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Hi:
Up until now, I have been using T-Mobile ever since the XDA came out.
Used a "visorphone" before that. I do NOT use T-Mobile's Internet access (T-zones) ever since I got hit with a $180+ overage charge the first month I used it.
So.
Here is my issue:
Starting a few months ago, I noticed that, even though I do NOT use T-Mobile for any Internet access (I call up my own ISP instead from the XDA), T-Mobile are charging me something like $.50 for every email sent or received from the XDA using my own ISP. I suppose they monitor the traffic or something. When I protested that they shouldn't charge me for anything Internet-related, only the minutes used to call my ISP, they told me basically that they don't give a damn what I think, and that I will continue to be charged $.50 for every email. They show up on my bill as "e-note" to the phone number "500."
I think that's ridiculous and possibly illegal since it doesn't involve their servers or their services at all, but I don't have the energy to deal with their untrained "Wireless Data Group." It would take years to explain this to them. Just getting them on the phone took over 1 hour. This is partly a warning post, that this is what T-Mobile is doing, and we should know about it. So, I am looking into switching to AT&T.
My questions for anyone reading this:
1) anyone else have that billing issue with t-mobile?
2) is at&t any better? do they charge for internet traffic even if you haven't signed up for their services?
3) i don't think i have simlock issues, the unlock util from this site says that it's already unlocked. rom is 4.00.21 ENG, radio stack 6.24.00
from yorch.net.
4) is there anything i should know? won't this t-mobile build of "windows mobile 2003" rom work with at&t ?
any info appreciated, you can email thomas at pullen.com (removed the @ for the spam bots).
thanks!
TMO is pretty bad, iv experienced their levels of ignorance too, but once in a while, u can incounter sumone who knows alot about what they do
you should have never used tzones (if it wasnt unlimited) for transfering big amounts of data, thats why u got charged so much, for going over the allowd data amount
when connecting to your own ISP, are u connecting using THEIR # ? ... if so, then i dont know where TMO gets these ideas 4 charging u extra + the phone call :roll:
to unlock u need to go back to a 2002 rom, with the unlock software
ur build will work, but it would be better to switch to 4.00.05 , since u wont need all the useless TMO apps and what not
Hey tpullen,
Sorry to hear about your terrible time with T-Mobile.
Q: What type of plan do you have with T-Mobile?
If its only a voice plan with no data the .50 sounds about right and will be the same if you move over to AT&T. As a matter of fact AT&T's data charges are higher.
It doesn't matter that you're calling your own ISP, the fact still remains you're sending/receiving data on a voice only plan. :wink:
HTH
thanks
hey:
thanks for the replies. to answer your questions:
i had the t-mobile 3,000 minutes for $49 plan. it is only free long distance for the southeast u.s.; i think it's called a 'neighborhood' plan.
no data at all in my plan; i would call my own isp and surf the web and check email. only about 3 months ago t-mobile started charging me to check email, but not for the web. my complaint is that i am using my own isp, and the call comes out of my minutes. yes, it's sending data with a voice-only plan, but hey! i have a dial-up phone line, nothing fancy, a land line in my house. it's voice-only. if i plug a modem into my home phone line and call my isp, should i expect to get a bill from my phone company for every email i look at? to my way of thinking, and anyone is free to disagree, if i'm not USING your services then i don't want to PAY for your services. unless it is a t-mobile email, web, or proxy server i'm talking to, i don't expect to pay t-mobile. the minutes were already being deducted from my available minutes. that's all i should have to pay.
i don't think that's so outrageous.
i did unlock my phone with the xda dev build, then went back to the same tmobile windows mobile 2003 build. i wasn't sure if the xda "stays unlocked" once you unlock it and then put a new rom on, but it does.
now i have an at&t sim, and it works well enough, but the sort-of-funny thing is that you apparantly can NOT just call your own isp with at&t.
i can't seem to get a connection to work. so i don't know. maybe i will stay with at&t since they, according to their sales literature anyway, have a data network that's like 3 times faster than t-mobile's data network.
of course it's more $ for them.
whatever the case, i have 30 days to try at&t with no obligation, cancel any time, owe them nothing. everyone has that option right now, in fact, due to the new ftc "local number port" thing happening.
i'll let ya'll know how it goes if i stick with at&t. i can always stay with t-mobile, but i'm not sure if that's a good idea.
Re: thanks
tpullen said:
maybe i will stay with at&t since they, according to their sales literature anyway, have a data network that's like 3 times faster than t-mobile's data network. of course it's more $ for them.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like you're talking about the EDGE service. Yeah, like 4 times the cost of T-Mobile's unlimited plan. I think I'll stick to the cheaper slower service.
tpullen said:
whatever the case, i have 30 days to try at&t with no obligation, cancel any time, owe them nothing. everyone has that option right now, in fact, due to the new ftc "local number port" thing happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Owe them nothing?! You might want to read that literature again. You'll not pay a cancellation fee nor an activation fee, but you will owe them for the prorated amount of time you had service, and any other additional fees that you use. This is pretty standard in the wireless industry. So if you go over your prorated minutes for the month, you owe them airtime charges. Happened to me, so just be careful.
bye bye at&t
hi arkhangel:
yes, you are correct:
4. Every new customer gets a 30 day risk free trial. When you purchase a phone and activate service at an AT&T Wireless store or at attwireless.com, you can return your undamaged phone for a refund within the first 30 days and pay only for airtime and usage charges. It’s just one more way we can earn your trust.
so it is not without charge, and thank god i only made one 6-minute call.
as far as the EDGE network goes, it was so-so...i only viewed 2 webpages with it, they loaded pretty much as quickly as with any other data service over the xda...and the funny thing is that it consumed apparantly almost 2 mb to do so.
i am pretty frustrated now, the at&t customer service has been pretty rotten, but t-mobile isn't too great either.
i'm calling verizon next, to compare...
tpullen said:
They show up on my bill as "e-note" to the phone number "500."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is programmed to send an SMS to T-Mobile every time you reboot your PPCPE. These show up as e-notes to 500 just as you describe. Compare the timing of your email use vs. the timing of your reboots and see where the e-notes are coming from. I think you can purchase a bundle of a bunch (500?) of SMS messages (aka e-notes) for something like $2.99, so you could cap your cost that way.
You should also be aware that T-Mobile has gone to a flat rate for GPRS at $19.95 for unlimited internet. The comparable plan with AT&T is something like $80.
I just spoke to Orange upgrades, and after being fobbed off all week they were finally able to tell me that the Galaxy S2 won't be available with them til start of June, as they do extra testing on the devices that other companies don't!
I now have a bit of a dilemma as I would rather stay with Orange directly as they should be able to offer me a good contract to stay with them, but I could go to Phones 4 u or even switch to O2 and get the phone now!
Anyone else in this situation, or have any advice?!
You can get it on orange via phones4u - even as an upgrade.
Sent from my Galaxy S II using XDA App
Well that's ridiculous, by "extra testing" they probably mean "figure out how to slow the device to an absolute crawl with bloatware that no one wants"
I was told that too. I ended up cancelling my contract and taking a new one out with Phones4u whose phones are unlocked and free from bloatware.
Got a better deal than Orange could offer me too.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I see, thanks. Is it better to go into the P4U store or order off the website, or are they the same deals?
mwilson1987 said:
I see, thanks. Is it better to go into the P4U store or order off the website, or are they the same deals?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get it off the net!
For £25.53/m (tmob - 24m), 600mins, 500texts, 1GB, Phone price is:
£29.99 on't net
£149.99 in store
You decide which one you want
I second this, it's exactly what I did. The phone is great but what amazes me more is the amount of time my battery lasts on my HTC Hero now it's been left alone in the shadows of my GS2. It's on its 4th day without charge!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
hey vinokirk
Yh thats the contract Ive ordered, plus I get a free 8GB micro SD card aswell
Im not sure that this contract has 1GB of data, even though you can have unlimited internet from the booster.
According to T mobiles internet policy, unlimited internet is cap to 500mb.
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/uk/fairuse/
Bit wary of T Mobile, what is their customer service/network coverage like?
mwilson1987 said:
Bit wary of T Mobile, what is their customer service/network coverage like?
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Click to collapse
would love to jump on tmob as they seem to have the best offers, but theres normally a reason for it, its shocking signal where i am so no point at all in me going down that route
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/coverage/street-check/
Probably our normal "checks" as you say. Sorry, haven't been in work this week to check up on product updates. The last I saw it was scheduled for 2nd week in May!
That T-Mo deal is bloody good! I went in store and got the phone a day early.
Orange
£35/mth
1200mins
Unlimited texts
500mb internet
24mth contract
Free phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Tmobile gives me the second best signal at home and work, the first best being 3. The only thing is, if you buy tmobile via a 3rd party then your data speeds are throttled at 350kbps and you have to pay an extra £5/month to get their full 1.8mbps(i believe 1.8mb is their max). So im waiting till tmobile stock the SGS2 to see what deal theyll give me... a load of crap i bet. Tmobile are crap when it comes to giving the customer a good deal! Good network but bad deals
I wish they spent all that extra time trying to improve their reception.
Phones4u is your best bet mate, though last I heard they were out of stock for online orders.
vinokirk said:
Tmobile gives me the second best signal at home and work, the first best being 3. The only thing is, if you buy tmobile via a 3rd party then your data speeds are throttled at 350kbps and you have to pay an extra £5/month to get their full 1.8mbps(i believe 1.8mb is their max). So im waiting till tmobile stock the SGS2 to see what deal theyll give me... a load of crap i bet. Tmobile are crap when it comes to giving the customer a good deal! Good network but bad deals
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my t-mobile contract is through e2save and i can tell u now it isnt throttled.
T-mobile and Orange can share networks, so if your t-mobile, you can use the orange network to get better signal and it works the other way too, im orange and with this im very very rarely without signal
The signal sharing is only on 2g. Data connections are still separate.
I would have moved to Orange if data was shared too, it would have been perfect.
Edit: I know the discussion was mainly on call reception, but I thought it worth mentioning that it's not a fully-shared deal. Hopefully that will change.
Sent from my Galaxy S II using XDA App
LarcusMywood said:
Well that's ridiculous, by "extra testing" they probably mean "figure out how to slow the device to an absolute crawl with bloatware that no one wants"
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Click to collapse
I second that view. That and their s**t signal in my area is what puts me off orange completely. They are the only network that madly brands the phones in the UK. Why don't they leave it alone, or at least leave the box the nornal goddam colour and not have their own special box!!!!!!!!!!!
steve228uk said:
That T-Mo deal is bloody good! I went in store and got the phone a day early.
Orange
£35/mth
1200mins
Unlimited texts
500mb internet
24mth contract
Free phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much what they tried to push me into getting today. In fact, even after picking up their sheet of paper with all the contracts on and actually pointing out the ones that I was after they kept trying to push for the above with comments like "Yeah, but we're saving you money this way and you can downgrade next year..."
Just not interested in the hassle of juggling my number though.
Jazazze said:
Pretty much what they tried to push me into getting today. In fact, even after picking up their sheet of paper with all the contracts on and actually pointing out the ones that I was after they kept trying to push for the above with comments like "Yeah, but we're saving you money this way and you can downgrade next year..."
Just not interested in the hassle of juggling my number though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to keep the same number but only thanks to an awesome guy at Orange who just cancelled my contract that released the number and then moved it over to my new SIM. The number port took 2 minutes
Hello,
My contract just ended on my i777 and it's brand new
I want to get the BEST possible prepaid service that would work
in Southern California. I dont need a lot of minutes, at all... Just GOOD FAST
DATA
Any recommendations? I was thinking to just go to walmart on my lunch break and pick up the cheapest prepaid phone that comes with a SIM card. Stupid ATT wants me to sign another 2 year contract with them for shoddy as capped service. I told them they better start treating me right towards the end of my contract, but NOOOOOOOOOO... the service provider is always right Stupid capped data text message was the last straw... I have "Unlimited" and I never went past 2gb... the ONE time I use netflix, I got the text
LOL... Thanks!
I gave quite a fair warning to ATT towards the end of my contract too... My account is a business account for SONY and I even mentioned that I will contact the administration department regarding their ****ty service and no one cares ...sooooooo, they shut my service off because I am not going to pay a 90 dollar month to month capped service fee that doesnt even work in my area.. (At home I get about half mb MAX DL speed).. when I go to work (about 5 miles away) I get 4 MB... One mile away from that, Id be lucky to get 200kb lol. Its just shoddy as service and its time I start sticking it to the MAN Lol
ssmr2t said:
Hello,
My contract just ended on my i777 and it's brand new
I want to get the BEST possible prepaid service that would work
in Southern California. I dont need a lot of minutes, at all... Just GOOD FAST
DATA
Any recommendations? I was thinking to just go to walmart on my lunch break and pick up the cheapest prepaid phone that comes with a SIM card. Stupid ATT wants me to sign another 2 year contract with them for shoddy as capped service. I told them they better start treating me right towards the end of my contract, but NOOOOOOOOOO... the service provider is always right Stupid capped data text message was the last straw... I have "Unlimited" and I never went past 2gb... the ONE time I use netflix, I got the text
LOL... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your contract is up, and you still have "unlimited" data...stick with that. You're not gonna find anything better by going prepaid.
Its not unlimited dude... unlimited is unlimited. Id understand if you advertise unlimited service within reason, but thats not what I was sold about 5 years ago with my original Iphone.. Im on a gradfathered plan that doesnt mean anything. Its code slang for "These people are stupid and old since they have been with us for so long so lets rape them some more"
I dont even need a lot of data... just enough to get by... MAX is about 4 GB in a BUSY ASS MONTH LOL, (traveling etc...which is NEVER really)
ssmr2t said:
Its not unlimited dude... unlimited is unlimited.
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Click to collapse
Clearly. That's why I put the word in quotes. What I'm telling you is, even though it's crappy, you're not going to get any better service by going prepaid. In fact, it'll be worse. From what I can tell, you can't even get HSPA+ data on a prepaid plan...only 3G. Maybe even only EDGE, I'm not sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
mattdm said:
Clearly. That's why I put the word in quotes. What I'm telling you is, even though it's crappy, you're not going to get any better service by going prepaid. In fact, it'll be worse. From what I can tell, you can't even get HSPA+ data on a prepaid plan...only 3G. Maybe even only EDGE, I'm not sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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Click to collapse
In the US, you're only going to get prepaid through AT&T or T-Mobile. Our phones can only use Edge on T-Mo.
Keep the service (for now) until you find something better. As stated in the earlier posts by other, there is no better plan that what you got ATM.
I am on a 2GB plan with AT&T and I still feel that I am getting throttled. Your "unlimited" plan will let you go up to 5GB for $25 before they throttled you, that better than mine at 2GB for $30.
BeenAndroidized said:
Keep the service (for now) until you find something better. As stated in the earlier posts by other, there is no better plan that what you got ATM.
I am on a 2GB plan with AT&T and I still feel that I am getting throttled. Your "unlimited" plan will let you go up to 5GB for $25 before they throttled you, that better than mine at 2GB for $30.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have those prices reversed. The unlimited plan has traditionally been $30, and the 2GB plan is now $25.
Prepaid service
Hey im a few months late in this thread but ive been weighing my off contract cell service options and looks like you could use some help...you actually have a few much much better choices out there that will save money and still keep you off contract...
ok, i currently use H20 wireless right now and it is $60 a month with 2 gigs of data...they just started to downgrade data speeds with this plan from 4g to 3g after 500mb of useage. They stared this about 1 month ago :/
And unfortuneately they completely cut off the data after 2 gigs
The great thing about H20 however is that it is more or less an ATT sim card with an H20 logo...100% exact same coverage...Also you dont need to unlock your AT&T phone to use with H20 =)
Now your second and perhaps best option that i have found is to go with Straight talk...
they offer prepaid service that uses att´s, t mobile´s, and verizon´s service coverage depending on the plan you choose (just like h20 it is 100% the same coverage you would get with those companies).
The plans cost $45 a month for unlimited Talk Text & data and they do not cut off your data and apparently dont throttle either! They are selling Sims now on their website...(you would want to get the ATT compatible sim for your i777
you could cut your bill in half and stay off contract...id go with straight talk for sure...good luck!
STEvFIN said:
Hey im a few months late in this thread but ive been weighing my off contract cell service options and looks like you could use some help...you actually have a few much much better choices out there that will save money and still keep you off contract...
ok, i currently use H20 wireless right now and it is $60 a month with 2 gigs of data...they just started to downgrade data speeds with this plan from 4g to 3g after 500mb of useage. They stared this about 1 month ago :/
And unfortuneately they completely cut off the data after 2 gigs
The great thing about H20 however is that it is more or less an ATT sim card with an H20 logo...100% exact same coverage...Also you dont need to unlock your AT&T phone to use with H20 =)
Now your second and perhaps best option that i have found is to go with Straight talk...
they offer prepaid service that uses att´s, t mobile´s, and verizon´s service coverage depending on the plan you choose (just like h20 it is 100% the same coverage you would get with those companies).
The plans cost $45 a month for unlimited Talk Text & data and they do not cut off your data and apparently dont throttle either! They are selling Sims now on their website...(you would want to get the ATT compatible sim for your i777
you could cut your bill in half and stay off contract...id go with straight talk for sure...good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if you read straight talk's agreement look at the data section. They basically tell you what is ok to use data for and what is not, and that if you excessively use it and go over the average you can have your account canceled. I read through it and I think it even said no streaming of media of any kind(or maybe it was just video)
graffixnyc said:
But if you read straight talk's agreement look at the data section. They basically tell you what is ok to use data for and what is not, and that if you excessively use it and go over the average you can have your account canceled. I read through it and I think it even said no streaming of media of any kind(or maybe it was just video)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct, all prepaid services essentially may cut off your data completely at any time for any reason... it's in the contract...ridiculous hu?. However since the original poster says he almost never goes over his limit of 2GB, he shouldn't have any trouble at all. Also these companies send you numerous warnings before they cut you off (in my experiences- which i've had simple mobile and H20).
One thing that will set them off is tethering...more specifically when you are already past 2gb and are continuing to tether. Also I spoke to a rep he told me that it is unlimited and isn't throttled...but as we both know they do have the power to do as they want. As far a media streaming, they more so discourage it rather than forbid it...never have had a warning message for streaming content (netflix skype etc)
If you want to be off contract and do it cheap then straight talk will be the cheapest with the most data...there is no comparison
Are they, StraighTalk & H20, offering HSPA+ or even LTE in some area or just 3G and EDGE?
If they truly offer unlimited as they advertise, then it is a great deal.
Somehow, I keep thinking "it's too good to be true" and I don't want to be trapped into some kinds of fine print.
votinh said:
Are they, StraighTalk & H20, offering HSPA+ or even LTE in some area or just 3G and EDGE?
If they truly offer unlimited as they advertise, then it is a great deal.
Somehow, I keep thinking "it's too good to be true" and I don't want to be trapped into some kinds of fine print.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not believe they handle LTE but they do Edge, 3g and HSPA+ but it depends on your area as to what you can get. I have ST on my i777 and I get all 3. HSPA+ is preferred but in my area 3g is more what I get unless I am very near a tower. My town is restricted by there not being enough towers around but when I am near a better one I get H+ all day long.
Thanks for the confirmation, chris.
Still not really sure what unlimited means for Straight Talk as no one else really knows. I do know they will cancel you for using to much data. I have read that the most data is 2 gb a month,2000 to 5000 each for messaging and talk. I dont use to much data and never will use the other minutes up so this is a great deal for me. Under 48.00 a month. Beats almost the 80 I was paying. I do get H+ but I think thats only for data. Pretty sure 3g for everything else. Never had any problems with ATT. Just paying to much money!!! 15.00 for an ATT Sim and 330.00 for my GS2 priceless!!!!
REOGrand said:
Still not really sure what unlimited means for Straight Talk as no one else really knows. I do know they will cancel you for using to much data. I have read that the most data is 2 gb a month,2000 to 5000 each for messaging and talk. I dont use to much data and never will use the other minutes up so this is a great deal for me. Under 48.00 a month. Beats almost the 80 I was paying. I do get H+ but I think thats only for data. Pretty sure 3g for everything else. Never had any problems with ATT. Just paying to much money!!! 15.00 for an ATT Sim and 330.00 for my GS2 priceless!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlimited means that it is unlimited until ofcourse they decide you are using too much or too fast, which surely they have guidelins, but we will never know.
...the best approach to teathering would be to teather via an application
...It costs $30 with AT&T to utilize the teathering feature so obviously straight talk (running on AT&Ts network in this case) doesnt want customers using this feature.
...my Atrix (not yet rooted) cant utilize teathering with my H20 service (also uses AT&T´s network) because i get the "sorry you havent paid for tethering service bla bla bla)
...a good app to use would be pdanet... it will look as if you are just using a normal app (carriers have ways to detect if you are infact teathering).
-you can sideload pdanet with an excellent program called the sideload wonder machine ...just serch it in google
...If you use the AT&T´s stock teathering feature on your phone they will know you are teathering.
...i will try and call tomorrow and try to get some kindof breakdown of why they cap and shut off data...and in some cases accounts :/
hope this helps
ssmr2t said:
Hello,
My contract just ended on my i777 and it's brand new
I want to get the BEST possible prepaid service that would work
in Southern California. I dont need a lot of minutes, at all... Just GOOD FAST
DATA
Any recommendations? I was thinking to just go to walmart on my lunch break and pick up the cheapest prepaid phone that comes with a SIM card. Stupid ATT wants me to sign another 2 year contract with them for shoddy as capped service. I told them they better start treating me right towards the end of my contract, but NOOOOOOOOOO... the service provider is always right Stupid capped data text message was the last straw... I have "Unlimited" and I never went past 2gb... the ONE time I use netflix, I got the text
LOL... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the best prepaid service Page plus might be good a good choice since it operates on verizon's network... Here in Florida verizon is by far the best without question. Although since it's a cdma network obviously you would have to sell your phone and get a verizon or something that has been flashed to verizon....
The plan isnt half bad either...
$55 unlimited talk text/picture messages
However they only give you 1gb of data but in your case it sounds like it may be sufficient for ya.
You can activate any verizon phone on Page plus except for the 4g phones... I haven't yet tried an iphone 4s but I will look into it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA
redpocket is decent though
shoobiedoobiiwhompwop said:
redpocket is decent though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are indeed... $59.99 with 2gb data... Prettymuch 2nd best that I know of... H2O is only 1gb and no unlimited mms (comes out of your 1gb). Speaking of redpocket... I work at a repair/retail store and my boss was talking to a customer about the available prepaid options for AT&T and he says "and there is one that's pretty good I believe it's called Red Rocket" I laughed so hard I cried lol.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
I wasn't sure where to post this, but this seemed to make the most sense. Mods please move if needbe.
I currently have a Galaxy S3 Unlocked from Tmobile USA. I want to make sure its going to work on 3G in all the countries I will be going to.
In the Month of April I will be traveling to Southern Ireland, Paris France, Venice Italy and Rome Italy. Total Duration 2 weeks. 4 days in each location.
I am trying to make sure I will be covering all my bases here and not missing anything - data, coverage, compatibility etc.
For Ireland I have my eye set on Tesco due to their extremely aggressive pricing and plans. 25 Euros will get me 15gb of Data, 1c calls to the US, Free Tesco Wireless Calls & Text - so it seems like a no Brainer.
For the Resident Ireland individuals with Cell service - hows Tesco?
I am looking for only 100 mins or so in each location, unl text in that country, 500MB of data and a killer international rate for the US.
As of France and Italy I have no clue who to go with - Any suggestions would be very helpful!!
Thanks in advance.
The T-Mobile Galaxy S3 has a pentaband radio, so it supports virtually every GSM network(including 3G/4G data) in the world.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Mr.Mischief said:
The T-Mobile Galaxy S3 has a pentaband radio, so it supports virtually every GSM network(including 3G/4G data) in the world.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woo Hoo!!! Thats awesome! And I thought I was gonna need to buy a nexus haha. Thanks!
I'm regularly moving back and forth between Ireland and France so here is my opinion.
Ireland -
Tesco or Lycamobile's plans are probably the best if you're looking for international plans. If you're looking for a plan for just Ireland, 3 is by far the best: free any network calls and texts on weekends, free texts to any network and free 3 to 3 calls all week and 16 GB internet for €20. FYI 3 supports FastDormancy(if you dont't know what this is, ignore it)
France -
http://mobile.free.fr
You might wanna use translate feature on Google Chrome on this site. FYI je m'incris is the button to click to subscribe.
Free Mobile is **BY FAR** the best value for any network. Free gives you unlimited calls to all French numbers, American and Canadian numbers(including Alaska, Hawaii and other American constituencies), free SMS/MMS to all French numbers and free landline calls to 40 different countries worldwide. The only slight pity is that you only get 3GB internet per month. However, you get all of this for €20 a month billed to your card so it's worth it. Just cancel the plan(no fee AFAIK) when you leave France. **YOU WILL GET CHARGED THE NORMAL AMOUNT FOR CALLS/MMS/SMS OUTSIDE YOUR PACKAGE**.
Alternatively, you could also use Lycamobile France if you don't like the credit card billing style of Free.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
rickoslyder said:
I'm regularly moving back and forth between Ireland and France so here is my opinion.
Ireland -
Tesco or Lycamobile's plans are probably the best if you're looking for international plans. If you're looking for a plan for just Ireland, 3 is by far the best: free any network calls and texts on weekends, free texts to any network and free 3 to 3 calls all week and 16 GB internet for €20. FYI 3 supports FastDormancy(if you dont't know what this is, ignore it)
France -
http://mobile.free.fr
You might wanna use translate feature on Google Chrome on this site. FYI je m'incris is the button to click to subscribe.
Free Mobile is **BY FAR** the best value for any network. Free gives you unlimited calls to all French numbers, American and Canadian numbers(including Alaska, Hawaii and other American constituencies), free SMS/MMS to all French numbers and free landline calls to 40 different countries worldwide. The only slight pity is that you only get 3GB internet per month. However, you get all of this for €20 a month billed to your card so it's worth it. Just cancel the plan(no fee AFAIK) when you leave France. **YOU WILL GET CHARGED THE NORMAL AMOUNT FOR CALLS/MMS/SMS OUTSIDE YOUR PACKAGE**.
Alternatively, you could also use Lycamobile France if you don't like the credit card billing style of Free.
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hi Rick, so that sounds great I think I'm going to stick with Tesco because I've already been working with them messaging back and forth on Facebook. it doesn't seem to be that much different then the other 1 you mentioned. As of france, the company called free sounds absolutely awesome. My only issue is how do I contact them to ask about getting a SIM card shipped to me, or if there is a store where I can buy everything? Does anyone speak English?
why did you post in General?
EyeAndroid said:
hi Rick, so that sounds great I think I'm going to stick with Tesco because I've already been working with them messaging back and forth on Facebook. it doesn't seem to be that much different then the other 1 you mentioned. As of france, the company called free sounds absolutely awesome. My only issue is how do I contact them to ask about getting a SIM card shipped to me, or if there is a store where I can buy everything? Does anyone speak English?
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Everything is on the provided website. Just click on "Je m'incris" and continue using the Translate feature on Google Chrome. I don't think there's many(if any) stores around.
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rickoslyder said:
Everything is on the provided website. Just click on "Je m'incris" and continue using the Translate feature on Google Chrome. I don't think there's many(if any) stores around.
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Well I know I wont quite as good a deal with these guys but the english is really helping me feel a whole lot more comfortable. http://www.lefrenchmobile.com/en/tariffs-sim-card-cheap-international-calls-from-france.html. They say their customer service is also 100% catered to Americans with English Pay as you go plans.
I tried the google translate option on Free's site but they have alot of pre printed pictures in french & so it only translates half the site. Also the fact that I'd have to worry about needing to cancel it before I leave so they wont re run my card is too much of a hassle. With 6 plane changes, 6 hotels attractions & the subway - I have enough to worry about. I appreciate your suggestion though.
Does anyone have any recommendations for Italy?!?
EyeAndroid said:
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I am looking for only 100 mins or so in each location, unl text in that country, 500MB of data and a killer international rate for the US.
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In most places in Europe you can get very good deals for prepaid SIM plans - Tesco seems to be good in UK/IRL and I know of very good prices with ALDI towards Germany.
The ESSENTIAL points for you would be:
- be 100% certain that your phone is unlocked - test it well in advance!
- plan carefully on how you are going to get the SIMs on your initial travel - if the SIM will only arrive at your hotel in the 3rd day of your 4-day stay it will be of little use!
- also it might be a small advantage if you will know your new phone numbers (one for each SIM, with the international country prefix in front) in advance - that way people that must call you during those specific days will already know what numbers to call
My wife was planning a trip abroad and we called Verizon to activate international service on Nexus 6P. The first person we talked to didn't know how to do it, so she connected us to the international department to activate the service. After nearly an hour, this guy said everything was setup for international service to work; however when she arrived first in Mexico, then South America, international calling was not working, so my wife called Verizon and was told that it was impossible for them to activate international calling on her phone, because it was not in their computer system. However, the computer system allows them to bill you for international service that doesn't exist. I have been a Verizon customer for 18 years; but now they treat their customers with pure contempt. So glad we bought new phones that aren't locked into a single carrier.
Can't wait to say "adios" for good to Big Red!
Pure contempt? You've gotta be kidding. It's clearly a technical issue with their system. If you're smart enough to buy a Nexus you should be smart enough to pick up a SIM when traveling anyway and not pay through the nose.
mdmogren said:
Pure contempt? You've gotta be kidding. It's clearly a technical issue with their system. If you're smart enough to buy a Nexus you should be smart enough to pick up a SIM when traveling anyway and not pay through the nose.
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She got a SIM from a local carrier a few days after arriving in her final destination country. Verizon's treatment of customers is utterly contemptible. If international service really can not be activated, then she should have been told that from the beginning. The international service expert from the international calling department simply lied; because he clearly did not know what else to do, or say. That is what I call "contempt".
VZW employees arent the brightest bulb. I would skip the. International service and just pick up a local carrier SIM card. In the UK, it will cost $40/month for 100MB, 100SMS, and 100 minutes meanwhile a local SIM at $25 will give me 3GB, and 500 local minutes and 1000 SMS or something. And if I went with a $40 SIM card, then it would of been like 7GB and double minutes and SMS.
PrevailNow said:
She got a SIM from a local carrier a few days after arriving in her final destination country. Verizon's treatment of customers is utterly contemptible. If international service really can not be activated, then she should have been told that from the beginning. The international service expert from the international calling department simply lied; because he clearly did not know what else to do, or say. That is what I call "contempt".
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entitled much? seriously the guys on the other end are limited to the tools and resources they have on hand. there's a high probability that they had not been asked to enable international roaming on this device (or at least the people who were part of this call) and they attempted to make do with what was available.
so they tried, they thought they had it working and it didn't. it sounds to me like the second go-around with the "impossible" conversation was worse than the first. at least they tried. i'm betting the second rep didn't even bother.
your wife did the right thing and in most cases, she would have had to do this with any other carrier anyway.
I would always opt to pick up a local sim card (language may be an issue, but they should activate it for you). When I went to Italy, I just got a local SIM, which is much cheaper, easier and you can get data with the plan.
if you had team mobile this wouldnt be an issue
In September i went to Spain, France and UK and worked just as here in states... not single problem.... as a matter of fact, i even got texts from TMo when crossing borders saying welcome to "X" country.
The fact he had this issues, clearly shows that the VZW wasnt willing to remediate the immediate issue this customer had while away. People tell u to pick a local sim card, but that is simply not the best option nowadays. If u get one at local airport is wayyyyyy too expensive. If you are there already, how can you get proper information on where to go get one besides there. Waste of time, money and resources.
Its like currency exchange.. people tell you to get it done locally, WRONG, it averages 30% fee on top of the current rate.
Fact remains, customer was proactive, was traveling on expectations that no issues should arise, and when the issue did presented itself, no real solution was provided. Switch to TMo or some other carrier.
chaco81 said:
if you had team mobile this wouldnt be an issue
In September i went to Spain, France and UK and worked just as here in states... not single problem.... as a matter of fact, i even got texts from TMo when crossing borders saying welcome to "X" country.
The fact he had this issues, clearly shows that the VZW wasnt willing to remediate the immediate issue this customer had while away. People tell u to pick a local sim card, but that is simply not the best option nowadays. If u get one at local airport is wayyyyyy too expensive. If you are there already, how can you get proper information on where to go get one besides there. Waste of time, money and resources.
Its like currency exchange.. people tell you to get it done locally, WRONG, it averages 30% fee on top of the current rate.
Fact remains, customer was proactive, was traveling on expectations that no issues should arise, and when the issue did presented itself, no real solution was provided. Switch to TMo or some other carrier.
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WHY YOU HAS MY PICTURE?! haha jk jk
The Stig 04 said:
WHY YOU HAS MY PICTURE?! haha jk jk
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you have mines, you are the 4th Stig!
lol
mdmogren said:
If you're smart enough to buy a Nexus you should be smart enough to pick up a SIM when traveling anyway and not pay through the nose.
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Local SIMs are overrated. In some countries the red tape to get a local SIM is not trivial and can be a big hassle. You also have to figure out what the best deals are, stores to go and all that. Also, if you are in the country for just a couple of days it's just too much work. The way to go is crearly that your home carrier offered reasonable roaming charges, which is starting to happen.
I've used Project Fi while roaming internationally with the 6P and it's amazing to do country hopping without even thinking about this stuff. You just turn your phone wherever you are, and it works.
I left Verizon due to the horrible customer service. I'm a person, not a rock in your boot that you step on all day long. It's like pulling teeth with them.
Every call is a struggle. They're literally the Comcast of the mobile phone world. I dreaded having to call big red. Like you have to mentally prepare yourself for whatever's about to happen.
Now I'm with T-Mobile and they have great customer service. I just have 1 dead spot on the way to work. Front start to finish I'm without service for about 8 seconds flat. Besides that? No real difference. Besides the lower bill, and all the fun stuff that T-Mobile does for customers now.
RHChan84 said:
VZW employees arent the brightest bulb. I would skip the. International service and just pick up a local carrier SIM card. In the UK, it will cost $40/month for 100MB, 100SMS, and 100 minutes meanwhile a local SIM at $25 will give me 3GB, and 500 local minutes and 1000 SMS or something. And if I went with a $40 SIM card, then it would of been like 7GB and double minutes and SMS.
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Exactly. The UK is great and so is Japan. I was shocked at the 4G data speeds in the UK on EE. Sim cost like $20-$30 for 3gb of data and fast data at that. We get ripped a new one on cell service here. I think Canada gets ripped even more.
bartolo5 said:
Local SIMs are overrated. In some countries the red tape to get a local SIM is not trivial and can be a big hassle. You also have to figure out what the best deals are, stores to go and all that. Also, if you are in the country for just a couple of days it's just too much work. The way to go is crearly that your home carrier offered reasonable roaming charges, which is starting to happen.
I've used Project Fi while roaming internationally with the 6P and it's amazing to do country hopping without even thinking about this stuff. You just turn your phone wherever you are, and it works.
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Project Fi or T-mobile look nice for international, however, I strongly disagree with your statement that Local SIMs are overrated. IIRC speeds are capped at 256kbps which is fine for e-mail and light browsing but that is slooooowww.
I have gotten local SIMs in Argentina, Spain, Japan, and the UK in the recent past and I am so happy I did. Speeds were fantastic and it was cheaper if not the same price as Fi would have been.
The only upsides to Fi are if you are country hopping and/or only overseas for a day or so.
Doing research on who is the best carrier for the price in X country takes a minute or two.
EE speedtest in the UK attached.
But I do wish it was supposed for VZW and the 6P since I do quick trips like Mexico where I'm not going to venture off go look for a SIM for two days. And it's a company meeting so I will be busy those days.
joderme said:
Exactly. The UK is great and so is Japan. I was shocked at the 4G data speeds in the UK on EE. Sim cost like $20-$30 for 3gb of data and fast data at that. We get ripped a new one on cell service here. I think Canada gets ripped even more.
Project Fi or T-mobile look nice for international, however, I strongly disagree with your statement that Local SIMs are overrated. IIRC speeds are capped at 256kbps which is fine for e-mail and light browsing but that is slooooowww.
I have gotten local SIMs in Argentina, Spain, Japan, and the UK in the recent past and I am so happy I did. Speeds were fantastic and it was cheaper if not the same price as Fi would have been.
The only upsides to Fi are if you are country hopping and/or only overseas for a day or so.
Doing research on who is the best carrier for the price in X country takes a minute or two.
EE speedtest in the UK attached.
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Don't get me wrong, I go the local SIM route often, but only if I'm going to stay more than 5 days in a place. I do country hopping often, 2-3 days and moving on, and it's just not worth the hassle for me. 256kbps is slow indeed, but better than nothing. The verizon deal of $10/day and use your data looks good to me in those scenarios where you are just going to be a few days in a country although their country list at the moment is fairly limited.