Trading phones and prepaid setup

[PiggyMiddle]

Hi all,

Thinking of getting a Moto X on special tomorrow. Not at all unhappy with the G but I can return it for a refund minus shipping and the X has 4G although the 3G is fine for what I need - now anyway.

However, I am on a prepaid unlimited plan, talk, text, data.

If I get the X, is it just a simple matter of swapping out the SIM and setting the carriers in setup and keeping everything else the same? Or is there something else to do for the IMEI too?

The local carrier's shop where we activated the G is about 60-miles from where we live so not having to drive there would be a good thing. My first smart phone so wandering a little aimlessly here.

Thanks

 

[Sizzers]

Well not too sure how things work in the States, but in the UK youput your SIM in a new phone and job done.

Rather confused being a Limey as to why you say you had to go to a shop to activate your phone, but I'm sure you'll explain.

 

[PiggyMiddle]

Well Sizzers, I hadn't planned on explaining that, but,having lived in the UK for a few years back in the 70s, lemme tell you that what we refer to as "in the country," is entirely different to the Limey interpretation of it. Our nearest town of 50,000 or greater population is 280 miles away, a coast-to-coast drive across the UK. Given then that we have a zillion privately owned cell phone providers using one or more of the networks set up by the big-four-or five, and we live "in the country," privately owned local providers can set any rules they like.

I am OK with that as it has it's advantages, in that on this 65-dollar unlimited plan I can talk, text and stream 23GB of videos each month without quibble from the provider. But with that joy comes some disadvantages and I could show you the four days of email exchanges with our local company as to why we had to drive to the shop for activation. Suffice to say, none of the explanations made a great deal of sense, but drive the 120 mile round trip we did!

Oh, and in my truck (360ci V8) - LOVE IT! We used $27 of gas. (petrol to you)

 

[Sizzers]

I do have a vague recollection of the States having spent 3 months there 25 years ago.

I remember the endless prairies of Iliinois, and how the drive from Chicago to Minneapolis was over half the length of the UK, and how hopping from state-to-state is like hopping from country-to-country in Europe. And yes, I loved​ it!

Anyway, I was just just curious how what you call pre-paid works as to how our pay-as-you-go works. So please excuse me if I appear a bit dim, but do I take it that you have options where you can pre-pay for so many calls/texts/data per month but you have to pay for this monthly allowance in advance over a fixed period of months?

 

[Hawnz]

Hi all,

Thinking of getting a Moto X on special tomorrow. Not at all unhappy with the G but I can return it for a refund minus shipping and the X has 4G although the 3G is fine for what I need - now anyway.

However, I am on a prepaid unlimited plan, talk, text, data.

If I get the X, is it just a simple matter of swapping out the SIM and setting the carriers in setup and keeping everything else the same? Or is there something else to do for the IMEI too?

The local carrier's shop where we activated the G is about 60-miles from where we live so not having to drive there would be a good thing. My first smart phone so wandering a little aimlessly here.

Thanks

Not that easy. Moto G has a micro Sim. Moto X has a nano Sim.

Sent from my XT1034 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[PiggyMiddle]

Sizzers, I asked about the adding and I can do it from the phone. The website also suggests it is possible so will see in a month's time.

Was not suggesting you were dim, just pointing out the different way the Capitalist Nation does stuff. By the way I am all for the Capitalist approach as competition leads to good deals for the customer.

Having said that if one of the biggies have their way that will be a thing of the past. It's slowly happening.

 

[PiggyMiddle]

Not that easy. Moto G has a micro Sim. Moto X has a nano Sim.

Thanks, but that's OK, this G has a nano SIM in it in a small plastic caddy. I know because I had to trim loose plastic off the caddy in the shop as the woman there tore it out of the holder with her teeth and the SIM would not stay inside the caddy.

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

So please excuse me if I appear a bit dim, but do I take it that you have options where you can pre-pay for so many calls/texts/data per month but you have to pay for this monthly allowance in advance over a fixed period of months?

It depends on the provider. Many have monthly plans which function much like bill-and-pay plans except we pay up front and there's usually no roll-over of the unused portion of the monthly allotment. Some providers offer pay-as-you-go plans where we pay for actual usage (per minute, SMS, MB, etc.) which is deducted from a prepaid account balance. Some offer both types of prepaid arrangement plus other choices.

FWIW, I self-activated all my prepaid accounts, including AT&T, Verizon, Virgin and TracFone over the years. On the other hand, my mother went to the shop to activate her new phone but she also goes to the shop to add money to the account balance.

 

[PiggyMiddle]

FWIW, I self-activated all my prepaid accounts, including AT&T, Verizon, Virgin and TracFone over the years.

That's what I wanted to do too, but the local carrier will not mail out a SIM. Had t go into the store (120 mile round trip) and they put the SIM in and activated it.

Seems to me that we prepaid folk are at the bottom of the pecking-order. I get the impression that no carriers like them or want them so they make it as hard as possible. Try signing up on AT&T bringing your own phone. An exercise in Whack-a-Mole if ever.

I can see their point in that we can stop paying them at the end of a month and move to another carrier instead of them holding us hostage for another year and eleven months with a fixed contract. A Gordon Gekko moment there.