T-Mobile Value Plan?

[jeffj318]

Wife and I have some old phones for talking and texting (no internet) via T-Mobile. No contract at the present time. Just wondering about their family value plans as we would need voice minutes rather than the prepaid $30 plan with only 100 voice minutes. She does not want to use GroovIP or anything else she has to fool around with ... just prefers calling without using any add on. Thinking of getting the Galaxy Nexus for both of us. Does T-Mobile still subsidize phones if you go with the Value Plan? I think I read the Value Plans have unlimited nights and weekends and free T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls. We call each other the most.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[colnago]

You should be able to get a "value plan", that does not include the extra for phone subsidy. I pay full price for my phones, and have a single user, unlimited voice, text, & data for $59/mo., per a "2 year agreement". However, if I want a "discounted phone", the monthly rate would increase to $79/mo., or the cost of the discount, over a 24 mo. period.

 

[Crashdamage]

T-Mobile will finance phones on Value Plans if you don't want to pay full up front by adding phone payments to your monthly bill until the phones are paid off. Then your bill drops to your basic monthly rate. A good deal.

I don't know about the free T-Mobile-to-T-Mobile thing 'cause we've had unlimited minutes for years.

Dial 611 for more info.

 

[zachavm]

Personally, I think T-mobile Value plans are the best deal in wireless right now. Especially for family plans. When you factor in the galaxy nexus being only 349 it's even better. I bought my wife an exhibit ii and I've got the nexus.

Also, be sure to get the corprate discount through your company if it's an option. I get an additional 15% off the value plan price. pushes it almost bellow 70 per month between the two of us.

 

[jeffj318]

Thanks to all who responded. I do see Verizon has the Galaxy Nexus for free and Amazon has it for one cent with two year contract with Verizon. Probably math wise it is better to buy the phone outright and use the value plan with T-Mobile. Will do the math and see.

 

[jeffj318]

T-Mobile will finance phones on Value Plans if you don't want to pay full up front by adding phone payments to your monthly bill until the phones are paid off. Then your bill drops to your basic monthly rate. A good deal.

I don't know about the free T-Mobile-to-T-Mobile thing 'cause we've had unlimited minutes for years.

Dial 611 for more info.

Does T-Mobile still subsidize the phone if you go with Value Plan? I thought that was only for the Classic Plan? Will check with TM and see.

 

[Crashdamage]

There is really no such thing as a 'subsidized' or 'free' phone. One way or another, you're gonna pay full price for the phone. T-Mobile will finance by payments phones for people on Value Plans. It's a good deal.

 

[LoyalServant]

There is really no such thing as a 'subsidized' or 'free' phone. One way or another, you're gonna pay full price for the phone. T-Mobile will finance by payments phones for people on Value Plans. It's a good deal.

Just to add to this -
They do this at 0% interest so it's a free loan.

I have heard arguments about these plans being confusing and such and they are only confusing to the folks that do not realize that phones are not really "free".

We have a value plan and two HTC One S and everything works fine. (great device, btw!)

The plan is a good deal even if it's a contract plan.
They are just subsidizing the discount but if you plan on staying then you save a fair bit of coin.

 

[Chris2183]

Thanks to all who responded. I do see Verizon has the Galaxy Nexus for free and Amazon has it for one cent with two year contract with Verizon. Probably math wise it is better to buy the phone outright and use the value plan with T-Mobile. Will do the math and see.

Verizons new Share everything plan- 2 lines with unlimited talk and text and sharing 4gb of data will run you $150/mo.

T-Mobile Value plan- 2 lines unlimited talk and text with 2gb data per phone will run $100/mo

50x24= $1200 premium for 2 "free" Galaxy Nexus'

2 Galaxy Nexus' (or Nexii?) from the Google Play store $700

You come out $500 ahead over the life of the contract by buying the Nexus outright and going T-Mo value plan

 

[jeffj318]

Hey Chris - Thanks for doing the math. T-Mobile is super with their value plan. Hopefully, we can cough up some $$ for the galaxy nexus before Apple attempts to stop Samsung from selling them.

 

[jeffj318]

If I get the Galaxy Nexus how do I know if my area gets 3G or 4G?
I live in a rural location in Maryland. From the map, I can see a good signal (not the best not the worst). Also, can I use the Galaxy Nexus with T-Mobile Wi-Fi connection which they offer? Thanks!

 

[LoyalServant]

If I get the Galaxy Nexus how do I know if my area gets 3G or 4G?
I live in a rural location in Maryland. From the map, I can see a good signal (not the best not the worst). Also, can I use the Galaxy Nexus with T-Mobile Wi-Fi connection which they offer? Thanks!

The Nexus will display 3G if it's UMTS and H if it is HSPA+ (faux 4G)
I haven't seen the nexus display 3G - my area is all H+

No idea on the wifi.. I don't know if I can use them either.

 

[Chris2183]

Hey Chris - Thanks for doing the math. T-Mobile is super with their value plan. Hopefully, we can cough up some $$ for the galaxy nexus before Apple attempts to stop Samsung from selling them.

No problem. I just ditched Verizon after 12 years and hopped onto the T-Mo value plan. Initially I was going to buy the Nexus but the GS3 was just too tempting. And with 0% financing that T-Mo offers, I couldnt resist its shiny goodness .

 

[jeffj318]

No problem. I just ditched Verizon after 12 years and hopped onto the T-Mo value plan. Initially I was going to buy the Nexus but the GS3 was just too tempting. And with 0% financing that T-Mo offers, I couldnt resist its shiny goodness .

How much was the GS3 via the Value Plan? I am looking online now and was not clear if you could add the GS3 and have the 0% financing. If you have done it, I guess it can be done. In your opinion, Chris, is the GS3 as good as the GN if not better?

I see a number of benefits from your post with getting the GS3: pay for the phone with installments rather than buy the GN outright and the GS3 from T-Mo would give me WiFi ability when the signal is not that strong and the bring your own GN would not.

All this said, all my extensive reading points to the GN since it is plain vanilla android experience, Jelly Bean and no bloatwear to be had. I think my tipping point for the GS3 would be the payments plan rather than shelling out the money all at once and it looks like with the two year plan the GS3 price is less expensive than the GN.

Any thoughts and how does the WiFi part of it work? If I was to get the 1k minutes plan does it deduct minutes or is it free from minutes if using WiFi? As The Beatles sang "and in the end ...." which phone is truly better and could I just go with the SG2 and be happy?

 

[Crashdamage]

If you use WiFi for calling it does not use your minutes or data.

The SG3 should have T-Mobile's WiFi calling built-in. There are ways for the GN to do WiFi calling too. Most people use Google Voice + Groove IP.

 

[ravenas]

If I get the Galaxy Nexus how do I know if my area gets 3G or 4G?
I live in a rural location in Maryland. From the map, I can see a good signal (not the best not the worst).

You can't unless you check with other T-Mobile customers. Best I can offer you is the site CarrierCoverage.com. That has a database of subscriber reports by locale/carrier. This is the Maryland page: Locations in Maryland | CarrierCoverage.com be warned, it relies on user reported data so it is incomplete.

See if your location, or nearest, is on there. FWIW I'm in Glenelg (west of Columbia). The voice map says I'm in a "Fair" coverage zone, but I frequently lose signal in my house and my data is a meager 300kbps. But if I drive 5 miles toward Clarksville/Columbia I get good coverage and 2-3mbps speeds.

I'm headed to the beach to test service on the Eastern Shore this week. Haven't tried Carroll County or points west yet. Anne Arundel seemed decent.

FWIW the GNexus and S3 are both darn good phones. I have the GNex on T-Mo and S3 on Sprint. You can't go wrong with either. Only real advantage I see is: S3 has a better camera and storage options, GNexus has better Android voice support (Jellybean's enhancements beat Samsung's S Voice hands down). You could always get one of each: for and the wife.

 

[Chris2183]

how much was the gs3 via the value plan? I am looking online now and was not clear if you could add the gs3 and have the 0% financing. If you have done it, i guess it can be done. In your opinion, chris, is the gs3 as good as the gn if not better?
I see a number of benefits from your post with getting the gs3: Pay for the phone with installments rather than buy the gn outright and the gs3 from t-mo would give me wifi ability when the signal is not that strong and the bring your own gn would not.

You pay $199 down plus the sales tax on the total. Then twenty payments of $20. Totals up to $636. I did do mine in a store and not online, because I didnt see the option online for it.

Its difficult for me to say which one is better, spec wise the GS3 is superior with the faster processor and larger screen size. The GNex wins on pure Android experience, no carrier bloat, fast updates, and price. I did go with a GS3 but it was a tough decision.

all this said, all my extensive reading points to the gn since it is plain vanilla android experience, jelly bean and no bloatwear to be had. I think my tipping point for the gs3 would be the payments plan rather than shelling out the money all at once and it looks like with the two year plan the gs3 price is less expensive than the gn.

Galaxy Nexus is roughly $385 with tax and shipping for me, GS3 is $636 after tax where I live. I wanted a Nexus really badly due to the timeliness of the updates from Google and the lack of bloatware. After reading about a few of the customer service issues some have had, I opted for the security of having problems handled locally at a store. WiFi calling was another big factor as it doesnt pull from my minutes.

any thoughts and how does the wifi part of it work? If i was to get the 1k minutes plan does it deduct minutes or is it free from minutes if using wifi? As the beatles sang "and in the end ...." which phone is truly better and could i just go with the sg2 and be happy?

WiFi calling has been pretty nice. As Crashdamage said it doesnt pull from your minutes.


If youre going to finance the phone from T-Mobile there is only a $50 dollar difference between the S2 and the S3. I would spend the extra $50 and get the S3 (I have an S2 and two S3s). If you want to snag a phone off of Craigslist or Swappa an S2 is still a very nice phone, and go for around $300 (I got mine for $280).

 

[jeffj318]

Thanks to all. This has really helped especially in knowing the wifi will not take away minutes.

 

[ravenas]

FWIW on speed tests in Maryland: I drove down to Ocean City, MD yesterday and ran several speed tests as I came. West of the Bay Bridge nearer Baltimore I was getting between 1-2mbps down on 3G. Just past Easton I dropped to Edge and was getting a pathetic .01mbps (10kbps). In Salisbury it went back to 1mbps but in Ocean City itself we're back to a meager 550kbps. I was still showing about 2 out of 5 bars in the bad data coverage zones. Didn't try making a voice call. Here at the beach I'm showing 3 out of 5 bars on my GNexus.

Sprint was pulling in a consistent 500-700kbps throughout and never lost voice service. Pathetic compared to other data networks, but I expect they'll improve over the next months with their ongoing network upgrade.

Overall my results shows T-Mobile has crappiest service on the remote parts of Eastern Shore (and there are a lot of remote parts here). Back around Baltimore their data network is strong. YMMV.

 

[jeffj318]

Okay .... here is the deal. Wife says not going to spend tons of money for a GN or SG3. (Watching the budget, etc.) What is the best lower priced android phone to use with the Value Plan? I would like a front facing camera to use with Tango. Would also be nice that the phone would have the use of T-Mo's use of WiFi.

Another option for us would be not to have a data plan which is how we are connected with T-Mo currently except we are paying more for an old off contract plan vs. signing a two year text and talk contract value plan which is currently offered at $59.99 for 1k shared minutes and unlimited text. Our current off contract plan amounts to about $75 with taxes for 1k minutes talk and unlimited text. We us the home computer for all web browsing, etc. I would like to have a phone where I could use Swype for texting. Under these conditions what would be a decent android phone for cheap with a large screen so I could use Swype. It would be nice to have a big enough screen so Swype would not be a problem with QWERTY size. Bottom line: which Android phone can we use with talk and text only and be able to use a wifi connection only with a T-Mo value plan?

Can I take my SIM card from the Samsung Highlight which is currently being used and put it into the new Android phone if we do go talk and text only?

 

[Chris2183]

Okay .... here is the deal. Wife says not going to spend tons of money for a GN or SG3. (Watching the budget, etc.) What is the best lowest priced android phone to use with the Value Plan? I would like a front facing camera to use with Tango. Would also be nice that the phone would have the use of T-Mo's use of WiFi.

Another option for us would be not to have a data plan which is how we are now except we are paying more for an old off contract plan vs. signing a two year contract value plan. We us the home computer for all web browsing, etc. I would like to have a phone where I could use Swype for texting. Under these conditions what would be a decent android phone for cheap with a large screen so I could really Swype rather than on some of the smaller screens.

If your willing to go on the Classic Plan which is a little higher per month you can take advantage of the Samsung sale.

S2s are free after rebate this weekend online
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And 2 lines on the 1000min classic plan with 2gb data is $110/mo.

This sale would actually benefit you over the Value Plan as the total out of pocket is less

Value Plan

$300 down for two S2s
$20x2 per month for 20 months finance on phones ($800 total)
$100/mo Value Plan Contract (100min 2gb data)
Total cost over 24 months $3500

Classic Plan
$0 two S2s after rebate ($100 up front)
$0x2 per month for 20 months since T-Mo is subsidizing the phone not you
$120/mo Classic Plan contract (1000min 2gb data)
Total cost over 24 months $2880

S2 will do everything you want and is rumored to be getting Jelly Bean at some point after the S3s


Damn I should sell phones for a living

 

[Crashdamage]

You might find the HTC Amaze very reasonably priced used. Really like mine a lot.

 

[jeffj318]

You might find the HTC Amaze very reasonably priced used. Really like mine a lot.

Thanks Chris and Crash. I just posted again after you posted with some excellent answers. What about the text and talk only comment about a phone? HTC Amaze is the answer?

Hmm.... Free phone and classic plan might work. We would go from a total bill of $75 (talk and text only) to as you said $120 (before taxes) for talk, text AND internet. That would be sweet from my perspective. Again, we only need 1k shared minutes because we would get the unlimited nights and weekends and free T-Mo to T-Mo calls. I checked the T-Mo site and compared SG2, HTC Amaze and the HTC One S. I see the Amaze does not offer WiFi calling. How is the One S for our needs? I see the Amaze has a 2mp secondary camera vs .3mp for the One S. (I have not tried Tango, but would like to and I don't see the One S listed under their phone list.) In the end, does the SG2 work just as well as the HTC Amaze or the One S especially since this phone would be free and the other two would be $149.99 each. After your tech guru answers will check with my beautiful wife and let you know.

 

[Crashdamage]

The Amaze does include WiFi calling. I don't use it but mine has it built-in. It's generally very comparable to the SG2. I personally prefer the Amaze - better build quality, better screen, smaller size, real camera buttons, etc.

Value Plans *always* save money vs Classic Plans when you do the math. Remember, one way or another you pay for the phone. No such thing as 'free' or 'subsidized' phones.

Example: Your idea using a Classic Plan came to $120/mo. for 2 phones. On a Value Plan we get unlimited talk + unlimited text + 2GB data per line for $100/mo. And so no need to mess with WiFi calling. $120/mo. would get unlimited talk + text + 5GB per line.

If you want to pay less than full price upfront, go used or let T-Mobile finance them on a Value Plan as already explained.

 

[Chris2183]

Smartphones have to have some form of data on the Classic plan. But you could do 1000/min with 200mb for $100/mo.