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Save $ on cell service -- Ting Mobile / Solavei (+ other MVNOs) (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter (HULK)
- Start date
(HULK)
(Smash)
What's your zipcode?
Me and a couple of others here are on Solavei. Works great for me... its good if you a bit of a data hog. They also have a referal program thing where if you refer 3 people you get $20 off your phone a month... which gives it a slight pyramidy schemey vibe. But, if you can look past that, service has been great thus far.
(HULK)
(Smash)
shadyridr
Footballguy
mentioned this to my wife and she was dead set against Sprint. So back to square one. Maybe I need to look at this divorce option more
Im kidding
(HULK)
(Smash)
Ting roams for free on Verizon. So, if the Sprint coverage is lacking, your phone will just jump to verizon's towers. I'd twist her arm if you could, its by far the least expensive option.mentioned this to my wife and she was dead set against Sprint. So back to square one. Maybe I need to look at this divorce option more
gandalas
Footballguy
Coverage Reviews for Columbus, OH 43085Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. T-Mobile
2.53 Rating | 15 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2.12 Rating | 41 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.88 Rating | 32 Reviews
Towers | Map
4. Sprint
1.66 Rating | 29 Reviews
Towers | Map
Looks good. I am still on my damn 2-year contract for a bit, but definitely looking for options when I get out. Definitely agree on the Galaxy S4. Was probably going to switch after contract was up regardless.
(HULK)
(Smash)
gandalas
Footballguy
(HULK)
(Smash)
Sept 2012. So you have about 15 months left. Which means a penalty of about $235 right now. It drops by $10 each month.
Looks like you could sell your iPhone5 on Ebay for somewhere between $400 and $450.
A new unlocked Nexus 4 is either $299 or $349 (depending on storage space).
So, if you switched to Solavei with a 16 GB Nexus 4:
-$235 ETF from AT&T (#####!)
-$349 cost of Nexus 4
+$425 iPhone sale
----------
-$159
Cost of current AT&T plan = $85 plus taxes/fees
Cost of Solavei plan = $49 plus taxes/fees
Monthly savings = $36
Time to break even on switching = about 4 and a half months
Every month after that you'd save $36, for a total of about $700 over the next 2 years.
I wouldn't wait, given as the plan is $36 less a month and your ETF only drops $10 a month. You're not gaining any ground doing that.
The only thing is if you're not interested in the Nexus4... then maybe wait for the Moto XFon to drop, or the next Nexus later this fall.
(HULK)
(Smash)
cancel, pay your etf, they should unlock then.
Alright HULK, I'm ready to look into this seriously. Currently on Verizon. 5 phones, 2 smart/3 basic (but looking at upgrading one line). The two smart phones (S3s) recently went under new contracts and would probably need to stay on VZW, but the first three lines could be under different plans if its significantly cheaper. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Most of the minutes are between the family, we use <700 mins of the shared VZW plan (since mobile to mobile doesn't count towards the total). If any of the MVNOs offer a family plan we wouldn't need anywhere near the sum of the individual lines.
55118: basic phone (but looking at upgrade) - 100 mins, 500 txt, 1gb data if upgraded
55387: basic - 500 mins, 600 txt
55387: basic - 500 mins, 800 txt
51355: smart phone - 300 mins, 2k txt, 2gb
55387: smart phone - 300 mins, 5k txt, 2gb
Most of the minutes are between the family, we use <700 mins of the shared VZW plan (since mobile to mobile doesn't count towards the total). If any of the MVNOs offer a family plan we wouldn't need anywhere near the sum of the individual lines.
55118: basic phone (but looking at upgrade) - 100 mins, 500 txt, 1gb data if upgraded
55387: basic - 500 mins, 600 txt
55387: basic - 500 mins, 800 txt
51355: smart phone - 300 mins, 2k txt, 2gb
55387: smart phone - 300 mins, 5k txt, 2gb
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
What did Solavei provide in features and cost over Straight Talk? I am looking to switch off of Verizon very soon and was planning to go to Straight Talk Unlimited for $45/mo. - is it the 4G instead of 3G?
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Wingnut
Footballguy
Straight Talk is pretty good, and I probably would have stayed with them if I didnt need a new phone (screwed my GS2 up by accidentally plugging a wet charger into it). The faster speed will be a plus. I was on AT&T network with ST, so my coverage was good.
I was paying $48 a month for ST ($45 card plus $3 sales tax) for 2GB data, Ill be paying $58 for Solavei ($49 plus $9 in taxes/fees) for 4GB data.
The good thing about these MVNOs is you can try one out for a month and see how you like it, and then try another, compare and decide which one you like better.
If you have Wifi Access at home, and stay under 100MB a day on the network, ST is a good deal. I got a couple calls from them warning me about my data usage when I wasnt using much at all, although I did stream some content on the network via IHeartRadio and Youtube, both of which are violations of their TOS. Once I stopped doing that I didnt hear from them again.
Give em a try and see how you like it. You cant beat the price IMO for unlimited talk, text and 2GB data. Just be careful about streaming content over the network and you should be fine.
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Thanks this is really helpful - but confusing. I thought the ST plan was unlimited data. So they call you if you are streaming? I like to listen to podcasts and typically download them though, my son on the other hand has all kinds of crap that streams and it is killing us on our Verizon plan. Outside of more closely controlling our son (which is happening - but have to stay on top of it and him) what is the best approach for lots of data?
Wingnut
Footballguy
No cell plan has truly unlimited data. They all throw that term around like it means something, but it doesnt. They all have caps on data (or at least caps before throttling to slower speeds). Youd think they wouldnt be able to use that term, but for some reason they can.
The calls I got from them were recordings warning me about my data use. The best way around using data is to use WiFi since it doesnt use the network, therefore it doesnt count against your cap. Only use the network when youre out of WiFi range. ST is known to have strict Terms of Service when it comes to data and streaming, so be aware of that.
Thats one reason I like the Solavei 4GB plan (actually its 4GB at 4G speed, then it throttles to 3G I believe). Straight Talk is 2GB period. If you go over 2GB in a month (or 100MB in a 24 hr period) they can suspend service or terminate you. If they terminate you, you will lose the phone number you had ported over (unless you port your number to Google instead of porting it over to ST).
ETA: SOmeone else can explain the porting to Google thingy, Im not really sure how it works
ETA v2.0: Ive read that T Mobile's $70 unlimited prepaid plan has a cap of almost 10GB before throttling. Not sure if its true or not, its hard to find concrete info on this
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(HULK)
(Smash)
Lets put it this way, Straight Talk is owned by TracFone, which is owned by Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world. He's also a shady mofo, so they'll advertise "unlimited" data and then cut you off or throttle you at their discretion. They also make streaming audio (pandora) or video (youtube) a violation of their terms of service, which is ridiculous. Their customer service is based in the Philipines and barely speaks english and is usually unhelpful. All in all, I personally think they give the prepaid industry a bad name that isn't necessiarly deserved. If you don't use much data, but make a lot of calls, and never need customer service, then Straight Talk would probably be well suited to you. Sorry, I just get pissed everytime I see someone wondering about "unlimited" data when it is a clear lie that they continue to perpetuate.
(HULK)
(Smash)
After your 4GB of highspeed is used up, Solavei throttles you to 2G, not 3G. Pretty much anytime anyone throttles, its to 2G.
Not sure on the T-Mo cap, hadn't heard that.
What do you want to know about porting to google? You mean porting your phone number to Google Voice? Thats what I did years ago, now I just take whatever phone number a carrier gives me and point my google voice to the new number. Its like magic
(HULK)
(Smash)
No prepaid carrier offers any sort of mobile to mobile or my circle/family or nights/weekends arrangement. You just pay for what you get. Given this, can you adjust your minute counts to accomodate that? Also, what are you paying right now? And is that an adult sending 5,000 texts a month!?!
Wingnut
Footballguy
I meant to type 2G. I hate virtual keyboards.(HULK) said:
As far as Tmo's "unlimited" cap, I read it a few weeks back. Just did a quick search on it and found a thread about it with a screenshot of the cap being 9765.6GB (scroll 4 posts down)
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2318738
Later in the thread it shows that it could also be 5GB, but Im not sure if thats a pre or postpaid plan.
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Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Pretty fundamental question, but I don't know the answer. For my podcasts - they really should take up much data should they? Isn't it better to download the entire episode and then listen rather than stream it? Once it is downloaded, I am no longer using my dataplan am I? If a podcast is 13MG say - is that what I should be using if I just simply downloaded it? What amount of data would I likely be using if I were to stream it?
I have gotten heavy into podcasts lately and it looks like that is really into my data - didn't expect that. Video I understand ...not just audio being such a hog.
I have gotten heavy into podcasts lately and it looks like that is really into my data - didn't expect that. Video I understand ...not just audio being such a hog.
The smart phones are college kids; my youngest brother texts his g/f nonstop.(HULK) said:
The minutes above are the total minutes including mobile/mobile & nights/weekends and I doubt people cut down on their talking so we'd probably have to stick with those. I would use google voice or something to cut down on the minutes, but not sure I'd get the rest of the family to buy into it.
Current bill is $220 ($200 + tax), but it'd be $250 if we upgrade my phone to a smart phone. I think its $110 for 2 phones with 1400 minutes/unlimited text, plus $10/phone for other three phones, plus $30/phone for two smart phones. Since the two smart phones are under fairly new contracts I think the termination would be $350 each. If we didn't want to pay the ETF I think you could leave those two phones on VZW for $150 under the Share Everything plan. If I can show my parents they can make up the $700 they might go for it.
Wingnut
Footballguy
Up and running on Solavei...found out that Tmo's coverage around here is as bad as I feared - I can only connect to EDGE within 5 miles of my house, and my D-Link router wont play nice with my S3 unless I turn the security on the router off. Looks like Im going to Best Buy tomorrow to buy a new router, I gotta have data at home. Hopefully Ill be able to figure out how to set it up.
The good news is when I drive into town, 4G kicks in and I get almost 13kbps download speeds. I gotta drive up to Jacksonville Monday, so Im curious to see what kind of coverage I get on the road.
Tmo's coverage is nowhere near as good as Verizon and AT&T locally.
The good news is when I drive into town, 4G kicks in and I get almost 13kbps download speeds. I gotta drive up to Jacksonville Monday, so Im curious to see what kind of coverage I get on the road.
Tmo's coverage is nowhere near as good as Verizon and AT&T locally.
(HULK)
(Smash)
Just download them over wifi at home and delete them when you're done with them. That way it uses 0 data.
(HULK)
(Smash)
Good luck. Sound like you'd be dependant on wifi at home (which is usually faster anyways). I hope you get it sorted out.
(HULK)
(Smash)
(HULK)
(Smash)
Okay FBG26, first lets look at your coverage. 3 phones are here:
Coverage Reviews for Waconia, MN 55387
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. Sprint
2.67 Rating | 3 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2 Rating | 8 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. T-Mobile
1.6 Rating | 5 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. AT&T
0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map AT&T has a pretty terrible rating, so we'll avoid things on their network (unless you request otherwise).
Next is 55118:
Coverage Reviews for Saint Paul, MN 55118
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. T-Mobile
2.29 Rating | 34 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Sprint
2.18 Rating | 40 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.58 Rating | 36 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. Verizon
1.49 Rating | 45 Reviews
Towers | Map
Looks like St. Paul is well covered by all.
Then there is 51355:
Coverage Reviews for Okoboji, IA 51355
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. T-Mobile
2.5 Rating | 4 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. AT&T
1.2 Rating | 5 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Verizon
1 Rating | 1 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. Sprint
0 Rating | 1 Reviews
Towers | Map Looks like no Sprint coverage there at all, so now they're excluded as well (unless we put that phone on its own plan altogether, or keep it on Verizon for now as its one of the new ones with an ETF.
Okay, so if we were to look for one family plan for all 5 phones together, the cheapest far and away is this:
T-Mobile's new uncarrier plans. They're ridiculously cheaper than any other option. For example, this is what you would get:
Line 1: Unlimited Calls, Unlimited Texts, 2.5 GB of data
Line 2 & 3: Same as line 1
Line 4: Unlimited Calls, Unlimited Texts, 500 MB of data (which you don't need but its there)
Line 5: Same as line 4
All of that and the cost is a total of $140 plus taxes. If you think the new smartphone user can stay under 500 MB, price drops to $130 even. Nothing is even close when considering the whole family together. The downside, you'd need new phones. None of your Verizon phones would be compatible.
***************
If you're looking for just the first grouping of 3 phones, its a different picture entirely. And we can include Sprint as a carrier, because the 51355 isn't in that group. For those 3, the cheapest would be:
Ting. 3 phones, 2000 shared minutes, 2000 shared texts, 1 GB (shared, but only 1 phone would use it). Total of $85 a month plus taxes/fees. Ting would also require new phones, your Verizon phones won't work.
***************
I tried looking at the phones individually, and really nothing comes close. Your ultimate best option is T-Mobile. By far. So, some math:
If you stay on Verizon and you switch to a smartphone its $250 a month.
If you go to Tmobile and you switch to a smartphone its $140 (probably 155 or so with taxes, fees, we'll call it $160 to be safe).
So, thats a $90 difference a month. To make up $700 in ETF, that would take just under 8 months. But beyond that, you'd need completely new phones. I supposed you could sell the ones you just got and use that to buy new ones, but I'm not sure if its worth it.
What I would do is move people over to T-Mobile one at a time as their contracts end. Just start a family plan there for the first 3 phones (should be $100 with 1 smartphone at 2.5 GB and 2 dumb phones) and then move the other phones over in a year or 18 months. Its not ideal, but thats the purpose of those ETF, to lock you in.
Coverage Reviews for Waconia, MN 55387
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. Sprint
2.67 Rating | 3 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2 Rating | 8 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. T-Mobile
1.6 Rating | 5 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. AT&T
0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map AT&T has a pretty terrible rating, so we'll avoid things on their network (unless you request otherwise).
Next is 55118:
Coverage Reviews for Saint Paul, MN 55118
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. T-Mobile
2.29 Rating | 34 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Sprint
2.18 Rating | 40 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.58 Rating | 36 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. Verizon
1.49 Rating | 45 Reviews
Towers | Map
Looks like St. Paul is well covered by all.
Then there is 51355:
Coverage Reviews for Okoboji, IA 51355
Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. T-Mobile
2.5 Rating | 4 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. AT&T
1.2 Rating | 5 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Verizon
1 Rating | 1 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. Sprint
0 Rating | 1 Reviews
Towers | Map Looks like no Sprint coverage there at all, so now they're excluded as well (unless we put that phone on its own plan altogether, or keep it on Verizon for now as its one of the new ones with an ETF.
Okay, so if we were to look for one family plan for all 5 phones together, the cheapest far and away is this:
T-Mobile's new uncarrier plans. They're ridiculously cheaper than any other option. For example, this is what you would get:
Line 1: Unlimited Calls, Unlimited Texts, 2.5 GB of data
Line 2 & 3: Same as line 1
Line 4: Unlimited Calls, Unlimited Texts, 500 MB of data (which you don't need but its there)
Line 5: Same as line 4
All of that and the cost is a total of $140 plus taxes. If you think the new smartphone user can stay under 500 MB, price drops to $130 even. Nothing is even close when considering the whole family together. The downside, you'd need new phones. None of your Verizon phones would be compatible.
***************
If you're looking for just the first grouping of 3 phones, its a different picture entirely. And we can include Sprint as a carrier, because the 51355 isn't in that group. For those 3, the cheapest would be:
Ting. 3 phones, 2000 shared minutes, 2000 shared texts, 1 GB (shared, but only 1 phone would use it). Total of $85 a month plus taxes/fees. Ting would also require new phones, your Verizon phones won't work.
***************
I tried looking at the phones individually, and really nothing comes close. Your ultimate best option is T-Mobile. By far. So, some math:
If you stay on Verizon and you switch to a smartphone its $250 a month.
If you go to Tmobile and you switch to a smartphone its $140 (probably 155 or so with taxes, fees, we'll call it $160 to be safe).
So, thats a $90 difference a month. To make up $700 in ETF, that would take just under 8 months. But beyond that, you'd need completely new phones. I supposed you could sell the ones you just got and use that to buy new ones, but I'm not sure if its worth it.
What I would do is move people over to T-Mobile one at a time as their contracts end. Just start a family plan there for the first 3 phones (should be $100 with 1 smartphone at 2.5 GB and 2 dumb phones) and then move the other phones over in a year or 18 months. Its not ideal, but thats the purpose of those ETF, to lock you in.
Wingnut
Footballguy
Well this sucks for me. Tmo coverage is so bad at my house (half the time my phone is searching for a network) and since I cant make calls or send/receive texts over WiFi, I just ordered a new AT&T Straight Talk SIM from eBay and am switching back. I HAVE to be able to send and receive texts for work (I missed 11 work texts today due to lack of network coverage), and I need to be able to make and receive calls for obvious reasons.I was hoping I could reactivate my Straight Talk SIM, but since I ported my number to another service, my SIM has been deactivated. Oh well.
So Im out $58 for Solavei (which Ill use for maybe 3 days til my ST SIM gets here), and $70 for the new ST AT&T SIM. Ouch. I dont think Ill be leaving AT&T again any time soon.
I almost joined Aio, which has a 7GB data plan for $70, but they limit D/L speeds to 4Mbs per second, so I passed for now. I dont remember what my speeds were with ST, but for $22 less per month, Ill stick to Wifi most of the time and not worry about it.
So Im out $58 for Solavei (which Ill use for maybe 3 days til my ST SIM gets here), and $70 for the new ST AT&T SIM. Ouch. I dont think Ill be leaving AT&T again any time soon.
I almost joined Aio, which has a 7GB data plan for $70, but they limit D/L speeds to 4Mbs per second, so I passed for now. I dont remember what my speeds were with ST, but for $22 less per month, Ill stick to Wifi most of the time and not worry about it.
(HULK)
(Smash)
dude, that sucks. Wish you had better coverage at your house.BTW, instead of porting your number back to straight talk, port it to Google voice and save yourself some future trouble as you move around.
(HULK)
(Smash)
Oh, and if you want to be able to send/receive texts and make calls over wifi, its very possible. Google Voice enables the former, and GroovIP enables the latter. Both are free. Jaysus uses GroovIP and says it works well.
That said, you shouldn't be forced to rely on those from your home imo.
That said, you shouldn't be forced to rely on those from your home imo.
Jaysus
Good times!
Yeah, GrooVe IP will help, but you need a Google Voice number for it, so I am not so sure how useful it will be for the next few days.
ETA: Short of porting your number to Google Voice, you can just snag a number for free that you can use to hold you over until you are back on AT&T.
ETA: Short of porting your number to Google Voice, you can just snag a number for free that you can use to hold you over until you are back on AT&T.
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Wingnut
Footballguy
AT&T is my only option. Sprint is even worse than Tmo, and I hate Verizon so much I'd go without a phone before I'd give them one red cent.I'm gonna look hard as Aio. I've now seen different claims about their d/l speeds, and for the mobile surfing I do, I don't really need killer speeds.
RUSF18
Footballguy
I'm tired of the nearly $100/month I pay Verizon so I'm interested in exploring this new option. I was about ready to upgrade to the S4 before I did this.
I think the following is what you need to know to determine potential monthly charges. Apologies if I missed anything, as I've scanned the thread a good bit but very easily could have overlooked something.
Zip code: 10022
Usage (I went back through the last 6 months and got an average): 350 minutes, 2500 texts, 750 MB.
Appreciate any help/insight you can provide. Thanks.
I think the following is what you need to know to determine potential monthly charges. Apologies if I missed anything, as I've scanned the thread a good bit but very easily could have overlooked something.
Zip code: 10022
Usage (I went back through the last 6 months and got an average): 350 minutes, 2500 texts, 750 MB.
Appreciate any help/insight you can provide. Thanks.
(HULK)
(Smash)
In NYC, you look to be well covered by all the carriers. Here is the coverage report:
Coverage Reviews for New York, NY 10022Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]
1. Verizon
2.95 Rating | 19 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Sprint
2.31 Rating | 13 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.91 Rating | 55 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
1.84 Rating | 31 Reviews
Towers | Map
Running your numbers through the database, and this is what comes back as the least expensive option:
Voyager Mobile: Unlimited Calls, Texts, and 5GB of data (includes LTE if you're in Sprint's LTE footprint which I believe you are). $39 a month + taxes and fees. Downside, no roaming with them. I believe they don't have the Galaxy S4 yet, although you may want to look into buying the Sprint version unlocked and bringing it to them.
If you can cut down to 2000 texts and 500 MB, then Ting would be cheaper at $36 +taxes/fees for 500 minutes, 2000 texts, and 500 MBs. They do have roaming and the do have the S4 already.
Both are on Sprint's network. If you choose Ting, use one of the many referral links in post 1 to save an additional $25. Basically your choice comes down to wanting roaming to be available or wanting a ton of data so you can just use as much as you can consume without thought (thats how my plan is and I like not having to watch it). Both are well reviewed companies and could definitely save you a ton over your current Verizon plan.
Wingnut
Footballguy
Ok, so this all worked out pretty well, considering.
Just today I found out that AT&T has no contract, prepaid monthly plans called GoPhone plans, and a few days ago they introduced new pricing. So, I went to the website and checked it out, and immediately went down to my local AT&T store and signed up for their $60 plan, which is unlimited talk & text, and 2GB of data...and it runs on the LTE network, so faster speeds than Straight Talk has. Also, I can supposedly find refill cards online for around $50, so I may only be paying a couple more dollars than I was paying for ST, and theres no silly rules prohibiting streaming content. In addition, AT&T's customer service blows ST's out of the water, and thats always a plus. You can also add another GB for $10 taking the cap up to 3GB of LTE data. Oh, and you can bring any unlocked GSM device. Im using an unlocked TMO GS3.
Also, I just got off the phone with Solavei, and theyre giving me a full refund. Apparently they give you a 14 day period to change your mind, so kudos to them for being a stand-up company and doing the right thing. I figured it couldnt hurt to call and ask about a partial refund since I only used their service for a couple of days. I was surprised when they said they would refund my entire payment, no problem
Now when I get the Straight Talk AT&T SIM I ordered, Ill just turn around and resell it, so no money lost there.
So those of you looking to stay on AT&T network, the GoPhone plan is worth looking at, especially if you were thinking about Straight Talk. Yeah the $60 plan costs a little more than ST (which is almost $50 after sales tax), but for LTE, no streaming rules, and much better customer service, I think its worth it IMO. Heck, this is the same exact plan I paid $110 a month for over the last 5 years before I switched to ST a couple of months ago.
So now I have my old AT&T plan, no contract, no taxes or fees if I buy a refill card online, and even if I pay the full $60 a month for refills, I'm still saving $600 a year over what I was paying before.
Im now a happy camper again. Hulk, I would have never looked into any of this if it wasnt for this thread, so thanks for all the help youve given me and everyone else who has asked for it.
Just today I found out that AT&T has no contract, prepaid monthly plans called GoPhone plans, and a few days ago they introduced new pricing. So, I went to the website and checked it out, and immediately went down to my local AT&T store and signed up for their $60 plan, which is unlimited talk & text, and 2GB of data...and it runs on the LTE network, so faster speeds than Straight Talk has. Also, I can supposedly find refill cards online for around $50, so I may only be paying a couple more dollars than I was paying for ST, and theres no silly rules prohibiting streaming content. In addition, AT&T's customer service blows ST's out of the water, and thats always a plus. You can also add another GB for $10 taking the cap up to 3GB of LTE data. Oh, and you can bring any unlocked GSM device. Im using an unlocked TMO GS3.
Also, I just got off the phone with Solavei, and theyre giving me a full refund. Apparently they give you a 14 day period to change your mind, so kudos to them for being a stand-up company and doing the right thing. I figured it couldnt hurt to call and ask about a partial refund since I only used their service for a couple of days. I was surprised when they said they would refund my entire payment, no problem
Now when I get the Straight Talk AT&T SIM I ordered, Ill just turn around and resell it, so no money lost there.
So those of you looking to stay on AT&T network, the GoPhone plan is worth looking at, especially if you were thinking about Straight Talk. Yeah the $60 plan costs a little more than ST (which is almost $50 after sales tax), but for LTE, no streaming rules, and much better customer service, I think its worth it IMO. Heck, this is the same exact plan I paid $110 a month for over the last 5 years before I switched to ST a couple of months ago.
So now I have my old AT&T plan, no contract, no taxes or fees if I buy a refill card online, and even if I pay the full $60 a month for refills, I'm still saving $600 a year over what I was paying before.
Im now a happy camper again. Hulk, I would have never looked into any of this if it wasnt for this thread, so thanks for all the help youve given me and everyone else who has asked for it.
Last edited by a moderator:
(HULK)
(Smash)
Use google voice and you can text for free over wifi.
Also, to be clear, "roaming" in this instance means using Verizon's towers. You're good to go if your in Sprint's network footprint anywhere in the US.
(HULK)
(Smash)
Thats like an overtime touchdown bomb ftw. Glad your story took a good turn today! And good to know about Solavei's policy, I didn't know about thatOk, so this all worked out pretty well, considering.
Just today I found out that AT&T has no contract, prepaid monthly plans called GoPhone plans, and a few days ago they introduced new pricing. So, I went to the website and checked it out, and immediately went down to my local AT&T store and signed up for their $60 plan, which is unlimited talk & text, and 2GB of data...and it runs on the LTE network, so faster speeds than Straight Talk has. Also, I can supposedly find refill cards online for around $50, so I may only be paying a couple more dollars than I was paying for ST, and theres no silly rules prohibiting streaming content. In addition, AT&T's customer service blows ST's out of the water, and thats always a plus. You can also add another GB for $10 taking the cap up to 3GB of LTE data. Oh, and you can bring any unlocked GSM device. Im using an unlocked TMO GS3.
Also, I just got off the phone with Solavei, and theyre giving me a full refund. Apparently they give you a 14 day period to change your mind, so kudos to them for being a stand-up company and doing the right thing. I figured it couldnt hurt to call and ask about a partial refund since I only used their service for a couple of days. I was surprised when they said they would refund my entire payment, no problem
Now when I get the Straight Talk AT&T SIM I ordered, Ill just turn around and resell it, so no money lost there.
So those of you looking to stay on AT&T network, the GoPhone plan is worth looking at, especially if you were thinking about Straight Talk. Yeah the $60 plan costs a little more than ST (which is almost $50 after sales tax), but for LTE, no streaming rules, and much better customer service, I think its worth it IMO. Heck, this is the same exact plan I paid $110 a month for over the last 5 years before I switched to ST a couple of months ago.
So now I have my old AT&T plan, no contract, no taxes or fees if I buy a refill card online, and even if I pay the full $60 a month for refills, I'm still saving $600 a year over what I was paying before.
Im now a happy camper again. Hulk, I would have never looked into any of this if it wasnt for this thread, so thanks for all the help youve given me and everyone else who has asked for it.
Jaysus
Good times!
Wingnut
Footballguy
Dude, thanks again for the info!
(HULK)
(Smash)
Be wary of the AT&T prepaid's throttling. Their new one, AIO, offers LTE, but throttles it to 8 MBps, making it slower than T-Mobile's HSPA+42 by a fair amount.
http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2013/06/aio-adds-throttled-lte-and-two-more.html
http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2013/06/aio-adds-throttled-lte-and-two-more.html
