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I just switched to EM+ Family plan and recently came off of EM. I still have until September for my contract that I extended when I got the G1 back in Thanksgiving of 08.
I figured that I'd go to EM+ and use the "Subsidizing" ability to cover the $530 cost. This will not work for the unseen future due to some "duh" moments.
EM+ works this way: If T-Mobile is selling the phone on their site, you can use EM+ to purchase it and subsidize it over a maximum of 20 months. They charge you separate from your bill, and you can choose how much to pay additional each month for the phone. (Not sure if there is a minimum payment per month. I'm guessing you have to at LEAST pay 1/20th of the phone's cost).
This won't work with the N1 because Google has exclusive selling rights for the phone.
So, like a moron, I finally came to the conclusion that there are only two ways to buy the phone, and they are the ways Google has already plain-as-day outlined.
Until there is a new game in town and Google relinquishes their exclusivity and T-Mobile picks up the Nexus One of their own accord, my only option is to buy the phone outright because the EM+ plan is not compatible with the purchasing options on the Nexus One. This is because the nature of EM+ does not make the "extension" option a viable choice due to the non-contractual nature of EM+.
It is also the highest plan possible, and - aside from the $35 fee - possibly the best plan T-Mobile offers because it's packages are cheaper than EM. However, once on it, there is no backing out.
Start saving those pennies, XDA family.
wait so does that mean that i cant buy the n1 unlocked & unsub through google, then go to tmobile and get a EM+ plan?
All we can do is either pay the $530, or $180 if your line is eligible for an upgrade (contract or upgrading to EM in the first place).
TMo always lets you upgrade to EM+ if your line isn't on it, but the $35 upgrade fee applies, and you are still obligated to the contract time you signed up for before switching to EM+. IE, I still have till the end of September for the extension I signed up for at the End of November 2008 when I got my G1, even though my account will switch to EM+ on the 8th of January.
Of course, we could always do the $180 and pay the $350 cancellation fee, but that costs a total of $530 -_-
Blueman101 said:
wait so does that mean that i cant buy the n1 unlocked & unsub through google, then go to tmobile and get a EM+ plan?
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You can do that. He's talking about upgrading and getting the 180 price instead of the full 530 price.
I have tried to talk Tmobile in waiving the ETF on one of my lines if I buy the N1 and add an aditional line but they won't do that either. Its either 530 or nothing for me. (don't want to pay 110+ dollars a month for two lines)
engagedtosmile said:
You can do that. He's talking about upgrading and getting the 180 price instead of the full 530 price.
I have tried to talk Tmobile in waiving the ETF on one of my lines if I buy the N1 and add an aditional line but they won't do that either. Its either 530 or nothing for me. (don't want to pay 110+ dollars a month for two lines)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
*phew* I was worried that my ordering of the n1 was for nothing
-Cheers
errr tmobile
I saved my upgrade for this but their plan totally sucks for the Nexus one.
500 minutes???!!!! for 79$ [email protected]#%@%
I just bought it unlocked im going to just put my sim in it.
Lol, good job. I am in agreement with that.
This stuff is to fin complicated, they should have thought this out more. All this what works what doesnt stuff you know.
I bought my Nexus One for $530 then just went over to T-mobile and changed my G1 plan to an Even More Plus 1000 minute unlimited text/web $69.99 a month. Unlocked phone and no contract, can't beat that. I think they charged me $35 to change plans but I still think that is great deal. Oh, and all the T-mobile employees in the store were going nuts loving my phone since they had never seen it before.
This knowledge comes after talking to 5 different T-Mobile reps.
The steps to get the subisidized price if you are a 22+ month "good standing" customer with a Family Plan of any kind (legacy, myFaves, Even More, etc):
If you have a Family Plan (myFaves, Even More, etc.) you *must* split all the lines on the Family Plan off to individual Even More plans. T-Mobile doesn't allow one person to have multiple types of lines on the same account, and doesn't allow one person to have multiple accounts.
Wait 2-3** hours for Google's system to replicate account data from T-Mobile. **estimated
Now that all your lines are on individual plans, you can use the steps on Google's site to modify an existing individual plan and then upgrade your phone.
Once you have received and activated your new phone on your existing number, it will convert your plan to the $80/mo Even More plan.
At this point you can call T-Mobile and have them add all your lines to an Even More Family Plan (not the Even More Plus Family Plan).
And if all this fails, she gave me HTC's support phone number: 888-216-4736
UPDATE: It appears I was a bit hasty in writing my guide. The steps above actually lead you to be able to upgrade your existing line with a $150 discount on the Nexus One, dropping the price from $529 to $379. To get the $179 pricing, you must select "Add a new individual line of service with a new number to my T-Mobile account." This will add a new line to your T-Mobile account, which you can then add back to your Family Plan, and remove your old line.
UPDATE #2: Google is now issuing a $100 refund if you went through this process and bought the Nexus One using the "upgrade" option for an individual plan to get the price of $379. That brings your cost to $279. I thought Google folks were supposedly good at math? :O
UPDATE #3: After all this nonsense, I found out today from T-Mobile that step #5 DOES NOT WORK the way they told me it would. You can't just call them and have them add all your lines to a Family Plan. Doing so within 120 days of your Nexus purchase will cause you to pay an ETF to Google, equal to the price difference between the $179 price and the $529 price.
My journey:
I started with 3 lines on a MyFaves 1200 Family Plan and was paying about $190-200 a month. I split this into 3 Even More 500 lines with Android data on 2 of the lines (my wife inherited my G1). Total cost per month at this point was roughly $200 still ($49.99 x 3 plus tax). I then bought the Nexus One for $179 ($229 with tax), which added a 4th Even More line for another $80/mo. Total cost per month now at $280ish.
Now, at this point I could have cancelled one of my out-of-contract lines, saving $49.99/mo for that line, dropping the monthly down to about $240/mo for my 2 old lines + the 1 new line from Google (3 lines total).
Instead, I cancelled the Google line, dropping the monthly back down to $200/mo, retaining out-of-contract status on all 3 lines, and eating the $350 that Google will charge me now. Had I kept their line for another 120 days though, that's 4x$40=$160 to keep that subsidized price, plus I am committed for another 2 years. At the same time, we are now signed up for the Even More Family 1500 plan with unlimited text/data/tmo-to-tmo/nights&weekends.
So at this point, I have the option (if I can explain all this math to my wife), of just buying her an unsubsidized phone upgrade for her and the other person on our plan, and drop to an Even More Plus 1500 Family Plan, which would cost us $125+tax/mo, for a total of about $150/mo. So basically in a year's time, we will have saved $600 on our phone bill, and that will buy each of them a very nice phone. Wish me luck explaining this to her.
Sorry to get everyone's hopes up. I think Google has shown that they can f*ck things up as bad as any big company out there (at least on a first try). Hopefully they will learn from it, and/or HTC will get into direct handset sales instead (like they should have this time anyways).
MORAL OF THE STORY: Save your pennies and just buy the effing thing unsubsidized. That or don't have family. Your choice.
FYI- 888-216-4736 is HTC's number
Cheers,
Kermee
Good to know. Now totally worthless, as they seemed to know less about it than Google.
As much as I hope this works even though I paid full price already and have a family plan, sounds like a lot of bull**** to go through lol... honestly, i have no problem shelling out 530 for a product of high quality and to a company that isnt all "me me me" (fu apple)... I am still a part of my parents account and i know my father would not want to deal with splitting the plan then jumping through all the hoops haha so im going to suck it up...
good luck to anyone who tries this though!
Everything is correct.
One minor thing is that if you change the plan to the Even More for 39.99 and don't add SMS and Data (10.00 + 30.00) for line ordering Nexus One, you will get a different prices from the $179.99. I have heard $279.99 and other prices.
After you have received your upgrade price of $179.99 call T-mobile and have them place you on an Even More Family plan of your choice (750, 1500, Unl) The line(s) that ordered handset will require the $30.00 data for duration of contract. Good Luck.
Feel free to ask any other Q's.
If I was to buy the N1 from Google unsubsidized, is it possible for me to continue using the plan I have without having to switch to that $80 plan? I'm on the Even More Plus Family plan btw.
Anartic said:
If I was to buy the N1 from Google unsubsidized, is it possible for me to continue using the plan I have without having to switch to that $80 plan? I'm on the Even More Plus Family plan btw.
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yes, that is the point of an unsubsidized phone, no contract binds
i am in the same exact boat as you, got a family plan, bought a phone (well worth the money) and now im happy
I went through this exact process to get the phone at $279. Make sure to remove any text or web/data addon ons on your plan as this will make the system only offer you the 379 pricing
Anartic said:
If I was to buy the N1 from Google unsubsidized, is it possible for me to continue using the plan I have without having to switch to that $80 plan? I'm on the Even More Plus Family plan btw.
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Click to collapse
If you buy the unsubsidized phone, you don't have to even take it to T-Mobile. You could take it to AT&T and suffer with EDGE/GPRS data speeds, or Canada on Rogers (the HSDPA frequencies are the same as TMO).
Here's how I *wish* this had been handled.
T-Mobile should have issued coupon codes to customers in good standing 22+ months, regardless of Family or Individual Plan. When they issue the coupon code, your account re-ups for 2 more years, and the coupon works on Google's site to discount $150 for upgrades. That would have solved the whole mess.
Google, if you're reading this, PM me for job offers.
johnowa636 said:
Everything is correct.
One minor thing is that if you change the plan to the Even More for 39.99 and don't add SMS and Data (10.00 + 30.00) for line ordering Nexus One, you will get a different prices from the $179.99. I have heard $279.99 and other prices.
After you have received your upgrade price of $179.99 call T-mobile and have them place you on an Even More Family plan of your choice (750, 1500, Unl) The line(s) that ordered handset will require the $30.00 data for duration of contract. Good Luck.
Feel free to ask any other Q's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works if the number you have doesn't have Android Data (mine did) which is required by TMO for Android phones.
You would have to go into account management and remove the stuff yourself after you told the system you're using a different handset (like the older Dash or something). Kinda like the process we used to follow to get $4.99/mo internet on the Dash.
so is it possible to skip 5 and 6 and just keep a individual plan?
because at the moment im on a family plan and are in good standing with tmo (had them since voicestream) but im moving out on my own and starting my own life since ive started college and want bills in my name on my own line.
so could i split my line from the plan upgrade it and just do the 80 dollar even more plan with them? while still getting the 179 upgrade?
drkxero13 said:
so is it possible to skip 5 and 6 and just keep a individual plan?
because at the moment im on a family plan and are in good standing with tmo (had them since voicestream) but im moving out on my own and starting my own life since ive started college and want bills in my name on my own line.
so could i split my line from the plan upgrade it and just do the 80 dollar even more plan with them? while still getting the 179 upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about the 179 upgrade, but as for your family plan problem, I would suggest staying with the same account, just give the person that pays for the bill some money every month for your part of the bill. I do that with my cousin, so since our bill is $120 I only need to pay $60
family plan
idk if someone else has asked this but does anyone kno of a way to get the nexus one for 180 on tmobile on a family plan? without buying it for 500 somthing>?
gamefan231 said:
idk if someone else has asked this but does anyone kno of a way to get the nexus one for 180 on tmobile on a family plan? without buying it for 500 somthing>?
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first of all this is the wrong thread place. this is
nexus one android development
now to answer your question
i believe you must get the special 70$ unlimited plan to be eligible for the upgrade
Please post in the correct place. This is for development.
Mods please move thread Tehran just reg nexus thread is where this belongs on development post come here
Any way. You need to have a line that is past 24 months and out of contract. Then seperate that line from family plan. Give it 2 days to reflect and then should get that price. Family lines are not eligible at all. Info is on Google's page.
Here is my question. I current have service with VZW. There tech support has finally pi**ed me off. They refused to replace my Tour that you cant hear on every other call not to mention the horrible vibration alert. So I have decided to say BYE-BYE to big red. I have read places on the net that you should be able to by new service on T-Mo with N1 on the single plan of course. Wait a few hours and then move it to a Family plan.
Is this possible for a new customer? I prefer not to dump $530 on a phone now but will if I have to. My other option is a MT which will be no issue. A coworker says go all in with Nexus. I agree the Snapdragon processor will be the difference. Thanks for the help. Cant wait for Jan 29 to move to a real from and leave Blackberry behind. I miss my modding days with my XV6800.
First let me say sorry if this was posted before, I searched and found nothing on it.
I just got off the phone with a T-mobile Rep and, he explained to me, that If i sign up for a new contract when purchasing the Nexus I will not be eligable for my 15% corporate discount on rate plane.
Has anyone successfully used their discount on a rate plan using the N1? I find it hard to believe that Google cares that much about me getting a 15% discount.
Thanks!
I couldn't even get my corporate discount on the regular non-contract plans. I decided to downgrade my minutes, and I have to pay full price for the 500 min, unlimited data and text plan, which is $60.
Their reasoning was that "it's already discounted," whatever that means.
---
Oh, I just wanted to add that you can just buy the "unlocked" phone for full price and use your existing plan. That might save you in the long run, depending on how much you pay at the moment.
Yea I am currently on the Even More Plus (no Contract) and was willing to sign the two-years to get the nexus subsidized, then use my discount to get the 1000 min + Text + Web for 75 with insurance but I was told Google will not allow Discounted rate plans with the N1...
The lack of corporate discount has nothing to do with the N1 and everything to do with the Everything More + plans. EM+ plans are not eligible for corporate discount to the base plans, though the add-ons may be discounted and activation fees may be waived depending on the corp discount. This is true regardless of the phone you use.
If you are on a regular EM plan (or an older eligible plan) you can still have your corporate discount with that plan and the N1.
The way I know it as a T-Mobile rep is that if you are on EvenMore, you get get the discount (lets say it was 15%) plus the waived act fees. If you are on Even More Plus, you still get the waived act fee but you dont get the monthly discount because its already cheaper than the Contracted one with your discount on that. I understand were everyone comes from cause the discount should be applied the any rate plan but, I don't think T-Mo would be getting enough money to expand the network like we want and bring in the devices that we want if they did do that especially because they give discounts to so many different organization (business, AAA, alumni, students, faculty, gov, churchs, etc). But just to lay it out so every one understands let take EvenMoreTTW Unlimited and EvenMorePlusTTW Unlimited. EM would be $85 after discount and EM+ is still 80. Usually if you get a great discount on your phone and monthly, EM would come out better (just realize that the phone discount would only be for the new act and not upgrades later) but if its just that plan you get a discount on EM+ is the way to go for the long run.
Yea I am on the EM+ but was willing to switch to the EM plan to use my discount. I was told that the discount COULD NOT be used because when purchasing the phone from google they only allow Individual Plans not Corporate Plans.
This made no sense to me but thats what I was told.
Orangeandblue302 said:
First let me say sorry if this was posted before, I searched and found nothing on it.
I just got off the phone with a T-mobile Rep and, he explained to me, that If i sign up for a new contract when purchasing the Nexus I will not be eligable for my 15% corporate discount on rate plane.
Has anyone successfully used their discount on a rate plan using the N1? I find it hard to believe that Google cares that much about me getting a 15% discount.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple! Don't sign up for a new contract!!!
Orangeandblue302 said:
Yea I am on the EM+ but was willing to switch to the EM plan to use my discount. I was told that the discount COULD NOT be used because when purchasing the phone from google they only allow Individual Plans not Corporate Plans.
This made no sense to me but thats what I was told.
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Since my significant other is on a discounted plan with an N1 I am not sure as to the validity of the argument. I personally am on the loyalty plan and do not see a point in changing. Did you call business suppport? if you just dialed 611 I would not be surprised with that answer, look at the extremely inconsistent answers on everything else (plans, insurance, support...) coming out of the CSRs.
Since you already have the phone, and I assume you got it subsidized at the new contract rate ($179), your options may be more limited. If however you are on a corporate plan and bought it at existing customer subsidy (now $279 if memory serves) or unsubsidized you most certainly can have a corporate discount.
i bought unlocked so Tmobile didnt touch my corporate discount let alone know im using a n1
ok i got it all taken care of, the original CS Rep was misunderstanding what I asked. Glad I got it all cleared up.
Thanks for those of you who posted and chimed in with responses!!
Ok this may sound weird but I got the phone on contract by adding a line to my account like I stated. I just decided (after ordering the phone) that I dont wanna be on a contract and i just want to buy the phone outright.
Can I just cancel the added line with T-Mobile and pay the Recovery Fee or 350.00 to google or do I have to return the phone then let them refund my account then order it again unsubsidized.
I guess my real question is How do i go about getting google to charge me the ERF so I dont have to ship and wait for a refund just to order it again?
When I went in and got my SIM card, I got my discount. Activation fee waived, and 15% off my plan (everything more plus or w/e...the $60 one)
Also just as a referce for everyone, so if you have a corp discount you can apply, just go into any store after do the EM plan buying a N1 and then the will still add it. I have gotten no word from T-Mobile that we aren't allowed to add the discount to the plan. Its pretty much the phone is just sold through google, once your plan is set up and everything yo can do whatever as far as adding discount or changing plan. Honestly on our side you wouldn't see anything. You just can't switch to EM+ cause that would cause a ETF. As far as the loyalty plan, that 50 for unlimited minutes and 35 more if you add texting and data, so you would save $5 a month and make up the migration fee of $35 over time but just up to you if a contract is a problem or not thats all. I probably would stay contracted if you like Tmo on the single line loyalty it doesn't get too much better.
Even More Plus plans were never eligible for corporate discounts, but Even More plans are. I have a discount on mine. However, T-mobile dropped the discount... so when I switched to buy the subsidized phone, my discount went from 15% to 6%. Sucks, but better than nothing.
DynaBass139: Sort of off topic but I would not switch to EM+ because I would lose number portability. I am not under any contract obligation at this point so ran the numbers and debated the subject a great deal. Granted I am unlikely to change carriers but I have had the same phone number for close to a decade now. If I decide/need to switch carriers I want to keep it.. The deal is good enough, though I wish T-Mo would drop the web to $30 to put it on parity with EM+ for cost.
(I have historically not subsidized my phones because T-Mo has not had the phones I have wanted. I have gone through a long list of HTC phones starting at the Blue Angel in 2004 I think, down to the N1 I bought on release day. If a N2 comes out on T-Mo with a keyboard I might try and subsidize that though. 2 $500+ phones in a year would be a bit too much.)
I was just gonna say I went in the day after I got mine and received the Fedex corporate discount no prob. Too late.
Ok i am just going to stay on my EM+ without the discount but I made the mistake of choosing the subsidy by opening a new line.
anyone know if I can just cancel that new line that I opened and just pay the other 350.00 off. i know google has the equipment recovery fee so how does that get charged?
For my 3000 post, I figured I would do something special for those of us fresh into TMOUSA's crappy 2 year contract (and for those thinking about it).
We all drooled and drooled consistently until TMOUSA came out with the HD2. There is a catch though, it is through TMOUSA. Many people have reported crappy service (cell-wise) and flat spots for data coverage (3G areas turning into Edge, turning into GPRS, into no-data). On top of that paying $450 for a device is not exactly appealing either ($199 sounds like a much better deal after all). I have been thinking about it long and hard and I came up with the perfect mathematical solution for getting a cheaper HD2, sticking to TMOUSA cheaper plans (or leave TMOUSA altogether), and not paying for such crappy data plan/coverage. If you are like me, you are surrounded by an accessible Wifi signal about 70-80% of your waking day, so being forced to pay $30 per month is borderline stupid.
[highlight]Edit: My method is only for brand new devices. A lot of you are suggesting cheaper solutions by buying them off eBay or craiglist, which will come with the added risk of device malfunctions or scams. If you feel adventurous enough to go down these paths... by all means. It usually works out better in the end anyways. But this method ensures a brand new device, that you will get on the spot.[/highlight]
Without Further Ado, I give you the "Scr3w You Very Much, TMOUSA" Method...
Getting HD2 without contract from the store:
$450
Cheapest Unlimited voice only plan from TMO: $49.99 (without contract)
Cost over two years: $49.99 * 24 months = $1199.76
Getting HD2 with contract from the store:
$199
Cheapest Unlimited voice + Data (they will force you into this) plan from TMO: $89.99 (2 year contract)
Cost over two years: $89.99 * 24 months = $2159.76
Cost to get out of the contract (option available only after 15 days from establishing a contract - aka remorse period): $200
Difference in phone price (with and without contract difference):
$450 - $199 = $251
Cost of breaking Contract and Keeping New Phone: $199 + $200 = $399
so we are saving $50 right off the bat (remember that the no contract price is $450, so $450 - $399 = $51)
Plan Cost:
$2159.76 - $1199.76 = $960 savings over two years
Total Savings over 2 years ($960 plan cost savings - $200 early cancellation fee + $50 for savings versus purchasing HD2 @ full price)= $810
You may think "but I still need internet" on the road... simple answer to that too:
Internet package from non contract plan = $25
Internet package from contract plan = $30
Savings over 24 months contract = $120
May not seem like much, but when you add that to the $240 from the unlimited voice plan difference (49.99 w/o contract vs $59.99 w contract), it adds to $360 for the life of the contract, plus you can leave them dry at any point you want...
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I hope this is useful into deciding if you are getting a HD2 but don't want TMOUSA as your carrier or simply don't feel like paying a lot to them.
Good to know for us tmobile users my friend.. i'll stick it as requested.
But there are those of us who actually need more than the basic services.
My business requires me to have unlimited minutes, texts, and e-mail access at all times.
So, over all, T-Mobile is cheaper than At&T or Verizon.
But I do see your point.
$30 a month for 3G internet service does seem a bit too much, when I pay the same amount for 4G (Clear Wireless) at home.
I would much rather opt out of TMOUS 2 year contract and jump ship to AT&T/Verizon/Sprint...
TMOUS has the absolute WORST service...
I guess you forgot the %35 Bing cash back when you shop online and pay full price! $300 with no contract is the best deal
Funkyrocemz said:
I would much rather opt out of TMOUS 2 year contract and jump ship to AT&T/Verizon/Sprint...
TMOUS has the absolute WORST service...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on where you are...they work quite fine in many major areas.
This does make sense. But then again it doesnt. Think about it!
Tmobile sells it on a 2 year contract for $199.
Walmart sells the samething (online) for $99 plus theres many coupons foe $25 off. So thats $75 on a new 2 year contract. Walmart also pays taxes.
Thats $75 vs. $450+ tax.
Now let me get to the point. If you want data+text+500 minutes. Its 59.99 on even more plus. Vs. $79.99 on contract.
So thats $20 more a month.
Heres the catch. If you cancel your contract after 6 months. The fee goes from $200 to $100 per line.
So lets add this up.
Buy the phone for $75. Add ($20 extra a month for 6 months= $120). And then add another $100 for the contract cancellation. Thats a total of $295.
So $295 vs. $450+ tax. Which sounds like a better deal?
After you cancel the contract. Just sign up for even more plus..
As an alternative (I did that personally), buy one get one free from T-Mobile promotion ... and pay $200 + tax for TWO HD2 phones. Activation waived.
So you pay $214 (in FL) for 2 phones.
Then you pay for 2 weeks of cheapest service (around $70) and cancellation fees of $400 for 2 phones
Total loss: $684
And you eBay your 2nd HD2 for $500 (around 450 after all fees)
You get your new shiny HD2 for $234 and you did not even extended your contract yet
Don't Forget HTC has extended the turn in a old phone and get 50.00 on top of that with teh purchase of a HD2, G1, etc... I think till May 19th
recyclerebates.com/htcWebQuote.do;jsessionid=B386A281A1471313D8E724CBA74DD8B4
joshkoss said:
Good to know for us tmobile users my friend.. i'll stick it as requested.
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Thanks a lot josh!
Always a pleasure hearing from you, my friend!
rickyoon.vegas said:
But there are those of us who actually need more than the basic services.
My business requires me to have unlimited minutes, texts, and e-mail access at all times.
So, over all, T-Mobile is cheaper than At&T or Verizon.
But I do see your point.
$30 a month for 3G internet service does seem a bit too much, when I pay the same amount for 4G (Clear Wireless) at home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may think "but I still need internet" on the road... simple answer to that too:
Internet package from non contract plan = $25
Internet package from contract plan = $30
Savings over 24 months contract = $120
May not seem like much, but when you add that to the $240 from the unlimited voice plan difference (49.99 w/o contract vs $59.99 w contract), it adds to $360 for the life of the contract, plus you can leave them dry at any point you want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Internet with the cheaper plans is cheaper ($5 a month cheaper to be more precise)
alefsin said:
I guess you forgot the %35 Bing cash back when you shop online and pay full price! $300 with no contract is the best deal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't as much as I forgot, but rather I had no idea about it (then, again, I have never used Bing)
joefx13 said:
This does make sense. But then again it doesnt. Think about it!
Tmobile sells it on a 2 year contract for $199.
Walmart sells the samething (online) for $99 plus theres many coupons foe $25 off. So thats $75 on a new 2 year contract. Walmart also pays taxes.
Thats $75 vs. $450+ tax.
Now let me get to the point. If you want data+text+500 minutes. Its 59.99 on even more plus. Vs. $79.99 on contract.
So thats $20 more a month.
Heres the catch. If you cancel your contract after 6 months. The fee goes from $200 to $100 per line.
So lets add this up.
Buy the phone for $75. Add ($20 extra a month for 6 months= $120). And then add another $100 for the contract cancellation. Thats a total of $295.
So $295 vs. $450+ tax. Which sounds like a better deal?
After you cancel the contract. Just sign up for even more plus..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! I had no idea Walmart sold these... I bought mine at Best Buy (had a $70 coupon from Rewards)
I was looking at this option and it is done through "Let's Talk"... and they do have their own set of rules (apart from TMOUSA)
$200 LetsTalk instant discount
Purchase select T-Mobile phones online or through our customer service department and receive a $200.00 instant discount when you activate new T-Mobile service on a plan of $59.99 per month or higher and in conjunction with any feature or bundle or any other plan option at least $30.00 per month or greater. This exclusive offer is limited to select online retailers and is not available in any stores. Certain rate plans may not apply. This promotion applies only to individual plans or line 1 to line 2 of a family plan and requires a (2) two-year service agreement.
Offer Qualifications and Restrictions:
Cancellation of this purchase option within the first 61 days of activation will result in a $100 penalty charge.
Customers who add a qualifying feature after their service has been activated by LetsTalk.com are NOT eligible unless the feature is activated by LetsTalk.com directly.
If the customer receives their phone and the qualifying data feature is not active, the customer must contact LetsTalk.com directly to have the feature added in order to avoid a chargeback.
If the customer receives their phone and wishes to add the qualifying feature to take advantage of the offer, the customer must contact LetsTalk.com's Customer Service center and LetsTalk.com must add the qualifying feature through their activation system.
Customers who contact T-Mobile directly to have the qualifying feature added to their accounts post activation will not be eligible for this offer.
The customer may not change the feature activated by LetsTalk.com through T-Mobile's website, call center retail stores or any other T-Mobile agents or representatives and must maintain the same qualifying feature selected at the time of purchase for 61 days in order to avoid a deactivation chargeback.
If the customer wishes to change to a different qualifying feature they must contact LetsTalk.com directly and LetsTalk.com must change the data feature directly otherwise the customer may be liable for a chargeback.
LetsTalk.com imposes this chargeback solely to recoup plan feature commissions deducted by T-Mobile.
Phones Eligible for this Promotion:
Samsung Behold II (T-Mobile), HTC HD2 (T-Mobile)
Qualifying Plan Features for this promotion:
Android Unlimited Web, Android Unlimited Web for Flexpay, myTouch Unlimited Web, myTouch Unlimited Web for Flexpay, BlackBerry Unlimited Web, BlackBerry Unlimited Web for Flexpay, BlackBerry Unlimited Web w/Enterprise Email, BlackBerry Unlimited Web w/Enterprise Email for Flexpay, Sidekick Unlimited Web, Sidekick Unlimited Web for Flexpay, SmartPhone Unlimited Web, SmartPhone Unlimited Web for Flexpay
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But you are absolutely correct about everything you are saying... There will be various methods for doing this (which result in different savings) based on personal usage of the features of the plan. In my case, (as I explained in the first post) I don't really need internet 24/7 on my device since most of my waking time, I am in areas where wireless is available, so for me this translates into at least saving $30 per month (without accounting the fact that the unlimited voice is $10 cheaper as well), and here is the thing why I posted this. Remember that having internet when you are in a contract is not an option, it is a requirement... there is no way out of it unless you break your contract or pay full price for the phone. I figured this way to be cheaper for my usage type.
Maybe I will change the title of this thread to "Ways of Getting a Cheaper Device and No Contract" or something like that. I appreciate your input on this
bogdatov said:
As an alternative (I did that personally), buy one get one free from T-Mobile promotion ... and pay $200 + tax for TWO HD2 phones. Activation waived.
So you pay $214 (in FL) for 2 phones.
Then you pay for 2 weeks of cheapest service (around $70) and cancellation fees of $400 for 2 phones
Total loss: $684
And you eBay your 2nd HD2 for $500 (around 450 after all fees)
You get your new shiny HD2 for $234 and you did not even extended your contract yet
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Not bad, but why would someone pay $500 for a device on eBay (assuming shipping is included), when they can buy it brand new, from the store, no contract needed for $450?
alooohaboy said:
Don't Forget HTC has extended the turn in a old phone and get 50.00 on top of that with teh purchase of a HD2, G1, etc... I think till May 19th
recyclerebates.com/htcWebQuote.do;jsessionid=B386A281A1471313D8E724CBA74DD8B4
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I just checked it out and in order to do this, you have to have proof of purchase (receipt or UPC box label). I have a 7 year old Wallaby bought in eBay, a 5 year old Blue Angel, 2 0.5 year old Vogues (soon to be 4), soon to have a Tytn, and a Wizard (which I sold, but for the sake of argument, I will throw it in as well).... I cannot use any of these devices for that since I have no way of providing them with proof of purchase (and this happens to be the case for a lot of htc device owners around here).
It is a good resource to have though. Thanks for sharing.
Just spoke to LetsTalk customer support. aka Walmart $99 purchase.
They'll give you the phone for $99 but if you break the contract within 6 months, you'll have to pay $250 disconnect fee to LetsTalk in addition to the $200 charged by T-Mobile.
I went to a Sams Club last week and they had it for $142 + tax. The guy there said I can keep my existing plan (family plan and $25 android data plan).
So my plan is to buy the phone from Sams Club. If I like it, I'll stay on the new 2 yr contract and if I don't I'll break the contract after 30 days and sell it on craigslist (ebay charges a lot of fees).
I've been waiting for a good android phone for a long time (my contract on the G1 got over more than a year ago. But since T-Mobile is not getting any good androind phones, I'll try WM 6.5. Microsoft wins and Google loses. The last WM device I used was an MPX200. I would have bought the Nexus One if they allowed me to add it to my family plan with a discounted rate.
before u go getting phones at contract discount and canceling. you may want to read this http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1634784
basically says tmobile will start blcking IMEI's of phones from canceled contracts. I dont know if its legit but i just bought a HD2 from ebay and now im paranoid anyone heard of this?
Edit seller assured me thats not the case for me but still thats kinda scary.
kcaj32 said:
Just spoke to LetsTalk customer support. aka Walmart $99 purchase.
They'll give you the phone for $99 but if you break the contract within 6 months, you'll have to pay $250 disconnect fee to LetsTalk in addition to the $200 charged by T-Mobile.
I went to a Sams Club last week and they had it for $142 + tax. The guy there said I can keep my existing plan (family plan and $25 android data plan).
So my plan is to buy the phone from Sams Club. If I like it, I'll stay on the new 2 yr contract and if I don't I'll break the contract after 30 days and sell it on craigslist (ebay charges a lot of fees).
I've been waiting for a good android phone for a long time (my contract on the G1 got over more than a year ago. But since T-Mobile is not getting any good androind phones, I'll try WM 6.5. Microsoft wins and Google loses. The last WM device I used was an MPX200. I would have bought the Nexus One if they allowed me to add it to my family plan with a discounted rate.
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This is true!
But if you plan on keeping the phone for atleast 181 days, then lets talk will remove the fee (plus tmobile will only charge $100 per line). This would be the best decision for someone looking to keep the phone and not sell it anytime soon.
mrbox23 said:
before u go getting phones at contract discount and canceling. you may want to read this http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1634784
basically says tmobile will start blcking IMEI's of phones from canceled contracts. I dont know if its legit but i just bought a HD2 from ebay and now im paranoid anyone heard of this?
Edit seller assured me thats not the case for me but still thats kinda scary.
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I guess this would apply more to being careful about buying the phone from 3rd party (places like ebay, craiglist, etc)
joefx13 said:
This is true!
But if you plan on keeping the phone for atleast 181 days, then lets talk will remove the fee (plus tmobile will only charge $100 per line). This would be the best decision for someone looking to keep the phone and not sell it anytime soon.
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I spoke to T-Mobile too. Their policy for canceling 2 years contract is:
If you have more than 180 days from the end of the contract, you pay $200.
If you have more than 90 days but less than 180 before contract ends, its $50, and less than 90 days for contract to end, you pay $25.
But yes, I agree that someone who plans on keeping the phone for 2 years, its a good deal.
I realize many people sign 2 year contracts because they see "free phone" and think the carrier subsidizing the phone somehow works out in their interest over the course of 2 years of paying $80-100 per month. But, considering the attractive prepaid/pay as you go/no contract options available now, why don't people take the time to do some simple math and realize paying $300 for an unlocked phone and $30-50 a month thereafter is much cheaper than getting a free phone and an expensive contract plan?
Thoughts? Personally, the notion of signing away your life for 2 years just to get phone service is absurd.
Not necessarily, I'm on contract for three years but I got my skyrocket for 200 new. My plan is only 50 tax in and has everything I need, including unlimited texting, 6 Gibson of data, 500 daytime, evenings & weekends after 6, call I'd, voicemail and unlimited network calling. Mind u, some people are paying more for less, but that doesn't mean that EVERYONE is paying 100 per month. Most people can't afford the 600 upfront for a good smartphone, and carriers know this
icenight89 said:
Not necessarily, I'm on contract for three years but I got my skyrocket for 200 new. My plan is only 50 tax in and has everything I need, including unlimited texting, 6 Gibson of data, 500 daytime, evenings & weekends after 6, call I'd, voicemail and unlimited network calling. Mind u, some people are paying more for less, but that doesn't mean that EVERYONE is paying 100 per month. Most people can't afford the 600 upfront for a good smartphone, and carriers know this
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That's not bad, really, but contract plans in the U.S. tend to be more expensive. Like, T-Mobile's standard 5GB contract plan with however many minutes and unlimited messaging is $80 a month, and you're throttled after 5GB down to dial up speeds, as far as I know.
I mean, you can find fairly new smartphones on the Internet (ebay, et al) for $200-400. Expensive, sure, but cheaper than a 2 year contract in most cases, even with a subsidized phone. Consider paying $200 or $250 for a subsidized phone, and you're still locked into a contract. Seems kind of out there, especially with the Draconian data usage policies all carriers here are implementing.
Pretty good deal, but I wouldn't commit to a carrier for 3 years (at least not in the states) because the landscape can change so much. I especially wouldn't commit to the same phone for 3 years now that they're releasing more powerful ones by the droves (sure, you can get an upgrade, but that leads to a contract extension anyway).
I just did it because the ''free'' HTC Desire HD when it was just released and I took an contract where I could change it after 3 months and that resulted that I right now pay € 22,79 before inflation correction this was € 22,50.
So for about € 600 I have unlimited mobile internet with a fup and € 20 credit each month which I can call 100 min with, but my contract is fishy, I take that € 20 to the next month if I not use it, but most time it will just get lost so my family often borrow my phone because I don't use much off those mins.
But when I took my contract the HTC Desire HD had still a new price between € 500 and € 550 so if we go calculate then I just pay about € 100 for the mobile internet and call mins.
So that would make € 4,16 for each month. That is really cheap as aslong i'm in my country i have internet, if i'm in another country I can use call and sms from within that € 20.
But in October 2012 my contract will end so I will not make it new but end it and then I will just use no sim card or a prepaid for being reachable. Because mobile contract are not cheap anymore in my country.
But this contract is my second where I have high end smartphone for free with and pay around € 600 after two years, my first was with iPhone 3G but that contract cost some more, but still in € 600 I guess something like € 650 maybe, but I forget it.
These contracts are so made that if you go over your bundle that you will pay much more, so that's why you get phone for free, but they will also charge you more if you send a text message to another country, for example, if I send a text message when I log on to a german network it cost me € 0,13 and goes off from my bundle, but if I send that same text message from my provider inside my country then it cost me € 0,39 and that is charged extra.
So i'm smart and whenever I send my gf a text message who is staying in another country, then I log my phone on the German network, it has saved me alot already.
This is almost like asking why do people go to mcdonalds?
I have both a postpaid contract account (standard 2yr in US) and a prepaid account with the same carrier. (TMOUS) (long story, don't ask)
I FEEL (note the caps phrase, please) that not only is customer service better on the postpaid account, but the data speeds are faster (comparing SIM to SIM not, device to device).....
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
radlink14 said:
This is almost like asking why do people go to mcdonalds?
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Yeah, it is, considering the abundance of other options.
Probably because most carriers try their damndest to prevent people from getting on postpaid no-contract plans. I'm currently fighting with T-Mobile over this and have since left for AT&T which had no issue giving me a postpaid plan without a contract (since I bought my device outright).
Contract worked out cheaper for me.
synaesthetic said:
Probably because most carriers try their damndest to prevent people from getting on postpaid no-contract plans. I'm currently fighting with T-Mobile over this and have since left for AT&T which had no issue giving me a postpaid plan without a contract (since I bought my device outright).
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Oh boy. I'm curious now--what'd T-Mobile do? I haven't heard many horror stories about their postpaid stuff, but to be honest I haven't heard much about T-Mobile lately at all.
pottedplant73 said:
Oh boy. I'm curious now--what'd T-Mobile do? I haven't heard many horror stories about their postpaid stuff, but to be honest I haven't heard much about T-Mobile lately at all.
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I left T-Mobile for a month to go to Sprint because coverage was terrible at my home (I've since moved). Sprint wasn't much better, so I canceled during my 30-day trial and went back to T-Mobile.
In the intervening month I was with Sprint, T-Mobile had canceled their Even More Plus (postpaid no-contract) plans and brought their current plans instead. I told them specifically I didn't want a contract, that I had my own devices and didn't need subsidized or financed phones. The rep agreed to all of this and signed me back up on what should have been the closest approximation of what I had before (500 minutes, unlimited SMS, 5GB internets).
Except it wasn't. It was a two-year contract on both lines, even though I never got a subsidized device out of the deal. So I called them and complained about this and tried to get them to fix it. The only thing they were willing to do was to give me a cheaper option by condensing my two lines into a family plan. I was not happy but I saw little choice outside of paying two lines' worth of ETF fees.
After that I didn't really have many complaints. The service was great, speeds were wonderful and the price was pretty damn low. So I didn't press the issue of being set up on a contract without my initial consent.
But then in November, T-Mobile began to heavily compress all JPEG images on the internet when using mobile data.
I don't just mean minor compression to save a few bits here and there. This was major, significant compression where JPEG filesizes would be reduced by 350%. The end result was, of course, incredibly poor image quality all across the web--and even in the Android Market. The transparent image-compression proxy caused apps like Google+ to force-close when viewing pictures.
This looked awful on my old Nexus S 800x480 display. It looked far, far worse on my Galaxy Nexus's 1280x720 display. Naturally I called and complained. Long and loud. Nothing ever changed. Nobody ever even attempted to solve the issue--indeed, if it was even an issue and not just an underhanded way to try and conserve bandwidth.
After over a dozen calls to customer service and tech support spanning nearly ten hours of phone conversations, a huge number of factory resets done on both devices to placate their reps, and two SIM card replacements, I was done, fed up with the lot of them. Went to AT&T and transferred both lines over. Now T-Mobile's trying to charge me ETFs.