yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] reuthermonkey:
So I picked up a straight-talk plan last week, and will probably get a second one for my wife when her contract is up.

I picked up the ATT sim for me to test out, and later I'll get the T-Mobile SIM.

I figured I'd give my wife the ATT sim since she travels during her work days sometimes, while I keep the TMO sim so I can have the faster data speeds.

Then when we go out of town, we can use the ATT sim for coverage when we need it.

I like the idea of not being tied to any single carrier's coverage and speed limitations
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xur17:
Plus the value of selling the phone, assuming you decide to do that. Normally you can get a few hundred bucks for selling it on ebay after a year. The Nexus S is still fetching just over $200 about a year and a half after its release.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] toddrosenberger:
Can anyone with straight talk at&t post your apn settings. I put the settings in that straight talk gives you but mms won't work. Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bilalakhtar:
Canada?

I know, this might be covered already in this thread, but what are the best smartphone prepaid plans/providers in Canada? I'm looking for a good plan here that's close to the T-mobile $30 100min/UL text/ 5 GB Data one in the States.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] toddrosenberger:
I finally got mms working by making 2 apn entries. One for internet with just apn filled in and another for mms with the mms fields filled in. Everything works now but everytime i send or receive a mms right after it sends/recievs my data connection drops for a second then reconnects. Anyone get it working correct with the the apn settings they give you on the activation card?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
Don't think I've seen anything in this thread. I might recommend starting a new one for Canada so as not to confuse things. You could probably get more canucks involved that way too since they probably wouldn't look at this thread much after seeing only American carriers on the front page. Good luck!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] slyydrr:
The settings from the card worked for me...

I created a new entry rather than modifying an existing one, and I left the APN type empty as well.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jbeez:
Just wanted to say two things. I just switched to straight talk tmo mvno. When you put port 8080 in apn settings cellular data is gimped to 3mbps, when i take it out, 8mbps speedtest results all day long.

I had some issues with mms at first. I found i needed to receive one before i could send out. Also i don't use an mms proxy or port either. Just the mms url set in the apn.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
OP should be updated to include the $399 GN in the Play Market.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JCreazy:
Of you can't get mms to work, there is an app called tweakker apn that may help you

Edit: just realized it doesn't work with ICS

Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jeff72k:
I believe mms is working for me. I am currently on the Yakjuux 4.0.2 build and I use these settings:

Name	: Straight Talk

APN	: att.mvno

MMSC	: http://mmsc.cingular.com

MMS proxy: proxy.mvno.tracfone.com

MMS port : 80

At first I used these official Straight Talk settings for AT&T SIM, but later I adjusted to the above:

Name	: Straight Talk

APN	: att.mvno

Proxy	: proxy.mvno.tracfone.com

Port	: 80

MMSC	: http://mmsc.cingular.com

MMS proxy: 66.209.11.33

MMS port : 80
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
Yes this thread is going to take off again. Selling my Verizon Nexus and have a GSM ordered Straight from Google for 399.00

Ordered my T-Mobile Sim Activation Kit online for 1.08 with Tax and free shipping. Probably going the 30/m 100 min talk and 5GB 4G data route.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Its a good plan. Good luck and come here if you need help with it. I'm using it personally and as long as you can deal with the minutes (I'm struggling) its a GREAT value.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
Thanks I will, I have unlimited talk on my work phone so I try to use it as much as I can. My Wife has this same plan and we talk on Skype most of the time or google voice.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Remember Google Voice on the phone costs against your minutes unless you use an app (GrooVe IP, Talkatone, SIP) to workaround and use VOIP.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
I sure as heck don't have a full PBX with configurable call forwarding at my disposal at my office (with several regional/country-specifc DIDs and 800's)... hmm .. though that sounds like it would work well ... :)

Also, Google Voice.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
THIS. I've been advocating the commodity model to my friends for about a year now .. and yet I still get people who refuse to even attempt to understand you can do anything BUT the contract route. Even when I show them the math about savings, demonstrate SIM technology, they still cling desperately to the old model citing "stability" (Uhm, recent VZW and RIM downtimes?) "roaming" (Yeah, there's lots of that left) "expensive handsets" (though the contract term ends up costing more with a subsidized phone versus the initial capital expenditure of a new phone over two years, the savings are even better in a eBay/CL world). Or they'll even dig in on some little feature ("MY PHONE DOES THIS ONE THING THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES") or "I NEED MY IPHONE WITH THE MORE GEEBEES".

*shrug* It doesn't matter. The changes in industry are showing commoditization and consumer choice *are* winning. Hooray for us! The failure of the ATT/TMO buyout and the large postpaid-to-prepaid changeover in GSM providers means people are getting it. But really it matters to YOU what you want. You don't have to go this way. You can have your subsidized iPhone or you can work with prepaid on an open phone .. it's cool with me, it's cool with everyone. It's having the choice that matters in the end.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Precisely. You can make your choice but I choose to go no contract and save some money every month. It doesn't

have

to be a hassle to go pre-paid. Theres nothing inherently harder about going pre-paid. If anything, its easier because there are no hidden fees or problems with it. You pay, you get service. You don't pay, you don't get service. Move your SIM wherever you want.

Buying your own devices and going no-contract is just my little way of telling the carriers that their old antiquated model of subsidies and overcharging every month for service is crap, and they can shove it. I think when it comes down to it, its a very... personal thing (or philosophical stance) that you take seriously and you are willing to act on it. How many people do you know that complain about cell companies and service but never do anything about it? We're just doing something about it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Right. I will *never* be in the position again where a cell phone company will tell me "No, you don't have the right to stop using our service.". That's insane. I did something about it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] reuthermonkey:
This is precisely the OPPOSITE of what's being laid out in this thread and countless others on hofo. I understand that you're on a CDMA carrier and the idea of commoditized cellular service is foreign to you. However did you even read the OP's post? With T-Mobile, ATT, Verizon, and to a lesser extent Sprint, We've all spent countless minutes/hours trying to negotiate for better plans, special retention offers, and other 'loyalty' programs that make us feel better for the same price. However with the success of MVNO's and small carriers like Virgin Mobile and MetroPCS, people are beginning to understand that voice minutes and texting in 2012 are practically 0-cost items for carriers. And even more so as users call less and use data more. So why should we still call up VZW to negotiate between a 450 minute plan with "in-network" calling and an unlimited plan? The cost for Verizon to provide unlimited minutes is no higher than the cost for Verizon to provide 450 minutes + unlimited in-network. The only difference is that you have a false-perception of greater value. You're still getting screwed, buddy.

So as you realize this, and then actually take into account what your real usage patters are, you realize that having coverage in Podunk, ID may be less useful to you than saving $1,200 over 2 years.

Some prepaid companies (like Boost, Metro, Leap, etc) are CDMA and usually wont activate competitor phones on their networks. So really they are hardly better than being in a contract. You still have to get a new phone when you switch carriers on CDMA networks.

However in this thread you see that once you pay for your GSM phone, you can take it to ATT or T-Mobile or Viaero or iWireless or Cincinatti Bell, or any other GSM provider whenever you want. Chances are you'll stick with the same company for many months (hell, maybe even 2 years), but the fact that you *can* change if your usage changes and can control your costs whenever you want is a very attractive feature.

Google Voice.

The networks are the same as always. Choose an ATT MVNO or a T-Mobile MVNO and you're still going to get their HSPA+ networks on compatible devices (like, say, the Galaxy Nexus). If you have issues with ATT and TMO, then cool, that's your prerogative. But if I spend 90% of my time in cities, why should I pay $100/mo for ATT on contract when I can pay $60/mo for an MVNO that uses the same ATT network? And if ATT's network goes to crap again, I can switch to TMO's MVNO's without having to deal with a retention department, an ETF, or having to buy a new phone.

We're only screwed on the contract model and due to CDMA lock-in. Other than the UK and Free in France, our wireless market is actually one of the more competitive as long as you're willing to take control.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rubiconjp:
+1. Hopefully this thread can get pinned/sticky and get updated with latest plans.

Question I have is with companies like Red Pocket, what if I go over the 2GB data? It shuts down?

With TMo, it gets throttled.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
I've seen conflicting reports on forums of both shutdown and throttle ... I haven't tried to max it out myself.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] danger-rat:
I've maxed out my 5gb a few times, but T-Mo have been pretty good about allowing me to buy a days top up instead of being throttled...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
At least with Monthly4G, if you get throttled on data (or run out of minutes, etc.) mid-month you could always just pay to top-up another month of plan and you'll be back to 0gb usage because you've effectively just started a new billing period.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mac208x:
That's true, once you sign that contract you are domed. Unless you are like me who went from att to sprint because of unlimited however their service is not worth a penny. Their speeds are horrible I had them for about a month and the avarge speeds I was getting wore 100kps/10-5kps with is way to slow for a smartphone these days. Since I was with them for a month I had a year and 11 month left with them I wasn't gonna stay so I said screw it and desisded to leave them. What I did to get the hell away from them was call them every day between 5 to 10 times during my free time and complained about their horrible ****ty service. I kept notes of my calls, emailed a rep several times with a screen shot of the speeds with I would more than few dozen times and sent letters to the corporate office. Finally after all that hard work I stayed on the phone with a rep for more than 2 hours, she finally transfered me to some guy named john (didn't catch the last name) and he noted to me all the phones calls I made, emails and letter and told me that this will be a one time thing to let me out of a contract so I leave them alone. My sprint contract was terminated. As my last resort I went with Verizon and I am very very happy with their service so far, great coverage, speeds, customer service that I think they are more than worth it to pay the monthly bill. But also it all depends on the persons situation if they can afford a contract don't go thru the trouble of switching prepaid etc.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ix3u:
Very interesting concept
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Just wanted to give this thread a bump. I think its important more users in the US see this and it stays updated.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bqd37340:
Just had a most unfortunate 12 days with simple mobile...the experience..was.. awful.

Hold times for their customer service averaged 45 min, their speeds suck because TMobile hobbles their access, and the kicker is, they turned off my data, after 12 days because I hit 2 GB. When I called to see why my data wasn't working, after holding for 60 (!)min they told me I was an excessive user and then transferred me to a recording that proceeded to justify simple mobiles actions...

So yeah to the OP...commoditize this. Simple Mobile lives for people like you. Customers bouncing to and fro from MVNO TO MVNO cuz theyre playing a market...YOURE THE ONES GETTING PLAYED. Mvnos fully want and expect u to leave after a month, if you don't, they will literally drive you away.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jlczl:
Has anybody tried the at&t GoPhone unlimited for $50 that is meant for feature phones? Does at&t detect the Nexus since it's not branded and it's an international and unlocked version or can it fly under the radar?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] reuthermonkey:
T-Mobile hobbles your data access, but you downloaded 2GB in 12 days somehow with that "hobbled" access?

Yeah, sorry no one clarified for you, but the reason they're cheaper is that they don't spend a bunch of money on customer service. If you're the type of person that calls up customer service (ever) then yeah, you're probably not going to be happy. And yeah, there are restrictions on the data usage just as there are on all carriers...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jlczl:
I'm going to answer my own question. I went to wal-mart and bought a cheap 15 buck GoPhone. I went online to activate the $50 unlimited talk, text and web (no throttling) plan. Put the sim card in my Nexus and voila, it worked like a charm.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Watch out with that. AT&T is regularly cracking down on people doing this. Couple threads on this already people using the "medianet" plan, and getting taken off of it once AT&T find out.

---------- Post added at 09:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:57 PM ----------

Guess these plans aren't for you. if you're going to complain about getting throttled or stopped when you hit your data cap, or you need to call into customer service all of the time, maybe you should go sign a contract and pay for what you think is "better" service. But you need to realize that maybe a 60min hold time for customer service once is worth cutting your phone bill

in half

. And also, do you think you can just blast through your data cap on other carriers and have nothing happen? The same exact thing happens there, too...

The fact that you think an MVNO wants to kick you off their service makes absolutely no sense. Think about it...

There is nothing inherent about a prepaid customer that they are "bouncing to and from MVNO to MVNO". Just because you can doesn't mean you have to. Having the freedom to move every month and actually doing it are 2 different things. If you find a carrier you like, you stay with them. If you don't like them,

you have the freedom to leave, that's the whole point

. Stop *****ing about Simple and just switch plans if they treat you badly.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] hotleadsingerguy:
OK I have to make a few small things clear because a few people are looking down from their horses with disdain because of my post.

Firstly, I was with AT&T for over 10 years, so I understand how GSM carriers work. I don't need a sim card lecture any more than you need me telling you about LTE. This means I don't.

Secondly, everyone responded with "Google Voice, duh". Problem is I even suggested it and use it myself. The op and most people don't use GV and advocate just switching numbers. That's ridiculous. Even switching numbers once means a potentially huge loss of revenue. It's unacceptable and illogical.

Thirdly, tell me all you want that I can save money. I picked the carrier I now use through research and knowledge-searching. I don't use a podunk carrier because they don't offer the things I need. Many of them have horrible service outside of the downtown areas and slow speeds. For some people those things are actually important.

Fourthly, I didn't write my previous post in rudeness or incivility. I expect the same from replies. To the few that did not respect in kind, go screw yourselves. I was offering my reasoning for my choice, not insulting anyone. Keep your idiotic inflammatory remarks to yourself if you don't want to get the same in reply.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] hotleadsingerguy:
Sorry forgot one final point.

I keep seeing "locked in" as if, after signing a contract, you're thrown in jail for the duration of said contract. That's not true at all. You can cancel your contract whenever you want, and you're really not losing anything.

You paid $650 for your phone, I paid $250. The cost to terminate a contract prematurely is $325 minus like $10 a month from contract start. That means that starting a contract with a Galaxy Nexus and cancelling the next day would cost you $575. That's still $75 less than you spent.

And 6 months after starting a contract the ETF would only be $265.

I just don't get a lot of your complaints, and I *really* don't get why anyone that doesn't share your love for prepaid plans is either rudely ridiculed or looked at like a mindless idiot. Maybe I just make enough money that I don't have to care about the difference in price and, after doing my research, I've settled on the carrier I like and am satisfied with.

Maybe different people have different needs and wants. Maybe I just like the color of Verizon's red check mark. Maybe it was a Tuesday when I signed the contract and that's why I did it. What does it matter to you? Be satisfied with your choices and let people make theirs.

This thread gives me flashbacks of the guy in front of the stadium with a loudspeaker telling everyone to change their ways so God will love them.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Except an ETF, which carriers keep raising considering the high cost of subsidizing new phones.

You seem to be forgetting that I'm paying $30 per month for cell service (and btw I bought my Nexus for $565 brand new, but whatever). Take your victory with your subsidized phone, you still pay more per month. That's the point of this thread, not the fact that you can somehow make money on the device purchase... The idea is you know you're paying more up front. But you are rewarded with drastically lower monthly costs and plan/device flexibility.

Everyone (I surely hope so) knows that the biggest cost of owning a phone over 2 years isn't the freaking device, its the service. Don't focus on the price of the phone, focus on the cost of running it monthly. That's how you save money.

And sure you could buy the device for $250, then burn an ETF and leave.. but what are you going to do with your

CDMA

Galaxy Nexus? And even if it was GSM, that's not giving much merit to your plan. The next service provider you go with and sign a contract to, you have yet another ETF. And at that point, you're really under water. You can't just keep switching 2 year contracts and paying the ETF, you'll be spending hundreds of dollars extra per year...

Kinda rude, really... Its more like we're giving lots of great, little-known information about the fact that people have options if they don't want to sign contracts and deal with the major carriers, but still get the same services. You don't have to choose it if you don't want to.

It sounds like you're happy with Verizon. Stay there.

This is supposed to be an informative thread, but I'm going to defend it when people try to crap on the idea.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xur17:
Agreed. I've been pretty happy with the plan so far. I use Google Voice (via sipdroid) on wifi for calls, which works pretty well. I've tried calls via 3/4g data, but the call quality hasn't been so great, so I just stick to my 100 minutes for non-wifi calls.

I've been on a Nexus S, and have been eyeing the Galaxy Nexus for a while now. I finally gave in and bought one since they are being sold directly from Google with a warranty.

I had trouble with Groove IP on my Nexus S - I assume it works fine on the Galaxy Nexus?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DroidRC1:
Lot of good info! My question is how is people getting this T-Mobile $30 plan when I went to a Tmo store they said I needed an activation card but that comes with the phone when you order the plan...or is this wrong and can I just get the plan online and order the activation card? How are y'all doing this??
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
just go online and order the SIM activation kit for .99 + Tax free shipping. When you activate the SIM you select your number and what plan you want to use. All done online.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Works pretty well on WiFi. Very poorly on HSPA+. GrooVe IP uses some pretty bad codecs that aren't very well suited to mobile connections. Talkatone is a bit better, but honestly even small variations in voice quality or consistency can be very annoying. I'm just using my 100minutes and if I go over I'll gladly pay the $0.10/min (saving so much money every month, might as well). I use GMail Google Voice calls to supplement whenever I'm at home.

Its technically an "online only" plan. Buy a "SIM Activation Kit" from T-Mobile online (http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/T-Mobile-Prepaid-SIM-Activation-Kit). Only $0.99 right now and pre-loads with like $3.00, and it arrives in about a week. When it shows up, go back to the Prepaid T-Mobile website and activate it (http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate) and select the proper $30 plan. Don't get it mixed up with the other $30 plan, which is 1500 talk and 30mb data!

So my best advice is to not deal with T-Mobile in person. Just do it online. If you need number porting services it can be done over the phone.

Good luck.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DroidRC1:
Thank you I will be doing this as soon as I sell my Verizon Galaxy Nexus!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
Are you planning to just pay the ETF to get out of your Verizon contract?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DroidRC1:
To be honest I don't know..I may just cancel it and pay it later...(times are alil hard)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xxBrun0xx:
Don't screw around with 100 minute plans and voip clients. If you can afford the extra $15, get straight talk. I've been having great luck with then so far and absolutely loving my gnex :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Yes, but you get more data on the T-Mobile plan - which is why I've chosen that one.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DroidRC1:
Yeea but I need the data and the speed
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Netou:
Another quick question....or two about tmobile prepaid...

1) Can you wireless tether without them noticing??

2) I know that wifi assitance calling doesnt work but since data is pretty ****ty where I live (no bars or 1 at best) will being connected to wifi help get texts in and out or would I have to wait to get a signal to receive/send texts??
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
1) T-Mobile uses UserAgent detection to determine whether or not you are tethering... if your browser reports itself as being a desktop brower, you'll get flagged. If you can change your UA you should be able to get away with it. I haven't tried... but I have had issues with spoofing a desktop UA on my mobile getting me flagged for "tethering".

2) Texts would still rely upon T-Mobile's network - unless you're 1337 like me and just use Google Voice for all your texting needs, in which case those messages do of course come in over whatever data/wifi is available.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Netou:
1) So any browser that you can enable 'desktop mode', such as my ICS+ Browser, cant be used?? :confused: What about tethering to a tablet?? Would that be considered as a 'desktop browser'???

2) As a matter of fact, I am part of that 1337 group. Sweet!!!!