T-Mobile.com / Walmart: Prepaid $30/month - Unlim Text, 5GB Data*, 100 Voice Mins (New Activation Only)

Quote from fskof : Well, this looks like it might not be the plan for me. I bought the SIM card, activated it, and put $30 on it, but three hours later my phone is still offline. Under available networks, I only see AT&T. Called up support, and their eventual resolution was to get my home address and said someone will check out the signal here. I'm not in the middle of nowhere, I'm in a DC suburb just inside the beltway. Never had an issue getting Verizon or Sprint service in my house, but it's beginning to look like T-Mobile's network might not cover me.

Did you check your coverage map? There will a least give you an idea whats your coverage in your area. Also, did you try your service at other places? If you in a house, you might want to try going outside or at work since t-mobile service is spotty sometimes. hah

Quote from five40 : 5GB is not enough for me, I use that in 10 days. I need at least 10GB's. They offer a 10GB plan but a 2 year contract is required even if you bring your own phone which is stupid. Why would I lock myself into a contract without getting the benefit of a subsidized phone?

I haven't heard of the 10GB plan anymore. They offer unlimited and like 3GB?

Quote from jmor : I'm probably wrong, but it sounds like a SIM card problem to me. Because you would still EDGE or GPRS at least.

I'm usually in "emergency calls only" mode. It definitely does something different with the SIM card in than without it, because I see T-Mobile in the APN list, and the battery drains much quicker than without the SIM card. I'll try it while I'm out this evening. If it can't pick up service anywhere, then there's something else weird going on.

Couple of noob questions.
1. What is the difference between 4G, HSPA+, and 4G+?
2. The OP says something about not being able to access HTTPS sites, but this was posted in 2011 is this still a problem?

Any help is great! Thanks

Quote from fskof : I'm usually in "emergency calls only" mode. It definitely does something different with the SIM card in than without it, because I see T-Mobile in the APN list, and the battery drains much quicker than without the SIM card. I'll try it while I'm out this evening. If it can't pick up service anywhere, then there's something else weird going on.

Take it to a tmobile store theres probably one close by and they can figure out whats wrong with it

Quote from funknjunk : Couple of noob questions. 1. What is the difference between 4G, HSPA+, and 4G+? 2. The OP says something about not being able to access HTTPS sites, but this was posted in 2011 is this still a problem? Any help is great! Thanks

1 - All the same thing, although I've never heard of 4G+, maybe 3G+. Which would still be the same thing. It's about speed,forget about the names. The carriers all vary from 1MB/s to about 8MB/s. I'm sure someone can be more specific than me on that.

2 - I think it's been corrected.

Quote from five40 : 5GB is not enough for me, I use that in 10 days. I need at least 10GB's. They offer a 10GB plan but a 2 year contract is required even if you bring your own phone which is stupid. Why would I lock myself into a contract without getting the benefit of a subsidized phone?

You mentioned you use 5GB in 10 days so close to like 15GB a month.
The thing is what's your option that can get cheaper plan with 10GB to 15GB 4G data per month? Straight Talk with almost certain cancel/lock your account. Probably the same with Sprint. And AT&T and Verizon no longer has unlimited data plan.
What are you getting that has cheap 15GB a month 4G data plan?

Quote from MozartA : You mentioned you use 5GB in 10 days so close to like 15GB a month. The thing is what's your option that can get cheaper plan with 10GB to 15GB 4G data per month? Straight Talk with almost certain cancel/lock your account. Probably the same with Sprint. And AT&T and Verizon no longer has unlimited data plan. What are you getting that has cheap 15GB a month 4G data plan?

I consistently use 10-15GB's on Sprint without any issue. No throttling or warnings or anything.
The only reason i'm considering leaving Sprint is because there 3G speeds are terrible and wimax isn't all it was cracked up to be.

But after seeing how quick I ran thru those 5GB's on T-Mobile and the throttling down to unbearable 2G speeds and wanting me to sign a contract to get the value plan that allows 10GB's of 4G i figured I might as well suck it up for a few more months until Sprint rolls out there LTE network. I'm returning the Galaxy Nexus and ordering an HTC EVO 4G LTE. Whether ur phone is unlocked or not they make it a pain in the ass to be on a prepaid plan and also limit ur options as supposed to post paid.

Quote from hokin : Did you check your coverage map? There will a least give you an idea whats your coverage in your area. Also, did you try your service at other places? If you in a house, you might want to try going outside or at work since t-mobile service is spotty sometimes. hah I haven't heard of the 10GB plan anymore. They offer unlimited and like 3GB?

ADD DATA:

Unlimited - Ultra with Smartphone Mobile HotSpot Service

$94.99 /mo.
UP TO 10 GB OF HIGH SPEED DATA\

From this link Value Packages [t-mobile.com]

Which requires a 2 year agreement even if you bring your own device which is ridiculous.

Quote from five40 : I consistently use 10-15GB's on Sprint without any issue. No throttling or warnings or anything. The only reason i'm considering leaving Sprint is because there 3G speeds are terrible and wimax isn't all it was cracked up to be. But after seeing how quick I ran thru those 5GB's on T-Mobile and the throttling down to unbearable 2G speeds and wanting me to sign a contract to get the value plan that allows 10GB's of 4G i figured I might as well suck it up for a few more months until Sprint rolls out there LTE network. I'm returning the Galaxy Nexus and ordering an HTC EVO 4G LTE. Whether ur phone is unlocked or not they make it a pain in the ass to be on a prepaid plan and also limit ur options as supposed to post paid.

Quote from five40 : ADD DATA: Unlimited - Ultra with Smartphone Mobile HotSpot Service $94.99 /mo. UP TO 10 GB OF HIGH SPEED DATA\ From this link Value Packages [t-mobile.com] Which requires a 2 year agreement even if you bring your own device which is ridiculous.

I don't blame you. I got kicked..well..okay I kind of did it on purpose to get out of contract...for too much data roaming. I only roamed like 1GB on Verizon for 3 months and apparently this is enough to make them bitch at me to "control my usage or find another provider".

Anyway, I don't know where you live but Sprint's LTE network probably won't be fully complete until late 2013/early 2014. Key markets are supposed to get it near the end of this year, but I had that same crapload of promises with WiMax that I just couldn't stand paying for "4G" service that I wasn't getting.

What EXACTLY are you doing pulling that much data consistently? My battery (it's extended as well) drained very quickly when I was on Sprint with my Evo 3D, downloading less than like 1GB. I only surpassed 6GBs once or twice, and around 4-5GBs is perfect for me, since I can offload usage at home mostly...and I don't tether excessively which sounds like what you're doing.

And I understand where you're coming from on the contract thing, but T-Mobile is still one of the most consumer friendly carriers of the Big 4 left. They are the ONLY ones that have a $200 ETF anymore (everyone else is $350 for "smart" devices), so even if you terminate, you're still saving money with T-Mobile, so I guess they have to make concessions somewhere. I find it odd too, but at least they give you the option at the very least.

Anyway, I would look into finding someone with a Verizon grandfathered unlimited data plan and have them transferring their account to you because that's truly unlimited, and Verizon has established their nationwide LTE network already. It's funny because Sprint's Galaxy Nexus comes with LTE disabled, and I'm sure the Evo 4G LTE will too, since your battery will probably die from the complete lack of no LTE service, like anywhere (except certain parts of Texas for now).

Quote from dzap : I don't blame you. I got kicked..well..okay I kind of did it on purpose to get out of contract...for too much data roaming. I only roamed like 1GB on Verizon for 3 months and apparently this is enough to make them bitch at me to "control my usage or find another provider". Anyway, I don't know where you live but Sprint's LTE network probably won't be fully complete until late 2013/early 2014. Key markets are supposed to get it near the end of this year, but I had that same crapload of promises with WiMax that I just couldn't stand paying for "4G" service that I wasn't getting. What EXACTLY are you doing pulling that much data consistently? My battery (it's extended as well) drained very quickly when I was on Sprint with my Evo 3D, downloading less than like 1GB. I only surpassed 6GBs once or twice, and around 4-5GBs is perfect for me, since I can offload usage at home mostly...and I don't tether excessively which sounds like what you're doing. And I understand where you're coming from on the contract thing, but T-Mobile is still one of the most consumer friendly carriers of the Big 4 left. They are the ONLY ones that have a $200 ETF anymore (everyone else is $350 for "smart" devices), so even if you terminate, you're still saving money with T-Mobile, so I guess they have to make concessions somewhere. I find it odd too, but at least they give you the option at the very least. Anyway, I would look into finding someone with a Verizon grandfathered unlimited data plan and have them transferring their account to you because that's truly unlimited, and Verizon has established their nationwide LTE network already. It's funny because Sprint's Galaxy Nexus comes with LTE disabled, and I'm sure the Evo 4G LTE will too, since your battery will probably die from the complete lack of no LTE service, like anywhere (except certain parts of Texas for now).

Plex streaming, HBO GO, Stream my music library from Google and Amazon Youtube and other video sites. While at the Gym and during downtime at work.

Quote from hokin : Did you check your coverage map? There will a least give you an idea whats your coverage in your area. Also, did you try your service at other places? If you in a house, you might want to try going outside or at work since t-mobile service is spotty sometimes. hah

Yeah, as I suspected, I just don't get service in my house. Once I got half a block down the street, the phone activated, got my welcome SMS messages, etc. Had service everywhere I went while I was out, and now that I'm back at home, emergency calls only. So, not the plan for me. Oh well.

Quote from fskof : Yeah, as I suspected, I just don't get service in my house. Once I got half a block down the street, the phone activated, got my welcome SMS messages, etc. Had service everywhere I went while I was out, and now that I'm back at home, emergency calls only. So, not the plan for me. Oh well.

Better luck with another carrier then :\ haha

http://www.tmonews.com/2012/05/wa...and-plans/

Looks like T-Mobile might be coming out with some new prepaid data options:

Quote : T-Mobile $35 Prepaid Mobile Broadband Pass, 3.5GB, 60-Day: Provides 3.5GB of data usage Good for 60 days No activation fee, annual contract, credit check or overages Works with any T-Mobile Internet device T-Mobile $25 Prepaid Mobile Broadband Pass, 1.5GB, 30-Day: Provides 1.5GB of data usage Good for 30 days No activation fee, annual contract, credit check or overages Works with any T-Mobile Internet device T-Mobile $15 Prepaid Mobile Broadband Pass, 300MB, 7-Day: Provides 300MB of data usage Good for 7 days No activation fee, annual contract, credit check or overages Works with any T-Mobile Internet device

It's not confirmed that these are real, but they do exist on the Walmart site, and supposedly are starting on the 21st. I'm not clear as to whether or not they require / allow a voice plan.

I'd consider this over the $30 Monthly4G plan, as I use less than 1GB per month, and limited minutes.

I've never passed 100mb with my pageplus plan which leads me to a curiosity, what do you do on your phone that eats thru that much data, and at such slow speed, how can you stand using them for extended period of time...??