Does anyone use a Prepaid service???

D

deweatherly

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jul 3, 2009
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Hey Hard,

Just wondering about pre-paid cell phone companies. In the store the other day i noticed that there is some is some great deals (or so it seems) on some prepaid plans.

For example, Netzero offers unlimited everything (including 3G data) for $50 a month.

looking online MetroPCS offers unlimited everything (including 4GLTE) for $55 a month.

other prepaid have similar plans.

So whats the catch? these deals sound great, and since these companies are rather small (compared the Big 4, Verizon, ATT, Sprint, Tmobile) i assume they use their towers. Is the service shitty or what?

Can you use your own phone with them? Assuming you have the same type (e.x. already own a CDMA phone and going to a prepaid CDMA company).


my contract is up in March, just looking into it..

Thanks in advance!
 
All these phones are subsidies of one of the major carriers (Such as Boost and Virgin are actually subsidies of Sprint) so the primary company gets priority (i.e. in a busy time like noon, if the towers are filled, Sprint gets priority over Boost and Virgin, or in the evenings your data speeds may drop like a stone)

Also, be sure to read the fine print, Many prepaid "unlimited data" are only 1-4gb/month.

Personally if I was going prepaid, I'd go with Verizon or AT&T, I've used both and was very pleased with their service, and AT&T lets you use any phone you want, even iPhone (though you have to change the AP to get 3G)

In genneral any GSM service you can use your own phone by slipping in their SIM card, but CDMA carriers are a LOT more strict. I know Boost and Virgin only allow their own phones (and even the exact same phone branded a different carrier will not be allowed) Though iirc MetroPCS will add phones (lot of people buying Bad-ESN VZW iphones and flashing them to metro)

Also depending on your usage and local, T-Mobile has some very good deals on prepaid.

Lastly, most carriers will allow you to get a normal plan on a month-to-month basis (no contract) if you bring your own device.
 
If you want the broadest range of phones to use T-Mobile is your best bet since they're GSM and pretty much don't restrict what you can bring onto prepaid (unlike AT&T).

For CDMA, go with Ting if you have a Sprint device (no LTE devices, no iPhones, no Blackberries), or Page Plus for Verizon (no iPhone, no LTE devices).
 
not really interested in getting a major company prepaid, i dont mind the contract its just that their prices dont compete with the ones mentioned in the OP. i would like to use a new phone.. i know MetroPCS has Samsung SIII available. really it comes down to the 4gLTE unlimited, for only ~55 a month. unfortunately, MetroPCS 4g isnt available in my area but maybe the other are. 55 a month is a huge savings from $120 a month from verizon.
 
T-mobile has a $30/mo 100min talk/unlimited text/unlimited data (throttled after 5GB). That's pretty unbeatable if you can live with that little voice (there's always Google Voice/GrooveIP, and you can buy overage minutes for not too much)

Also check out Straight Talk. $45/mo for unlimited talk/unlimited text/"unlimited" data (they cut you off after ~2GB). You can get a SIM that uses either T-mobile or AT&T (I've heard T-mobile SIMs don't get cut off).

Both use major networks (much larger than MetroPCS's native network). MetroPCS is also merging with T-mobile FYI.
 
I use Straight Talk (att network) on an iPhone 4. Works great. You just have to stay below ~2GB or you might be throttled. Their customer service is awful though. Although, I haven't only had to call them once after I got the service, so you mostly don't have to deal with them.

MetroPCS has a limited network, their pricing is not competitive and their selection of phones is limited. If you want to be open to use whatever phone you want, stick with gsm (att or t-mobile). Also, fyi metropcs's LTE is super slow. Slower than most providers' 3g. They don't have a lot of spectrum.

You should look into straight talk, t-mobile directly or t-mobiles new prepaid gosmart mobile. You can bring any phone to them if it is compatible with their network. They use the same network that att or t-mobile uses (depending of which service you pick), they just resell it. The only difference is they don't allow roaming. If you need verizon network look into pageplus. Pageplus does not allow LTE phones to be activated at all though, so you will be stuck using an older phone (iPhone 4/4s or other android).

You said the major prepaid carriers have higher pricing, that is not really true.
If you get prepaid direct from ATT then yes the plans are bad, but get it from one of their resellers (straight talk), then the plans are cheaper. Straight Talk is unlimited talk, text, and 2gb of data for $45/mo no taxes. Last month I bought my refills at a discount for $39.

T-mobile offers a variety of prepaid plans directly that are competitive. If you don't use a lot of minutes look into their 100 minutes, unlimited text, and 5GB of data plan for $30.

PagePlus has talk, text, and 2GB of data for $55.

And to answer your question, does anyone use prepaid? Here is a 100 page thread on slickdeals about everyone discussing straight talk's plans
http://slickdeals.net/f/3898068-Straight-Talk-to-Allow-Any-GSM-Phone-on-the-45-Unlimited-Plan
 
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I was actually thinking of getting the $30 T-Mobile prepaid service to use as my business phone / mobile internet. I sell a lot of stuff on Craigslist and it would be nice to just have a separate phone for all my business dealings. I would just use a Google Voice number for the phone calls and tether to my laptop for mobile internet. Sounds pretty good I just need to scrounge up the money for an unsubsidized Android phone.

If I weren't on a family plan I would definitely be using a pre-paid service. I had way too many headaches with ATT to go back to them, and Verizon's prices are just ludicrous. I'm extremely happy with my Sprint service so far.
 
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Pre paid is nice, you pay the most for your phone but that's what the used market is for. I will never have a contract phone as long as I can use pre paid. So much cheaper in the long run. By the time your contract is up you should be able to get a good deal on a used t mobile galaxy S3 and that phone is more then capable for the next 2 years.
 
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Just as an fyi the tmobile $30 pre paid plan has 5gb of high speed, lte or maybe hspa +, then throttled to 3g speeds. Beats out most subsidized plans for data.
 
Been using the $30 tmobile plan since I got my nexus 4 and I'm really happy with it. Also been using Google voice/grooveip for calls which I'm satisfied with. If you have good tmobile hspa+ coverage in your area it's definitely worth looking into.
 
Goomz said:
Been using the $30 tmobile plan since I got my nexus 4 and I'm really happy with it. Also been using Google voice/grooveip for calls which I'm satisfied with. If you have good tmobile hspa+ coverage in your area it's definitely worth looking into.
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it would be really great if the nexus 4 wasn't sold out for the past 3 months :D just rub it in why don't you...
 
If you need unlimited I'd go with straight talk for $45 you only get 2gb of data supposedly but unlimited text and minutes on either t mobile or att towers with HSDPA+ speeds.
 
I used the Virgin Mobile service for a while. THey use the Sprint network and I had no issues. I started using Simple Mobile, they use the T-Mobile Network. Pretty much any T-mobile phone or an Unlocked GSM phone will work. Both have horrible customer service, $40.00 unlimited calls and data on simple mobile.
 
I just switched back to straight talk from the t mobile $30 a month plan, I cannot stand using groove ip over data to make calls. Either there is lag, a echo or the signal drops all the time. Better off spending $15 more a month and not having to watch the minutes
 
Bman123 said:
Pre paid is nice, you pay the most for your phone but that's what the used market is for. I will never have a contract phone as long as I can use pre paid. So much cheaper in the long run. By the time your contract is up you should be able to get a good deal on a used t mobile galaxy S3 and that phone is more then capable for the next 2 years.
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Trimlock said:
Just as an fyi the tmobile $30 pre paid plan has 5gb of high speed, lte or maybe hspa +, then throttled to 3g speeds. Beats out most subsidized plans for data.
Click to expand...

Just a note on the first one: depending on the device you can actually upgrade for free every 2 years and possibly make a profit (such as iPhone costs ~$200 subsidised and 2 years later can still go for $300+ if you kept it in good condition and include all packaging, case, etc)

Also iirc, t-mobile throttles you to EDGE not 3G (max of I think 200kbps) but compared to certain carriers like sprint... buck I'm only getting 300kbps on average under contract, so...
 
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