• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Why don't more people use Prepaid Wireless in America?

Status
Not open for further replies.
for the new page...



~~~ All Week Long ~~~



Radio Shack:

$349.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 8GB

$449.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S 16GB


BestBuy:

$349.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 8GB

$449.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S 16GB




~~~ Black Friday ~~~



Radio Shack:

$69.99 - Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy Rush

$79.99 - Cricket HTC Desire C

$99.99 - Virgin Mobile HTC One V

$129.99 - Cricket Alcatel Authority

$149.99 - Boost Mobile ZTE Warp Sequent



Dollar General:

$39 - Net 10 ZTE Merit



Family Dollar:

$29 - Net 10 ZTE Merit



Office Max:

$19.99 - Virgin Mobile PCD Venture



BestBuy:

$49.99 - Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite

$64.99 - Boost Mobile ZTE Warp

$299.99 - Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II 4G



Walgreens:

$99.99 - T-Mobile (Prepaid) Prism



Walmart:

$39.88 - Straight Talk LG Optimus Logic

$39.88 - Boost Mobile Kyocera Hydro

$49 - Verizon (Prepaid) Samsung Illusion



Target:

$29.99 - Virgin Mobile Kyocera Rise

$29.99 - Net 10 Huawei M865

$399.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 8GB + FREE $100 Target Gift Card

$499.99 - Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S 16GB + FREE $100 Target Gift Card



feel free to post more.

usually, Virgin/Boost have online order coupon codes for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
 
WARREN, N.J., November 15, 2012 - Answering customers’ demands for more high-end Androids and 4G access, Virgin Mobile USA steps in with its familiar “Higher Calling” promise to deliver the ultra-thin and award-winning Samsung Galaxy S® II 4G from Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the United States. It pairs up for amazing value with Virgin Mobile’s Beyond Talk unlimited data and messaging plans2 that start at $35 per month.

Available in Titanium and White, Samsung Galaxy S II is available today for $369.99 at virginmobileusa.com, our Virgin Mobile-branded doors and participating dealers. Among major national retailers, only RadioShack offers the Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II 4G in Titanium.




http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2462
 
Does anyone know the best way to get onto the T-Mobile $30 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, if you already own a phone?

I stopped into a T-Mobile store tonight and asked if they sold SIM cards for prepaid plans. They said yes, but asked what plan I wanted and recommended some $50/month unlimited everything plan. I told them I wanted the 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, and the guy seemed not to know about it (whether he was faking it or not, I dunno). They told me they couldn't do it in store since it was an online-only offer, so I left without a SIM card. I didn't really want to press the issue since I know most of their employees are working on commission, and don't have much interest in helping out somebody who wants to jump on prepaid.

I know you can buy unactivated SIM cards on eBay, but I'm worried that I might pay $10-12 for a card that I can't even put on the $30 Monthly 4G plan.
 
Does anyone know the best way to get onto the T-Mobile $30 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, if you already own a phone?

I stopped into a T-Mobile store tonight and asked if they sold SIM cards for prepaid plans. They said yes, but asked what plan I wanted and recommended some $50/month unlimited everything plan. I told them I wanted the 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, and the guy seemed not to know about it (whether he was faking it or not, I dunno). They told me they couldn't do it in store since it was an online-only offer, so I left without a SIM card. I didn't really want to press the issue since I know most of their employees are working on commission, and don't have much interest in helping out somebody who wants to jump on prepaid.

I know you can buy unactivated SIM cards on eBay, but I'm worried that I might pay $10-12 for a card that I can't even put on the $30 Monthly 4G plan.

I would just buy a SIM from T-Mobiles site online and do it that way. Its like 99 cents or something. Although I wasn't bringing my old phone number with me when I switched to it, so I don't know how that part works. But T-Mobile sells the SIMs cheaply right on their site, and the shipping was pretty quick for me.
 
Does anyone know the best way to get onto the T-Mobile $30 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, if you already own a phone?

I stopped into a T-Mobile store tonight and asked if they sold SIM cards for prepaid plans. They said yes, but asked what plan I wanted and recommended some $50/month unlimited everything plan. I told them I wanted the 100 minutes/Unlimited Data plan, and the guy seemed not to know about it (whether he was faking it or not, I dunno). They told me they couldn't do it in store since it was an online-only offer, so I left without a SIM card. I didn't really want to press the issue since I know most of their employees are working on commission, and don't have much interest in helping out somebody who wants to jump on prepaid.

I know you can buy unactivated SIM cards on eBay, but I'm worried that I might pay $10-12 for a card that I can't even put on the $30 Monthly 4G plan.


Try a different store, I had to visit 6 retail stores before I found a guy who would actually give me the plan. He told me they are instructed to push the $50 plan if you insist on the $30 one then they tell you it's a online/Walmart deal. Some people in another thread said you can buy the prepaid sim activation kit from tmobile website and when you activate it gives you the option to choose the $30 plan. I checked they had the full sim activation kit available online but the micro sim kit is a dead link. It's $0.99 so just give it a shot and just cut the sim needed.
 
I would just buy a SIM from T-Mobiles site online and do it that way. Its like 99 cents or something.

It's $0.99 so just give it a shot and just cut the sim needed.

Have either of you tried buying the SIM from T-Mobile? When I do so it immediately redirects me to a plan/phone selection page when you hit "Check Out" in your cart. And of course there's no way to select the $30 plan. If you try to tell it you don't want a phone, then it only allows you to choose from plans that start at $50/month.

Hilarious how this offer is supposed to be "online only", yet it's basically impossible to get it online. Please give it a shot if you have the time, maybe it's just something with my browser.....but I've gotten the same results in FireFox and IE.
 
So it's just a matter of "sometimes" getting the T-Mobile site to sell you a SIM without also forcing you to buy a phone and/or a plan?

I'll give it a few more goes, but honestly I'd rather just buy the SIM off eBay than play roulette with T-Mobile's cruddy site.
 
I actually have an account at the Howard Forum site, but I forgot the password and their password recovery feature is busted.

I suppose I could just create another account with a different email, but I was lazy and decided to ask here instead :)
 
Have either of you tried buying the SIM from T-Mobile? When I do so it immediately redirects me to a plan/phone selection page when you hit "Check Out" in your cart. And of course there's no way to select the $30 plan. If you try to tell it you don't want a phone, then it only allows you to choose from plans that start at $50/month.

Hilarious how this offer is supposed to be "online only", yet it's basically impossible to get it online. Please give it a shot if you have the time, maybe it's just something with my browser.....but I've gotten the same results in FireFox and IE.

That's because it's exclusively from walmart so it's only available on walmart's site. And you don't want just a sim card you want the like $5 prepaid activation kit that comes with a sim card. T-Mobile live chat can give you the link.

Edit: You're just doing it wrong it seems. Go to the $.99 prepaid activation kit and then when it gives you the plans thing after adding it to the plan click "remove this package" and then the only thing that will be in your cart will be the sim card kit and then just click checkout and start entering your shipping and billing info and you're done.
 
Every question you can think of has been asked and answered in the first two pages of the forum.

I didn't see anything about my specific problem ("T-Mobile's website will not allow me to buy the sim card").

But for whatever reason tonight it now actually does allow me to go through the checkout process. So problem solved.
 
Have either of you tried buying the SIM from T-Mobile? When I do so it immediately redirects me to a plan/phone selection page when you hit "Check Out" in your cart. And of course there's no way to select the $30 plan. If you try to tell it you don't want a phone, then it only allows you to choose from plans that start at $50/month.

Hilarious how this offer is supposed to be "online only", yet it's basically impossible to get it online. Please give it a shot if you have the time, maybe it's just something with my browser.....but I've gotten the same results in FireFox and IE.

I'm using a Motorola Triumph I got last Black Friday and payed ~$26 a month, despite the $35 being the lowest available. Via Fatwallet I learned you can can go (after having been activated and the current lowest plan) to the website and go to "My Account" and "Change Plans" then "Don't see the plan you're looking for? Click here" at the bottom to change to the (old) $25 300 mins plan.

My experience, for what its worth.
 
I'm using a Motorola Triumph I got last Black Friday and payed ~$26 a month, despite the $35 being the lowest available. Via Fatwallet I learned you can can go (after having been activated and the current lowest plan) to the website and go to "My Account" and "Change Plans" then "Don't see the plan you're looking for? Click here" at the bottom to change to the (old) $25 300 mins plan.


I'm looking for the $30/100mins/unlimited text & data plan on T-Mobile.....can you switch it to that?
 
With that $30 T-Mobile plan -- what's the easiest way to add more minutes if you need them? Or do they just charge you per minute after the first 100?
 
Yeah, I plan to carry a $10 balance on my T-Mobile account, just in case I go over 100 minutes.

I don't talk on the phone that much, but all it takes is one call to a company's customer service/tech support line to push you way beyond your normal usage. 10 minutes on hold, 10 minutes talking to a rep, probably another 5 minutes with a followup call. Not a big deal normally, but on this plan it eats up 25% of your available minutes.

It's be a while since I used T-Mobile Prepaid -- do they count voicemail access against your minutes? Do they count unanswered calls (that don't go to voicemail) against your minutes? AT&T banged me for minutes both when checking voicemail and if I just hung up on an unanswered call.
 
Yeah, I plan to carry a $10 balance on my T-Mobile account, just in case I go over 100 minutes.

I don't talk on the phone that much, but all it takes is one call to a company's customer service/tech support line to push you way beyond your normal usage. 10 minutes on hold, 10 minutes talking to a rep, probably another 5 minutes with a followup call. Not a big deal normally, but on this plan it eats up 25% of your available minutes.

It's be a while since I used T-Mobile Prepaid -- do they count voicemail access against your minutes? Do they count unanswered calls (that don't go to voicemail) against your minutes? AT&T banged me for minutes both when checking voicemail and if I just hung up on an unanswered call.

Yes, it charges for calling the voicemail but you can call the voicemail from a landline and enter your number to access your messages. And AFAIK all prepaid are the same with unanswered calls, if it just keeps ringing and you get charged nothing but if the person or the voicemail for them picks up then it counts as a call and you're charged a minute. I've never seen a company that doesn't operate it like that.

Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 8GB is $349.99 @ BestBuy & Radio Shack

Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S 16GB is $449.99 @ BestBuy & Radio Shack

Virgin Mobile seems really legit and trying hard to make themselves better and better, I wish sprint didn't suck so much ass by me so they were a realistic option.
 
I went with Tmobile's $60 a month plan.

500 min, unlimited sms, and truly unlimited data.

Only downside is that they made me sign a contract and I still had to buy my own phone. :/

Is there any other plans comparable? I have 30 days to cancel.
 
Have either of you tried buying the SIM from T-Mobile? When I do so it immediately redirects me to a plan/phone selection page when you hit "Check Out" in your cart. And of course there's no way to select the $30 plan. If you try to tell it you don't want a phone, then it only allows you to choose from plans that start at $50/month.

Hilarious how this offer is supposed to be "online only", yet it's basically impossible to get it online. Please give it a shot if you have the time, maybe it's just something with my browser.....but I've gotten the same results in FireFox and IE.

Yeah I did it that way. My Galaxy Nexus is activated through the SIM I bought. Of course that was waaaaay earlier this year, so I dunno if they are having trouble with their site now though :(
 
I went with Tmobile's $60 a month plan.

500 min, unlimited sms, and truly unlimited data.

Only downside is that they made me sign a contract and I still had to buy my own phone. :/

Is there any other plans comparable? I have 30 days to cancel.
Virgin has $45/mo for 1200 mins/ unlimited text / unlmited data (2gb softcap iirc)
$55 for unlimited all (and softcap)
StraightTalk is $45/mo for unlimited everything and 2GB softcap (Along with a daily or weekly softcap??) iirc
 
Republic Wireless is out of beta and taking pre-orders from all comers now.

$19 a month for unlimited everything

Freedom has arrived. republic wireless is open for everyone. Welcoming pre-orders now.

Today is a big day -- not only for republic, but any current cell phone user looking for a better way to talk, text, or use data. Today, we're proud to announce that our store is OPEN for pre-order for the dual-band Motorola DEFY XT. This means that now anyone can join the republic. And that’s why we’re here in the first place – so more people can have smartphone service at an amazingly low cost.

...

The dual-band DEFY XT features our Hybrid Calling(TM) technology that uses Wi-Fi where it's available and cell where it’s not. Unlimited talk, text and data, all for just $19 a month. No overages, contracts, or hidden charges in small fine print. Just great phone service at the lowest monthly rate in America.

You can pre-order your dual-band DEFY XT today for $249 plus a $10 start-up fee and applicable taxes. Your start-up fee includes shipping and handling. Your first $19 monthly membership will be charged when your phone ships. Don't forget, we'll continue to offer a 30-day money back guarantee so you can join republic with no risk.
https://community.republicwireless....is-open-for-everyone-welcoming-pre-orders-now
 
Finally got "H+" Tmobile singal at home, as soon as I get it at work, I will move to my International Note full time.
 
Alright, guys, I have the nasty Motorola Triumph, would the HTC One V (for only 50 bucks!) be a better phone? I am pulling the trigger today if so!
 
The Triumph and the One V are pretty identical in specs except for the One V having a smaller screen (with the same res) while the Triumph being on the older version of Android.

Is the S2 still worth getting nowadays?

Upgrading from a god damned Blackberry on Boost Mobile.

It's a decent phone and it's been updated to at least ICS (rumored to get jellybean too). But if you want to go the custom rom route obviously you'd be able to find whatever you want.

Specs wise, it's in the same ball park as the Galaxy Nexus except for not having an HD screen. I guess it all depends on how much less you'd be paying for it vs a Nexus phone.
 
FUCK I want to upgrade to an Evo V or One V but I would lose my $25 unlimited account to the $35 plan right?

Correct, I'm actually in a similar situation. I bought the Galaxy SII on Friday but haven't opened it up yet. Now I see the One V for $50 and I'm second guessing my S2 purchase if only for the price. I don't want to give up my $25 a month plan either, but my Triumph has the widely talked about me memory issue.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom