

What would be a better solution is to push for Tmobile to sell extra Data time so you could add it for say 10 bucks a gig or less. But hey, You keep paying 30 bucks every couple weeks and make em stay afloat till all my friends in corp find other jobs like many of us already have.

Now RELAX! This is a response not a war...:cowboy:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Well you gotta realize that Straight Talk and Net10 (which are both subsidiaries of TracFone) are all just buying and reselling AT&T and T-Mobile services. Of course they're doing some QoS control and things like that, but there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Straight Talk is offering worse service than T-Mobile Prepaid is. I don't see where you are bringing this information from. Its blatant FUD, there's no reason whatsoever that people shouldn't consider

all

MVNO carriers when looking for prepaid service.

I'm as big of a T-Mobile fanboi as anyone else, but even I don't think that T-Mobile's Prepaid is some how greatly superior to any other MVNO out there. There's a reason why Straight Talk has some

25 million customers

.

There's a general code of conduct (and personal decency) that you should try to follow. Be nice and polite and don't go off on people when they've done nothing wrong. You may think you're "setting the record straight" and I'm sure you're very knowledgeable, but you're saying a lot of stuff that is just completely false and incorrect, leading me to believe that you need to settle down a bit and put things in perspective. You attract more bees with honey than vinegar...

How is it foolish? If you need the data and you want to extend, you do it. Again, I find it hard to believe that you're involved and knowledgable of this industry if you keep saying things like this that are common knowledge. Calling T-Mobile support and having them renew your month extends your usage another 30 days, and gives you another 100 minutes and 5GB of data. It doesn't just give you the data and keep your same renewal date. It literally gives you a completely new month from that point forward. As the poster above noted, he and many others do this often and it is a completely viable way to keep your service going and offering the data/minutes you need.

Some people need more data. Just because some don't (I surely don't need that much) doesn't mean that you need to berate someone and call them stupid because they use more. That's just downright rude.

No, you need to relax. These are well-established threads with extremely well covered and vetted information that has been covered time and time again. User testimonials and regular check-ins give me much more info than you have. We don't need people chiming in out of nowhere acting like they know something more than we do, when its clear that you do not.

If you have something constructive to add to this thread, there's a way to do that. I'll just let you know right now that you're not doing it the right way. We have had several employees at different carriers and retailers chime in with extremely useful information before, and they do it the right way. You're not doing a whole lot to change my preconceived notion of how knowledgeable I think carrier employees are :rolleyes: .
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I'm not a hothead, but here let me trash talk one of the leading contributors to prepaid discussion on XDA... Right, dude. Sorry, I'm not convinced - and honestly disappointed that a carrier representative feels the need to come on here and talk trash rather than contribute politely to the conversation.

Which Walmart plan is that - the $30 plan which is the subject of this entire thread, and that I purchased directly through T-Mobile? The other "Walmart plans" I know of are Straight Talk / Simple Mobile - which are viable options if you don't feel like paying for 5GB of data on T-Mobile's $70 plan but still need unlimited minutes.

It obviously depends on the user and their needs; this thread is (based on the title) about the $30 5GB data plan, which is perfect for people (like me) who need more data than minutes or are able to make VoIP solutions work to make up the difference. If you need more minutes, $.10 per isn't too bad and you can use up to 500 minutes total before you would be better served by the $70 plan. And, as previously mentioned, you can always pay another $30 to restart your cycle early if you run out of data..

Yes, you can. There are plenty of folks around the board who have done just that.

I guess you should add me to your ignore list too. My initial response to you was not intended to be antagonistic at all, but it seems to have set you off anyway (All I picture in my mind is Tom Smykowski screaming "I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?"). I'm glad to see folks contributing and trying to provide good information about prepaid, but much of what you have contributed from the company perspective is the complete opposite of what we (as prepaid users and enthusiasts) have experienced. You don't win simply because you have an employee badge; it doesn't automatically indicate that you know everything. In fact, many would argue that it usually indicates just the opposite.

And, for the record, the "bigger thing" is not first talking trash and then ignoring him (and now me, I suppose). The bigger thing would have been to contribute to this thread in a polite and constructive manner rather than jumping in just to show how much more you know.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] patruns:
I am starting to get a headache reading through all of this. Can you guys please just PM each other? :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] noneone:
but but but ... I wanted to get ignored too .... /sigh, OK, back on topic.

I used an example earlier of stacking the $30 5GB plan twice a month, for 200 minutes and 10GB of data for $60 in 30 days. Personally, as many others in this thread and others, I don't often need more than 100 minutes of talk, and, I find VOIP over a solid wifi connection just fine to supplement my minutes.

I do, however, go over 5GB of data almost every month. I have no home internet service, I ONLY use my wireless, this saves me even more $$ ..... but I rarely go over 10GB.

BUT, here's the additional cool thing. When you renew / restart your account, or if you were using two sims, the new plan starts ON THAT DAY. SO, you could for example use 3 plans in 60 days (new plan every 20 days), which works out to 150 minutes +7.5 GB of data for $45 a month. This is usually about where I end up. Key is, since you can restart any day that you happen to run out of data, you essentially only pay for what you use. IF I were to buy a 10GB plan, and I only used 6GB a month, I would essentially be paying for an unused 4GB. BUT, but only having to pay when I do run out of internet, I stretch out my usage. If one month I'm under 5GB, I only pay $30, but, I don't pay $60 a month unless I fully use up to the 10GB.

THAT is part of the beauty of the prepaid, the flexibility to change your bill / type of plan / carrier however your usage changes. Got a month you need more voice? Switch to ST unlimited voice that month. Run out of data this month on the $30 plan? Renew it and start fresh. Going to an area with poor Tmo service? Grab an ATT MVNO prepaid that month.

BTW, I just added handset insurance to my $30 TMO prepaid plan. I have a galaxy S2 that I purchased used. The insurance cost me $7.

Just in case anyone was wondering if they could get insurance for their handset on tmo prepaid, you can.

Sometimes, its worth $7 just to check the facts. Sometimes. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
Just a heads up that you can often get third party insurance for cheaper than the $7 a month from T-Mobile. I got mine through Ensquared.

Someone else mentioned that it is even cheaper to add your phone to your renters or homeowners insurance policy.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] noneone:
I appreciate the heads up, I'll be canceling this insurance next month .... it was more a proof of concept, given I'd been told NOT being able to get handset insurance was a negative of the prepaids, I tested this out, and found out prepaid CAN get handset insurance, if folks want it. As you point out, it can be had even cheaper elsewhere, so its likely not really a negative for prepaid service at all.

Thanks again for the heads up.