Save $ on cell service -- Ting Mobile / Solavei (+ other MVNOs) (2 Viewers)

[Spin]

Fiancee's contract is up, Mine runs through Feb 2014. Both on Verizon, we have unlimited data on our smart phones, plus shared minutes and unlimited texts, paying ~$170 a month for both lines after discount through work.

She has an iPhone 4s, but screen is shattered. Perfectly fine paying the $70 to fix the screen and keeping the phone though. Verizon was going to give her a free Galaxy 3 if she'd sign a 2 year contract.

We have 700 minutes a month and come pretty close to that number since her mom lives out of city and they talk every day(not counting nights in weekends), and she's a texting fiend, so unlimited text is a must.

I figured I needed unlimited data, but just checked and I seem to average about 1.6gb a month, she uses less than .5 gb.

I have a work phone as well that I can use some of minutes on, ie call from work phone instead of personal as long as I keep work phone under ~400 a month for personal calls.

Zip code is 37076, but we go to 38501 at least one weekend a month to visit her parents, sometimes two weekends.

Alright HULK do your magic and save me some money

 

[(HULK)]

Home Coverage:

Coverage Reviews for Hermitage, TN 37076
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
2.36 Rating | 22 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. AT&T
1.92 Rating | 25 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Verizon
1.85 Rating | 13 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
1.3 Rating | 23 Reviews
Towers | Map

INLAWs coverage:

Coverage Reviews for Cookeville, TN 38501
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
4 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2.28 Rating | 18 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Sprint
1.5 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. AT&T
1 Rating | 14 Reviews
Towers | Map Looks like you're pretty well covered. AT&T might be a bit spotty at the inlaws. So, lets dive right in then:

Your cheapest family plan option is Ting. Looking at $77 for 1000 minutes, 4000 texts, and 2 GB of data. You can add or subtract 2K texts for just $3 more (or less) too. Ting has free roaming and LTE and free hotspotting and awesome customer service.

If you went as individuals, I would say for you it would be Virgin Mobile: $35 for 300 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2.5 GB of data. They have LTE, but don't have roaming so you can't use your phone outside of Sprint's footprint. And if you hotspot, its a $15 a month fee! For your wife, she's looking at $39, either on Ting for 500 minutes, 4000 texts, and 500 MBs or Voyager Mobile for unlimited calls and texts and 5 GB of data. Voyager has LTE but also lacks roaming and hotspotting is unavailable. Together, that's $74, but you'd be paying taxes/fees to two companies, so the costs might be about the same overall.

I'd probably choose Ting. You can get a $25 will any of the referral links in post 1. You'll need to buy new phones though, your old Verizon phones won't work. And the phone is NOT subsidized like it would be at Verizon. Still, I belive the math bears in your favor if you switch.

Stay at Verizon for the next 2 years: Service = 24*$170 - 2 new phones for free when you renew your contract = $4080

Leave Verizon for Ting: Verizon ETF on your phone is $190 + 2 Galaxy S3s at Ting is 2*$450 - $25 credit + 2 years of service at $1848 = $2913

You'd save $1167 over the next 2 years if you switch today about got 2 new GS3s (you could also get cheaper phones too if you wanted to).

 

[Wingnut]

For those with Verizon who are looking for a cheap(er) plan, they now have prepaid monthly (no contract) plans available. The unlimited talk text and web plan is $50 a month. Im not sure if they have a data cap or throttling. Might be worth checking out if you dont want to port your number to a new service.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/prepay/processPrePayRequest.do?type=ppmonthBASIC

 

[Mr.Pack]

This almost seems like a no brainer to me. If my calculations are correct I'll save over $90/mo and after 5 months, my ETF will be paid off.

I have a Photon my daughter has an iPhone4, and my wife has a regular cell, no smartphone.

ETA: I have Sprint now.

53149 and 62522

 

[(HULK)]

This almost seems like a no brainer to me. If my calculations are correct I'll save over $90/mo and after 5 months, my ETF will be paid off.

I have a Photon my daughter has an iPhone4, and my wife has a regular cell, no smartphone.

ETA: I have Sprint now.

53149 and 62522

are you talking about Ting? Or did you want me to check out your usage for every company

 

[rick6668]

I posted this in a separate thread but was suggested to post it here.

I'm reading through that thread now, lots of info. Trying to take it all in.

Zips - 14612, 14616

I currently have a plan on Verizon, one phone (iphone4)

I have the NATIONWIDE TALK & TEXT 450 plan with unlimited data. Contract ends 7/5/13

Minutes and texts for myself are low, data usage varies between 1.5-3.5 GB/month

Cost - $80/month

My Father in law has a plan - NATIONWIDE TLK&TXT SHARE 700

There are 3 phone on this plan

No one uses data - no smart phones, just talk and text and usage is usually way under the limit.

2 phone have a contract ending 7/14/13

1 phone has a contract ending 10/20/14

Cost - $110/month

(I told my father in law, not to upgrade his phone or anything until July of this year after we figure this out, but he had battery issues and without my knowlegde went to the Verizon store and they talked him into a new phone and extended his contract last October.)

Anyway, I'd like to move those 3 phones onto my plan and not lose my unlimited data. I was hoping this would be easy, but now I am thinking not. I think if we cancel the contract for his phone, it will still be cheaper than keeping his contract open with one phone.

What is the best way to do this? I've never had phones moved from one plan to another.

ETA: Verizon chat said I cannot add phones to my plan and keep my unlimited data.

 

[(HULK)]

For those with Verizon who are looking for a cheap(er) plan, they now have prepaid monthly (no contract) plans available. The unlimited talk text and web plan is $50 a month. Im not sure if they have a data cap or throttling. Might be worth checking out if you dont want to port your number to a new service.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/prepay/processPrePayRequest.do?type=ppmonthBASIC

Just an FYI, the $50 plan is for non-smartphones. They have smartphone prepaid plans, basically unlimited calls/text + 2 GB of data for $60 or 4 GB of data for $70. Also, please note that Verizon's prepaid plans do not include LTE, so you'd be using their CDMA 3G network which is about 1 MBps download speeds. Ultimately these probably are not great options unless you're geographically constrainded to Verizon, and even then there are cheaper options.

 

[(HULK)]

Rick6668,

First off here are the coverage reports for your 2 listed zipcodes:

Coverage Reviews for Rochester, NY 14612
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. AT&T
3.7 Rating | 10 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2.83 Rating | 12 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Sprint
2.2 Rating | 10 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map Coverage Reviews for Rochester, NY 14616
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. AT&T
3.56 Rating | 9 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
3.4 Rating | 10 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. Sprint
2.22 Rating | 9 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews
Towers | Map Looks like anything on the T-Mobile network will have to be out as it doesn't seem to have good coverage in Rochester. Which is a shame, because they definitely have a lot of less expensive options.

So, I don't know about staying with Verizon. Maybe for you alone, but those 3 phones with your father in law, they would definitely be better served elsewhere. I'm going to look at this as 2 groups apart, and then all together as well, and see what we get.

First, lets look at your FIL's 3 phones. They're using 700 minutes, I'm not sure on the texts so I'll go with 2,000 just to be safe, and 0 data. I can't believe they're paying $110 a month for that! We can do WAY better.

Looking at them, far and away the cheapest option is Ting. 3 phones, 1000 minutes to share, 2000 texts = $44 a month. Now, you won't get discounts on the phones themselves (no carrier subsidy) but non-smart phones only cost roughly $100 so that would get made up quickly when you consider the price difference in service.

Looking at your phone lumped in with them, the cheapest again is Ting for $127 total a month for all 4 phones. But Ting charges a bit high for data, so lets skip over that one and look at your phone all by itself.

For your usage, the best bet would be Voyager Mobile. (FYI, both Ting and Voyager utilize Sprint's network). For $39 a month you'd get unlimited calls and texts, plus 5GB of data. They have LTE (although I'm not sure if Sprint's LTE network has reached Rochester yet). The only real downsides to them are that they have no roaming off of Sprint's network (you can use the phone anywhere in the country Sprint has towers, but you cannot roam onto Verizon's towers) and they do NOT have the iPhone yet. You'd have to be willing to make the jump to Android to do this. If you are one of those people who MUST have an iPhone, then Cricket is your next best choice, but its $70 a month. I doubt that $10 a month savings would make up the future subsidies/discounts on your next phone either. If you upgraded to an iPhone5 now, you'd be getting about $400 off by signing a contract with Verizon. $10 a month doesn't catch up to that.

So, if you must stay with iPhone, you should stay on Verizon. If you'd like to switch to Android, you can save a fair amount by switching to Voyager Mobile. Lets say you went with a HTC Evo 4G LTE, which is a serious step up from the iPhone4. You'd pay $579 out of pocket for the phone, and 24 months of service @ $39 = $1515 over the next 2 years. (Theoretically you can "bring your own Sprint phone" with Voyager, so you could probably find a used/refurbished phone much cheaper than this example). Versus staying with Verizon and upgrading to the iPhone4s lets say, that would cost you $99 for the upgrade, and then $80 a month for 24 months = $2019. So, if you're willing to switch to Android and Voyager, you'd be saving $504 over the next 2 years. Not bad.

For your FIL and his 3 phones it is a no-brainer that they should be on Ting. If he leaves in mid July when 2 of the contracts are up, he'll have to pay about a $130 penalty to cancel the contract on that last phone. Then 3 new non-smart phones on Ting are $100 a piece. And 24 months of service @ $44 a month and the grand total = $1486 over the next 2 years. If he stays with Verizon, there will be no penalties, he'll get new non-smart phones for free, and he'll pay $110 a month for service for a total = $2640 over the next 2 years. He saves $1154 by switching to Ting. Easy no brainer. Be sure to use one of the refferal links in post 1 of this thread to save an additional $25 bucks (and put $25 bucks in the pocket of a fellow FBG).

GL, let us know what you end up doing.

 

[rick6668]

Rick6668,

First off here are the coverage reports for your 2 listed zipcodes:

Coverage Reviews for Rochester, NY 14612Reviews Towers [SIZE=7pt]FILTER:[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] AT&T[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] SPRINT[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] T-MOBILE[/SIZE] [SIZE=7pt] VERIZON[/SIZE]

1. AT&T

3.7 Rating | 10 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. Verizon

2.83 Rating | 12 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. Sprint

2.2 Rating | 10 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile

0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews

Towers | MapCoverage Reviews for Rochester, NY 14616

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. AT&T

3.56 Rating | 9 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. Verizon

3.4 Rating | 10 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. Sprint

2.22 Rating | 9 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile

0.5 Rating | 2 Reviews

Towers | Map

Looks like anything on the T-Mobile network will have to be out as it doesn't seem to have good coverage in Rochester. Which is a shame, because they definitely have a lot of less expensive options.

So, I don't know about staying with Verizon. Maybe for you alone, but those 3 phones with your father in law, they would definitely be better served elsewhere. I'm going to look at this as 2 groups apart, and then all together as well, and see what we get.

First, lets look at your FIL's 3 phones. They're using 700 minutes, I'm not sure on the texts so I'll go with 2,000 just to be safe, and 0 data. I can't believe they're paying $110 a month for that! We can do WAY better.

Looking at them, far and away the cheapest option is Ting. 3 phones, 1000 minutes to share, 2000 texts = $44 a month. Now, you won't get discounts on the phones themselves (no carrier subsidy) but non-smart phones only cost roughly $100 so that would get made up quickly when you consider the price difference in service.

Looking at your phone lumped in with them, the cheapest again is Ting for $127 total a month for all 4 phones. But Ting charges a bit high for data, so lets skip over that one and look at your phone all by itself.

For your usage, the best bet would be Voyager Mobile. (FYI, both Ting and Voyager utilize Sprint's network). For $39 a month you'd get unlimited calls and texts, plus 5GB of data. They have LTE (although I'm not sure if Sprint's LTE network has reached Rochester yet). The only real downsides to them are that they have no roaming off of Sprint's network (you can use the phone anywhere in the country Sprint has towers, but you cannot roam onto Verizon's towers) and they do NOT have the iPhone yet. You'd have to be willing to make the jump to Android to do this. If you are one of those people who MUST have an iPhone, then Cricket is your next best choice, but its $70 a month. I doubt that $10 a month savings would make up the future subsidies/discounts on your next phone either. If you upgraded to an iPhone5 now, you'd be getting about $400 off by signing a contract with Verizon. $10 a month doesn't catch up to that.

So, if you must stay with iPhone, you should stay on Verizon. If you'd like to switch to Android, you can save a fair amount by switching to Voyager Mobile. Lets say you went with a HTC Evo 4G LTE, which is a serious step up from the iPhone4. You'd pay $579 out of pocket for the phone, and 24 months of service @ $39 = $1515 over the next 2 years. (Theoretically you can "bring your own Sprint phone" with Voyager, so you could probably find a used/refurbished phone much cheaper than this example). Versus staying with Verizon and upgrading to the iPhone4s lets say, that would cost you $99 for the upgrade, and then $80 a month for 24 months = $2019. So, if you're willing to switch to Android and Voyager, you'd be saving $504 over the next 2 years. Not bad.

For your FIL and his 3 phones it is a no-brainer that they should be on Ting. If he leaves in mid July when 2 of the contracts are up, he'll have to pay about a $130 penalty to cancel the contract on that last phone. Then 3 new non-smart phones on Ting are $100 a piece. And 24 months of service @ $44 a month and the grand total = $1486 over the next 2 years. If he stays with Verizon, there will be no penalties, he'll get new non-smart phones for free, and he'll pay $110 a month for service for a total = $2640 over the next 2 years. He saves $1154 by switching to Ting. Easy no brainer. Be sure to use one of the refferal links in post 1 of this thread to save an additional $25 bucks (and put $25 bucks in the pocket of a fellow FBG).

GL, let us know what you end up doing.

Thanks for all this info. Going to take me a little time to digest all that.

So adding them into my Verizon plan is a no-go?

Once the contract ends on those 2 phones, can they be used on Ting? Or they must get new phones on Ting?

Also, they call their son in Virgina quite often on the cell, currently this is Verizon to Verizon. I would estimate 2-3 hours total time a week. That's a high end of 700-800 minutes a month just on that.

 

[rick6668]

Also, you skipped over myself going on Ting because of data usage, I use that much data mostly because I can, not that I need to. I think I could easily keep that to under 1GB/month and use wifi when available.

 

[(HULK)]

Also, you skipped over myself going on Ting because of data usage, I use that much data mostly because I can, not that I need to. I think I could easily keep that to under 1GB/month and use wifi when available.

Well, that changes things. You could have all 4 phones on Ting... lets bump to 2000 minutes (cause of the calls to VA), 2000 texts, and 1 GB... would cost $91 a month plus taxes/fees. Thats a lot cheaper than the $190 you guys are currently paying for all 4. That 1 GB of data costs $24 a month, plus the additional line is $6, you don't use many minutes, so really the cost of adding you in on Ting is roughly $30ish, which is cheaper than Voyager's $39. So, I guess it depends if you want to pay attention to it and wifi and save a couple bucks a month or if you'd rather just ignore it. Some added benefits of Ting over Voyager though are you can roam onto Verizon's towers for free and you can hotspot for free (can't hotspot at all on Voyager).

 

[Mr.Pack]

This almost seems like a no brainer to me. If my calculations are correct I'll save over $90/mo and after 5 months, my ETF will be paid off.

I have a Photon my daughter has an iPhone4, and my wife has a regular cell, no smartphone.

ETA: I have Sprint now.

53149 and 62522

are you talking about Ting? Or did you want me to check out your usage for every company

I think Ting would probably be the cheapest, right? I did my own comparison on Tings website yesterday and i came up with just over $90/mo saving

 

[(HULK)]

This almost seems like a no brainer to me. If my calculations are correct I'll save over $90/mo and after 5 months, my ETF will be paid off.

I have a Photon my daughter has an iPhone4, and my wife has a regular cell, no smartphone.

ETA: I have Sprint now.

53149 and 62522

are you talking about Ting? Or did you want me to check out your usage for every company

I think Ting would probably be the cheapest, right? I did my own comparison on Tings website yesterday and i came up with just over $90/mo saving

Ting often comes out as the cheapest. And since you're currently on Sprint, you'd get the exact same coverage. That said, sometimes other stuff comes out cheaper. I can check for you if you'd like. I'd just need to know the usage for each phone (mins/texts/data).

 

[(HULK)]

Word on the street (or rather blogosphere) is that Straight Talk will finally be formalizing their data caps. Looks like it will throttle @ 2.5GB and shut off at 4 GB. Official word should come this month.

 

[Wingnut]

For those with Verizon who are looking for a cheap(er) plan, they now have prepaid monthly (no contract) plans available. The unlimited talk text and web plan is $50 a month. Im not sure if they have a data cap or throttling. Might be worth checking out if you dont want to port your number to a new service.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/prepay/processPrePayRequest.do?type=ppmonthBASIC

Just an FYI, the $50 plan is for non-smartphones. They have smartphone prepaid plans, basically unlimited calls/text + 2 GB of data for $60 or 4 GB of data for $70. Also, please note that Verizon's prepaid plans do not include LTE, so you'd be using their CDMA 3G network which is about 1 MBps download speeds. Ultimately these probably are not great options unless you're geographically constrainded to Verizon, and even then there are cheaper options.

Well that makes sense. My girlfriend has a dumbphone we are switching her over...I shoulda realized it was a separate section of plans. Ill stick to staying in the peanut gallery from now on.

 

[Wingnut]

Word on the street (or rather blogosphere) is that Straight Talk will finally be formalizing their data caps. Looks like it will throttle @ 2.5GB and shut off at 4 GB. Official word should come this month.

I wonder if their daily limit will still be enforced.

 

[(HULK)]

For those with Verizon who are looking for a cheap(er) plan, they now have prepaid monthly (no contract) plans available. The unlimited talk text and web plan is $50 a month. Im not sure if they have a data cap or throttling. Might be worth checking out if you dont want to port your number to a new service.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/prepay/processPrePayRequest.do?type=ppmonthBASIC

Just an FYI, the $50 plan is for non-smartphones. They have smartphone prepaid plans, basically unlimited calls/text + 2 GB of data for $60 or 4 GB of data for $70. Also, please note that Verizon's prepaid plans do not include LTE, so you'd be using their CDMA 3G network which is about 1 MBps download speeds. Ultimately these probably are not great options unless you're geographically constrainded to Verizon, and even then there are cheaper options.

Well that makes sense. My girlfriend has a dumbphone we are switching her over...I shoulda realized it was a separate section of plans. Ill stick to staying in the peanut gallery from now on.

No, please don't. I'm trying to stay on top of 50+ companies... sometimes I miss stuff.

 

[rick6668]

Also, you skipped over myself going on Ting because of data usage, I use that much data mostly because I can, not that I need to. I think I could easily keep that to under 1GB/month and use wifi when available.

Well, that changes things. You could have all 4 phones on Ting... lets bump to 2000 minutes (cause of the calls to VA), 2000 texts, and 1 GB... would cost $91 a month plus taxes/fees. Thats a lot cheaper than the $190 you guys are currently paying for all 4. That 1 GB of data costs $24 a month, plus the additional line is $6, you don't use many minutes, so really the cost of adding you in on Ting is roughly $30ish, which is cheaper than Voyager's $39. So, I guess it depends if you want to pay attention to it and wifi and save a couple bucks a month or if you'd rather just ignore it. Some added benefits of Ting over Voyager though are you can roam onto Verizon's towers for free and you can hotspot for free (can't hotspot at all on Voyager).

OK. So I checked out the Ting website. The only non-smart phone they have is the Samsung Array. This looks fine, the price is $114 each. I looked on ebay, etc and see some brand new offered for $30-$40. What is the difference? (I didn't see any kind of contract)

I am not up to speed on cellphones, so sorry about that.

The 3 phones on my FIL's plan are:

LG Cosmos

LG Cosmos2

Samsung Intensity II

None of these can be used on Ting is that correct?

 

[(HULK)]

No Verizon phone can be used on Ting unfortunately. Ting has a whitelist of Sprint phones that can be used (these are outside the list of phones ting themselves sell). I'm on the phone now or id link it. Google: ting whitelist

You can definitely find cheaper if you look. I've used a smartphone forever so I don't know a ton about what's a good deal for regular phones

 

[rick6668]

No Verizon phone can be used on Ting unfortunately. Ting has a whitelist of Sprint phones that can be used (these are outside the list of phones ting themselves sell). I'm on the phone now or id link it. Google: ting whitelist

You can definitely find cheaper if you look. I've used a smartphone forever so I don't know a ton about what's a good deal for regular phones

OK, Thanks. Just wanted to be sure that if I buy a phone that is on the whitelist, but I was worried that the prepaid ones wouldn't work for some reason.

The Samsung Array which Ting sells is not on the whitelist. So Can I use one I buy separately? I am so confused.

 

[(HULK)]

If ting sells it, it definitely works on their network. Might not be on the list because Sprint doesn't sell it

 

[rick6668]

If ting sells it, it definitely works on their network. Might not be on the list because Sprint doesn't sell it

Thanks,

No issues buying one on Amazon? No contracts or prepaid issues?

Thanks again, sorry for all the questions. It's going to take some convincing with the FIL.

 

[(HULK)]

If you buy one on Amazon, make sure it is the CDMA type. Wouldn't hurt to call ting beforehand just to be dead certain. They pick up right away when you call.

 

[rick6668]

If you buy one on Amazon, make sure it is the CDMA type. Wouldn't hurt to call ting beforehand just to be dead certain. They pick up right away when you call.

Excellent! No idea what that means, but I can learn. Thanks.

 

[Wingnut]

If you buy one on Amazon, make sure it is the CDMA type. Wouldn't hurt to call ting beforehand just to be dead certain. They pick up right away when you call.

Excellent! No idea what that means, but I can learn. Thanks.

CDMA phones only work on CDMA networks (Sprint, Verizon, Metro PCS, etc). GSM phones only work on GSM networks (AT&T and T-Mobile)

Heres an article explaining the difference:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407896,00.asp

 

[Jaysus]

CallingMart posted their latest discount codes: http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2013/07/new-callingmart-codes-save-5-to-10-on.html

 

[siffoin]

Been on Ting since March, using the Samsung Nexus S 4g....was thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy SII...at $250 is that a good phone? Worth the upgrade?

 

[Jaysus]

Been on Ting since March, using the Samsung Nexus S 4g....was thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy SII...at $250 is that a good phone? Worth the upgrade?

I'd probably hold on to the NS4g for a bit, and keep an eye on the price of Galaxy S3s.

It looks like there are a bunch of Jelly Bean ROMs floating android for your NS4g should you want the latest version of android.

 

[(HULK)]

Been on Ting since March, using the Samsung Nexus S 4g....was thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy SII...at $250 is that a good phone? Worth the upgrade?

I'd probably hold on to the NS4g for a bit, and keep an eye on the price of Galaxy S3s.

It looks like there are a bunch of Jelly Bean ROMs floating android for your NS4g should you want the latest version of android.

GS2 seems like a lateral move to me too. Agree on waiting for the GS3 price drop. Should be down a fair amount by later in the year I think.

 

[Jaysus]

I actually just checked... there are some nice Jelly Bean ROMS for the Nexus S 4g. It would be a real nice upgrade for you if you are still stock

 

[Wingnut]

Been on Ting since March, using the Samsung Nexus S 4g....was thinking of upgrading to the Galaxy SII...at $250 is that a good phone? Worth the upgrade?

I'd probably hold on to the NS4g for a bit, and keep an eye on the price of Galaxy S3s.It looks like there are a bunch of Jelly Bean ROMs floating android for your NS4g should you want the latest version of android.

GS2 seems like a lateral move to me too. Agree on waiting for the GS3 price drop. Should be down a fair amount by later in the year I think.

You can find mint condition used S3s on eBay for around $300...I picked one up a couple of weeks ago, couldn't be happier. Took me about 3 days before I found the right buy-it-now deal ($315 w/body glove hard case included). Worth spending $50 more than you would for an S2 IMO.

 

[(HULK)]

Is also recommend waiting a few days to see what the deal is with the Moto X. The announcement is imminent.

 

[Jaysus]

That $40 is the one my wife is on, double data going forward will be a nice bonushttp://goo.gl/pF6Qf

 

[(HULK)]

Is also recommend waiting a few days to see what the deal is with the Moto X. The announcement is imminent.

word is this phone is going to be a complete game changer and just $199 unlocked. Should make going prepaid much easier.

 

[Eulogys]

Have a friend on verizon right now paying $279 for 2 phones (minutes and text are astronomical)

Phone #1 - LG Cosmos 2 (4 Months left on contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use 03054)

Phone #2 - Droid 3 Global (no contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use during day is 03063 and 03054 at night)

They are not interested in leaving the verizon network though and don't want to be jumping through hoops either like using VoIP. Please help her.

 

[(HULK)]

Have a friend on verizon right now paying $279 for 2 phones (minutes and text are astronomical)

Phone #1 - LG Cosmos 2 (4 Months left on contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use 03054)

Phone #2 - Droid 3 Global (no contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use during day is 03063 and 03054 at night)

They are not interested in leaving the verizon network though and don't want to be jumping through hoops either like using VoIP. Please help her.

You can't possibly need unlimited data. Go into the settings menu and then data usage and check and see what is really being used. Report back as it can/will make a difference.

Onto coverage:

Coverage Reviews for Merrimack, NH 03054

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. Verizon

1.96 Rating | 85 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. Sprint

1.42 Rating | 19 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. T-Mobile

1.19 Rating | 21 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. AT&T

1.14 Rating | 81 Reviews

Towers | Map

Coverage Reviews for Nashua, NH 03063

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. Verizon

2.03 Rating | 86 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. T-Mobile

1.38 Rating | 21 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. AT&T

1.19 Rating | 75 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. Sprint

1.05 Rating | 22 Reviews

Towers | Map

Verizon does look like the best, but not by that much. Verizon doesn't have a lot of MVNOs, and certainly not a lot of the less expensive options.

Looking at things, I'll give you 2 options where I'm guessing that the data usage is around 4GBs and one where it is indeed true unlimited data. These 3 options deliver the most value for the dollar at this kind of high level of usage. If none of them work for whatever reason, let me know and I'll pull up some other choices.

Option 1: Voyager Mobile (uses Sprint's network). $39 (+ taxes/fees) for unlimited calls/texts and 5 GB of data.

Pros: Has LTE. Data is unlimited, its just throttled to 2G speeds after the first 5 GB are used up. This is the lowest price possible for usage this high.

Cons: No roaming (works anywhere in the country Sprint is, just can't roam on Verizon's towers), Sprint's coverage in the 2nd zipcode is rated the worst. Phones purchased for this carrier will only work with Sprint or Voyager, so if things don't work out, your options are limited.

Phones: You must buy a phone from them (not subsidized) or purchase a used Sprint phone and use the "Bring your own device" program to set it up for Voyager.

Total Cost: $78 + taxes/fees

Option 2: Solavei (uses T-Mobile's network). $49 (+ taxes/fees) for unlimited calls/texts and 4 GB of data.

Pros: Has HSPA+42 (pretty fast). Data is unlimited, its just throttled to 2G speeds after the first 4 GB are used up. Free roaming (can use AT&T's towers). Phones used with this carrier will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any MVNO running on these networks (which is a lot), so if it doesn't work out, you have numerous options.

Cons: No LTE. Slightly more pricey.

Phones: You can bring any unlocked GSM phone to them. You must buy it unlocked though, which means no phone subsidies here either. Nexus4 is a good deal for this network though.

Total Cost: $98 + taxes/fees

Note: If you go with this choice, PM me and I can get you a couple of free SIM cards (they're usually $9)

Option 3: T-Mobile.$120 (+taxes/fees) for 2 lines getting unlimited calls/text/data. Yes, the data is unlimited. Rumored to be throttled after 10GB, but this is unconfirmed.

Pros: LTE and HSPA+42. Free roaming (can use AT&T's towers). Phones used with this carrier will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any MVNO running on these networks (which is a lot), so if it doesn't work out, you have numerous options.

Cons: LTE only in 7 markets so far, still rolling out. More pricey.

Phones: You can bring any unlocked GSM phone to them, or buy via them (they will offer a 0% financing deal to take some of the upfront cost sting out of it). You must buy it unlocked though, which means no phone subsidies here either. Nexus4 is a good deal for this network though.

Total Cost: $120 + taxes/fees

If you want to stay on Verizon's network, there are options, but they're much more pricey. Let me know.

 

[Eulogys]

Have a friend on verizon right now paying $279 for 2 phones (minutes and text are astronomical)

Phone #1 - LG Cosmos 2 (4 Months left on contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use 03054)

Phone #2 - Droid 3 Global (no contract) - need unlimited minutes, text, data (main area of use during day is 03063 and 03054 at night)

They are not interested in leaving the verizon network though and don't want to be jumping through hoops either like using VoIP. Please help her.

You can't possibly need unlimited data. Go into the settings menu and then data usage and check and see what is really being used. Report back as it can/will make a difference.

Onto coverage:

Coverage Reviews for Merrimack, NH 03054

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. Verizon

1.96 Rating | 85 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. Sprint

1.42 Rating | 19 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. T-Mobile

1.19 Rating | 21 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. AT&T

1.14 Rating | 81 Reviews

Towers | Map

Coverage Reviews for Nashua, NH 03063

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. Verizon

2.03 Rating | 86 Reviews

Towers | Map 2. T-Mobile

1.38 Rating | 21 Reviews

Towers | Map 3. AT&T

1.19 Rating | 75 Reviews

Towers | Map 4. Sprint

1.05 Rating | 22 Reviews

Towers | Map

Verizon does look like the best, but not by that much. Verizon doesn't have a lot of MVNOs, and certainly not a lot of the less expensive options.

Looking at things, I'll give you 2 options where I'm guessing that the data usage is around 4GBs and one where it is indeed true unlimited data. These 3 options deliver the most value for the dollar at this kind of high level of usage. If none of them work for whatever reason, let me know and I'll pull up some other choices.

Option 1: Voyager Mobile (uses Sprint's network). $39 (+ taxes/fees) for unlimited calls/texts and 5 GB of data.

Pros: Has LTE. Data is unlimited, its just throttled to 2G speeds after the first 5 GB are used up. This is the lowest price possible for usage this high.

Cons: No roaming (works anywhere in the country Sprint is, just can't roam on Verizon's towers), Sprint's coverage in the 2nd zipcode is rated the worst. Phones purchased for this carrier will only work with Sprint or Voyager, so if things don't work out, your options are limited.

Phones: You must buy a phone from them (not subsidized) or purchase a used Sprint phone and use the "Bring your own device" program to set it up for Voyager.

Total Cost: $78 + taxes/fees

Option 2: Solavei (uses T-Mobile's network). $49 (+ taxes/fees) for unlimited calls/texts and 4 GB of data.

Pros: Has HSPA+42 (pretty fast). Data is unlimited, its just throttled to 2G speeds after the first 4 GB are used up. Free roaming (can use AT&T's towers). Phones used with this carrier will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any MVNO running on these networks (which is a lot), so if it doesn't work out, you have numerous options.

Cons: No LTE. Slightly more pricey.

Phones: You can bring any unlocked GSM phone to them. You must buy it unlocked though, which means no phone subsidies here either. Nexus4 is a good deal for this network though.

Total Cost: $98 + taxes/fees

Note: If you go with this choice, PM me and I can get you a couple of free SIM cards (they're usually $9)

Option 3: T-Mobile.$120 (+taxes/fees) for 2 lines getting unlimited calls/text/data. Yes, the data is unlimited. Rumored to be throttled after 10GB, but this is unconfirmed.

Pros: LTE and HSPA+42. Free roaming (can use AT&T's towers). Phones used with this carrier will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any MVNO running on these networks (which is a lot), so if it doesn't work out, you have numerous options.

Cons: LTE only in 7 markets so far, still rolling out. More pricey.

Phones: You can bring any unlocked GSM phone to them, or buy via them (they will offer a 0% financing deal to take some of the upfront cost sting out of it). You must buy it unlocked though, which means no phone subsidies here either. Nexus4 is a good deal for this network though.

Total Cost: $120 + taxes/fees

If you want to stay on Verizon's network, there are options, but they're much more pricey. Let me know.

Got a little more detail:

Phone #1: needs to be a slider phone(long ### fingernails), unlimited talk/text, about 2GB of data, refuses to use t-mobile or sprints network and would prefer very much to remain on Verizons network. Would like her new phone to be 4g/LTE

Phone #2: (still under contract with verizon through Oct so there would be an ETF) unlimited talk/text, currently no data, only wifi....

Money is very tight so there's not a lot of disposal money for buying new phones, but could be convinced with overall savings over the course of a year to dip into savings.

Thanks HULK, and any other info you need, feel free to PM me

EDIT: would prefer a single carrier

 

[(HULK)]

Its a shame about avoiding Sprint and T-Mobile as they're the best value by far... assuming the coverage is alright anyways.

I'm not aware of any slider LTE phones, but maybe someone knows of one?

Phone 1 with those requirements, cheapest is Verizon: $100 for unlimited minutes and texts and 2 GB of data. If she can forgo the LTE requirement, then she could potentially go with Straight Talk for $45 a month for unlimited calls/texts and "unlimited" data which turns out to be about 2 GB in practice. Not sure if they have a slider available that uses Verizon's towers though. Another alternative would be Page Plus Cellular for $55 (unlimited talk/text and 2 GB of 3G data). Their phone offerings are pretty terrible too, but she may be able to bring her current phone over to them. A little more than 1/2 of Verizon phones are eligible to be brought over to Page Plus, provided it is unlocked and you completed your Verizon contract.

Phone 2 with those requirements, best bet would be any number of AT&T MVNOs. Several offer unlimited calls/texts at the $30 price point: AirVoice Wireless, Black Wireless, Fuzion Mobile, Good2Go Mobile, H20 Wireless, Jolt Mobile, RedPocket Mobile, and Skyview Wireless. Of those, I would avoid both Black Wireless and Skyview as they charge for roaming whereas the others do not. If the 2nd phone wants to stay Verizon as well, then the best value is again Page Plus Wireless, with its $39.95 plan for unlimited minutes, texts, and 200 MB of data. Again, she may be able to bring the phone over from Verizon (although she'd definitely have to settle the ETF with Verizon FIRST), best to call Page Plus and ask about it.

One thing I don't like about Page Plus is that they charge for roaming on Sprint's towers. Just FYI. Another is that it only uses Verizon's 3G which is fairly slow (about 1 MBps downloads). What you are getting versus what you pay for is incredibly inferior to what is offered by both AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint's MVNOs. Maybe she doesn't trust the coverage in her area, but given that is New Hampshire and not the boonies, and its 2013, perhaps you can persuade her on this. All of the networks are going to cover her area reasonably well. Whatever preconceived notions she has about the coverage available in her area are likely just wrong. Verizon's network is expansive, but outside of LTE, its data speeds are horrendously slow. And in population dense areas on the East Coast, they're coverage isn't any better than anyone elses. The differences are really only felt out in the less densely populated areas between the coasts.

So, if she brings both phones to Page Plus, she is looking at $94.95 plus taxes/fees a month. And she may be able to bring her current phones over. She'll have to pay for roaming if she ever leaves Verizon's tower footprint, and her data speeds will be what she is used to now, which is slow. If she switched to AT&T or T-Mobile, they'd be about 6 to 12 times faster, and thats without LTE. If money is currently tight, bringing her current phones to Page Plus makes a lot of sense since she'll save $184 a month on basically the exact the same service she has right now. Once she's banked some of that savings and wants new phones though... I hope she looks at some of the non-Verizon MVNOs, they're just better deals.

Good luck.

 

[(HULK)]

Posting this for a friend of mine. She is using a dumphone now but would like to move up to a smartphone. She is currently on Verizon paying more per month than I am and I have a smartphone.

She says her average per month break down is 400 talk, 300 text, and no data as of yet and paying 77 bucks a month.

Home zip would be 54963 and work is 54901/54902.

Thanks.

how much data does she think she'd use?

 

[(HULK)]

Okay, looking at coverage:

At home:

Coverage Reviews for Omro, WI 54963
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
2.4 Rating | 5 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
1.78 Rating | 23 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.53 Rating | 32 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
0.5 Rating | 4 Reviews
Towers | Map At Work:

Coverage Reviews for Oshkosh, WI 54901
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
2.88 Rating | 8 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
1.75 Rating | 24 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.73 Rating | 37 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
0.5 Rating | 4 Reviews
Towers | Map
and

Coverage Reviews for Oshkosh, WI 54902
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
2.33 Rating | 6 Reviews
Towers | Map 2. Verizon
2 Rating | 18 Reviews
Towers | Map 3. AT&T
1.71 Rating | 34 Reviews
Towers | Map 4. T-Mobile
0.5 Rating | 4 Reviews
Towers | Map This is kind of a good news/bad news result. Sprint's signal is strong, but T-Mobile's is obviously not good enough. Fortunately Sprint has some great MVNO options.

Looking for 400 talk, 300 text, and 2 GB.... Before I even look I'm guessing that 2 GB is probably going to push her into the unlimited talk/text plans... lets see:

Yup, I was right. The clear winner for her is Voyager Mobile: http://www.voyagermobile.com/

Their "unlimited everything" plan is $39 a month, includes unlimited talk and text, and 5 GB of LTE data (throttled to 2G beyond that point). There are really only 2 downsides to this MVNO. One, they don't roam on Verizon's towers like some others do, but as Sprint is so strong in her region, this probably isn't an issue at all. And 2, they charge a lot for their phones. They are eligible for the Sprint "bring your own phone" program so if she could get her hands on an unlocked Sprint phone from a seller, she could bring it over and avoid that though (call and check with them first to make sure she gets an eligible model!). Or she could just suck it up and pay $600 for a Galaxy S3 (don't do that imo). She should be sure to get an LTE phone though as Sprint's LTE is WAY faster than their 3G.

By the way, if she didn't upgrade to a smartphone, with this same carrier she'd be looking at just $19 a month for unlimited talk and text. Lol, beats the pants off of her current deal.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

[(HULK)]

Just an FYI, you could walk into a Sprint store and buy a brand new Galaxy S3 UNLOCKED (be sure to tell them that!) for $549. So don't pay Voyager $600 for one.

ETA: You can find new S3's for Sprint's network unlocked on Amazon for sub $400 if you want to go that route. Just be sure it is for Sprint's network and unlocked and you're good to go.

 

[The Dude]

Just an FYI, you could walk into a Sprint store and buy a brand new Galaxy S3 UNLOCKED (be sure to tell them that!) for $549. So don't pay Voyager $600 for one.

ETA: You can find new S3's for Sprint's network unlocked on Amazon for sub $400 if you want to go that route. Just be sure it is for Sprint's network and unlocked and you're good to go.

You can bring this to Ting, I take it? I am unfamiliar with the unlocked phones. Is it ready to go on Ting or is there something else you need to do?

 

[(HULK)]

Just an FYI, you could walk into a Sprint store and buy a brand new Galaxy S3 UNLOCKED (be sure to tell them that!) for $549. So don't pay Voyager $600 for one.

ETA: You can find new S3's for Sprint's network unlocked on Amazon for sub $400 if you want to go that route. Just be sure it is for Sprint's network and unlocked and you're good to go.

You can bring this to Ting, I take it? I am unfamiliar with the unlocked phones. Is it ready to go on Ting or is there something else you need to do?

This example was for Voyager, but yes, the GSIII is eligible for the bring your own sprint device program with Ting as well. You've just got to be certain its the Sprint version and that it is unlocked. This means the seller has to be somewhat trustworthy (well rated). However, Ting sells the GS3 for just $450 now, so its not really a bad deal since you'll be certain its the right phone and will work as advertised.

I'm mostly moaning about how Voyager is offering great rates but selling the GS3 for MORE than say Ting sells the GS4 for. Thats ridiculous.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

What can you tell me about Page Plus?

 

[(HULK)]

What can you tell me about Page Plus?

Uses Verizon's towers. They charge you for roaming. Phone selection is crap, but you can bring some Verizon phones over, not sure which as they've never published a list. Recently bought out by Tracfone so expect their once excellent customer service to turn to crap in the next several months as they outsource it to the Phillipenes. Unless you speak Tegalo.

 

[T Bell]

I'm a soon-to-be-former Sprinter and I'm looking at Ting, especially because I could still use my phone or one last Sprint phone I'll buy with my Sprint dollars accumulated under their contract before I terminate. It looks like I'd save a good $70/month.

 

[(HULK)]

I'm a soon-to-be-former Sprinter and I'm looking at Ting, especially because I could still use my phone or one last Sprint phone I'll buy with my Sprint dollars accumulated under their contract before I terminate. It looks like I'd save a good $70/month.

Welcome! Be sure to use any 1 of the referral links in post #1 to save yourself $25 and to give a fellow FBG a $25 credit as well.

 

[(HULK)]

I gave my friend the info and now she is looking for a phone. I gave her my opinion and wanted to see if anyone has a real world opinion about the HTC Evo 4G Lte? Spec wise it looks good and for the (used) price it looks great and for a first time smartphone user I think it's awesome.

solid phone and HTC sense is actually pretty noob friendly.

 

[(HULK)]

I gave my friend the info and now she is looking for a phone. I gave her my opinion and wanted to see if anyone has a real world opinion about the HTC Evo 4G Lte? Spec wise it looks good and for the (used) price it looks great and for a first time smartphone user I think it's awesome.

solid phone and HTC sense is actually pretty noob friendly.

Hulk, what's the opinion on Voyager mobile? The chick I'm getting the phone for is deathly afraid of technology and gets cold sweats just talking about phones. She's been overpaying for years on a crap phone because she was afraid to do anything about it. I told her if Voyager doesn't work out she can take the phone and try Ting. I'm just worried for her with no roaming agreement it may suck.

Thanks again for the info.

I don't know anyone with direct experience with them, but from what I've read on the web their customers seem generally happy with them. The no roaming thing means she'll still have nationwide coverage, but only from Sprint's towers. Its not like the way oldschool plans where if you left the state you were roaming. If Voyager doesn't work out for whatever reason, yes she could take the phone to Ting. Or sell it and go with anyone else. Tell her she can try this out or if she's scared she can stand pat and just burn her money up and wonder what if.

 

[siffoin]

If I were to buy a Samsung Galaxy SIII that is a "new Sprint Certified Replacement" in the box/plastic - for $300....are those phones good as new?