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Save $ on cell service -- Ting Mobile / Solavei (+ other MVNOs) (1 Viewer)

Girlfriend is trying to decide whether to stay on her parents' plan (Verizon) for $40/month or go it on her own. Our zip is 28205 and her usage is quite small.

She will need a new phone regarless. Would appreciate any suggestions y'all have.

 
Girlfriend is trying to decide whether to stay on her parents' plan (Verizon) for $40/month or go it on her own. Our zip is 28205 and her usage is quite small.

She will need a new phone regarless. Would appreciate any suggestions y'all have.
how small? Minutes, texts, data usage?Although, if she gets subsidized phones via her parents plan, $40 is tough to beat.

 
All, just a quick follow-up/update - I bought and received my Nexus 4 (went with the 16GB for $249 since 8GB out of stock and more memory always seems better anyway), and got the Solavei SIM from Hulk, and am up and running! I'm on the $40/mo special with Solavei for unlimited talk/text/data; with taxes it's $44.81. That'll go up after 3 months, to $50/mo + taxes. I'm monitoring my data usage to see if cheaper plans would work for me after the 3 month promo. Ran into hiccups with porting my number to Google voice (forgot my Verizon PIN, didn't know my account number, etc), but should have it worked out soon. So far, phone works great - great coverage, easy to use and so on!

Thank you all for the great support and advice! I come back and check this board just to learn more via the advice given to others!

Hulk, definitely post (re-post?) your blog link... I'll farm it out to the doubtful family/friends overpaying on their contracts because they distrust any company that's not one of the Big Companies.

--Z

 
I switched to Ting (used Hulk's referral), happy with it so far. I'm very light user at the moment so I don't expect my bill to go over $33/mo. unless I start using a lot of data. My Sprint account would cost me $50 and even though it was 500 min. with unlimited text and data I never took advantage of it.

BTW, I bought a used Note 2 on eBay for $250, great phone and much more useful than the S3/S4 IMO.

 
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Hi Hulk, what's my best option for two lines in 06611. First is a data phone (400 minutes, 500 txt, ~ 1 gb data). Second is a dumb phone, emergency use only (generally less than 10 minutes/month), no texting.

 
Hi Hulk, what's my best option for two lines in 06611. First is a data phone (400 minutes, 500 txt, ~ 1 gb data). Second is a dumb phone, emergency use only (generally less than 10 minutes/month), no texting.
Both phones on the same plan puts you on Ting @ $50 a month for 2 lines, 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 1 GB of data.

If you put them on seperate plans, you could do this:

Dumbphone: There are several options here that would work for cheap.

Kajeet (Sprint network): $4.99 for 10 minutes. No roaming. Must buy a phone from them.

Mingo Wireless (Sprint network): $5 for 50 minutes. No roaming. May be able to bring *some* used Sprint phones.

Talk For Good (Verizon network: $6 for 30 minutes, 30 texts, and 5 MB of data (lol). Free roaming on Sprint's network. May be able to bring *some* Verizon used phones.

Ting (Sprint Network): $6/$9. $6 if you don't use it. $9 if you use up to 100 minutes. Free roaming on Verizon's network. Maybe be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Smartphone:

Voyager Mobile (Sprint's network): $39 for unlimited calls/texts + 5GB of data. No roaming. May be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Both Ting and Voyager have access to Sprint's LTE.

None of these account for your local taxes/fees for cell service. You'd pay that twice if you went with seperate plans, which might make the cost savings from doing them seperate a wash. So, either Ting for both, or Voyager for the smart phone and one of the others for the emergency phone.

 
Heck of a deal, and its permament!

In the Rhetoric 101 class of copywriting college, they teach that one way to engage your audience is to start out with a statement that everyone can agree with. Or so I assume. I didn’t actually go.

Early termination fees suck.

homepageImages_contract.png
We’ve been working on a way to soften the blow, and our efforts are now live and ready for primetime on the Ting EFT Relief page.

If you remember our $100,000 ETF Buyout campaign back in February of this year, you’ll recall that the entire $100,000 ETF fund lasted all of seven minutes from the time we put the promotion live.

We took that to mean that there was some latent demand. We started to think about what we might do next.

Rather than undertake another one-time ETF buyout campaign, we decided instead to offer some ETF relief to everyone that pays an early termination fee with a contract to move to Ting.

Effective today, we’ll pay 25% of the ETF paid to make the move to Ting, up to $75.

That’s up to $75 per line, to be clear. If you’re breaking out of your family plan contract to come to Ting, you can receive up to $75 per line that has an early termination fee associated with it.

Not to suggest you should do anything other than jump on this right away, but this isn’t a limited-time promotion. Rather, ETF Relief is just something we do now.

How Ting ETF Relief worksThe process is clearly outlined on the Ting ETF Relief page but in short, here’s how it works:

  1. Activate a device with Ting: It can be a new device, a device purchased from the used devices page or a device that’s eligible to be brought to Ting.
  2. Port your number to Ting: Porting your number automatically cancels your account with the previous provider. You’ll receive your final bill, including your early termination fee.
  3. Send us your ETF documents: We’ll do a quick check to make sure everything lines up and we’ll drop 25% of your ETF up to $75 for each cancelled line with an ETF associated.
If you’re stuck in a mobile contract and you’ve been thinking about making the move to Ting and mobile that makes sense, there really is no time like the present.

Get all the details and, if you’re under contract, score a little Ting ETF Relief!
Nice deal! Should have waited 2 months to switch...
:goodposting: - switched just a few weeks ago and got a nice double-hit

1. Added a line to the Sprint plan about a month before finding out about Ting.

2. Switched over to Ting 2 months into the contract - $200 ETF

3. Ting introduces the rebate a month later

4.

5. Not profit.

The ETF will still be paid for in about 10 months (vs 22 left on the contract), but still.

 
Hi Hulk, what's my best option for two lines in 06611. First is a data phone (400 minutes, 500 txt, ~ 1 gb data). Second is a dumb phone, emergency use only (generally less than 10 minutes/month), no texting.
Both phones on the same plan puts you on Ting @ $50 a month for 2 lines, 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 1 GB of data.

If you put them on seperate plans, you could do this:

Dumbphone: There are several options here that would work for cheap.

Kajeet (Sprint network): $4.99 for 10 minutes. No roaming. Must buy a phone from them.

Mingo Wireless (Sprint network): $5 for 50 minutes. No roaming. May be able to bring *some* used Sprint phones.

Talk For Good (Verizon network: $6 for 30 minutes, 30 texts, and 5 MB of data (lol). Free roaming on Sprint's network. May be able to bring *some* Verizon used phones.

Ting (Sprint Network): $6/$9. $6 if you don't use it. $9 if you use up to 100 minutes. Free roaming on Verizon's network. Maybe be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Smartphone:

Voyager Mobile (Sprint's network): $39 for unlimited calls/texts + 5GB of data. No roaming. May be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Both Ting and Voyager have access to Sprint's LTE.

None of these account for your local taxes/fees for cell service. You'd pay that twice if you went with seperate plans, which might make the cost savings from doing them seperate a wash. So, either Ting for both, or Voyager for the smart phone and one of the others for the emergency phone.
Thanks, I will research these options! Both lines are currently billed through my company's corporate Verizon plan (and are subsidized by my phone being the primary), but it may make sense to move the corporate plan to Share Everything and then it's hard for me to justify continuing the subsidy when the dumb phone is charged $30/month on the bill. Currently that phone only has a line item of $9.99/month plus taxes.

For the Voyager and Ting options, these are not compatible with the Nexus 4 (or upcoming Nexus 5), right?

 
Question from a friend at work - any suggestions or tips on good deals for a Samsung Galaxy 4 or the new Samsung Note (not sure that one's even out yet)?


He has the Samsung Galaxy 3 now but wants a newer, shinier phone without paying full price... he's on Verizon but has a long time left on the contract.

--Z

 
Hi Hulk, what's my best option for two lines in 06611. First is a data phone (400 minutes, 500 txt, ~ 1 gb data). Second is a dumb phone, emergency use only (generally less than 10 minutes/month), no texting.
Both phones on the same plan puts you on Ting @ $50 a month for 2 lines, 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 1 GB of data.

If you put them on seperate plans, you could do this:

Dumbphone: There are several options here that would work for cheap.

Kajeet (Sprint network): $4.99 for 10 minutes. No roaming. Must buy a phone from them.

Mingo Wireless (Sprint network): $5 for 50 minutes. No roaming. May be able to bring *some* used Sprint phones.

Talk For Good (Verizon network: $6 for 30 minutes, 30 texts, and 5 MB of data (lol). Free roaming on Sprint's network. May be able to bring *some* Verizon used phones.

Ting (Sprint Network): $6/$9. $6 if you don't use it. $9 if you use up to 100 minutes. Free roaming on Verizon's network. Maybe be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Smartphone:

Voyager Mobile (Sprint's network): $39 for unlimited calls/texts + 5GB of data. No roaming. May be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Both Ting and Voyager have access to Sprint's LTE.

None of these account for your local taxes/fees for cell service. You'd pay that twice if you went with seperate plans, which might make the cost savings from doing them seperate a wash. So, either Ting for both, or Voyager for the smart phone and one of the others for the emergency phone.
Thanks, I will research these options! Both lines are currently billed through my company's corporate Verizon plan (and are subsidized by my phone being the primary), but it may make sense to move the corporate plan to Share Everything and then it's hard for me to justify continuing the subsidy when the dumb phone is charged $30/month on the bill. Currently that phone only has a line item of $9.99/month plus taxes.

For the Voyager and Ting options, these are not compatible with the Nexus 4 (or upcoming Nexus 5), right?
For the Nexus 4, those only work on AT&T or T-Mobile or one of their MVNOs.

The Nexus 5, we'll see. It may work on Sprint. It probably won't work on Verizon. It definitely will work on AT&T and T-Mobile.

 
Question from a friend at work - any suggestions or tips on good deals for a Samsung Galaxy 4 or the new Samsung Note (not sure that one's even out yet)?


He has the Samsung Galaxy 3 now but wants a newer, shinier phone without paying full price... he's on Verizon but has a long time left on the contract.

--Z
If you want those phones without paying full price, you need to sign on a contract. Which, as we've covered here extensively, is usually a very poor deal.

 
Question from a friend at work - any suggestions or tips on good deals for a Samsung Galaxy 4 or the new Samsung Note (not sure that one's even out yet)?


He has the Samsung Galaxy 3 now but wants a newer, shinier phone without paying full price... he's on Verizon but has a long time left on the contract.

--Z
If you want those phones without paying full price, you need to sign on a contract. Which, as we've covered here extensively, is usually a very poor deal.
That's what I told him! But, he has some complex setup with a my-fi doo-hicky with Verizon and a bunch of others, so he's too hooked (and distrustful) to get away from the contracts. :P I tried...

--Z

 
Question from a friend at work - any suggestions or tips on good deals for a Samsung Galaxy 4 or the new Samsung Note (not sure that one's even out yet)?

He has the Samsung Galaxy 3 now but wants a newer, shinier phone without paying full price... he's on Verizon but has a long time left on the contract.

--Z
eBay.

But IMO it's not a smart idea to upgrade from the S3 to the S4 - they're almost the same phone.

 
Question from a friend at work - any suggestions or tips on good deals for a Samsung Galaxy 4 or the new Samsung Note (not sure that one's even out yet)?


He has the Samsung Galaxy 3 now but wants a newer, shinier phone without paying full price... he's on Verizon but has a long time left on the contract.

--Z
If you want those phones without paying full price, you need to sign on a contract. Which, as we've covered here extensively, is usually a very poor deal.
That's what I told him! But, he has some complex setup with a my-fi doo-hicky with Verizon and a bunch of others, so he's too hooked (and distrustful) to get away from the contracts. :P I tried...

--Z
Tell him to stop thinking about it as what he would have to pay right now and start thinking about how much he wants to spend over the next 2 years.

 
Hey I spend most my time in zip codes

14812 and 14845

I am not currently attached with any particular phone (though I have a Galaxy SS i could use) I don't want apple.

I want at least 2GB data and unlimited text and about 2000 minutes.

Any recommendations?

 
Hey I spend most my time in zip codes

14812 and 14845

I am not currently attached with any particular phone (though I have a Galaxy SS i could use) I don't want apple.

I want at least 2GB data and unlimited text and about 2000 minutes.

Any recommendations?
Well, your location is tough... T-Mobile only has 2G coverage, Sprint doesn't even have voice in 14812, AT&T has "moderate" coverage there, and "best" in Horseheads, Verizon has some spots with no coverage at all in 14812, and very good coverage in Horseheads.

So, basically, you need something on Verizon or AT&T. If you spend a fair ammount of time in 14812, then I would say to go with AT&T over Verizon... in that area, Verizon's LTE signal will be weak or missing, and their 3G data is SLOW... like 6 times slower than AT&T's 3G. So, AT&T should do your data better in that area. Both should perform well in Horseheads.

Given all of this, your best bet is Straight Talk with an AT&T sim card. $45 for unlimited calls/texts, and data is promoted as "unlimited" but really ends up being about 2 GB for most people. They now have access to AT&T's LTE as well.

Next closest option is Page Plus Cellular (Verizon coverage). $55 for unlimited calls/texts, and 2 GB of data. Data is Verizon's 3G and would be substantially slower than AT&Ts.

Both companies are owned by Carlos Slim/American Movil. Due to this, anticipate HORRID customer service from a call center in the Phillipeans. Still, how often do you need customer service? If you went direct with AT&T it'd be $110 a month, and their customer service is only okay in the first place. Definitely go Straight Talk for this one.

 
Thanks HULK, which choice has the better choice in phones?
Straight Talk by far. You can use ANY AT&T compatible unlocked phone. I would recommend the Nexus, but I think Google is out of stock. The new Nexus should be released sometime soon though.

 
Hi Hulk, what's my best option for two lines in 06611. First is a data phone (400 minutes, 500 txt, ~ 1 gb data). Second is a dumb phone, emergency use only (generally less than 10 minutes/month), no texting.
Both phones on the same plan puts you on Ting @ $50 a month for 2 lines, 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 1 GB of data.

If you put them on seperate plans, you could do this:

Dumbphone: There are several options here that would work for cheap.

Kajeet (Sprint network): $4.99 for 10 minutes. No roaming. Must buy a phone from them.

Mingo Wireless (Sprint network): $5 for 50 minutes. No roaming. May be able to bring *some* used Sprint phones.

Talk For Good (Verizon network: $6 for 30 minutes, 30 texts, and 5 MB of data (lol). Free roaming on Sprint's network. May be able to bring *some* Verizon used phones.

Ting (Sprint Network): $6/$9. $6 if you don't use it. $9 if you use up to 100 minutes. Free roaming on Verizon's network. Maybe be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Smartphone:

Voyager Mobile (Sprint's network): $39 for unlimited calls/texts + 5GB of data. No roaming. May be able to bring *most* used Sprint phones.

Both Ting and Voyager have access to Sprint's LTE.

None of these account for your local taxes/fees for cell service. You'd pay that twice if you went with seperate plans, which might make the cost savings from doing them seperate a wash. So, either Ting for both, or Voyager for the smart phone and one of the others for the emergency phone.
Thanks, I will research these options! Both lines are currently billed through my company's corporate Verizon plan (and are subsidized by my phone being the primary), but it may make sense to move the corporate plan to Share Everything and then it's hard for me to justify continuing the subsidy when the dumb phone is charged $30/month on the bill. Currently that phone only has a line item of $9.99/month plus taxes.

For the Voyager and Ting options, these are not compatible with the Nexus 4 (or upcoming Nexus 5), right?
For the Nexus 4, those only work on AT&T or T-Mobile or one of their MVNOs.

The Nexus 5, we'll see. It may work on Sprint. It probably won't work on Verizon. It definitely will work on AT&T and T-Mobile.
I think I'm going to wait at least until pricing for the Nexus 5 comes out before I do anything. I thinking of getting the Nexus 5 on an AT&T MVNO for my wife and Talk for Good for my MIL. Hopefully her Verizon dumbphone will work, is there anyway to find out in advance?

 
Just sent TalkForGood a question about phones and received this:

TalkForGood is shutting down!
You need to Port your number to another carrier right away. After 30 days your number will be gone.

Try PagePlus!
Your account number is your telephone number and your PIN (or pass code/security code) is the last four digits of your telephone number.



--

TalkForGood Team

Visit the online support desk at http://support.talkforgood.com/home for Answers to commonly asked questions.


tel: 888.649.1713 | support@talkforgood.com | talkforgood.com
75 S. Main St, White River Junction, VT 05001


 
Is there a better deal for a teen girl than the $30/month T-Mobile deal?

  • Hardly ever talks. <30 mins/month
  • 3000+ texts/month
  • streams Youtube and Pandora frequently along with frequent social networking
Would this phone work with the plan? (Samsung GS3 unlocked)

If so, where can I find a better price, besides eBay?

If not, what offers better bang for the buck? She'd prefer an iPhone, but this one is right around my threshold for cost.

zip is 85234

 
Is there a better deal for a teen girl than the $30/month T-Mobile deal?

  • Hardly ever talks. <30 mins/month
  • 3000+ texts/month
  • streams Youtube and Pandora frequently along with frequent social networking
Would this phone work with the plan? (Samsung GS3 unlocked)

If so, where can I find a better price, besides eBay?

If not, what offers better bang for the buck? She'd prefer an iPhone, but this one is right around my threshold for cost.

zip is 85234
The T-Mobile plan is perfect. Best deal for her by far.

 
Hulk, et al,

A friend in zip code 20602 wants to get a smart phone. He doesn't know what his data use would be, but figures fairly low. I'd guess his other usage to be 750 minutes / 150 texts per month, and maybe 500MB of data. Thoughts? He is currently a Verizon Wireless customer, no contract flip phone. He's not against switching carriers as long as he gets service, although he has some past heartache with AT&T/Sprint; and is very interested in the unlocked phone/no-contract ideal. Doesn't want to break the bank on a new phone and has no ties to any particular phone/brand.

Thoughts?

--Z

 
Hulk, et al,

A friend in zip code 20602 wants to get a smart phone. He doesn't know what his data use would be, but figures fairly low. I'd guess his other usage to be 750 minutes / 150 texts per month, and maybe 500MB of data. Thoughts? He is currently a Verizon Wireless customer, no contract flip phone. He's not against switching carriers as long as he gets service, although he has some past heartache with AT&T/Sprint; and is very interested in the unlocked phone/no-contract ideal. Doesn't want to break the bank on a new phone and has no ties to any particular phone/brand.

Thoughts?

--Z
Waldorf should have coverage from all 4, so thats good. He has a ton of options coming in @ the $40 range. Thing is, none of them are on Verizon's network, they're all on the other 3. Its tough to differentiate, but I'd say if he wants AT&T coverage he should go with Air Voice Wireless, $40 for unlimited calls/texts and 500 MB of data, free roaming. And if he wants Sprint's coverage, he should go with Voyager Mobile's $39 plan (but Sprint coverage tends to be the worst in our area, even if it is mostly okay). If he wants T-Mobile coverage, Spot Mobile has another unlimited/unlimited + 500 MB deal for $39.99.

If he doesn't want to break the bank on the phone, he should absolutely wait until mid-Oct when the next Nexus comes out. That phone would work on anything with AT&T or T-Mobile's network (it probably won't work on Sprint and Verizon's networks, unless Google changes things up, won't know until it is announced). Also, he may find that he wants more data. In which case, Solavei may be a good fit for him as well.

 
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Is there a better deal for a teen girl than the $30/month T-Mobile deal?

  • Hardly ever talks. <30 mins/month
  • 3000+ texts/month
  • streams Youtube and Pandora frequently along with frequent social networking
Would this phone work with the plan? (Samsung GS3 unlocked)

If so, where can I find a better price, besides eBay?

If not, what offers better bang for the buck? She'd prefer an iPhone, but this one is right around my threshold for cost.

zip is 85234
FWIW, I have this plan and have been very happy with it. If you don't use many minutes and are in a good t-mobile area, you really can't beat this deal - even includes LTE if you are in an area that has it.

Only gripe I have with T-mobile is that when I travel there really seems to be a lot of areas that are EDGE service.

 
Really happy with Ting. Bill for 3 phones has been ~$50 the last 2 months. Was paying ~$120 for the same thing before with Verizon.

Thanks again Hulk for the help and the thread. Savings are going to add up quickly.

 
Greetings: I am in 49081.

Here's my situation: wifes verizon family plan. 3 lines (talk&text only)

1) wife: not under contract/available for upgrade

2) son: not under contract/available for upgrade

3) Me: upgraded last year & have 1 more year. Same as above talk&text only.

I Want to add my 13y/o daughter to "A" plan as well as add data and cool phones for all players. We currently use less than 700 shared minutes/ Texts Unlimited (good thing because he is 15 and texts like a maniac. (7000+ last month)

I would be able to switch mine out and go alone through my business and set those 3 up on the new plan and then catch up later... if needed.

Thanks for your input :)

 
Is there a better deal for a teen girl than the $30/month T-Mobile deal?

  • Hardly ever talks. <30 mins/month
  • 3000+ texts/month
  • streams Youtube and Pandora frequently along with frequent social networking
Would this phone work with the plan? (Samsung GS3 unlocked)

If so, where can I find a better price, besides eBay?

If not, what offers better bang for the buck? She'd prefer an iPhone, but this one is right around my threshold for cost.

zip is 85234
FWIW, I have this plan and have been very happy with it. If you don't use many minutes and are in a good t-mobile area, you really can't beat this deal - even includes LTE if you are in an area that has it.

Only gripe I have with T-mobile is that when I travel there really seems to be a lot of areas that are EDGE service.
:thumbup:

Thanks for the endorsement. I'm going to go with it for her and hope her talk mins stay consistently low. She sort of turned her nose up to the GS3, so when I told her it's either a new GS3 or a used iPhone4, she went with the iPhone4. I get why though after she pleaded her case. The girl has a ton of music and apps already on her iPod touch, so it just makes sense to move over to another Apple device just so she's not having to take care of two items that one can do better.

My only hesitation is I'm giving up on her Sprint SERO account for this: $40 for unlimited everything. Problem is, once you get a modern day phone, they jack it up to $50/month.

BTW, if anyone is wanting to switch to T-mobile, they're offering a $0.99 SIM card right now. Regularly $10.

 
Greetings: I am in 49081.

Here's my situation: wifes verizon family plan. 3 lines (talk&text only)

1) wife: not under contract/available for upgrade

2) son: not under contract/available for upgrade

3) Me: upgraded last year & have 1 more year. Same as above talk&text only.

I Want to add my 13y/o daughter to "A" plan as well as add data and cool phones for all players. We currently use less than 700 shared minutes/ Texts Unlimited (good thing because he is 15 and texts like a maniac. (7000+ last month)

I would be able to switch mine out and go alone through my business and set those 3 up on the new plan and then catch up later... if needed.

Thanks for your input :)
I would really need to know more about what each phone's usage is to answer this better, and how much data you anticipate using.

At first brush, I'm thinking Ting though. The low minutes (700) will fit with them. Data, if you're on wifi mostly, its pretty easy to keep down at reasonable levels. With Ting, 4 phones, 1K minutes, 6K texts, and 2 GB would run $98 (+ 1/4 of a penny for each text beyond 6K). So, you'd be looking at around $100 a month plus taxes/fees. If you used less data, say just 1 GB, then it'd be $18 cheaper a month.

If you think you're going to be heavier on data usage, you could do T-Mobile. Unlimited talk/text + 500 MB of data (per phone) is also $100, and if anyone needs more than 500MB individually, additional data can be added to that line @ a rate of $10 per 2 GB.

These are pretty much the cheapest. The bad news is you'll need new phones, and they won't be subsidized. With T-Mo though you can get them on a 0% interest loan to spread the cost out over 2 years.

Oh, one other thing to consider is Zact. They're nearly identical to Ting in plans/pricing, but they have parental controls for their phones. However, they have a much more limited phone selection than Ting.

 
24months 0% does lean me toward T-Mo.

Here are the actual minutes used:

Wife:113min / 1001 text

Son: 124min / 7034 text

Me: 329min / 452 text

Adding Daughter would be roughly 100min / 1000 text.

Either way I can see roughly $70 saving /month. Even w/ the cost of the new phones + we all get Data. (Wi-Fi usage would be the norm.)

Thanks again!!

 
24months 0% does lean me toward T-Mo.

Here are the actual minutes used:

Wife:113min / 1001 text

Son: 124min / 7034 text

Me: 329min / 452 text

Adding Daughter would be roughly 100min / 1000 text.

Either way I can see roughly $70 saving /month. Even w/ the cost of the new phones + we all get Data. (Wi-Fi usage would be the norm.)

Thanks again!!
If you can switch your son to using Google Voice for texts, you could cut that number WAY down. Google voice sends texts over wifi/data and its much cheaper that way typically. Given the wifi usage, I'd think hard about Ting and Zact, they're probably a bit cheaper.

I'd also wait 2 weeks to see what the deal is with the Nexus 5 and which carriers it will work on. It should be a very strong value for a smartphone.

 
Interesting news:

Tracfone/Straight Talk has clarified their throttle point on unlimited plans finally... its 2.5 GB

Freedom Pop now offering an interesting deal: Buy a $99 smartphone (its an old one) from them and get a free plan: 200 mins, 200 texts, 500 MB a month for $0. Calls are made over data though, so the clarity may not be great, especially if you're moving.

 
Let's imagine I bought a Nexus 4 off craigslist. Checked the imei, all was good. Phone worked for 3 weeks. Now, I get a blocked imei from t-mobile. Phone shows up as being stolen.

Any mvno solution or am I completely screwed? I believe that t-mobile and ATT share their blacklisted phones, so pretty sure I can't just go to ATT.

:kicksrock:

 
Let's imagine I bought a Nexus 4 off craigslist. Checked the imei, all was good. Phone worked for 3 weeks. Now, I get a blocked imei from t-mobile. Phone shows up as being stolen.

Any mvno solution or am I completely screwed? I believe that t-mobile and ATT share their blacklisted phones, so pretty sure I can't just go to ATT.

:kicksrock:
I was about to do the same thing :unsure:

sig.jpg


 
Let's imagine I bought a Nexus 4 off craigslist. Checked the imei, all was good. Phone worked for 3 weeks. Now, I get a blocked imei from t-mobile. Phone shows up as being stolen.

Any mvno solution or am I completely screwed? I believe that t-mobile and ATT share their blacklisted phones, so pretty sure I can't just go to ATT.

:kicksrock:
oof. Contact the seller and ask for a refund? Sounds unlikely though.You might be able to get it working on an MVNO though. I'll look into it tomorrow for you.

 
I'm near certain you could get it to work on Solavei. I remember when I signed up with them initially, I used an imei I found on the internet instead of my actual one, because I wanted the SIM to ship at the same time as the phone.

I'll double check tomorrow, but if so, I'm happy to send you a free SIM card.

 
Jaysus said:
Ummm... Wouldn't a new SIM card do the trick?

P.S. Nexus 5 on Sprint, huh?
It's not the sim card, it's the imei of the phone. I pop the sim in my old iphone and it works fine.

It's an unlocked Nexus 4. Was using it with the 30 a month unlimited text/data plan on tmobile prepais

 
Jaysus said:
Ummm... Wouldn't a new SIM card do the trick?

P.S. Nexus 5 on Sprint, huh?
It's not the sim card, it's the imei of the phone. I pop the sim in my old iphone and it works fine.

It's an unlocked Nexus 4. Was using it with the 30 a month unlimited text/data plan on tmobile prepais
Did you have to tell T-mobile the IMEI of the phone when you signed up?

I just triple checked. With Solavei the only reason they ask for an IMEI is to verify which size SIM card you have... and if you activate with a SIM in hand, no IMEI is needed. So, I could send you a free SIM for Solavei and you could try and see if it works. If it doesn't, then its T-Mobile's network somehow recognizing the phone and not Solavei as they won't even know what your IMEI is. As a reminder, their plan is $49 (plus tax) for unlimited calls/text and 4 GB of highspeed data (HSPA+42, throttled to 2G/Edge after 4 GB). They also have limited free roaming (up to 1/2 of your call minutes can be roaming and up to 100 MB of data a month can be roaming).

If you're interested, PM me your address and I'll mail you a sim card today.

 
hey hulk,

i've finally had it with att. the $30 credit ran out and i'm back to $200/month for 2 iphones and some flip phone for my FIL. my iphone has unlimited data. wifes, 2G, she never goes over. she'd like to have unlimited for music, movies for the kid, etc. but she's very good/scared about going over. FIL, no data. unlimited text for all and plan is 1200 minutes. we rarely go over 700, which i think is next level down.

i don't want to buy new phones, don't care about new tech.

thoughts?

thanks man

 
hey hulk,

i've finally had it with att. the $30 credit ran out and i'm back to $200/month for 2 iphones and some flip phone for my FIL. my iphone has unlimited data. wifes, 2G, she never goes over. she'd like to have unlimited for music, movies for the kid, etc. but she's very good/scared about going over. FIL, no data. unlimited text for all and plan is 1200 minutes. we rarely go over 700, which i think is next level down.

i don't want to buy new phones, don't care about new tech.

thoughts?

thanks man
Well, with the data usage you and your wife have, you're going to end up on plans with unlimited minutes and texts anyways, that just how these are bundled.

Your iphones, they're the 4 or the 5? Makes a difference as to which radios are in them and wether or not they can get T-Mobile's HSPA+42 or just T-Mobile's Edge (2G).

How many mins does your FIL use? It'd probably make sense for him to be on his own plan seperate from you guys. Off hand, and without further details, I could see this working:

You: T-Mobile $70 unlimited calls/texts/data... or if you think 4GB is enough, on Solavei for $49 with unlimited calls/texts/+ 4GB of highspeed data (switches to 2G speed after 4GB are used).

Wife: Probably on the Solavei plan. Or AT&T's Straight Talk which is $45 for unlimited mins/texts + 2.5 GB of highspeed data and the world's worst customer service ;)

FIL: Net10 (AT&T Network) $25 for 750 mins, unlimited texts, no data

You can do these with your existing phones no sweat. Knocks you down to somewhere between $119 to $144 (plus taxes/local fees). Very decent savings.

 
hey hulk,

i've finally had it with att. the $30 credit ran out and i'm back to $200/month for 2 iphones and some flip phone for my FIL. my iphone has unlimited data. wifes, 2G, she never goes over. she'd like to have unlimited for music, movies for the kid, etc. but she's very good/scared about going over. FIL, no data. unlimited text for all and plan is 1200 minutes. we rarely go over 700, which i think is next level down.

i don't want to buy new phones, don't care about new tech.

thoughts?

thanks man
Well, with the data usage you and your wife have, you're going to end up on plans with unlimited minutes and texts anyways, that just how these are bundled.

Your iphones, they're the 4 or the 5? Makes a difference as to which radios are in them and wether or not they can get T-Mobile's HSPA+42 or just T-Mobile's Edge (2G).

How many mins does your FIL use? It'd probably make sense for him to be on his own plan seperate from you guys. Off hand, and without further details, I could see this working:

You: T-Mobile $70 unlimited calls/texts/data... or if you think 4GB is enough, on Solavei for $49 with unlimited calls/texts/+ 4GB of highspeed data (switches to 2G speed after 4GB are used).

Wife: Probably on the Solavei plan. Or AT&T's Straight Talk which is $45 for unlimited mins/texts + 2.5 GB of highspeed data and the world's worst customer service ;)

FIL: Net10 (AT&T Network) $25 for 750 mins, unlimited texts, no data

You can do these with your existing phones no sweat. Knocks you down to somewhere between $119 to $144 (plus taxes/local fees). Very decent savings.
you're amazing!

iphones are original 4. FIL doesn't use over 750 minutes.

don't know if this is a factor, the wife sends pics and videos of the grand child to the FIL, need to make sure his plan will allow for that.

 
and can i carry over the p[hone numbers?
Yup, you just port them over. Pretty much every MVNO allows that.

What is your zipcode, I want to make sure you'll be able to get HSPA+ with T-Mobile. T-Mobile is in the middle of re-farming their spectrum to match AT&T's (originally T-Mobile put their HSPA+ on a different frequency than AT&T, but T-Mo decided to switch so they could steal customers more easily), and they're on pace to be done by the end of the year. Still, I'd want to make sure you live in an area thats already refarmed so you're not stuck on 2g with the T-Mo MVNOs.

Which plans do you think make the most sense for you? If either you or the wife think Solavei is the right fit, PM me, I can give you a free sim card (usually costs $9).

 
Oh yeah, pics and video should work no problem over email obviously. Pics over texts is doable, but you have to tweak phone settings sometimes. Its not hard though.

 
FYI, for anyone interested, Solavei launched it's "Marketplace" thingy this week. Its free to phone subscribers, and basically is a discount card good with

"

16,000 large and small retailers nationwide, including a majority of the top 30 largest U.S. retailers.
"

I signed up, but it takes a couple of days to process the request. I'll fill in the details when I have them.

In other news, T-Mobile announced free data roaming internationally, in over 100 countries. Pretty neat.

 

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