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

  • Something like this would be great for me

    Votes: 356 79.1%
  • Not for me

    Votes: 94 20.9%

  • Total voters
    450
I'm moving from a Nexus 4 on this plan.
When I had that phone, I noticed page load speeds took forever,sometimes 10-20 seconds to get back the initial request.
Strangely speed test were very fast.
I did a ping test from my Android phone and I found the first 2-3 pings timed out, then 3G kicked in(300ms), then H+ kicked in(100ms)
I know for a fact this can't be good for battery life, constantly having to resend data until a connection is made.
So my question is, do the iPhones have the same problem or is this a carrier problem?
 
I'm moving from a Nexus 4 on this plan.
When I had that phone, I noticed page load speeds took forever,sometimes 10-20 seconds to get back the initial request.
Strangely speed test were very fast.
I did a ping test from my Android phone and I found the first 2-3 pings timed out, then 3G kicked in(300ms), then H+ kicked in(100ms)
I know for a fact this can't be good for battery life, constantly having to resend data until a connection is made.
So my question is, do the iPhones have the same problem or is this a carrier problem?

i've noticed a degradation in t-mobile's aws 3g the last couple months across a few devices (htc one, galaxy s4, iphone 5, iphone 5s), so i'm inclined to think it to be the network. fortunately, i'm usually covered by fast and responsive lte (which the n4 doesn't have), so it's not often an issue.
 
i've noticed a degradation in t-mobile's aws 3g the last couple months across a few devices (htc one, galaxy s4, iphone 5, iphone 5s), so i'm inclined to think it to be the network. fortunately, i'm usually covered by fast and responsive lte (which the n4 doesn't have), so it's not often an issue.

I've used LTE on my Nexus 4 while I was in a different city. There aren't any towers near where I live that offer LTE, just HSPA+ 42 in near the center of my town, and HSDPA where I live.

edit: just trimmed my sim, unlocked a friends iphone 5 and tested it. I guess it was just the nexus.
Pages load fast enough, but there is no connection problem.
 
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The verizon 5S/5C supports all bands..AWS/LTE. The Verizon iPhone 5 supports Tmobile LTE but doesn't support AWS 3g

The Verizon iPhone 5 doesn't support T-Mobile LTE! Only the Unlocked iPhone 5 GSM Version of the A128 iPhone and an Unlocked AT&T iPhone 5.

The Verizon iPhone 5 only supports the "Faux" 4G. Keep in mind that this is 3G and also not the AWS 3G.

I would also like to know what speeds you'll get after you pass the first 5GB's of data? Will they throttle you down to EDGE? that would be weird! because they're advertising 4G and your not even getting that speed on your phone...
 
The Verizon iPhone 5 doesn't support T-Mobile LTE! Only the Unlocked iPhone 5 GSM Version of the A128 iPhone and an Unlocked AT&T iPhone 5.

The Verizon iPhone 5 only supports the "Faux" 4G. Keep in mind that this is 3G and also not the AWS 3G.

I would also like to know what speeds you'll get after you pass the first 5GB's of data? Will they throttle you down to EDGE? that would be weird! because they're advertising 4G and your not even getting that speed on your phone...

That's true about the Verizon iPhone 5. The 5s and 5c support T-Mobile's LTE and 3G bands, though.

After 5GB I believe they do throttle you down to EDGE speeds, but on 3G.
 
I bought the sim kit starter today and mistakenly chose the 50$ plan with unlimited talk,text and 500 MB data. I want to switch to the $30 plan with 100min/unlimited text and 5GB data. Buying a new sim kit starter is fine for me since another new number is ok. However, I want to use my new number on my unlocked Nexus 4 which is not from T-mobile. Since a lot of people said that this plan will work with any unlocked phone, my question is what do I put in the IMEI# field when I activate it online at T-mobile.com. Does it has to be a T-mobile phone IMEI# or any unlocked phone IMEI#?
 
I bought the sim kit starter today and mistakenly chose the 50$ plan with unlimited talk,text and 500 MB data. I want to switch to the $30 plan with 100min/unlimited text and 5GB data. Buying a new sim kit starter is fine for me since another new number is ok. However, I want to use my new number on my unlocked Nexus 4 which is not from T-mobile. Since a lot of people said that this plan will work with any unlocked phone, my question is what do I put in the IMEI# field when I activate it online at T-mobile.com. Does it has to be a T-mobile phone IMEI# or any unlocked phone IMEI#?

Hi. I used 999999999999999 as the IMEI to activate the plan on my unlocked iPhone last year.

-ITG
 
Purchasing unlocked phone

Hey all I was hoping someone might be able to help me.

I have already been on the $30 plan from T-mobile through Wal-mart and am sticking with it, but I am looking to buy a new phone and have a few options but want to know if they'll work on my plan.

Option A: Buy the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Wal-mart (here: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-Galaxy-S4-I9500-Smartphone-Black-Unlocked/24357080)

Option B: Buy the HTC One from Expansys (here: http://goo.gl/Y1JP9A)

Option C: Buy the HTC One from Newegg (here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875502144)


I just want to make sure that both of these phones would work on my network. I already have the Samsung Exhibit II on T-mobile so all I would have to do is take out my sim card and put it in the new phone correct? I wouldn't have to pay an activation fee or anything? Would I even need to talk to T-mobile when I switch over the sim card?

Thanks so much for the help!
 
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Had a quick question for someone that's on the plan.

I paid off my remaining EIP today and would like to switch to the prepaid plan. I know this probably is simple, but how would I go about do it?
 
Trying out this $30 plan, and ran into one issue. Sending SMS, my texts are often being received by the other party broken down into 2 or more smaller messages...even cutting words in half. In the reverse, I am getting texts from people that are broken up into multiple messages, and theres usually 1 or 2 that are out of order so I have to sit there figuring out which order to read them in.

I've been on AT&T (formerly Cingulair) since 2007 and don't recall text's being broken down like this. I actually never knew there was a character limit on other carriers to where a few sentences in a text gets broken down. I tried sending someone a link to an article and they couldn't click on it on their phone since it was broken in half.

I'd love to keep going on this plan but not if text's are going to get broken, rearranged, and I can't even send a link without it being broken up. Other than that I get pretty good signal where I live (comparable to AT&T), and would like to keep using this plan. Just am way too used to longer texts and need to be able to do that.
 
That was posted 7/24/13 here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17625639/

My Questions:

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?

I activated the $30 plan on a new line of service and then ported my phone number over to Google Voice (thus cancelling original T-Mo line of service). After a week or two, I didn't care for GVoice setup and ported my original number back into the T-Mo $30 plan (over phone) replacing the temp number I had only used for a couple of weeks.
 
Anyone able to get tethering to work on this plan with their iphone? Looks like some Android users are now.

http://androidcommunity.com/t-mobile-prepaid-customers-may-be-able-to-enjoy-free-tethering-20131025/

I've been able to tether using my Nexus 4 on T-Mobile since I bought it back in February.

I was also able to tether on my 4S using the same T-Mobile account when my 4S was jailbroken but then I upgraded to the latest iOS back then which was 6.1.3 which it is still running. Now when I try to enable it on my 4S, it still says to contact T-Mobile.
 
I'm annoyed at plans even at $20 when there's no option to forgo unlimited SMS.

SMS cost the carriers almost nothing. They have been charging a fortune for it all these years simply because they can. Very few cell phone plans in the future will charge extra for SMS. The fee will fade into oblivion...just like long distance charges. So just use it or not, with T-Mobiles $30 plans they are just not charging you for it.
 
Switching Soon

I spent nearly a few days in my spare time going through this thread. I have an iPhone 5 that is locked to AT&T. I am one year into my contract and the ETF is $175 at this point. Since I'll be saving $60/mo. the payback period for the ETF expenditure is roughly 3 months.

I noticed some people claim that building penetration is an issue at times. It can't be any worse than AT&T. There are times I go to a friend's house in the middle of Brooklyn NY and the signal is so weak I can't even surf the web! If I go to a restaurant and go far from the window, the service sucks. It can't be that much worse with T/Mobile.

A few questions:

Will the LTE indicator work if I am on their network?

Will it show 3G or 4G when you are NOT on LTE?

When you put in the T Mobile SIM will it repopulate the APN settings with the ones required for T/Mobile?

That's all I can think of for now. TIA
 
I spent nearly a few days in my spare time going through this thread. I have an iPhone 5 that is locked to AT&T. I am one year into my contract and the ETF is $175 at this point. Since I'll be saving $60/mo. the payback period for the ETF expenditure is roughly 3 months.

I noticed some people claim that building penetration is an issue at times. It can't be any worse than AT&T. There are times I go to a friend's house in the middle of Brooklyn NY and the signal is so weak I can't even surf the web! If I go to a restaurant and go far from the window, the service sucks. It can't be that much worse with T/Mobile.

A few questions:

Will the LTE indicator work if I am on their network?

Will it show 3G or 4G when you are NOT on LTE?

When you put in the T Mobile SIM will it repopulate the APN settings with the ones required for T/Mobile?

That's all I can think of for now. TIA

It will show LTE and you will get LTE speed while you are in an LTE area. My 5S rarely switched to 4G last night while out around Denver. When I did get 4G, it was fast, nearly 10Mbps, while on LTE, I get between 21-40Mbps.

If you are using 7.0+, the iOS will automatically set the APN no matter what carriers sim you have in there.
 
I spent nearly a few days in my spare time going through this thread. I have an iPhone 5 that is locked to AT&T. I am one year into my contract and the ETF is $175 at this point. Since I'll be saving $60/mo. the payback period for the ETF expenditure is roughly 3 months.

I noticed some people claim that building penetration is an issue at times. It can't be any worse than AT&T. There are times I go to a friend's house in the middle of Brooklyn NY and the signal is so weak I can't even surf the web! If I go to a restaurant and go far from the window, the service sucks. It can't be that much worse with T/Mobile.

Oh yes it can....:eek:

Did a trial run with T-Mobil the other day, going from Verizon where I got great coverage, and about 30/35 Mb download speed, and around 3 to 7 Mb upload. LTE coverage where ever I drove to as well. No 3G except in one restaurant.

T-Mobil rep, after signing up at the Mall said, even though I was now getting 2 bars and 3G inside the Mall, once outside I should get 4G or LTE without an issue. So I tried out T-Mobil, walked outside the Mall door, and got no LTE, no 4G, no 3G and not even "Edge". Walked a block to my parked car, and got "Edge" coverage. Interesting.

Got home, and went inside, and notice I would only get Edge coverage. My home is built with concrete, and steel. Went across the street, and got 3G briefly in the parking lot, than down to Edge within seconds. Went inside the restaurant, and got no coverage or Edge. Back and forth for some unknown reason.

Tried Speedtest outside of the Mall, and would not connect. Inside the restaurant SpeedTest did not work. At home it did not work at first, but once it did, it showed around 1Mb download speed, and a few Kb's upload. It went down hill from there, and I got less than 30 kb download speed at the same location. This fluctuated up and down within seconds doing the speed test.

Voice sound quality was not good either. Talking with a T-Mobile rep, the voice was crackling where I had to ask the rep to repeat. Called my brother cross country and he said that I sounded as if I were inside a tin can or such. Not good.

So, it really depends on where you live if you get good coverage or not, and what type of building construction as well. The T-Mobil coverage map indicated I should have gotten 4G inside my home and outside as well. This did not happen, so I canceled T-Mobil within hours and returned to Verizon. T-Mobil for my area will improve, but not today.

Location: Dunedin, Florida. 18 miles from Tampa Florida
 
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