T-Mobile 4G $30 Plan SIM Card

**StudDroid** · 08-11-2012, 10:50 PM

Hello I was wondering with anyone with a galaxy nexus could help me out. I'm planning to buy this device and get it on t-mobile. Do I have to buy a SIM card from one of the walmart phones or can I buy this sim card off T-mobile to get the $30 plan unlimited 4g plan? All help would be appreciated thanks!

**jpr** · 08-11-2012, 11:24 PM

Yes buy that SIM kit you linked to online and then activate it online when you put it in your phone by going to that same page and clicking the activate link.

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 03:30 AM

could you be a little more specific on exactly how to do it because I'm lost.

**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 03:38 AM

Once you get the Sim Kit and the phone, you put the SIM in the phone and then go click on the link from your first post. In the pink menu towards the upper right, click on the word Activate. Then follow the step by step directions. One of the steps is to pick your plan. After you are done, either pay the $30 online at the T-mobile website, or buy a refill card for at least $30 and add it to your account and you will be set.

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 04:01 AM

Thanks!

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 04:04 AM

Wait why would I need to buy a refill card?

**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 04:11 AM

You don't have to but it's just one of the ways to fund your account. You can just pay with a credit card if you like at T-mobile's website on the last step of the activation and can even set up auto pay if you don't want to remember to do it every month and not bother with refill cards. But if you want to purchase a refill card through a third party, you can get them a little cheaper and/or not have to pay taxes on it. Also, if you think you will go over your 100 minutes and want to make sure you can still make voice calls at the 10 cent a minute overage rate, you can use a refill card to add extra money to your account for that purpose. BTW, the SIM activation kit comes with $3.34 of minutes so you can use that for overage minutes as well.

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 04:14 AM

Will it show the option for the walmart $30 plan or do I have to do something else with the phone?

**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 04:19 AM

It will show all the prepaid plans available. You will see two that are $30 so make sure you choose the right one because you will not get a second chance or will at least have a very hard time changing it afterwards. So, read the descriptions and make sure you choose the one that is 100 minutes voice and unlimited text and web. The other one, that I assume you do not want, is a 1500 minute plan with a very very low bit of data.

When I say you won't get a second chance or will have a hard time changing it, this only applies to this particular plan since it is only for new activations. If you ever want to change to a different plan, that will be no problem, but you won't be able to switch back to the $30 unlimited data plan.

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 04:21 AM

Thanks you have been a fantastic help!

**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 04:23 AM

Cool. Time for me to go to bed then.

**StudDroid** · 08-12-2012, 04:25 AM

haha thanks again

**Lanhoj** · 08-12-2012, 06:23 AM

Moving from Canada soon so I'll likely be getting this too and following your steps thanks.

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**patruns** · 08-12-2012, 01:19 PM

Make sure you choose the $30 plan for new customers, not the other one. The new customer one will get you the unlimited data and up to 5GB of 4G service. 5GB of 4G service for existing customers costs $70/month.

**Lanhoj** · 08-12-2012, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by patruns

Make sure you choose the $30 plan for new customers, not the other one. The new customer one will get you the unlimited data and up to 5GB of 4G service. 5GB of 4G service for existing customers costs $70/month.

Ya, can't wait!

Currently pay 60$ for 6GB in Canada which is quite good, but 30$...can't really beat that.

One question though, how do I "top-up/refill" each month? Can I walk into any Tmo store and have the clerk do it for me?

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**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by Lanhoj

Ya, can't wait!

Currently pay 60$ for 6GB in Canada which is quite good, but 30$...can't really beat that.

One question though, how do I "top-up/refill" each month? Can I walk into any Tmo store and have the clerk do it for me?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

There are a number of ways you can do this. You can go to a Tmobile store if that's what you prefer but there are several other ways. You can do it online every month at T-mobile.com by credit card or checking account. Or you can set up auto-pay so that you don't have to do anything and it will charge you each month without your intervention. You can buy refill cards from third parties, either online or in a variety of physical stores. You can also call Tmobile customer service and do it over the phone. Or you can just dial *233 from your cell phone and go straight to the automated refill line. So, there are many ways for you to take care of your bill depending on how you prefer to handle such things.

**Lanhoj** · 08-12-2012, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by jpr

There are a number of ways you can do this...

Awesome, thanks!

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**myrcgarage** · 08-12-2012, 03:25 PM

What about transferring existing number, eg from Sprint to TMobile with the pre-paid? Do I do it while going thru activation?

**jpr** · 08-12-2012, 03:32 PM

No, you port your number after activation. After your activation is complete and you confirm that your phone is in service and everything is working, then call Tmobile customer service and tell them you want to port your number. Before making this call make certain your plan is listed correctly as the $30 unlimited text and web with 100 minutes, assuming that is the plan you want. You can view your account online at T-mobile.com to verify this.

When you call, you will need your Sprint (or other carrier) account information and any billing PIN associated with it if you set one. If you want the $30 unlimited data plan, do not call customer service to activate your phone - you have to do this online yourself first and then call afterwards to port. You will get a new number during activation. After your port, your account will now be under the ported number and the number you got during activation will not be associated with you any longer.

**myrcgarage** · 08-14-2012, 10:47 PM

This $30 plan with unlimited data is only for New Customer? What if I decide that I need to get a more expensive plan, and then want to go back to this $30 plan? Can I do that? I am kinda confused on this whole New Customer thing.

Thanks

**jpr** · 08-14-2012, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by myrcgarage

This $30 plan with unlimited data is only for New Customer? What if I decide that I need to get a more expensive plan, and then want to go back to this $30 plan? Can I do that? I am kinda confused on this whole New Customer thing.

Thanks

It's for new activations, so if you wanted to get a new number you could do it again, but you could not switch from it to another plan and switch back. The main reason for having this cheap plan is to get to new customers. They don't want people they've already got switching to it and losing money. I'm sure they also hope that some people they get to switch to Tmo for this plan will find the voice minutes too little and will upgrade their plan.

**Lanhoj** · 08-14-2012, 11:47 PM

Also, what happens if Tmo decides to cancel that plan - does everyone lose it or just no new people can get it (the way it works with contract plans)?

Originally Posted by jpr

...I'm sure they also hope that some people they get to switch to Tmo for this plan will find the voice minutes too little and will upgrade their plan.

Ya...the suckers that don't have Androids w/ Google Voice or smartphones with access to Apps that can do Data calls *cough cough* Blackberries *cough cough*
Does WP7 have those types of Apps, even?
Hmm, anyways, ya those that don't have real smartphones.

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**jpr** · 08-14-2012, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by Lanhoj

Also, what happens if Tmo decides to cancel that plan - does everyone lose it or just no new people can get it (the way it works with contract plans)?

Although I can't speak for Tmobile, I would expect they would let existing prepaid customers on the plan keep it as long as the customer kept continuous service. Otherwise, they'd end up losing a lot of customers they just got, since the next cheapest plan is $50 I think, which is getting close to doubling your bill, even though it's still cheap compared to others. But I only switched to them a month ago so I don't have any personal experience with how they deal with these things. But people could be driven away to the other cheap prepaid carriers and I think they'd keep that in mind.

**Lanhoj** · 08-15-2012, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by jpr

...But people could be driven away to the other cheap prepaid carriers and I think they'd keep that in mind.

True, true.

Anyhow, hope they still have when I move this month.

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**Andrew Martonik** · 08-15-2012, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Lanhoj

Also, what happens if Tmo decides to cancel that plan - does everyone lose it or just no new people can get it (the way it works with contract plans)?

There's really no reason for them to keep letting you use it if they choose not to offer it anymore. There's no contract here so they can just stop offering it at any time. In that case, they'd let you finish out your month then you'd either have to switch to one of their other plans or leave.

Luckily, it's really the market forces that will keep them from canning this plan without replacing it with a comparable one. They know that the prepaid customers can (and will) leave for someone else if you change their plan.