Carrier T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)

[beegie]

...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.

Whew! Thanks skimcpip for that additional warning/clarification! Totally makes sense, sort of like when you try to increase a small px photo & make it larger, it turns out blurry. Maybe increasing a Sim-size makes reception "blurry," too.

Bottom Line for 3Gs is to use T-Mo/Walmart/Target SOLUTION.2 in above outline.

What do Sims do anyway? Are they for billing/ID-purposes only, or is the Sim what connects the phone to the wireless "airwaves" in order to get internet access?

Re: Swapping Sims, thanks (blush). I have never messed w/Sims before. I thought Sims were buried under the battery & that to get to it, you had to take off the iphone's back to remove battery to get to the Sim. Great news to learn that is not the case, yes! Thanks!

For anyone else who didn't know: 3Gs Sim hole is on top left next to headphone jack:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+iPhone+3GS+SIM+Card/1541/1

 

[beegie]

I got the iphone 5 direct from T-Mo and once I paid off the device I switched over to the $30 prepaid plan.

That was posted 7/24/13 here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17625639/

My Questions:

CAN THIS CURRENT iPHONE-5 OFFER AT T-MO SITE BE USED FOR $30-PREPAID-PLAN, SOONER OR LATER?*

It's now Oct. 2013, & the only iphone-5 64gb I see at T-Mo site is here, offer good through 11/15/13:

http://www.t-mobile.com/add-to-cart.step1.individual.224284dc-ff22-40d5-841c-1f5c09623c2c.html

Or here:

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/apple-iphone-5.html

...but that phone is EIP & Step.2 of above process seems to make you pick a plan which does not include the $30-prepaid plan option, here:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/#compare

1. *I have no problem doing EIP as I would pay it off ASAP.

2. *But if Step.2 in buying that phone forces me to pick a plan which is not the $30-prepaid-plan, are you (IXFIT) saying you had no problem switching plans after device was paid off?

3. *How did you switch it? *By calling TMo, going in person to their store, or just swapping out Sims to the $30-prepaid-Sim?

4. *I assume that phone is locked to TMo, naturally, until it is paid off, then wait 40-60-days to request unlock (just in case TMo internet doesn't work well inside this double-decker bldg., I'd have to go ATT which works fine for 4-years on iph-3Gs).

ONE ACTIVATION?

Do they ask for name/address, etc. when activating a $30-Prepaid Plan/Sim?

The $30-Prepaid says "One Activation Only." *Does that mean:
--One Person Only?
--or--
--One Phone Only?

In other words, I am "One Person," lol, but I was hoping to do 2 phones like so:

1. *"Bring My Own Device" (3Gs iphone unlocked by ATT) & put it on a T-Mo $30-Prepaid.

2. *Buy new iPhone-5 from T-Mo (above) & (after device paid off) put that on a different T-Mo $30-Prepaid.

Will that be possible?

PS: There are also new unlocked iphone-5 64gb's at Amazon (but they mostly are approx. $200 more than going the above T-Mo EIP route):
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...field-keywords=unlocked+"iphone+5+64gb"+white

Thanks everyone/anyone!

 

[K1ngkev1n1]

Can I add the hotspot to this plan? Also when does it kick in the following billing period? Or am I charged right away? Nd can I take it off whenever I want?

 

[mister2d]

Can I add the hotspot to this plan? Also when does it kick in the following billing period? Or am I charged right away? Nd can I take it off whenever I want?

Yes you can add hotspot. It costs $15 per month and gets pro rated when you add it. Can also be dropped and added at will.

I've also seen an option to buy unlimited 4g for an additional $4. Anyone else see that?

 

[Alveezy]

Just got this plan last week friday. I'm using it on a Verizon iPhone 5(ended up buying a nano sim instead of cutting the micro/also activated the plan on the nano sim card along with the activation code from the $30 walmart plan starter kit/did it over the phone and i swear sometimes they just need to connect you to someone that actually understands english because you'd end wanting to switch to another customer service rep...sadly after 3 exchanges later the last one ended up helping me out and gladly refunded the minutes that i used on them). I live in the city and the coverage is great but then again it's pretty bad when you work at the bottom of a building...no coverage at all or 1-2 bar's of 4G is not even enough to load anything.

I too can confirm that the 100 minutes counts for every calls you make, sadly even with customer service. i'm already 2GB's in and allthough i have 5 bars of 4G, sometimes it would get laggy, videos start to buffer more and sometimes longer. If someone could confirm that if you pass the 5gb limit for the 4G speed...will it really throttle you down to EDGE? the sales rep at Walmart told me it would bring it down to 3G speed?

I still have my verizon line with unlimited data, so i'm just testing the waters on this. Doing the math on how much i'll save...it would definitely save me a lot like around $60-70 a month! but now that i just found out about the unlimited data loophole on how to get an upgrade price phone when it's available for me and still keep the unlimited data feature intact. I'm reconsidering on cancelling my verizon plan when i'm about months into the $30 plan if it's really something valuable and reliable.

 

[acore]

Let's assume that you're one of the 100 million that are now covered by T-Mobile 1900 Mhz HSPA+, what do you think of their $30 monthly prepaid plan?

Yes, this plan would work great for me, here's why:

1. I can talk unlimited phone minutes for free over my MacBook Air with Google Voice.

2. I am mostly on wifi either at home, university, coffee shop or other.

3. I mostly text.

4. $30 is the "sweet spot"...the right price on a monthly basis.

5. Why pay for all the extras, if I am not going to use them?

----------

Bottom Line for 3Gs is to use T-Mo/Walmart/Target SOLUTION.2 in above outline.

...or GoSmart, which is owned by T-Mobile.

 

[TimeWarner18]

Hello all, I haven't read this whole thread and just wanted to as one question.
I already have this plan on a dumb phone and I will be getting my 5s tomorrow. I have spoken to customer service and they said the plan will work fine with this phone. Does anyone know how I can activate the sim card that is already installed in the phone without going to a t-mobile store and paying the $10 for an activation kit?

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[acore]

Hello all, I haven't read this whole thread and just wanted to as one question.
I already have this plan on a dumb phone and I will be getting my 5s tomorrow. I have spoken to customer service and they said the plan will work fine with this phone. Does anyone know how I can activate the sim card that is already installed in the phone without going to a t-mobile store and paying the $10 for an activation kit?

Any help is very much appreciated.

Try online:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-activate

https://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/ActivateCodes.aspx

 

[mister2d]

Yes, this plan would work great for me, here's why:

1. I can talk unlimited phone minutes for free over my MacBook Air with Google Voice.

2. I am mostly on wifi either at home, university, coffee shop or other.

3. I mostly text.

4. $30 is the "sweet spot"...the right price on a monthly basis.

5. Why pay for all the extras, if I am not going to use them?

----------



...or GoSmart, which is owned by T-Mobile.

Nice. I've been getting away with making SIP calls using the Linphone app. It's a sure way to avoid eating into my 100 minutes. My VoIP minutes are dirt cheap (less than a penny per minute). I just have to use Linphone over WiFi with a good ping. Sometimes the latency over 3G/4G is just too great.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

Got my 5s on this plan, it's awesome.

 

[acore]

Got my 5s on this plan, it's awesome.

Did you buy your 5s unlocked directly from Apple online and did you activate your T-Mobile Nano SIM online through T-mobile prepaid or did you just call them?

 

[siurpeeman]

Did you buy your 5s unlocked directly from Apple online and did you activate your T-Mobile Nano SIM online through T-mobile prepaid or did you just call them?

if you're already on the plan, then you can either put your current sim into the 5s or transfer your account over to the sim the phone comes with by calling t-mobile. if you're looking to join this plan, you'll need an activation kit found on t-mobile's website. it sells for $10, but it does go on sale every now and then (picked up a couple for $1 each last month).

 

[acore]

if you're already on the plan, then you can either put your current sim into the 5s or transfer your account over to the sim the phone comes with by calling t-mobile. if you're looking to join this plan, you'll need an activation kit found on t-mobile's website. it sells for $10, but it does go on sale every now and then (picked up a couple for $1 each last month).

The Unlocked T-Mobile iPhone coming from Apple.com comes with a Nano-SIM card already for the T-Mobile network, could I just use that one?

 

[skimcpip]

The Unlocked T-Mobile iPhone coming from Apple.com comes with a Nano-SIM card already for the T-Mobile network, could I just use that one?

You just need some way to activate it. Does it come with an activation code? If not you can buy an activation kit and use the activation code (but not the SIM) that comes with the kit. Or you could probably call TMobile and have them activate it.

 

[Flake]

Is it be possible to replace your current T-Mobile plan with this one? I looked on T-Mobile's site and it says it only works for devices purchased at Wal-Mart or activated online. Could I replace my current phone with an iPhone, and switch to this plan?

 

[techiegirl]

I bought a SIM card online from T-Mobile and was able to activate the plan online. I'm currently using it on a Samsung Galaxy S4 without any issues. I'm not sure I'll use it permanently since I'm still on contract @ AT&T.

 

[tylerwatt12]

Yes you can add hotspot. It costs $15 per month and gets pro rated when you add it. Can also be dropped and added at will.

I've also seen an option to buy unlimited 4g for an additional $4. Anyone else see that?

So does that mean I can pay 50cents/day I want to use tethering?

 

[protoxx]

So does that mean I can pay 50cents/day I want to use tethering?

No. It means you can pay $15 a month for tethering. You can tell yourself that it is nearly equivalent to 50cents a day (depending on how many days are in the month).

 

[JackieInCo]

Is it be possible to replace your current T-Mobile plan with this one? I looked on T-Mobile's site and it says it only works for devices purchased at Wal-Mart or activated online. Could I replace my current phone with an iPhone, and switch to this plan?

Yes. You just have to get a new sim and activate a new account. You simply port your number from your old T-Mobile account to the new one. I did this way back in February when I got my Nexus 4 for free by signing up for a contract. I cancelled the contract after the first month and signed up for the $30 plan and ported my original number. Porting my number cancelled the original contract which is the correct to do it. Never cancel the old account till you open the new one and port the number.

 

[Flake]

Yes. You just have to get a new sim and activate a new account. You simply port your number from your old T-Mobile account to the new one. I did this way back in February when I got my Nexus 4 for free by signing up for a contract. I cancelled the contract after the first month and signed up for the $30 plan and ported my original number. Porting my number cancelled the original contract which is the correct to do it. Never cancel the old account till you open the new one and port the number.

Is a new account required?

 

[JackieInCo]

Is a new account required?

Yes.

 

[Flake]

Yes.

Hmm, can you estimate about how long it will take to set up a new account, port your old number over, and close the old account?

 

[JackieInCo]

Hmm, can you estimate about how long it will take to set up a new account, port your old number over, and close the old account?

If you port your old number from your current T-Mobile account, it's instant.

If you port from another carrier, it might be instant to a few hours.

 

[Flake]

If you port your old number from your current T-Mobile account, it's instant.

If you port from another carrier, it might be instant to a few hours.

I may very well go for this option, thank you.

 

[Flake]

I've been reading that it is possible for an existing T-Mobile user to switch over to this plan without setting up a new account and porting your old number, can anyone confirm this?