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Moving to Ting, Any tips tricks or suggestions

F

fdbryant3

Android Expert
Well my wife and I are taking the plunge and switching from MetroPCS to Ting. Our S3's arrive tomorrow :D. Just thought I'd see if anyone has any tips, tricks, or suggestions they would care to share.

The only one I have is using GrooveIP to place calls over my WiFi network using Google Voice to reduce the number of minutes we use on the service. Have already been using it with my current phone (we cancelled MetroPCS before having Ting in place). It works alright, but I'm hoping it will perform better once we have the S3's.

Anyway - what thoughts do you have about using Ting, or your phone, or whatever.
 
I have a flashed Nexus S 4G on Ting, only been on Ting for about 2 weeks, but loving it so far.
I also have a Triumph (running CM7) on Virgin Mobile. Ting call quality, internet speeds all seem better than VM.
 
Skratte said:
I have a flashed Nexus S 4G on Ting, only been on Ting for about 2 weeks, but loving it so far.
I also have a Triumph (running CM7) on Virgin Mobile. Ting call quality, internet speeds all seem better than VM.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't the network be the same since they both run off Spirit?
 
Yes they do both run on sprint... I have had both Boost and Virgin and they seem to be slower than what I have had with Ting (could be just me but think so)

There is also the fact that Ting allows you to roam onto Verizon for talk & text (though not data) and it is included in your regular use. With Boost & Virgin cannot do this.

Then there is their awesome customer service, never talk to a machine, always get someone who speaks English and actually can help you (It's a novel idea I know!)
 
Jambi619 said:
Wouldn't the network be the same since they both run off Spirit?
Click to expand...
Drogyn answered your question above, yes they run off the same Sprint network, but Virgin runs servers between Sprint and you, which basically throttles the network coming to your phone.
 
So here are a couple more tips to help minimize your useage and save on your bill:

1) Use Onavo Extend to compress data. Onavo is a piece of software that sits on your phone and routes your data through their proxy server. As the downloaded data passes through the server it is compressed as it is sent on to you. This is how Opera Mini and other browsers that do the same sort of thing operate to provide a speed boost. The difference is that Onavo works with all of you apps not just the specific browser. For the security conscious take note that they cannot read or compress encrypted content. It can also be turned on and off at will. Finally it also cannot compress streaming data.

And what I consider the ultimate savings tip:
2) FreedomPop+Google Voice+GrooveIP - FreedomPop is a new service (actually still in beta) that offers 500MB of free data per month. Basically you put down $100 refundable deposit and receive a 4g hotspot (operates over the Clear/Sprint WiMax/LTE network) that can support up to 8 devices. So you connect your phone to it via Wifi and use it to make calls (or whatever you use data for) with the aformentioned Google Voice/GrooveIP trick. The only real disadvantage is that you have to carry and keep another device charged. Once you burn through the 500MB just use the Ting service as normal.

Anyway, got any tips to save on your Ting bill.
 
Seems a little counter intuitive to lay out $100 to a company thats in beta for 500mb a month.
You would get nearly 8 months worth of 500mb a month from ting for that (obviously a little less if you already have a higher data package from them, but still like 5.5 months)

I find it easier to just connect to wifi where and when I can for using data.
I do have google voice & groove IP on my phone and have used it for voice chat before though I am never anywhere close to going over my voice plan most of the time so it's not a real worry.
 
It is more a long term strategy that requires a little management. The $100 is refundable (although even that has to managed since apparently after a year they will assume your keeping the device).

As I said it can save you money.....but it isn't the most convenient thing to do. Convience always comes at a price.
 
i tried ting for about a month i had the gs2, whenver i would roam it would always be on alltel i believe they can roam on many different networks, sadly ting was not for me.
 
In the process of moving to Ting, and have a few comments that might be worth sharing.


I bought refurbished Sprint phones to move over( 2 HTC EVO 4G). The porting activation process does take a while, they say up to 24 hours and they mean it. I'm not sure if that is typical but ported three phones over in the past 5 days, and that seems to be the case for each one. For some reason I was expecting that magic to happen sooner, like an hour, when they say up to 24 hours, they really mean it.

Customer support is only available between 8am 8pm easter Monday through Friday so if you need to port over a sprint phone, you should time it so that Customer service would be available when you are ready to switch.

If you are porting a cell number that takes like an hour or three (from T-mobile), if you are porting a land-line that will take a week. If you are porting over a number from google voice, that is like a land line and will take a week as well.

I entered an incorrect ID number for one of the phones, and took a while to figure that out, totally my fault, but the customer service was incredibly helpful. (I am not counting that error on my part on the activation time for the phone)

I have to say the customer service with these guys is wonderful. Compared to every other helpline I have ever dealt with they are pleasant, intelligent and truly helpful. However one minor minor point. Because they are so competent they assumed (falsely) that I was able to accurately read and enter the ID number for my phone. If they had verified that with me sooner, they would have caught my error a little sooner. It is really hard to complain about an error I made, so if you are moving over a phone, take the time to verify and double-check all the information you enter and provide.

Overall the process of bringing over a BYOSD was still a little clumsy. I think this is technically still a beta for them though. I hope they will tweak this a bit and things can go more smoothly in the future. The amount I will save on my bill is staggering though so well worth the hassle.
 
This visual voice mail? Visual Voicemail

I have no idea honestly never tried it. Personally my answerphone goes to google voice which alerts me in the app. Transcribing (sometimes with great hilarity) the message and sending me a text message if i wish. I haven't had to dial my voicemail since installing it, you can listen to the message if you need to with a simple click of the play button on the app.

Best answer I can give I'm afraid
 
Poking around the internet, I found that if you bring a sprint phone to Ting (or flash to a sprint ROM), the native spriint visual voicemail app will function on Ting, but knowing that there is a work around makes me feel better. I may make the switch if Ting gets the S4
 
Antiochus said:
Poking around the internet, I found that if you bring a sprint phone to Ting (or flash to a sprint ROM), the native spriint visual voicemail app will function on Ting, but knowing that there is a work around makes me feel better. I may make the switch if Ting gets the S4
Click to expand...

According to one of their most recent blog posts, the S4 is definitely on the way along with the mini S3 and HTC One.

https://ting.com/blog/device-update...s3-mini-htc-one-and-lte-data-devices-inbound/
 
Aokusman said:
If ting include free nights and weekend it would be perfect.
Click to expand...

All I can speak to is my personal experience. But I weighed out all my usages and found that even with no "free" nights and weekends and no "free" mobile to mobile it still was a lot cheaper than what I was paying for a "discounted" and "unlimited" service. I put all those words in quotes because they are not much more than fluff words! It might not work for your but from my experience I tell everyone to sit down and look at your actual usage and compare that to the buckets on Ting and I think you might be surprised.

Also a second thought, if you even slightly change how you use your service: ie.. wifi, Google Voice, groove ip, and so on. You can save even more.

Thanks
Willis
Sign up for Ting and save $25: https://za2ahjj411.ting.com/
 
I've used Ting and have had nothing but a great experience! I use a home phone that connects to the internet so I barely use any minutes. I'm on wireless too at work and at home so I'm not using much data either. My bill comes to $40 a month, much better than the $90 I was paying with Verizon!

By signing up for Ting using my referral code we each get a $25 credit. Win-win! https://ze3c0n1aaq1.ting.com/
 
BrieLab2003 said:
I use a home phone that connects to the internet so I barely use any minutes. I'm on wireless too at work and at home so I'm not using much data either.
Click to expand...

It's truly amazing how low you can get your monthly bill with Ting by using WiFi for calls and internet. This would be the best tip for anyone moving to Ting.

The low monthly cost and free voice roaming on Verizon set it apart from other no contract carriers.

Plus the $25 you save when joining from a referral (see the link in my signature below).
 
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