yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
I just got a pin from walmart for straight talk. Do I have to wait until my billing cycle ends to apply it to my st account or will it automatically take effect after the billing cycle is over even if I apply it right now? In other words, I don't want it to be applied right away with still a few days left in my billing cycle.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
You can apply it ahead of time and it won't take affect til the end of your billing cycle.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jstrom23:
Has anyone purchased a cheap phone to take camping, to the beach, etc with the ST SIM?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DarkBanHammer:
that won't change its atnt network its a bit overloaded the data rates change depending on the time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jswede:
I bought an ATT GoPhone Samsung a157 from Best Buy for $20. I stuck my Straight Talk SIM into it and it fired right up no problem and call tests worked. This is my spare phone that is sitting in my truck's glove box. If I hose my Nexus while camping, fishing, skiing, or whatever, I just pop the sim card out of it and into my spare a157. That's the beauty of these prepaid SIM options, you have basically the same flexibility that you would with a post paid SIM.

Of course, there are many different options for your "cheap" phone depending on what you want to pay and which network you're using. There are many Android phones out there that are unlocked and inexpensive if you look around. Dual SIM options are becoming more available too. The only disadvantage is that not all are pentaband as the Nexus is, although that's only an issue if you want to use a T-Mobile MVNO.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jazzruby:
Samsung now has a Dual SIM (always on) smartphone; talk on one line while answer a call on another.

Samsung GALAXY S DUOS

-JR-
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] pdxtechdoctor:
too bad it only uses the ATT bands and is only HSDPA 7.2
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jstrom23:
Thanks for the feedback. I assume that you have the AT&T SIM and that the T-Mobile SIM wouldn't work with the GoPhone. Coming from Verizon, all my old Droids are CDMA...but maybe if Huawei's get cheap enough.

GSM Nation is aggressively moving into the unlocked GSM phone market. I might keep an eye on them.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jswede:
Yes HSDPA and ATT bands only are not optimal, but for someone looking for a spare/cheap phone per jstrom23's post it is certainly sufficient. HSPA+ and pentaband are always preferable, but $350 for a phone you're likely to break just doesn't make sense for most people.

---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:06 PM ----------

Yes, I have the ATT SIM from Straight Talk. I doubt the T-Mobile SIM would work in it though I haven't tried it. I can't imagine that the Go Phone equipment is unlocked, but I really don't know for sure. Of course there may be options for unlocking the equipment to use it on carriers other than ATT if it is locked.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Keepoppin:
Doing quite a bit of searching through the forum, this thread and google... I was just curious if anyone had any feedback on Simple Mobile vs Straight Talk TMo vs Monthly4G proper? Are speeds the same across all three? Is there any hidden caveats? I've already used TMo Monthly4G for one month and enjoyed my service. I would love to switch down to one of the other two but use between 3-5GB of data per month consistently.

I made the switch to prepaid with an unlocked GNEX from Sprint because of the 200+ pages of information in this thread. So thanks to all of those involved for a very informative read.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Well unfortunately unless you find someone that has personally used all 3 in the same locations to compare services and speeds its hard to get a real, useful comparison. Even at that point, their experiences can't always be taken as anything more than anecdotal evidence.

Most people in this thread are either using Straight Talk (I'd say most AT&T) or T-Mobile Monthly 4G. Not too many at all are using Simple Mobile (they have maybe 1 million total customers, vs ~22 million on ST), so there's less info out there on them. Funny thing is, Simple just got bought out by Straight Talk recently, so we'll start to see them converge like the other TracFone prepaid services (which is the parent company of most popular MVNOs).

As far as speeds, they should all be roughly the same. AFAIK, none of the providers outright cap speeds, although its hard to test because the speedtest.net app is spotty at best on ST. They're all purchasing wholesale T-Mobile bandwidth and reselling it.

If you're going to be

consistently

using 3-5GB of data, I don't think that Straight Talk or Simple Mobile will be options for you. While some people, depending on the market, are doing fine using 2-3GB on Straight Talk, I don't ever see you being able to consistently go over 3GB every month. They'll shut that down pretty quickly if I had to guess. Although at first my understanding of Simple was that they were a bit more relaxed, it seems they throttle around the same point also.

If you need lots of data and minutes, the $70 T-Mobile plan is probably your best bet, that way you can have a guaranteed 5GB of full speed data every month.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] castlefox:
First time forum poster- (I found this thread on google)

Thank you for everyone who contributed to this forum post. After doing the math myself and comapiring a phone for 200 + service for 70 bucks a month VS 350 for the GN with 30 dollar service (t-mobile 100min plan) for 2 years I would save over 800 bucks and I would be savings more than the other plan when I would be making my payment for the fourth month. I ordered a T-mobile SIM from their website and I received it in the mail already.

If I am not happy I will go out and try StraightTalk for 45 bucks. If I didnt hear about Straight Talk on this forum I would have never known about them.

I know I could get a GN right now but Im beating myself up trying to hold out until the next Nexus phone comes out. If it comes out for 350 bucks I will probably buy it day one

I never really looked at no contract plans until the the Galaxy Nexus dropped its price by 50 bucks to 350. Paying 400 bucks seemed way too much for me to even start thinking about going to no contract plan.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
Keep in mind that the GN was only dropped to $350 six months after it was launched. I wouldn't expect its successor to launch at or around that price.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Just stopped by a local Walmart while I was running errands to see if I could pick up a Straight Talk activation kit, and they informed me that they don't sell them and they're only available online. Their ST endcap just had phones and $45 refill cards. Quite annoying indeed, but no big deal I'll order it online.

When I went to order online I also noticed that they're offering free shipping on any order over $14.99, the cost of a SIM card. If I remember correctly, wasn't that free shipping offer at $19.99 before, meaning you could only get it if buying a $45 refill card too?

Also noticed they're calculating my sales tax at 10.8% (welcome to Washington State!), which is atrocious. I'll be buying a refill online via Walmart to save on that.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Zepius:
TN isnt much different 9.75% tax :/
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
That's pretty rough. Sales taxes in that range are pretty bad, much higher than US average for sure. The crazy thing is, WA has been kicking around adding an income tax too. Total bull****.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Zepius:
luckily we dont have an income tax, but yes, it sucks. TN has one of the highest base sales tax, if not the highest. i think WA only wins because of county/city taxes.

were you going to use the trick to get like OR's sales tax of 0%?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Ya, King County (Seattle / Tacoma) is already over 10% on everything, with a few extra $$ here and there on certain items.

Yup, I will be for my refill.

---------- Post added at 03:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 PM ----------

The next Nexus won't be $350 at launch unless its a severely old (hardware wise) device. Look for it to hit the Play Store at launch for like $499 if I had to guess. The only reason the GNex came to the Play Store at $399 then $350 is because it was 5+ months after the phone had already been on sale elsewhere.

Funny you say that. Even at the atrocious prices of some unlocked phones, like the $650 and $700 some pay for their devices from importers, an unlocked phone and prepaid is cheaper in 2 years than a subsidized phone and a contract.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jazzruby:
Saw this on one of my RSS feeds today:

Are these the specifications of the new ”Nexus” (GT-I9260)

-JR-
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Those leaks also say it'll have an SDcard slot. I wouldn't put too much stock in that...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jswede:
Just goto Best Buy and buy a Net10 SIM activation kit for $15 if you can't wait for a Straight Talk SIM. It comes with a micro and standard SIM and Net10 is also a Tracfone subsidiary just like Straight Talk. If you setup autopay, their unlimited plan is also $45 per month and is effectively the same service.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
I bought it online because I have until the 29th for my T-Mobile month to finish. I just wanted to not wait for shipping (instant gratification ;) ) and tried to buy in-store.

The problem with Net10 autopay is you still pay the universal access fee (or w/e) and sales taxes (over 10% here), which would put me back over $50 :p . If I went with Net10, it would actually be cheaper to buy a $50 refill card from somewhere like callingmart.com and get 'em for about $46-$47 w/ no taxes or fees. I did all the calculations when I started looking at this and finally decided to just go with ST.

I'm gonna stick with ST (no choice now, bought the SIM already) and try out the $45 online no-tax refills.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] wicozani:
I guess this depends on the individual, but Walmart also sells 900 minute NET10 refill cards good for 90 days for $59.99, or slightly less than $20/mo. I just activated a new NET10 SIM card from Best Buy and activated with their $50 everything rate, but I've watched my usage very carefully these past few months, and I've gotten by with TMO $30 4g program with just 100 minutes, though it had me roaming on ATT without data in my home area. So, it's great to see data again with my newly activated NET10 SIM card, and I think next month I'll try the Walmart refill plan I describe above. I think that it will serve me very well, for under $20/mo. YMMV, obviously.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] cpufreak3:
How does data work with the 900 min refill card?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Pretty sure the minutes cards are for featurephones without data.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] wicozani:
I believe that the 900 minute/90 day plan does include data ('web')

It's described in the header as 900 minutes talk/web plus 1800 texts good for 90 days. However, in the item description it lists 900 minutes of talk plus 1800 texts. Just as my initial $50 unlimited for 30 days just counts minutes total (whether talk or web/data) and not megabytes per se, I'm inclined to think that this 900 minute card includes data (i.e., 'web', combined with talk). I'll try to find out more from NET10 directly today.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/NET10-60-Prepaid-Card-600-min-for-talk-web-or-1200-texts-and-60-days-of-service-Email-Delivery/15443339#Item+Description
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
Just had some fun with tmobile pre paid . After 3 weeks of service , transitioning from Verizon , and having great luck with tmobile , they screwed the pooch . I tried to go to a website , very slightly adult theme , more NSFW , and got blocked , my browser said "content blocked , web guard is enabled...blah blah , account holder can disable or adjust this restriction through account management website. Now this again is after 3 weeks of unrestricted access to the internet.

I called C.S. and after the girl told me web guard is enabled at activation and I told her it hadn't been until 2 hours ago , we did that 4 times , she said she could disable it , but needed my name , address , birthdate and last 4 of my social security # . I told her that I didn't need to give that info to begin service , or to have full internet access for the last 3 weeks . She said there was nothing she could do without it , I told her I was not going to give her that information and if tmobile planned on treating their customers like children , I would change carriers in the morning . She then spoke to a supervisor then came back and said they would be removing the webguard from my service in a few minutes. Well , its been 20 minutes plus and I'm still being treated like a 13 yo with overprotective parents .

I'm not a drug dealer or evading prosecution , but since I might be switching carriers on a whim I do want to minimize the amount of private info I'm sending to carriers so this is a deal breaker for me with tmobile . Can anyone chime in on the other options ( ST , SM , etc.) as far as restricting web content without giving personal info ? I'm leaning toward ST right now , but want to know if I'm going to have to give personal info. Thanks
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] bozzykid:
Why don't you just login to your account on T-mobile and disable web-guard yourself? That would take about 10 seconds to accomplish.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
Super helpful , except the part where I said they want personal info that I don't want to be handing out all over the place . If you try to change the setting , you HAVE to give the info , or no change .
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] scoobdude:
I had the same web guard pop up as well. I read an article that stated initially they even blocked their own site (bwahahahaha). Anyway, what I did is i went to the t-mobile store and asked them to remove it. The process was dumb but i handed the girl my id, and she had to call to ask them to remove it and say "I have his ID here and he is over 18". I think she gave them my DL number though. Still easier and somewhat safer than over the internets.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
Thank you for the useful info , and I WAS having trouble connecting to their site on the phone . It looks like they aren't disabling webguard for me after all , "adult" sites are still getting blocked ( my account on craigslist , I guess selling trucks and motorcycles is too racy for tmo ) . I might try going into a store , although I still say I shouldn't have to , the T&C state that by activating you are stating that you are at least 18 . Oh well , the advantage of this prepaid theme , move on to someone new .
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] scoobdude:
You welcome. Also once the change was complete I got a text saying it was. Believe it was from 456 or something like that. There is a whole list of things that they block from porn to guns to racy sites etc.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
Well , I didn't get a text , but called in again later last night and the c.s. agent was very helpful , quick verification on the account and she said that webguard had been removed , but that it might take 2 or 3 hours and turning the phone off for it to take effect. I gave up for the night , this morning I have the grown up version of the internet back .

Moral of the story , there are definitely some hurdles and quirks with prepaid on the model the O.P. set but the savings , and being in control make it worth having to work out the kinks.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
Keep in mind... if you were on a contract you would need to provide all of that information anyways, so I'm not sure this could really be considered a "con".

I can't recall as I turned off the web guard through TMobile's site immediately after signing up.. do they really require SSN?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Just saw a new T-Mobile Monthly 4G commercial, and it was really pushing their $50 option (that throttles after 100mb). Went to site and it seems they've redesigned their whole Prepaid site. Again, they're really pushing the $50 option.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/

Not noticing any other changes to the plans in my quick look. It all looks much nicer though. Good to see them focusing on Prepaid a little more.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
Isn't that kind of the point of this thread , shedding the acceptance of the "contract" model ? Just because they do it on contract doesn't mean we should just accept it , otherwise we wouldn't be on this thread . They inflate our monthly bills on contract , they charge an etf on contract , you're carrier locked on contract , etc. The reason they need that info on contract is pecause it's post paid so they need to run credit checks . No credit check for prepaid = no need for private info.

In the T&C that came with the sim card it listed several things that by doing so signify that you are an adult , at least 18 years old, including activating the sim and using the service. That should be all they need , they shouldn't have turned the "service" on 3 weeks in , then demanded private information that they didn't request to start service .

At this point , the issue is resolved , without having to give any info , although they never explained how the setting got changed . I've got 2 weeks before my contract with V is over , so it'll be about a month before I know for sure if Tmo really fits my needs , and how close I can stay to the 100 minutes . I really think I'm going to need to go to an unlimited plan so I don't have to keep such a close watch on minutes.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] urinsane:
Oh trust me, I'm not arguing that it is right, simply that it it shouldn't be considered a negative if comparing to contracts. While it would be nice to "not accept it", that is another one of the tradeoffs you have to make with prepaid. I don't "accept" that unlimited data should be called that when the other MVNO's can shut you down for using more than they deem acceptable, but thems the breaks!

I'm still wondering if SSN was required to shut it off over their website, as I'd be amazed if I had actually given them that info when I shut my web guard off. (And yeah, it was active day 1 for me, very strange it took so long for yours to kick in.)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acras13:
On the website it asked for name , address , birthdate and last 4 of ssn as I remember . More info than I want to give out if I'm going to subscribe to the spirit of this thread , being able to switch plans and carriers whenever I want.

I understand that you don't see it as a negative when comparing to contract , my position is based more in the fact that webguard was not enabled on my account for 3 weeks , then it suddenly was enabled , limiting my access to data that I purchased and didn't violate any T&C . Then they wanted additional information to deactivate this "service" . I have not heard anyone being blocked from some internet sites by other carriers without giving private info so I was letting folks know about the situation so they could be informed about a possible hiccup they might encounter.

Since they fixed it , I'm happy for now , we'll see how full use goes , I'm still thinking that ST is going to suit my needs better . Viva choices !
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Just ordered my first ST card from Walmart online. Paid w/ PayPal. Looked in my Walmart account page and saw that it won't complete my order until Monday the 27th? FWIW I instantly received a charge from PayPal and it shows on my bank acct. Anyone else ordered an electronic delivery item over a weekend and seen that? Seems a little ridiculous to hold an email delivery item. Luckily my T-Mobile service doesn't end until the 28th so I'll have 1 day of overlap, otherwise I'd be SOL.

View attachment 1281488

Welp, it took an hour but the PIN decided to arrive. Not sure why they said in the account and emails that it'd take till Monday. Anyways, more info for the rest of you.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Alex8288:
My dear proponent of prepaid service, post dated payments CAN ruin you, trust me; I work in a sector with customers who have bad credit. ( not saying you have bad credit, but, this disclaimer is prevalent to people with low balance issues)However, companies will probably not set up auto-drafts (ACH) until Monday. Regardless, did you switch to At&t straight talk? I purchased a Simple Mobile sim, because it was $.50 on Amazon. I can report on service if people will find that helpful.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
I'm assuming it said Monday delivery for that reason, that Walmart won't actually withdraw funds until Monday. The reason why I had the authorization instantly on my account was because I used PayPal to process, which instantly puts a hold on your account until the charge actually goes through to the merchant (right?). We'll see if it finally processes Monday, but regardless they gave me my PIN.

I went with AT&T Straight Talk, yes. I just graduated college and moved and this area has a couple fringe spots of T-Mobile coverage where I get either no service or 2 bars of EDGE at best (-101dBm or so). Interestingly when I put in my zip code, Straight Talk only offered AT&T service to me, which I'm thinking is due to the fact that there's a bit of my zip area that is pretty rural and has spotty T-Mobile coverage, event though about 99% of where I go in the suburbs is well covered. Anyways, I needed more minutes so I figured I'd give ST AT&T a try. WIll definitely report back with my usage and experience.

I initiated the port of my T-Mobile number over to Straight Talk at about 1:00am PT last night (I use GV primarily, but figured I might as well bring my carrier # over too). Today at about 10:30am PT my Straight Talk account went from "port processing" to showing my number, but my T-Mobile service hasn't shut off yet and my ST SIM isn't active. Will report back when it does.

And as far as porting from T-Mobile Prepaid, all of the information they asked for was filled out just as you'd expect. The "account number" is your T-Mo phone number (even though they say most carriers this isn't the case), and you have to provide them with the account password and the last 4 of your SSN. Worked.

That would be quite useful to see, as we have very very few people actually using Simple Mobile in here. Straight Talk recently bought Simple Mobile, so I'm assuming it'll just fall into line like all of the other TracFone MVNOs (which we've seen already with the plan price cuts).
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
The future or A future?

http://signup.bitcoinwireless.com
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rubiconjp:
reuthermonkey, to get that TMo speed in your sig, do you have to use custom APN or TMo account settings?

I had to do add LTE APN and LTE plan account on at&t to get to around 7-8mbps down. Now that I'm on TMo, wondering if I have to do anything like that.

Thanks. I'm on stock yakju 4.0.2.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kurtosterhage:
Cheaper Pentaband Options?

I wanted to try out both Straight Talk (AT&T SIM in my area) and the $30 T-Mobile plan, but I'm not willing to spend $500+ on an Galaxy S II or Galaxy Nexus before seeing how the coverage is. I know that Nokia is the most likely option for a cheaper pentaband phone (I can live with Symbian for a month or so, and it will be nice to have a backup), but I have no idea what phones are worth the effort. Any recommendations for the ~$200 range?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Buddy Revell:
How long does T-Mo allow someone to keep a prepaid account without adding more funds? Won't they just cancel your account after a while?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] claud_face:
Anyone try straight talk in Chicago area?

My madman brother wants to use the 7.7 tab as a phone.

Does straight talk include roaming??

I keep reading different things?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
OT: The older ST mobiles and it looks like a small number of the new ones are marked CDMA. Verizon towers?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I want to say that I read 3 months?