Noobish T-mobile pre-paid questions

[Geezer49]

Hi Everyone,

Hoping somebody won't mind answering what are probably a couple of recurring questions here. I'm thinking of signing up for tmobile's prepaid service, specifically their $30 unlimited data / 100 minute plan, and I have my eye on the Galaxy S2. I see that Walmart sells this phone, packaged with a one-month card, for $330 which seems like a pretty good deal. Before I jump, though, I wanted to make sure I understand a few things.

1. Would this phone be the exact same S2 that I would get from Tmobile if I signed up for a 2 year contract, or is it crippled in some way? My concern is that, if I find that 100 min. is not enough, or I want to change to a family plan with my wife in the future, that the prepaid S2 wouldn't work in a "contract" situation.

2. My other question is whether anyone knows if, when purchasing one of these Walmart bundles, you have the opportunity to add services to the plan, or if you are locked in to what comes with the phone? I would be interested in adding the hotspot capability for an extra $15 per month, and just want to be sure that it is possible. Do you get an opportunity, when you are activating the phone maybe, to add this service?

If anyone can shed some light, I would be most grateful Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[timelord65]

The galaxy s2 will be the same phone on prepaid or contract. Nothing is added or deleted.

 

[Atma]

Hi Geezer. Like Timelord said, it is the same phone on any plan. I'm on the $30 plan. I could go to my account now and add the $15 hotspot, so I'm sure you could select it as an option.

If you go over 100 minutes talk, the charge will be 10 cents a minute. If you want to upgrade to a contract family plan in the future, I'm sure T-Mobile would happily take your money.

 

[Geezer49]

Excellent. These are the answers I was hoping to hear. Kind of figured it would be this way, but I feel better now hearing it from you guys.

 

[SuperAfnan]

Is tmobile prepaid better than virgin Mobile service? I have the HTC evo V 4G (evo 3d). The WiMAX is fast but limited in areas (in other words not a huge amount of service). My speeds are about 5-10 mbps. I don't mean to steal the questions from the op but is it better to get the Samsung galaxy s2 on the 30 dollar 100 minute plan? Virgins 3g is sometimes as slow as a slug. Is tmobile a better option ? Do they have good coverage? thanks folks

 

[Atma]

I left VM in March when I bought my Galaxy S2 and went to T-Mobile. I don't regret it for a minute. Tmo's coverage can be spotty where I live, but they are spending billions upgrading and will have LTE next year. I generally get 4G in most areas. I could definitely tell a big difference (better) in speeds compared to VM. For $35 dollars with VM, I had 'supposedly' unlimited data but would be throttled after 2.5gb. With Tmo I have 5gb data for $30 a month and no throttling until I reach 5gb, not that I have ever come close.

 

[SuperAfnan]

I live in jville Florida and downtown I get WiMAX and around the heart of the city but in my neighborhood? X_X barely 2 bars of 3g and no 4G but I have Wifi so it doesn't matter too much. How good is groove ip or talkatone as a substitute for voice?

 

[doboy]

Hi Everyone,

Hoping somebody won't mind answering what are probably a couple of recurring questions here. I'm thinking of signing up for tmobile's prepaid service, specifically their $30 unlimited data / 100 minute plan, and I have my eye on the Galaxy S2. I see that Walmart sells this phone, packaged with a one-month card, for $330 which seems like a pretty good deal. Before I jump, though, I wanted to make sure I understand a few things.

1. Would this phone be the exact same S2 that I would get from Tmobile if I signed up for a 2 year contract, or is it crippled in some way? My concern is that, if I find that 100 min. is not enough, or I want to change to a family plan with my wife in the future, that the prepaid S2 wouldn't work in a "contract" situation.

2. My other question is whether anyone knows if, when purchasing one of these Walmart bundles, you have the opportunity to add services to the plan, or if you are locked in to what comes with the phone? I would be interested in adding the hotspot capability for an extra $15 per month, and just want to be sure that it is possible. Do you get an opportunity, when you are activating the phone maybe, to add this service?

If anyone can shed some light, I would be most grateful Thanks in advance for your help.

You can add other services (hotspot) using T-Mo online once you activate your phone.

 

[tube517]

I live in jville Florida and downtown I get WiMAX and around the heart of the city but in my neighborhood? X_X barely 2 bars of 3g and no 4G but I have Wifi so it doesn't matter too much. How good is groove ip or talkatone as a substitute for voice?

GrooveIP Lite over wifi is good and it's free. Haven't tried it over 3g/4g which is a paid app.

Talkatone is free but a work in progress. It has texting included and you can send pics within the aps. Call quality depends on the strength of your connection. Sometimes, the person I call hears an echo. There is a delay when conversing.

I have the $30/100 minute plan w/Tmobile and use Talkatone and GrooveIP lite (wifi only). I text more than talk.

 

[nailzer]

Will T-Mobile sell their contract phones outright? I'm also interested in the $30 prepaid service, but I want to buy the Samsung Galaxy 3 to use with the prepaid plan.

 

[mogelijk]

Is tmobile prepaid better than virgin Mobile service? I have the HTC evo V 4G (evo 3d). The WiMAX is fast but limited in areas (in other words not a huge amount of service). My speeds are about 5-10 mbps. I don't mean to steal the questions from the op but is it better to get the Samsung galaxy s2 on the 30 dollar 100 minute plan? Virgins 3g is sometimes as slow as a slug. Is tmobile a better option ? Do they have good coverage? thanks folks

I had Virgin until end June/beginning of July when I bought a Galaxy Nexus. I had a Evo V for a little less than a month and was so frustrated by the service that I returned it. Like you, I had very spotty 4G (in the Houston area) and bad 3G service.

While I typically could get a 3G signal with VM, my speeds were typically no better than 300-500 kbps, and frequently were under 128 kbps. With T-Mobile, my speeds typically are at least 3-5 mbps and can be as fast as 8 mbps. It is a huge difference.

Using GrooveIP (or other VoIP) over 4G all depends on the strength and quality of the connection. It can work well but, if the signal isn't solid, then you get echoes and drop offs. Personally, I'm in areas with WiFi enough that, unless I am using a lot of my minutes, I tend to use GrooveIP over WiFi only and use my minutes when away from WiFi.

Personally, I have no regrets going with T-Mobile. I've found the Galaxy Nexus to be an upgrade over the Evo V, even more of one when Jellybean was released. The SII should also make for a nice upgrade.

Will T-Mobile sell their contract phones outright? I'm also interested in the $30 prepaid service, but I want to buy the Samsung Galaxy 3 to use with the prepaid plan.

Yes, you can buy the contract phones outright, but be prepared to pay. I believe the SIII is around $600 currently to buy off contract.

 

[doboy]

Will T-Mobile sell their contract phones outright? I'm also interested in the $30 prepaid service, but I want to buy the Samsung Galaxy 3 to use with the prepaid plan.

That's what I did two weeks ago. One corp TMo store told me that I had to purchase it with their $50+ prepaid plan to buy it outright for $549. Another corp store told me the same thing over the phone, but I went to the store anyways and walked out with the S3 only. I had to purchase the activation kit online and cut the SIM (at TMo store) and activate it online.

 

[mogelijk]

That's what I did two weeks ago. One corp TMo store told me that I had to purchase it with their $50+ prepaid plan to buy it outright for $549. Another corp store told me the same thing over the phone, but I went to the store anyways and walked out with the S3 only. I had to purchase the activation kit online and cut the SIM (at TMo store) and activate it online.

T-Mobile stores should also have the Activation Kit, though I believe they charge more (full price at $6.99) than you can get it online ($0.99) -- though you don't have to wait for it to be shipped.

 

[doboy]

T-Mobile stores should also have the Activation Kit, though I believe they charge more (full price at $6.99) than you can get it online ($0.99) -- though you don't have to wait for it to be shipped.

They initially told me I could use the included microSIM, which of course wasn't true since you "need" the activation code. They wanted like $15 for the activation kit at my store.

 

[eljefe0000]

in reference to minutes being used up does anyone have experience with google voice and groove ip im looking into getting this plan as well if i can only use uo about 200 mintues of phone time ill be golden with this plan

 

[doboy]

in reference to minutes being used up does anyone have experience with google voice and groove ip im looking into getting this plan as well if i can only use uo about 200 mintues of phone time ill be golden with this plan

You can for $10 extra since $0.10/min after first 100 min.

 

[tube517]

in reference to minutes being used up does anyone have experience with google voice and groove ip im looking into getting this plan as well if i can only use uo about 200 mintues of phone time ill be golden with this plan

See the posts above

 

[nailzer]

Will T-Mobile sell their contract phones outright? I'm also interested in the $30 prepaid service, but I want to buy the Samsung Galaxy 3 to use with the prepaid plan.

Well Nailzer, since no one from the T-Mobile forum seem to know the answer to this question maybe I can help you out here. Direct from the mouth of a T-Mobile representative you CAN buy a contract phone without committing to a 2 year contract and use it as a prepaid telephone! Just FYI.

 

[doboy]

Well Nailzer, since no one from the T-Mobile forum seem to know the answer to this question maybe I can help you out here. Direct from the mouth of a T-Mobile representative you CAN buy a contract phone without committing to a 2 year contract and use it as a prepaid telephone! Just FYI.

Do you even read the replies or you just like posting? I've already answered that question YESTERDAY. :stupido:

 

[Petrah]

Yes, you can buy the contract phones outright, but be prepared to pay. I believe the SIII is around $600 currently to buy off contract.

That's what I did two weeks ago. One corp TMo store told me that I had to purchase it with their $50+ prepaid plan to buy it outright for $549. Another corp store told me the same thing over the phone, but I went to the store anyways and walked out with the S3 only. I had to purchase the activation kit online and cut the SIM (at TMo store) and activate it online.

Well Nailzer, since no one from the T-Mobile forum seem to know the answer to this question maybe I can help you out here. Direct from the mouth of a T-Mobile representative you CAN buy a contract phone without committing to a 2 year contract and use it as a prepaid telephone! Just FYI.

The question was indeed answered... twice.

 

[SuperAfnan]

Hey guys is the Samsung galaxy s2 a good phone for tmobile? I have the HTC evo V 4G (evo 3d). I think they're pretty much equal in specs but virgin's network (sprint's network) is limited in certain areas and often slow. Any other nice phones? I might consider buying a used one on ebay or amazon and could sell my phone there too.

 

[Atma]

Hey guys is the Samsung galaxy s2 a good phone for tmobile?

I really like mine. Walmart had a really good deal on them I think for $300 if you sign up for the $30 monthly plan (100 minutes, 5gb data).

 

[SuperAfnan]

I really like mine. Walmart had a really good deal on them I think for $300 if you sign up for the $30 monthly plan (100 minutes, 5gb data).

I heard the gnex is too. But I can get the s2 cheap.