Update: Best Prepaid for Nexus 4?

[Clone9]

Inspired by the thread on StraightTalk TMo issues, I'm interested in hearing some love/hate stories from your Nexus 4 prepaid carriers. After all, some of us (me included) switched to the N4 in large part because of the ability to get a premium device at a decent price point off-contract.....and we can ditch whatever crappy service we have and find the best!

So, what is the best?!?!

I started with ST TMo and had great data connections and speeds but my apartment (Boston) was apparently in a dead zone and had a lot of dropped calls....so I switched to ST ATT and have had quite a few problems when switching between WiFi and ATT data...and the speeds aren't great (I knew this going in).

 

[scoutconnor]

I'm on the T-Mo 5GB, 100 min plan and I only have 2G speeds. Even Though there is a college in my town, TMo has decided we don't need 3/4G.
I'm trying to decide whether to stay with this or head back to Sprint 3G. Both are around the same speed.

 

[chrisdiaz73]

So far....a few weeks in to an ATT Straight Talk Account....everything seems fine...went to ST from a GoPhone Account...and all seems at the very least equivalent...

 

[nickacs]

ST AT&T here as well. Been on them for the last 4 months and so issues/throttling. When I got my N4 on launch day, I signed up first for the TMo $30 prepaid plan, however, my work is a deadzone for their data/call signal, so I had to switch. Sucks because for the price, of course, TMo prepaid was the best and that was coming from Verizon before I got my N4, paying 4x as much!

 

[return_0]

I've been using the $30 unlimited text/data, 5GB 4G, and 100 min plan and I have no regrets.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[mr_wendal]

Straight Talk's customer service was horrible. It took a long time to actually get on the network and be able to use my phone. When I ditched them after a month, I had to call them again to ask what my account number was (turns out it was my SIM number), but they kept telling me it was my phone's serial number. They just don't seem to have any training.

T-mobile's $30 plan has been great for me. The town I live and work in has great coverage, but unfortunately that's not the case with every city. When I drove to the next town over (about 25 miles) to visit a friend, I had trouble finding my way back home because the Waze GPS app couldn't draw the route to the highway for me because the coverage there was poor. But other than that, I have had no problems with them. Using Vonage, I haven't gone over my minutes yet, and my data speed is crazy fast.

 

[runtmms]

I switched from Sprint to Solavei in January. I've been very happy with Solavei - of course that could have something to do with coming from Sprint...

Solavei is a T-Mobile MVNO, so you have to be happy with what T-Mobile offers in your area.

I know some people have reported customer service issues. My personal experiences have been far better than expected - to the point that I've received phone call followups to threads I've posted in their support forums. (I actually feel uncomfortable about telling people about my customer service experience because I know it can't be the norm.)

Bottom line is my service works, which is what I expect. And with their referral program I get paid back some every month which is pretty neat.

Sent from my Nexus 4 on Solavei

 

[greydarrah]

My experience is that Straight Talk with any carrier is going to suck. They throttle like crazy (on a daily basis). Tmo is by far and away the fastest network, but only if you have a decent signal in your area. If not, I would probably try to go with ATT directly, but I don't even know if they have their own prepaid plans.

 

[G3TCASHM0N3Y]

I also switched from sprint to solavei. Couldn't be more happy. I don't pay for service at all anymore (referral bonus) and I get the best value for service around. Let me know if you want to try it out and I'll send you a free sim card.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[chestont]

I signed up for the $30 t mobile plan with the intention of testing an att mvno later but I'm fortunate enough to have great hspa+42 where I live so I haven't made the change.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Another vote for T-Mobile's own pre-paid plans. As long as you have good T-Mo signal, the $30/5GB plan can't be beat for sheer value if you're not a big phone talker.

 

[Bob Coxner]

I tried the $30 TMo but I'm in a suburban area and I could rarely get a signal indoors. Outdoor speed was mediocre. Switched to Net10 AT&T and it's working great. Even indoors I can get 4.3+ up and 1.1+ down, higher speeds outside. If you refill directly with Net10 it's $50 plus tax and 911 fee. However, you can buy $50 refills on eBay for around $36 and no tax or fee.

 

[chestont]

I tried the $30 TMo but I'm in a suburban area and I could rarely get a signal indoors. Outdoor speed was mediocre. Switched to Net10 AT&T and it's working great. Even indoors I can get 4.3+ up and 1.1+ down, higher speeds outside. If you refill directly with Net10 it's $50 plus tax and 911 fee. However, you can buy $50 refills on eBay for around $36 and no tax or fee.

I do this refill strategy on eBay as well with T-Mobile prepaid. It is incredible paying around $35 for a $50 refill. It ends up being around $21 a month. Which means I spend less than $900 over a 2 year period paying full price for a Nexus 4 whereas my friend who just re-upped with Verizon will be paying $2420 for a Razr M over the same period time. SMH, gotta love prepaid.

 

[jdbii]

I tried the $30 TMo but I'm in a suburban area and I could rarely get a signal indoors. Outdoor speed was mediocre. Switched to Net10 AT&T and it's working great. Even indoors I can get 4.3+ up and 1.1+ down, higher speeds outside. If you refill directly with Net10 it's $50 plus tax and 911 fee. However, you can buy $50 refills on eBay for around $36 and no tax or fee.

I've heard that sometimes it can take up to 24 hours for an ebay refill transaction to process. Have you ever been caught with a dead phone while waiting for the transaction to process, and if so, are people able to leave you voicemails during the "dead" time, or do you lose any such voicemails? With Tmobile, I think you can leave voicemails and retrieve them once you refill, but I don't know if that is the case with Net10.


With Tmobile,

 

[jdbii]

It ends up being around $21 a month.

Don't laugh, but I am not very good at math so bear with me -- how do you only pay $21? Your post said you pay $35 for a $50 refill.

 

[jdbii]

I don't pay for service at all anymore (referral bonus) and I get the best value for service around.

Do you still get the referral bonus if the customers you referred stop being Solavei customers. I would think not, but maybe there would be a time limit, like if a referral of yours was a paying customer for 12 months then your referral bonus vests for that person or something like that.

 

[tgp]

I do this refill strategy on eBay as well with T-Mobile prepaid. It is incredible paying around $35 for a $50 refill. It ends up being around $21 a month. Which means I spend less than $900 over a 2 year period paying full price for a Nexus 4 whereas my friend who just re-upped with Verizon will be paying $2420 for a Razr M over the same period time. SMH, gotta love prepaid.

I do the exact same thing. It's hard to believe you can get 5GB of 4G data (plus 100 minutes & unlimited SMS) for $21/month!

I've heard that sometimes it can take up to 24 hours for an ebay refill transaction to process. Have you ever been caught with a dead phone while waiting for the transaction to process, and if so, are people able to leave you voicemails during the "dead" time, or do you lose any such voicemails? With Tmobile, I think you can leave voicemails and retrieve them once you refill, but I don't know if that is the case with Net10.

I buy the refills at least several days before the end of my plan month, usually a couple weeks before. That leaves plenty of time for the transaction to process. But of all the times I've done it I think the longest it's ever taken was a couple hours, and usually it's <15 minutes.

Don't laugh, but I am not very good at math so bear with me -- how do you only pay $21? Your post said you pay $35 for a $50 refill.

I'll help with the math. The T-Mobile plan is $30/month. $35 / $50 = $0.70, which means that every $1 value costs 70?. So, $30 (monthly cost) * .70 = $21, actual cost of $30/month service.

 

[runtmms]

Do you still get the referral bonus if the customers you referred stop being Solavei customers. I would think not, but maybe there would be a time limit, like if a referral of yours was a paying customer for 12 months then your referral bonus vests for that person or something like that.

Referral bonus is based entirely on people staying customers. That's actually something I like because it means it all comes down to it being a good service. There's no point in talking it up, or trying to "sell" it. The bottom line is customers have to be happy enough to stick with Solavei for the referrals to count for anything. I think that puts the focus in the right place.

Sent from my Nexus 4 on Solavei

 

[anon(5719825)]

My experience is that Straight Talk with any carrier is going to suck. They throttle like crazy (on a daily basis). Tmo is by far and away the fastest network, but only if you have a decent signal in your area. If not, I would probably try to go with ATT directly, but I don't even know if they have their own prepaid plans.

AT&T is coming up with a new prepaid plan soon. It will have unlimited talk and text with 2GB data for $50. Not bad but I still prefer T-Mobile for the most part. Data will be 4G but not LTE on the new AT&T plan.

Read about it here: AT&T planning June launch of 'All In One' prepaid brand - FierceWireless

 

[return_0]

AT&T is coming up with a new prepaid plan soon. It will have unlimited talk and text with 2GB data for $50. Not bad but I still prefer T-Mobile for the most part. Data will be 4G but not LTE on the new AT&T plan.

Read about it here: AT&T planning June launch of 'All In One' prepaid brand - FierceWireless

T-Mo's prepaid plans include LTE, right?

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums