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All iPads T Mobile and the 200 MB Plan
- Thread starter PCtoMAC1
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It won't be and TMobile is hoping people will buy additional data once the 200 mb are used up.
And stay away from speedtest apps when using the 200MB free. It will eat up your bandwidth in just a few tests.
200mb is enough if you are usually on wifi and just want low volume connectivity when on the go.
If your usage/needs are different it probably won't be enough.
Nice thing is the carriers have a variety of GB/month prepaid plans at different $/GB rates so you can get the one that fits your needs. Even better, since iPads are unlocked you can flip flop between carriers/plans if your needs change. (subject to Sprint and VZW being stubborn about disallowing other carrier iPads on their networks)
If your usage/needs are different it probably won't be enough.
Nice thing is the carriers have a variety of GB/month prepaid plans at different $/GB rates so you can get the one that fits your needs. Even better, since iPads are unlocked you can flip flop between carriers/plans if your needs change. (subject to Sprint and VZW being stubborn about disallowing other carrier iPads on their networks)
True. I have several sim cards activated for T-Mobile and two activated for AT&T since I have an iPad and a Nexus 7. I can use any card for either device but not all the cards are activated with data plans right now.
On a kind of off note, I have found that using AT&T on my iPad and Nexus 7 tends to wear down my batteries more than with T-Mobile. I also found the same to be true with my iPhones over the past year. On AT&T my iPad/Nexus 7 lasts maybe a day, on T-Mobile, I can easily get both to last 2-3 days. It's clearly due to bad reception on AT&T.
Yes, signal strength is inversely related to power used by the radio. Same for any carrier, whichever is weaker where you use your devices will wear the battery down faster.
This happens with all carriers. I've worked in offices where everyone's VZW phones lasted all day but ATT phones chewed up their batteries. I've worked in offices where ATT phones barely sipped battery and VZW phones were on the chargers by mid afternoon. VERY dependent on location / coverage.
That's right. I can't tell you how many times I complained on the AndroidCentral forums on how my Nexus 7 wouldn't last a day with not even an hour of screen time. It was after I bought an iPad and used it on AT&T for a few months and then used it on T-Mobile that I started realizing the difference. Same with the iPhones.
i have an Air with the T-Mobile 200 mb plan. Im currently at 197 mb used but thats because i let a family member browse instagram for 30 min and they were constantly loading videos.
however, if you just use it for light web browsing and emails you should be okay with it. at least i am. if worst comes to worst, you can always get a day/week/month pass if need be.
I originally got a t-mobile iPad air. But blew through the data quickly. I exchanged it for a wifi only one. I figure I'm around wifi enough and have an iPad that's like $140 with tax included
I see it as a wifi insurance policy ... if I really need to send an email or find an address, I can do so. It is definitely not meant for daily browsing.
I would not exchange a WiFi for Cellular model unless you find yourself needed cellular service. The 200mb offer isn't enough to justify spending $130 extra. But if you find yourself needed cellular then I'd buy a VZW model as they have the best rates for 1GB right now. You routinely get a free TMOB prepaid nano SIM online -- search a deals site like fat wallet. When you put that SIM in an Air and activate your account you will be eligible for the free 200MB. If you run out of data for the month switch to the VZW sim.
I agree with the first part, but more because it gives the most carrier flexibility. Choose whichever VZW, AT&T, or TMO prepaid plan best suits your needs.
Which plan is best depends on how much data you use.
Right now I'm trying out the AT&T $25/1GB/90day plan -- I'd used the $20/1GB Verizon plan on my ipad3 and seldom used up all the data. Comparing the two plans, the AT&T is a better deal if you use under 800MB/month (breakeven point between the two).
Just to be sure, have you verified that using HotSpot on your phone is not a viable option for you? If you don't intend to use it regularly, and you have HotSpot available on your cell phone plan, and don't mind the extra step to connect the iPad to HotSpot, then it might be worth it to save the $129 and just keep the WiFi model.
But if you think you need the Cellular connection to be always on, and will use it regularly enough, then I would suggest getting the Verizon Model as well, as that will allow you to hook it up through Verizon if you ever want to at any point, or you can get a TMobile chip and get the 200 MB free, or even get an AT&T chip and use the $25/1GB/90Day plan. That's what I did. I have three chips, the VZ one that came with the device, and then I picked up a TMob chip and an AT&T chip. Currently using just the TMob chip and the 200MB, but depending on what I need to do, and the coverage of where I'll be, I can turn on service on whichever one I need at the time.
Overall, this is the most flexible option, IMHO.
Good luck with your decision!
I just activated the free 200 MB plan on my Verizon iPad 3. Before I was paying $20 a month for only 100-175 MB that I used (some months even less than that) so this is working out really well for me even though I get about 2 Mb/s compared to my old 45 Mb/s.
My advice, don't get the tmobile version, chose the verizon or sprint model instead. The tmobile version will only work with tmobile or ATT, but the verizon will work with verizon,tmobile, and ATT; sprint will work with sprint, tmobile or ATT.
To switch from verizon to tmobile requires only changing out the SIM card. They probably have spare tmobile cards at the apple store.
Keep your options open
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Hours? Maybe 1 hour if you are lucky. I go through 10 mb every 5 min with light browsing on favor, reddit, websites.
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T mobile works fine with verizon sim.My advice, don't get the tmobile version, chose the verizon or sprint model instead. The tmobile version will only work with tmobile or ATT, but the verizon will work with verizon,tmobile, and ATT; sprint will work with sprint, tmobile or ATT.
To switch from verizon to tmobile requires only changing out the SIM card. They probably have spare tmobile cards at the apple store.
Keep your options open
The problem, as I understand it, is (1) getting Verizon to give you a SIM and (2) getting Verizon to whitelist the IMEI of non-Verizon ipads so they will be accepted onto the network. I've seen many posts on MR about difficulties in #1 and #2.
Yours is the first post I think I've seen where someone's put a non-Verizon ipad onto Verizon. If you have a chance, please provide more info about how you did that.