Downside? Just the coverage really and that varies by location. If you've got good coverage and don't need a lot of minutes, it's a good plan.
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Carrier T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)
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No real catch....very straightforward plan. Been on it for a year and a half and love it!
I don't think you get unlimited streaming....that's only for postpaid (as is the very cheap international voice roaming and free 2G international data roaming). I listen to a couple of hours of siriusxm online daily and usually end up around 3GB used monthly....have never come close to overusing data. Extra minutes are $0.10 so it's a good deal even if you occasionally use up to 300 minutes in a month.
I use mostly data and not voice, so this plan can't be beat! If you have good T-mobile coverage where you are, I would dump ATT in a heartbeat! Even if you decide this isn't the plan for you, all of their other plans are more favorable than what ATT offers.
Thanks for the insight! Are you able to confirm if the mobile hotspot & iOS visual voicemail (not tmobile app) is functional? I read back further and it seems to be unclear.
I did do the math and it looks like even up to 300 minutes is very cheap on occasion. I have gone over 200 minutes once in the last 6 months, and usually use around 100-150. I'm just trying to see what the differences between tmobile prepaid and postpaid are before I make the jump.
I'm in Minneapolis, and tmobile has excellent coverage here, so I'm not worried about the coverage.
Visual voicemail works although I did have to manually change the device in my account to the iPhone 5c for it to work. I've got a Verizon iPhone and it seems T-Mobile's system doesn't recognize it automatically.
Tethering used to be a $15 add-on but it looks like they've recently included it as part of the base plan.
T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)
I'm in Minneapolis as well and couldn't be happier. Visual voicemail works for sure. Hotspot recently started working! It wasn't before. I don't use it much so I can't say for sure if you can use the full 5GB over hotspot or if they only allow a small subset of it to be used. In the past they charged $15 a month to turn on hotspot....so I can't say for sure if it's going to keep working in an ongoing fashion.....I don't think they promise the feature anywhere.
Only caution...are you going to use your ATT phone? Make sure it's unlocked. And what model is it? Only 5 since April 2013 and 5S fully support Tmo's LTE/4G HSPA+.
I'm in Minneapolis as well and couldn't be happier. Visual voicemail works for sure. Hotspot recently started working! It wasn't before. I don't use it much so I can't say for sure if you can use the full 5GB over hotspot or if they only allow a small subset of it to be used. In the past they charged $15 a month to turn on hotspot....so I can't say for sure if it's going to keep working in an ongoing fashion.....I don't think they promise the feature anywhere.
Only caution...are you going to use your ATT phone? Make sure it's unlocked. And what model is it? Only 5 since April 2013 and 5S fully support Tmo's LTE/4G HSPA+.
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I currently have an ATT iPhone 5, but would be using this new plan for the iPhone 6 by buying it unlocked from Apple in September.
That's great news about hotspot and visual voicemail! I couldn't care less about the international roaming features. When I travel out of the country, I have a work "dumb" phone I can use for international calling when I'm abroad. And even that is only once or twice a year.
I just contacted tmobile support and they claim that the free music streaming is included on prepaid plans too!
This plan sounds too good to be true, and would literally cut the cost of owning two iPhones by almost $1800 every two years even after paying full price for the phone.
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Thanks for the info!
T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)
I don't know for sure if I would trust Ralph, but I hope it's true!! I'm not exactly sure how I'd check other than to listen to iTunes Radio for a long time and check my data use.
For international travel I use different VOIP apps and wifi. Vonage has a good one that will even show your actual number on caller ID when you call. Also google hangouts lets you call US numbers free. It remains to be seen if prepaid numbers will get iOS 8's wifi calling feature, but wifi calling uses your minutes anyway, so a third party VOIP app is a better choice.
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You can sign up for the $30 plan and get a new number and use it for a week or so and then call Tmobile and have them port your ATT number later.....you don't have to port immediately on signing up. That's what I did.....but it only took 1 day to convince me! Lol. Also be aware that ATT keeps the whole amount they bill you for your final month's service....you won't get a prorated refund, so time it to port out with just a day or two to go in the month.....not just a couple of days into the next month.
I don't know for sure if I would trust Ralph, but I hope it's true!! I'm not exactly sure how I'd check other than to listen to iTunes Radio for a long time and check my data use.
For international travel I use different VOIP apps and wifi. Vonage has a good one that will even show your actual number on caller ID when you call. Also google hangouts lets you call US numbers free. It remains to be seen if prepaid numbers will get iOS 8's wifi calling feature, but wifi calling uses your minutes anyway, so a third party VOIP app is a better choice.
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You can sign up for the $30 plan and get a new number and use it for a week or so and then call Tmobile and have them port your ATT number later.....you don't have to port immediately on signing up. That's what I did.....but it only took 1 day to convince me! Lol. Also be aware that ATT keeps the whole amount they bill you for your final month's service....you won't get a prorated refund, so time it to port out with just a day or two to go in the month.....not just a couple of days into the next month.
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I personally believe T-mobile's prepaid is a better option than postpaid. Your fee is exactly $30. The other's will have taxes. If you buy refills in Minnesota you will pay sales tax on the refill, so it will cost you something like $32.25. If you happen to have a Target Red Card, you can buy the refills there and get 5% off for using the Red Card, so it comes closer to a 2.5% markup.
You can also buy online from a place like callingmart.com They are totally legitimate. They used to offer slight discounts, but now have a 2% markup as I believe T-mobile cut the commission they used to pay resellers. So it costs $30.60 and there is no sales tax charged. They have some sort of rewards program that mitigates this up charge if you regularly buy from them. They also offer both emailed codes and direct top ups. I would buy an emailed code the first time and use it online when you register your SIM and choose your plan. Then you can do the direct top ups later. You can even set them up to top you up regularly. This is better than choosing to have Tmobile top you up regularly as Tmobile will just top you up with the exact amount for your plan and you won't have any credit remaining if you go over your minutes....I usually leave about a month's credit ahead on my balance. Also if you have Tmobile top you up, they will charge sales tax in MN.
The cheapest but a bit riskier way to buy credit is to search for "Tmobile Refill" on ebay. You need to be careful though. There used be be great deals there, but not so much anymore. It's rumored that a lot of the codes for sale there used to be stolen. As the prices have risen dramatically, I think Tmobile was successful at cracking down on the criminals that were selling there. I'm guessing the remaining ones are people who have a legitimate way to get Tmobile codes (may own a convenience store or something like that). Most want you to give your number and they apply the credit directly. I have used those. Some want you to give your account PIN as well. I have never used those as it seems sketchy to me, especially as it is possible to add credit without having a PIN number.
I used to really want tethering so I could use my iPad with my phone. But I actually got a Tmobile SIM for it as well and they give 200MB free monthly. Which is more than enough for the few times I take it out of the house. That's why, even though tethering is now allowed, I haven't really had to use it much.
I am a huge advocate for T-mobile....thank goodness they finally got legitimate access to the iPhone.
The only "catch" to these rates is that they are not subsidizing a phone. So you will be spending at least $650 for a new iPhone when you decide to upgrade. The savings more than pay that back. Also prepaid plans aren't eligible for T-mobile's interest free financing plans, so you will have to pay up front. Don't buy your phone from T-mobile, but rather from Apple. If they don't change their policy getting a "device only" phone will be unlocked instantly. If you buy from T-mobile you will need to go through them to get it unlocked after 60 days or something like that...too much hassle. Also you have the freedom to buy an ATT, T-mobile, or Verizon model device only and all will work perfectly. ATT/T-mobile versions are the exact same phone with same bands. Verizon phone is the same but adds CDMA capability. Verizon would probably have best resale possibility as it could be used on any of the 3 carriers. Don't buy a Sprint one under any circumstances!
Probably too much info, but I did tons of homework on this when I switched and I'm more than happy to share my experiences!
You can also buy online from a place like callingmart.com They are totally legitimate. They used to offer slight discounts, but now have a 2% markup as I believe T-mobile cut the commission they used to pay resellers. So it costs $30.60 and there is no sales tax charged. They have some sort of rewards program that mitigates this up charge if you regularly buy from them. They also offer both emailed codes and direct top ups. I would buy an emailed code the first time and use it online when you register your SIM and choose your plan. Then you can do the direct top ups later. You can even set them up to top you up regularly. This is better than choosing to have Tmobile top you up regularly as Tmobile will just top you up with the exact amount for your plan and you won't have any credit remaining if you go over your minutes....I usually leave about a month's credit ahead on my balance. Also if you have Tmobile top you up, they will charge sales tax in MN.
The cheapest but a bit riskier way to buy credit is to search for "Tmobile Refill" on ebay. You need to be careful though. There used be be great deals there, but not so much anymore. It's rumored that a lot of the codes for sale there used to be stolen. As the prices have risen dramatically, I think Tmobile was successful at cracking down on the criminals that were selling there. I'm guessing the remaining ones are people who have a legitimate way to get Tmobile codes (may own a convenience store or something like that). Most want you to give your number and they apply the credit directly. I have used those. Some want you to give your account PIN as well. I have never used those as it seems sketchy to me, especially as it is possible to add credit without having a PIN number.
I used to really want tethering so I could use my iPad with my phone. But I actually got a Tmobile SIM for it as well and they give 200MB free monthly. Which is more than enough for the few times I take it out of the house. That's why, even though tethering is now allowed, I haven't really had to use it much.
I am a huge advocate for T-mobile....thank goodness they finally got legitimate access to the iPhone.
The only "catch" to these rates is that they are not subsidizing a phone. So you will be spending at least $650 for a new iPhone when you decide to upgrade. The savings more than pay that back. Also prepaid plans aren't eligible for T-mobile's interest free financing plans, so you will have to pay up front. Don't buy your phone from T-mobile, but rather from Apple. If they don't change their policy getting a "device only" phone will be unlocked instantly. If you buy from T-mobile you will need to go through them to get it unlocked after 60 days or something like that...too much hassle. Also you have the freedom to buy an ATT, T-mobile, or Verizon model device only and all will work perfectly. ATT/T-mobile versions are the exact same phone with same bands. Verizon phone is the same but adds CDMA capability. Verizon would probably have best resale possibility as it could be used on any of the 3 carriers. Don't buy a Sprint one under any circumstances!
Probably too much info, but I did tons of homework on this when I switched and I'm more than happy to share my experiences!
T-Mobile $30 Prepaid plan (100 min, unlimited text, 5GB of 4G LTE data)
I really appreciate all the info.
I signed up for the test drive program to see if I will get service in my work building. If I get service, I think I'll make the switch.
100 minutes is low, but with FaceTime audio, I think it's manageable. Even having the option to go up to 300 minutes when needed for $50/month is still a great deal in my opinion.
The 5 GB of data for $30 is really to hard to pass up as long as I can use it in the building I work in 9 hours a day.
I really appreciate all the info.
I signed up for the test drive program to see if I will get service in my work building. If I get service, I think I'll make the switch.
100 minutes is low, but with FaceTime audio, I think it's manageable. Even having the option to go up to 300 minutes when needed for $50/month is still a great deal in my opinion.
The 5 GB of data for $30 is really to hard to pass up as long as I can use it in the building I work in 9 hours a day.
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If you have decent network coverage in your area, and don't mind T-Mobile's many coverage gaps in the outlying and rural areas, then I can't think of too many downsides. That's why I've had the service since last September (when my 5s arrived), and have yet to see any alternatives out there that might tempt me into switching.
One potential issue is that if you switch to a different plan (for example, one of the prepaid plans with unlimited voice minutes on those months that you anticipate needing to talk more), you cannot switch back to the $30 plan afterwards. My understanding is that you can swap in an unactivated SIM card and then choose the $30 plan again. But, you then would have to go through the steps of moving your cell number back over.
Also, when trying to activate the plan online, the website asked for an ID number that would normally come with a retail SIM kit. However, the preinstalled T-Mobile SIM on my 5s did not have that number available. So, I had to call T-Mobile customer service, where they promptly activated the $30 plan and gave me the steps needed to transfer my number over. They even called me back later on to confirm the transfer. Really good service. Then again, I always had good service with AT&T as well, including when I requested deactivation of my prepaid account there -- although they made out well, since I had to forfeit more than $40 of rollover minutes when I switched.
I only bring this up because the $30 plan is supposedly only available online or at Walmart. However, I was offered the option when activating my phone with a T-Mobile operator.
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I just confirmed this with iTunes Radio! I didn't bother checking before, because T-Mobile had indicated that the free music streaming applied only to their Simple Choice plans. (I also confirmed that the free music data does NOT apply to iTunes Match.) So, it looks like T-Mobile has thrown in yet another unannounced freebie for their prepaid customers, along with the Mobile Hotspot that normally costs $15/month prorated.
Wow, at the rate I'm going, I will have less than 1 GB of data usage counted for this month. Normally, I have 3-4 GB counted against my plan primarily because of music streaming.
Looking at the My Data Manager app, I actually used 11 GB of data last month, but most of that was from speed testing apps that T-Mobile began whitelisting last year to try and encourage their customers to crowdsource the data coverage maps from RootMetrics, Ookla, and others.
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Just plug the same sim into your new phone or get w new sim and call tmo to have them activate it for you on your existing plan.
I took the SIM out of my 5S and put it in my 6 Plus. Simple as that.
If your previous phone didn't have a nano SIM, either cut it down or better yet get a new T-Mobile SIM and just call customer service to transfer service to the new card.
I want to, but I want to use their installment plan, which I was told I can't do on a pre-paid plan. So it's either buy the phone outright and keep my plan or switch to one of their post paid plans and do the installment plan.
Just popped the sim from my 5s to the 6.
I've been using this plan under prepaid for 2 years now. The guy at the T-Mobile store said I couldn't do it. I just called customer support a couple of times and was able to get the plan. I was not able to use Hotspot for about 1.5 years. I called T-Mobile and it said that the plan does not allow you to hotspot. Eventually though it allowed me to hotspot on a random day, and I've been a happy camper ever since. BTW, I literally use about 30 minutes a month, and only 2-2.3gb data max. I don't really use it for movies and such. Purely for playing games and social media/web browsing. I highly recommend it if you don't use a lot of minutes, but use a ton of data.
I'm done waiting on AT&T. Compared T-Mobile with AT&T on sensorly and root metrics. Did the 7 day test drive. I'll be making the switch this week. The savings is ridiculous for me not to switch in my situation.
Except wifi calling deducts from your 100 minute balance
What? Lol that is crazy. How do you know this?
Except wifi calling deducts from your 100 minute balance
True, but what's the issue with that? Wifi calling is a solution to poor coverage, not meant to give you unlimited minutes for free.
I personally still use other VOIP apps for outgoing calls. But if I get a call or text to my number I don't miss them if I'm in a poor coverage location.
You still need to choose your plan with the amount of service you plan to use. For me the $30 plan works great as I use a lot of data but very few minutes.
This is the same policy as AT&T has if you install a Microcell.....it still uses your minutes unless you pay an additional fee for unlimited Microcell minutes. But the Microcell just works in your house....it doesn't travel everywhere you have wifi....including internationally.