In case anyone else has this issue I got it working by accident. I unlocked my iPhone 5 with T-Mobile and tested the unlock with an AT&T SIM. Once I put my T-mobile SIM back in all of a sudden the visual voicemail was working.
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Carrier T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)
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In case anyone else has this issue I got it working by accident. I unlocked my iPhone 5 with T-Mobile and tested the unlock with an AT&T SIM. Once I put my T-mobile SIM back in all of a sudden the visual voicemail was working.
Visual voicemail works fine on my phone with the $30 plan as well. I think it started working with the carrier update to 14.0 or whatever it was that took away the free hotspot ability but enabled LTE and I think Visual Voicemail at the same time.
So if you're holding back from doing the carrier update to have free Hotspot, then Visual Voicemail won't work. If you have updated and it still isn't working, you could try backing up and restoring your phone...that will cause it to reactivate.
My only annoyance with the $30 (and I think any other T-mobile prepaid plan) is that it isn't possible to have unanswered calls forward to Google Voice's voicemail rather than T-mobile's. So when someone calls my Google Voice number, it's a crap-shoot as to which voicemail will grab the call. Apparently it is possible to call T-mobile customer service and ask them to turn off voicemail completely, but I haven't bothered to do that. That would cause an unanswered call to my GV number to bounce back to GV voicemail....but if someone were to call my actual cell number, it would just ring and ring.
I have the $30 plan on my iPhone 4 and I'm thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 5c when it comes out. Is there a way to move the current plan to the new iPhone? I think I can cut the micro-SIM down to a nano-SIM but is it as simple as just swapping SIMs or do I need to call them to activate the new iPhone? It seems with this plan there are a lot of restrictions and I've been getting different answers from reps. For example, I was told that with this plan you can only sign up for it once so if you get a new SIM or iPhone you cannot activate it again. Not sure what to believe.
It's as simple as swapping sims. When you buy the iPhone 5c it will have a SIM card inside it and all you have to do is call customer service or go into a store and give them the new SIM card number.
Adding to the thread resurrection...
Since there are a lot of Orange County folks in this thread, anyone still using a 3GS on this plan? Happily using, I should say.
The TM CSR told me that an AT&T-branded 3GS would be practically unusable for data, anyone experiencing that?
I'm a little fuzzy on the whole "refarming" thing (just started researching TMo in earnest today). I'm local to, but not covered by, the pink hexagons on the http://www.airportal.de/ map. I'm guessing that's not good?
Separate question...many references in this thread to 99¢ SIMs on the TMo site, is that something that still exists or is it always $10 now?
Since there are a lot of Orange County folks in this thread, anyone still using a 3GS on this plan? Happily using, I should say.
The TM CSR told me that an AT&T-branded 3GS would be practically unusable for data, anyone experiencing that?
I'm a little fuzzy on the whole "refarming" thing (just started researching TMo in earnest today). I'm local to, but not covered by, the pink hexagons on the http://www.airportal.de/ map. I'm guessing that's not good?
Separate question...many references in this thread to 99¢ SIMs on the TMo site, is that something that still exists or is it always $10 now?
You'll only be getting Edge on a 3GS since its incapable to work on tmobiles 3G bands.
I thought that's what the refarming was addressing...if not, what's the significance of refarming? Or does the refarming affect only 4's and higher?
Correct. But the refarming only really applies to iPhone's purchased directly from T-Mobile to get the full effect of the network.
Ugh! So much misinformation here.
If your area has been refarmed then any 3G capable iPhone (3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5 whether it's an ATT or Tmo version) will get T-mobile's refarmed 3G signal!! It's as simple as that.
During refarming T-mobile moves 3G from their 1700 AWS frequency to 1900. 1900 is a common frequency supported by all of those iPhones. T-mobile did this so they can put LTE on the 1700 AWS frequency. So if you are in a refarmed area with an ATT iPhone 5, then you will also get T-mobile's LTE service.
The only disadvantage to having one of the older phones is that there can be lots of holes in the refarmed service. You can find yourself moving in and out of 3G service. Your phone will work fine for voice calls, but data can get slow if you drop to 2G. You will also only get 2G service if your area hasn't been refarmed. The newest Tmobile version of the iPhone 5 supports 3G service on both the 1700 and 1900 frequency, so you will get 3G anywhere T-mobile has 3G service whether or not the area has been refarmed.
Also note that T-mobile has called their HSPA+ service "4G" and iPhone from 4S on has had that capability...so you can get faster 3G/"4G" service with a 4S or 5, but you will have basic 3G service with any iPhone since the 3G.
Thank you for that Idiot's Guide to Refarming!
So, if I'm understanding correctly, I'm more likely to have access to a 3G connection on an old iPhone in areas that TM has rolled out LTE? Whereas, areas without LTE are unlikely to have refarmed towers?
I think that's a pretty fair statement. T-mo has focused on refarming the areas where they want to activate LTE as they need to do it to make room for the LTE signal.
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Looks like they are $10 now. But I would keep checking as I think they have periodically gone on sale.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/phone-sim-card#close-cart
Good news is it looks like they now offer the nano SIM card directly for prepaid customers. Before you had to get a regular or micro one and cut it down.
I've been on this T-Mobile plan for about 2 months now on my Verizon iPhone 5 in New York City and I thought I'd share my experiences.
1. My data speeds aren't suffering at all in NYC even though I had LTE on Verizon and I only have 4G on T-Mobile.
2. As is general knowledge, the in-building penetration for T-Mobile is pretty bad but that has only been a problem for me intermittently as I'm usually by a window.
3. Apparently - and I didn't know this before I signed up for this plan - T-Mobile prepaid does not roam on AT&T's network. So when I'm away from the city and the nearby suburbs, I often get "No Service". To address this, I signed up for H20's pay as you go plan (AT&T MVNO) with an initial $10 for I think 200 minutes, but more importantly, $0.10/mb of data to supplement this T-Mobile plan when I'm away from the city. I think the $10 lasts for 90 days after which it expires. So if I stay within the limits offered by that $10 I pay about an extra $40 per year to supplement the T-Mobile plan where T-Mobile has no service.
Also, I've read that AirVoice may start offering data at $.06/mb. I've read in some forums that they already do but last time I checked their website it still says they are charging $.33/mb. Worth watching what happens there.
4. I use the Vonage app to place outgoing calls over wifi/data. Vonage lets you show your actual phone number as your caller ID #. I think Skype does too, but at least for now, Vonage is free for all calls.
Overall I'm very happy with the T-Mobile plan and I'm glad I switched. I'm saving roughly $60/month. Who could be unhappy with that?
When the iPhone 5S comes out I'll buy an unlocked version that will hopefully let me onto T-Mobile's LTE service instead of just 4G.
1. My data speeds aren't suffering at all in NYC even though I had LTE on Verizon and I only have 4G on T-Mobile.
2. As is general knowledge, the in-building penetration for T-Mobile is pretty bad but that has only been a problem for me intermittently as I'm usually by a window.
3. Apparently - and I didn't know this before I signed up for this plan - T-Mobile prepaid does not roam on AT&T's network. So when I'm away from the city and the nearby suburbs, I often get "No Service". To address this, I signed up for H20's pay as you go plan (AT&T MVNO) with an initial $10 for I think 200 minutes, but more importantly, $0.10/mb of data to supplement this T-Mobile plan when I'm away from the city. I think the $10 lasts for 90 days after which it expires. So if I stay within the limits offered by that $10 I pay about an extra $40 per year to supplement the T-Mobile plan where T-Mobile has no service.
Also, I've read that AirVoice may start offering data at $.06/mb. I've read in some forums that they already do but last time I checked their website it still says they are charging $.33/mb. Worth watching what happens there.
4. I use the Vonage app to place outgoing calls over wifi/data. Vonage lets you show your actual phone number as your caller ID #. I think Skype does too, but at least for now, Vonage is free for all calls.
Overall I'm very happy with the T-Mobile plan and I'm glad I switched. I'm saving roughly $60/month. Who could be unhappy with that?
When the iPhone 5S comes out I'll buy an unlocked version that will hopefully let me onto T-Mobile's LTE service instead of just 4G.
Yes. It used to work for free, but since the latest carrier updates it must now be subscribed to for $15 per month. Still not a bad deal.
Is this plan still available for T-Mobile? I don't see it on their site or on pamplets at retail stores....
I select the plan, then in the review screen when I hit "submit", it tells me "We are still trying to activate your phone. You should receive a text message." But I don't receive a text message. How did you guys activate it? I call the customer service and they have no idea even that this plan exists. They know nothing about online activation. T-Mobile has horrible customer service. Could anyone help me with this?
I activated exactly that way through the online signup and got a confirmation text within seconds.
Are you sure you entered the SIM card number correctly? There are lots of digits and a mistake would prevent the system from looking for your phone. Also is the SIM in your phone and is your phone on and are you in a place that you know has T-mobile signal? Are you sure your phone is SIM unlocked and will work with a T-mobile SIM?
I have had good luck with T-mobile customer service after I was signed up. It is true they know nothing about this plan as it is a promotional plan for self activations only and I believe was also offered through Wal-Mart stores...not sure if it still is.
Hoping to revive this thread (23 days no activity):
I just saw in google an article at "Phandroid" dated "1day ago" saying a leaked T-Mo memo says T-Mo is going to kill all "classic plans" as of 11/1/13. Not sure if "classic" also applies to the $30-plan being discussed in this thread,...?
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Question re the T-Mo $30-Plan Sim Starter Kit link at Walmart (link was provided by a prior poster in this thread):
What size Sim is this? Walmart's ad only says "compatible with iphone 4 & 4S." So it won't fit an iphone 3Gs?
If it's not the size Sim a 3Gs needs, which one should I get? Thanks!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996
I just saw in google an article at "Phandroid" dated "1day ago" saying a leaked T-Mo memo says T-Mo is going to kill all "classic plans" as of 11/1/13. Not sure if "classic" also applies to the $30-plan being discussed in this thread,...?
---------
Question re the T-Mo $30-Plan Sim Starter Kit link at Walmart (link was provided by a prior poster in this thread):
What size Sim is this? Walmart's ad only says "compatible with iphone 4 & 4S." So it won't fit an iphone 3Gs?
If it's not the size Sim a 3Gs needs, which one should I get? Thanks!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996
See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5554
iphone 4/4S use a microSIM. 3GS uses a regular size SIM. 5/5s/5c use a nanoSIM.
Check Target - they carry a standard size T-Mobile prepaid SIM, you can sign up for the $30 plan online. Not sure if all Target store have it though.
http://www.target.com/p/t-mobile-si...4586517#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=t-mobile+SIM
I'm pretty sure the kit has a micro SIM. I'm not sure what a 3GS takes. 4 and 4S take a micro SIM. 5 and 5S take a nano SIM.
You can always either cut your SIM using a kit from amazon or ebay, or get a SIM card of the appropriate size and activate it with the activation code that comes in the kit.
iPhone Original, iPhone 3G, and 3GS take regular sized sim cards.
iPhone 4 & 4S take Micro-SIM
iPhone 5 & 5S take Nano-Sim
Ok, excellent, thank you Col Ronson, deeddawg, & skimcpip for your help! *I've revamped all your helpful info to jive w/how my brain works (& which may help other "oldsters" out there), as follows: *
1. *All iPhone Models' SIMS:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5554
--REGULAR: *iPhone Original, iPhone 3G, and 3GS take regular sized SIM cards.*
--SMALLER; *iPhone 4 & 4S take Micro-SIM.
--SMALLEST: *iPhone 5 & 5S take Nano-SIM.
2. *WALMART: *Their SIM-Kit is specifically advertised to work straightaway with the desired T-Mobile $30-Plan:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996
--PROBLEM: *That Walmart/TMo SIM-Kit is the wrong size, too small (Micro-SIM) for a 3Gs (Regular-SIM).
--SOLUTION.1: *Buy SIM-Resizing-Kit at eBay, Amazon, Walmart, etc., to make above Walmart/TMobile $30-Plan SIM bigger (increase Micro-SIM to Regular-Size-SIM to fit 3Gs).
--SOLUTION.2: *Buy Regular-Size-SIM at Target which naturally fits 3Gs, no Resizing-Kit required:
http://www.target.com/p/t-mobile-si...4586517#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=t-mobile+SIM**
--a) *But because that Target-Reg-Size-SIM is not "encoded" to work with the specific T-Mobile $30-Plan, you would put it in the 3Gs anyway, but when doing the "self-activation" TMo $30-Plan at TMo website, you would type in the Activation-Code that came with the Walmart/T-Mobile $30-Plan-SIM-Kit rather than the Activation Code that came with the Target-Reg-Size-SIM.
3. *ACTIVATE at T-Mo Prepaid Site online set-up:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate
--Any problems, follow BruiserB's tips further above & here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17860172/
He wrote:
A) *"Are you sure your phone is SIM unlocked and will work with a T-mobile SIM?" *(Q: Is "Sim-Unlocked" the same as "IMEI-Unlocked"?)
B) *"Is the [Walmart/TMo $30-Plan Sim] IN your phone?" *(NOT IF I BOUGHT THE REGULAR-SIZE TARGET SIM FOR 3Gs, NO; the Target Sim would be in 3Gs: *See "Solution.2(a)" further above.)*
C) *"Is Your phone ON?"
D) *"Are you in a place that you know has T-mobile signal?"
E) *Make "sure you entered the SIM card number correctly."
F)**He*"got a confirmation text within seconds."
THE END.
(Whew! *Think I got it, right? *Feel free to correct any errors in the above process. *You're dealing with non-techie 60+ & 80+-year-old ladies here (me & Mom) who are trying to keep from drowning in the too-fast-moving-for-us Techno Race. *The other problem is sim-swapping in itself, ie, taking apart iphone hardware. *Ugh! *I can't do it but there's a tech-shop nearby, a guy who can do it).
----------
Asterisks in above post? I did not type them in; not sure why they are there or where they came from. I typed out that post in 3Gs native yellow legal pad, copied & pasted in forum reply window.
All the asterisks are annoying. Sorry about that.
1. *All iPhone Models' SIMS:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5554
--REGULAR: *iPhone Original, iPhone 3G, and 3GS take regular sized SIM cards.*
--SMALLER; *iPhone 4 & 4S take Micro-SIM.
--SMALLEST: *iPhone 5 & 5S take Nano-SIM.
2. *WALMART: *Their SIM-Kit is specifically advertised to work straightaway with the desired T-Mobile $30-Plan:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996
--PROBLEM: *That Walmart/TMo SIM-Kit is the wrong size, too small (Micro-SIM) for a 3Gs (Regular-SIM).
--SOLUTION.1: *Buy SIM-Resizing-Kit at eBay, Amazon, Walmart, etc., to make above Walmart/TMobile $30-Plan SIM bigger (increase Micro-SIM to Regular-Size-SIM to fit 3Gs).
--SOLUTION.2: *Buy Regular-Size-SIM at Target which naturally fits 3Gs, no Resizing-Kit required:
http://www.target.com/p/t-mobile-si...4586517#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=t-mobile+SIM**
--a) *But because that Target-Reg-Size-SIM is not "encoded" to work with the specific T-Mobile $30-Plan, you would put it in the 3Gs anyway, but when doing the "self-activation" TMo $30-Plan at TMo website, you would type in the Activation-Code that came with the Walmart/T-Mobile $30-Plan-SIM-Kit rather than the Activation Code that came with the Target-Reg-Size-SIM.
3. *ACTIVATE at T-Mo Prepaid Site online set-up:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate
--Any problems, follow BruiserB's tips further above & here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17860172/
He wrote:
A) *"Are you sure your phone is SIM unlocked and will work with a T-mobile SIM?" *(Q: Is "Sim-Unlocked" the same as "IMEI-Unlocked"?)
B) *"Is the [Walmart/TMo $30-Plan Sim] IN your phone?" *(NOT IF I BOUGHT THE REGULAR-SIZE TARGET SIM FOR 3Gs, NO; the Target Sim would be in 3Gs: *See "Solution.2(a)" further above.)*
C) *"Is Your phone ON?"
D) *"Are you in a place that you know has T-mobile signal?"
E) *Make "sure you entered the SIM card number correctly."
F)**He*"got a confirmation text within seconds."
THE END.
(Whew! *Think I got it, right? *Feel free to correct any errors in the above process. *You're dealing with non-techie 60+ & 80+-year-old ladies here (me & Mom) who are trying to keep from drowning in the too-fast-moving-for-us Techno Race. *The other problem is sim-swapping in itself, ie, taking apart iphone hardware. *Ugh! *I can't do it but there's a tech-shop nearby, a guy who can do it).
----------
Asterisks in above post? I did not type them in; not sure why they are there or where they came from. I typed out that post in 3Gs native yellow legal pad, copied & pasted in forum reply window.
All the asterisks are annoying. Sorry about that.
Ok, excellent, thank you Col Ronson, deeddawg, & skimcpip for your help! *I've revamped all your helpful info to jive w/how my brain works (& which may help other "oldsters" out there), as follows: *
1. *All iPhone Models' SIMS:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5554
--REGULAR: *iPhone Original, iPhone 3G, and 3GS take regular sized SIM cards.*
--SMALLER; *iPhone 4 & 4S take Micro-SIM.
--SMALLEST: *iPhone 5 & 5S take Nano-SIM.
2. *WALMART: *Their SIM-Kit is specifically advertised to work straightaway with the desired T-Mobile $30-Plan:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-SIM-Kit/24099996
--PROBLEM: *That Walmart/TMo SIM-Kit is the wrong size, too small (Micro-SIM) for a 3Gs (Regular-SIM).
--SOLUTION.1: *Buy SIM-Resizing-Kit at eBay, Amazon, Walmart, etc., to make above Walmart/TMobile $30-Plan SIM bigger (increase Micro-SIM to Regular-Size-SIM to fit 3Gs).
--SOLUTION.2: *Buy Regular-Size-SIM at Target which naturally fits 3Gs, no Resizing-Kit required:
http://www.target.com/p/t-mobile-si...4586517#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=t-mobile+SIM**
--a) *But because that Target-Reg-Size-SIM is not "encoded" to work with the specific T-Mobile $30-Plan, you would put it in the 3Gs anyway, but when doing the "self-activation" TMo $30-Plan at TMo website, you would type in the Activation-Code that came with the Walmart/T-Mobile $30-Plan-SIM-Kit rather than the Activation Code that came with the Target-Reg-Size-SIM.
3. *ACTIVATE at T-Mo Prepaid Site online set-up:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate
--Any problems, follow BruiserB's tips further above & here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17860172/
He wrote:
A) *"Are you sure your phone is SIM unlocked and will work with a T-mobile SIM?" *(Q: Is "Sim-Unlocked" the same as "IMEI-Unlocked"?)
B) *"Is the [Walmart/TMo $30-Plan Sim] IN your phone?" *(NOT IF I BOUGHT THE REGULAR-SIZE TARGET SIM FOR 3Gs, NO; the Target Sim would be in 3Gs: *See "Solution.2(a)" further above.)*
C) *"Is Your phone ON?"
D) *"Are you in a place that you know has T-mobile signal?"
E) *Make "sure you entered the SIM card number correctly."
F)**He*"got a confirmation text within seconds."
THE END.
(Whew! *Think I got it, right? *Feel free to correct any errors in the above process. *You're dealing with non-techie 60+ & 80+-year-old ladies here (me & Mom) who are trying to keep from drowning in the too-fast-moving-for-us Techno Race. *The other problem is sim-swapping in itself, ie, taking apart iphone hardware. *Ugh! *I can't do it but there's a tech-shop nearby, a guy who can do it).
----------
Asterisks in above post? I did not type them in; not sure why they are there or where they came from. I typed out that post in 3Gs native yellow legal pad, copied & pasted in forum reply window.
All the asterisks are annoying. Sorry about that.
I think you basically have it right. When I referred to SIM resizing I actually meant getting a kit to cut a regular SIM to make it smaller. I have heard not so great things about the SIM adapters that make smaller SIMs fit in larger phones. If the SIM that comes with the activation kit doesn't fit your phone, I would basically recommend getting the size SIM you need and using it with the activation code from the $30 activation kit, instead of the SIM that came with the activation kit.
As far as "taking apart iphone hardware", I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. All you have to do is insert a paper clip into the SIM card tray and the tray pops out. It couldn't be easier to take replace SIMs.