Which is the best pre-paid service for the Nexus?

[vor]

Oh interesting. I see the ability to pay for more minutes, but not more 4G data...

I have read some claim they were able to restart their 4G data buy paying $30 and resetting their Monthly Plan. (IE Your billing starts 7/1, you hit 5GB on 7/21, you call and have TMo deduct $30 from your bucket and you now start a new 30 Prepaid cycle 7/21) YMMV

 

[Woosh]

I'm not dissing straight talk I have straight talk on my gnex. I'm just saying ppl complain that the unlimited isn't truly unlimited. If they want to complain then they can pay $$$ for all the GB they use simple as that. For $45 a month I can wait till I'm on wifi to download large apps and what not. Don't buy a kia and expect a Lexus.

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Kia doesn't advertise itself to be a Lexus. You assume because something is less money it somehow makes it worse?

I wouldn't sue for personal reasons to get rich but what they are doing is shady imo. They advertise unlimited and keep the ability to drop you anytime they want and keeping your phone number as well. For simply using the unlimited data they advertise having.

If they put a limit on things and ppl stayed within that limit there would be less complaints. Having invisible limits that ppl attempt to stay in is very shady imo.

I've been with ST for 6 months atm and no complaints here yet. But I will agree with those that have complaints, the terms should be stated when you sign up for the plan. Not after they feel they are losing money on you.

 

[Woosh]

Oh interesting. I see the ability to pay for more minutes, but not more 4G data...

No way to add more data.....Once you hit 5GB you drop to 2G speeds and stay there till the new month opens up.

 

[Ry]

No way to add more data.....Once you hit 5GB you drop to 2G speeds and stay there till the new month opens up.

Which is why I think overages are a better deal vs. throttling.

Example: Listen to the latest episode of the Cell Phone Junkie podcast. A caller described a life or death situation involving his daughter where they had to find the nearest emergency room. He has unlimited but went past 3GB so AT&T started throttling him. When he went to use his phone to find the nearest emergency room, his connection was throttled to the point where it was unusable. Luckily, he also had Navigon installed with pre-loaded maps and points of interest.

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[Woosh]

Which is why I think overages are a better deal vs. throttling.

Example: Listen to the latest episode of the Cell Phone Junkie podcast. A caller described a life or death situation involving his daughter where they had to find the nearest emergency room. He has unlimited but went past 3GB so AT&T started throttling him. When he went to use his phone to find the nearest emergency room, his connection was throttled to the point where it was unusable. Luckily, he also had Navigon installed with pre-loaded maps and points of interest.

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Maybe....I personally like what T-Mo is doing and basically doing it both ways. You can buy 100mb of high speed and get throttled or you can buy 5gb and get throttled. Gives you options based on your usage.

Its much better imo then Verizon $15 a GB overage.

But both Verizon and AT&T I think go higher then what T-Mo offers. Fairly sure T-Mo highest is 5gb while the others are 10?

But you can buy roughly 3-4 of these T-Mo $30 plans for what you would pay Verizon for 10gb of shared data. Just have to carry around 4 Sims.

 

[Ry]

Maybe....I personally like what T-Mo is doing and basically doing it both ways. You can buy 100mb of high speed and get throttled or you can buy 5gb and get throttled. Gives you options based on your usage.

Its much better imo then Verizon $15 a GB overage.

But both Verizon and AT&T I think go higher then what T-Mo offers. Fairly sure T-Mo highest is 5gb while the others are 10?

But you can buy roughly 3-4 of these T-Mo $30 plans for what you would pay Verizon for 10gb of shared data. Just have to carry around 4 Sims.

But when you get throttled, you may end up in a situation where you need full speed data and its a matter of life or death.

Both Sprint (if you have a good connection) and Verizon (if you're on LTE) unlimited plans do not get throttled based on "overuse".

I think the tiered plan on Verizon goes up to 15, while AT&T's coming tiered plan goes up to 20. But then if you go over, you pay an overage- you don't get throttled.

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[Woosh]

But when you get throttled, you may end up in a situation where you need full speed data and its a matter of life or death.

Both Sprint (if you have a good connection) and Verizon (if you're on LTE) unlimited plans do not get throttled based on "overuse".

I think the tiered plan on Verizon goes up to 15, while AT&T's coming tiered plan goes up to 20. But then if you go over, you pay an overage- you don't get throttled.

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Tbh I can't think of a single reason where data would be a matter of life or death.(Well maybe I could if I rly tried) But it wasn't that long ago that nobody had smartphones and AFAIK deaths haven't gone down due to the amount of smartphones in ppls hands.

I wish we lived in a world where there was no throttle and no caps at all. But I remember back when having a regular phone and every month you don't know what the bill is because of all the stupid overages. I DO NOT ever want to go back to that.

As long as these plans are detailed you should know what your data usage is and stay within those parameters. If you sign up for a 2GB T-Mo plan and use 4GB a month you should be aware of the throttle.

Obviously the big problem here is Straight Talk where the limit is invisible and not disclosed to you.

Anyway, Thx for the podcast suggestion. Even though these ppl seem to be iPhone users its an interesting listen.

 

[Ry]

Tbh I can't think of a single reason where data would be a matter of life or death.(Well maybe I could if I rly tried) But it wasn't that long ago that nobody had smartphones and AFAIK deaths haven't gone down due to the amount of smartphones in ppls hands.

I wish we lived in a world where there was no throttle and no caps at all. But I remember back when having a regular phone and every month you don't know what the bill is because of all the stupid overages. I DO NOT ever want to go back to that.

As long as these plans are detailed you should know what your data usage is and stay within those parameters. If you sign up for a 2GB T-Mo plan and use 4GB a month you should be aware of the throttle.

Obviously the big problem here is Straight Talk where the limit is invisible and not disclosed to you.

Anyway, Thx for the podcast suggestion. Even though these ppl seem to be iPhone users its an interesting listen.

Mickey guests on the Android Central podcast all the time.

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[myrcgarage]

No 2 year contract ETF ($200 on Value plans), no added taxes, ability to buy prepaid cards at a small discount (3-5%), but Value plan would get you Roaming...

TMobile Monthly4G has no roaming?

 

[vor]

No Prepaid has roaming, possible exception is Straighttalk but with their far from Straightforward disclosure no one knows for certain. (Emergency calls will go through however, I don't think you even need a sim for 911 to work)

 

[myrcgarage]

No Prepaid has roaming, possible exception is Straighttalk but with their far from Straightforward disclosure no one knows for certain. (Emergency calls will go through however, I don't think you even need a sim for 911 to work)

how is t-mobile coverage in general?

 

[Woosh]

how is t-mobile coverage in general?

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

I only used T-Mo for about 4 months until I decided to move on. Coverage is certainly spotty. If you travel you will see dead spots. But as with all carriers it will depend where you spend your time the most. I am sure there are some parts of the world where T-Mo is the best carrier.

They have impressive data speeds though. The other day at Costco I decided to play around with the 3 displays they had......Verizon LTE showed up at about 2mbps down, ATT went as high as 5MBPS(Although according to him that was 3G), and the T-Mo went just a shade over 12MBPS down.

I was certainly impressed with what I saw and ordered a 99c SIM to try them out again.

I think the biggest fault of T-Mo(At least with my experience)is their building penetration. Most my work has no signal, while Sprint never ever had that problem with me.

I've decided to drop ST for a few months and go with the $30 plan and save some money. I'll decide when the next Nexus comes out what to do after that. I don't use my phone much anyway and would love the savings for a few months.

I wish VM would go BYOD so I could do that.

But, if you want fast data and limited mins then T-Mo is a great option. Otherwise I think most ppl are better off with the ATT sim from ST.

 

[mongstradamus]

I was just wondering how your experience data wise was on T-Mobile prepaid? Thought I read somewhere they start throttling you to 2g speeds after few hundred mb of data is that true?

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Oops just read prior post about the two options for data so scratch this post

 

[Ry]

I was just wondering how your experience data wise was on T-Mobile prepaid? Thought I read somewhere they start throttling you to 2g speeds after few hundred mb of data is that true?

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Oops just read prior post about the two options for data so scratch this post

T-Mobile is pretty up front and clear about when they start throttling you.

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[Brandito]

Sprint is a very long way from getting usable coverage of LTE. If you happen to be one of the lucky few with it in your city it may be OK. Meanwhile you pay $10 extra per month for something you aren't getting.

10 dollars extra over what? A feature phone data plan? That applies to all smart phones now, and it's still something like 10 bucks less than att and verizon for for similar plans.

I can't believe people are still going on about that.

You're getting a smartphone data plan, not 4g service.

Back on topic, My gf is wanting to ditch sprint post paid, I think I'm going to get her to go with the t-mobile plans based on what I'm reading, thanks guys!

 

[The Hustleman]

10 dollars extra over what? A feature phone data plan? That applies to all smart phones now, and it's still something like 10 bucks less than att and verizon for for similar plans.

I can't believe people are still going on about that.

You're getting a smartphone data plan, not 4g service.

Back on topic, My gf is wanting to ditch sprint post paid, I think I'm going to get her to go with the t-mobile plans based on what I'm reading, thanks guys!

Actually it's a lot more than ten bucks less than att or Verizon.

I priced the numbers recently because I wanted to leave Sprint

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III on T-Mobile! goodbye Sprint!

 

[Airwolf79]

10 dollars extra over what? A feature phone data plan? That applies to all smart phones now, and it's still something like 10 bucks less than att and verizon for for similar plans.

I can't believe people are still going on about that.

You're getting a smartphone data plan, not 4g service.

Look, its all a matter of principle. When they first started this $10 fee, it made sense because the 4g network had just been getting underway. I didn't mind because I had top of the line hardware in the Evo. Then I found out that if I decided to get a new phone on my second line, whether it was a subsidized phone with a contract renewel, or if I just activated any other phone, even another used 3g phone, I would have to pay another $10 a month on my account. Nevermind the fact that they were supposed to expand Wimax to my area, I just want 3g speeds. I've been getting no more than 300kb/s at my house for the last two years. I decided not to renew my second line and I will be cancelling my primary line as soon as my contract is up and getting a prepaid account. After 2 years of paying that "premium data " fee, their network is just now getting overhauled. We have every right to complain about it. Are we supposed to just be happy with what we're getting because we pay less than At&t and Verizon customers? I don't think so. They should have issued every Sprint customer an apology and a credit for that premium data fee that we payed for their mistake in choosing Wimax and it being a total failure. Sorry, I know this is off topic, but this is the whole reason I'm following these prepaid topics. Sprint may still be one of the cheapest carriers, but it's ridiculous to raise prices without providing something to ALL your customers in return. Sorry guys, rant over.

 

[The Hustleman]

Look, its all a matter of principle. When they first started this $10 fee, it made sense because the 4g network had just been getting underway. I didn't mind because I had top of the line hardware in the Evo. Then I found out that if I decided to get a new phone on my second line, whether it was a subsidized phone with a contract renewel, or if I just activated any other phone, even another used 3g phone, I would have to pay another $10 a month on my account. Nevermind the fact that they were supposed to expand Wimax to my area, I just want 3g speeds. I've been getting no more than 300kb/s at my house for the last two years. I decided not to renew my second line and I will be cancelling my primary line as soon as my contract is up and getting a prepaid account. After 2 years of paying that "premium data " fee, their network is just now getting overhauled. We have every right to complain about it. Are we supposed to just be happy with what we're getting because we pay less than At&t and Verizon customers? I don't think so. They should have issued every Sprint customer an apology and a credit for that premium data fee that we payed for their mistake in choosing Wimax and it being a total failure. Sorry, I know this is off topic, but this is the whole reason I'm following these prepaid topics. Sprint may still be one of the cheapest carriers, but it's ridiculous to raise prices without providing something to ALL your customers in return. Sorry guys, rant over.

Agreed

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III on T-Mobile! goodbye Sprint!

 

[Woosh]

Actually it's a lot more than ten bucks less than att or Verizon.

I priced the numbers recently because I wanted to leave Sprint

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile! goodbye Sprint!

That simply depends on what you want. Its not easy doing side by side comparison since Sprint has unl data.....But for example if you want unl everything then with 1gb of data it'll be $90 but with Sprint its $110. Obviously you get more data but for $110 with Verizon you can have 4GB of high speed LTE with them.

Their cheapest smartphone plan(Without discount) is $80 a month while in comparison the Verizon one is $90 a month. Sprint you get only 450 mins while Verizon is unl but far less data.

Look, its all a matter of principle. When they first started this $10 fee, it made sense because the 4g network had just been getting underway. I didn't mind because I had top of the line hardware in the Evo. Then I found out that if I decided to get a new phone on my second line, whether it was a subsidized phone with a contract renewel, or if I just activated any other phone, even another used 3g phone, I would have to pay another $10 a month on my account. Nevermind the fact that they were supposed to expand Wimax to my area, I just want 3g speeds. I've been getting no more than 300kb/s at my house for the last two years. I decided not to renew my second line and I will be cancelling my primary line as soon as my contract is up and getting a prepaid account. After 2 years of paying that "premium data " fee, their network is just now getting overhauled. We have every right to complain about it. Are we supposed to just be happy with what we're getting because we pay less than At&t and Verizon customers? I don't think so. They should have issued every Sprint customer an apology and a credit for that premium data fee that we payed for their mistake in choosing Wimax and it being a total failure. Sorry, I know this is off topic, but this is the whole reason I'm following these prepaid topics. Sprint may still be one of the cheapest carriers, but it's ridiculous to raise prices without providing something to ALL your customers in return. Sorry guys, rant over.

Not to mention I remember watching the video where Dan Hesse was bragging how he wasn't charging his customers anymore money for the WiMax and then he went ahead and tacked on a charge for a big shiny 4.3" screen instead.

Was so happy to drop Sprint because of that personally. I got out due to a $2 ish extra bump in price and haven't gone back yet after about 8 years with them.

I would still go back if its the best carrier for me, but atm I been playing with prepaids and having fun doing it. Love the freedom and the coverage is hmm.....close to what I had with Sprint. Sprint voice was far better then what I receive atm but the 3G speeds on ST are VERY pleasant in comparison to what I had with Sprint which was worse then T-Mo 2G speeds.

PS - Not to mention I have what I consider to be the best smartphone on the market atm for a crazy good price and no carrier ties.

 

[EJP]

You can also check out virgen mobile pre paid sevices, $55.00 a month for unlimited, text, data and calls.

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