I am heading to Houston in a couple weeks and I am looking for advice/recommendations on who I should get a pre-paid sim card with. (Just as an FYI for those across the pond....we Canadians are raped by our telecoms anytime we roam.)
My phone: i9000m
Running 2.3.3 (not that it matters...)
Rooted
Sim Unlocked. (I am with Bell...and I recently unlocked it....I confirmed it was unlocked with a Telus SIM Card.)
From what I read on the i9000 wiki page, the Bell SGS looks like it would work on AT&T and possibly T-mobile (only missing the 850 mHz band.)
Q1: Which networks "should" my phone work on?
Q2: Has anybody successfully gotten a pre-paid SIM in the US?
Q3: Any advice on who has the best plan? (I want data and cheap calling to Canada. The new T-Mobile/Walmart plan for $30 looks really good and it becomes available the day I fly in.)
Thanks for the help!!!
[A] SIM Card & Plan I used
Well, since nobody answered my question before I left, I guess it is up to me to leave an answer for those who follow.
Q1) Which networks in the USA should my Bell I-9000m work with?
A1) The following thread gave a good in-depth answer:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-972575.html
Short Answer: AT&T is fully compatible (3g access for data). T-mobile will only give you "EDGE" speeds for the data.
Q2) Has anybody successfully gotten a pre-paid SIM in the US?
A2) Yes. I got a AT&T pre-paid SIM and used it for a week.
Q3) Any advice on the best plan?
A3) As I was only able to confirm that my phone would fully work with AT&T, they're the provider I went with. I purchased the following:
$2 Daily Unlimited Plan
$25 / 500mb data plan
$10 for 250 minutes to Canada
According to the AT&T literature, with the above plan you get charge $2 on the days you use your phone. Don't use the phone (voice), then no charge for that day. What I found was that I was only charged when I answered incoming calls from the US or Canada. When I only made outgoing calls to Canada, there was no $2 charge.
I managed to burn through 475 mb of data while I was in Houston. A lot of my data was used running Google Navigator. (For whatever reason, my GPS worked great on the I-10, but couldn't never keep a signal while travelling to Galveston.)
A word of caution, the clowns at AT&T will be of little help to you. Don't purchase a pre-paid SIM until you've confirmed that an AT&T pre-paid SIM will work in your phone. They cannot refund your money, after you've made the purchase. The AT&T store should have an "Android Go-Phone" on their display floor that has a functioning pre-paid SIM inside of it. Ask the AT&T monkey to remove that SIM and let you try it in your phone.....let them know that only once you confirm it works in your phone that you'll purchase a SIM card.
One final tip....this comes from the link I posted above.....there is enough room behind the SGS battery to store a SIM card. This serves as a very handy place to keep your base country SIM safe, while you're using a new SIM.
Modified_Grays said:
Well, since nobody answered my question before I left, I guess it is up to me to leave an answer for those who follow.
Q1) Which networks in the USA should my Bell I-9000m work with?
A1) The following thread gave a good in-depth answer:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-972575.html
Short Answer: AT&T is fully compatible (3g access for data). T-mobile will only give you "EDGE" speeds for the data.
Q2) Has anybody successfully gotten a pre-paid SIM in the US?
A2) Yes. I got a AT&T pre-paid SIM and used it for a week.
Q3) Any advice on the best plan?
A3) As I was only able to confirm that my phone would fully work with AT&T, they're the provider I went with. I purchased the following:
$2 Daily Unlimited Plan
$25 / 500mb data plan
$10 for 250 minutes to Canada
According to the AT&T literature, with the above plan you get charge $2 on the days you use your phone. Don't use the phone (voice), then no charge for that day. What I found was that I was only charged when I answered incoming calls from the US or Canada. When I only made outgoing calls to Canada, there was no $2 charge.
I managed to burn through 475 mb of data while I was in Houston. A lot of my data was used running Google Navigator. (For whatever reason, my GPS worked great on the I-10, but couldn't never keep a signal while travelling to Galveston.)
A word of caution, the clowns at AT&T will be of little help to you. Don't purchase a pre-paid SIM until you've confirmed that an AT&T pre-paid SIM will work in your phone. They cannot refund your money, after you've made the purchase. The AT&T store should have an "Android Go-Phone" on their display floor that has a functioning pre-paid SIM inside of it. Ask the AT&T monkey to remove that SIM and let you try it in your phone.....let them know that only once you confirm it works in your phone that you'll purchase a SIM card.
One final tip....this comes from the link I posted above.....there is enough room behind the SGS battery to store a SIM card. This serves as a very handy place to keep your base country SIM safe, while you're using a new SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the time. The info you provide is great. I do travel to the states on occasion and its good to know info. I like the idea of the SIM storage beneath the battery
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Modified_Grays said:
Well, since nobody answered my question before I left, I guess it is up to me to leave an answer for those who follow.
Q1) Which networks in the USA should my Bell I-9000m work with?
A1) The following thread gave a good in-depth answer:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-972575.html
Short Answer: AT&T is fully compatible (3g access for data). T-mobile will only give you "EDGE" speeds for the data.
Q2) Has anybody successfully gotten a pre-paid SIM in the US?
A2) Yes. I got a AT&T pre-paid SIM and used it for a week.
Q3) Any advice on the best plan?
A3) As I was only able to confirm that my phone would fully work with AT&T, they're the provider I went with. I purchased the following:
$2 Daily Unlimited Plan
$25 / 500mb data plan
$10 for 250 minutes to Canada
According to the AT&T literature, with the above plan you get charge $2 on the days you use your phone. Don't use the phone (voice), then no charge for that day. What I found was that I was only charged when I answered incoming calls from the US or Canada. When I only made outgoing calls to Canada, there was no $2 charge.
I managed to burn through 475 mb of data while I was in Houston. A lot of my data was used running Google Navigator. (For whatever reason, my GPS worked great on the I-10, but couldn't never keep a signal while travelling to Galveston.)
A word of caution, the clowns at AT&T will be of little help to you. Don't purchase a pre-paid SIM until you've confirmed that an AT&T pre-paid SIM will work in your phone. They cannot refund your money, after you've made the purchase. The AT&T store should have an "Android Go-Phone" on their display floor that has a functioning pre-paid SIM inside of it. Ask the AT&T monkey to remove that SIM and let you try it in your phone.....let them know that only once you confirm it works in your phone that you'll purchase a SIM card.
One final tip....this comes from the link I posted above.....there is enough room behind the SGS battery to store a SIM card. This serves as a very handy place to keep your base country SIM safe, while you're using a new SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for posting this info. It will come in useful as I plan on taking my SGS (bell i9000m) to California next month.
Related
ok, hopefully I wont get flamed but havent found the 5 y/o answers than I need.... I have a Tilt with AT&T, Im using an WM6.0 Alex ROM (may switch to Duttys)... Ill be heading to Ireland this weekend for a week and I wanted to make sure I understood exactly how I can use my phone when Im over there...
I know how I can get the code for Sim Unlocking the phone but I was curious about where I should get the new sim card and how rates will apply for me when Im over there...
Assuming I get the unlock code from AT&T:
1. Where should I purchase the sim card to use in Ireland?
2. Do I need to call AT&T to get an international plan for any reason?
3. What carrier would I be using while Im in Ireland?
4. What rates would apply for me calling the US or in country?
Any help would be appreciated... applying flame retardant gel now... go...
1. Go to Ireland local phone retailers to buy a SIM card.
2. No. If you don't want to receive call from your America phone #.
3. Your choice.
4. Once you pick the carrier, go to their website to see the rates.
It kinda makes me sad how people are afraid to make new threads now..
makes me wonder which direction web-forums are going.
Sorry, little OT
Your US Tilt should work fine with no change in SIM card, though the local calling rates will probably be a lot higher. I just got back from a swing through about 5 or 6 European countries (including the UK, but not Ireland) with my US Tilt and I was able to make and receive calls in all of them.
AT&T does offer a $5/mo International plan that cuts 20% or so off the per minute rates, but I didn't bother signing up for it as I expected to make only a few calls.
visibility said:
Your US Tilt should work fine with no change in SIM card, though the local calling rates will probably be a lot higher. I just got back from a swing through about 5 or 6 European countries (including the UK, but not Ireland) with my US Tilt and I was able to make and receive calls in all of them.
AT&T does offer a $5/mo International plan that cuts 20% or so off the per minute rates, but I didn't bother signing up for it as I expected to make only a few calls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do I even need to sim unlock it then?
if you are planning to use your own sim card in ireland and pay the roaming rates then you will not need to sim unlock your phone and you will be contactable on your current phone number.
if however you decide to purchase a sim card in ireland, you will have to sim unlock your phone. I know that this is meant to be relatively straightforward but I never had to do it.
If you decide to get an irish sim card you have the following options:
Meteor: http://www.meteor.ie/personal/pay_as_you_go/price_plans/
o2: http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Personal/Price+plans/Speakeasy+prepay/O2+Experience
Vodafone: http://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts/prepay/current/
There are 2 other operators in ireland, tesco and 3 but they are very unpopular. I'm currently with o2 which offers the best value for me. If you want a relatively unbiased view go to the carphone warehouse as they sell all brands of sim-card and will recommend the most suitable
Whatever you do don't connect to the internet whilst in ireland except using wi-fi as data costs are ridiculous.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
regards
Séamus, one of the few Irish members
If I get a sim in Ireland, will that give me a new number that works on that network?
jpofsc said:
If I get a sim in Ireland, will that give me a new number that works on that network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be like totally dumping AT$T, number and all, and switching to a brand new carrier
denco7 said:
It will be like totally dumping AT$T, number and all, and switching to a brand new carrier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would that cancel my AT&T account then?
jpofsc said:
Would that cancel my AT&T account then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not unless you cancel it. It would look to them as if your phone was off while you were using another SIM card.
So it sounds like I should only use an Ireland sim card if I plan to do a lot of local calling... If I only plan on calling US numbers then I should just keep my AT&T sim card and pay the international rates... is this correct?
Im going to take no response as a yes...
You'll be charged 1.29 per minuite or .99 cents depending on your plan with AT&T no matter where you call.
You can check via: http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/roaming_drop_down.jsp?PIDL=IRSD|IRWT
I have 3 quick questions please.
1) I have a UK Diamond from Orange. I am going to the US next month. Will I be able to use my phone with an American SIM card?
2) and if so, which one? My phone is unlocked.
3) any good tarrifs to recommend? (on pay as you go, as I'm only staying for 2 weeks).
Thanks a lot.
I am going to bump this because I have exactly the same set up and want to know the answer please for when I visit New Jersey in the new year
as long as it's unlocked it should work.
att charges 25 cents a minute on a pay as you go plan. And i think t-mobile is around the same.
Thanks for that info - that is a lot cheaper than using a UK SIM card on roaming in the USA. How much does it cost to buy a pay as you go SIM and are they easy to find?
e3esxt02 said:
as long as it's unlocked it should work.
att charges 25 cents a minute on a pay as you go plan. And i think t-mobile is around the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot...
peterc10 said:
Thanks for that info - that is a lot cheaper than using a UK SIM card on roaming in the USA. How much does it cost to buy a pay as you go SIM and are they easy to find?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they should be easy to find... However, you (and I) have to consider that in the US you pay to receive calls as well.. (right? correct me if I'm wrong)
You have to pay to receive calls when roaming, i.e. using a UK SIM in the USA. I do not know if you have to pay to receive calls when using a US SIM in the USA. Can someone living in the USA answer that please?
Can you only buy these SIMs in phone shops in the US. Or do supermarkets and other general stores sell them , as they do in the Uk and many other countries? And how much does the SIM itself cost please?
Yes, you pay as much when receiving calls in the US by the use of US Sim. More details on AT&T Pay-As-You-Go can be found at http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/go-phones/pyg-plans-phones.jsp?_requestid=16571. Similar can be found at T-Mobile website, at http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/Cell-Phone-Plans.aspx?catgroup=prepaid-cell-phone-plan, where the rate depends on the number of minutes you purchase. The difference lies in the charge per minute as well as the period that you can keep/roll-over the unused minutes. For short-term visit, obviously, the charge per minute is more important. You can find the various phone cards (including AT&T's) in most grocery stores, such as food stores, Wal-Mart, Sears, etc. You chose the minutes, insert the sim with included minutes, and you call a number to activate the number.
There are international roaming SIMs that are tailored to the country (including the US of course) you will be visiting with the calling-back-home plan at a much cheper rate. Calling from China back home to the US, for example, the rate is $0.38/min as compared to 1.89/min on AT&T International Roaming. Type "International SIM" on google search to find all these deals.
Welcome and have a nice trip to the US
Hello,
i'm going to U.S. for holidays and i'd like to have a prepaid sim for my nexus for the month i will stay there.
Reading here and there i found that my europen nexus probably won't work on 3g AT&T, right?
So the only option i found is T-Mobile, that seems to have a prepaid sim card on which i can activate the data option, altough on their site i read "Already have a T-Mobile Prepaid phone that you need to activate?" i think it will work on my nexus too, or am i wrong?
Any help will be appreciated
Your european one i think could be either. Both the AT&T and T-Mobile ones (here) work on 2100Mhz for Europe so no way to tell. I think however that yours would be the T-mobile version since those were released first.
Anyways, there is Simple Mobile and other prepaid carriers that you just pop your SIM card into the phone and you are good to go. TMobile has $70 Unlimited talk/text (2GB data) and Simple Mobile has $60 Unlimited everything.
Simple Mobile uses T-Mobile's network still so same coverage as T-Mobile.
If it can help mine is an amoled one... so sure of the first released.
Maybe i can ask in the shop if they make me try a sim card to see if it works...
Simple Mobile, ok i've found that online and saw the prices, really good, hope to find a shop somewhere in NY where i land on the first day.
Thanks!
They don't really have Simple Mobile stores but you should be able to get a SIM from those little shops they have in NY. Just check online for the locator for somewhere to buy the SIM as lots of places sell the reloads but not the SIM.
Thanks for the tips, i'll look for the sim in the shops, will find one with the sim cards too
Just go with T-Mobile itself. They have a prepaid data day pass, $1.50/day.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I didn't see that option, thanks, just seen on their site, it's interesting.
Just hope that my nexus will work... in the specs i see UMTS 900/2100, so it should be T-Mobile frequencies
Maybe this can help someone in the future...
My Nexus work fine with T-Mobile, i made the daily plan 1.49$ a day for unlimited data.
Works like a charm in NYC, i'm having some problem in the south of USA now, but in the big cities it work well.
Thanks for the tips!
I have been using a N1 on T-Mobile on the $30/month for 1500 minutes/texts and 30MB of data. With Google Maps I soon burnt up the data and have purchased $1.45/day for unlimited data as I have needed it.
The phone works fine on TM - can't say that TM's network is that good though (this is in the San Francisco Bay Area) with regular dropped calls and data falling back to Edge quite often.
1. Go into a TMobile store and buy the SIM prepaid activation kit They are not supposed to sell these without selling you a plan at the same time but my local mgr offered. Beg for one or order one online. If you are super desperate, buy a prepaid TMo phone and use the activation #, SIM # and the NEXUS 4 IMEI. Sell the $29 crap phone on craigslist. Cut the SIM or go into TMobile and get a new microsim for free. You could return the crap phone since they only deactivate the IMEI but thats unethical and you still need a new microsim as they must have the SIM to return the phone.
2. Activate your SIM with the $30/mo 100 minute 5GB data. You can use TMobile refill cards or credit
3. Check APN settings and enjoy
I also have a Net10 (ATT) $50/month plan w/ unlimited everything (no official details on data cap, cust service said there wasn't info or a cap).
Speed tests are around 5mbs for both providers. T-Mobile should be faster depending on the area due to network. I've seen up to 10mbs for T-Mobile. For t-mo voice use GrooveIP/Google Voice.
As for me, I'm getting a second TMo prepaid kit and paying $60 for two lines; one for Nexus 4 and one for ATT AWS modded Note 2.
Enjoy!
rockerrock said:
1. Go into a TMobile store and buy the SIM prepaid activation kit They are not supposed to sell these without selling you a plan at the same time but my local mgr offered. Beg for one or order one online. If you are super desperate, buy a prepaid TMo phone and use the activation #, SIM # and the NEXUS 4 IMEI. Sell the $29 crap phone on craigslist. Cut the SIM or go into TMobile and get a new microsim for free. You could return the crap phone since they only deactivate the IMEI but thats unethical and you still need a new microsim as they must have the SIM to return the phone.
2. Activate your SIM with the $30/mo 100 minute 5GB data. You can use TMobile refill cards or credit
3. Check APN settings and enjoy
I also have a Net10 (ATT) $50/month plan w/ unlimited everything (no official details on data cap, cust service said there wasn't info or a cap).
Speed tests are around 5mbs for both providers. T-Mobile should be faster depending on the area due to network. I've seen up to 10mbs for T-Mobile. For t-mo voice use GrooveIP/Google Voice.
As for me, I'm getting a second TMo prepaid kit and paying $60 for two lines; one for Nexus 4 and one for ATT AWS modded Note 2.
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Net10 and Straight Talk are essentially the same company. If you call N10 support ST will answer. Figure that you will be throttled at 2GB after your first month. When you do get throttled, don't waste your time calling customer support, 45 minutes and they still don't unthrottle you. Post in the NET10 forums about slow data and you will get a response from an employee to PM them your imei and they will unthrottle you, usually in less then 10 minutes after you PM them during business hours.
Also for the TMobile sims without a contract try the prepaid webpage. You can use these for the $30/month plan.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phones/prepaid-sim-cards
Any difference between this and what theyre doing in this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001290
rockerrock said:
1. Go into a TMobile store and buy the SIM prepaid activation kit They are not supposed to sell these without selling you a plan at the same time but my local mgr offered. Beg for one or order one online.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good on the store manager. I wasnt that lucky. Finally ordered it online.
Grr, t-mobile EDGE only in my hicktown, very fast in the state capitol. It's so cheap I think I'll keep Net10 in the Nexus4 and Tmo in the Note 2.
crachel said:
Any difference between this and what theyre doing in this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001290
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was so incredibly frustrated on failing to get a SIM locally that I explored other options. My first success was buying a prepaid phone and cutting the sim, second was the T-Mobile store whom informed me that he would sell the SIM solo which is not common.
crachel said:
Any difference between this and what theyre doing in this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001290
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope doesn't look like it. Do we need 2 threads?
woody296 said:
nope doesn't look like it. Do we need 2 threads?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crachel said:
Any difference between this and what theyre doing in this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001290
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2084063
Now that I know my Droid 3 will work, I tested it with a ATT gophone SIM after doing the radio flash and such but now I'm trying to get real service with a dataplan and it is hell.
They say I need a certain sim card (W7 sim card) and they seem to think it is a micro sim which the droid 3 doesn't have that. the phone support told me they could not mail me this type of card and the store people can't seem to bring up my information from the phone order and keep saying I need something else.
Keep getting the 'its not going to work' thing but obviously it will.
Did any one else in the states run into this trying to get your D3 on ATT with service other than gophone service? Trying get a 550 sharte plan and 3gb data plans for 2 phones, both are Droid 3s
bigbacon said:
Now that I know my Droid 3 will work, I tested it with a ATT gophone SIM after doing the radio flash and such but now I'm trying to get real service with a dataplan and it is hell.
They say I need a certain sim card (W7 sim card) and they seem to think it is a micro sim which the droid 3 doesn't have that. the phone support told me they could not mail me this type of card and the store people can't seem to bring up my information from the phone order and keep saying I need something else.
Keep getting the 'its not going to work' thing but obviously it will.
Did any one else in the states run into this trying to get your D3 on ATT with service other than gophone service? Trying get a 550 sharte plan and 3gb data plans for 2 phones, both are Droid 3s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy sim adapters fairly cheap, if they sent you a micro sim, grab an adapter on ebay for a few bucks (usually comes in 3 packs for micro mini, and standard). Don't ask any customer service/corporate if it'll work, as by 'stock' the D3 does NOT support ATT (the mnc block Verizon has in the radio prevents this).
I have Straight Talk's BYOP service using AT&T's network on my Droid 3 and it works just fine (albeit hating ST ). If you want a go-phone plan, your cheapest option would be grabbing an ATT SIM from ebay (I bought one for a penny, trolol free shipping), and activated it on gophone awhile back when I was just first testing the radio swap, worked great, but I never tried doing much beyond a 10 dollar card for talk/text while away.
If you're trying to get on a contract, etc etc, I'd suggest you just don't tell them you have a verizon droid 3, tell them you just have an unlocked GSM phone, and if they bug you about it, tell them it's an XT860 4g or an XT883.
EDIT: You can also try just buying a SIM on ebay (make sure to get the newer orange ones) and just activating that on your AT&T account.
I had a free or discounted feature phone / dumb phone with them, with the 2 year contract, and I've used that SIM in subsequent phones with no problem... the SIM had 3G branding. Currently that same SIM and same account are working fine in my XT860 from Bell Canada (unlocked).
If you don't mind a contract, go with the simplest 3G feature phone you can get from them, and add Media.net Unlimited if they still offer it. Sell the feature phone or keep it as a backup.
I ran into the problem also with them saying I can't transfer my line because I now live in a different state. So I was give nthe option to go and sign up in that state OR send the sims to someone in that state....
what a pain. I never thought it was would be so difficult. If I'm going to get into a contract, I'll just get a new phone, I just fear that even though it seems to work with the ATT gophone SIM that once I pop a normal SIM in there, it won't work and I'll be switching to a contract and paying the 'upgrade' charge (which is really jut anoher way to make you pay the activation again)
That was my main fear.
I'm hoping they will let me just test a sim from another device at the store. I was going to show up with our phones radio flashed and ready to go for GSM and then see what they will do for me. I hope they;ll let me test it some how and/or let me sign up month to month and if it doesn't work, let me switch to contract and wave the upgrade BS.
thats the only thing I'm unsure of if I reflash to the GSM radio, take out my verizon SIM and show up with no sim. new build prop and it set to GSM before I show up if it will work or not.
bigbacon said:
I ran into the problem also with them saying I can't transfer my line because I now live in a different state. So I was give nthe option to go and sign up in that state OR send the sims to someone in that state....
what a pain. I never thought it was would be so difficult. If I'm going to get into a contract, I'll just get a new phone, I just fear that even though it seems to work with the ATT gophone SIM that once I pop a normal SIM in there, it won't work and I'll be switching to a contract and paying the 'upgrade' charge (which is really jut anoher way to make you pay the activation again)
That was my main fear.
I'm hoping they will let me just test a sim from another device at the store. I was going to show up with our phones radio flashed and ready to go for GSM and then see what they will do for me. I hope they;ll let me test it some how and/or let me sign up month to month and if it doesn't work, let me switch to contract and wave the upgrade BS.
thats the only thing I'm unsure of if I reflash to the GSM radio, take out my verizon SIM and show up with no sim. new build prop and it set to GSM before I show up if it will work or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of AT&T! Where they win worst in customer satisfaction 3 years running by consumer reports.
"Each year, Consumer Reports ranks all manner of U.S. wireless carriers based on customer satisfaction in a number of different categories. AT&T ranked dead last in the customer satisfaction survey for the third year in a row. It was hit with the worst rankings for any major carrier in value, voice quality, and customer support."
I'd suggest you go with a prepaid like Page Plus. I've used them, good flexible plans, friendly customer support, free ESN changes via online chat, no bull. Any Verizon phone outside of 'new' inpulse and blackberries can be activated (I've got Page Plus on my CDMA side and a *shudder* Straight Talk AT&T SIM on GSM in my Droid 3)
If you call customer service, you can usually get it activated for free, or find a 3rd party page plus dealer (I have a couple that do free instant activations). They're an MVNO of Verizon, so same network, but very much lower price. Verizon prepaid smartphone plan; 70USD for unlim talk/text and 1GB data. PagePlus? 55USD For unlim talk/text and 2GBs data, or 69.95 for 5GB of data, and buying online, no taxes either.
Anyway, luck to you. If you decide to go in-store, make sure your phone is completely GSM ready, leave the Verizon/Vodafone sim at home. Tell them it's GSM unlocked and it works on AT&T's network (mention you tested it, or let you test a SIM. I've *yet* to find a store that lets me test a sim though.)
The Droid 3 supports up to HSPA 14.4 on AT&T's network, I can get ~5.5Mbps, but I have noticed it's not as stable as Verizon, and calls drop, due to CDMA having better hand-off than GSM (CDMA actually connects to multiple towers at once for seamless handoff, GSM has to toss between the towers). Been awhile since I've really read into it, and I'm likely getting a bit technical...
for me, I can't even use verizon at home or anywhere with in a 30 mile+ radius. The ONLY carrier that has coverage out here is ATT and oddly, they have 4g coverage. My neighbors use them and the signal strength and data speeds are superb. There isn't another carrier.
I know straight talk and such might use ATT towers but I worry about the so called unlimited data and everything that really isn't unlimited.
I guess if one of those carrier actually use ATT towers then I guess I'm ok but how would I know without trying them out some how?
looks like straight talk no longer does ATT
net10 seems like you can still get ATT sims
I'm in WV and, again, ATT is the only provider that has voice and data coverage out here.
bigbacon said:
looks like straight talk no longer does ATT
net10 seems like you can still get ATT sims
I'm in WV and, again, ATT is the only provider that has voice and data coverage out here.
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Net10 at least came out and said there was a 1.5gb cap now on att. Albeit net10 and straighttalk are the exact same company. Outside of that, most any mvno of att is expensive, att itself is expensive, but you gotta use what you have to. Any that run on att will work on the d3 once modified to do so. Net10 and Red Pocket are the only two that come to mind at the moment, but do a bit of research and find a good one that fits your needs.
I have to search for a list since I'm reading now that some services like Net10 and such may use the ATT gohpone service area or they may use the normal service areas.
Can anyone confirm if Calls, SMS, MMS, and full Data and 3G coverage all work correctly on AT&T on the Droid 3 once unlocked?
think I'm going to try net10. $85 bucks a month to use the postpaid ATT network for 2 lines is alot better than 120 going with ATT and we don't use a lot of data. Looking back at our Verizon account over 6 months, we've never used even 1gb worth of data in a month. I can't find a chart or anything that shows which ones use the postpaid ATT network as I am up for other carriers other than net10 if they do.
seems like moving my number might be an issue though since I am no longer in PA.
braambo said:
Can anyone confirm if Calls, SMS, MMS, and full Data and 3G coverage all work correctly on AT&T on the Droid 3 once unlocked?
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I have a Bell Canada XT860, unlocked, and I use all of those except MMS, which I'm pretty sure would work too... I have the APN settings for it.
I am using a Droid 3 on At&t with the Medianet plan that only costs $10(if you're on an unlimited text plan).I'm getting speeds of
up to 5.5mb down and 1.5mb up. The speeds are better at night though.
If you want to use a prepaid GSM,the cheapest I've seen is Red Pockect that uses AT&T's network.They have unlimited talk,text &MMS.
PassingThruLife said:
I am using a Droid 3 on At&t with the Medianet plan that only costs $10(if you're on an unlimited text plan).I'm getting speeds of
up to 5.5mb down and 1.5mb up. The speeds are better at night though.
If you want to use a prepaid GSM,the cheapest I've seen is Red Pockect that uses AT&T's network.They have unlimited talk,text &MMS.
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Do you have the XT860 or XT862?
I would be all over the XT862 if Jellybean was available in a ROM (100% working)
redsrule2500 said:
Do you have the XT860 or XT862?
I would be all over the XT862 if Jellybean was available in a ROM (100% working)
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i have an xt862 that i flashed with the chinese radio. I love it honestly,especially since I can have a decent android phone with keyboard + a cheap data plan.
id love to see ICS on the droid 3 but i know it wont happen,the phone is going on 2 years into its lifespan and that kind of age means DEATH in the phone industry .
PassingThruLife said:
i have an xt862 that i flashed with the chinese radio. I love it honestly,especially since I can have a decent android phone with keyboard + a cheap data plan.
id love to see ICS on the droid 3 but i know it wont happen,the phone is going on 2 years into its lifespan and that kind of age means DEATH in the phone industry .
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Oh yeah, that's my goal here in looking for a replacement for my Milestone 1. I just know that I won't be able to take full advantage of the device without the newer Android OS versions available, and that's too bad because everything else is perfect with this phone. So I'm basically sticking w/ the Milestone 1 on CM7 until something better becomes available. (Weird part is even my Milestone 1 can run JB 4.1 100%...!)
I honestly have no phone to get that meets my upgrade specifications for AT&T (JB, keyboard, global phone), aside from attempting the PhotonQ SIM Card Mod, which is a huge risk since I don't know if it will work on AT&T. Blah.
redsrule2500 said:
Oh yeah, that's my goal here in looking for a replacement for my Milestone 1. I just know that I won't be able to take full advantage of the device without the newer Android OS versions available, and that's too bad because everything else is perfect with this phone. So I'm basically sticking w/ the Milestone 1 on CM7 until something better becomes available. (Weird part is even my Milestone 1 can run JB 4.1 100%...!)
I honestly have no phone to get that meets my upgrade specifications for AT&T (JB, keyboard, global phone), aside from attempting the PhotonQ SIM Card Mod, which is a huge risk since I don't know if it will work on AT&T. Blah.
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LOL I have spent some time thinking about the Photon Q,you can buy one with a bad ESN for around $120... but I am not that handy and taking apart the phone kind of scares me.
I'd be happy with a Photon Q for a while tho.
PassingThruLife said:
LOL I have spent some time thinking about the Photon Q,you can buy one with a bad ESN for around $120... but I am not that handy and taking apart the phone kind of scares me.
I'd be happy with a Photon Q for a while tho.
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Wow, that's so tempting. Didn't realize they would be that cheap.
It could be a fun project, as long as I don't screw it up completely....but I also would feel bad about owning a device which was most likely stolen.
redsrule2500 said:
Wow, that's so tempting. Didn't realize they would be that cheap.
It could be a fun project, as long as I don't screw it up completely....but I also would feel bad about owning a device which was most likely stolen.
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Well "bad ESN" doesnt always mean stolen,could also mean the person owes money and the phone is blacklisted till they pay it.
My Droid 3 had a bad ESN but it was because I lost my job and couldn't afford to pay Verizon's ridiculous prices. My income was literally cut in half.