yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
I just switched to Straight Talk from Sprint. And for me reception has been great and so as data speeds.

With a lot of people saying that ST will cut you off if you use more than 100MB a day or whatever, My question is are people managing their data usage with the data manager app in settings or an app from the market?

I'm using both, however the data manager app in settings is reporting that I've used I've used 58MB of data so far. But the app I'm using called Onavo is reporting that I've only used 37.6MB of data since I started service 4 days ago.

I'm going by the Ovavo App though only because when I started service that was the first thing I installed. Plus it remembers the data usage even after a reset. Unlike the data usage app in setting that reset itself after I rebooted my phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
Thanks guys. I'm currently with Virgin Mobile and thinking about going with the new Evo 3d on their network but the GN just looks so darn awesome. I really enjoy Virgin, so the biggest thing holding me back on the GN is the process of switching carriers.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Loki047:
I would suggest reading this thread for solutions around any of the inconveniences around switching
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] snoopy1e11:
I got a couple questions maybe has been discussed before but here it goes does the GSM galaxy nexus support wifi calling that is the reason I wanna leave Sprint and get an unlocked one nothing actually works where I live not Verizon, at@t, T-Mobile, or sprint alltel actually does but their network sux it roams in the dumbest places and if u switch ur phone to their network you only get 1x. Wifi calling is a feature only to T-Mobile right? And I know the GSM nexus supports at@t and T-Mobile. And does T-Mobile's monthly 4g support wifi calling or just post paid plans I would look all this up but my signal won't really allow it as my wifi doesn't get cut on til tomorrow. Wish other carriers had wifi calling because as much as I'm roaming I know sprint is gonna kick me off the network forgive me if this is written all crazy im driving
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
Hey whats up Snoop :D....hey I assume wifi calling is the ability to make calls over wifi. Of that's the case, why would that be so important if you get unlimited minutes and text....
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
You should read back through the last few pages. Tons of talk about coverage, speeds, and switching. We get this same question every few pages...

T-Mobile WiFi calling

does not work

on the Galaxy Nexus or any non-T-Mobile branded device. They have to special-make an app for you to use, which they only make for their own devices.

As noted above, you won't get WiFi calling on the Galaxy Nexus. My understanding is that if you do have a T-Mobile WiFi calling-capable device, then it will work just fine on Monthly4G, but you won't be able to add the "free WiFi calling" for free minutes option to the account. No big deal considering you'll probably have UL minutes.

Most carriers offer "Microcell" or "Femtocell" range boosters for home use that let you use your home internet as a "cell tower" for their network and your devices. Might want to look into them. They can often be provided for free or at a discount by the carrier if you get good service outside but not inside your house and you call them. You could also buy your own repeater that simply takes a large antenna on your house to capture the signal and relays it around the house.

Shouldn't post while driving... actually kinda scared considering how long your post was.

As he said, he doesn't get cell service where he lives. WiFi calling also gives you great voice quality and amazing battery life. When I used my G2 before my Galaxy Nexus, I'd keep WiFi calling on even though I had great cell coverage because it helps battery life.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] codesplice:
I highly recommend something like Prepay Widget to track data usage. It can be configured to regularly send USSD queries to your carrier and will report (accurately) your usage as recorded by your carrier.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
Well you could do wifi calling all you want with Google voice and one if the various voip methods/apps
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Unfortunately its not nearly as good as native T-Mobile WiFi calling. That service is pretty amazing.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
Thanks...gonna give that a try
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
Thanks for all the good info in this thread. I must say, the thing I'm most nervous about with Straight Talk is this invisible cap. With that said, I am on Wifi about 80% of the time, so i guess I shouldn't worry that much.

Has anyone had the HTC Evo 3d? I'm just curious to how it compares to the Galaxy Nexus. Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] snoopy1e11:
What's going on good to see you here
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] snoopy1e11:
How does Google voice work
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
I just tried to buy a sim card activation kit from T-mobile.com and after putting in my cc info and my address and everything else it said

Sorry-we're not able to process your order.

Please call us at 1-800-672-5390 or start an online chat session with a T-Mobile sales support agent. Both services are available Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. PT, and Saturday and Sunday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Holiday hours may vary.

When I called them they ask me for my social security and my drivers license # and all kinds of other information. Has anyone else experienced this? I would think that buying a sim card for use with a pre-paid they wouldn't ask for all that information.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

You have some SERIOUS reading to do. Read up on your own and ask questions about

specific parts

once you've done that.

The online payment system is just down sometimes. Try a different time if you'd prefer to do it online. They shouldn't need all that info if you're just buying a Prepaid activation card. I have a feeling they had you mistaken for wanting to start a Postpaid account.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
They did the same thing to me too and said I had to pay $50 up front....even though the sim was free.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Not sure who's giving them orders but this is not correct. You can buy the activation kit and choose to activate it and fill the account whenever you'd like.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
yeah that's the assumption I was under. I guess I'm going to try it again later. I see on my cc online statement that the charge already came through but the order was not even processed
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BrianDigital:
ah that's too bad works amazing for me.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xdp:
Very glad I found this thread. My Sprint contract is ending soon and I'm really interested in going the prepaid route with a GSM Nexus from the Play Store. Sprint's speeds are just absolute crap now and I'm not really interested in signing a two-year contract with AT&T and paying ridiculous money for things like texting. Thanks OP for the great info.

Situation:

My current plan is to go with Straight Talk, I think I trust AT&T's coverage in my area more than T-Mobile's, and AT&T might have a greater HSPA+ footprint here. I don't need much data, I have been using just a few hundred MBs a month, but when I do use it I want it to be fast, so ST fits the bill there. On some months I might take road trips where I might stream 200-300 MB worth of music one way and another 200-300 MB worth going home a few days later. Will ST bark at me in those circumstances? Not sure if how strict this 100 MB/day thing is.

Questions:

These are my pending questions that I would really appreciate any insight on!

1) I like the idea of porting my number to GV so that I can switch service more easily and never worry about paying for texts regardless of plan. However, I have done some tests using my current GV number and have found the lag in audio to be noticeable enough to be annoying (about a half second more than without GV). Does anyone else have this issue? Even more concerning, I tried it out today and the call just got randomly terminated during the conversation. Sprint never drops calls for me, so it is likely this was due to GV. In general I'm just not sure if I can trust GV for all my calls. How is the reliability for everyone?

2) How are ping times on Straight Talk? I read in another thread someone thinking they had higher pings on ST with a T-Mo SIM than on regular T-Mo. Normal AT&T in my area gets around 100ms pings. Can I expect the same on ST with an AT&T SIM?

Thanks again for any help! Looking forward to making the move. Really hoping Google sells the next Nexus on the Play Store from day one.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Cabal_:
Yup, had that issue since day one of Google Voice, and it's the reason I can't use it full-time. Maybe we have a lot of slow talkers in this thread, but being from the Northeast myself, every time I've tried to use it (for example, on my Sunday call to my mom), we end up constantly talking over each other and interrupting each other's sentences. It gets annoying very quickly.

Never had dropped calls or undelivered text messages, though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
As we've seen ITT, it really is just a big grey area. It kinda just depends if they feel like calling you out on your usage.

I don't make tons of calls, but I've never experienced a noticeable delay or had call drops. I had one dropped call the other day in the last few months I've been using it and I'm not sure who's fault it was.

I'd assume they'd be nearly the same as AT&T-proper service.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xdp:
Thanks for the quick responses. I will keep testing but probably not use GV for the time being, especially since ST gives you unlimited texts (and I don't use very many). Can you feel safe porting your number to the various MVNOs? Since people have said ST's customer service is non-existent I would be worried about having trouble porting it back out in the future, not getting any assistance with it, and losing my number. For all of you who have switched between services - have you ever had trouble doing this?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
I guess what I'm must curious about is if anyone has actually ever gotten kicked off of ST. I really want to do this but I just don't want to go through that.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Well when you leave a carrier, the carrier you're going to handles the porting. Like when you leave Sprint and go to Straight Talk, it's ST that takes the number from Sprint.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xdp:
Ok, that makes sense. I was reading over on HowardForums and they said there were lots of accounts of people losing their numbers, not sure why. So that's the sort of thing that's concerning, especially considering how people rate their customer service.

Ultimately, since my data needs are not significant, something like ST makes abundant sense. What is stopping me is fear of giving my number to ST directly, but also not wanting to give GV my number due to the undesirable call latency (and potential reliability).
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
I don't see how they have any reason to hold onto your number unless you owe them money. There's no contract that gives them a reason to hold onto it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
Kind of where I'm coming from too. The only thing that worries me the slightest is that I sometimes stream spotify on my way to work. Otherwise all my Netflix and mlbtv streaming would be on wifi.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Cabal_:
The issue isn't them holding it, it's that when a number is no longer active, it returns to the carrier that originally provisioned it. It's along the same lines as an account being discontinued and a phone number abandoned. It is my understanding that when Straight Talk kicks people off of accounts, they are cancelled and become "inactive."
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] housry23:
With the rumors of Google selling Nexus phones from several different manufacturers on the Google Play Store, this route really makes sense. Especially if they sell them for a reasonable price. I think most people prefer the contract route because you can get a really nice phone for cheap. I would definitely be willing to pay $400-$500 for a phone off contract and go pre paid. On the other hand with brand new phones costing anywhere from $600-$900 off contract, I am a little more hesitant. The Nexus line is the way to go and when my contract is up, I am most definitely considering pre paid. Hopefully by then (Dec. 2013) the GSM and Pre Paid stuff will be better in the US with more coverage and certain smart phone type plans that allow for more than 2GB of data. AS it is now, I have 4GB on VZW and use anywhere from 2-3.5GB per month. I could definitely use less though. I am on wifi at home and honestly most of my data usage is downloading unnecessary stuff at work while on mobile data. Thanks for this write up. Straight Talk would definitely be the way to go here in my area.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xdp:
Yeah, that is basically my concern.

I know a few people are using Groove IP for calls with GV. I'm also considering doing this and pairing it with T-Mobile's $30/month plan. Can anyone speak to the audio latency when using Groove IP? Is it better/worse/same than doing a standard forward to your cell number with GV.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] UnknownPleasures:
My Play Store GNex will be here tomorrow.

I'm going with the $60 T-mob prepaid plan.

Straight Talk makes me too nervous considering it says in their terms and conditions that NO STREAMING is allowed whatsoever and if detected, they can terminate your service without notice.

I rarely go over 2GB a month and am usually on Wi-Fi so I'd rather pay the extra $15 and be safe with T-mo.

The only thing that bothers me is not being able to use GV natively, although I've heard sometimes, some people can get T-mo to change their VM number for them.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
Yep.,ST has me nervous as well. I don't like vague terms and conditions. Has anyone ever tried Airfire Mobile before?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
I'm a new user with ST but I'm not that worried. I mean, don't get me wrong ...I understand where a lot of you are coming from. But if you know your usage and or habits when using data on a cellphone then you should be good.

What I did was look at my data usage on my last 3 sprint bills. On all 3 I never went over 1GB. In addition, I don't stream YouTube videos, movies, download files or any other data hog activity over cellular data. I do it all over wifi.

Now if ST ends up cutting me because of some crap, I will be calling my credit card company and filing a claim for services not received.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
That's a good point. Most of my internet usage is on wifi. I usually only use 3g during lunch breaks at work, and I hardly ever do more than browse Facebook and reply to emails. I do occasionally stream on Spotify though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] plmiller0905:
That's what I'm saying....see for me I only use cellular data for a 45 minute drive to and from work Monday thru Friday. I have wifi at home at work.

If people is that worried about the data, they just have to discipline themselves and know what and what not to do...and if something is that important that they have to use cellular data and can't wait to for wifi...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjs2011:
Has anyone gotten the dreaded call after using light Spotify streaming?

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on this phone, lol
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] UnknownPleasures:
I rarely go over 1.5GB a month ever, but yeah, the threat of no streaming whatsoever turns me off enough.

I have Sirius XM and I frequently listen to it on my phone, and that doesn't even use that much data honestly.

But in their T&C, it says web browsing, email checking and some other BS.

Maybe in the future, I'll give it a try, but for now, I don't want to risk losing my number that I've had for years and years.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Fantastic thread!!!

What strategy do you guys suggest for a heavy data and text user with almost no voice?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DOHCtor:
The T-Mobile/Walmart $30 plan. 100 minutes, unlimited text, and 5gb of high speed data then you're throttled
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Yeah, this plan is priced great for high-data users that don't need voice.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Another recommend for the $30 100 minute plan. I'm on it now, and its great.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] amghoon:
$30 plan questions

does anyone use VOIP (Skype, SIP) on this plan? if so how is the quality? is it a suitable replacement for paying extra for more minutes?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
I use GrooVe IP and I'm trying to Talkatone Alpha as well. They both work moderately well (plenty acceptable) while on

WiFi

, but HSPA+ calls are extremely hit or miss (short calls work, long calls can get hazy quick). I wouldn't go to this plan if you are going to be making more than 250 or so minutes of calls a month. Just a lot of hassle doing VoIP.

Should be noted that free calls through Gmail on the desktop with your GV number always seem to work great.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
The going idea is that it's "iffy".

Google Voice using GrooVe IP/gVoice on cell data is considered "maybe", though apparently it works pretty well with wifi. (GV uses ulaw basically, so you're talking the full 90kb/s in each direction) There is an intermediary that will transcode/manage you GV sessions (http://www.talkatone.com/android-preview.html) but it's not mature.

Some cell networks block SIP as a rule (T-Mobile in the UK did this to me, but I haven't played with it in the US) though IAX might get through (Though there's only two IAX phones, IAX Agent and MPhoneGG ... and they're both kinda crappy).

Skype might get through, I haven't tested it thoroughly. I've only used it on Wifi personally.

Traditional VOIP issues are still there, like echo cancellation and variable packet loss or total call loss while on the move/cell changes. That is, you should expect that if you find a working solution, it might work while sitting still .. but in a moving vehicle may be another matter.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] amghoon:
thanks for the feedback. i spent the summer in greece and used Skype extensively on a Nexus S to place and receive calls to and from mobiles/landlines the states. i was on HSPA and could get around 4-7Mbps or so on speedtests, so it wasn't crazy fast, but the call quality was phenomenal. seems to be similar in speed to what at*t and t-mobile offer here, so i think i'll try it out. only difference was this was a contract plan and i've heard that the pre-pay stuff is given second priority to contract plans as far as quality of service goes.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Haven't tested Skype either.

From my testing of making a couple dozen calls, GrooVe IP was hit/miss on both WiFi and HSPA+ but has many many more options to try and tweak/troubleshoot for fixes.

Talkatone (alpha) seems phenomenal on WiFi, but in my few calls over HSPA+ if it needs to hand off towers you're just gonna drop the call or have to hang up from delays. It has fewer (of course its alpha) options for tweaking too.

Are you able to shed more light on the difference between how Talkatone and GrooVe IP are handling calls?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] amghoon:
I'd give Skype a shot. I know it's not as convenient as the built-in SIP due to needing a separate GUI to make/receive calls, but a couple years ago when i ran a N900 on T-mobile (contract plan) i could never find a SIP service that had quality that rivaled Skype. Must be their proprietary codecs or something.

But it worked like a champ for me this summer and I use it on VZW LTE right now and it's perfect.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
GrooVeIP and gVoice basically emulate the gTalk interface on the backend, but present a more dialer looking interface to the user. Similar as to how Asterisk's chan_gtalk works (or doesn't, as it seems is the case these days) .. the problem comes in that gTalk uses the ulaw codec (way of encoding audio) .. and while that's the standard for VOIP communications, it's fairly bandwidth intensive (90kb/s each direction) and very susceptible to dropouts, jitter, latency, and any other kind of network malady. Which means it'll suck badly on cell networks and suck somewhat on wifi, depending on if you're on your home wifi with no one using it or on a Starbucks network with 80 people torrenting .. (hotels are similarly bad I've found, depending on size).

Talkatone proxies your call through their servers, transcoding (changing the compression codec) of your call to something more tolerable like Speex or iLBC (both of which have low bandwidth codecs (20kb/s or less!) that are designed to handle network glitches without a huge impact on the call quality. ulaw tends to become "electronic hash" quickly, while iLBC fades into a still understandable representation of your voice when the network is acting up.

If GTalk would support more codecs than ulaw, we'd be more like Skype than SIP when using things like GrooVeIP .. but for some reason Google has had it against direct VOIP integration with Google Voice since the beginning, requiring crappy bridging solutions like chan_gtalk, GrooVeIP, and even bridging calls into VOIP using IPKall and the like.

That's probably more info than you needed :)

edit:

My personal recommendation is that if you want to talk on the phone, your first choice should be native calling over any kind of voip. VOIP, on the road with a cellphone or laptop, can be a giant pain in the ass. People love to ***** about call quality, delays, echos, dropouts, digital hash; and pretty much if they know you're calling on anything resembling VOIP they'll blame your VOIP for every tiny little glitch they hear, even when they have no bars on their phone and it's dying trying to keep the call alive. Be forewarned!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] amghoon:
I think i'm going to try the TMO $30 Walmart 100/unlimited plan on my Nexus S. It's worth a shot! And if it works I'm probably gonna dump VZW.

For 2 line family plan I'm paying ~ $160 after taxes and my 22% discount for 1400min and unlimited data on both lines. So switching to the walmart plan + another prepaid (with higher minutes, less data-- for my Mom) would save me a bundle.

Only regret would be losing the 'true unlimited' grandfathered plan...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LionAR10:
Those are getting the axe slowly and quietly. AT&T recently started cutting/throttling data on users who, even with an 'unlimited' grandfathered plan that went over 2GB.

But don't worry, much as we used to play games with voice minutes (which then became 'unlimited'), texting (which eventually became unlimited), data will follow as the demand for its use rises. There's already 5GB plans out there and the 2GB one will eventually get supplanted as competition continues to heat up.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
Fantastic information thank you. Just the right amount I needed. I guess this explains why Talkatone is doing better than GrooVe IP while on HSPA+. I want to see how it looks when it hits beta/final and gets some more features. I'm using it primarily right now.

One annoying part right now (not sure if you know?) is that Gtalk and GVoice messages come into Talkatone as "text messages" 50% or so of the time. I just want Gtalk and GVoice apps to handle those on their own...

As far as people *****ing about call quality, I've already experienced this. If they know I'm testing a VoIP call they always complain about things, saying they can't hear me and its cutting out etc., when I can hear them just fine because I'm using GMail + computer (clearly problem is on their end lol).

I don't really make that many calls. Honestly I bet I could roll the dice on 100 minutes per month and go over only occasionally. I'm just trying to find the right GVoice VoIP offering to help supplement for those rare times I'm at home / WiFi and need to make a 1-2hr call. Usually I end up just using GMail.