iPhone and Shi-T-Mobile: A good option, and a cheap one too!
I just wanted to clarify for anyone who is interested in using an iPhone with
Shi-T-Mobile that this is a great option. I've been using T-Mobile since 2001 and I bought an iPhone about 6 months ago. I told the T-Mobile representative on the phone that I have an iPhone and I need help setting it up for Data. I had already unlocked and jailbroken my phone using
PWNAGETool and the
Unlock Guide, which are free downloads, and I'm technologically retarded so if I can do it, ANYONE can do it. It took me an hour the first time, but it only took 15 minutes the second time I had to do it when I broke my first iPhone and traded it in for a second one. They said just put the SIM card in at the top and then they transferred me to a specialist who was more familiar with iPhones. They actually have
special technical support specialists who deal with the iPhone even though it's not a T-mobile phone.
Like the earlier posts said, the people at T-Mobile just said to input
internet2.voicestream.com into the APN (not the VPN) under Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network -> APN. The representative said I had to buy the $39.99 plan and that she wasn't allowed to give me the $19.99 plan so I hung up, called back and got another representative on the phone and he allowed me the
$19.99 plan. With T-Mobile, as with many other companies, it's all about the representative you get on the phone. If you don't get what you want, just call back and get another rep. until you get what you want! There's no reason to pay $39.99 when you can have unlimited texts and data for 19.99. That's right, UNLIMITED data for $19.99. HOW?, you ask. Well, you call them back after having the plan for a couple of days, and you tell them that you can't monitor your MB usage on the T-Mobile MyMobile webpage. So you don't know when you will go over the allotted 100MB (I know you can monitor on the phone, but they don't offer a way to monitor on their webpage, so they can't expect you to know how much you have used). So I told them I didn't wanna go over my 100MB and pay extra. After all, they give you 4 different ways to monitor your minutes and text message usage, so why can't they give you ONE way to monitor your data usage.
The supervisor got on the phone and told me that until they figure out how to change this to allow the user to monitor their data, they wouldn't charge if I go over my allotted 100MB. In other words, unlimited data for $19.99. So when they DO figure out how to update their webpage, I'll just call back and tell them I've been with them for 8 years, I've been getting unlimited data for $19.99 and I don't think it's fair for them to start charging me $40 instaed of $20 all of the sudden
. They'll say thank you for being a loyal customer and we'll take care of it.
Now, Shi-T-Mobile may not have the best service, and there may be some drop zones and so on and so forth, but unlimited minutes for $49.99 and unlimited texts and data for $19.99 is just UNBEATABLE.
So, I reiterate, having an iPhone with Shi-T-Mobile is definitely an option, and a cheap one at that!
The only downside is you can't use the 3G network of T-Mobile with the iPhone, and this is for technical reasons, not because T-Mobile doesn't want you to use their 3G network with another companies phone. But most of the time, you are using a WiFi or LAN signal anyways, so it's not a big deal. And the EDGE network isn't that slow. But if you want the 3G speeds, stick with AT&T or get the Google phone on T-Mobile (I still say get the iPhone with T-Mobile).
I hope this encourages someone who is unsure what to do to switch to the iPhone and enjoy the cheap service of T-Mobile. The iPhone is a life changing peice of equipment, and this is coming from a guy who isn't really too into technology.
Best,
-gmudotedu
