T-Mobile? Anybody using it?

[Dean]

Their prepaid looks like the cheapest solution for my parents...

Expect service to be about the same as AT&T or not...

Anybody?

[van]

T-mobile is not as good as ATT concerning coverage....at least concerning data. T-mobile does however have amazing customer service and satisfaction ratings, If they only had the 3g here, I would take my Iphone off of ATT.

[van]

"While we're in school", I'm at a computer all day so the iphone's best feature(internet) is not an issue, I could be happy with a blackberry on T-mobile and an Ipod.

[Nick Koan]

From second hand experience, coverage isn't as good as AT&T. I thought they were supposed to have some sort of tower sharing agreement or something, but from day-to-day experience of one of my good friends, the coverage isn't as good as AT&T in semi-rural areas (like here). Bigger city experiences weren't as bad, IIRC.

[zpeed]

Coverage is not that good. T-Mobile free phone is nothing like ATT. Drop call, bad signal. If you upgrade the phone is might be better.

If you buy a prepay phone, Can switch to other company next month? Keep switching until find the one you like?

[KissMyAsthma]

Eh its not the best, not the worst.
I'm on a regular plan, not an as-you-go plan though, but coverage is decent.
Phone selection in my opinion is good but lacking in the smartphone department. I own a T-Mobile Shadow and I <3 it. Gotta love HTC.

[Tahoe C5]

I've had T-Mobile for 14 months, coverage here at Tahoe is inferior to my old Sprint / Nextel. Coverage is also marginal in the South Meadows area. I'm using a Blackberry 8700 which has performed very well. I will be leaving T-Mobile as soon as my contract expires.

[100_Percent_Juice]

I am using my storm on Verizon. I get coverage almost everywhere with Verizon which is good because I am always on the road. The phone is cool and the internet/email works fantastic but the phone responds extremely slow and is pissing me off.

[cody]

Responds to what slowly? Name calling? My old Razr V3M has the slowest menu (OS) ever. I got an oversized battery for it though and now I only have to charge it once a week, even using it as an MP3 Player in the car, etc.

Okay, that was OT.

[Dean]

So far, I am pretty happy, and you just can't beat <$.09/minute and $.09 send and $.045 receive texts on their prepaid plan. I figure I cut my cell bill by at least 60-75% if not more. I think I will average under $15/month and may go significantly lower.

It is going to be great for my parents as well. I bet the end up averaging only $7.50/month per phone including the cost of the phone!!!

If you want to know all the tricks, let me know. A real Señor Cheap Bastard special!!!

[cody]

Dude, I hardly ever talk on the phone. And I'm not on a contract but I still pay $45/mo depending on how may texts I get. Dean, I want that deal. No additional charges for long distance right? My GF still has a 707 area code on her phone.

[Dean]

OK, it goes like this...

T-mobile has two prepaid plans. The one we care about is Pay As you Go.

The gotcha with most prepaid plans is that the minutes only last 30-90 days and are way too expensive. There is one exception with T-mobile... Spend $100 and you get 1000 minutes that are good for 365 days!!!

It gets better though... Rather than paying by credit card, you can buy prepaid refill cards that you can Use in any combination to add up to $100.

The $25 cards regularly sell for $20-22.50 on eBay or even at normal vendors on-line. you don't even need the physical card. The card has a PIN number on it that is covered by the silver "scratcher" lottery card goop. Some sellers will rub the goop off and just email you the PIN codes. Make sure they have good feedback and a history of selling these cards...

If you have MS Live and signup for cashback, the best regular deal without bidding on anything is Wallmart 0n-line
Sorry, I can't get tags to work with brackets in them:

http://search.live.com/products/T-Mo...e=cashback&p1=[CommerceService+scenario%3d%22o%22+docid%3d%229FA9 B9D92F469AA15487%22+p%3d%22df5c7f1ba4404c05b3f423c 4e307eee6%22]&wf=Commerce&FORM=ENCA

$23.75-5% cashback($1.1875) = $21.875. So if you are willing to wait for mail and cashback, that should be your max snipe bid on ebay... $21.875X4=87.5

That means your 1000 minutes are now $.0875 each, your text messages are $.0875 to send and $.04375 to receive.

Even if you pay $22.50 on eBay to get the PINS quickly, You are still at $.09 and .045...

You just can't beat that deal.

I got an even better deal which has vanished for a bit. I got a new Nokia 1208 phone with a free $25 refill card for $19.99 so I only had to buy 3 cards. that deal will probably come back in 15-30 days... (That is now my "beach" phone. never take your good phone to the beach or party where there is a pool.)

On Phones:

If you already have a GSM phone, you can likely get it unlocked and move it to T-Mobile assuming you are out of contract. I just bought a AT&T RAZR V3 on eBay for $20 bucks and AT&T was happy to give me the unlock code. I have all the cables to unlock it if they didn't. I actually flashed the T-Mobile firmware onto it and then reskinned it and such, so it looks like a T-mobile phone, well sort of.

So, if you don't buy a t-mobile phone, you will need to buy a T-Mobile SIM card for $7 on their web site or again, for less on ebay, etc.

I also have a USB SIM reader if you need to copy your contacts.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[cody]

Cool. How do I determine if I can use my Razr V3M that I've had through Verizon for 3 years?

Can I keep the same number?

[100_Percent_Juice]

I think if you take a Verizon # with you then its going to cost money. If they even let you.

[Dean]

I transferred my number from Verizon. No fee, but you do need a new phone with a SIM card. Call me if you want more details.

Verizon = CDMA, T-Mobile=GSM.

You can check transferability here

[Dean]

Bump for status update.

I have 12 minutes left, having burned a ton in the past few months for business or I would have enough to get me back to April maybe. (Most of those were waiting for/talking to the bloody VOIP vendor which is kind of ironic.)

So, if we call it 9 months (really 9.5) even worst case, which this was not for the phone cards, my cell phone cost me $10/month... it was probably closer to $9.00!!!

Now with Bing cashback and ebay bucks, my next 1150 minutes will be only about $80. or $.0696/minute/outbound text, and 1/2 that for incoming.

Not too bad.

[cody]

What if you start dating a young chick though?

[Dean]

Originally Posted by cody

What if you start dating a young chick though?

I'll have way more to occupy my time than my phone bill.

[tysonK]

So if everyone on the forum started texting you all the time we'd throw your budget out the window?

[100_Percent_Juice]

^Dean, have you been out of the game that long? You will at least need an unlimited text plan.

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by tysonK

So if everyone on the forum started texting you all the time we'd throw your budget out the window?

I text him sometimes just to hear him gripe about it.

[Dean]

I just use it however I need to, voice, or text. This works for me, and I thought I'd share an update. If my needs change, so will my plan.

There are pre-payed plans with unlimited text from some vendors, etc...

If you just blindly keep paying your $40,60+ cell bill without analyzing your actual usage and doing the math, you deserve what you get. Don't forget to include all the taxes, etc in your analysis. Pre-paid has none of those.

Even family plans can be a rip off if you don't know what you are paying for.

[khail19]

Texting drives me nuts, I don't have a text plan on my phone either.

[100_Percent_Juice]

^that would explain why you never respond to any of my texts.

[cody]

Originally Posted by khail19

Texting drives me nuts, I don't have a text plan on my phone either.

I used to be the same way so I got the $5/mo 300 msg plan. Even though I usually don't actually hit the 33 mesage/month threshold where it pays off, it takes away that anoyance that somebody just took 15 cents out of your pocket, every time you get a text. I realize I'm wasting money to trick myself, but I'm okay with that.

Also, trying to "shoot the shit" via texting is lame.