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

[(HULK)]

Strongly debating on whether I should just eat the $200 ETF on my Sprint contract and jump to Ting. According to Ting's calculations based on my usage (low caller, moderate texter and data user), I'd save almost $1500 over the course of two years (about 62-63 bucks a month) by switching, and my ETF would be absorbed in 3-4 months.I always average under 100 minutes per month and anywhere from 175-300 texts per month and anywhere from 400-500 megs of data a month. Hulk, would Ting be the best option for me? Keep in mind, my S3 is Sprint and I just bought it and don't want to pay for a new phone.

You can bring that phone to Ting. You might want to call them first though (1-855-TING-FTW) to get the details on bringing it directly from Sprint. Sprint will have to unlock it I think. When I brought my wife over to them, it was to a new phone, not her same phone, so I don't have any direct experience. But supposedly you can bring it over directly now... you might have to cancel your Sprint contract FIRST (in which case port your number to google voice if you want to keep it!)... I'd get clarification from the horse's mouth to be sure.My wife and I paid the ETF to get out of Sprint. It was worth it by far. Her first month's bill was $31 + taxes. Lol. We used to pay $170 for 2 lines before taxes/fees.ETA: Let us know how it goes!

 

[Brady Marino]

Strongly debating on whether I should just eat the $200 ETF on my Sprint contract and jump to Ting. According to Ting's calculations based on my usage (low caller, moderate texter and data user), I'd save almost $1500 over the course of two years (about 62-63 bucks a month) by switching, and my ETF would be absorbed in 3-4 months.I always average under 100 minutes per month and anywhere from 175-300 texts per month and anywhere from 400-500 megs of data a month. Hulk, would Ting be the best option for me? Keep in mind, my S3 is Sprint and I just bought it and don't want to pay for a new phone.

You can bring that phone to Ting. You might want to call them first though (1-855-TING-FTW) to get the details on bringing it directly from Sprint. Sprint will have to unlock it I think. When I brought my wife over to them, it was to a new phone, not her same phone, so I don't have any direct experience. But supposedly you can bring it over directly now... you might have to cancel your Sprint contract FIRST (in which case port your number to google voice if you want to keep it!)... I'd get clarification from the horse's mouth to be sure.My wife and I paid the ETF to get out of Sprint. It was worth it by far. Her first month's bill was $31 + taxes. Lol. We used to pay $170 for 2 lines before taxes/fees.

Yeah, I'm not worried about keeping my number since it's from an area code that's a few states away from where I'm at now.I'll give it some thought. Thanks!

 

[Foosball God]

I'm thinking about trying this as well. Mrs. Foos will be off contract later this year, I'm not sure what the early termination fee would be at this point.We're kind of tied to our iPhones as we use a joint Apple account and have lots of apps and such. I also prefer the structured releases of iOS versus the many different approaches Android handset makers have to updating to the latest Android releases.zipcode? 20175 but would need this to also work at 48309 and 48661Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it)hone 1: minutes / texts / data - 800 / 250 / 1200MBPhone 2: minutes / texts / data - 400 / 250 / 1000MBEverything on one bill would be preferable.

Alright, here is your coverage for the 3 zipcodes listed:Coverage Reviews for Leesburg, VA 20175 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 2.18 17 Towers Map 2. AT&T 2.13 31 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.6 15 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.6 15 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 2.07 88 Towers Coverage Reviews for Rochester, MI 48309 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 1.55 22 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.42 33 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.35 34 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.25 16 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.48 123 Towers Coverage Reviews for West Branch, MI 48661 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. T-Mobile 2.67 3 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.93 27 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.47 17 Towers Map 4. Verizon 1.32 47 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.67 147 Towers Lol, the site went down between getting the 2nd and 3rd zipcode. I'll have to check that last one later. (ETA: Its back up and I added it in)Looks like you'll be adequetly covered by any of them, but if you're on Sprint or Tmobile, you'd probably want a roaming agreement.Looking at plans together, you do pretty well with Tmobile's Value Share. 2 lines with unlimited calls/texts/ and 4G data, your cost is $119.98. On Ting for 2 lines, with 2000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 3000 MBs, your cost is $112. But if you could cut your data down slightly to 2000MBs, your cost drops by $18. Likewise if you can get your minutes down to 1000, your cost would drop down $17. Your just past the threshold on both of these. If you managed to keep both down, your monthly cost is down to $77 a month. The best thing here is that if you go over one month and under the next, your plan automatically right sizes, with no penalty. You'll have to wait for official iPhone support though. Ting has roaming and LTE support.Looking at individual plans... if you want LTE support I think Virgin Mobile is probably your best bet. $45 for 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2500 MBs of LTE (throttled to 2G past that mark) for each line. So, $90 total. No roaming agreements though, so you need to be in Sprint's footprint for coverage.If you can do without LTE, you can go a couple of ways. You can get Straight Talk on Tmobile (HSPA+42) or AT&T (HSPA+21) for $45 per line. Unlimited talk/text and data is "unlimited" but typically gets throttled at levels beyond your normal usage so no worries for you. Straight Talk does not roam though, so again your subjected to the carriers footprint. The other alternate would be Solavei on Tmobile (HSPA+42), which is $49 per line for unlimited talk/text and 4000MBs at 4G speeds, throttled beyond that. Solavei offers roaming though, up to 50% of your calls can be roaming, and up to 100MB of data as well.So, plenty of options, you'll have to determine which of the edge factors matter most to you to decide. What does your current contract cost?ETA: Tmobile is adding LTE in the very near future, not sure what markets will be first yet though, they're announcing it all next week. Solavei will be getting LTE via them as well. Straight Talk will not, they don't support LTE on any carrier.

Thanks Hulk. Currently paying `$155 a month right now on a Verizon Share Everything plan.Data could probably go down, minutes are iffy as I use my personal cell for work sometimes. I wouldn't feel too comfortable going down on minutes at this point. Ting may be the way to go here once they officially support the iPhone. Since Mrs. Foos' contract runs through July it's probably worth it just to wait.

 

[(HULK)]

Oh, and Foos, if you can wait a week, there are new plans Tmobile is announcing. These are no contract but still postpaid. They have an unlimited calls/texts option with 2500 MBs of 4G speed data (throttled beyond cap) available for 2 lines @ $90. That could suit you guys well.

Update to above... the plan you would need would be $100 actually as these plans don't "share" data. So each line would end up with 2500MBs of data this way. I don't think 500MB is enough for your current usage.

 

[(HULK)]

I'm thinking about trying this as well. Mrs. Foos will be off contract later this year, I'm not sure what the early termination fee would be at this point.We're kind of tied to our iPhones as we use a joint Apple account and have lots of apps and such. I also prefer the structured releases of iOS versus the many different approaches Android handset makers have to updating to the latest Android releases.zipcode? 20175 but would need this to also work at 48309 and 48661Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it)hone 1: minutes / texts / data - 800 / 250 / 1200MBPhone 2: minutes / texts / data - 400 / 250 / 1000MBEverything on one bill would be preferable.

Alright, here is your coverage for the 3 zipcodes listed:Coverage Reviews for Leesburg, VA 20175 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 2.18 17 Towers Map 2. AT&T 2.13 31 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.6 15 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.6 15 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 2.07 88 Towers Coverage Reviews for Rochester, MI 48309 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 1.55 22 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.42 33 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.35 34 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.25 16 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.48 123 Towers Coverage Reviews for West Branch, MI 48661 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. T-Mobile 2.67 3 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.93 27 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.47 17 Towers Map 4. Verizon 1.32 47 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.67 147 Towers Lol, the site went down between getting the 2nd and 3rd zipcode. I'll have to check that last one later. (ETA: Its back up and I added it in)Looks like you'll be adequetly covered by any of them, but if you're on Sprint or Tmobile, you'd probably want a roaming agreement.Looking at plans together, you do pretty well with Tmobile's Value Share. 2 lines with unlimited calls/texts/ and 4G data, your cost is $119.98. On Ting for 2 lines, with 2000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 3000 MBs, your cost is $112. But if you could cut your data down slightly to 2000MBs, your cost drops by $18. Likewise if you can get your minutes down to 1000, your cost would drop down $17. Your just past the threshold on both of these. If you managed to keep both down, your monthly cost is down to $77 a month. The best thing here is that if you go over one month and under the next, your plan automatically right sizes, with no penalty. You'll have to wait for official iPhone support though. Ting has roaming and LTE support.Looking at individual plans... if you want LTE support I think Virgin Mobile is probably your best bet. $45 for 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2500 MBs of LTE (throttled to 2G past that mark) for each line. So, $90 total. No roaming agreements though, so you need to be in Sprint's footprint for coverage.If you can do without LTE, you can go a couple of ways. You can get Straight Talk on Tmobile (HSPA+42) or AT&T (HSPA+21) for $45 per line. Unlimited talk/text and data is "unlimited" but typically gets throttled at levels beyond your normal usage so no worries for you. Straight Talk does not roam though, so again your subjected to the carriers footprint. The other alternate would be Solavei on Tmobile (HSPA+42), which is $49 per line for unlimited talk/text and 4000MBs at 4G speeds, throttled beyond that. Solavei offers roaming though, up to 50% of your calls can be roaming, and up to 100MB of data as well.So, plenty of options, you'll have to determine which of the edge factors matter most to you to decide. What does your current contract cost?ETA: Tmobile is adding LTE in the very near future, not sure what markets will be first yet though, they're announcing it all next week. Solavei will be getting LTE via them as well. Straight Talk will not, they don't support LTE on any carrier.

Thanks Hulk. Currently paying `$155 a month right now on a Verizon Share Everything plan.Data could probably go down, minutes are iffy as I use my personal cell for work sometimes. I wouldn't feel too comfortable going down on minutes at this point. Ting may be the way to go here once they officially support the iPhone. Since Mrs. Foos' contract runs through July it's probably worth it just to wait.

You're not locked into any set plan with Ting. They'll automatically move you to whatever bucket fits your usage at the end of the month. For example, I put too much data on my wife's plan initially and at the end of the month they moved her down to a lower plan and credited $11 back to her account. Pretty cool concept. So, for you, if you can keep it down one month, great, and then if you can't the next, you'll just be bumped to the next tier. Also, they have a 5% forgiveness, so if you exceed your tier slightly, they won't charge you anything at all. Its after you use more than 5% beyond your tier that you get bumped.

 

[Foosball God]

I'm thinking about trying this as well. Mrs. Foos will be off contract later this year, I'm not sure what the early termination fee would be at this point.We're kind of tied to our iPhones as we use a joint Apple account and have lots of apps and such. I also prefer the structured releases of iOS versus the many different approaches Android handset makers have to updating to the latest Android releases.zipcode? 20175 but would need this to also work at 48309 and 48661Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it)hone 1: minutes / texts / data - 800 / 250 / 1200MBPhone 2: minutes / texts / data - 400 / 250 / 1000MBEverything on one bill would be preferable.

Alright, here is your coverage for the 3 zipcodes listed:Coverage Reviews for Leesburg, VA 20175 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 2.18 17 Towers Map 2. AT&T 2.13 31 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.6 15 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.6 15 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 2.07 88 Towers Coverage Reviews for Rochester, MI 48309 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 1.55 22 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.42 33 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.35 34 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.25 16 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.48 123 Towers Coverage Reviews for West Branch, MI 48661 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. T-Mobile 2.67 3 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.93 27 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.47 17 Towers Map 4. Verizon 1.32 47 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.67 147 Towers Lol, the site went down between getting the 2nd and 3rd zipcode. I'll have to check that last one later. (ETA: Its back up and I added it in)Looks like you'll be adequetly covered by any of them, but if you're on Sprint or Tmobile, you'd probably want a roaming agreement.Looking at plans together, you do pretty well with Tmobile's Value Share. 2 lines with unlimited calls/texts/ and 4G data, your cost is $119.98. On Ting for 2 lines, with 2000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 3000 MBs, your cost is $112. But if you could cut your data down slightly to 2000MBs, your cost drops by $18. Likewise if you can get your minutes down to 1000, your cost would drop down $17. Your just past the threshold on both of these. If you managed to keep both down, your monthly cost is down to $77 a month. The best thing here is that if you go over one month and under the next, your plan automatically right sizes, with no penalty. You'll have to wait for official iPhone support though. Ting has roaming and LTE support.Looking at individual plans... if you want LTE support I think Virgin Mobile is probably your best bet. $45 for 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2500 MBs of LTE (throttled to 2G past that mark) for each line. So, $90 total. No roaming agreements though, so you need to be in Sprint's footprint for coverage.If you can do without LTE, you can go a couple of ways. You can get Straight Talk on Tmobile (HSPA+42) or AT&T (HSPA+21) for $45 per line. Unlimited talk/text and data is "unlimited" but typically gets throttled at levels beyond your normal usage so no worries for you. Straight Talk does not roam though, so again your subjected to the carriers footprint. The other alternate would be Solavei on Tmobile (HSPA+42), which is $49 per line for unlimited talk/text and 4000MBs at 4G speeds, throttled beyond that. Solavei offers roaming though, up to 50% of your calls can be roaming, and up to 100MB of data as well.So, plenty of options, you'll have to determine which of the edge factors matter most to you to decide. What does your current contract cost?ETA: Tmobile is adding LTE in the very near future, not sure what markets will be first yet though, they're announcing it all next week. Solavei will be getting LTE via them as well. Straight Talk will not, they don't support LTE on any carrier.

Thanks Hulk. Currently paying `$155 a month right now on a Verizon Share Everything plan.Data could probably go down, minutes are iffy as I use my personal cell for work sometimes. I wouldn't feel too comfortable going down on minutes at this point. Ting may be the way to go here once they officially support the iPhone. Since Mrs. Foos' contract runs through July it's probably worth it just to wait.

You're not locked into any set plan with Ting. They'll automatically move you to whatever bucket fits your usage at the end of the month. For example, I put too much data on my wife's plan initially and at the end of the month they moved her down to a lower plan and credited $11 back to her account. Pretty cool concept. So, for you, if you can keep it down one month, great, and then if you can't the next, you'll just be bumped to the next tier. Also, they have a 5% forgiveness, so if you exceed your tier slightly, they won't charge you anything at all. Its after you use more than 5% beyond your tier that you get bumped.

Thanks Hulk

 

[eaganwildcats]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

 

[Keerock]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

Holy crap... that's 1/2 of what I'm paying for more service. The one thing that is vague is the data... does the data plan cover all 5 lines?

 

[eaganwildcats]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

Holy crap... that's 1/2 of what I'm paying for more service. The one thing that is vague is the data... does the data plan cover all 5 lines?

Based on how I am reading it the base price for 5 lines would be $110 + taxes and fees. That would include unlimited talk, text and 500MB high-speed data for each line. (Data is unlimited your speeds are just throttled after 500MB). You can then add an extra $10 to each line for 2GB of unthrottled data, or $20 for truly unlimited.

Some of the people in the comments section of that article are throwing a hissy fit but at least for those with a lot of lines it seems like a great deal

I would be incredibly pleased if I could take advantage of my upgrade and get the subsidized phones and then change to this plan.

 

[(HULK)]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

There is some sort of program out there for converting old contract plans to the new ones. Its called "Bridge to Value" but I don't have the full details yet. Try googling it if you want specifics.

 

[(HULK)]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

Holy crap... that's 1/2 of what I'm paying for more service. The one thing that is vague is the data... does the data plan cover all 5 lines?

Data is per line. Each line starts with 500 MB. You can then add 2GB to a line for $10. The data is not shared between lines. Its wreaking havoc on my database today as I'm trying to figure out how to code this in the format I already have.You will still be able to get subsidized phones and shared data/minutes plans from 3rd party T-mobile retailers though. Like a Bestbuy or Wirefly. They won't have the new plans at those places. These plans are new too, and a bit cheaper than what they currently have.

 

[(HULK)]

Leaked T-Mobile plan seems like it will be a good bet once it gets rolled out.

I currently have 5 lines on T-Mobile with 3 due for an upgrade 3/21. My best case scenario is upgrading those three phones getting the subsidized pricing and then changing to a value plan without incurring the early termination fees.

Could then get 5 lines (two with 2GB high-speed data) for $130+fees/taxes.

Holy crap... that's 1/2 of what I'm paying for more service. The one thing that is vague is the data... does the data plan cover all 5 lines?

Based on how I am reading it the base price for 5 lines would be $110 + taxes and fees. That would include unlimited talk, text and 500MB high-speed data for each line. (Data is unlimited your speeds are just throttled after 500MB). You can then add an extra $10 to each line for 2GB of unthrottled data, or $20 for truly unlimited.

Some of the people in the comments section of that article are throwing a hissy fit but at least for those with a lot of lines it seems like a great deal

I would be incredibly pleased if I could take advantage of my upgrade and get the subsidized phones and then change to this plan.

I'm still trying to suss out what "truly unlimited" actually means. On the new prepaid plan the "truly unlimited" = 5000MBs @ 4G speeds, throttled to 2G after. Its not clear on the no contract postpaid option though. It may actually be true unlimited, it may not. Remains to be seen in their updated terms of service imo.

 

[UOFI_316]

Does anyone have any experiences with using a bluetooth gateway?? I am thinking of switching over me and the wife to Ting and then making my cell phone the "land line" and then using my work cell phone as my regular phone (company paid for of course).

I looked at the Sprint Home Connect thing Ting has but I think I would rather have a "spare" cell phone instead of just the SHC box thing, since both will cost the $6 device fee.

This would take us from around $80 down to $27, and give us the "land line" that my wife wants us to get without the extra fees.

 

[Wingnut]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but T-mobile will be switching everything over later this month to no contract or prepaid accounts. If you have a contract you can switch to a new T-mobile monthly service with no penalties from your existing contract price. Though if you leave you would still have a penelty to pay. I had a $400 buyout on contract to the end of September, but I will be able after March 24th to drop the contract to a all inclusive monthly with T-mobile and go from $240 month to $130 month with no out of pocket as long as I stay through the old contract term. After that I can shop around again to any of these mvno plans. But I can save monthly till then and have no out of pocket. So that what I'm doing. But come September I will look to drop down another $50 a month to around $80 for two lines of unlimited use service through an mvno service.

Just wanted to send that info out for other T-mobile users who are being held back by the buy out costs right now. There will be an option to lower your monthly costs and wait out the big buyout costs before switching carriers. Hopefully not honda information.

Thanks, this is good info. I knew Tmobile was dropping postpaid plans, but didn't know the timeline or how it worked for those already under a Tmobile contract. Given this, jobber should stay at Tmobile to avoid the $800 ETF for sure.

I have not read though this yet, but here is some info

Looks like the plan will be unlimited talk, texts, and 500MB of data for $50/month. Then you can also add 2GB of data to any line for $10, or unlimited data for $20/month. You dont have to add the data though, they will just bill you $10 per 2GB you use.

 

[Abraham]

That Tmo plan would save me about $50 a month for me and the wife. Will be interested to see if it includes/allows tethering.

 

[(HULK)]

That Tmo plan would save me about $50 a month for me and the wife. Will be interested to see if it includes/allows tethering.

It does, for free. Except if you take the unlimited data option. Then it's free for 500 MBS of hot spotting, ten dollars for 2 GB. And twenty four 4gb.

 

[Abraham]

That Tmo plan would save me about $50 a month for me and the wife. Will be interested to see if it includes/allows tethering.

It does, for free. Except if you take the unlimited data option. Then it's free for 500 MBS of hot spotting, ten dollars for 2 GB. And twenty four 4gb.

That's still solid. I use it about three times a month for five minutes each time. At and t kills me because having a data plan for my wife costs $20 even though she uses it for a map search about three times a year. Any chance a nexus 4 and an iPhone have the same SIM card so I can trade out?

 

[Jaysus]

That Tmo plan would save me about $50 a month for me and the wife. Will be interested to see if it includes/allows tethering.

It does, for free. Except if you take the unlimited data option. Then it's free for 500 MBS of hot spotting, ten dollars for 2 GB. And twenty four 4gb.

That's still solid. I use it about three times a month for five minutes each time. At and t kills me because having a data plan for my wife costs $20 even though she uses it for a map search about three times a year. Any chance a nexus 4 and an iPhone have the same SIM card so I can trade out?

Nexus 4 and iPhone 4/4s have both have a micro SIM

 

[(HULK)]

That Tmo plan would save me about $50 a month for me and the wife. Will be interested to see if it includes/allows tethering.

It does, for free. Except if you take the unlimited data option. Then it's free for 500 MBS of hot spotting, ten dollars for 2 GB. And twenty four 4gb.

That's still solid. I use it about three times a month for five minutes each time. At and t kills me because having a data plan for my wife costs $20 even though she uses it for a map search about three times a year. Any chance a nexus 4 and an iPhone have the same SIM card so I can trade out?

Nexus 4 has a micro SIM, iPhone5 has a nano SIM. They're different :(

 

[TxBuckeye]

Okay, I'll bite. I was going to try and figure it out myself via this thread but then saw it was up to 10 pages. So (Hulk), over to you. This one is likely as easy as it gets.

We don't do data at all. Strictly voice and text. I am currently under a Sprint plan that was long ago discontinued. It's $50 for 550 shared minutes, and $5 each for 300 texts. All in all, after taxes and fees, the bill is $77 a month. I have an old LG flip phone that is likely useless with any of these services. My wife has a Reflex Rumor 3 or some such thing.

With the two phones combined, we average 486 minutes a month, and 488 text messages. That's it. So I'm guessing we should be able to get one of these plans pretty cheap. I don't mind having to buy phones, but would hope to be able to get them fairly cheap via ebay or refurbed or something. We'd also have to pay early termination to Sprint thanks to the wife's "new" phone.

So, are any plans out there cheap enough to make this worth it?

 

[(HULK)]

Okay, I'll bite. I was going to try and figure it out myself via this thread but then saw it was up to 10 pages. So (Hulk), over to you. This one is likely as easy as it gets.

We don't do data at all. Strictly voice and text. I am currently under a Sprint plan that was long ago discontinued. It's $50 for 550 shared minutes, and $5 each for 300 texts. All in all, after taxes and fees, the bill is $77 a month. I have an old LG flip phone that is likely useless with any of these services. My wife has a Reflex Rumor 3 or some such thing.

With the two phones combined, we average 486 minutes a month, and 488 text messages. That's it. So I'm guessing we should be able to get one of these plans pretty cheap. I don't mind having to buy phones, but would hope to be able to get them fairly cheap via ebay or refurbed or something. We'd also have to pay early termination to Sprint thanks to the wife's "new" phone.

So, are any plans out there cheap enough to make this worth it?

I mostly have been focusing on smartphones that require data, but I have a suggestion. Ting is perfect for you. 2 phones ($12), 500 minutes shared ($9), and 1000 texts shared ($5) for a grand total of $26 a month, plus taxes. Not sure what your taxes would be, but it looks like you'd be cutting your bill by over 50%. Ting uses Sprint's network too, so you'd actually have the exact same service that you're used toYou might (its likely I think) be able to bring your old phones with you. You should call them and check (1-855-TING-FTW). If not, they have 4 phones that cost under $100: Cheapest Ting Phones. Or maybe you could pick up an old unlocked Sprint device on Ebay or somewhere.

If you use one of the referral links in post#1 here, you'll get a $25 discount on a phone purchase or a $25 service credit (if you're able to bring your phones from Sprint).

What is the ETF fee? Its probably worth it to do it now imo, you'll make up the difference pretty quick.

 

[TxBuckeye]

What is the ETF fee? Its probably worth it to do it now imo, you'll make up the difference pretty quick.

It depends if the wife's phone is considered a "smart device" or not. $350 if it is, $200 if it isn't. I'll give Ting a call and ask about the phones. I looked at the site the day you posted this initially and told the wife it was something I wanted to look in to, especially with the furloughs coming. The more I read this thread, the more convinced I became.

 

[Jaysus]

so... I'm in. Just have to port my Sprint #s to Goolge Voice and I think I am set.

Starting off with two lines. The $30 T-mobile plan for me and the $40 SIMple Moble (T-Mobile MVNO) for the wife. That has us under $75 per month down from ~$140 (with taxes). I got both SIM cards for under $3 combined, will have to pay $40 to port to GV, and had to buy 2 new phones (which we needed anyway). I will break even this year.

 

[(HULK)]

What is the ETF fee? Its probably worth it to do it now imo, you'll make up the difference pretty quick.

It depends if the wife's phone is considered a "smart device" or not. $350 if it is, $200 if it isn't. I'll give Ting a call and ask about the phones. I looked at the site the day you posted this initially and told the wife it was something I wanted to look in to, especially with the furloughs coming. The more I read this thread, the more convinced I became.

When did she get it? The ETF goes down over time, eventually reaching $0 after 2 years. Its a feature phone not a smart phone, so if Sprint wants to charge you a $350 ETF I'd be suprised. MSRP on the thing is only $79!

 

[(HULK)]

so... I'm in. Just have to port my Sprint #s to Goolge Voice and I think I am set.Starting off with two lines. The $30 T-mobile plan for me and the $40 SIMple Moble (T-Mobile MVNO) for the wife. That has us under $75 per month down from ~$140 (with taxes). I got both SIM cards for under $3 combined, will have to pay $40 to port to GV, and had to buy 2 new phones (which we needed anyway). I will break even this year.

Cool. Good luck. Let me know if the wife gets hamstrung by either the no roaming policy or the 250 MB data cap. If shes working well within those bounds, she'll be good to go. If not, I can send you a free Solavei SIM. I bought 40 of the things and they're just sitting there right now Plans are underway to build my website to do this though, hope to have a decent site up within the next 2 months.ETA: Better get your T-mobile plan in this week, they're announcing new plans next week and I'm not sure the 100 mins / unlimited texts / 5 GBs for $30 plan will survive.

 

[Jaysus]

ETA: Better get your T-mobile plan in this week, they're announcing new plans next week and I'm not sure the 100 mins / unlimited texts / 5 GBs for $30 plan will survive.

Yeah, I am assuming that it won't... that's the kind of luck I have I'll be all about Solavei at that point if so.

 

[(HULK)]

ETA: Better get your T-mobile plan in this week, they're announcing new plans next week and I'm not sure the 100 mins / unlimited texts / 5 GBs for $30 plan will survive.

Yeah, I am assuming that it won't... that's the kind of luck I have I'll be all about Solavei at that point if so.

Can you sign up for the plan before your phone comes? I assume you're waiting on the Nexus4, right?

 

[(HULK)]

What is the ETF fee? Its probably worth it to do it now imo, you'll make up the difference pretty quick.

It depends if the wife's phone is considered a "smart device" or not. $350 if it is, $200 if it isn't. I'll give Ting a call and ask about the phones. I looked at the site the day you posted this initially and told the wife it was something I wanted to look in to, especially with the furloughs coming. The more I read this thread, the more convinced I became.

When did she get it? The ETF goes down over time, eventually reaching $0 after 2 years. Its a feature phone not a smart phone, so if Sprint wants to charge you a $350 ETF I'd be suprised. MSRP on the thing is only $79!

Oh, and here is some quick math. Whatever your ETF is today, it will decrease each month ($20 per month for a smartphone, $10 per month for a feature phone). If your new plan is saving you more than that, it makes sense to break your contract and switch now anyways. The cost savings being higher than the drop in ETF savings.

 

[Jaysus]

ETA: Better get your T-mobile plan in this week, they're announcing new plans next week and I'm not sure the 100 mins / unlimited texts / 5 GBs for $30 plan will survive.

Yeah, I am assuming that it won't... that's the kind of luck I have I'll be all about Solavei at that point if so.

Can you sign up for the plan before your phone comes? I assume you're waiting on the Nexus4, right?

I've got both Nexus 4's now - I am all signed up at this point!We'll see if T-Mobile will "grandfather" me in on the $30 plan going forward if they ax it.

 

[(HULK)]

Okay, so I finally found out that indeed Ting does NOT currently allow you to bring over the iPhone (or Blackberrys). Not yet anyways.

Here is the complete white list of phones you can bring from Sprint (TxBuckeye, please note that the LG Rumor Reflex is on the list!):

White List

They only have "official" support for a small fraction of these devices at this stage. However you can still bring them over with a little leg work. If thats something you want to do, start here: BYOD to Ting

 

[(HULK)]

ETA: Better get your T-mobile plan in this week, they're announcing new plans next week and I'm not sure the 100 mins / unlimited texts / 5 GBs for $30 plan will survive.

Yeah, I am assuming that it won't... that's the kind of luck I have I'll be all about Solavei at that point if so.

Can you sign up for the plan before your phone comes? I assume you're waiting on the Nexus4, right?

I've got both Nexus 4's now - I am all signed up at this point!We'll see if T-Mobile will "grandfather" me in on the $30 plan going forward if they ax it.

I assume they will. Good luck!

 

[TxBuckeye]

Okay, so I finally found out that indeed Ting does NOT currently allow you to bring over the iPhone (or Blackberrys). Not yet anyways.

Here is the complete white list of phones you can bring from Sprint (TxBuckeye, please note that the LG Rumor Reflex is on the list!):

White List

They only have "official" support for a small fraction of these devices at this stage. However you can still bring them over with a little leg work. If thats something you want to do, start here: BYOD to Ting

Sweet. And so is my crappy old Lotus! Woot!!

 

[Jaysus]

I ported our numbers to Google Voice last night... I hope it happens quickly as my wife is totally confused by this temporary dual phone number thing

 

[(HULK)]

I ported our numbers to Google Voice last night... I hope it happens quickly as my wife is totally confused by this temporary dual phone number thing

What is it about women that make this sort of stuff hard to comprehend?

 

[Jaysus]

I ported our numbers to Google Voice last night... I hope it happens quickly as my wife is totally confused by this temporary dual phone number thing

What is it about women that make this sort of stuff hard to comprehend?

lol - you should have heard the conversation where she tried to explain it to her sister.

 

[(HULK)]

I ported our numbers to Google Voice last night... I hope it happens quickly as my wife is totally confused by this temporary dual phone number thing

What is it about women that make this sort of stuff hard to comprehend?

lol - you should have heard the conversation where she tried to explain it to her sister.

Oh, please share this!

 

[eaganwildcats]

T-Mobile's upgrade program is utterly baffling and mostly worthless. HTH.

 

[(HULK)]

T-Mobile's upgrade program is utterly baffling and mostly worthless. HTH.

They're killing it next week

 

[Statorama]

Anyone have luck with talking their current provider down, given all the new services/plans out there? Kind of like calling DirecTV and saying you're thinking of moving to cable, so DTV gives you a year of free HBO or something.

Or are they "sorry dude, plan A's services and prices are this and plan B's services and prices are this"

Hulk - great work in here bro.

 

[eaganwildcats]

T-Mobile's upgrade program is utterly baffling and mostly worthless. HTH.

They're killing it next week

Yup, so they have either dialed it down in lieu of that or it has always sucked.

 

[(HULK)]

T-Mobile's upgrade program is utterly baffling and mostly worthless. HTH.

They're killing it next week

Yup, so they have either dialed it down in lieu of that or it has always sucked.

They won't be offering upgrades at all any more. No contracts and no subsidies. However, you can finance your phone at 0%.However, you'll still be able to get subsidies if you go through a 3rd party Tmob retailer like Bestbuy.

 

[(HULK)]

Welcome Siffoin to the Ting army. 8 of us now. Thats kinda cool.

 

[(HULK)]

Welcome Siffoin to the Ting army. 8 of us now. Thats kinda cool.

I really like Ting. I went skiing today, and made a couple test calls in particularly bad reception areas. Aces on Verizon's network, no problem at all. I got a couple prompts from my phone that told me there might be additional charges, but nothing on my dashboard. Sidenote: The dashboard is awesomeOne thing I've noticed is that there are wireless networks virtually everywhere I spend any time. I've used 1MB in the last three days. I've actually got data turned off on my phone because the only time I want to use it when I'm not around a wireless network is when I'm driving, and, well, I probably shouldn't be doing that.

are you just hopping on any unsecured network?

 

[Mystery Achiever]

I really like Ting. I went skiing today, and made a couple test calls in particularly bad reception areas. Aces on Verizon's network, no problem at all. I got a couple prompts from my phone that told me there might be additional charges, but nothing on my dashboard.

I thought Ting only used Sprint?

 

[Brady Marino]

I really like Ting. I went skiing today, and made a couple test calls in particularly bad reception areas. Aces on Verizon's network, no problem at all. I got a couple prompts from my phone that told me there might be additional charges, but nothing on my dashboard.

I thought Ting only used Sprint?

You can voice roam anywhere on Verizon's network, but you can't use data when roaming.

Let us know if you get stiffed with additional charges. If not, that may be the determining factor in getting me to switch before my ETF runs out.

 

[BeTheMatch]

Hulk,

My wife and I have separate accounts through Virgin Mobile. We both have the Optimus Elite phone.

She doesn't talk much usually, so she has the $35 plan which gets her 300 minutes and unlimited texts/data.

We don't have a landline, and I talk more, so I'm on the $45 plan for 1200 minutes and unlimited texts/data.

They offer the unlimited everything for $55, but I was wondering if there's a better option for me to get more talk minutes. I don't think I use that much data, but Virgin Mobile's website is terrible, and I can't find any usage details to find out how much I'm actually using. I'd say I use about 90% of my data to do email, and it is set up to be constantly checking email. But I have no idea how much data that is actually using.

I do have a Google Voice number too, but I don't have it forwarding to my cel because my understanding was that would still eat into to my 1200-minute monthly allowance.

Anything out there that makes more sense for my needs?

 

[(HULK)]

Can you go to settings, then data usage on the phone? That phone is on gingerbread, not sure if that version of android has that. If it does it tells you how much data you used each month.

Any idea how many texts you send/receive a month? This stuff should be on your bill, but I never used virgin before so maybe it isn't.

No contract with them, right?

The more info you can give me, the better answers I can find.

 

[(HULK)]

Oh, do you have Wi-Fi at home? Are a lot of your calls from home?

 

[Hastur]

 

[Brady Marino]

I really like Ting. I went skiing today, and made a couple test calls in particularly bad reception areas. Aces on Verizon's network, no problem at all. I got a couple prompts from my phone that told me there might be additional charges, but nothing on my dashboard.

I thought Ting only used Sprint?

You can voice roam anywhere on Verizon's network, but you can't use data when roaming.

Let us know if you get stiffed with additional charges. If not, that may be the determining factor in getting me to switch before my ETF runs out.

Nothing. Ting has a "dashboard" feature that allows you to really easily track your minutes. Nothing other than normal minutes on there. Pretty sweet.

I did see over the weekend that voice roaming on Verizon is free, but of course the catch is you can't data roam.Knowing my luck, I'll sign up and then a week later, they'll offer another ETF special, so I'm just holding out for that at this point.