• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Verizon note 2 to T-Mobile prepaid

crapple

Newbie
Jul 18, 2011
20
3
I'm gonna take the plunge to the unlimited/100 min plan. I read that my note 2 is an international phone. Do I need to get it unlocked or can I just pop in the SIM card from the start up plan and go? Also, I read that once I port my number to t-mo, I can then port it to Google voice instead of them issuing me another number. Has anyone done that? I'm wanna try using voip instead using the minutes on the plan.
 
My understanding is that you will need to unlock the phone. Also, from what I can find, you will only get "3G" (HSPA+) speeds in areas that T-Mobile has refarmed to work on the AT&T 3G frequency (1900 Mhz). This map shows where 3G on 1900 Mhz has been found. It also seems that you will not be able to get LTE on T-Mobile with this phone (T-Mobile uses Band 4, the Verizon Note II appears to only support Band 13).

I have the $30 plan and use a combination of GrooveIP and Google Voice to get "free" minutes using VoIP. I'd port your current number to Google Voice, have T-Mobile give you a new number, and then have Google Voice forward the calls to your new T-Mobile number. Personally, I only use GrooveIP (VoIP) when connected to WiFi but have all my calls sent through my Google Voice number. You can also send SMS texts to your Google Voice numbers, though last I knew it would not support MMS texts (texts with video or picture attached).
 
Upvote 0
I'm gonna take the plunge to the unlimited/100 min plan. I read that my note 2 is an international phone. Do I need to get it unlocked or can I just pop in the SIM card from the start up plan and go? Also, I read that once I port my number to t-mo, I can then port it to Google voice instead of them issuing me another number. Has anyone done that? I'm wanna try using voip instead using the minutes on the plan.

Just wanted to remind that sim unlocking without carrier approval is against the law in the US currently. So let's stay away from discussing how to do that here, alright :)




My understanding is that you will need to unlock the phone. Also, from what I can find, you will only get "3G" (HSPA+) speeds in areas that T-Mobile has refarmed to work on the AT&T 3G frequency (1900 Mhz). This map shows where 3G on 1900 Mhz has been found. It also seems that you will not be able to get LTE on T-Mobile with this phone (T-Mobile uses Band 4, the Verizon Note II appears to only support Band 13).

I have the $30 plan and use a combination of GrooveIP and Google Voice to get "free" minutes using VoIP. I'd port your current number to Google Voice, have T-Mobile give you a new number, and then have Google Voice forward the calls to your new T-Mobile number. Personally, I only use GrooveIP (VoIP) when connected to WiFi but have all my calls sent through my Google Voice number. You can also send SMS texts to your Google Voice numbers, though last I knew it would not support MMS texts (texts with video or picture attached).

This just about covers everything. Just be aware that Google charges $20 for a number porting.
 
Upvote 0
My point was that they would have the most factual info about how to make it work. Also, do you jaywalk? That's about as big a crime as unlocking your own phone. Isn't rooting tablets still illegal? yet there are many sections on here about doing just that. Not sure where I said unlocking anywhere but whatever.

I'm really not being snotty but that particular area wasn't mentioned at all in the op.
 
Upvote 0
My point was that they would have the most factual info about how to make it work. Also, do you jaywalk? That's about as big a crime as unlocking your own phone. Isn't rooting tablets still illegal? yet there are many sections on here about doing just that. Not sure where I said unlocking anywhere but whatever.
Sorry, I quoted the wrong post :eek:. I'll fix that because it was the OP that mentioned unlocking.

But to answer your question about rooting, it remains legal on phones, but not on tablets for some odd reason. :thinking: The DMCA certainly is weird in it's rules. Both unlocking & rooting a tablet are the equivalent to copyright infringement according to the law, which carries a 2500 fine per device and up to 1 year in jail. Certainly much bigger penalty than what jaywalking can get you. But I don't foresee it being that way because it will eventually get repealed.
 
Upvote 0
The legal speak is odd, because according to the DMCA:

Found significant merit to the opposition’s concerns that this aspect of the proposed class was broad and ill-defined, as a wide range of devices might be considered ‘tablets,’ notwithstanding the significant distinctions among them in terms of the way they operate, their intended purposes, and the nature of the applications they can accommodate. For example, an e-book reading device might be considered a ‘tablet,’ as might a handheld video game device or a laptop computer.

So, it's essentially legal if the manufacturer lets you. Many tablets have unlocked/unlockable bootloaders by design or an unlocker tool provided by the OEM. By permitting unlocking, it by default permits rooting because you have no eliminated the security preventing it.
 
Upvote 0
Well, the OP just said they may need to get it unlocked, which isn't necessarily against the law. They may have been intending to have the carrier do it. Or if the phone in question was purchased before the new ruling went into effect (late January, I believe) it's completely legal to do it yourself. With the Note 2, that's a definite possibility.


To the OP, I don't know much about the Verizon version of the note 2, is it dual cdma/gsm? It will need a sim card slot and the appropriate radios to even have the possibility of working on T-Mobile. You should find out the specifics of what it has and compare them to the sticky here (http://androidforums.com/showthread.php?t=706991) in the T-Mobile section to see if it is what is needed.
 
Upvote 0
I paid over $160/month for 2 smartphone plans on Sprint. Now, with TMo ppd/$30 a month plan, I pay $60/month for 2 smartphones.


wait so you pay for both the note and amaze? Or is it just the note and another family members phone?




That was for just two smartphones, 700 total minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data on each line. It was crazy expensive and I had enough of the prices and Verizon's crap like locked bootloaders and blocking google wallet.

Yeah if we are going to pay that much the least they can do is unlock the bootloader and allow stuff like that. Thank goodness for T-Mobile.
 
Upvote 0
wait so you pay for both the note and amaze? Or is it just the note and another family members phone?






Yeah if we are going to pay that much the least they can do is unlock the bootloader and allow stuff like that. Thank goodness for T-Mobile.


I pay for my Note and my wife's Galaxy Nexus. I do sometimes take my sim out of the Note and put it in the Amaze
 
  • Like
Reactions: SuperAfnan
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones