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Hello-
I am trying to figure out what is the cheapest GSM prepaid plan in the United States. So far, the cheapest I have found is either AT&T's $25 unlimited talk and text plus $5 for 50 MB data or T-mobile's $30 Monthly4g unimited talk text, adn 5gb data. What plan are you guys using to get the most amount of data for the least amount of money? I don't mind going with an MVNO because they have pretty good coverage in my area. (Albuquerque, NM)
Thanks,
wws12
Anyone?
Theoretically speaking, if your main concern is data then you should probably choose an unlimited data plan to get the most out of your money. (Assuming you use that much data).
I can give some good suggestions if you could tell me your average calling, texting, and data usage. Also if you must have GSM, most prepaid just happen to be CDMA *shrugs*
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gagdude said:
Theoretically speaking, if your main concern is data then you should probably choose an unlimited data plan to get the most out of your money. (Assuming you use that much data).
I can give some good suggestions if you could tell me your average calling, texting, and data usage. Also if you must have GSM, most prepaid just happen to be CDMA *shrugs*
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It doesn't have to be GSM, but in my investigations those plans were the cheapest. I mainly want to use it for VoIP with GrooveIP for calls and GVoice for texting. Thnaks for your help!
Let's see... Virgin Mobile has unlimited data and texting, 100 minutes calling for $35 a month. The T mobile plan you found is cheaper but 5GB of data. This depends on if you are going to use more than 5GB or not...
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I want to use a phone such as the Motorola Defy as prepaid. I was going to get the Droid X but found that it couldn't be flashed to other carriers than Verizon.
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Are you sure you want the Motorola Defy... ? Republic Wireless has the Defy XT as their only available phone, but they have a different business model.
$20 a month unlimited everything, but depends on WiFi. However nothing is stopping you from sticking to their 3G (Sprint) full time. Big problem is that they are in beta and if you sign up now it could be months until you get the phone. (I'm sure once you are up and running it rocks, but the limited phone choice and waiting time is way too long).
Do you want a rugged phone or a Motorola phone or what? Why do you choose the Defy?
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I chose the Defy because it had a stable ICS ROM and for the fact that it was GSM which I had thought was the best deal at the time. Thanks for the information about Republic Wireless
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So you have decided to go with Republic?
I was mainly wondering about why you wanted the Defy because it has pretty old hardware. If you still want to consider Virgin and want ICS they have the HTC EVO V, HTC One V, and soon to be released Samsung Galaxy Reverb.
(That t mobile plan you found is actually very good, 5GB is plenty of data. Virgin just has a better plan if you use more than that, which is quite rare in fact)
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I want GSM because that will allow me to easily switch carriers at a later date if I need to. Are there any better phones than the Defy that are $150 or less on Amazon? Thanks for all your help, BTW!
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No problem glad to help
I understand that, in that case that t mobile prepaid plan definitely seems to be a good deal.
As for a phone, I don't go on Amazon since prices are usually higher, but I do know on eBay you can get a galaxy s (for 4g you need the Samsung galaxy s 4g but it has less dev support than the Samsung vibrant which only has 3g) for $150 or less. Any galaxy s variant blows the defy out of the water for sure
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I usually don't shop eBay because of the possibility of scammers. I'll look at the galaxy s variants though. Which would you say has the best dev support? I need at least a stable ICS, if not JB. Thanks!
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All galaxy s were very popular and all have great dev support. Since you were looking at the defy I'm going to assume 4g isn't big on your requirements list and in that case the Samsung vibrant is the phone for you!
Most popular galaxy s from my general knowledge is the cappy aka Samsung Captivate. Unfortunately since it is at&t 3g it will only work on t-mobile 2g (ugh!)
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How much is the Vibrant online?
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On amazon it appears to be $200+
On eBay they go as low as $120 and the Captivate gets even cheaper like $110.
What I like to think of eBay is the whole virus thing on Android. More scams/viruses happen on ebay/Android, but that is because there are more sellers/is more open. You just have to be smart and look at feedback/permissions. Does that seller/app have low feedback score/want to manage your sms and calls? Then don't trust him,her/it
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OK thanks. Quick question that maybe you can answer. On at&t, their prepaid go phone plans include a 100 minute/unlimited text plan for $25/mo. For smartphones you need a data plan which they have in various denominations, but the one I'm interested in is the $5 for 50MB one. If I don't renew the $25 plan, will I lose the data also? Or will it still continue? Thanks!
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They require you to be using the $25 or $50 plan in addition to data every month.
They actually used to have a rule of having $25 in your account every 90 days with whatever data plan you feel like tacking on, but since April 2012 they require to have a monthly text / call plan.
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Moved to Networking section.
Tmobiles $30 plan.
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http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Exhibit-4G-Prepaid
Is there a pre-paid data only plan that I would be able to use with the nexus 4? I am in the US and AT&T is the only carrier with 3G where I am. Are there actual data-only plans that use AT&T towers that I could use? If not, would there be a way that I could use a prepaid tablet data plan from AT&T? Thanks
I believe straight talk also has data only plans, but not sure if they will work on a phone. Their phone plans are way better than ATT though, and you get same ATT towers/service.
http://androidandme.com/2012/10/carriers/top-4-us-pre-paid-wireless-plans-for-the-nexus-4/
T-Mobile has a 5gb, unl Text and like 100min plan for $30. you get some mins but not alot. You also get T-Mobiles 42 Mbps HSPA+ as well.
That at&t/straight talk may work. I only get edge on T-Mobile in the whole state of Maine so T-Mobile won't work.
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Although I don't really need voice/texting and would rather not pay if I don't need to
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AT&T themselves have a prepaid tablet plan: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/dataplans.html
I wonder if they allow that on the Nexus 4. You'd probably have to change APN.
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I was looking at that one. You have to give them your IMEI number and I don't have a tablet to do that.
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Go into an AT&T store and surreptitiously snoop the IMEI of one of their Android tabs?
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That's a great idea lol
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cmstlist said:
AT&T themselves have a prepaid tablet plan: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/dataplans.html
I wonder if they allow that on the Nexus 4. You'd probably have to change APN.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are more expensive than Tmobile's prepaid plans.... and they include texting at calls. Dafuq?
Zurginator said:
Those are more expensive than Tmobile's prepaid plans.... and they include texting at calls. Dafuq?
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Click to collapse
AT&T is more expensive than T-Mobile. A lot more, usually.
abe in space said:
AT&T is more expensive than T-Mobile. A lot more, usually.
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And like I said earlier I can't use T-Mobile because they have terrible service in the whole state of Maine. If I could get AT&T's 3gb $30 tablet plan to work I'd be a happy camper.
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Zurginator said:
Those are more expensive than Tmobile's prepaid plans.... and they include texting at calls. Dafuq?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, as pointed out upthread, all comparisons to T-Mobile are irrelevant because T-Mobile is not an option for the OP.
I think I'll got to an AT&T store today and snoop on the tablet IMEI numbers. That is unless someone wants to give me one of theirs, preferably not one registered on AT&T. Why do I have to go through so much trouble just to get a data only plan?!
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ctowne said:
I think I'll got to an AT&T store today and snoop on the tablet IMEI numbers. That is unless someone wants to give me one of theirs, preferably not one registered on AT&T. Why do I have to go through so much trouble just to get a data only plan?!
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I can give you the IMEI of my T-Mobile Springboard but there's no guarantee AT&T will like it.
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That would be great. Let me get a att sim and I could pm you about it
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BaronInkjet said:
I believe straight talk also has data only plans, but not sure if they will work on a phone. Their phone plans are way better than ATT though, and you get same ATT towers/service.
http://androidandme.com/2012/10/carriers/top-4-us-pre-paid-wireless-plans-for-the-nexus-4/
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I can't find a straight talk data-only plan, could you give me a link to it?
-----Update 27 Nov-----
This coupon code no longer works. If I find another one I will update this thread.
I have now used this service with google voice for over 2 weeks with great service. I have had the same speeds and coverage as I did with my att phone. I have not used enough data to get notified or limited in speed, if and when this happens I will update my thread.
There is one issue with straight talk and any MVNO it seems. I used two google voice numbers (personal, work) and I turn off the voicemail forwarding on my phone so that the voicemail for each works correctly (Otherwise both GV numbers would forward to the same voicemail account). Straight talk does not have the ability to change the voicemail forwarding phones. My workaround for now is to extend the number of rings out to where GV will forward to voicemail (I am in process of testing this now).
To use two GV numbers on one phone you set both as home numbers and just use the app for texts from one. There are more detailed ways to forwards texts from the second phone but if you want this info PM and ask or search for it as it is available elsewhere.
-------------------------------
I know there have been posts that talk about Straight Talk Sims including the $5 + Free Ship (which expired). I researched and just purchased a Micro Sim and $45 Unlimited ATT plan today.
I did this today: 8 Nov 2012
Free ATT Sim
- http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopSims
- Choose Sim (Micro or Regular)
- Add Sim + Plan to Cart (will show $54.99)
- Use Promo "SIMSAVE" for $10 discount
- Choose 3-day Fedex Shipping (shows free later)
Free T-Mobile Sim
- Buy any free phone from the site with plan
Mirror Photo: http://imgur.com/BJBI2
Original Promo Code thanks to Chils41 at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1915621
I see these posts regularly and had some questions. I have at&t service now. Is it as easy as placing the sim card into my phone and go? Will everything work like it did on at&t? What's the data transfer like? I'm really liming the idea of two phones unlimited everything for $90 as opposed to $165 for 700 mins unlimited text and calls to any mobile but only 2 GB of data. Do I need to flash anything to make everything work properly?
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phoenixfriend said:
I see these posts regularly and had some questions. I have at&t service now. Is it as easy as placing the sim card into my phone and go? Will everything work like it did on at&t? What's the data transfer like? I'm really liming the idea of two phones unlimited everything for $90 as opposed to $165 for 700 mins unlimited text and calls to any mobile but only 2 GB of data. Do I need to flash anything to make everything work properly?
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Click to collapse
you don't have to flash anything. just gotta change the apn settings to st and you're good to go. the SIM packet has the apn settings that you change in network settings.
Straight Talk data connection is the same as ATT would be in your area, except, NO LTE. You will not grey LTE with straight talk. And don't count on using much more than 2gb of data either, I near they send warning texts but don't actually have a what to cut off your data.
I've been on Straight Talk ATT for 3 months and love it. Just know it's limitations. I've never gone over 600mb data in my life though. I work when I'm at work, not much time to stream videos, the rest of the time I'm at home on wifi. Also ATT sucks in my area.
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phoenixfriend said:
I see these posts regularly and had some questions. I have at&t service now. Is it as easy as placing the sim card into my phone and go? Will everything work like it did on at&t? What's the data transfer like? I'm really liming the idea of two phones unlimited everything for $90 as opposed to $165 for 700 mins unlimited text and calls to any mobile but only 2 GB of data. Do I need to flash anything to make everything work properly?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You also need an unlocked or att locked phone. The Sim is recognized as an att sim.
I will add my experience here once I've used it. I tried T-Mobile 100 min 5gb plan and got rid of it because of bad indoor reception (I was Always on edge inside).
Sf bay area
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Thanks. So is that the only benefit of unlocking the phone? I'm rooted and running a wicked sweet custom ROM already. Only thing left is unlocking.
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phoenixfriend said:
Thanks. So is that the only benefit of unlocking the phone? I'm rooted and running a wicked sweet custom ROM already. Only thing left is unlocking.
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Click to collapse
It looks like you have an AT&T Captivate. You don't need to unlock your phone if it's AT&T branded.
It is. I gathered that from my searches. Just wondered if that was the only benefit of unlocking my phone, being able to carry it to any gsm carrier.
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phoenixfriend said:
It is. I gathered that from my searches. Just wondered if that was the only benefit of unlocking my phone, being able to carry it to any gsm carrier.
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Click to collapse
The only benefit of unlocking is to be able to use other carriers. But to repeat you DO NOT need to unlock to use straight talk on your att phone.
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Thanks I'm trying to buy a gs3 or note2 today and need a microsim for them, also need to reup anyways..
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I repeat I got that already. I understand.
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What about using a t-mobile phone on straight talk att what is needed to be done to it? Unlocking required or what?
Heavy Metal said:
What about using a t-mobile phone on straight talk att what is needed to be done to it? Unlocking required or what?
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Click to collapse
Yep, just unlock it and you're good to go.
Sent from my Nexus 4
So if straight talk cuts off ur data for usage, call them, ask them to define unlimited, then ask them to define false advertising lawsuit, after I did this on my thrid disconect, I have never received a warning or been cutoff. And I use more than 16gb a month
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prepaidguy9081 said:
So if straight talk cuts off ur data for usage, call them, ask them to define unlimited, then ask them to define false advertising lawsuit, after I did this on my thrid disconect, I have never received a warning or been cutoff. And I use more than 16gb a month
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Click to collapse
Where you throttled on that 16 gigs?!?!?
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No, could be because I modded the prl alot. I always tried to keep the best one out on there so I got the most towers possable and the one next to my house about .2 miles away instead of the default thats about 1.3 miles away
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jamesd86 said:
Thanks I'm trying to buy a gs3 or note2 today and need a microsim for them, also need to reup anyways..
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Click to collapse
If you have a micro sim lying around you can use it as a template and cut your old sim card down to a micro. I did it with a pair of sharp sewing scissors and it's been working fine for me.
Also, unlocking my smartphones has always benefited me in that it allowed me to sell at a higher price.
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Code doesn't work =[
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Worked for me
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prepaidguy9081 said:
Worked for me
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Click to collapse
I hate you.
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So I've heard around the grapevine that a good way and only way that you could save your unlimited data is by adding an account...now I don't know if this is true which is why I'm bringing this up. Maybe someone can clarify this if its true or not....
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This can work but do you really need unlimited data? Please make sure you verifiy just how much data you use and if you have more than two smartphones start by finding out how much everyone uses on average..A lot of people are putting themselves into 2 year contracts and adding lines and all this extra stuff for absolutely no reason! Now if you need unlimited data you can buy your own device. Adding a line Verizon will more than likely move you to share everything plan
Thanks for the reply. Sorry I didn't give enough info. It would just be nice to hang on to it knowing that I don't have to worry about checking my data all the time n such. Now I really haven't checked how much I use or my wife uses. She probably doesn't go over a gig in a month. I, maybe 3 if that. I use WiFi quite often and I know that helps not use up data...we have just 2 phones and upgrades are in February. I didn't know if maybe if I add a line, then cancel my line, would that work?....I was just curious about this.
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Has Verizon updated their unlimited data plan? I've had it or a few years now and was wondering what the latest guidelines I should follow to keep the plan intact when my contact renews next summer.
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thanks for sharing !!
factor0815 said:
Has Verizon updated their unlimited data plan? I've had it or a few years now and was wondering what the latest guidelines I should follow to keep the plan intact when my contact renews next summer.
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No they never updated it. The only way that I had heard about keeping unlimited was buying phones full retail price. But then heard about if adding a line you could get around it and not having to buy a full priced phone. So if you have two lines open. Add a third one when your due for an upgrade. Then cancel one of your previous lines and still end up with two lines only your able to get a new phone..... This is not 100% for sure tho. Which is why I asked this question for more info on it
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So I'm on solavei, and I'm debating switching back to tmobile itself. Reason being I only get no more than 14.80 mbps, speed test goes that high and just stupid like it hit a wall. I'm using a t999 s3, do you think I'd get faster speeds on actual tmobile?
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The speed will be identical to T-Mobile if you switch. So you would be paying more for the exact same experience.
You don't believe it'll be any different since they only piggy back off tmobile?
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Get a T-Mobile SIM and get a $3 a day plan or the $30 5GB plan and see, or borrow someone's postpaid SIM.
MrObvious said:
Get a T-Mobile SIM and get a $3 a day plan or the $30 5GB plan and see, or borrow someone's postpaid SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea I'll do that.
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Curious who has actually tried solavei for a while, what was your experience?
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I read somewhere on xda that tmobile has a statement saying they make sure to take priority over other mvno companies.
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Just for future reference, I did a test today and can confirm a couple things. I did a few speed tests with my solavei SIM card sitting my phone in one spot, got about 380-1400 ping. Switched in a tmobile SIM using three truly unlimited plan and ping blew me away, it was constantly 80-99ish. As for down and up speed I was getting about 6-13 on solavei with about 1.5 up constant. And on the tmobile SIM I got about 10-14, but I expect faster once my phone number port is complete I was told to expect it being choppy. So far I notice a huge difference in use around town, as I was running errands all day.
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Also, even pegging out at 14.7 mbps (for some reason solavei doesn't let you go faster) I couldn't even watch a 2 minute YouTube video, now I can not only click hd version, but it doesn't keep buffering.
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Nobody interested? Ok..
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What APN are you using on Solavei?
I don't recall but it was a specific one that was sent to me via a automatic text from solavei. My number finally fully ported today and I'm seeing way bigger speeds, very happy I spend the extra $12 for tmobile truly unlimited plan. I can confirm solavei sets a max speed of about 14.7mbps, not bad but tmobile is noticeably better when actually using my data
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Nickdroid86 said:
I don't recall but it was a specific one that was sent to me via a automatic text from . My number finally fully ported today and I'm seeing way bigger s, very happy I spend the extra $12 for tmobile truly unlimited plan. I can confirm sets a max speed of about 14.7mbps, not bad but tmobile is noticeably better when actually using my data
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Click to collapse
Nick, I'm seeing Solavei speeds of up to 14mb/s too, which is personally plenty fast for me. When you consider that Tmobile's $50 plan slows down data speeds after 500mb, Solavei compares better
Solavei speed tests: http://www.4gmobileshare.com/solavei-speed-test/
I can see where you would think that, but a couple of things. Solavei is not just $49, the tax brings it to $58. So by that logic for $12 more you can get access to ALL tmobile towers, priority on your service, and no speed limits. Being a tech guy you wouldn't want to have a speed limit. The other thing is customer service, and not feeling like you're trying to be a part of a pyramid scam when you want to just sign into your dashboard abd pay your bill.
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Solavei is only a mvno, and they only piggy back towers, and at that, only some of the towers.
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Again, what APN are you guys using? I wonder if you changed APNs if it would improve?
I've used and tested every variation that was provided, including the dual apn's, but slavery sends an automatic apn setup through a special text message, which is what worked the best. I'm on T-Mobile note, but if you really want nee to get that apn for you, you can pay for the solavei plan, cuz I'm not doing that again lol.
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