Does it require ssn?

[I luv trolling]

Recently ive been interested in t-mobile's new payment model and their lack of contracts and am really interested in switching over from metro (I know theyve merged but I probably wont see any difference until 2014) but ill only have the ability to switch if it does not require a ssn.

 

[Montoya]

I'm on the $30/month unlimited data prepaid plan and no, I didn't need to give my SSN to activate it.

However, Web Guard was turned on by default and to disable it, I had to provide my last four SSN digits and mailing address.

 

[I luv trolling]

I am referring to their new model which allows you to make monthly payments towards your phone. Would this require ssn? Seems highly likely as I know they like to make sure customers have a good credit score.

 

[Montoya]

Ah. Sorry for misreading. I can't answer that one, unfortunately.

 

[lightsleeper23]

Yes they need a SSN to run a credit check if you are financing a phone.

 

[comicalmoodyda]

I recently purchased a SIM only card from T-Mobile as I already bought a T-Mobile phone outright. I actually have the phone already but I'm still waiting on the Post Paid SIM to get here and yes they ran a credit check on me and required a SSN. Although I do believe they may have higher credit standards if you "finance" a phone. They still credit check even for a SIM only option still running a credit check but with lower standards.

This makes sense as this is Post Paid and they are relying on you to pay your bill and granting you a monthly bill that can change with add on's other services etc.... I'd imagine the credit checks would even be more strict if they are allowing you post paid service AND financing a phone for you if you take the pay over 24 month option for your phone.

 

[mogelijk]

As others have stated, for the postpaid plans you'll need to give your SSN for a credit check. If you don't want to provide your SSN, they have the same plans on prepaid at the same price, plus they have the $30/month plan only on prepaid.

The main difference between postpaid and prepaid, beyond not being able to finance the phone, is that postpaid has data, text and voice roaming (prepaid only has voice and text roaming).

 

[comicalmoodyda]

Well their is a few more differences. On post paid services you have access to corporate discounts if you work for a company that provides them and also you get better CS and support from T-Mobile on a post paid account. I was tempted to go the prepaid route but the better CS and support on post paid while still being contract free tempted me to choose post paid. Also with a discount the $60 plan was only $51 for me. Honestly if you want a post paid account just try, you never know and the requirements on a credit check through a cell phone company aren't that strict.

Trust me I went through BK about 3.5 years ago and I'm still recovering but AT&T and T-Mobile takes me. Sprint even takes me but on an ASL last I had them but that's because I owed them money (and they STILL let me sign up) but it was discharged on my bankruptcy. My credit has gotten much better these days but trust me it's still not that great and I do have the negative mark on my file regardless of my credit score.

I was still able to also get DirecTV just fine and have several store cards so I am rebuilding and who knows maybe T-Mobile would approve you as well. By the way little suggestion if Sprint works for you and you really prefer to have a post paid account for whatever reason consider them. Out of all of the four providers Sprint seems to have the most lax credit standards and honestly takes about anybody. Even if Sprint pulls a deposit for you, it's much lower than any other carrier.

If you are certain you would not pass though or are just plain uncomfortable with giving out your SSN just go ahead and give T-Mobile prepaid a try. It's still the best prepaid rate plans from the four major providers there is and as the user said above its really the same rate plans just with a couple of minor differences that may not matter to you.

 

[I luv trolling]

Well their is a few more differences. On post paid services you have access to corporate discounts if you work for a company that provides them and also you get better CS and support from T-Mobile on a post paid account. I was tempted to go the prepaid route but the better CS and support on post paid while still being contract free tempted me to choose post paid. Also with a discount the $60 plan was only $51 for me. Honestly if you want a post paid account just try, you never know and the requirements on a credit check through a cell phone company aren't that strict.

....<trimmed quoted post for brevity>

Which phones are available on t-mobile's prepaid?

 

[Crashdamage]

You cannot get a phone from any provider without a SSN. You would have to bring your own.

Edit: Or pay full retail up front.

 

[comicalmoodyda]

Which phones are available on t-mobile's prepaid?

You can buy any phone at full retail and put it on a prepaid plan, however your cheaper option is to buy a prepaid package found in retail stores. Target has a deal this week on the LG Optimus L9. Until May 18th if you buy the phone and a $50 card you get 20% off the phone. This makes your total $210 for the phone and a $50 refill card or $200 if you use a red credit/debit card.

T-Mobile has a list of prepaid packages on their website but I strongly recommend against buying directly from T-Mobile's website. Their phone packages are usually very over priced and you can usually find them much cheaper in retail stores or even off Amazon.com sometimes.

 

[AUCLABruin]

In addition to comical's advice, you could also buy used phones. They're often a lot cheaper than the new ones (except for recent releases). However, you need to check that the IMEI number is clean to activate.

 

[comicalmoodyda]

You know I typically don't recommend buying used phone's off the internet or even from somebody. Yes you may get them at a cheaper price but let's say for instance Target. You get 90 days to return something there (120 if on a red card) and if it goes on a credit card or red card debit/credit they can swipe your card and find your receipt and give you an instant refund.

Walmart's is similar I believe they have a 90 day return window too although you must keep a receipt at Walmart as they can't look them up there at all and some things vary on the window of return.

If you buy from eBay, Craigslist or through somebody you know you are really taking a chance of being disappointed and potentially out your money. I've bought four items off eBay including two cell phones and two computers. Both phones were not in good condition and one was just terrible. Both computers I bought off eBay also had issues that neither seller told me. The thing is all the sellers I bought from had excellent reviews too. I've personally never bought anything off Craigslist but I've heard horror stories and then you run the risk of meeting some crazy person in person, call me paranoid but no thanks to that.

I'll stick to the big box retailers. You can still get some good deals and your phone is going to be brand new and backed by a good return policy usually or at least a decent one. That's something eBay, Craigslist, and just buying from somebody can't offer.

 

[mogelijk]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned buying the Nexus 4. You can buy it directly from Google Play it at either $299 for the 8 MB version, or $349 for the 16 MB.

 

[I luv trolling]

The nexus 4 is certainly a bargain but at that price point the memory is just too little especially considering non expandable memory. How much could i get a nexus 4 for straight from t mobile? I know their website offers it for 447$ (outrageous!) But i doubt it will.be the same case locally.

 

[jhawkkw]

If you're going to get a N4, get it from Google directly at the 300 or 350. It's cheaper in the long run there than any other place. Then you have the device and thus can use prepaid where the ssn number won't be required.

 

[new optimus]

The nexus 4 is certainly a bargain but at that price point the memory is just too little especially considering non expandable memory. How much could i get a nexus 4 for straight from t mobile? I know their website offers it for 447$ (outrageous!) But i doubt it will.be the same case locally.

I bought the 16gb because I didnt want to run into problems with running out of space, and I keep my music stored on the phone I still have 5gbs free.

Many people just use cloud storage and stream everything they use up way less phone space that way.

either way it has not been as much of a problem as I initially thought it might be. I also have 5 or 6 nandroid back ups on the sd card that I should move over to the computer but have not gotten around to doing yet. at well over 600mb a pop that would free up some space.

As to buying from t mobile locally expect to pay at least what the website offers it for and maybe more after you factor in taxes and any store fee.

 

[I luv trolling]

After seeing how many complications are involved in this business I think Ill just go the finance route. It is a good deal considering its not binding. My credit score is fine if not great Im just not comfortable disclosing it for whatever little thing but a credit check is reasonable. That said, what is more recommendable? The htc one for 100$ down and 20/mo or the nexus 4 at 20$ down and 17/mo? My main use will be web browsing and gaming.

 

[new optimus]

After seeing how many complications are involved in this business I think Ill just go the finance route. It is a good deal considering its not binding. My credit score is fine if not great Im just not comfortable disclosing it for whatever little thing but a credit check is reasonable. That said, what is more recommendable? The htc one for 100$ down and 20/mo or the nexus 4 at 20$ down and 17/mo? My main use will be web browsing and gaming.

Both are very good phones, but remember the nexus 4 is actually last generation the htc one is newer and has slightly better specs. And from what I understand things like the camera are better.
Also even though the nexus 4 is LTE capable its not officially supported so you have to do some software hacks to make it work while the htc has LTE right from the start.
The nexus of course will have the most current android as soon as its released if your not into changing roms and just like the stock android.

So in my opinion even though I have and love the nexus 4 I would go with the htc one if your financing it.

 

[comicalmoodyda]

The HTC One is getting great reviews and honestly in my opinion it's the best smart phone you can get now. Go for it, remember to check your corp discounts too you might just get a bit off. As I said before the $60 plan knocked me down to $51 a month with my discount.

I understand about not wanting a hard inquiry on your report but it sounds like you very rarely hit your credit so T-Mobile showing up on your report as a hard inquiry isn't really going to hurt you. You are expected to have a few every so often with no negative effects really, just as long as you don't go on some hard inquiry spree or apply for stuff all the time you are fine.

An important thing to remember is you are still in a contract with financing. You are responsible for those $20 payments for two years and if you cancel early you owe what's left. IMO this is essentially a two year contract unless you want to pay a high phone fee to cancel. That being said if T-Mobile is fine in your area you can't beat it. If you go for the $60 plan thats still only $80 a month for Unlimited Voice, TXT/MMS, and 2.5 GB of data. You can't beat that for a post paid plan.

 

[I luv trolling]

I was considering just buying an unlocked nexus 4 (especially since an updated nexus 4 is likely at I/O and price might drop on old one) and just going and getting that activated

 

[comicalmoodyda]

If you get a Nexus 4 just get it from the Google store. It's completely unlocked and $350 for the phone. You can just shove any SIM card in the phone and you are good to go. The Nexus 4 and a T-Mobile SIM card is a good choice.