Q: Tmobile Monthly 4G $30 and Groove IP

[Tacoman667]

Has anyone tried this combination? Groove IP will let you send and receive calls through the data provider be it wifi or cellular. At $30 a month, I would never need to burn any of those 100 minutes provided in the plan.

I think I might try it out when my N4 arrives tomorrow though. $30/mo for an unlimited data plan is pretty sick!

 

[josegb2011]

I am getting the same plan but has anyone succesfully gotten it with the nexus 4 ? i heard people having problems to obtain that plan before in the past..

 

[jdm4u]

I think you can just get the plan through either online or at Walmart. Some T-mobile stores will actually order it for you through their computers too since it's not actually available in T-Mobile stores.

 

[bilago]

I am getting the same plan but has anyone succesfully gotten it with the nexus 4 ? i heard people having problems to obtain that plan before in the past..

I have yet to hear of any legitimate issues. As long as you activate online and create a new account with a brand new micro SIM, you will be able to use the $30 a month plan.

 

[2defmouze]

I activated the plan last week, all online, no issues at all. I use GrooVe IP as well.. Only at home on wifi tho, I've heard it can be sketchy on mobile data, depending on signal of course.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tacoman667]

I activated the plan last week, all online, no issues at all. I use GrooVe IP as well.. Only at home on wifi tho, I've heard it can be sketchy on mobile data, depending on signal of course.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Did you buy a sim ten while activating it online you chose the plan?

 

[2defmouze]

Did you buy a sim ten while activating it online you chose the plan?

I ordered the micro sim activation kit a week or so before I got the N4. Installed it in the phone and chose/activated the plan when I got the phone. Whole process took maybe 5 minutes.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[N4Newbie]

Did you buy a sim ten while activating it online you chose the plan?

Buy a SIM here Prepaid Cell Phone Plans, No Annual Contract | Monthly4G | T-Mobile for $0.99 with free shipping.

It will arrive in just a few days. When it does, power off your phone (hold the power button until the menu pops up then tap power off), install the new SIM card, then power the phone back on (hold the power button for about 5 seconds until phone vibrates then let go).

Now just follow the directions included with the card - basically, go to Unsupported Browser and follow the prompts.

[edit] I have no idea why it says "Unsupported Browser" in the link above. the actual link given in the activation kit is t-mobile.com/prepaidactivation [end edit]

 

[Tacoman667]

Buy a SIM here Prepaid Cell Phone Plans, No Annual Contract | Monthly4G | T-Mobile for $0.99 with free shipping.

It will arrive in just a few days. When it does, power off your phone (hold the power button until the menu pops up then tap power off), install the new SIM card, then power the phone back on (hold the power button for about 5 seconds until phone vibrates then let go).

Now just follow the directions included with the card - basically, go to Unsupported Browser and follow the prompts.

I just ordered a micro-sim and it was 99 cents with free overnight shipping. Will get it tomorrow the same day as my N4.

 

[Ticojpunk]

I use GrooveIP on my Galaxy Exhibit 4G, $30 plan.

I mostly use it to check my voicemail or place outgoing calls where my number doesn't matter. I've used it both on 4G and WIFI. It can be good or sketchy on either. Sometimes I get some breakup or occasional crackle.

I wouldn't use it full time, but to supplement your 100 minute allotment its a terrific tool.

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tacoman667]

I use GrooveIP on my Galaxy Exhibit 4G, $30 plan.

I mostly use it to check my voicemail or place outgoing calls where my number doesn't matter. I've used it both on 4G and WIFI. It can be good or sketchy on either. Sometimes I get some breakup or occasional crackle.

I wouldn't use it full time, but to supplement your 100 minute allotment its a terrific tool.

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

With unlimited data, could you just get a number from Skype and use it for all calls? Prolly much better quality and you STILL get cheap unlimited phone service. Just put the Skype number in GV forwarding numbers list.

 

[Droidintorrance]

I will be cutting the Verizon cord come Dec 3rd, and porting my long beloved number to Google Voice; I've been using Groove IP & Google Voice for the past week with my Nexus 4 and before that on the GNex. Calls from Groove are spotty, download speeds are always faster than upload, so you will always hear callers better than they can hear you. Calls on HSPA will work ok to poor on most places; I do find myself shouting and repeating a lot, so for those instances, using the 100 minutes will come in handy.

I do get decent WiFi at home and work; home works better with calls; in & out; but for some reason I only ping less than 1megs up at work, so calls are ok, but really poor for the most part. So, I bought in-hear microphone & earphones and am taking & making calls on gmail. When I get into work, I exit my Groove App, and calls into my Google Voice gets forwarded to Gmail... pretty sweet...

Between the 100 minutes in 'emergencies', gmail & my land-line; most people shouldn't know the difference. I'll try for another few weeks, but I might try Straight Talk with unlimited minutes just to ease the hassle, but I will still keep my number on Google Voice...

 

[natehoy]

Just one warning: The coverage maps for prepaid versus post-paid plans are a little different. In particular, the post-paid plans appear to include data roaming (access to data on partner networks) while the pre-paid/pay-as-you-go plans have a "data roaming is not available" disclaimer. If you life in a larger city where T-mo is providing your actual service, you may not care. Here in Maine, it makes a BIG difference unless you stay right on the interstate AND don't go any further north than Bangor.

Yeah, it's the difference between EDGE and voice-only, but...

 

[natehoy]

With unlimited data, could you just get a number from Skype and use it for all calls? Prolly much better quality and you STILL get cheap unlimited phone service. Just put the Skype number in GV forwarding numbers list.

Skype is still VoIP, which is dependent on the quality of your data connection. If GrooveIP is poor, I imagine Skype would be as well.

 

[N4Newbie]

I will be cutting the Verizon cord come Dec 3rd, and porting my long beloved number to Google Voice; I've been using Groove IP & Google Voice for the past week with my Nexus 4 and before that on the GNex. Calls from Groove are spotty, download speeds are always faster than upload, so you will always hear callers better than they can hear you. Calls on HSPA will work ok to poor on most places; I do find myself shouting and repeating a lot, so for those instances, using the 100 minutes will come in handy.

I do get decent WiFi at home and work; home works better with calls; in & out; but for some reason I only ping less than 1megs up at work, so calls are ok, but really poor for the most part. So, I bought in-hear microphone & earphones and am taking & making calls on gmail. When I get into work, I exit my Groove App, and calls into my Google Voice gets forwarded to Gmail... pretty sweet...

Between the 100 minutes in 'emergencies', gmail & my land-line; most people shouldn't know the difference. I'll try for another few weeks, but I might try Straight Talk with unlimited minutes just to ease the hassle, but I will still keep my number on Google Voice...

Just don't forget: T-Mobile plans include roaming (voice only); StraightTalk plans do not.

Also, you can buy extra minutes on T-Mobile for just $0.10 each and they roll over month-to-month. So, if your needs are in the 100 to 250 minutes per month zone, T-Mobile may still be the best way to go.

 

[Tacoman667]

Just one warning: The coverage maps for prepaid versus post-paid plans are a little different. In particular, the post-paid plans appear to include data roaming (access to data on partner networks) while the pre-paid/pay-as-you-go plans have a "data roaming is not available" disclaimer. If you life in a larger city where T-mo is providing your actual service, you may not care. Here in Maine, it makes a BIG difference unless you stay right on the interstate AND don't go any further north than Bangor.

Yeah, it's the difference between EDGE and voice-only, but...

What about the Monthly 4G plans? Same as post-paid?

 

[natehoy]

What about the Monthly 4G plans? Same as post-paid?

No. Monthly4G falls under a "prepaid" plan. If you go to their coverage maps, there's a link above the actual map on the regular plans to "Prepaid and FlexPay coverage map", and the title on that page reads "Monthly4G and PrePaid".

Pay As You Go Coverage Map | Prepaid Coverage Zones | T-Mobile

Look carefully at that map. Anywhere you see the little slash pattern that means "partner", that means you are getting VOICE-ONLY signal there.

T-Mobile prepaid is an awesome deal, don't get me wrong! Just make sure you know precisely what you are buying. There's little point in saving money by buying a plan that doesn't give you what you need.

Of course, the nice thing about prepaid is that you can always dump it if you end up not liking it. But the only two GSM carriers that provide meaningful prepaid service are AT&T and T-Mobile. Most other prepaid providers are actually reselling services from one or the other or both. Check BOTH of their prepaid maps very carefully before buying a phone for prepaid use.

Even if you have to go postpaid, though, you're still looking at an awesome phone for not much more than the subsidized price of a similar top-shelf phone, and one that will get updates for quite a while and not get obsolete in a year like most subsidized phones.

 

[bilago]

Skype is still VoIP, which is dependent on the quality of your data connection. If GrooveIP is poor, I imagine Skype would be as well.

Quality is also determined by the codex used by the VOIP company. Skype may have a better quality codex. Not sure.

 

[DNicolasL]

GrooveIP works decent. I wouldn't bank on using it as a primary calling source. I've found that Viber works well over T-Mobile 3G/4G. The hardest thing is convincing your friends to sign up for a VOIP calling service.

 

[natehoy]

Quality is also determined by the codex used by the VOIP company. Skype may have a better quality codex. Not sure.

Yes, the codec matters - a good VoIP client does some connection quality tests and initiates an appropriate codec, but if signal speed or latency degrades mid-call it takes a really good system to adaptively switch to a lower-band codec. The assembly delay is also important (setting the delay too long leads to noticeable delays in the call, setting it too short leads to distortion and chop as the codec attempts to assemble the voice before enough of the data has arrived).

Skype may be better at that than GrooveIP, and it's worth trying out both.

But at the end of the day if your data connection can't support decent VoIP due to jitter, latency, or heavily inconsistent speed, ain't no pill gonna cure that ill.