Related
I don't know how many here use podcast app that download mp3 files such as google listen, but for me this has recently been very slow unless using wifi. No mater wich app, kernel, modem, rom... I can only get 10kB/s. I'm not over the 5 gig limit either and everything else is plenty fast as it should be.
It appears that tmo is slowing all mp3 files down except the amazon mp3 app. Has anyone else been having issues with this?
I've found one other thread on the tmo forums about the issue.
XDA App
My data connection was pretty crappy last week. Back to normal this week.
This has been going on for almost two months for me
XDA App
I haven't been able to dl car talk via npr podcast apps on 3g as of late, this would explain why
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Amazon MP3 is slow on AT&T or T-Mobile for me.
This is impossible unless they are targeting particular hosts, but I think that might be illegal.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
It's definitely not impossible. As to the legality of it, that may be more of a gray area. They can make many seemingly reasonable claims to justify it, including improving the efficiency of their network.
XDA App
Well I really hope this is not true because this will heavily sway my current somewhat positive view of them.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
SeanFloyd said:
Yeah, **** tmobile. Never realized how ****ty the network was till my gf got a Samsung Epic on Sprint. ****s all over tmobile.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
heygrl said:
Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't comment on the 4g sentiment but her 3g on Sprint seems at least twice as fast as T-Mobile's 3g. I am living in the Phoenix area so there should be ample coverage.
SeanFloyd said:
Can't comment on the 4g sentiment but her 3g on Sprint seems at least twice as fast as T-Mobile's 3g. I am living in the Phoenix area so there should be ample coverage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're kidding right? You must be in an area with a ton of T-Mobile customers because the last time I was out there Sprint 3G was complete garbage and I was getting 2-5Mbps easy with T-Mobile's 3G. Not to mention, Sprint's data card was switching back between 1X and EV-DO on Sprint and downloading any type of file at 27KB/sec. It was really pathetic and still is. There are rampant complaints about Sprint 3G in Phoenix right on this forum.. look in the Evo section.
This is definitely real. Just google it, people are complaining lots of places. It's odd because I can download other audio formats of the exact same file (or any other type of file I've tried) at normal speed. Speedtest confirms a solid 5.5mbps connection. I hit tmo up on twitter about it but haven't heard a response. Haven't tried calling them but others confirm they have.
I not sure it's illegal as of now. They control their networks until some form of net neutrality is passed.
yea ive noticed the same thing
I've noticed the same thing, google listen downloads over 3g are slow, wifi fast. When listening to shows on rapid transit, invariably the TCP connection will either break or I will hit the 'end' in the middle of the down load, and I'm left with like half a friggin download to listen to.
Slowing it down is easy to do. There are traffic shapers, the most popular ones are Sandvine and the Cisco Service Control Engine, that can pick out traffic and traffic signatures and rate limit them in hardware.
The legality is questionable if they don't disclose what they are doing up front.
I've been meaning to setup a vpn with home and the phone to avoid this slow down, but haven't found the time.
I actually spoke to a tmobile rep about this cuz I had experienced this problem for about a month. they went through the usual steps..... Turn off phone, take out sim card and battery, and ofcourse clear my browsers cache, that was a load of crap. Anyways the rep told me that I had an outdated sim card in my phone, I got a new one and still my downloads of twit podcasts and other MP3 files are slow as hell.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Same issue with a Nexus S. Called tmobile, claimed they have never heard of the problem, but their engineers will look at it when they get a chance since it is a low priority issue. So lame. However, not everyone is having this problem, it almost seems to be affecting people in certain area's I for one am in Orlando.
It's not a problem, you've just wasted your time by calling in.. it's intentional to manage network traffic. Even Slacker streams are shaped.
heygrl said:
Sprint is garbage around these parts and they have traffic shaping as well - all carriers do. 4G a horrible experience because of the constant disconnects/loss of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint has a bigger network 3G network than T-Mobile - Voice too. T-Mobile depends on Roaming for voice, and they aren't building out their data network - just upgrading them to HSPA+ (Software upgrade, not hard or expensive).
Traveling around with an AT&T or Sprint phone is a different experience than T-Mobile. Driving to Houston, my Vibrant was drops signal (Voice and Data) between major cities like nothing.
That never happened when I had an AT&T phone. I could basically be on 3G the whole way there... My phone would never become useless while traveling.
With T-Mobile if you travel to some cities you also run the risk of having nothing but GPRS for voice and no decent data connection. The risk of that with the larger carriers is much less. T-Mobile is decent in bigger cities, but outside of them (I'm talking, drive 3-5 miles out of some of them) they are terrible.
They're cheap because the service is cheap, compared to other carriers. AT&T and Verizon get by with charging more because their networks are huge by comparison, and while AT&T has had issues they have been consistently building their network out and adding capacity. T-Mobile and Sprint haven't (not that they need to, they aren't that large). AT&T just put up a new tower here, for example, so they're the only carrier around here with 3G/HSPA coverage.
T-Mobile gets voice coverage due to roaming contracts. Verizon and Sprint get little to no coverage here...
EDIT: GSM 3G is faster than CDMA 3G. There's really no argument about that. Of course, if T-Mobile doesn't have great towers/service where you live that can flip. But Coverage and Reliability > Speed, and that's why T-Mobile is still the smallest carrier despite having the best prices/plans. Their 3G network is too small, and unreliable especially if you travel and/or live outside of major cities.
ibous said:
It's definitely not impossible. As to the legality of it, that may be more of a gray area. They can make many seemingly reasonable claims to justify it, including improving the efficiency of their network.
XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Horrible since with that excuse they cap everything,while still selling in BIG LETTERS The FASTEST 4G NETWORK.
N8ter said:
Sprint has a bigger network 3G network than T-Mobile - Voice too. T-Mobile depends on Roaming for voice, and they aren't building out their data network - just upgrading them to HSPA+ (Software upgrade, not hard or expensive).
Traveling around with an AT&T or Sprint phone is a different experience than T-Mobile. Driving to Houston, my Vibrant was drops signal (Voice and Data) between major cities like nothing.
That never happened when I had an AT&T phone. I could basically be on 3G the whole way there... My phone would never become useless while traveling.
With T-Mobile if you travel to some cities you also run the risk of having nothing but GPRS for voice and no decent data connection. The risk of that with the larger carriers is much less. T-Mobile is decent in bigger cities, but outside of them (I'm talking, drive 3-5 miles out of some of them) they are terrible.
They're cheap because the service is cheap, compared to other carriers. AT&T and Verizon get by with charging more because their networks are huge by comparison, and while AT&T has had issues they have been consistently building their network out and adding capacity. T-Mobile and Sprint haven't (not that they need to, they aren't that large). AT&T just put up a new tower here, for example, so they're the only carrier around here with 3G/HSPA coverage.
T-Mobile gets voice coverage due to roaming contracts. Verizon and Sprint get little to no coverage here...
EDIT: GSM 3G is faster than CDMA 3G. There's really no argument about that. Of course, if T-Mobile doesn't have great towers/service where you live that can flip. But Coverage and Reliability > Speed, and that's why T-Mobile is still the smallest carrier despite having the best prices/plans. Their 3G network is too small, and unreliable especially if you travel and/or live outside of major cities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon has better cover than both from what i read.
But here in Puerto Rico T-mobile is good,and i have data pretty much any were i go,they are cheap because they are the smaller guys not the big ones,and have a much better customer service than AT&T which ranked last.
Some of the best phone plans here were made by a company call Movi Star,before Movi start everything cell phone related here in Puerto Rico was ultra expensive.
In fact by the late 90's here you were charge by the minutes,in plans of 400 minutes and so and they counted both ways in or out,text ultra expensive as well,like .30 cents a text or more.
Movi Star actually came with the first all call receive free plan,and it was a hit,they also boosted the first pre-pay phones with unlimited receive calls free as long as you had balance to make calls as well.
Not only that they also came with the first plan here in Puerto Rico,that included both calls incoming and outgoing unlimited for a fixed price,in that time it was $99 dollars i remember it,it was like 1998 i think.
By that time the PRTC,Cellular One were the tops dogs here,and a 1000 minute plan on any of the 2 could cost you almost what Movi Star charged,but you only have 1000 minutes that counted both ways,with Movi Star it was unlimited.
Now that company is call Open Mobile and they sell just pre-pay phones,they are not as attractive to customers because they don't have a huge selection of phones,and they sell the phone to you without financial,unlike T-mobile and AT&T which sell you the phone cheap or free to tie you in the contract.
In fact they have the cheapest plan of any company here in Puerto Rico and have good signal to,they charge you $55 for unlimited calls, unlimited data,unlimited text.unlimited US long distance calls,Unlimited roaming in US,and even 411 (information to ask for numbers) Unlimited.
All that for $55 dollars,the only down side is that they don't use sim cards,and that only some Sprint phones are compatible out side the ones they sell you,and android phones like the hero are expensive like $300.
So you see usually the best plans comes from the smaller guys,because when they are big like AT&T they charge people what ever they want,is the number 1 reason why AT&T and T-mobile merge should not be allowed,because once T-mobile is in and the rest of the contracts are up,the abuse will begin,and believe me they will rise they price once your contract is done.
T-mobile service is not cheap because is bad,is cheap because T-mobile is not as big as AT&T and Verizon so to bring customers in they have to offer better prices,just because AT&T over charge for their services doesn't mean that what T-mobile is doing most be because their signal is bad.
Anyone notice sprints new coverage maps?
Seems better than verizon lol
churro7 said:
Seems better than verizon lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does that make you laugh?
Yeah why are you laughing lol
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
looks better than verizon but not by much..since when did it change..last time i looked they barely had coverage
Coverage maps are estimations which really have no basis in reality.
Easily manipulated (like a few years ago with Verizon vs At&t where the maps used were not even close to accurate).
Talking about the Sprint.com/Coverage map? Because the Voice section doesn't differentiate between roaming and not.
Evilsj said:
Talking about the Sprint.com/Coverage map? Because the Voice section doesn't differentiate between roaming and not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it seems like Sprint finally figured out that the best way to sell their service is to lie like everyone else has been for years.
it only differentiates between roaming when zoomed in
mattykinsx said:
Yeah, it seems like Sprint finally figured out that the best way to sell their service is to lie like everyone else has been for years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah thats what i figured when I noticed I didnt see any roaming..every little thing sprint does now gets put under the microscope
This is actually an interesting topic because over the weekend I got a call from Sprint saying I live in a 100% roaming area and if my roaming usage doesn't get under 80%, they are force closing my account and waive ETF. The agent had me pull up their coverage map and come to find out I live 25 miles outside of sprints coverage network. I've only been with them going on three months now. And the store that I started my service at in my home town is getting "reported" for sale to an "out of network coverage customer". I just left the faschist nazi regime of AT&T to be able to actually afford to have a smart phone that I can actually use without being charged for going over my data limit. Now I'm being kicked from the company that has the perfect plan for my needs and go back to AT&T and go to the 2G limit cap data plan and pay $30 more a month then I am paying now as well. Verizon would cost me $55 more a month then what I pay now and I'm in roaming for them too. I'm basically stuck with AT&T now. And they dint have a single phone I would want either.
cev2387 said:
This is actually an interesting topic because over the weekend I got a call from Sprint saying I live in a 100% roaming area and if my roaming usage doesn't get under 80%, they are force closing my account and waive ETF. The agent had me pull up their coverage map and come to find out I live 25 miles outside of sprints coverage network. I've only been with them going on three months now. And the store that I started my service at in my home town is getting "reported" for sale to an "out of network coverage customer". I just left the faschist nazi regime of AT&T to be able to actually afford to have a smart phone that I can actually use without being charged for going over my data limit. Now I'm being kicked from the company that has the perfect plan for my needs and go back to AT&T and go to the 2G limit cap data plan and pay $30 more a month then I am paying now as well. Verizon would cost me $55 more a month then what I pay now and I'm in roaming for them too. I'm basically stuck with AT&T now. And they dint have a single phone I would want either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about tmobile also if u get a airrave u could plug it in n u wouldn't be roaming at your house
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
ckoadiyn said:
What about tmobile also if u get a airrave u could plug it in n u wouldn't be roaming at your house
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat, except I recently moved two miles outside the coverage area. They wouldn't do anything for me, including an airave. So, when at home, the old lady and I turn roaming off. We bought an Obi110 and set it up through google voice. So both our cell phone calls ring our VOIP phone, and texts come to our cells through our wifi.
cev2387 said:
This is actually an interesting topic because over the weekend I got a call from Sprint saying I live in a 100% roaming area and if my roaming usage doesn't get under 80%, they are force closing my account and waive ETF. The agent had me pull up their coverage map and come to find out I live 25 miles outside of sprints coverage network. I've only been with them going on three months now. And the store that I started my service at in my home town is getting "reported" for sale to an "out of network coverage customer". I just left the faschist nazi regime of AT&T to be able to actually afford to have a smart phone that I can actually use without being charged for going over my data limit. Now I'm being kicked from the company that has the perfect plan for my needs and go back to AT&T and go to the 2G limit cap data plan and pay $30 more a month then I am paying now as well. Verizon would cost me $55 more a month then what I pay now and I'm in roaming for them too. I'm basically stuck with AT&T now. And they dint have a single phone I would want either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you go shopping in a coverage area, leave your phone in the car and stream high bitrate music to get your in network usage over 20%
cev2387 said:
This is actually an interesting topic because over the weekend I got a call from Sprint saying I live in a 100% roaming area and if my roaming usage doesn't get under 80%, they are force closing my account and waive ETF. The agent had me pull up their coverage map and come to find out I live 25 miles outside of sprints coverage network. I've only been with them going on three months now. And the store that I started my service at in my home town is getting "reported" for sale to an "out of network coverage customer". I just left the faschist nazi regime of AT&T to be able to actually afford to have a smart phone that I can actually use without being charged for going over my data limit. Now I'm being kicked from the company that has the perfect plan for my needs and go back to AT&T and go to the 2G limit cap data plan and pay $30 more a month then I am paying now as well. Verizon would cost me $55 more a month then what I pay now and I'm in roaming for them too. I'm basically stuck with AT&T now. And they dint have a single phone I would want either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, that sucks.
mattykinsx said:
Yeah, it seems like Sprint finally figured out that the best way to sell their service is to lie like everyone else has been for years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What company doesn't lie? You can tell just by watching the commercials. Everyone company says their better than their competitors, that's just the way it is.
Problem is the roaming agreements. After "buying up" all the mom and pop local companies over the years and Alltel, Verizon pretty much has 100% coverage on their own, thus do not have to rely on mutually beneficial roaming agreements with Sprint. Hence starting in 2011, it equates to 69 cents a minute charged back to Sprint from Verizon for every minute I roam (bend over sprint...Thanks, your friends @ Verizon.)
Note --- this is not made up, it is information shared with me from management at Sprint after I got "the letter" to where Sprint was demanding an end to our 12 year relationship....One of which I had been very happy with (and hold no ill will towards them -- I actually think Verizon is the evil one here.)
Just 2 bad I live more than 1 mile away from the interstate and Sprint has no incentive to install towers in lesser populated areas.
alero said:
I'm in the same boat, except I recently moved two miles outside the coverage area. They wouldn't do anything for me, including an airave. So, when at home, the old lady and I turn roaming off. We bought an Obi110 and set it up through google voice. So both our cell phone calls ring our VOIP phone, and texts come to our cells through our wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
txt's use the 2g radio.. you don't need 3g or a wifi or 4g to get text messages.
txts arent going to raise your data usage in roaming. I don't think text's even count towards anything roaming since its just a few bytes of data it is so insignificant.
Exiled44 said:
What company doesn't lie? You can tell just by watching the commercials. Everyone company says their better than their competitors, that's just the way it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really sick of that response, with all due respect.
That is not an excuse to do something.
sog1971 said:
Problem is the roaming agreements. After "buying up" all the mom and pop local companies over the years and Alltel, Verizon pretty much has 100% coverage on their own, thus do not have to rely on mutually beneficial roaming agreements with Sprint. Hence starting in 2011, it equates to 69 cents a minute charged back to Sprint from Verizon for every minute I roam (bend over sprint...Thanks, your friends @ Verizon.)
Note --- this is not made up, it is information shared with me from management at Sprint after I got "the letter" to where Sprint was demanding an end to our 12 year relationship....One of which I had been very happy with (and hold no ill will towards them -- I actually think Verizon is the evil one here.)
Just 2 bad I live more than 1 mile away from the interstate and Sprint has no incentive to install towers in lesser populated areas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon's voice network may cover a good portion of the country but their 3g doesn't cover as much as that map they used against At&t said.
Verizon roams on Cricket, Virgin, Sprint, Boost, and Metro towers as well.
cmsjr123 said:
txt's use the 2g radio.. you don't need 3g or a wifi or 4g to get text messages.
txts arent going to raise your data usage in roaming. I don't think text's even count towards anything roaming since its just a few bytes of data it is so insignificant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? Texts do not use any data or any data radio.
Texts are over the cdma radio with voice.
You can turn data off and text.
wtf verizon roams?
churro7 said:
wtf verizon roams?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really...Duh?
Hey there,
I'm going down to the U.S for a trip to Darien Lake for a weekend soon (my family and I are Canadian). I need phone/text/internet access with fast speeds and very reliable service. I have heard 'Straight Talk' tossed around a bit on these forums, though I don't know if I would be allowed to purchase it (as a non-U.S citizen). I have an unlocked N7000 Galaxy Note to use on any service and would prefer to use it if possible. So, it is in this situation that I humbly ask for advice from my fellow XDA'ers.
Kindly,
LiquidNitrogen
Not sure where you are in Canada my friend but take a look at this... Perhaps you can order one or find something similar in your area...
http://www.omegacell.com/collections/us-roaming-sims
LiquidNitrogen said:
Hey there,
I'm going down to the U.S for a trip to Darien Lake for a weekend soon (my family and I are Canadian). I need phone/text/internet access with fast speeds and very reliable service. I have heard 'Straight Talk' tossed around a bit on these forums, though I don't know if I would be allowed to purchase it (as a non-U.S citizen). I have an unlocked N7000 Galaxy Note to use on any service and would prefer to use it if possible. So, it is in this situation that I humbly ask for advice from my fellow XDA'ers.
Kindly,
LiquidNitrogen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you can just go to straighttalk.com and order yourself a sim card [choose AT&T sim]and a $45 month unlimited card. Should be around $60 shipped.
Edit: I'm not sure they ship internationally. Could you have it shipped to the location you are staying in the states?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Go with Straight Talk. ST uses ATT's network so very reliable in most places in the US and fast data as well.
I live in Rochester, used to live in Buffalo, so I travel between the cities quite a bit, right through Darien Lake area.
I would look at Red Pocket (goredpocket-dot-com). They use the AT&T Go Phone prepaid coverage (You can google the map, then put in Pembroke, NY as the address. Pembroke is town adjacent to Darien Lake). You will see coverage is fine there, and I've had no problems with calls through there.
I'm sure you can buy a Red Pocket SIM on Amazon and have it delivered to Canada. Red Pocket used to cater to the Asian Market who would be coming to the U.S., So signing up from Canada probably won't be a problem.
I should also float the question the other way, what's the best Prepaid SIM to use when I visit Canada? This will be the first time I'll be taking a GSM phone to Canada (I previously had Sprint).
straighttalk is the way to go. they have a cheaper 30 dollar plan also.
maddog2727 said:
I live in Rochester, used to live in Buffalo, so I travel between the cities quite a bit, right through Darien Lake area.
I would look at Red Pocket (goredpocket-dot-com). They use the AT&T Go Phone prepaid coverage (You can google the map, then put in Pembroke, NY as the address. Pembroke is town adjacent to Darien Lake). You will see coverage is fine there, and I've had no problems with calls through there.
I'm sure you can buy a Red Pocket SIM on Amazon and have it delivered to Canada. Red Pocket used to cater to the Asian Market who would be coming to the U.S., So signing up from Canada probably won't be a problem.
I should also float the question the other way, what's the best Prepaid SIM to use when I visit Canada? This will be the first time I'll be taking a GSM phone to Canada (I previously had Sprint).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked around recently, Petro-Canada looked like a pretty good bet.
The problem is, us getting Petro-Canada SIMs is likely the same problem he'll have trying to get a Straight Talk SIM or Red Pocket SIM - They won't ship internationally, not even across the US/CAN border. I know Straight Talk's BYOD SIMs are mail-order only, you cannot purchase them in brick-and-mortar stores. Dunno if Petro-Canada SIMs are easier to find in their gas stations.
I live near the NY/PA border and have been looking into SIMs for if I ever want to make a trip to Montreal.
Yeah get the ST Sim and get it delivered to someone here in the States to either forward it to you in Canada our have it waiting here for you to pick up in the States. The Sims are sent by Fed Ex ground unless you want it delivered quicker and you can pay for 2 day or next day shipping.
Sent from my GT-N7000 Samsung Galaxy Note "Go big or go home" using XDA app
The only reason I suggest Red Pocket over straight Talk is that there's an unofficial daiy cap with straight talks data (go ahead and read about the problem in the forums) where as with Red Pocket you get to use your block of data however you like. You cam tether, use it all in one day, etc.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
I dont view straight talk as a pre-paid SIM in its classic sense.. as its a monthly contract...
I recommend a visit to http://www.telestial.com/ to view available options.
Mystic38 said:
I dont view straight talk as a pre-paid SIM in its classic sense.. as its a monthly contract...
I recommend a visit to http://www.telestial.com/ to view available options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's "monthly" but you only need to get it a month at a time. It's not a contract, no need to sign up for multiple months.
The more basic "pay as you go" plans are so basic that a Note will exceed the cost of a better plan rapidly.
As for Canadian prepaid, I'm really not sure. I've never had to use prepaid, I've always had a plan. Rogers/Bell/Telus are the 'big 3' companies in Canada, which all have more or less the same service and quality - the difference is in pricing and packages. I've always been a Telus user, as they have very clear and fair pricing, but I know many who are on Rogers (not too many on Bell though). Bell is usually more expensive for what you get. Whatever you do, stay away from Wind Mobile - their coverage sucks, their customer service is terrible, they are a royal pain to deal with and they only use T-Mobile's bands.
Prepaid SIMs are pretty easy to get. I've seen them alot at gas stations, Walmart, convenience stores, 7/11, etc. It's impossible to get unlimited data here in Canada though, even on contract you can't get it. Our providers have been very strict about that. And on top of that, within the past few months, they've upped their efforts to increase pricing and reduce caps on their data offerings.
I believe the major cellular companies to check out are Rogers/Telus/Bell (big 3) and their subsidiaries Koodoo, Virgin Mobile, Fido. This should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_mobile_phone_companies
Anyways, back to my issue, I'm going to need alot of data as much data as possible (~4 to 6 gb). Red pocket seems pretty good but they only give you 2GB of data. I'm looking at Boost Mobile right now but they use Sprints network, which is supposedly slow, but they don't cap their data (supposedly). The unofficial data cap on Straight Talk makes me want to avoid it, as I've read its 100mb/day which is very small.
LiquidNitrogen said:
As for Canadian prepaid, I'm really not sure. I've never had to use prepaid, I've always had a plan. Rogers/Bell/Telus are the 'big 3' companies in Canada, which all have more or less the same service and quality - the difference is in pricing and packages. I've always been a Telus user, as they have very clear and fair pricing, but I know many who are on Rogers (not too many on Bell though). Bell is usually more expensive for what you get. Whatever you do, stay away from Wind Mobile - their coverage sucks, their customer service is terrible, they are a royal pain to deal with and they only use T-Mobile's bands.
Prepaid SIMs are pretty easy to get. I've seen them alot at gas stations, Walmart, convenience stores, 7/11, etc. It's impossible to get unlimited data here in Canada though, even on contract you can't get it. Our providers have been very strict about that. And on top of that, within the past few months, they've upped their efforts to increase pricing and reduce caps on their data offerings.
I believe the major cellular companies to check out are Rogers/Telus/Bell (big 3) and their subsidiaries Koodoo, Virgin Mobile, Fido. This should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_mobile_phone_companies
Anyways, back to my issue, I'm going to need alot of data as much data as possible (~4 to 6 gb). Red pocket seems pretty good but they only give you 2GB of data. I'm looking at Boost Mobile right now but they use Sprints network, which is supposedly slow, but they don't cap their data (supposedly). The unofficial data cap on Straight Talk makes me want to avoid it, as I've read its 100mb/day which is very small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would rather have data cap than ever deal with sprints network again.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
The ST $30 "All you need" plan may only be available on their phones and not on an unlocked phone from another GSM carrier. Hope I'm wrong. See http://straighttalksim.com/index.php
lamou1nr said:
I would rather have data cap than ever deal with sprints network again.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice on the Canadian Prepaid.
As cor your issue, I believe Boost is CDMA only because it's runs on Sprint's native coverage.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Ok so im on fido right now
Unlimited local calling
Unlimited canada wide text
35$
however Im thinking about winds 40$ unlimited plan. What are your thoughts?
please help, dont wanna go big three. there plans too expensive for me
What do you want to know?
I'm in Vancouver too and I have been with WIND since a few days after they launched here...never had issues with them except lack of coverage in some places (i.e basements, Canada Line, a few random shops).
Go with them and switch later on if you are not happy, its pretty simple to do so.
zivan56 said:
What do you want to know?
I'm in Vancouver too and I have been with WIND since a few days after they launched here...never had issues with them except lack of coverage in some places (i.e basements, Canada Line, a few random shops).
Go with them and switch later on if you are not happy, its pretty simple to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want data but the problem is i dont want to leave fido becuase i have been with them for a long time but they are not makin any effort to keep me. How is call qualitY?
I'm with wind here in toronto. coverage is OK, but I'm not too happy with the network speed, even with full signal. I would check out koodo. They just launched some pretty good plans and you get the great Telus coverage (plus LTE, now that we can get it working on the N4 )
https://shop.koodomobile.com/plans/plans/index.html
FaDeGFX said:
i dont want to leave fido becuase i have been with them for a long time but they are not makin any effort to keep me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why are you being loyal to company that isnt making an effort to keep you?
If wind's coverage area is enough for you then switch.
peachpuff said:
Why are you being loyal to company that isnt making an effort to keep you?
If wind's coverage area is enough for you then switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea i think i will be going with Wind on dec 15 when my contract is over. The problem with koodo is there plans are expensive for me
It really depends on your usage. For me, I don't use much minutes and roughly 150 minutes with unlimited @5 and weekends will do perfectly fine. However, I do love data and will need it.
I did switch around between carriers but needed one that has reception up at the high mountains, which Fido does wonders. Anyway, you can call retentions and ask to match koodo's promotion plan of $30, which includes 150 minutes, unlim @7 and weekends, CID, VM and most importantly 200mb of data. If you want more, you can move up to the $45 range, but data in Canada is still ridiculously priced. If you want 6gb, you will have to call retentions and match other carriers there and it should be around $60 or so.
If you have coverage within Wind or Mobi, it's a no brainer to switch. If not, the above is one option.
Good luck!
FaDeGFX said:
I want data but the problem is i dont want to leave fido becuase i have been with them for a long time but they are not makin any effort to keep me. How is call qualitY?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call quality is just like on any other network...I didn't notice a difference when switching from Fido. It is a standard UMTS codec as other networks use. WIND also supports HD Voice if the other side supports it.
I am currently on net10 and noticed that during peak hours my data is almost non existant. I learned that att mvno dont have priority on the network so I think that might explain why despite having full bars my data speeds are horrible during peak hours of the day. I heard that Tmobile doesnt deprioritize mvno so I was thinking of trying Solavei. I already have the sim card and free service for a month. I am just worried about coverage on tmobile's network. So my first question is how are people fairing with tmobile or solavei? I know tmobile is working on their network has anyone seen improvements in coverage? Also I was wondering if people are having the same issue with straight talk on the Att side during peak hours in large populated areas? I live in the bay area but i noticed the same speed issues over the holidays when I was in Memphis, Tn with net10.
IM loving it! i work in the bay area and get great speeds here! and at home also which is in fresno! coverage has gotten allot better and its only getting better! if i were you i would join before the 31st cause you get the free month of service and free sim card... if you want to join hit me up [email protected]...
asqwrd said:
I am currently on net10 and noticed that during peak hours my data is almost non existant. I learned that att mvno dont have priority on the network so I think that might explain why despite having full bars my data speeds are horrible during peak hours of the day. I heard that Tmobile doesnt deprioritize mvno so I was thinking of trying Solavei. I already have the sim card and free service for a month. I am just worried about coverage on tmobile's network. So my first question is how are people fairing with tmobile or solavei? I know tmobile is working on their network has anyone seen improvements in coverage? Also I was wondering if people are having the same issue with straight talk on the Att side during peak hours in large populated areas? I live in the bay area but i noticed the same speed issues over the holidays when I was in Memphis, Tn with net10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tmo/solavei coverage ain't bad if you live in a big city or populated area. once you leave the city it usually craps down to edge or you lose signal altogether. but when your getting good signal the data is pretty fast, and no they don't prioritize, you'll get the same speeds on any tmo mvno as actual tmo. only thing I hate about T-Mobile is the indoor signal strength sux. but seeing as how I just got throttled down to .23 mb/s by st at&t halfway thru my billing cycle, I'll be switching back to tmo (solavei actually) next month
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
lowrider262 said:
tmo/solavei coverage ain't bad if you live in a big city or populated area. once you leave the city it usually craps down to edge or you lose signal altogether. but when your getting good signal the data is pretty fast, and no they don't prioritize, you'll get the same speeds on any tmo mvno as actual tmo. only thing I hate about T-Mobile is the indoor signal strength sux. but seeing as how I just got throttled down to .23 mb/s by st at&t halfway thru my billing cycle, I'll be switching back to tmo (solavei actually) next month
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were you having data issues during peaks hours where you couldnt use data or it was really slow? Also how long ago did you have tmobile im waiting on my sim from solavei but i have been trying to gauge how much of an improvement tmobile has made on their network as far as coverage. Seems like its not much based on research no one has out right said they are experiencing better coverage
Use T-Mobile's coverage map on their website.
asqwrd said:
were you having data issues during peaks hours where you couldnt use data or it was really slow? Also how long ago did you have tmobile im waiting on my sim from solavei but i have been trying to gauge how much of an improvement tmobile has made on their network as far as coverage. Seems like its not much based on research no one has out right said they are experiencing better coverage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no my data was fine during peak hours on tmobile. I was on tmo up until the 9th of this month then I switched to st at&t
xdviper said:
Use T-Mobile's coverage map on their website.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used the coverage map but user experience is better than looking at a map. Those maps arent always accurate and i feel sometimes the carriers embellish a little bit about their actual coverage. I guess ill just have to wait and see when the sim comes
asqwrd said:
I have used the coverage map but user experience is better than looking at a map. Those maps arent always accurate and i feel sometimes the carriers embellish a little bit about their actual coverage. I guess ill just have to wait and see when the sim comes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bump
I use att.mvno with H2O Wireless and don't get no peak slowdowns AFAIK. I don't stream videos and in general i view mobile sites rather than full sites as well so maybe that's part of why i don't notice much of a difference. Then again certain parts of AT&T's network are slammed, doesn't matter if it's prepaid of full post paid contract plans.
asqwrd said:
I have used the coverage map but user experience is better than looking at a map. Those maps arent always accurate and i feel sometimes the carriers embellish a little bit about their actual coverage. I guess ill just have to wait and see when the sim comes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may sound weird, but I've found T-Mobile's coverage map to be superbly accurate. It's inside buildings where it gets hazy.
To the OP, Straight Talk and Net10 use the same service ..just Net10 charges $5 more for it.
You go with these for the unlimited talk or data? Which is more important? If you can live with 100anytime mins try T-Mobile prepaid they have a 100 anytime min, unlimited text and 5GB of 4G speed then throttled but still unlimited, for $30/month.
Sent from my Nexus 4 16GB using Tapatalk 2
I have been with Tmo for 9 years and 3 months ago cancelled and started a Solavei plan on the Tmo network. I went from a $180/month to $110/month month (2 phones). 4gb (per month) 3G/4G before throttle to 2G was the selling point for me. Tmobile is great if you don't travel out of cities/off the interstate. I've never had problems even when I traveled for my job 100% across America, but I was in cities and rarely went to rural/redneck areas.
The only downside (if its a downside) is that the Solavei website is fairly stripped of information about your phone plan. You really just log in and pay your bill (or setup auto-pay). There is no statistics (minutes/data/call log/etc...) like Tmobile had so you will have to use apps to track that stuff. I re-Rom a lot so it is tough for me to track statistics smoothly but this is really trivial and not a big deal.
The data being used on Straight Talk with TMob is a hairy one..on HowardForums some say they get capped at 4gb then some say at 7-10gb, but supposedly tmob is cracking down on the mnvos for data usage..
Atat on the other hand will straight up kick your ass off data completely on mvnos. But tmobiles own prepaid offerings aren't bad and you know what they say is what you'll get. And the T-Mobile my account info app on the play store works for their prepaid.
Sent from my Nexus 4 16GB using Tapatalk 2
ztmike said:
To the OP, Straight Talk and Net10 use the same service ..just Net10 charges $5 more for it.
You go with these for the unlimited talk or data? Which is more important? If you can live with 100anytime mins try T-Mobile prepaid they have a 100 anytime min, unlimited text and 5GB of 4G speed then throttled but still unlimited, for $30/month.
Sent from my Nexus 4 16GB using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI - Straight Talk operates on both AT&T and T-Mobile and even Verizon in some places. You can get SIMs for either service depending on your phone (excepting Nexus and other unlocked devices where you can use both - even swap around if you want to).
ztmike said:
To the OP, Straight Talk and Net10 use the same service ..just Net10 charges $5 more for it.
You go with these for the unlimited talk or data? Which is more important? If you can live with 100anytime mins try T-Mobile prepaid they have a 100 anytime min, unlimited text and 5GB of 4G speed then throttled but still unlimited, for $30/month.
Sent from my Nexus 4 16GB using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to try Solavei because I heard it has data roaming while T-mobile prepaid doesnt. I figured that would help a little with coverage for data also 100 mins is too little for me I can run through that easily in a day( I work remotely from home 2 days out of the week so meetings can run over)
Thanks for the reply patiently waiting on the sim card hopefully I get good results on tmobile i just think Net10 and I guess Straightalk are pointless if i cant use data well during certain times of the day despite having full bars. It happened to me on too many occasions this past month in two different cities.
I've been using Straight Talk (with ATT Sim) for about a month and haven't run into any issues with using data throughout the day. I haven't reached the throttle point yet though.. Speeds with ATT are consistently 3mbit (yes, a lot slower then TMobile, but better coverage).
madferretx said:
I've been using Straight Talk (with ATT Sim) for about a month and haven't run into any issues with using data throughout the day. I haven't reached the throttle point yet though.. Speeds with ATT are consistently 3mbit (yes, a lot slower then TMobile, but better coverage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you live in the bay area or similar place with a lot of people?
Don't do Solavei. I had it for a few days and data is very jumpy. I'm right outside of Dallas and my speeds were worse than Metro PCS. I think at one point it got down to 100-200 kbps. Way worse. And when I tried to set up my APN settings to get MMS and Solavei Web to work when only one or the other was working I went through two customer service reps and they didn't know what the hell they were doing. I got a refund and just went with a tmobile contract plan where I'm getting unlimited everything with no caps for $64 a month. I hate caps. Just stay away from Solavei.
Had AT&T ST, now T-Mobile prepaid, switching to Solavei soon.
For me on AT&T my phone gets decent reception in buildings, but T-mobile's HSPA+ is very fast outside big corporate buildings, which I prefer actually for streaming media. T-Mobile prepaid doesn't offer conditional call forwarding, so that's the main reason I'm switching to Solavei since I can't use Google Voice as my voicemail without that feature. AFAIK they are the only T-Mobile MVNO that offers it.
Did a bunch of reading.
I use/need:
1. ~800 minutes
2. ~1.5GB of data (was using 500MB on sprint, assume I'll use more on faster network)
3. Mostly urban, rarely rural. Willing to forego data when out in the wilderness
4. Google Voicemail
5. Would like to be less than $50/mo and/or 'contract free' (don't want to pay phone subsidy when I own my phone)
T-mobile $30 prepaid plan: Ruled out by 1.
Straight Talk - T-Mobile SIM: Ruled out by 4.
T-mobile $60 prepaid plan: Ruled out by 5. ($10/mo+ * 24 = a new nexus phone)
AT&T $65 plan: Ruled out by 2, 5.
Looks like my options are:
A: Solavei - T-Mobile Network
Pros:
1. Faster when data works
2. Same priority as T-mobile customers
3. 4GB on 4G data before throttle
4. Voice+Data roaming
5. Possible to save $20/mo if I refer 3 subscribers and they're sure to use my referral code (I already have 2 possible)
6. Seems to be better in congested areas (from visually reviewing data on rootmetrics)
Cons:
1. $ more than ST
2. Smaller overall network
3. Weaker building penetration
4. Expects me to become a network marketer to save, new users most likely won't properly attribute my referral
5. If you do sign up 3 referrals, you're basically on-contract and won't want to leave because of the savings, even if quality starts to suffers
B: Straight Talk - AT&T Network
Pros:
1. $5-8 less than Solavei
2. Bigger overall network = better voice+data coverage
3. Better building penetration
4. Easy to switch
Cons:
1. Slower data
2. Random throttling. Is it 70MB/day? Is it 2GB/mo? What is it? You'll end up asking: "WHY DID YOU THROTTLE ME?" They'll end up saying: "Dunno, see if it's faster next month. Everything is fine on our end."
3. Lower priority voice+data in congested areas/times. Network is getting beat up by iPhones+iPads.
4. No data or voice roaming
I looked at:
http://www.airportal.de/
http://www.rootmetrics.com/
I've read several reports of poor T-mobile service in Buffalo, NY, but the fresh maps (-90 days) on these sites say otherwise. Willing to try magenta first, then fall back to random throttling and low priority on ST-ATT.