Will this not work?

[politjunkie]

So my Nexus took a swim this weekend and is not looking like it is coming back. I hear that if you are grandfathered into an unlimited plan you can transfer your data over to a mifi.

So I am thinking about getting a 4g mifi then buying one of the unlocked Nexus phones off contract and I use Google Voice anyways and can just use that over the wifi connection to the mifi.

Is there a reason that this would not work or it is a bad idea that I am not thinking of? Only drawback I can think of is carrying two devices.

 

[diesteldorf]

I doubt it will work since the $29.99 email and web unlimited data plan is for phones only. They don't have any unlimited 4G plans and even the Grandfathered unlimited 3g plans for USB devices are $59.99. You can probably pickup a used Nexus for around $350, but I hope you prove me wrong.

 

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You might try some silica, or even rice, in a plastic bag, to ensure it is really dried well, with no battery or sim card. Let it sit a day or two. get small wire, short all battery connections together at once for a few minutes - IN THE PHONE, NOT ON THE BATTERY! clean the battery and sim terminals with a magic eraser -or small pencil eraser, but not one that crumbles easily. Try a battery known to be charged. If that doesn't work and/or the water was dirty or salt water, I'd try an ultrasonic cleaner with new/fresh fluid - 90% rubbing alcohol if you can use that.
Shorting the terminals can be important. You'd be surprised how long devices can hold some weak but significant capacitive charge when something like this occurs. I've not done this with a Nexus, but have with other electronics, including an old Palm/Handspring Treo, with success. I'd never do a functioning phone in an ultrasonic cleaner, but seems you've little to lose trying.

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[zedorda]

So my Nexus took a swim this weekend and is not looking like it is coming back. I hear that if you are grandfathered into an unlimited plan you can transfer your data over to a mifi.

So I am thinking about getting a 4g mifi then buying one of the unlocked Nexus phones off contract and I use Google Voice anyways and can just use that over the wifi connection to the mifi.

Is there a reason that this would not work or it is a bad idea that I am not thinking of? Only drawback I can think of is carrying two devices.

I own the the MiFi 4510L and the Galaxy Nexus on contract with Big Red. The mobile broadband accounts are a completely different system of accounts without voice service and are not interchangeable in any way. They are not even link-able for any kind of discount.

Side Note: The MiFi 4510L gets the best signal reception of any LTE device I have ever seen.

I use the MiFi for my 3 WiFi phones and 2 tablets. It does work great BUT the battery life is horrible. The MiFi has a 1500mAh stock battery and light duty use won't last 4 hours. When the MiFi sleeps for extra battery life you will not receive Google Voice calls. After 15 mins of sleep the MiFi turns off.