I'm looking into buying the Vibrant as my first Android device and I was comparing the pro/cons on getting it on Wirefly and from T-Mobile. So far, I can only see pros with getting the Vibrant from Wirefly so I have a few questions.
1. Is the Vibrant $99.99 instead of $199.99 because of the instant rebate or will I be charged extra later in my bill?
2. Is the $30 Unlimited Data truly unlimited, or is it capped at 5GB?
3. Should I still buy the warranty from Wirefly even though I plan to root my device?
4. I've heard that there is a way to get unlimited texts/minutes via Google Voice. If true, I have no need to get an additional text messaging and can get the minimal amount of minutes (500) available from T-Mobile. With that said, is there anything wrong with using Google Voice as my primary communication instead of T-Mobile?
5. Why are there different plans offered on Wirefly and T-Mobile?
6. Has anyone ordered their Vibrant from Wirefly and have any problems (billing, shipping, etc)?
Killer Bee said:
I'm looking into buying the Vibrant as my first Android device and I was comparing the pro/cons on getting it on Wirefly and from T-Mobile. So far, I can only see pros with getting the Vibrant from Wirefly so I have a few questions.
1. Is the Vibrant $99.99 instead of $199.99 because of the instant rebate or will I be charged extra later in my bill?
2. Is the $30 Unlimited Data truly unlimited, or is it capped at 5GB?
3. Should I still buy the warranty from Wirefly even though I plan to root my device?
4. I've heard that there is a way to get unlimited texts/minutes via Google Voice. If true, I have no need to get an additional text messaging and can get the minimal amount of minutes (500) available from T-Mobile. With that said, is there anything wrong with using Google Voice as my primary communication instead of T-Mobile?
5. Why are there different plans offered on Wirefly and T-Mobile?
6. Has anyone ordered their Vibrant from Wirefly and have any problems (billing, shipping, etc)?
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The Vibrant is $250 with a $50 mail in rebate to bring it to $200. I am assuming (but could be wrong) that you'll be out $150 with a $50 MIR through Wirefly.
TMo's unlimited data is just that, unlimited (within reason). If you're streaming movies from somewhere they're going to say "No, it's not really unlimited". OTOH, if you're streaming movies over HSPA you have other issues than worrying about your data bill. Best confine that activity to when you're on WiFi.
You will get unlimited texting with Google Voice, but not unlimited minutes.
If you go through tmo and get in touch with their loyalty department, they will give you a good deal especially if you've been a customer for a while... Plus you get the warranty through them and the insurance through assurian...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
tmobile has a soft cap on data at 5gb. What this means is that once you go over 5gb they throttle your data, they don't charge you more.
the unlimited calling though google voice no longer works, you can still do txt messaging for free.
I get to 10gb and I get a text saying my bandwith will be cut until next billing cycle. I have an older contract...still have Myfaves.
I just checked. My data plan is $34.99! Thats why I probally get 10gb before Tmob gets mad.
I did 7gigs last month... No prob from tmo... 5 last month...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Not sure about Wirefly but Amazon has it for $99.99 With New Contract if you want it through someone you can trust.
Does anyone have any experience with getting phones on contract from Wirefly? What was it like.
Gr8gorilla said:
tmobile has a soft cap on data at 5gb. What this means is that once you go over 5gb they throttle your data, they don't charge you more.
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Oh, so thats it. They slow down your connection eh, well thats smarter/better than charging more imo.
subnormyle said:
Not sure about Wirefly but Amazon has it for $99.99 With New Contract if you want it through someone you can trust.
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Is Amazon any good? I've bought other products from them, but I've never got a phone on contract through them. Any experience with them?
Go to a local frys in CA, they have it for $79.99 for new activations.
1. Wirefly requires sub-contracts that T-Mobile doesn't do. i.e. If you break contract/change plan within a set timeframe, Wirefly may charge you extra fees that T-Mobile would not (outside of the ETF). Typically it's better to go through tmo but if you don't mind the risk you MAY save some money with Wirefly/Amazon/etc.
2. The data soft cap is 10gb for everyone. The 5gb cap ONLY applies to USB data sticks. There is no surcharge for going over the 10gb.
3. Skip any warranty you have to pay for. Add insurance through tmo.
4. Only downside I can think of with depending on GV for voice/text is the reliance on data connection. If you're anywhere that has a spotty connection or roam on a different network you may be SOL.
5. Plans are the same, just worded differently.
6. I've heard of many problems with third-party dealers in general, but I'm a little biased towards the quality of corporate stores. =)
Wirefly is hit and miss. Usually to get said rebates you have to agree to certain standards and even then its hard to get the rebates. I work in a Tmo store and have had to fix issues made by wirefly. Plus like other people have said you will have to agree to a secondary contract with wirefly.
pololoy23 said:
Go to a local frys in CA, they have it for $79.99 for new activations.
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Link? There is probably an after rebate your missing because thats a steal.
jayzusfk said:
1. Wirefly requires sub-contracts that T-Mobile doesn't do. i.e. If you break contract/change plan within a set timeframe, Wirefly may charge you extra fees that T-Mobile would not (outside of the ETF). Typically it's better to go through tmo but if you don't mind the risk you MAY save some money with Wirefly/Amazon/etc.
3. Skip any warranty you have to pay for. Add insurance through tmo.
5. Plans are the same, just worded differently.
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1. This does affect early upgrades as well?
3. How does this work, you just go to a T-Mobile store and ask for insurance on your device or do you call them and they do a mo/ charge? How much?
5. True I guess, but Wirefly/non T-Mobile sites have more flexibility. They have an option to not have unlimited texts for an additional $10 which is unfortunately built into the T-Mobile plans.
Killer Bee said:
Link? There is probably an after rebate your missing because thats a steal.
1. This does affect early upgrades as well?
3. How does this work, you just go to a T-Mobile store and ask for insurance on your device or do you call them and they do a mo/ charge? How much?
5. True I guess, but Wirefly/non T-Mobile sites have more flexibility. They have an option to not have unlimited texts for an additional $10 which is unfortunately built into the T-Mobile plans.
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1- if you are not eligible for a full upgrade good luck dealing with a third party, odds are once they see that they won't even talk to you, and all third party full no contract phones are more expensive.
5- No third party dealer will ever have plans that you can not get at a t-mobile store. You can get a plan without texts anywhere. If anything you get more flexibility at a corporate store because the employees will know what they are doing in the computer and may find you a better deal.
I mean this in the nicest way - you seem to have a lot of questions, you should probably go to a corporate store and let them help you. You could easily be taken advantage of by a third party dealer.
I bought my Vibrant from Wirefly, for an extremely early upgrade(after breaking my poor Nexus that Google gave to me for free ), and have been pleased with the experience. I felt the discount was extremely fair, as I still had almost a year left on my contract, and the order went through smooth and fast. Its actually the second time I've dealt with them(Ironically, the first was another Sammy phone which lasted me nearly 2 years before getting the G1). I honestly have recommended to friends Wirefly because of my transactions with them.
As others have mentioned, there is a secondary contract that applies to you keeping a fixed rated plan with T-Mobile, meaning if you had a 1000 minute plan, and decide to drop it to 500 before Wirefly gives you a thumbs up, they will start charging your card extra. If you don't do this much, you might find it to be a fair trade-off
Killer Bee said:
Link? There is probably an after rebate your missing because thats a steal.
1. This does affect early upgrades as well?
3. How does this work, you just go to a T-Mobile store and ask for insurance on your device or do you call them and they do a mo/ charge? How much?
5. True I guess, but Wirefly/non T-Mobile sites have more flexibility. They have an option to not have unlimited texts for an additional $10 which is unfortunately built into the T-Mobile plans.
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As mentioned, early upgrades are USUALLY a no-go with 3rd-party dealers.
Plan flexibility is definitely not more available in non t-mo sites. Call em up or pop into a store and you can find all sorts of options, not to mention the fact that they'll review what you actually use instead of leaving you with the guesswork.
In fact, before you even consider ordering one through wirefly, you may want to call up customer care and see if they'll help you out. They'll do a lot of nice things for loyal customers. Although even if they can't I would prefer to pay a little more and not have to hassle with a different company.
Tmo Rep here. If you already have a T-Mobile account and you are near the end of contract date, you can get excellent deals from the Loyalty Department. They have a lot of flexibility in pricing because their job is to keep you from canceling so usually they will give you really nice deals to stay.
In terms of Corp vs 3rd Party, it really depends on where you go. I've been to Best Buys where employees knew their stuff about phones and plans and I know of other corporate stores in my area where the reps don't know what they are doing.
If you are a new customer, try bringing that Wirefly price into a store and see if they will give it to you. "Technically" we aren't supposed to pricematch websites but go to the right store, they will do it for you. I pricematch stuff all of the time lol
nice to hear from rep. lol
Ok guys, thanks for answering my questions. Guess I'll just go to a store before I buy from Wirefly.
Related
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.
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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...
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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?
I called AT&T and was told the Aria would cost $129. I told them that wasn't good enough. They put me through to the Resolutions department and I told them that I didn't want to pay anything for the phone. So they gave me a credit to my account for the cost of the phone, tax, shipping, and free activation.
Because I only use about 60mb per month on my data plan, I told them I would downgrade to the $15 plan if they gave me another $50 credit. And they agreed. Plus, I save $180 a year on my data plan (might get my wife a data plan now!).
Just talk to the right people, be patient, very nice, and PLAY HARD!!
drjim said:
I called AT&T and was told the Aria would cost $129. I told them that wasn't good enough. They put me through to the Resolutions department and I told them that I didn't want to pay anything for the phone. So they gave me a credit to my account for the cost of the phone, tax, shipping, and free activation.
Because I don't use my data plan about 60mb per month, I told them I would downgrade to the $15 plan if they gave me another $50 credit. And they agreed. Plus, I save $180 a year on my data plan (might get my wife a data plan now!).
Just talk to the right people, be patient, very nice, and PLAY HARD!!
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Was there a reason why they were being so nice to you? Did you have a bad experience with them?
psychoace said:
Was there a reason why they were being so nice to you? Did you have a bad experience with them?
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No bad experience. You just have to find the department that has the power to make the deal.
I just told them:
1. I am a long-time AT&T customer.
2. There are a lot of mobile phone companies out there with many great phones.
3. AT&T has had its problems, but I believe in loyalty.
4. I want an Aria and you want me to stay with AT&T.
5. Let's find a win-win here.
I have used this strategy every time I am ready for an upgrade and it always works.
Just be willing to walk away from the phone if they don't give you the deal you want.
why not just upgrade from third party such as dell?
Aria is free there.
drjim said:
No bad experience. You just have to find the department that has the power to make the deal.
I just told them:
1. I am a long-time AT&T customer.
2. There are a lot of mobile phone companies out there with many great phones.
3. AT&T has had its problems, but I believe in loyalty.
4. I want an Aria and you want me to stay with AT&T.
5. Let's find a win-win here.
I have used this strategy every time I am ready for an upgrade and it always works.
Just be willing to walk away from the phone if they don't give you the deal you want.
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acrodex said:
why not just upgrade from third party such as dell?
Aria is free there.
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I'm not sure about Dell, but wirefly and letstalk try to force you into a higher-cost plan. I was able to keep my 450 min/month family plan. Why mess with intermediaries when you can go direct to the source?
They gave it to me for 99 when I told them that letstalk.com and amazon were selling it for 99
dam u got lucky! i always have bad experiences with att support lol
I've been following the Galaxy S and Vibrant releases for a while and love the Vibrant. I however have a problem concerning plans. Since I will only be using its Internet capabilities where I have Wi-Fi (college, home, work), I have no need or desire for a data plan. T-Mobile REQUIRES new devices are sold with data plans so my question is.
1.Would getting a Vibrant from Ebay (for ~$500) and using my old SIM be the best option?
2. Can I just walk into a Tmobile store and tell them I want to purchase a RETAIL ($500) Vibrant with no contract or SIM and get one that way (or are they going to add a data plan and ask me for my Tmobile line credentials to do so)?
3. Is getting a Vibrant on contract for $200 + data plan and then cancelling the contract after the 15th day the cheapest option?
I suppose I would prefer to buy it from Tmobile, even at retail price since I get the manufacturer insurance of 1 year (have needed it before) free though if not possible, Ebay is an option too. I'm just looking at getting it as cheap as possible without having to do a 2-year data plan contract.
Thx.
I bought it at T-mobile off contract, however i made some other account changes while i was there so not sure if they require anything account wise when buying off contract.
I see. What kind of changes did you make? Adding a data plan or something else?
Do you think I can walk into a store, and buy a Vibrant for $500 WITHOUT providing any account information so that they cannot associate my account with the phone?
I'd like to keep my contract AS IS currently, and if possible not renew it (it just passed the 2 years mark so I can technically get a discounted phone if I renew it but I do not like T-Mobile's new contracts. I have unlimited texting on my line through a Family plan)
you might try asking this over in the the Tmobile vibrant forum
i believe you can cancel the data plan after or during the first month but i'm not the expert
costco WAS selling Vibrants off-contract (even more plans) for $229. not sure if its still ongoing.
Either costco or t-mobile. At costco they have to tie it it to a new phone line, which you can cancel at any time since you aren't under contact, pretty sure there is no fee.
I opted to but at tmo, and have the price split up over 20 payments interest free. I already had an existing android plan though.
andy2na said:
costco WAS selling Vibrants off-contract (even more plans) for $229. not sure if its still ongoing.
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Even More plans are contract plans. Are you talking about Even More Plus plans?
Go by a T-Mobile store and ask or call their customer service. You'll get a much better answer straight from the horse's mouth than you will from here.
I've heard about people trying to get a discounted phone with a new contract or making changes to their plan so they qualify and then immediately change things around in a manner that would disqualify them from the discount after they got it and then T-Mobile hit them with the remaining amount for the full price of the phone in their next bill. I guess it's their way of saying "cheaters never prosper".
If I buy it from Tmobile with ANY sort of contract...Even more Plus or Even More, they WILL add a data plan to it. There is also activation fees for a new line so not only will I have to pay the $500 for an even more plus plan, but I would have to CANCEL the line...in that case I may as well get it off of Ebay and save myself the hassle of all that.
The T-Mo forums are really helpful with everything other than development. Try there or stop at an official T-Mo store. The third party official partner places get paid to sell contracts. I've had some bad experiences on eBay and had to go to resolution with the seller twice on pre-smartphone phones, so beware.
What kind of bad experiences exactly?
If I were you and looking for a SGS I'd buy the full model that has all the extras... or possibly even the version with a slide out keyboard and ffc. The SGS Pro i believe it is.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
}{Alienz}{ said:
What kind of bad experiences exactly?
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Wrong carrier on one occasion and got a refurbished instead of new phone the other time. I have gotten good deals as well, so it's a crapshoot. I probably didn't screen the seller as well as I should have, just looked at the overall rating.
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
you could probably call tmo or stop in to a tmo corp store and ask, I find they are usually very helpful about things like this. side note i actually had a long conversation w/ the rep at the store when i bought my vibrant about cyanogenmod and phone modding, which he has done to his phones.
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
engineer14 said:
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
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Click to collapse
Nope. A memo was sent out and they raised the price Tuesday morning to $479. Think the $250 was a pricing error.
The best deal is with Bing cashback! $325
Go to bing.com
search for tmobile (you should see gold dollar sign w 35% off)
click on the link to tmobile site then do your shopping
I got my phone for $325 and on top of that, 35% off activation and the $59 plan.
so my total saving was $208
But bing is ending its cashback program at the end of july so better hurry!
I don't see the gold $ when I search t-mobile nor when I do my shopping after clicking through bing do I get the discount.
Is there supposd to be some code you put? Is it possible for you to just post a link?
too bad Bing cashback is gone at the end of the month.
@killer bee
See picture
hpz937 said:
you could probably call tmo or stop in to a tmo corp store and ask, I find they are usually very helpful about things like this. side note i actually had a long conversation w/ the rep at the store when i bought my vibrant about cyanogenmod and phone modding, which he has done to his phones.
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Click to collapse
I went to check the phone out the phone at a local store and someone was playing with the demo so the rep let me play with his personal phone. I noticed he had the su app installed lol
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
engineer14 said:
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree! I recently switched our 5 phones over from AT&t and we went with Even More Plus because it's cheaper in the long run and no contract. However, we had to pay full price for the phones. Two of them were basic flip phones, but three of them were Samsung Vibrants at $500 apiece. We bought them at a T-Mobile corporate store and the most they did for us was waive the activation fee (which I found out would have been done anyway as a AAA member) and give us one free car charger when we bought the other two. We shelled out $1500 for the three Vibrants and we could have paid $750 at Costco!!!!! We're still in our 14 day return period, obviously, so if this is all true I'm going to call T-Mobile and see what can be done.
So I'm interested in the Motorola Atrix 4G from AT&T but their plans are expensive. I can get the almost the same plan from T-Mobile for $15 less a month though I don't like their Android phones.
Nation 450 w/Rollover® Minutes - $39.99
DataPlus 200MB for HSPA+/4G Smartphones - $15.00
Unlimited Messaging with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling - $20.00
Comes out to $75 a month, T-Mobile has basically the same plan here for only $60 a month. I already have my home phone and my TV through AT&T and have been a customer with them for almost 5 years. Would AT&T discount me at all for having, home, cell, and TV with them? Also would they compete with Costco for the price of the phone ($200 at AT&T, $120 at Costco).
Thanks to everyone for the help!
from my experience with att that would be a no. however can always give it a shot. talk to sales not customer service though.
i had an at&t store tell me the other day they wldnt sell a smartphone off contract it really varies from one person to the next at at&t u can ask one person and they will say no move over 2 feet to the next person and they say yes so good luck just ask more than one person at at&t likely to get a yes
Don't get your hopes up. It isn't likely. I am a 20+ year customer, and the person on the other end just humphs at that. No, they don't care about customer loyalty at all. I went for a captivate in nov and wanted to stick with my unlimited plan. No way, forced me to take the plan( without telling me). I backed out, gave them the phone back, and reverted to my old plan. They would not give me the old unlimited plan back, and at that time only thing they were doing was the 2gb max + $10 for the next gig for overage. I told them to forget it, I was gonna switch to a competitor and they said ok. I thought that was real crappy. My phone was hurting and I needed to move, so I went with the Atrix last week. I regret my decision already, and can't give them the phone back without a 35% restock fee, per the in store salesrep.
Plus keep in mind that they deny throttling service on non-Iphone "4g". Liars.
It varies on who you talk to IMHO. You might get lucky with a CS rep if you tell them you already have service with AT&T. Like I said YMMV. Good luck
Hello. I just felt the need to respond to this. I am a market manager for an authorized retailer of AT&T. I have five stores under my guidance. Yes, you can receive a discount because you have your home services with AT&T. To be quite honest though, it is not a steep discount, but it is a discount. If you combine the wireless and home services on the same bill, you will get a discount of $5 off each service. Also, depending on who you work for, you may be eligible for a discount as well off your rate plan, data plan and texting. For example...Bank of America employees receive 15% off of the primary line's rate plan, texting and data.
As for the cost of the phone, unfortunately no, the store you are dealing with will not match the $120 price for the Atrix. What I will caution you on is when dealing with purchasing a device outside of an AT&T store or the att.com site, you may (and I say may) end up with some weird things happening to your account. Also, be careful there is no fine print. For example...if you buy an AT&T phone on amazon.com and it is only an individual line...if you decide later you need a second line and try to do a family plan, well that doesn't fly with amazon.com. They will charge you an early termination fee because you got the phone at a much lower price through amazon.com then you would have at a store. Strange I know, but that's why I always give people this anology...would you go to a cell phone store to buy a car??? Then why go to somewhere that does not specialize in cellphones to buy one??? Just experience talking in this matter.
I will chime in on this post as well. The person you dealt with that took away your unlimited data was dead wrong. All the reps that work for me will tell you and have done it...if someone has unlimited data prior to the change last year and does an upgrade, there is the option to keep it. I take that as poor training from that reps manager. When we are going through our system to complete the upgrade, it will automatically try to change the unlimited $30 data to the 2gb $25 data. However, the rep has to hit "modify features" button and it gives them all the data plans. If the current plan has unlimited data, the unlimited data option appears. If the current plan does not have unlimited data, the option will not be present.
I'm glad to be a college student. My bill is like 83 dollars with tax and all now with the student discount they have. Its basically 15% off of the monthly bill.
it's really swell that the reps say no it would not happen with them, I appreciate that you feel that way, so did the people I dealt as they really tried to put the unlimited plan back. It wasn't them, it was corporate crap. None of them could get it to come back up as an "option" when returning the phone and asking to be put back just like i was before the transaction. I talked to two reps online and then one at the B&M store. They were all miffed also, but the fact of the matter is AT&T burned me, and 20+ years didn't mean sqwat. I have to stop now, or I'll start with them crippling capabilities on the phone, or throttling data when you exceed their threshold, or...
Please I need some clarification on how the "Pay as you go" data plan works with Verizon for the XOOM. My only experience is with the iPad and AT&T, where it was very simply and user friendly, I just had to purchase the data from the iPad itself and pay with my Credit Card, no calls to customer service, and I can cancel it anytime from the iPad itself. Based on a quick conversation with a Verizon rep, with Verizon it's much more complicated, I have to actually setup an account with Verizon, use the XOOM with the monthly contract data plan, and when I want to cancel it I have to call customer service and close the account, the same thing to activate the plan again, is that true that it's so complicated ?, I think the way how Apple implemented it with AT&T is very effective and simple, I don't know if with the iPad 2 Verizon will have a different option. Please could you add your comments based on your experience ?, thanks
its true and will apparently incur an activation fee each time service is restarted. Verizon really wants you to get a data plan and keep it :-(
Today I was ready to buy the Verizon XOOM, and use the data as "pay as you go", but after I understood the way how Verizon manages "pay as you go data", I will never invest on something that it will be so complicated and expensive to use. I'll have to wait for the Wifi only XOOM.
Supposedly you don't have to pay an activation fee of $35 bucks but rather you can suspend your account for $15. Still a major deal breaker but maybe when the iPad 2 is released they will change their policy.
Ya it really sucks. I purchased my Xoom and returned it after a week. Day after i returned it i got a Bill from VZN for almost 60 bucks for my "activation fee" + "1 month Data". I actually had to call up VZN and speak to a representative to "see what they could do". Fortunately i got an absolute sweetheart of a rep and was sure to be equally as sweet back. though i didnt get %100 credit. She was able to reduce my bill to $2.39 for the cost of my prorated data for 2 days. While most people would probably argue about that i said that was fine and will pay that bill when i get it.
Im not sure if they do the same thing with the Ipad 3G for ATT(even though i own one) but with the Xoom your data plan actually has a Phone number in addition to the ACCT number associated with it. So thats where all these stupid fees are coming from, they treat it like your actually opening up a new cellphone contract. IPad was 1(setup),2(pay),3(Surf)
verusevo said:
Ya it really sucks. I purchased my Xoom and returned it after a week. Day after i returned it i got a Bill from VZN for almost 60 bucks for my "activation fee" + "1 month Data". I actually had to call up VZN and speak to a representative to "see what they could do". Fortunately i got an absolute sweetheart of a rep and was sure to be equally as sweet back. though i didnt get %100 credit. She was able to reduce my bill to $2.39 for the cost of my prorated data for 2 days. While most people would probably argue about that i said that was fine and will pay that bill when i get it.
Im not sure if they do the same thing with the Ipad 3G for ATT(even though i own one) but with the Xoom your data plan actually has a Phone number in addition to the ACCT number associated with it. So thats where all these stupid fees are coming from, they treat it like your actually opening up a new cellphone contract. IPad was 1(setup),2(pay),3(Surf)
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That was nice of her!
has anyone seen this? it is not the first time I've heard that Verizon wants to go head to head with AT&T (is no activation fee each time). Read in the comments.
We'll see tomorrow. I will go into a store and ask.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/iPad...from-AT-T-and-Verizon-go-head-to-head_id17305
The verizon rep i spoke to when I setup my month to month accounts that its simply$20 a month plus a little tax and the stupid 35 dollar activation fee. . . as long as you have them bill you for it - but without a contract.
If you want to pre-pay they charge you a $30 fee every month . . . thats right, if I want to be a thrifty consumer and pay as I go so I don't overspend, they charge a fee thats MORE than the cost of service.
Just to clarify, if you want to prepay as opposed to having them bill you (both options without a contract), they charge $50/month for 1GB.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Also note: the "suspension" option can be done online, I believe, without the $15 fee, but it can only be done twice a year for 90 days max each time. So, that's not an option unless you can plan your year pretty carefully.
I'm going to swap my 3G version out for the wifi-only version as soon as it's available. I was told when I purchased mine that data could be turned on and off as needed without any fees, and so I won't have any qualms about exercising the 90-day return policy at Costco.
It seems Verizon will enable "true pay as you go" capabilities for the iPad 2
http://news.vzw.com/news/2011/03/pr2011-03-09y.html
Why not the XOOM ?
I've called customer service several times today. I bought my xoom on contract because I wanted to have 3g data but was specifically told I couldn't activate it whenever I wanted and I was just better off keeping the minimum $20/1gb plan. So I said if I'm going to have to pay that anyway, I might as well get it subsidized. In other words I was specifically told that vzw would not have that option. Of course, my two weeks are up today and they may change it!!
I would be very mad. I would have definitely bought my xoom without contract. I have called several times and I keep getting different answers. I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and find out. If anyone finds anything definitive, I'd love to see it. Thanks.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I activated my Xoom at the Verizon store on a month to month plan and it was $20/month/1GB and they did not charge me an activation fee.
I bought mine at costco.. the paperwork said 20 a month, activation fee with refund, unsubsidized.
I called VZW the next day and they had put me on a 2 yr contract that if I hadn't have called when I did would've been like 175 bucks ETF to get out of.
SO.. buyer beware, be sure to call vzw to ensure you are getting what you really wanted!
Be careful if your under contract my understanding was that if you suspend the data it also extends your contract until data is turned back on. This is why I just bit the bullet and bough the device. I know its not in everyones budget to do so, but it will save you money down the road.
zone23 said:
Be careful if your under contract my understanding was that if you suspend the data it also extends your contract until data is turned back on. This is why I just bit the bullet and bough the device. I know its not in everyones budget to do so, but it will save you money down the road.
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This is what makes me mad. Given the choices at the time, I got the device subsidized since I was going to have to get a data plan anyway (if I wanted data some months and didn't want to pay an activation fee). Now, two weeks after my purchase, they change the rules!
BTW - no activation fee on the ipad2. according to @Verizonwireless
http://twitter.com/#!/VerizonWireless
That's crap.
ok. i went to the store. the first three sales people had no idea what i was talking about. I finally spoke to my manager. They are running a promotion of no activation fee starting today for any tablet (obviously if you buy at full price). I still do not have clarity on whether there's an activation fee each and every time you turn on your device's mobile data. I have read that ipad2 will not have to pay (ie using mobile data whenever you want and pay only the mobile broadband plan) and Xoom will have to pay (ie pay activation fee each and every time you activate).
my takeaways:
1. VZW sales people either just plain dumb or not trained well
2. Apple is pushing VZW around and VZW is pushing Moto around
3. Flash or no flash, this is definitely going to lead to fewer Xoom sales
The ONLY reason holding me back to buy a XOOM today, it's Verizon NOT having a TRUE "Pay as you go" data plan, like the iPad with AT&T and now the iPad 2 with AT&T and Verizon. I think will buy an iPad 2 today.