yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] KL4V1CL3:
I ported to Google Voice, no problems so far (beyond the initial few days after porting where messaging was inconsistent). I've been using T-Mobiles $30 plan, better in every way than the Sprint unlimited plan I was on.

I highly recommend Google Voice Full Integration to sync your Google Voice messages in/out of the stock messaging app.

Now the only thing I wish I had was mms through Google Voice, or at the very least some sort of notification that either 1)somebody is trying to send me an mms or 2)letting somebody else know that I can't receive an mms. This would be far better then just letting the mms get lost in the void.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Yeah I agree. That's why in these types of threads/posts I now just advise that people use GV all in. It really is great if you use it primarily. Once you're all with it, its no longer a hassle like it is when you're "managing" 2 numbers.

As I said above, I'm a little too far into my GV # to tell people to switch again. The majority of people are on the GV # so I'm gonna just go with that.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
In Google voice if you forward all your SMS to your ST number you can just use the native app

One caveat is when it gets forwarded it will come through in a different number not sure why but I just saved it to my contacts and just use the native app
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JCreazy:
I'm not sure if anyone can answer this for me but I canceled my AT&T contract a few months ago and I recieved my last bill for service, I paid it and was a credited back through check for the portion of the month I didn't use. I however have not received a bill for the ETF. I called AT&T and asked them if I could pay the ETF over the phone and they said that I would be getting something in the mail about it. That was over a month ago and still nothing. Do they just not want my money?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Its so much easier to just use the Google Voice app. The whole forwarding thing is just more hassle than its worth. The Google Voice app is really good too, and you can use the voice.google.com site to respond on your computer as well.

Well, just wait for it. They move slowly. If they don't wanna charge you let it happen lol.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] akenis:
That app looks really cool. I has sprint integration b4 but used gv for my sms. hate the way gv groups sms!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] okayokayokay:
If you get the SIM with a new number (which is the default) then port your old number to GV and forward it to the new number. That way you do a single port and you can change SIMs or add more phones to ring when people dial the number they are accustomed to dialing. So far it's working great for me and Talkatone is allowing me to call and text from my iPad as well as from my phone (from their iPad app).
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
Poor Simple Mobile subscribers, looks like no more unlimited in the future.

http://www.tmonews.com/2012/05/tracfone-acquires-t-mobile-mvno-simple-mobile/
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Ouch.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] harveydent:
they got bought by tracphone. double ouch
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
I'm pretty sure that's just a really really old stock slide picture. Don't think that's actually the new pricing. They just got bought, they wouldn't have new pricing out yet. Not to mention that Simple Mobile already isn't unlimited, its "unlimited".

Edit: Tmonews has already changed their image in the post. As I suspected, the plans are not changing at this time. It was just a really old stock photo.

I wanna see how this works out. TracFone is a huge prepaid force and its only getting larger (as noted in the article they have ~20million users). They of course operate Straight Talk (together with Walmart), Net10, and many others. The upside could possibly be Simple Mobile offering AT&T service, or just folding into one of their other MVNOs.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus i9250
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
Good catch. I think ST will just absorb their subscribers.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
I do use GV. I describe it in detail in the first post. It's great and a lot of people I know are moving to it.

But really, this thread isn't for you. That's cool. You do what you want with your phone and your phone service .. as long as it's not thread-****ting. Leave us to what we want to do with our phones and our phone services.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Every carrier (but Sprint postpaid, even Virgin data went capped recently) has a data cap. Prepaid, postpaid, whatever .. there's no getting around it. That's why ICS now has a data management system built into it. So yeah, if you use 2GB in 12 days you might be better off with a contract on Sprint. Or perhaps find some friendly WiFi somewhere.

However, churn for any business is bad. Yes, prepaid customers do sacrifice customer service sometimes .. but the MVNOs don't want to lose you .. unless of course you download 2GB in 12 days and show that you're going to seriously impact the network with your activities. Again, in this particular case, they might be giving you a clue here that the last unlimited carrier might be your home.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
However, what becomes of the contract VZW phone after paying the ETF? Sell it on eBay / CL?

Unlocked GSM phones regularly fetch higher prices on eBay and CL than those one-carrier-only-potentially-bad-esn CDMA phones. The cost differential on GSM Gnex and VZW Gnex is already apparent on eBay. Portability between carriers and the inherent bad-esn risk are taken into account by the market.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jlczl:
That's the great thing about pre-paid. What are they going to do? Move me to another data plan? No, it's pre-paid. Remove my plan? No, it's pre-paid. That's what people on contracts worry about. On pre-paid service about all they can do is not let me renew. "So what?!" is all I have to say! At any point I have a bunch of other great options to go with since my number is a GV number. This rocks OP!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
They can kick you off for violating the ToS. Not a big deal, you can use something else, but just saying don't expect to hold onto that plan forever...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ThaDSman:
Awesome Guide, You sir have given me a new way of life...for phones lol.

You said you put a wilson repeater on your truck, what does that do? Amplify cell signals?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Thanks!

Yeah, the repeater takes cell signals it hears in the cabin of the truck and amplifies them (up to 3 watts) and then puts the signal out though a roof mounted antenna. It does the reverse as well, brings in hard-to-hear cell signals and amplifies them for the phones inside.

They work really well, I've had clients put them in in a number of places, like homes, cabins, even basements in hospitals and office buildings. The good thing is that they work great and are pretty easy to use .. the bad thing is that they don't have a single unit that does all bands yet. Right now the repeaters are 800/850 and 1800/1900 .. there's no 1700/2100 included. There is a single repeater for 1700/2100, but you'd have to do a separate install just for that.

The nice thing about them is that you don't see them and they "just work". Unless you look closely at the antenna on top of my Suburban you'd never know there's a repeater onboard. You'd just notice a distinct improvement in bars when you're sitting in the truck. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jlczl:
I'm guessing that's kind of the point of this thread though. The ease of moving around for the best deal with a GSM SGN that's unlocked and unbranded. Make the carriers what they actually are: simple dumb pipes of cellular service.

At any rate, I'll come back and update in this thread if I'm bumped off this plan and to which one I've moved onto if and when that happens.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChazzMichaelMichaels:
Population density makes a huge difference when it comes to offering this kind of service. Yes, the US has some very large cities, but offering service in a place like Montana or North Dakota requires you to build towers in a very sparse area. Additionally, it's a selling tactic, because despite the customers in Montana, you'll also get the customers who end up visiting Montana, or even the customers who prefer to have very comprehensive coverage.

We have the same problem with Internet Service Providers. If you look at Japan, their infrastructure makes us look stupid; they get several orders of magnitude faster service for a fraction of the price. However, they don't have to worry about subsidizing the cost of running backbones to much more rural areas.

All of that said, I'm in no way defending what the ISPs or Telcos in the US do or charge; there's all sorts of problems there that people are well aware of. They do, however, have a logistical problem that requires people in dense areas to subsidize the cost of people in rural areas.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] detection:
Guys, forgive me if I sound like a total idiot here, but I have a question...

I've recently been pondering a GN with the Monthly4G $30 plan... but after reading this thread I'm a bit confused by this whole number changing every month stuff. Can't you keep the same number/plan as long as you keep paying? And do you have an account where you can just pay every month without having to buy cards?

Again, sorry if I sound stupid, just new to this whole prepaid concept...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jlczl:
Yes, you keep the same number and plan as long as you keep paying and they keep offering that plan. Yes, you just refill your account to cover your monthly fee.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Not stupid at all. Glad to help!

You don't have to change your number every month. You can keep paying and the account stays active, number in-tact. With T-Mobile you can have it auto-pay at certain intervals (1 week up to 1 month) and refresh your plan and/or add extra discretionary $$.

Also when starting the plan, you should have no problem porting to the account from other carriers, as long as you pay an ETF or are out of contract already.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
Ever since I got the Nexus One, I've gone prepaid and never looked back. I use GV as well and change my prepaid number frequently because some numbers that are assigned to me are bad. I get bill collectors or telemarketers calling so I have to put up with it until the next billing month. My friends and contacts have my google voice number so I don't need to update them on number changes. But I gone on the $30 100/unl/5gb monthly4g plan since it came out and have gotten a good number (fingers crossed) so I been sticking with it and just refilling the $30 every month.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] offroadr35:
does anyone have the APN settings for Red Pocket? I made a separate thread with no response. Could you please PM me in case I miss the post in the thread?

Thank you!

-Steve
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] spencer88:
This is a good thread. If I hadn't have gotten into Verizon, I would have given this a shot. I never have tinkered with GSM smartphones/plans/prepaid before. That damn 30 dollar walmart/tmobile plan looks really good, I just wonder how well it would perform in my area.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Red Pocket's site has this to say:

http://goredpocket.com/skin/frontend/gorp_interface/default/media/manual-activation-en.html

However, I know for a fact (becuase I'm doing it) that all you really need to do is set the APN to "att.mvno" for basic data. MMS settings I haven't tested (nor installed) since I use GV and don't use MMS.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
New! Update to OP and raw provider data regarding a new Straight Talk plan for Bring Your Own Phone. $45 a month!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Qortez1:
After you buy the phone do you get the first month free or do you have to pay for the service when you activate the phone too?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
You have to pay for service before it works.

Pre

paid.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Updated with Straight Talk $45/mo program information.

I am on this program now, got my SIM yesterday, activated today. Looks good so far, we'll see how it responds over the next month.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
its a really good app but the one thing I don't like about it is that it has multiple threads for the same contact. like if I had a conversation with someone yesterday that's in 1 thread but my conversation with that same person from today would be in a new thread. If only there was a way to set it up like how it is in the stock messaging app
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] akenis:
Agreed...the random grouping is a hassle. Still working on setting up my Note.... But def try Google Voice Integration app to use native app to send and receive through gv. You could eliminate sms charges from your bill also. I'm on ST, I already have unlimited.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
same here. I have unlimited as well through straight talk and am going to try Google voice integration
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kewlkat:
hey gang,

My contract was up with sprint and because of the slow 3G service(don't care about Sprints unlimited with these speeds)

I decided to try Straight Talk $45 monthly plan since I've heard a lot about it.(Others too)

Pre-paid reasons being:

+ATT + T-mobile works very well where I live.

+I'll be saving about $30 a month.

+Usually buy my phones outright(I like GSM\International phones)

+Bigger/Faster Development community.(Android guy)

+I hate contracts

+No hassle when I travel abroad(Buy Sim and use Locally)

I currently have a Samsung Epic touch 4G on sprint. To start off.

1. I use on average 450mins talk/2000 texts/1GB Data monthly(No Us GSM carrier came close to

offering a plan within these limits at about $45-$50 monthly SUCKS!!!)

2. Bought Galaxy Nexus from Google..

3. Bought a Straight Talk Sim(ATT Sim)

4. Activated it with a ST Number + $45 unlimited plan(wanted to test the service, speeds and

call quality first)

A. I've been using the G-Nex on ST for a week and I'm happy with the service.(I could do this).

Now I started hearing stories about lines getting cancelled and people loosing numbers because of

data overage on ST. Now I average about 1G of data a month but have been know to go to 1.3GB at times.

B. Scouring the Howardforums boards, I have read about what the unspecified limits that it might be

for ST about (100MB a day/2GB month can keep you out of trouble) but I just read a guy that did just over 1GB and he got a call.

C. So I'm not concerned about my Data usage, I can control most of that but I just don't want any

surprises. I'm concerned about my number. I had it for a while and don't need it changed or dumped.

5. For a little protection I decided to port my number over to Google Voice.(Which will fully terminates my Sprint contract, in about 48hrs)

6. I will forward my ported number to my ST phone number for now when the porting is done.

**********Questions**********

a. After the porting is done, I suspect when somebody calls my ported number my ST phone will ring normally?

b. What is the solutions for texting? do I have to use Google chat or the native chat client on the G-Nex?

c. How will I check my voice mail?

Right now, I just want to be able to cover the basics of phone use with Google voice, I know you can do a lot more.

Thanks

9Wow rock7632(we are on the same path)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] cade80:
a. In the web app for google voice you choose a number(s) to forward your gv forward calls to, you will have to pick up the st number and enter a confirmation code for this to happen, after that there are a few options in gv to control what happens when your phone rings, including showing your gv number, showing the number of the caller, if you pick up straight away or if you screen callers as they leave a message with the option of picking up and answering.

b. you can either text with your st number, or you can use gv number but then you have to use the gv app to deal with all of your texts

c.in the settings you can choose to use st or google voice to be your primary voicemail, I suggest gv because of the great contacts/call log integration.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] akenis:
Also see above about new GV Integration app.

Ok, what's a good method to monitor data usage? I'm on ST also...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
There is a widget called prepaid widget, if straight talk has a ussd code you can monitor it that way, or i found the built in Android I've pretty good, all though it was slightly lower than what T-Mobile reported i had used
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] stevexda:
Hope for an upgrade to ICS. ICS tracks mobile data usage very well. (It even tracks usage per application.). Doesn't help you now but gives you a feature to look forward to.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I like Prepay Widget as well since it reports the usage that the carrier will go by - and it isn't reset if you flash a new ROM.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
I like it too i just need to get the widget set up like your s
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
I could not get it to work. I'm currently on T-Mobile Prepaid 30.00 plan.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
You need to set up in the app to allow when placing the widget what data to pull in
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] okayokayokay:
Talkatone Issues

Does anyone know if this "dynamic forwarding control" feature really works? I'm trying to do the 14 day free trial of premium - but it does not work (can't change compression settings, etc.) Is anyone using the premium version seeing

Dynamic Forwarding Control as an option?

See below from the Talkatone blog:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jbeez:
Fyi, if you're on ST and getting text spams for their products, you can reply stop to opt out, and the emails have an unsub link at the bottom. They were annoying the **** out of me the last two weeks with advertisements .
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] krichek:
Has anyone ported a number out of H2o and into GV before? Everytime I try to port my number I get "This number appears to be from an area we don't currently support for porting.:"

This doesn't make alot of sense because the number was originally a Sprint number and changing the last digit up or down by one results in a message that the number is available. That leads me to believe that perhaps it is a problem porting out of H2O for some reason.

If that is not the problem does anyone have an idea of what it may be. The number is a Roseville, CA Sprint number if it matters as well..

Thanks.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I briefly cover my experience with Talkatone's Dynamic Forwarding here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=26004897

TL;DR: definitely not worth the subscription price. The Locale Google Voice Settings plugin works much more reliably.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kewlkat:
Thanks for the Tips.

a. The number was ported within 24 hours and I currently use GV for calls. I did set that up in the settings, added my ST number and forwarded.

b. I notice I can get a call and call out but I cannot recieve texts. I did click the checkbox under my foreworded phone to recieve text but when I test it no text appear. Not under native phone messaging or GV app?

c. voicemail seems to be working fine. I'm still testing some others things but I need texting to work.

I would like someone to text my "ported number" and then to recieve the text on my forwarded phone? Is that possible? I know I can recieve text through my forwarded phone number but many people will not use that number.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I think you just need to be patient on getting the texts to work. I believe that it may take up to 72 hours for all the necessary routing to be in place on a ported number.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bobsbbq:
Thanks I finally got it working.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kewlkat:
OK well I was just on the gv support site and it did say, it can be up to 5 days..for texting to work properly....sheesh...

Does anybody use the prepay widget with straight talk att sim?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] thebobp:
What's the advantage in selecting "AT&T Compatible" or "T-mobile Compatible" over "Unlocked Phone (Phone must operate in 850 and 1900 MHz bands)"?

http://www.straighttalk.com/shopsims
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jbeez:
Do you still have host network choice when you choose unlocked? Or do they assign you one of their choice?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Cabal_:
The 3rd screen after choosing "unlocked" tells you which SIM they prefer for your zip code. You can always back out and choose another.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Selecting "T-Mobile" guarantees you get a SIM that's meant to operate on T-Mobile's network. If you choose "Unlocked", they have you enter your ZIP code and then determine which is better for your area, AT&T or T-Mobile.

As I said, you can choose your own or be assigned.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] darkfire2024:
Christ, this looks amazing.

I was seduced into Sprint's Unlimited Everything and that their white E4GTs were only 99$ (amazon) each at the end of January. I live in southern california, in the san fernando valley, and I swear a crack baby is born whenever I do a speedtest. As many sprint users would know, unlimited data means nothing if it's not usable!

Right now I'm in a a family plan with the wife, and it's $167 with fees. With two T-mobile prepaid $30 plans, that's $100 saved each month!!

My only problem now is to see if T-mobile has good coverage here, if not I'll go to straight talk. Another problem is if should play the waiting game and check out the next gen nexus in the fall. And don't forget the dreaded ETF!

Whatever the case, I don't want to deal with craptastic 3g while paying a premium with sprint anymore, nor be locked down. Are there any san fernando valley people here who can comment on T-mobile/Straight Talk ATT coverage and speed?

Thank you for the thread, and all the helpful people here. The first 20 pages were quite the read.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Us3rName:
You can check T-Mobile's pre-paid coverage here: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-coverage

It looks as though your area has good 4G coverage.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
Well on waiting, if you get the new nexus when it comes out, it will probably retail for eight hundred, but if you but this now use it for a year the next nexus might will probably be at this price new at this time next year
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kewlkat:
Sweet so my texting is now working. I guess after 2 days everything is working.

For now, I'll just be using my G-Nexus + Straight Talk and see how things go and fiddle around with Google voice settings a little, and checkout for other deals since I now

have the freedom to forward to whatever service/plan/phone.

I noticed, I got a text and at the notification bar it popped up with some random 1-202-709 number?

What number is that?

I swore it was different another time I looked at it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] wintrxtrem:
Right now I have a "4G" device on a Sprint SERO plan with Pick 3 added for free (free calls to 3 numbers) so I can use Google Voice for unlimited calling if I need to go over the 500 included minutes. My mom and sis are both on my plan and it's just under $150/month out the door.

If Sprint ever changes or cancels SERO plans I'll drop them in a heart beat and go a prepaid route like described in the OP. I used to pay $80-100 or more per month for one phone, but never again.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] SKYLINESSUCK:
I just got my sims in the mail from T-mobile. I'm planning on using them when we visit the states on May 26th for 18 days. I was planning on doing the $3 a day plan. Anybody have any input on that? Also, should I wait until the day before we travel to activate the plan, or can I activate it now and select the dates I want to use it? I don't know if it takes a couple days to start working and I don't want to be with out coverage for the first few days I'm back home. Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xur17:
Does that plan give you 200mb of data useage per day, or per month?

If you aren't going to use a lot of minutes, the $30 per month (even though you wouldn't end up using a full month) would be cheaper. It includes 100 minutes, unlimited sms, and 5gb of 4G data.