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Anyone that has the Galaxy Note also has U.S.A AT&T service ?

Currently I have the U.S.A T-mobile service so when I get the Galaxy Note, I will only have Edge speed.
I am willing to switch over the AT&T for 3G service or higher internet speed but only for month to month basis since this Galaxy Note will be an unlocked phone so I will not be require to sign up in a contract.
For those in the U.S.A that has AT&T and also has just received the Galaxy Note, do you like the internet speed of AT&T ?
I have heard bad things about AT&T such as dropped call and poor signal, etc...
so I am just a little bit worry about signing up with AT&T.
My initial intention was to get the Nexus and go with Verizon but the Nexus is not as good as the Galaxy Note.
Also, which AT&T plan should I get?. I don't talk much on the phone but I do a lot of surfing on the internet. I need internet speed that is fast and reliable.

Just get the lowest minute plan and get 2GB internet. I'd get on contract, buy the Nexus or the iPhone and sell them on ebay for $700 and use that towards your note, that's what I did. I can't comment on internet speeds because I'm always on wifi.

Buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note. Put it on Straight Talk Mobile prepaid for $45/month which uses AT&T's network. You would have to buy a refurbed Nokia E71 phone for $99 to do it and put the sim card in the Note with some settings changes. You get unlimited talk/text/data with no contract using AT&T's 3G network.

No Sim
adelmundo said:
Buy an unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note. Put it on Straight Talk Mobile prepaid for $45/month which uses AT&T's network. You would have to buy a refurbed Nokia E71 phone for $99 to do it and put the sim card in the Note with some settings changes. You get unlimited talk/text/data with no contract using AT&T's 3G network.
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I went in to a Walmart to check this straight talk out and they said they don't carry sim cards. it's like sprint.

getmouse said:
I went in to a Walmart to check this straight talk out and they said they don't carry sim cards. it's like sprint.
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My understanding is that they employ different network types in different regions.

Get the MediaNet plan which is either $10 or $15 (depending if you have messaging or not) a month for unlimited data.

Earthbrain said:
Currently I have the U.S.A T-mobile service so when I get the Galaxy Note, I will only have Edge speed.
I am willing to switch over the AT&T for 3G service or higher internet speed but only for month to month basis since this Galaxy Note will be an unlocked phone so I will not be require to sign up in a contract.
For those in the U.S.A that has AT&T and also has just received the Galaxy Note, do you like the internet speed of AT&T ?
I have heard bad things about AT&T such as dropped call and poor signal, etc...
so I am just a little bit worry about signing up with AT&T.
My initial intention was to get the Nexus and go with Verizon but the Nexus is not as good as the Galaxy Note.
Also, which AT&T plan should I get?. I don't talk much on the phone but I do a lot of surfing on the internet. I need internet speed that is fast and reliable.
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Click to collapse
even I was thinking of doing the same thing, after a lot of discussion here on forum I have learnt that you go for att pay as you go prepaid plan which is $50/month, you get unlimited call/sms/data even sms to some 100 countries! the only thing you have to follow is activate the card using a dumbphone like razr or similar and then put your card in unlocked phone with correct APN and profit!
Only care you have to take is never put that sim in att smartphone or network will detect and you will be charged for smartphone plan..
if anyone else knows a better way, please post here..

So is there any other suggestions on the best AT&T plan?
I am currently using the Note for the last 4 days.
I am still using T-mobile plan since my contract won't be up until next month in December.
However, I am only getting EDGE speed for my $10/month for 200 MB and it is so slow.
I really need to take advantage of Note since it is an expensive phone and I want to get at least 3G speed at AT&T. I have never signed up with AT&T so I am not familiar with its plans or any good tricks to get the best data plan.

waghoba said:
even I was thinking of doing the same thing, after a lot of discussion here on forum I have learnt that you go for att pay as you go prepaid plan which is $50/month, you get unlimited call/sms/data even sms to some 100 countries! the only thing you have to follow is activate the card using a dumbphone like razr or similar and then put your card in unlocked phone with correct APN and profit!
Only care you have to take is never put that sim in att smartphone or network will detect and you will be charged for smartphone plan..
if anyone else knows a better way, please post here..
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Click to collapse
I just went to an AT&T store about 2 hours ago (in San Diego) and spoke with a sale rep and he told me that using a smart phone with the prepaid plan for non-smart phone will not work.
I don't know if he is just want to prevent me from getting a good deal or he just doesn't know any loophole.

Earthbrain said:
I just went to an AT&T store about 2 hours ago (in San Diego) and spoke with a sale rep and he told me that using a smart phone with the prepaid plan for non-smart phone will not work.
I don't know if he is just want to prevent me from getting a good deal or he just doesn't know any loophole.
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that is correct, its a loophole, you should never tell them that you are using a smartphone!
that is why I said 'activate using a dumbphone and then put the card and APN in your note, att can only detect their own subsidized smart phones and not the unlocked ones, so you are safe...
EDIT: and I dont think att representative will tell you this method even if he is using it! as he wants his job, right?

I've heard using prepaid services (gophone, straight talk) with a smart phone only give you around 500Kbps speeds. So even if its unlimited (I've heard straight talk caps you at 70MB per day) its hardly worth it considering how slow the internet is. And yes. Those speeds were with HSPA+ compatible phones on AT&T.
Can anyone confirm/deny/elaborate? At 500kbps I should just stay on Tmo since Edge speeds are not much slower.

There is a whole thread here of people's speeds on Straight Talk. Seems like it is not capped at 500kbps.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1737642-Post-Your-Straight-Talk-Speedtests

Earthbrain said:
I just went to an AT&T store about 2 hours ago (in San Diego) and spoke with a sale rep and he told me that using a smart phone with the prepaid plan for non-smart phone will not work.
I don't know if he is just want to prevent me from getting a good deal or he just doesn't know any loophole.
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Click to collapse
I experienced this last month while on hols in New York. Im a Brit and took along my Galaxy Tab 7". Dropped by an AT&T shop and said I wanted to buy a pre-paid SIM to use in it. He refused to sell me one. No technical reasons why it wouldn't work. Just seemed like a policy decision. I was shocked!
Tried a T-Mobile shop nearby and picked up a PAYG SIM for around $30, which did the job, but it was slooow. Think I was on Edge network at best. Good enough for Places and navigation, but a bit crap for browsing. Lesson learned - don't tell them the device is a smartphone/tablet .

You were on EDGE on T-Mobile because ATT and T-Mobile use different freqs for 3g in US. The GTab probably doesn't support T-Mobile s 3g freqs.
Next time go to a Walmart and get a Straight Talk prepaid package. You have to buy a 99 dollar dumbphone to activate the SIM then you should get 3g data once you move that SIM to the GTab and set the APN.
The howardforum link in earlier post is good info.

I am running my Note on AT&T with a $10/mo unlimited data for non-smartphones plan (family plan) and I get 4.5mbps down and 1.06mbps up in H+ areas. Freakin sweet.

Earthbrain said:
I just went to an AT&T store about 2 hours ago (in San Diego) and spoke with a sale rep and he told me that using a smart phone with the prepaid plan for non-smart phone will not work.
I don't know if he is just want to prevent me from getting a good deal or he just doesn't know any loophole.
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Click to collapse
Ya that was a wrong move to go in and talk to an ATT rep about it. There are many that have this plan who use the international SGS2. Check in their XDA forum. It works.

waghoba said:
Only care you have to take is never put that sim in att smartphone or network will detect and you will be charged for smartphone plan..
if anyone else knows a better way, please post here..
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Click to collapse
I think i f'd this up just now. Got my note today and ordered the sim from at&t after porting number over from verizon. I originally signed up online for the $40 450 mins + $30 dumbphone unlimited sms/data. But when calling to activate the phone i used the galaxy note's imei to activate the sim and they were able to detect that it was a smartphone (i thought they weren't able to do that with an international unlocked phone??); so the rep signed me up for $20 sms and $25 2gb plan. so now is there any way to go back to the dumbphone unlimited plan or will my Note's imei always be detected as a smartphone now??

leaverus said:
I think i f'd this up just now. Got my note today and ordered the sim from at&t after porting number over from verizon. I originally signed up online for the $40 450 mins + $30 dumbphone unlimited sms/data. But when calling to activate the phone i used the galaxy note's imei to activate the sim and they were able to detect that it was a smartphone (i thought they weren't able to do that with an international unlocked phone??); so the rep signed me up for $20 sms and $25 2gb plan. so now is there any way to go back to the dumbphone unlimited plan or will my Note's imei always be detected as a smartphone now??
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you're screwed, you needed to give the imei of a dumbphone or just put the sim into a dumbphone first. maybe have a friend do it for you as you are likely flagged forever.

I'm currently still on contract with 2 GB data and a captivate. If I get the international note can I bump it down to the medianet plan?

I've got a note on ATT in the US. I have a 4g plan (used the note's imei) and the best speeds I've seen with speedtest are in the 5m down 1m up range. Some places it's been 1m/1m or worse, and the phone's bounced between 3g and H+.
I found some link the other day that showed ATT H+ coverage area, and I guess it shouldn't come as a big surprise.

Straight talk with att phone

Sorry first time trying a phone other then cdma. If i get the galaxy note 2 on att when it comes out and order a straight talk sim can i just slip it into the att galaxy note 2 and have hspa+ working. I want to try straight talk first because i here good and bad stories and if it sucks i can just cancel my contract within 14 days for att. Atleast so i can try out the note 2 to see if i like it. Once again i never had a sim card phone so im kinda clueless if i can swap them freely for tmobile and att phones or if i have to get an unlocked international version.

If you buy an AT& T phone, it will indeed work with an AT& T SIM card from ST (without being unlocked).
However, if I read your post correctly, you're going to get the phone on (an) AT& T subsidized (plan) then put a ST SIM in it? You DO realize that you will then have to pay AT& T a monthly fee and still pay ST their fee (even is it's month to month without a contract)....that makes no sense. You're paying an extra 45$ a month that you don't have to, on top of AT& T' s monthly fees....
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Lol i know im just wanted to get the note 2 to try and try out straight talks sim for att and see within 14 days if they cancel or slow my speeds like i hear so many people say. I guess i could just buy the phone at att without a contract to right? And use it for 14 days to see if i like it and return it if i dont

al52025 said:
Lol i know im just wanted to get the note 2 to try and try out straight talks sim for att and see within 14 days if they cancel or slow my speeds like i hear so many people say. I guess i could just buy the phone at att without a contract to right? And use it for 14 days to see if i like it and return it if i dont
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Yes. It really depends on your area and how you set the APN (with or without proxy), that dictates speed. (Mostly area). ST on the AT&T side is pretty strict on data USAGE though. Most have found that staying under a 100MB per day/2GB per month is acceptable. Any more and you can not only be throttled but, they can (and will) shut off your service without notice or refund.
That being said, if your are aware of the cons to ST, many have found that the service works well for them and they are extremely happy with the price.
If you live in an area that T-Mobile has refarmed their 1900mHz band to HSPA+ you can get a T-Mobile ST (and use it on "4G") (or a T-Mobile SIM, prepaid or otherwise) and use that phone (unlocked only of course) that way. Some have found the T-Mobile side of ST to be more lenient with data usage policies.
If you don't talk much (and your area has been refarmed and your phone unlocked) the 30$ plan (only available at Wal-Mart or on T-Mobile.com) with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 5GB data is a another option.
Snowflake approved this message....

Babydoll25 said:
Yes. It really depends on your area and how you set the APN (with or without proxy), that dictates speed. (Mostly area). ST on the AT&T side is pretty strict on data USAGE though. Most have found that staying under a 100MB per day/2GB per month is acceptable. Any more and you can not only be throttled but, they can (and will) shut off your service without notice or refund.
That being said, if your are aware of the cons to ST, many have found that the service works well for them and they are extremely happy with the price.
If you live in an area that T-Mobile has refarmed their 1900mHz band to HSPA+ you can get a T-Mobile ST (and use it on "4G") (or a T-Mobile SIM, prepaid or otherwise) and use that phone (unlocked only of course) that way. Some have found the T-Mobile side of ST to be more lenient with data usage policies.
If you don't talk much (and your area has been refarmed and your phone unlocked) the 30$ plan (only available at Wal-Mart or on T-Mobile.com) with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 5GB data is a another option.
Snowflake approved this message....
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Good info here. To add to it, you can check for your area being refarmed if it has T-Mobile 3g on your network scan. Or you can check airportal.de where users have reported the refarm.
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Straight Talk vs T-mobile $30

Hey XDA forum goers,
I was wondering what provider you are currently using and which company would be best for my circumstances. Currently I dont use more then 200 minutes per month but that should change shortly once I start using my phone for business/job purposes.
What are the speeds like on the Walmart Plan T-mobile vs Straight Talk T-mobile, are they roughly the same?
Is there any reason I should look into AT&T Straight Talk? I have had pretty good service with AT&T on contract before here in Dallas but it may be a different story with pre-paid.

I have ST Tmo and I'm coming from Tmo but I've also recently used ST ATT.
Speeds are the same with the 2 tmo options, ATT is slower. If you have good tmo coverage I would go st tmo if you have good att coverage I would go st att. I use too many minutes to be hamstrung by a 100min plan and the $15 difference (which is actually more like $8 since I buy 3mos at a time and get cashback) is worth it to me to not worry about minutes.

Net 10 vs straight talk in NC?

I've got just a few more months on my ATT contract. I searched and did not find a straight answer. Straight talk was my plan but it seems they are not selling the ATT sim cards anymore. I don't think the T-Mobile network is as good in the Charlotte area. What network does net 10 use? Is it as good as straight talk? Is anybody in the Charlotte area using the T-Mobile straight talk or net 10 on the nexus 4?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

Net10 bounces between AT&T and T-Mobile towers, making it an ideal third party hybrid service provider, since it supports both GSM networks.
However, from what I have heard they have daily data caps which when you hit it they will throttle you. Plus it's third party pre-paid, which means service will be bottom of the barrel. I'd rather pay $65 a month on AT&T prepaid if you don't want to go T-Mobile, which has $70 unlimited 4g.

steadly2004 said:
I've got just a few more months on my ATT contract. I searched and did not find a straight answer. Straight talk was my plan but it seems they are not selling the ATT sim cards anymore. I don't think the T-Mobile network is as good in the Charlotte area. What network does net 10 use? Is it as good as straight talk? Is anybody in the Charlotte area using the T-Mobile straight talk or net 10 on the nexus 4?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Net10 and straight talk are the same service/company, both tracfone parent. Straight talk is just a deal with Walmart giving a slight discount.
Recently net10 announced att byop would no longer be unlimited and capped at 1.5g data.
Straight talk no longer offers the att byop Sim on their site. You can still find and activate them. So far st has not followed with any changes, although we know att does indeed throttle data speeds randomly at their whim.. YMMV
Here's some details;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2120957
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1996686

Damn. Thanks for the info. I hate that ST stopped selling att sims. I would do T-Mobile but I don't think their coverage is as good in this area. More dead spots and such.
I'd definitely go net 10, but they are killing us with the new data cap. BS. I don't know what to do now. I already pay 150$ month for ATT unlimited with a 6 GB shared plan, 2 phones. I bought the nexus 4 intending to get away from their contract, but I don't want to get data capped on net 10, or get worse coverage with T-Mobile version of ST. I don't know what to do.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

steadly2004 said:
Damn. Thanks for the info. I hate that ST stopped selling att sims. I would do T-Mobile but I don't think their coverage is as good in this area. More dead spots and such.
I'd definitely go net 10, but they are killing us with the new data cap. BS. I don't know what to do now. I already pay 150$ month for ATT unlimited with a 6 GB shared plan, 2 phones. I bought the nexus 4 intending to get away from their contract, but I don't want to get data capped on net 10, or get worse coverage with T-Mobile version of ST. I don't know what to do.
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Well feeling kinda bad for you. So first are you off contract? You could try pay as you go on tmo for a month and see how it works out for you.
Another option if you're set on using att is you can buy an st byop att Sim on ebay or save money and buy a net10 att Sim. And activate it on straight talk.com instead. They should be interchangeable, and only cost $1+/- shipped..
I had att st couldn't stand being throttled randomly by att. St had no control over it either.
I switched to Walmart/tmo $30 plan which was passable.
Enough so I just switch back to st but on tmo.

I agree with clock on trying tmobile out for a month and seeing if it meets your needs. You can get a micro sim activation kit for free on the tmobile website on their deals page atm. I live outside of Charlotte(Gastonia, dont judge lol) and their reception can be hit or miss but most places i go i get 1-4 bars which is good enough for me. Even at 1-2 bars i get around 10Mbps down and 1 up with a ping around 500-600ms. On another note they are going to an uncarrier strategy(no annual contract on postpaid starting late March), so basically all plans start with $50 for unl talk and text and 500mb data, anything over 500 they will charge $10 for every 2gb up to 12gb cutoff. I think there will be a $70 unl everything plan that includes mobile hotspot. I hope this helps some.

bobdarkside said:
I agree with clock on trying tmobile out for a month and seeing if it meets your needs. You can get a micro sim activation kit for free on the tmobile website on their deals page atm. I live outside of Charlotte(Gastonia, dont judge lol) and their reception can be hit or miss but most places i go i get 1-4 bars which is good enough for me. Even at 1-2 bars i get around 10Mbps down and 1 up with a ping around 500-600ms. On another note they are going to an uncarrier strategy(no annual contract on postpaid starting late March), so basically all plans start with $50 for unl talk and text and 500mb data, anything over 500 they will charge $10 for every 2gb up to 12gb cutoff. I think there will be a $70 unl everything plan that includes mobile hotspot. I hope this helps some.
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Click to collapse
I'm actually in Lowell, (close enough to Gastonia) but work in Charlotte. I do have a little bit of time left on one of the two contracts with ATT. I was going to try to buy out the remainder of the time and break the contract if I was going to save $50 on two phones because I'd make it back in a few months and get unlimited data along with the unlimited talk/text I already enjoy.
I may go ahead and try the net 10. The website still says unlimited data, I heard (on these forums) they announced a data cap but still advertise unlimited on their website. I'm not sure what's up with that. 10 down and 1 up is plenty for me. Usually I'm only downloading new ROMs to flash anyway along with general web and forum browsing.
About that plan with $50 and only 500mb, that would cost me usually 60$-70/month and at that point I might as well stay with ATT and not be on borrowed bandwidth.
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Straight Talk Reviews?

I am currently on At&t and paying about $100 a month for my Nexus 4 with 3GB of data and Unlimited texts. Now I see this straight talk by walmart for $45 unlimited everything. That is one great deal. But as usual the old saying if it sounds to good to be true it usual is comes to mind. I'm in the Bay Area so coverage is good. I usually never leave this area too much. Is Straight talk a good service and worth it or are their hidden problems with it?

I've been on it two months no issues. I'm using Tmobile on ST and I love it the only thing I hated was that I had to cut my sim card. If you stick with ATT you won't have that issue. Since you are with ATT I heard after 1.5gb ST may throttle you or contact you to in regards to your data.
ATT is data stingy.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Can I get the T-Mobile sim if I am on At&t? And do they offer LTE now or in the future?

Each sim is separate so if I took a att sim I couldn't just say I want Tmobile service.
The nexus4 isn't officially 4g compatible so.... I'm not sure how to answer your second question.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

falcon26 said:
I am currently on At&t and paying about $100 a month for my Nexus 4 with 3GB of data and Unlimited texts. Now I see this straight talk by walmart for $45 unlimited everything. That is one great deal. But as usual the old saying if it sounds to good to be true it usual is comes to mind. I'm in the Bay Area so coverage is good. I usually never leave this area too much. Is Straight talk a good service and worth it or are their hidden problems with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ST AT&T will throttle down to 2G speeds after 1.5 GB in a month (or less as some have reported in the threads) and they also have daily data usage limits. People also report being throttled with using anywhere from 20-100 MB in one day. It all depends upon how congested your tower is. A better option if you want AT&T is to use their own GoPhone service at $25 for 250 talk minutes, unlimited texts then add the 1GB of data for another $25, total $50 a month. Or the $65 unlimited talk and text and 1 GB of data plan. These are the cheapest AT&T itself offers. Any of the MVNO's (ST, Net10, etc) your going to be capped to 1.5 GB (or less) anyways and their customer service is crap. Wait on hold for over an hour a few times to speak to one and you eventually get tired of it.

A few points
Straight Talk no longer sells AT&T-compatible SIM cards through their website. People on eBay are selling them for around $50.
Straight Talk has never made any statement about throttling people at 1.5 GB. Net10, which is owned by the same company as Straight Talk, established a 1.5 GB limit (see https://net10data.com/), but Straight Talk has not.
Different people have widely different experiences of being throttled on Straight Talk, and it seems to be highly unpredictable. I was throttled for the first time ever this month after using about .95 GB, though to be fair I used that data in less than a week, and I was tethering a lot. The weird thing is that I was throttled a few days after I was using large amounts of data.
Because of this uncertainty, I wouldn't recommend starting Straight Talk AT&T service now, especially with the high price of SIMs. You might consider Net10, which has SIMs widely available on eBay for $1. It's $50 per month, and supposedly you'll get 1.5 GB before being throttled or cut off. Other AT&T MVNOs cost $55 or $60 per month, or you can do GoPhone for $50.
If T-Mobile has good service where you live, you can get better deals on their network. I think there's a good chance they'll let prepaid/MVNO customers have access to their LTE network, something AT&T has not done yet.