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So you still pay full price for a phone even if you sign a 2year contract??

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elflip88

Newbie
So i went to tmobile today, thinking of buying sgs2, but the guy told me that I would pay $229 DOWN payment and pay the rest thru my bill ($15 a month),So ill still end up paying the full price of the phone. I thought that when you sign a two year contract as a new customer, you would get the phone much cheaper, or at least thats how it used to be?? Or did i misunderstand the guy??
 
It depends on the plan. The "Even More Plus" (may be named something different currently) plans offer lower monthly service rates however for that discount, you do not receive a phone subsidy. With the higher priced "Even More" plans, the discounted phone prices apply.

I'm on the Even More Plus as I save more over the 2 years than any savings on from phone discount.
 
'Even More' plans have been replaced with 'Value' plans. These do not offed so-called 'discounted' or 'subsidized' phones, you buy a phone outright for full price. However, if you're on a Value plan T-Mo will still finance the phone, which is the same thing anyway. You still put say, $199 down and pay the balance monthly. IOW, no matter your plan, no matter whether 'subsidized' or financed, the phone ends up costing the same.

BUT...if you buy a phone outright and go Value, your monthly bill is less. If you go Value and finance a phone, your bill goes down after the phone is paid for. Or you can buy a used phone to save money.

BUT...if you go with a standard plan and a 'subsidized' phone, not only do you pay a higher monthly bill, your bill does NOT go down in a couple of years, after you've paid for your phone. IOW, no matter how long you keep using the same phone, you pay the higher 'subsidized' rate. Which is a sweet deal for the phone company. They love it when people on standard contracts just keep their old phones.
 
Crashdamage said:
'Even More' plans have been replaced with 'Value' plans. These do not offed so-called 'discounted' or 'subsidized' phones, you buy a phone outright for full price. However, if you're on a Value plan T-Mo will still finance the phone, which is the same thing anyway. You still put say, $199 down and pay the balance monthly. IOW, no matter your plan, no matter whether 'subsidized' or financed, the phone ends up costing the same.

BUT...if you buy a phone outright and go Value, your monthly bill is less. If you go Value and finance a phone, your bill goes down after the phone is paid for. Or you can buy a used phone to save money.

BUT...if you go with a standard plan and a 'subsidized' phone, not only do you pay a higher monthly bill, your bill does NOT go down in a couple of years, after you've paid for your phone. IOW, no matter how long you keep using the same phone, you pay the higher 'subsidized' rate. Which is a sweet deal for the phone company. They love it when people on standard contracts just keep their old phones.
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Hmmm, I didnt know Tmo offered this type of plan... Have you compared this type of Value Plan and others with ATT to see if this type of offer will still be available (should the merger occurs)?
 
T-Mo has the cheapest plans. AT&T has said they will grandfather in T-Mo's plans indefinitely same as T-Mo always has. Time will tell if they're telling the truth.
 
Crashdamage said:
T-Mo has the cheapest plans. AT&T has said they will grandfather in T-Mo's plans indefinitely same as T-Mo always has. Time will tell if they're telling the truth.
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You are 100%correct on all aspects....and especially the latter. "if they are telling the truth"

AT&T is known for changing and amending things to fit their intended plans. So if the merger occurs.. Either FCC will be watching like a hawk for a period of time , policing the transition and sercice to customers, or att will update amendments and work up new packages that may eventually choke the current grandfathered plans.

Similar to their unlimited grandfathered customers. They couldnt "take" the plan away, so now, they force you under the rules of a 2Gig tiered user... "With Unlimited, You Get Throttled To A Crawl at 2Gig"...Theres no such thing as this "top 5", it doesnt matter...if you reach 2Gig, you get choked..

Good luck with what the future holds....i was going to go to tmo, but that would be a moot option now..

But I do welcome you, my future att brethren...i do like att but not their decision to deal with heavy users this way
 
Ok thanks guys, I should be switching to tmobile in the next week or so, right now i have a moto triumph with virgin mobile but am tired of the slow internet, I want 4g Dammit!! The guy said id be paying $70 a month, so its not so bad, now my only debate is whether to get the sgs2 or the amaze
 
elflip88 said:
Ok thanks guys, I should be switching to tmobile in the next week or so, right now i have a moto triumph with virgin mobile but am tired of the slow internet, I want 4g Dammit!! The guy said id be paying $70 a month, so its not so bad, now my only debate is whether to get the sgs2 or the amaze
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I made that exact switch a week ago and will port my number this week. The VM speeds are killing me, and ever since I rooted and installed CM7, the phone has been even worse! I resent paying $70 a month but couldn't put up with VM or the Triumph any longer!
 
Another thing to conceder is the fact that even if ATT allows you to keep your rate, what happens when you need a new phone? All TMO phones will become obsolete with the ATT network. At that point all bets are off IMO.
 
Texter said:
...even if ATT allows you to keep your rate, what happens when you need a new phone?
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I'll just buy a phone outright or used like I always do so I keep my cheap grandfathered plan. Subsudized phones aren't cheaper anyway. One way or another, you're gonna pay for the phone.
 
Texter said:
Another thing to conceder is the fact that even if ATT allows you to keep your rate, what happens when you need a new phone? All TMO phones will become obsolete with the ATT network. At that point all bets are off IMO.
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This is totally false. The T-Mobile radios are installed in the T-Mobile towers. It would cost less to leave them in place functioning as usual than it would be to remove them. If the merger goes through your T-Mobile phone will continue to work for many years, at the same bandwidth as you had before.

Also, AT&T has publicly stated that they will honor T-Mobile's existing plans for all customers as of the date of the merger.

In other words, the only thing that will change is that you will have to put up with rotten AT&T attitude and service.
 
Texter said:
Another thing to conceder is the fact that even if ATT allows you to keep your rate, what happens when you need a new phone? All TMO phones will become obsolete with the ATT network. At that point all bets are off IMO.
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The T-Mobile Motorola Defy, my current AT&T phone, is fynctioning without issue in AT&T's $15/mo. Unlimited data plan @ UMTS speeds.
 
John Jason said:
This is totally false. The T-Mobile radios are installed in the T-Mobile towers. It would cost less to leave them in place functioning as usual than it would be to remove them. If the merger goes through your T-Mobile phone will continue to work for many years, at the same bandwidth as you had before...
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Based on AT&T's online documentation, it is my understanding that the 1700 band would be re-provisioned for LTE rollout, and a "phone exchange/upgrade plan" put in place for current T-Mo customers.
 
Value plan 2 lines unlimited everything (at 2gb they throttle speed) = $99.98 monthly
Regular plan 2 (at 2gb they throttle speed) = $139.98 monthly

The $15 bux per month over 20 Months = 300 + down payment = X
If it's over $960 ($40 per month for 24 months) which it won't be then go for the $139.98 per month otherwise the value plan is the way to go long term.
 
I dunno if I'm too late to hop in But I am on the Monthly 4G plan. Well there are several. There is the $30/mo with is 1500 text or minutes and 30MB of 4G web, $50/mo unlimited talk and text with 100MB of 4G web, $60/mo unlimited talk and text with 2GB of 4G web and $70/mo unlimited talk and text with 5GB of 4G web. After you hit your allotted 4G limit, your web speed is throttled to 2G.

You pay for your phone outright and then choose your plan. I went with this route because there are no overage fees. I have the $60/mo plan and pay $63 something after taxes. Even with Crickets $55/mo plan i was paying $67 after taxes and other fees. Also I think this is cheaper over time to pay for the phone outright with a cheaper plan than get a free phone with a higher bill. Over 2 years, its cheaper to go the prepaid route.

Right now Walmart has the Samsung Exhibit II for $199.98 and you can choose any Monthly 4G plan. I plan on buying the phone this week. Sounds like quite a nice deal to me :D
 
JaeWeb said:
... There is the $30/mo with is 1500 text or minutes and 30MB of 4G web, $50/mo unlimited talk and text with 100MB of 4G web, $60/mo unlimited talk and text with 2GB of 4G web and $70/mo unlimited talk and text with 5GB of 4G web. After you hit your allotted 4G limit, your web speed is throttled to 2G. ... I have the $60/mo plan and pay $63 something after taxes.
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I have the $70 plan that you mentioned above and I have never been charged taxes and government fees. I have long wondered why. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. And I plan on keeping my mouth shut. I'm just curious.
 
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