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

[Jaysus]

Hulk> what does your spreadsheet say about SimpleMobile

That $40 plan may be a winner for the wife with 4g included.

 

[Jaysus]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Seidio Active cases are right up there too

 

[(HULK)]

Hulk> what does your spreadsheet say about SimpleMobileThat $40 plan may be a winner for the wife with 4g included.

$40 plan is 250MBs of data. Seems about right for your wife's usage.

 

[(HULK)]

1st post updated, added a bit about Solavei and added themeanmachine's referral link for Ting.

Here is the new stuff:

**********UPDATE*********

This thread took a bit of a turn. I took it upon myself to start becoming an expert in every plan out there and have started a spreadsheet tracking over 400 different plans from over 50 different providers and MVNOs. If anyone has any questions about smartphone plans, ask them here and I'll be glad to help.

My wife has been on Ting for a little over a week and everything is going great so far. Customer service has also been exemplerary as well. For myself, I ended up convincing myself that I wanted my next phone to be a Nexus, and got impatient, so I got a Nexus 4. Since that is a GSM only phone, I needed to find a different provider than Ting (which is CDMA). I ended up choosing Solavei (on the T-mobile network). A couple of reasons. The T-mobile GSM network is HSPA+42, which is faster than AT&T's HSPA network. The Nexus 4 can't use AT&T's LTE, so that seemed wise. Solavei is cheap at $49 a month for unlimited calls, texts, and 4 GBs of 4G data (throttled to 3G after you use up your 4GBs). There are cheaper plans with "unlimited" data out there, specifically Straight Talk and Walmart Family, but both of these providers will throttle you at unclear amounts of usage, and using Youtube or Pandora type services over their network violates their Terms of Service, so they can and will cut you off if you are a heavy data user. The internet is littered with stories of this happening. So, I figured $4 more a month for avoiding that potential headache was worth it. Solavei also has a MLM component to it (refer 3 people get $20 off your bill every month, so long as those 3 people are still using the service). Thats great, but thats not why I went with them. They just fit my needs the most. I've added my Solavei referral link below, and anyone else who signs up with them (or elsewhere), PM me and I'll add your referral link as well. Thanks.

Referral Links:

Ting:

Hulk: $25 off @ Ting

themeanmachine: $25 off @ Ting

Solavei:

Hulk: Hulk's Solavei Referral Link

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Seidio Active cases are right up there too

Cool, thanks.

 

[(HULK)]

EG, Ballistic Cases are super protection level as well. I used to have one. Found it made my phone too bulky, but that would be true of any of that type of case.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

EG, Ballistic Cases are super protection level as well. I used to have one. Found it made my phone too bulky, but that would be true of any of that type of case.

Thanks, man. I need to look at a couple and find one that offers some protection while not adding a ton of bulk - adding heft to an already gigantic phone is not really what I'd prefer to do.

 

[(HULK)]

EG, Ballistic Cases are super protection level as well. I used to have one. Found it made my phone too bulky, but that would be true of any of that type of case.

Thanks, man. I need to look at a couple and find one that offers some protection while not adding a ton of bulk - adding heft to an already gigantic phone is not really what I'd prefer to do.

Its all about risk tolerance. My wife got this one: My linkIt would protect it from small falls, but not a serious drop.ETA: I'm getting a bumper for my Nexus 4 whenever google gets it back in stock.

 

[BoltBacker]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Squaretrade gets very high ratings and seems reasonably priced to me if you're fairly confident you'll be using(or someone in your family) for the next two years...http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty

 

[BoltBacker]

I moved from Sprint to Virgin Mobile this week and cut my bill almost in half. And Virgin uses Sprint's system.

I have a Virgin phone with unlimited text and data + 300 minutes a month talk time and it's only $35 a month.

I almost went this route a year or two ago when my kid brother did. The deal-breaker for me is that their phones were awful. Still the case or do they actually have new phones these days? My brother's phone was horrible, and he paid more for it than I did for my Evo 4G (state of the art at the time)

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2. I look at phones like computers. I'll take the top of the line from a year or two ago and be perfectly happy with the cost savings.

Thats a great phone imo.A lot of these MVNOs suffer from that stigma though. Because once upon a time, the major carriers had the iPhone, the Droid, the Evo, and the MVNOs had only feature phones or maybe an odd blackberry. But the technology has moved forwards a ton since then, and now the phones that are a year edge behind the bleeding edge of technology are still really functional and good smartphones.

It's also worth noting that the Galaxy S4 announcement will be in the middle of March. This will undoubtedly push the S3 to the prepaid carriers and expect the S2 to get discounted soon(already been discounted to ~$230 in the past few months) to less than $200.A big advantage of purchasing one-generation old phones is all the hype has evaporated and you hear all the real world complaints from real world users.

 

[(HULK)]

Someone else I referred to Ting activated their phone last night. I'm guessing it was EG. Send me your referral link and I'll add it to the first post.

One neat feature I've just noticed about Ting is that they have a usage dashboard. Shows what you've used thus far, plus a projection for what you will have used when your month is up. My wife's usage may have been a little higher than usual for her this month as she's had 2 work things since we switched to Ting and she usually has them more infrequently (she's an independant events consultant / mother). Anyways, her monthly cost on Ting projects out to $33 a month. Using this as an estimate going forward, I can now show exactly how much we're saving by dropping Sprint and moving her to Ting and me to Solavei.

Sprint:

2 phones purchased @ 199. Service was $170 a month.

2 year cost = 2x199 + 170x24 = $4478

1 month cost = $186.58

Ting/Solavei:

1 phone purchased @ $504 (Galaxy S3). Ting service is $33 a month.

1 phone purchased @ $349 (Nexus 4). Solavei service is $49 a month.

2 year cost = 504 + 33x24 + 349 + 49x24 = $2821

1 month cost = $117.54

Monthly savings = $69.04

Two year savings = $1657

That is an insane difference! Huge!

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Someone else I referred to Ting activated their phone last night. I'm guessing it was EG. Send me your referral link and I'll add it to the first post.

One neat feature I've just noticed about Ting is that they have a usage dashboard. Shows what you've used thus far, plus a projection for what you will have used when your month is up. My wife's usage may have been a little higher than usual for her this month as she's had 2 work things since we switched to Ting and she usually has them more infrequently (she's an independant events consultant / mother). Anyways, her monthly cost on Ting projects out to $33 a month. Using this as an estimate going forward, I can now show exactly how much we're saving by dropping Sprint and moving her to Ting and me to Solavei.

Sprint:

2 phones purchased @ 199. Service was $170 a month.

2 year cost = 2x199 + 170x24 = $4478

1 month cost = $186.58

Ting/Solavei:

1 phone purchased @ $504 (Galaxy S3). Ting service is $33 a month.

1 phone purchased @ $349 (Nexus 4). Solavei service is $49 a month.

2 year cost = 504 + 33x24 + 349 + 49x24 = $2821

1 month cost = $117.54

Monthly savings = $69.04

Two year savings = $1657

That is an insane difference! Huge!

'Twas me, here's the link : https://zfjeb218b52.ting.com/

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Squaretrade gets very high ratings and seems reasonably priced to me if you're fairly confident you'll be using(or someone in your family) for the next two years...http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty

Any reason to use these guys as opposed to say, Worth Avenue Group, which is about $13 cheaper over two years and has a lower deductible ($50 vs. $99)?

 

[(HULK)]

EG: First post is updated w/ your link The lower deductible is a big difference maker if you actually have to use the insurance. That said, I've never heard of Worth Avenue group and I have heard of Squaretrade. I guess do some research on Worth and see if they're reputable.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

EG: First post is updated w/ your link The lower deductible is a big difference maker if you actually have to use the insurance. That said, I've never heard of Worth Avenue group and I have heard of Squaretrade. I guess do some research on Worth and see if they're reputable.

Thanks, man - for everything. Just dealt with Ting customer service and wow - what an experience. Quick, knowledgeable, friendly, great communication skills. The antithesis of practically every CS experience I've ever had with a cell carrier. I am loving this.

 

[(HULK)]

EG: First post is updated w/ your link The lower deductible is a big difference maker if you actually have to use the insurance. That said, I've never heard of Worth Avenue group and I have heard of Squaretrade. I guess do some research on Worth and see if they're reputable.

Thanks, man - for everything. Just dealt with Ting customer service and wow - what an experience. Quick, knowledgeable, friendly, great communication skills. The antithesis of practically every CS experience I've ever had with a cell carrier. I am loving this.

Yeah, they're pretty great. I love their concept. The major carriers are going to be bleeding out postpaid customers if they don't shape up. Ting, Solavei, Straight Talk, etc, they all offer better value propositions than the majors right now.

 

[Jaysus]

I had a pleasant email conversation with Ting support yesterday as well.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

EG: First post is updated w/ your link The lower deductible is a big difference maker if you actually have to use the insurance. That said, I've never heard of Worth Avenue group and I have heard of Squaretrade. I guess do some research on Worth and see if they're reputable.

Thanks, man - for everything. Just dealt with Ting customer service and wow - what an experience. Quick, knowledgeable, friendly, great communication skills. The antithesis of practically every CS experience I've ever had with a cell carrier. I am loving this.

Yeah, they're pretty great. I love their concept. The major carriers are going to be bleeding out postpaid customers if they don't shape up. Ting, Solavei, Straight Talk, etc, they all offer better value propositions than the majors right now.

It's really a no-brainer. I'd been looking a while back for a carrier that would :a) Keep me on a good (non-wifi) networkb) Have new phones availablec) Allow me to bring over my current phoned) Save me moneyI had thought this was like searching for a unicorn that could make sandwiches and give head simultaneously. I love the Note 2 thus far, I'm going to save roughly $90/month, and they have great CS.

 

[(HULK)]

I had thought this was like searching for a unicorn that could make sandwiches and give head simultaneously.

I've had that thought too, although I wouldn't put my dingdong in a unicorn's mouth, but generally the same thought.

 

[BoltBacker]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Squaretrade gets very high ratings and seems reasonably priced to me if you're fairly confident you'll be using(or someone in your family) for the next two years...http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty

Any reason to use these guys as opposed to say, Worth Avenue Group, which is about $13 cheaper over two years and has a lower deductible ($50 vs. $99)?

Nope.I thought SquareTrade had $50 for phones? I only use squaretrade for cameras because I don't spend much on phones in the first place(current HTC One V cost $50) but according to this comparison site...

http://www.phoneinsurancereview.net/squaretrade/

... it claims a $50 deductible(maybe because of the model of phone in the comparison?). In any case SquareTrade has a 5 star rating and W.A.G. a 4.5 so they both seem very reputable. I had never heard of Securranty but based on the comparisons on that site I might consider it for my next camera purchase. Another factor to consider is how sensitive you are to the whole "lost or stolen" part of the equation. I'm more concerned about damage(I live in a very wet climate) but there are definitely friends/relatives that I would weigh the lost/stolen angle much more heavily than myself.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Squaretrade gets very high ratings and seems reasonably priced to me if you're fairly confident you'll be using(or someone in your family) for the next two years...http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty

Any reason to use these guys as opposed to say, Worth Avenue Group, which is about $13 cheaper over two years and has a lower deductible ($50 vs. $99)?

Nope.I thought SquareTrade had $50 for phones? I only use squaretrade for cameras because I don't spend much on phones in the first place(current HTC One V cost $50) but according to this comparison site...

http://www.phoneinsurancereview.net/squaretrade/

... it claims a $50 deductible(maybe because of the model of phone in the comparison?). In any case SquareTrade has a 5 star rating and W.A.G. a 4.5 so they both seem very reputable. I had never heard of Securranty but based on the comparisons on that site I might consider it for my next camera purchase. Another factor to consider is how sensitive you are to the whole "lost or stolen" part of the equation. I'm more concerned about damage(I live in a very wet climate) but there are definitely friends/relatives that I would weigh the lost/stolen angle much more heavily than myself.

On Squaretrade's site (http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty) - it says right on the front page under the $125 price for a 2-year warranty :"Coverage is valid for new smartphones purchased in the last 30 days.

A $99 deductible applies to all claims."

Worth Ave says they cover theft, fire, water submersion, cracked screen, accidental damage. I doubt I'd need anything besides that. I did see on Squaretrade that they cover you in the event of your charging port going bad (this has happened to me before) but it didn't say anything about covering theft that I noticed.

 

[BoltBacker]

Worth Ave says they cover theft, fire, water submersion, cracked screen, accidental damage.

Just read the fine print carefully, nuclear war is NOT covered. Their actuaries must know something is coming for them to spell that out so specifically.

 

[(HULK)]

Worth Ave says they cover theft, fire, water submersion, cracked screen, accidental damage.

Just read the fine print carefully, nuclear war is NOT covered. Their actuaries must know something is coming for them to spell that out so specifically.

 

[gandalas]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

I personally bought a 3-year squaretrade warranty for my iPhone 5 when I bought it, rather than the plan from AT&T or with Applecare. $124 for 3 years, plus accidental damage protection. I guess that would equate to 15.5 months' payment on your sprint insurance plan, but it is good for more than double that time.

 

[gandalas]

Does Ting offer equipment protection in their plans? I usually don't take it (wife forced me to on my most recent phone), but after dropping $637.50 on a phone, the $8/mo. I pay with Sprint for full protection against breaking your phone suddenly seems worthwhile.

Not that I'm aware of. There is 3rd party insurance available out there, and from what I understand it is better than the carrier's in house insurance usually. No experience with it though. I'll just gamble.

Asked this in the S3 thread, but is the Otterbox the accepted industry leader in equipment protection?

Squaretrade gets very high ratings and seems reasonably priced to me if you're fairly confident you'll be using(or someone in your family) for the next two years...http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty

Any reason to use these guys as opposed to say, Worth Avenue Group, which is about $13 cheaper over two years and has a lower deductible ($50 vs. $99)?

Nope.I thought SquareTrade had $50 for phones? I only use squaretrade for cameras because I don't spend much on phones in the first place(current HTC One V cost $50) but according to this comparison site...

http://www.phoneinsurancereview.net/squaretrade/

... it claims a $50 deductible(maybe because of the model of phone in the comparison?). In any case SquareTrade has a 5 star rating and W.A.G. a 4.5 so they both seem very reputable. I had never heard of Securranty but based on the comparisons on that site I might consider it for my next camera purchase. Another factor to consider is how sensitive you are to the whole "lost or stolen" part of the equation. I'm more concerned about damage(I live in a very wet climate) but there are definitely friends/relatives that I would weigh the lost/stolen angle much more heavily than myself.

On Squaretrade's site (http://www.squaretrade.com/smartphone-warranty) - it says right on the front page under the $125 price for a 2-year warranty :"Coverage is valid for new smartphones purchased in the last 30 days.

A $99 deductible applies to all claims."

Worth Ave says they cover theft, fire, water submersion, cracked screen, accidental damage. I doubt I'd need anything besides that. I did see on Squaretrade that they cover you in the event of your charging port going bad (this has happened to me before) but it didn't say anything about covering theft that I noticed.

For me at least:Your Protection Plan:

Coverage Amount: Up to full retail price of phone

Policy Number: XXXXXXXXX

Protection Plan Price: $124.00

Coverage Term: 3 Years

Coverage Type: Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH)

Coverage Start Date: 09/21/2012

Covered Product: Phones & PDAs - Apple

Coverage End Date: 09/21/2015

Deductible: $50.00

Waiting Period: 1 Day

EDIT: I also did get the $124 for 3 years price due to a coupon code I received for the iPhone 5 launch special.

 

[Wingnut]

Well. Got my Straight Talk SIM, and have been trying to activate service and port my number. The website won't let me do it, I tried to call and due to call volume they can't take my call right now and I should try later. Seriously? So I go to their online forum, which is littered with problem posts, most of which are answered by canned responses. Most issues dont seem to be getting resolved.I think I'm gonna check out Solavei even though the coverage isn't as good as AT&T here.Straight Talk doesn't seem too concerned about their customers. Glad I only wasted $18 on a SIM and haven't paid for any service yet.

 

[Jaysus]

You should consider keeping what ever number straight talk gives you, and porting your number to Google voice then simply pointing the randomly assigned MVNO numbers to Google Voice

 

[Wingnut]

You should consider keeping what ever number straight talk gives you, and porting your number to Google voice then simply pointing the randomly assigned MVNO numbers to Google Voice

I was trying to port my number from AT&T, I dont want a new number. But Ive decided to not go with ST, If Im having this many problems trying to get set up, I cant imagine what will happen if I have a problem like everyone over at the ST forums has.Also, I dont use Google Voice, so I dont understand one bit of what you said about it. lolHulk, if I end up going with Solavei, Ill use your referral link. I just wanna do a bit more research before I take the plunge.

 

[(HULK)]

Wingnut,Wow, sorry to hear that about Straight Talk. I kinda had the vibe from reading about them that their customer service was awful, so I can't say I'm suprised. I guess your $45 a month only goes so far. Solavei, from what I hear, has slightly better customer service, but it supposedly is also far from perfect. I just got my Nexus 4 in the mail today, but I don't have my SIM card yet so I haven't had any firsthand experience with them. I doubt they'll be as good as Ting, but I also doubt they'll be as bad as any of the Tracfone companies (Straight Talk, Walmart, etc). They do have an engaged user base, so you probably can find a lot of answers online. I did when I was trying to find an IMEI to use for my order (I hadn't gotten my Nexus4 yet when I ordered the SIM, so I found a Solavei user who posted one that works online). If you go with them, or otherwise, I'm happy to help as much as I can. Good luck.

 

[Wingnut]

HULK, I found something interesting when researching Solavei. Can you shed any insight here on what this means?

https://support.solavei.com/docs/DOC-1395

1.1 Qualifications for Social Members

To become a Social Member, each applicant must:

• Be at least 18 years old;

• Complete the Social Member Qualification Process at www.solavei.com;

• Pay the Social Member Fee, as provided in Section 1.4;

• Provide proof of a valid social security number;

• Assent to this Agreement by online click-through or other means; and

• Provide any other information Solavei may reasonably request.

1.4 Social Member Fee

Social Members must pay an annual non-refundable fee of $149 on the Effective Date and on each anniversary of the Effective Date. This fee is waived for Social Members who have an active account for Solavei mobile phone service. If Solavei does not receive payment of the annual fee on a timely basis, Solavei may terminate this Agreement and Your Social Member status."

Does this mean that as long as you are paying for service, this fee does not apply? Im curious if they might try to collect this fee if you decide to go with a different service and stop paying for Solavei? Like if youre 2 months away from your Effective Date and dont renew service, I wonder if theyd try to collect for those 10 months.

Also, is there a one-time activation fee with Solavei? I thought I read that somewhere.

 

[(HULK)]

You should consider keeping what ever number straight talk gives you, and porting your number to Google voice then simply pointing the randomly assigned MVNO numbers to Google Voice

I was trying to port my number from AT&T, I dont want a new number. But Ive decided to not go with ST, If Im having this many problems trying to get set up, I cant imagine what will happen if I have a problem like everyone over at the ST forums has.Also, I dont use Google Voice, so I dont understand one bit of what you said about it. lolHulk, if I end up going with Solavei, Ill use your referral link. I just wanna do a bit more research before I take the plunge.

I ported my number to google voice a few years ago and I agree this is the best setup, especially if you go the prepaid route. Basically, create a google voice account. You'll get a randomly assigned phone number, but don't worry about that. Go into settings and port your old number to Google Voice. I think it is a one time fee of like $20, but I'm not sure since it was a long time ago that I did it. Then, whenever you get a SIM from a MVNO, just take whatever # they give you. Go into google voice and map it to your new phone. Bam, then when people call your old number it'll go to your new phone. Its pretty sweet, its basically the last time you'll ever have to port a number again.

 

[(HULK)]

HULK, I found something interesting when researching Solavei. Can you shed any insight here on what this means?

https://support.solavei.com/docs/DOC-1395

1.1 Qualifications for Social Members

To become a Social Member, each applicant must:

• Be at least 18 years old;

• Complete the Social Member Qualification Process at www.solavei.com;

• Pay the Social Member Fee, as provided in Section 1.4;

• Provide proof of a valid social security number;

• Assent to this Agreement by online click-through or other means; and

• Provide any other information Solavei may reasonably request.

1.4 Social Member Fee

Social Members must pay an annual non-refundable fee of $149 on the Effective Date and on each anniversary of the Effective Date. This fee is waived for Social Members who have an active account for Solavei mobile phone service. If Solavei does not receive payment of the annual fee on a timely basis, Solavei may terminate this Agreement and Your Social Member status."

Does this mean that as long as you are paying for service, this fee does not apply? Im curious if they might try to collect this fee if you decide to go with a different service and stop paying for Solavei? Like if youre 2 months away from your Effective Date and dont renew service, I wonder if theyd try to collect for those 10 months.

Also, is there a one-time activation fee with Solavei? I thought I read that somewhere.

Its waived if you are paying for phone service. Really, that fee is for people who don't want a phone but want to sell Solavei to others. I ordered my SIM and the only charges were $9 for the micro SIM, $49 for first month's service, plus taxes. Thats it.When you cancel, I don't know. If you have an income stream from them you may want to pay that fee to keep it (assuming it is high enough). If you don't, I imagine you can cancel your social membership when you cancel your service. But honestly, thats a guess on my part.

 

[(HULK)]

Also, you can opt out of the social membership when you sign up. Its optional.

 

[Abraham]

I really wish one of the Mvnos had LTE.

 

[Wingnut]

HULK, I found something interesting when researching Solavei. Can you shed any insight here on what this means?

https://support.solavei.com/docs/DOC-1395

1.1 Qualifications for Social Members

To become a Social Member, each applicant must:

• Be at least 18 years old;

• Complete the Social Member Qualification Process at www.solavei.com;

• Pay the Social Member Fee, as provided in Section 1.4;

• Provide proof of a valid social security number;

• Assent to this Agreement by online click-through or other means; and

• Provide any other information Solavei may reasonably request.

1.4 Social Member Fee

Social Members must pay an annual non-refundable fee of $149 on the Effective Date and on each anniversary of the Effective Date. This fee is waived for Social Members who have an active account for Solavei mobile phone service. If Solavei does not receive payment of the annual fee on a timely basis, Solavei may terminate this Agreement and Your Social Member status."

Does this mean that as long as you are paying for service, this fee does not apply? Im curious if they might try to collect this fee if you decide to go with a different service and stop paying for Solavei? Like if youre 2 months away from your Effective Date and dont renew service, I wonder if theyd try to collect for those 10 months.

Also, is there a one-time activation fee with Solavei? I thought I read that somewhere.

Its waived if you are paying for phone service. Really, that fee is for people who don't want a phone but want to sell Solavei to others. I ordered my SIM and the only charges were $9 for the micro SIM, $49 for first month's service, plus taxes. Thats it.When you cancel, I don't know. If you have an income stream from them you may want to pay that fee to keep it (assuming it is high enough). If you don't, I imagine you can cancel your social membership when you cancel your service. But honestly, thats a guess on my part.

Yeah its not a big deal, I was just curious if you were aware of this.

Also, you can opt out of the social membership when you sign up. Its optional.

I was gonna ask that, but figured maybe they consider all members "Social Members".Good info, thanks!

 

[Wingnut]

I really wish one of the Mvnos had LTE.

Supposedly this year.http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-mvnos-confirm-prepaid-lte-soon-network-live

T-Mobile MVNOs confirm prepaid LTE as soon as network is live.

By Andrew Martonik | Feb 08 2013 | 7:11 pm

Two different T-Mobile MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) carriers have confirmed that they will be offering prepaid LTE service as soon as the network goes live, according to statements obtained by FierceWireless. Both Solavei and Ready SIM executives have indicated that they intend to offer LTE on T-Mobile's network to its existing customers as soon as possible. Ultra Mobile, another T-Mo MVNO, has hinted as to its LTE prepaid options as well.

This is great news for users who have decided to go with the prepaid route to have a more affordable wireless bill every month. Until this point it was unclear whether or not T-Mobile would hold its LTE network for its own postpaid customers, and MVNOs operating on AT&T's network have yet to receive access to LTE. Although there is no confirmation at this point, this likely means that T-Mobile's self-branded prepaid offerings -- called "Monthly4G" -- will be offering LTE as well.

This is going to be an exciting time for both T-Mobile and its prepaid MVNO partners when the LTE network finally goes live later this year. Previously leaked device roadmaps seem to suggest that March 27th may be the date for the network launch.

 

[(HULK)]

I really wish one of the Mvnos had LTE.

Ting does. But its Sprints lte so the footprint is not that large yet.Solavei reportedly will get it when Tmobile rolls theirs out later this year.

 

[Wingnut]

You should consider keeping what ever number straight talk gives you, and porting your number to Google voice then simply pointing the randomly assigned MVNO numbers to Google Voice

I was trying to port my number from AT&T, I dont want a new number. But Ive decided to not go with ST, If Im having this many problems trying to get set up, I cant imagine what will happen if I have a problem like everyone over at the ST forums has.Also, I dont use Google Voice, so I dont understand one bit of what you said about it. lolHulk, if I end up going with Solavei, Ill use your referral link. I just wanna do a bit more research before I take the plunge.

I ported my number to google voice a few years ago and I agree this is the best setup, especially if you go the prepaid route. Basically, create a google voice account. You'll get a randomly assigned phone number, but don't worry about that. Go into settings and port your old number to Google Voice. I think it is a one time fee of like $20, but I'm not sure since it was a long time ago that I did it. Then, whenever you get a SIM from a MVNO, just take whatever # they give you. Go into google voice and map it to your new phone. Bam, then when people call your old number it'll go to your new phone. Its pretty sweet, its basically the last time you'll ever have to port a number again.

Hmmm..interesting. Are calls just forwarded directly to your phone or through an app?

 

[Novice2]

Worth Ave says they cover theft, fire, water submersion, cracked screen, accidental damage.

Just read the fine print carefully, nuclear war is NOT covered. Their actuaries must know something is coming for them to spell that out so specifically.

My house isn't covered in that case either. I want a plan where if aliens come and dump a ton of waste on my house ( or phone ) I want it covered!

 

[(HULK)]

You should consider keeping what ever number straight talk gives you, and porting your number to Google voice then simply pointing the randomly assigned MVNO numbers to Google Voice

I was trying to port my number from AT&T, I dont want a new number. But Ive decided to not go with ST, If Im having this many problems trying to get set up, I cant imagine what will happen if I have a problem like everyone over at the ST forums has.Also, I dont use Google Voice, so I dont understand one bit of what you said about it. lolHulk, if I end up going with Solavei, Ill use your referral link. I just wanna do a bit more research before I take the plunge.

I ported my number to google voice a few years ago and I agree this is the best setup, especially if you go the prepaid route. Basically, create a google voice account. You'll get a randomly assigned phone number, but don't worry about that. Go into settings and port your old number to Google Voice. I think it is a one time fee of like $20, but I'm not sure since it was a long time ago that I did it. Then, whenever you get a SIM from a MVNO, just take whatever # they give you. Go into google voice and map it to your new phone. Bam, then when people call your old number it'll go to your new phone. Its pretty sweet, its basically the last time you'll ever have to port a number again.

Hmmm..interesting. Are calls just forwarded directly to your phone or through an app?

It's automatic. There is a Google voice app, but you don't need it on your phone for this to work.

 

[Wingnut]

Ok, so I figured that since I already bought the Straight Talk SIM, I might as well use it. Worst case scenario is I use it for one month with ST and ditch it if I dont like it or want to try a different service. So I went back to their website and saw what I did wrong before (I figured it was an operator error ), and my number is currently porting from AT&T over to ST.Im not too optimistic about making it through the switching process without a hitch, but as long as texts and calls work, Ill be okay (I rely heavily on texts for work every day so they must be in working order). I could live without data for a few days if for some reason I run into a snag there. Lots of people have no issues with switching or service, so Im hoping Im one of the lucky ones.I should be all switched over within a few hours, and Ill report on my experience with them over the next few weeks for those that are considering them as a possible option.

 

[gigantor]

Been using Tmobile $30/mo plan with unlimited data/text 100mins.for me, the coverage isn't as good, and some things like I cant mms while being on wifi bother me, but $30 is worth it.

 

[(HULK)]

Been using Tmobile $30/mo plan with unlimited data/text 100mins.for me, the coverage isn't as good, and some things like I cant mms while being on wifi bother me, but $30 is worth it.

great plan if you can keep your talk time down. Isn't it 5gb of data though, not unlimited?

 

[(HULK)]

Ok, so I figured that since I already bought the Straight Talk SIM, I might as well use it. Worst case scenario is I use it for one month with ST and ditch it if I dont like it or want to try a different service. So I went back to their website and saw what I did wrong before (I figured it was an operator error ), and my number is currently porting from AT&T over to ST.Im not too optimistic about making it through the switching process without a hitch, but as long as texts and calls work, Ill be okay (I rely heavily on texts for work every day so they must be in working order). I could live without data for a few days if for some reason I run into a snag there. Lots of people have no issues with switching or service, so Im hoping Im one of the lucky ones.I should be all switched over within a few hours, and Ill report on my experience with them over the next few weeks for those that are considering them as a possible option.

You really should've ported your number to google voice IMO. If Straight Talk pulls one of those shut you down for to much data usage things, you'll lose this number. They do give a warning usually though. If you start under 2gb a month and 100mb a day you probably should be fine though. Good luck.

 

[Jaysus]

Been using Tmobile $30/mo plan with unlimited data/text 100mins.for me, the coverage isn't as good, and some things like I cant mms while being on wifi bother me, but $30 is worth it.

great plan if you can keep your talk time down. Isn't it 5gb of data though, not unlimited?

It is "unlimited", but it is throttled down from 4g speeds after 5GB

 

[(HULK)]

Been using Tmobile $30/mo plan with unlimited data/text 100mins.for me, the coverage isn't as good, and some things like I cant mms while being on wifi bother me, but $30 is worth it.

great plan if you can keep your talk time down. Isn't it 5gb of data though, not unlimited?

It is "unlimited", but it is throttled down from 4g speeds after 5GB

Okay, cool. Thats even better than I thought it was. I talk too much to use this plan though.

 

[Wingnut]

Switch to ST is complete. Phone and text work, apps like FB and Twitter work, but my browser isn't connecting. I dont have time to mess with it right now, hopefully its something simple like APN settings.The plan is to try this for a month, then maybe Solavei for a month, and go with the one I like better (whoever has better coverage/faster data in my area). Before I switch to Solavei Ill probably port my number to GV.

 

[Jaysus]

Switch to ST is complete. Phone and text work, apps like FB and Twitter work, but my browser isn't connecting. I dont have time to mess with it right now, hopefully its something simple like APN settings.

it's something simple like APN settings

Before I switch to Solavei Ill probably port my number to GV.

That will terminate your ST plan, so do it near the end of your cycle.

 

[(HULK)]

Switch to ST is complete. Phone and text work, apps like FB and Twitter work, but my browser isn't connecting. I dont have time to mess with it right now, hopefully its something simple like APN settings.The plan is to try this for a month, then maybe Solavei for a month, and go with the one I like better (whoever has better coverage/faster data in my area). Before I switch to Solavei Ill probably port my number to GV.

Cell Coverage by zip codeThis should tell you who has the better coverage in your area. Did you go with an AT&T SIM from Straight Talk? If you went with a Tmobile one, the coverage would be identical with Solavei.

 

[Wingnut]

Switch to ST is complete. Phone and text work, apps like FB and Twitter work, but my browser isn't connecting. I dont have time to mess with it right now, hopefully its something simple like APN settings.The plan is to try this for a month, then maybe Solavei for a month, and go with the one I like better (whoever has better coverage/faster data in my area). Before I switch to Solavei Ill probably port my number to GV.

Cell Coverage by zip codeThis should tell you who has the better coverage in your area. Did you go with an AT&T SIM from Straight Talk? If you went with a Tmobile one, the coverage would be identical with Solavei.

I went with AT&T, coverage in my area seems to be better than T Mobile. I will find out next month.Also, browser is working fine now.