yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
Ya I don't know why it says that cause I have been charged tax online and in the stores I go to (best buy, target, walmart) for a refill card...? I am charged my normal Michigan 6% sales tax. Maybe if you auto refill every month you don't pay taxes but I have never done that as I take a month off sometimes... They still let me keep my number and plan until I reach 45 days then they told me I had 15 more days if I wanted to keep the $30 plan and my number... So you can just take a month off if you can't afford it that month or whatever and they won't boot you off their system... It's good for a person like me who just LOVES phones and wants to have a network to "test" them on... ;) This line is more of a personal line for certain people I know. lol

btw: Returned my N7100 and bought my T-mobile Note 2 off contract and T-mobile sent me the unlock code in about 48 hours... (free)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Good catch as that is a joke for smartphone users:laugh:..scrolling down does reveal that fine print but the $30/mo plan still lists:

Talk: 100 minutes (with VOIP like Skype etc should not be as inflexible as it seems for me anyway)

Text: Unlimited

Web: Unlimited*

*First 5GB at up to 4G speeds

Great for video chat, streaming music/movies/TV, playing online games, and more.

New activations only. Available exclusively in-store at Walmart, on Walmart.com, and T-Mobile.com".
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
You may have been right that it is a state issue but most states charge sales tax..

Good to know about the 45 days warning of another 15 days to keep plan & # but if you give out a Google voice # that can forward to any # are you limited to those 60 days off? Sounds reasonable anyway..

Hmm..how did you get T-Mobile to freely send you the unlock code?

- Thnx :cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] rpmccormick:
Looking for a good plan, here is my list I compiled yesterday. I'm using Solavei (free Tethering). Sounds like Ting may be the best for you non-talkie people (if you can use a Sprint phone), all the others are unlimited voice/text.

BEST MVNO's (no contract plans, same big-4 networks, bring your own phone)

Sprint:

http://www.republicwireless.com - $19/mo, got to use their 1 phone for $250, got to have WiFi.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com - $35/mo, got to buy one of their many Android/iPhones.

http://www.ting.com - Good pricing where you only pay for what you use (~$45).

http://www.boostmobile.com - $55 to $40

T-Mobile:

http://www.mysimplemobile.com - $50, unlimited 4G now (was 2GB last month).

http://www.solavei.com/rpmccormick - $49 or FREE, 4GB at 4G (hopfully unlimited soon). Save $20/mo for every 3 referrals.

Verizon:

http://www.pagepluscellular.com - $55, 2GB cap then $0.10/mb.

AT&T:

http://www.h2owirelessnow.com - $60, 2GB

http://www.blackwireless.com - $60, 2GB

http://www.skyvw.com - $60, 2GB

http://goredpocket.com - $55, 1GB

http://www.joltmobile.com/ - $60, 1GB

For a contract plan and a cheap phone, I recommend Sprint Referral:

http://delivery.sprint.com/m/p/nxt/epc/epclanding.asp - $60 for 500min only count for daytime-landlines.

(login with russ.s.mcguire@sprint.com / 383)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
T-mobile gives you the unlock code for free once you have been with them for at least 60 days... Other places on charge about $20 though..(ebay)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Good to know..http://www.ehow.com/how_6376807_unlock-t_mobile-phones.html sound accurate? -Thnx:cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Anyone else heard of http://www.solavei.com/mobile-service/plan-details & http://www.mysimplemobile.com that rpmccormick says uses T-Mobile?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
yup!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
I have heard of Simple Mobile and Tracfone Wireless owns them as well as Straight Talk...

**Simple Mobile=T-Mobile $50/month unlimited everything but they WILL throttle you if you "interrupt" their network! I have heard good and bad... I'm not sure if they start throttling you at 2gb like on the plan below, or if you get a larger cap?

**Straight Talk=AT&T $45/month unlimited everything and they do the same throttling but many say it is only done if you go over 2gb of data... (which can be done easily with me) :D

**Tracfone= who knows?? lol

but they all can use either carriers towers as well..
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] LucJoe:
Are you sure about that? The T-Mobile $30 plan can roam to AT&T (and other smaller partners) for voice/text but NOT for data.

If these other prepaids give full roaming it might be worth it..
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Are you suggesting that the prepaid plans on T-Mobile offer different coverage than their contract plans?

All those in this thread who say they use this $30/mo plan care to clarify this?

BTW, shojus I really appreciated your contributions.. :good:

- Thnx :cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
No problem SMARTPHONEPC!! :) The prepaid plans are going to give you the same exact coverage as the contract plans and I have verified that twice by calling customer care (though that does not mean much,,,) lol and as far as using Straighttalk or Simplemobile they are the same company and have contracts with AT&T and T-mobile so if you are out of Simple Mobile's coverage area then you should still be able to make calls as long as your in an area where they partner with AT&T too... I was on Straight Talk and I went out of my area and was roaming on T-mobile's network so that is why I believe that they can use both networks... Might be a good question for someone at Tracfone wireless but have fun trying to get a good answer! :confused:

---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 PM ----------

You may be right about data but I have successfully roamed onto T-mobile using my Straight Talk plan (which is AT&T) and I think I was on edge data though... I was in the boonies! :eek:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Could you clarify this shojus, how is it the same coverage as contract plans if you can't roam data with the prepaid $30/mo plan like you could on contract plans?

- Thnx :cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] j_shelton1988:
Does the $30 plan allow tmobile to tmobile without using minutes?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] shojus:
I was referring to Straight Talk plans or Simple Mobile plans but NOT the $30 T-mobile plan.... Sorry for the mix ups...

---------- Post added at 10:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 PM ----------

No.... I wish! :(
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] j_shelton1988:
I'm definitely thinking about going this route for tmobile. I'm coming from sprint, I can't stand their horrible data speeds any longer. What's the point of unlimited data when you average less than 200kbps and most apps that use data time out due to connection issues? My only issue would be the 100 minutes a month. I don't talk a whole lot but I fear I might go over. I've been looking at threads where people use voip and Google voice to call free. Can anyone confirm that a app like talkatone and Google voice provide decent enough call quality, and that it doesn't in fact use your minutes?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] hauniii:
I honestly do not see what the allure of pre paid service is. Any time I have use it, it was a less than desirable experience. For roughly $60 to $65 a month you are able to have 500 mins with free night and weekend calling as well as free Tmo to Tmo calling. You will also have Unl TXT and 5GB of data with WiFi Hot Spot. With the post paid plan you can also take advantage of any local roaming agreements T-Mobile has with AT&T (Pre Paid can not Roam) as well a better customer service experience and a more comprehensive device warranty exchange service when/if needed (Advanced Exchange, Overnight Replacement ect.). Pre paid is a great short term solution I will not argue that. I would say anyone truly looking to save money can do so with a much less expensive device or a few less trips to (insert your indulgence here). This is not intended to offend anyone. This is just a different view on the use of something we depend so much on today. This combined with the coverage not being the same in some areas or in the event of an emergency or natural disaster (did I refill or can I refill with no power?). I can not see saving $15 a month as a strong selling point.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] Amd4life:
Is there a T-Mobile plan that is completely unlimited data NO THROTTLING??

I have a sero sprint acct that I was going to convert down to keep the call minutes, as I can't take Sprint data anymore.... they won't gave lte in my locale till mid next year

Maybe keep the $30 prepaid as my data line
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] hauniii:
Yes T-Mobile offers Truly Unlimited 4G. It is $60 a month for 500 min with Unl Text free Tmo to Tmo free N&W calling as well as Unl 4G data.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] j_shelton1988:
But that's only if you get the value plan, so you either have to buy the phone outright or, for the note, pay 250 down and 20 per month for 20 months.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Why is it continuing to be suggested that the prepaid plans on T-Mobile offer different coverage (in terms of roaming) than their contract plans (shojus in this thread indicates the coverage including roaming is the same & he does not feel constrained by T-Mobile service vs Verizon)? Are you contesting his assertion & could you elaborate on "Any time I have use it, it was a less than desirable experience"?

I appreciate all the flexible options that T-Mobile offers, speed tests for me on friend's device was 5-10x faster than AT&T & Sprint in my neighborhood so I should give them a try vs only considering Verizon options to see if T-Mobile overall service is sufficient with this $30/mo option open to consideration (among T-Mobile's others should it not meet the use case).

Just because we'd pay for what we consider as the best handset does not mean we need to pay for service beyond (or obviously less compatible with) our use case..
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] hauniii:
The coverage is different. It is different because there is zero roaming on prepaid service. What that means is when in a carrier partner roaming area, Data or Voice you will be unable to take advantage of the roaming agreement in place. I would assume that with a 6 year roaming agreement recently made available with AT&T that there will be quite a few areas that prepaid customers will not have the same level of coverage as post paid customers. I also never said anything about EIP and $20 a month for the device. It is not available with prepaid so I did not factor that in to the monthly figures. To further explain the cost difference I will point out that the $15 tethering add on is not available on every prepaid plan. That has been mentioned as a desired feature. In some cases monthly 4g is more expensive than the value plan. When I say less than desirable I am referring to the overall experience. Lack of customer support, refill constraints and not having the ability of being able to use my services while traveling abroad for business. I have tried google voice and it is just not as seamless as cellular voice combined with a data plan. As I stated earlier I would much rather spend $5 or $10 more a month for the piece of mind knowing that my services will work when I need them. Business, personal or emergency.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Why is hauniii saying there is "zero roaming on prepaid service"?

Again, those in this thread who say they use this $30/mo plan care to clarify this?

- Thnx :cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] hauniii:
I say this because I am an engineer for the company that we are discussing. If you read all of the terms and conditions of the service it is outlined. I would suggest going to a Corporate Owned Retail Location and actually speaking with a Manager or Associate whom is versed in the caveats of relying solely on a prepaid service. I know all of the nice people on the phone with customer service are trying to help, yet I have a difficult time believing they are an authority in regards to this matter. While I was a Store Manager I would have customers become upset when they would learn that the service rep they spoke with did not have a clue what they were talking about, and that the information they were given was wrong. The customer would always say "but customer care said so". Ultimately we would educate the customer on the situation at hand and do whatever we could to remedy the situation that care had created and dropped in our hands.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] Baratheonist:
Firstly, the difference (for the value plan you are using) is more like $35++, not $15. The $30 prepaid I am talking about is the 100 minutes talk, unlimited text and 5GB data at hspa+ speeds then throttled down beyond that. I've never gone over 5GB yet. This plan is only available online and select Walmart's. Take note that there is another $30 plan offered which is mostly talk minutes and text with minimal data.

That said, the appeal of the $30 pre-paid , is for those who only want mobile data service, nothing more, without paying premium prices. Additional services can be obtained on an as need basis, which would not be too often for me (tethering for instance). To some, the premium prices (classic and value plans) may be justified for the additional services included- that's debatable . It all depends on your talk and data needs.

I was on postpaid for so long, paying too much for talk time that I don't even get to consume! But I needed the data plan that came along with the package. That made me check out the various prepaid plans. The $30 plan turned out to be what I've been wanting for so long. The $50/$70 prepaid aren't worth it though. I would get a value plan if I were to pay that much every month.

I enrolled online in the 30 day auto-refill service so this ensures continuity of service. Over charges-if any, will still apply.

I've never been in a situation that required domestic roaming, so it's a non-issue. Not worth my extra $30/mo being prepared for a need that's not likely to show-up. The only roaming that matters to me is International roaming. Which I don't really need now since buying a local country sim card at my destination is the most convenient way to go. I've purchased them online before my trips. And I get to use the local data plan which turns out to be cheaper and without restrictions.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Thanks for sharing your experience with T-Mobile's $30/mo plan, just curious how you or one would know they would never be "in a situation that required domestic roaming"? You always use it in clearly defined T-Mobile coverage areas?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
So as a T-Mobile engineer & former T-Mobile store manager you have special insight into this issue, would you think it problematic if customers who are willing to buy the Note 2 in full try the $30/mo plan & if roaming seems to become an issue try the more standard value plans?

Again I appreciate all the flexible options that T-Mobile offers & I think this will help T-Mobile grow..

- Thnx :cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] Baratheonist:
Yes. I'm basing that on the T-mobile coverage map and how most of my activities relate to it. It would more than suffice unless in very isolated places. And my actual experience confirms it.

---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:48 PM ----------

That's viable and the upside of of buying full retail and start with just prepaid. You can upgrade service without being held to a contract. Switch between prepaid and postpaid depending on your needs or satisfaction.

This is a little off topic but when I was on contract, I needed to suspend service because I was out of the country for 2 mos. Turns out I still owed them 2 months worth of service when I returned on top of the current month. Yikes! All the while I thought the end of contract date would just be extended.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] lisap006:
I know I'm coming in a bit late on this post but I was on the T-Mobile 30.00 Prepaid plan for the past year then life got busy and I could not do the 100 mins anymore so I switched to the 70.00 monthly 4g plan this last month.....I didn't wanna pay that every month so I started shopping around and people on Google+ kept referring me to Solavei. Ordered my sim Monday and received it this past Wednesday......The service is so much better then the actual T-Mobile monthly 4g plans and it works off the tmo towers. 49.00 a month unlimited talk text and 4gb web...and they pay you 20.00 a month for every 3 people that join under you on a prepaid visa card they send you. Its def worth looking into. Currently using the service with my GS3.

Here is how you get paid: http://www.solavei.com/how-it-works/compensation

I have more speed test on G+ profile https://plus.google.com/104158389637045624794
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] thename1000:
I have this plan but after reading this thread have a couple questions.

Does Wifi Calling use minutes?

When I made my first payment the $30 did not include taxes and fees. It came out to a couple more dollars than $30. I did it thru tmobile.com. Does the walmart version include taxes and fees like OP says?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] kozmo21:
Wifi calling uses your minutes on this plan. If you use something like talkatone/grooveIP with google voice on wifi or 4G, it's free.

Buy your refills on callingmart. No tax and usually 3-5% discount.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] thename1000:
AH thanks, Good Idea!

But I looked here:

http://www.callingmart.com/products/wireless/wirelesscards.aspx?id=1

And I don't see the unlimited data $30, just the other $30 plan.. Are you sure I can buy this plan on this site? If not is there a similar site that sells it?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] kozmo21:
Just choose the T-Mobile to go refill or auto load. You can buy a $30 refill, or 3) $10 or any combination and just add them together to get to $30. You can also add a extra $5- $10 to your account so if you go over the 100 minutes, it will just deduct $0.10/minute from your account,

btw, there are usually discount codes for an extra 5% every few weeks, look on their facebook page
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] hauniii:
The only thing that I was trying to do is show a different perspective. In order to use the HotSpot feature it is my understanding that you need to be on the $50 M4G plan. 100 mb of 3 or 4G for a total of $65. The I can see the allure of the $30 plan, but 100 min and still $15 additional for HotSpot for a total of $45 a month. This is considering that you are not using additional mins at .10 per min. Factor in the smallest refill denomination of $10 and $55 per month is where you end. I would also consider asking if your employer has a discount on postpaid (if so postpaid may actually be less expensive than M4G). So as stated a $5 or $10 savings monthly (if any at all) is not worth watching my usage or any of the other possible caveats that I may encounter with prepaid. I am not in to swaying your decision any further. All this works out to be is a math equation. There are only 4 things that you can do, add, subtract, multiply and divide. Find the best plan to meet your budget and live within the constraints.Do what is best for you, and I hope you are happy with whatever you choose.

Cheers
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] bengadget:
Does anyone know the procedure for getting your number ported? I have an unlocked Note 2 on StraightTalk and wanna try this plan. Do I get the card and activate it then contact T-Mobile or just get the card and let them walk me through the process?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
http://www.solavei.com/ready-for-free "Switch to Solavei for Unlimited Voice, Text, and Data for only $49/month* with no contracts before November 30th and get your first month of FREE! Bring your own phone, and get your SIM card FREE!" .. "$49 enrollment fee applies. *Taxes and other charges may apply."

Sounds interesting except for the $49 enrollment fee..also where does Solavei list "free Tethering" rpmccormick?

First Month free is smart to encourage new users but if not using more than 100 voice minutes & unlimited text-data (5GB of fast data) T-Mobile $30/mo plan is still a better deal-would Solavei match that for <100min voice users..? What is Solavei a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme company reselling T-Mobile..?

Today I set up my sister's iPhone 5 on Verizon & while outdoors in my neighborhood the LTE speeds were good they were not particularly impressive (5-13 Mbps down-avg ~8Mbps down & 1Mbps max up-avg 0.6Mbps up; ping was <100 ms) but indoors to my surprise as I has read that LTE has better building penetration the speeds were unusable often with 0 download & >1000ms latency. T-Mobile often averaged ~8Mbps down & over 2Mbps up indoors in my neighborhood while AT&T was unusable indoors & Sprint 3G slow (<1 Mbps often much slower). So T-Mobile in my limited neighborhood tests indoors & outdoors offered the most attractive service to my surprise so I feel better about trying T-Mobile service for my use case. My T-Mobile friend did just get the S3 in this weekend's sale so I will try to do additional tests but plan to try out the Note2 with T-Mobile service within the next 2 weeks.

Official T-Mobile multi-view to come out by Nov 27th like Verizon?:cool:

Running my neighborhood tests on all 4 major carriers surprised me with T-Mobile seemingly most attractive, although my neighborhood is not likely typical as our town is notoriously strict & also not sure when T-Mobile became so competitive here..:good:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
Direct link anyone?

http://www.callingmart.com/products/wireless/wirelesscards.aspx?id=1 :confused:

- Thnx:cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] kozmo21:
Just go here http://www.callingmart.com/default.aspx and choose the T-Mobile to go prepaid refill or auto load refill.

Btw, the 5% off code for this month is gvng125
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] SMARTPHONEPC:
This is how you pay for this T-Mobile unlimited data-text-100min voice (http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans) $30/mo plan for Note2 (including initially-sorry noob with this)?

http://www.callingmart.com/products/wireless/ProductDetail.aspx?ID=149

http://www.callingmart.com/support/faq/afmmain.aspx?topicid=&faqid=&question=

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

- Thnx:cool:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II] kozmo21:
If you are just starting this plan you need the activation kit from T-Mobile $0.99 , use the prepaid refill instead of auto load http://www.callingmart.com/products/wireless/ProductDetail.aspx?ID=35 ... you don't have an account yet so they can't apply it, you can use the auto load after your 1st month. I did a combination of the $25 refill and a $10 refill so I had an extra $5 in case I went over on minutes (extra 50 minutes). Next month you can just add the $25 refill and it will be added to the $5 extra you had from last month, providing you didn't go over the 100 minutes.

If you have activation kit, start here http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/ActivateCodes.aspx , then select $30 100 minute plan, add the codes that they send you, and you're up and going.