Finally ditching ATT - which service/plan to get

[Nvidiaguy07]

After hanging on to my ridiculously overpriced ATT plan with "unlimited" data, i think its finally time to finally just ditch them and get someone else. No reason for my to even care considering i usually never go over 2GB anyway, it was more about just having the option and not having to worry about any limits.

I definitely want to be able to bring my own phone(s) (Gnex from play store).

Right now im paying close to 200 dollars for me, my mother and my sister - which is
~100 for first line/minutes/text
+20 for 2 additional lines
+60 for 2 "unlimited" data plans

I was just at Wal-mart and it looked like their best/cheapest plan was the walmart family mobile plan (by t-mobile) - which is unlimited everything for 45 for the first line, and then 35 for every additional line. The only thing that looks suspicious is that it includes a "family speed boost" for the first 250mb? In the pamphlet, it gives you the option to pay 10/mo to get 1GB of "speed boost" which they say is additional 3G speed? and 20/mo for 3GB of speed boost?

Very confusing. So without speed boost, am i not getting 3G speeds? And do they even have access to tmobiles 4G network if i ever wanted to use it?

Besides that there were a few other plans to consider. Tmobile had their own plan, straight talk (would this work with my Gnex?), and maybe some others.

Another thing i have to consider is service. My moms house gets terrible reception. Verizon was the only one to get at least a little service. Right now i have her set up with a microcell so ATT will work there. Do any of the t-mobile plans include wifi calling, or whatever t-mobile used to do for that?

Thanks in advance for any help. Basically i just want to ditch ATT, verizon is just as expensive, and i would have to start using crappy verizon phones, so my only option is t-mobile, or some gsm equivalent. Preferably for the cheapest with at least 3GB of data.

 

[Phokus]

T-mobile also has a $30 prepaid 100 minute/unlimited 4g data plan

Straight talk has an unlimited everything (well, 2 GB DAta limit) for $45 a month. prepaid. It uses AT&T towers.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

T-mobile also has a $30 prepaid 100 minute/unlimited 4g data plan

Straight talk has an unlimited everything (well, 2 GB DAta limit) for $45 a month. prepaid. It uses AT&T towers.

I'd be fine with 100 minutes, but i dont know about my mom or sister, and would either of those allow me to have all the lines on one plan?

How does straight talk compare to the walmart plan? It looks like the walmart plan may be cheaper - if they are offering the same speeds.

And would it be possible to use the microcell i already have for ATT with straight talk? That would probably be my best choice then.

Lastly, will my sisters ATT branded SGS2 work better on straighttalk than on any t-mobile plan? I was planning on having her sell it and get a gnex so it would work with all bands, but this would be better because she could just use her current phone instead.

 

[ImDonly1]

T-mobile also has a $30 prepaid 100 minute/unlimited 4g data plan

Straight talk has an unlimited everything (well, 2 GB DAta limit) for $45 a month. prepaid. It uses AT&T towers.

This.
Also pageplus (verizon prepaid). No LTE phones are allowed though. You can activate an iPhone though and non-LTE phones usually.

There are other ATT prepaid providers, jolt, air voice, redpocket.

Yes, the plans for t-mobile they offer up to xxx MB or GB of data at full speeds (HSPA "4g" 42mbps). After that you are throttled to 120kbps or so(slow speeds). The $30 walmart plan offers 100minutes, and 5GB of data at full speed. If you need more minutes getting prepaid directly from t-mobile has different plans ($50-70/mo).

I'd be fine with 100 minutes, but i dont know about my mom or sister, and would either of those allow me to have all the lines on one plan?

How does straight talk compare to the walmart plan? It looks like the walmart plan may be cheaper - if they are offering the same speeds.

And would it be possible to use the microcell i already have for ATT with straight talk? That would probably be my best choice then.

Lastly, will my sisters ATT branded SGS2 work better on straighttalk than on any t-mobile plan? I was planning on having her sell it and get a gnex so it would work with all bands, but this would be better because she could just use her current phone instead.

There are no family plans on prepaid. You pay for each phone separate.
Not sure about the microcell.

ATT branded SGS2 does not support T-mobile 3G bands. So it will only get 2G speeds of 120kbps or so. So, yes it will work better on straight talk ATT sim than on t-mobile.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I was just at Wal-mart and it looked like their best/cheapest plan was the walmart family mobile plan (by t-mobile) - which is unlimited everything for 45 for the first line, and then 35 for every additional line. The only thing that looks suspicious is that it includes a "family speed boost" for the first 250mb? In the pamphlet, it gives you the option to pay 10/mo to get 1GB of "speed boost" which they say is additional 3G speed? and 20/mo for 3GB of speed boost?

Very confusing. So without speed boost, am i not getting 3G speeds? And do they even have access to tmobiles 4G network if i ever wanted to use it?

When you exceed your allotted data, T-Mobile drops you down to EDGE (2G) speeds. So it sounds like with that first plan after using up the tiny 250MB at 3G speeds, you'll get dropped down to a very slow 2G speed. It's better than nothing, but it's almost nothing. So you might want to buy a plan with enough "Speed Boost" data to cover your needs.

My friend has AT&T and I have T-Mobile. T-Mobile works great in my house, but when I visit his house a few blocks away, neither of our phones work. My house has lots of big windows and his house has fewer and much smaller windows, not sure if that's the reason but that's been my assumption.

I'm under the impression that Verizon's frequencies are suppose to be better and penetrating walls than AT&T and T-Mobile's higher frequencies are. Though I can't say if the reception issue's at your mother's house are due to wall penetration or location of towers.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

When you exceed your allotted data, T-Mobile drops you down to EDGE (2G) speeds. So it sounds like with that first plan after using up the tiny 250MB at 3G speeds, you'll get dropped down to a very slow 2G speed. It's better than nothing, but it's almost nothing. So you might want to buy a plan with enough "Speed Boost" data to cover your needs.

My friend has AT&T and I have T-Mobile. T-Mobile works great in my house, but when I visit his house a few blocks away, neither of our phones work. My house has lots of big windows and his house has fewer and much smaller windows, not sure if that's the reason but that's been my assumption.

I'm under the impression that Verizon's frequencies are suppose to be better and penetrating walls than AT&T and T-Mobile's higher frequencies are. Though I can't say if the reception issue's at your mother's house are due to wall penetration or location of towers.

I think its pretty much because shes in a valley, because if you go outside on the porch, you still get nothing. 5-10 houses down either way and you get service again.

Im going to order a straight talk sim right now to test it out (both ATT and Tmobile in that area), and then see what happens.

It would be really nice if i could get my microcell to work, then itll be basically the same plan as before, but just with a bill that is 50% less. Wifi calling would be my next option if that doesnt work. Didnt t-mobile used to do that?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

buying a sim from straight talk right now for my galaxy nexus. I chose unlocked GSM phone, and now the only options i get are to choose ATT sim cards. Will this work on T-mobiles network if i want to try that?

 

[lothar]

buying a sim from straight talk right now for my galaxy nexus. I chose unlocked GSM phone, and now the only options i get are to choose ATT sim cards. Will this work on T-mobiles network if i want to try that?

Straight Talk T-Mobile sim only works on T-Mobile network.
Straight Talk AT&T sim only works on AT&T network.

You either need to buy the 2 different sims to test out what you want to test out or buy one and find someone that has the other.

 

[kaerflog]

I would have done T-Mobile value plan.
Its freakin dirt cheap.
Yeah they make you make a 2 yr commitment but its worth it cause its so cheap.
For the 3 of you;
1000 minutes and unlimited texting.
1 line = NO data.
2 lines = 2gb of data.
$80 per month. Not even prepaid can touch that.
Plus I think you can even apply corp discount. You can find 15% easily in the net.

 

[dagamer34]

When you exceed your allotted data, T-Mobile drops you down to EDGE (2G) speeds. So it sounds like with that first plan after using up the tiny 250MB at 3G speeds, you'll get dropped down to a very slow 2G speed. It's better than nothing, but it's almost nothing. So you might want to buy a plan with enough "Speed Boost" data to cover your needs.

My friend has AT&T and I have T-Mobile. T-Mobile works great in my house, but when I visit his house a few blocks away, neither of our phones work. My house has lots of big windows and his house has fewer and much smaller windows, not sure if that's the reason but that's been my assumption.

I'm under the impression that Verizon's frequencies are suppose to be better and penetrating walls than AT&T and T-Mobile's higher frequencies are. Though I can't say if the reception issue's at your mother's house are due to wall penetration or location of towers.

Frequencies carriers use depend on the market. AT&T may have 850Mhz in one metro area and only 1900Mhz in another, so it's always different. You have to pick what works best for you where you live.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I would have done T-Mobile value plan.
Its freakin dirt cheap.
Yeah they make you make a 2 yr commitment but its worth it cause its so cheap.
For the 3 of you;
1000 minutes and unlimited texting.
1 line = NO data.
2 lines = 2gb of data.
$80 per month. Not even prepaid can touch that.
Plus I think you can even apply corp discount. You can find 15% easily in the net.

Where are you seeing this plan? That does sound like a really good deal. I would be doing data on all three lines now - since my mom finally wants a smart phone. Straight talk i would be paying 135 a month, t-mobile still sounds cheaper. Again this is all dependent on getting service at her house.

I think both ATT and t-mobile probably aren't gonna work unless i cant get either my microcell working, or do wifi calling with t-mobile.

Straight Talk T-Mobile sim only works on T-Mobile network.
Straight Talk AT&T sim only works on AT&T network.

You either need to buy the 2 different sims to test out what you want to test out or buy one and find someone that has the other.

ahh i thought you could just use whatever sim, and then change the apn to go between t-mobile and att. Question: could i possibly have straight talk activate my att sim on their network? and also if i can a t-mobile sim, could they do that as well?

 

[lothar]

ahh i thought you could just use whatever sim, and then change the apn to go between t-mobile and att. Question: could i possibly have straight talk activate my att sim on their network? and also if i can a t-mobile sim, could they do that as well?

Nope.
Nope.
Nope.

 

[jpeyton]

The answer is pretty straightforward.

If you have an AT&T or unlocked smartphone, Straight Talk's $45/month unlimited everything plan.

If you have a Verizon 3G smartphone, Page Plus has a $55/month unlimited voice/text and 2GB data.

If you don't need a lot of voice/text, T-Mobile has some data-heavy plans that might work.

 

[kaerflog]

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
You have to bring your own phone and sign a 2-yr agreement but its dirt cheap.
Adding 200mb would be +$5 for your mom, $10 for 2gb.

 

[Dulanic]

buying a sim from straight talk right now for my galaxy nexus. I chose unlocked GSM phone, and now the only options i get are to choose ATT sim cards. Will this work on T-mobiles network if i want to try that?

Just select that you have a T Mobile compatible phone.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
You have to bring your own phone and sign a 2-yr agreement but its dirt cheap.
Adding 200mb would be +$5 for your mom, $10 for 2gb.

does the 2gb plan give access to 4g, or do u need the unlim 4g plan for that?

 

[TuxDave]

I would have done T-Mobile value plan.
Its freakin dirt cheap.
Yeah they make you make a 2 yr commitment but its worth it cause its so cheap.
For the 3 of you;
1000 minutes and unlimited texting.
1 line = NO data.
2 lines = 2gb of data.
$80 per month. Not even prepaid can touch that.
Plus I think you can even apply corp discount. You can find 15% easily in the net.

Thanks for pointing this out. After my contract expires, I definitely wouldn't mind switching to a cheaper T-mobile plan.

 

[God Mode]

I plan on using 2x tmobile $30. 1 for 1500 min/txts + 30mb data and 1 for 100 min/txts and 5gb of 4g data. Does anyone combine the two and do they stack without problems?

I wish their $50 plan made more sense because 1-2gb of data is essentially worthless to me. edge, 2g etc is also useless since I can't youtube or netflix with it.

 

[kaerflog]

does the 2gb plan give access to 4g, or do u need the unlim 4g plan for that?

All the data are T-mobile highest speed possible 3g/4g.
The service is exactly the same as if you were on t-mobile regular plan.
I plan to migrate my 4 regular T-mobile lines to the VALUE plan in the future too.
When ever a new phone for T-mobile comes out, wait out 1 month and you can get it fairly cheap on Craiglist, ~$400.
This is vs $200 subsidized so you are really not saving much on a phone but you are saving a lot monthly.

 

[chewietobbacca]

Currently paying T-Mobile value plan on my SGS3:

$75 a month for unlimited talk, text, 5GB of 4G data w/ Wi-Fi Hotspot

The equivalent AT&T and VZW plans are like $50 more easily

On top of all that, T-Mobile is the most consumer friendly of all the major carriers. No stupid data sharing and other crap that VZW & AT&T love pulling

 

[dabuddha]

I have straight talk right now

$45 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. I'm using my friend's old iphone 3gs (locked to the AT&T network) and it's great!