Newbie here

rmarie26 · January 29th, 2013, 07:06 PM

Hey there,
I am so excited I just ordered my Nexus 4 today I am wondering if anyone has any advice on a sim card to use that has a good amount of minutes? I am not sure what service would be best. Any advice would help..Thanks

Banished Angel · January 29th, 2013, 07:57 PM

Welcome to the forum!

There are two popular services for the Nexus 4. You can get T-Mobile Monthly 4G with:
Umlimited data (throttled after 5GB)
Unlimited texts
100 Minutes

for $30 a month.

Or you can get Straight Talk with AT&T with:
Unlimited data (some people complain getting data warnings and others don't. ~2GB data a month is considered safe)
Unlimited texts
Unlimited calling

for $45 a month.

Both of those are off-contract so if you don't like one service you can easily switch to the other. I hope that helps.

NeXuS4 · January 29th, 2013, 08:39 PM

T-Mobile.... Seriously just do that...

rmarie26 · January 29th, 2013, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banished Angel

Welcome to the forum!

There are two popular services for the Nexus 4. You can get T-Mobile Monthly 4G with:
Umlimited data (throttled after 5GB)
Unlimited texts
100 Minutes

for $30 a month.

Or you can get Straight Talk with AT&T with:
Unlimited data (some people complain getting data warnings and others don't. ~2GB data a month is considered safe)
Unlimited texts
Unlimited calling

for $45 a month.

Both of those are off-contract so if you don't like one service you can easily switch to the other. I hope that helps.

Thank you so much for your advice..I don't see the T-mobile plan on there website..I was browsing and couldn't find it..How do u like the AT&T ST plan? Is the service good?

Banished Angel · January 29th, 2013, 10:22 PM

It all depends where you live. In bigger cities i'd recommend T-Mobile as they should be a good deal faster, but the signal can have problems with buildings. AT&T has better coverage nationwide and better signal penetration for buildings. Also take into account the 100 minute cap on the Monthly 4G plan. The unlimted minutes and data with T-Mobile is $70 a month. Look for anything that says prepaid or Monthly 4G on T-Mobile's website.

rmarie26 · January 29th, 2013, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banished Angel

It all depends where you live. In bigger cities i'd recommend T-Mobile as they should be a good deal faster, but the signal can have problems with buildings. AT&T has better coverage nationwide and better signal penetration for buildings. Also take into account the 100 minute cap on the Monthly 4G plan. The unlimted minutes and data with T-Mobile is $70 a month. Look for anything that says prepaid or Monthly 4G on T-Mobile's website.

So if I decide to use ST-AT&T do I just need to go to walmart and buy a sim card than transfer my number? How do I go about using my phone with ST? I just want to make sure I know what to do to activate it. Thanks

Androidcurious · January 29th, 2013, 10:34 PM

Quick question: can you sign up with ATT proper? Not S-Talk ATT?

rmarie26 · January 29th, 2013, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androidcurious

Quick question: can you sign up with ATT proper? Not S-Talk ATT?

What is AT&T proper? I have never heard of that is that prepaid?

runtmms · January 29th, 2013, 10:55 PM

If you're looking at T-Mobile prepaid, and if the $30 plan is too limited I would suggest Solavei. They turned out to be the best option for me.

rmarie26 · January 29th, 2013, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runtmms

If you're looking at T-Mobile prepaid, and if the $30 plan is too limited I would suggest Solavei. They turned out to be the best option for me.

What is the Solavei plan? Can you give me more details please? How many minutes do you get and what is the service like?

OhSeven · January 30th, 2013, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarie26

So if I decide to use ST-AT&T do I just need to go to walmart and buy a sim card than transfer my number? How do I go about using my phone with ST? I just want to make sure I know what to do to activate it. Thanks

The sim cards are not sold at walmart locations (around here at least), you can buy the sim card from straighttalk.com or walmart.com. They both sell the sim card+$45 for the first month at a $5 discount, so it will be around $60 shipped. There is a lot of talk about the best APN settings, but I think the "best" ones turned out to be the same in the instructions.

You can start with TMo and see if it works out. In my two experiences going to TMobile stores, though, their employees were not just sneaky but outright liars. Avoid them, or have customer service on the phone so you can verify anything they say.

I posted elsewhere that TMo has very poor service at my home, including times of no service, and the battery drain to go with it. ATT works out better for me because I'd rather have consistent, full reception than the occasional high speed. ATT here still gives me over 3Mbps down which is plenty for my needs.

Androidcurious · January 30th, 2013, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarie26

What is AT&T proper? I have never heard of that is that prepaid?

I meant AT&T, not a sub-company like Straight Talk.

blahblahyoutoo · January 30th, 2013, 09:42 AM

I'm currently a TMo $30 plan subscriber and coming from a Galaxy Nexus.
I already have micro sims from TMo. Do I just call and have them transfer my account to the new micro sim?

OhSeven · January 30th, 2013, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blahblahyoutoo

I'm currently a TMo $30 plan subscriber and coming from a Galaxy Nexus.
I already have micro sims from TMo. Do I just call and have them transfer my account to the new micro sim?

I'm new to this world of sim cards, but I'm pretty sure the big benefit is your account is tied to the sim card, not phone. Unless the sim is tied to the phone, you can just put the current sim card in your new phone and continue using it

NeXuS4 · January 30th, 2013, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blahblahyoutoo

I'm currently a TMo $30 plan subscriber and coming from a Galaxy Nexus.
I already have micro sims from TMo. Do I just call and have them transfer my account to the new micro sim?

All you have to do is put your Sim in the Nexus 4 I think.

runtmms · January 30th, 2013, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarie26

What is the Solavei plan? Can you give me more details please? How many minutes do you get and what is the service like?

Solavei is unlimited talk/text/data for $49/month on the T-Mobile prepaid network. Data isn't throttled until 4GB. No contract.

They are also doing the affiliate sign up thing which can effectively lower this if you are interested in such things.

I've been happier with them than I was with Sprint. (That's might have something to do with how much I love my Nexus 4.)

blahblahyoutoo · January 30th, 2013, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeXuS4

All you have to do is put your Sim in the Nexus 4 I think.

the new micro sim that I ordered from TMo? It's not tied to my account yet.

The galaxy nexus is regular SIM, and I understand I can cut it and put it in.

rmarie26 · January 31st, 2013, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banished Angel

Welcome to the forum!

There are two popular services for the Nexus 4. You can get T-Mobile Monthly 4G with:
Umlimited data (throttled after 5GB)
Unlimited texts
100 Minutes

for $30 a month.

Or you can get Straight Talk with AT&T with:
Unlimited data (some people complain getting data warnings and others don't. ~2GB data a month is considered safe)
Unlimited texts
Unlimited calling

for $45 a month.

Both of those are off-contract so if you don't like one service you can easily switch to the other. I hope that helps.

I can't seem to find the AT&T card on the ST website only T-mobile.. Do you have any idea why? Also, on the Walmart website ST only hast AT&T.. I am not sure what to do..please help..Thanks

joeblackis · February 1st, 2013, 12:00 AM

I Just got my Nexus today, WOW, This thing is amazing. So freaking fast, beautiful screen, great pictures. I am pretty impressed with it.

I will most likely go with the T-mobile 30.00/month value plan,
But I heard about ptel - https://www.platinumtel.com/plans
40/month unlimited everything. first month 20dollars off with a signup code. So if you enter your zip code and you have coverage in your area, that might be another option for N4 users.

Right now, I am just using my N4 on wi-fi until my current month ends on my old phone. But I planned ahead and have a tmobile micro sim ready to activate when I am ready.

OhSeven · February 1st, 2013, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarie26

I can't seem to find the AT&T card on the ST website only T-mobile.. Do you have any idea why? Also, on the Walmart website ST only hast AT&T.. I am not sure what to do..please help..Thanks

On the ST website, at some point it asks whether you have an ATT or TMobile compatible phone. Somebody has said if you select the third option (GSM compatible) they put you on ATT by default. Don't know the accuracy of that. Just make sure you get to select it before paying

spriteboost · February 1st, 2013, 05:15 PM

st i believe is going to stop using att they've recently took all att affiliation down on the site though i think they will still serve the customers on att for now

hstroph · February 1st, 2013, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmarie26

I can't seem to find the AT&T card on the ST website only T-mobile.. ...

The Nexus 4 uses the "Unlocked GSM phone" SIM on the ST website.

rmarie26 · February 2nd, 2013, 01:46 PM

Do you have to cut down the sim card on ST using the Nexus 4?

john30308 · February 2nd, 2013, 03:48 PM

Got the ST AT&T card from WalMart. Getting 5MB down, 1MB up (in Atlanta). No problem with no LTE (coming from Verizon GN).

Kwala · February 3rd, 2013, 11:28 AM

I'd like to transfer my current number to my $30 t-mobile plan. Any ideas on how to do that on my own? Or do I have to call them up? And can anyone give a step by step on how to get it all up working?

Thanks

benreem · February 3rd, 2013, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwala

I'd like to transfer my current number to my $30 t-mobile plan. Any ideas on how to do that on my own? Or do I have to call them up? And can anyone give a step by step on how to get it all up working?

Thanks

You need to call them, and they will give you the run-around but you have to insist. they'll try to say you can only use that plan with a new number.