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Tmobile value fees and phone repair questions

R

rockerdudelive

Newbie
Hi, I'm currently a sprint customer. I'm looking into t mobile because sprint is ok, but tmo seems cheaper. I'm asking because these plans are so new that i really can't find much about them.

I was wondering if the value plans include any hidden fees or if they are straight forward like metropcs? I pay 84 for unlimited everything on sprint, (cheaper than most because i have a discount) I was wondering if the value plans include the fees because it says 69.99 a month or will it turn into something like 75ish? I wouldn't really bother with that then beacuse i would add insurance and it would be the same price really, plus any monthly installments for a new phone.

my second question is with the repair center. I've had a smartphone for about 3 years now and i've had a few phones repaired. sprint has repair centers around. Once they replaced an evo because the charging port was broke, another the screen went out and the replaced it, still didn't work so they sent it in. evo 3d had signal issues and the tech opened it up and used an antenna from a broken evo (screen issues) and replaced it, and replaced the screen because there was a burn mark on it. This makes sprint win IMO because i don't have to call asurion myself and they take care of everything.

I kinda want to know how the repairs work for tmo. Do they just replace the phone, or send it to a repair center, or repair it right there? also what is their root policy? the guy told me that if the antenna replacement didnt work i'd have to unroot. The other times i sent it in they never asked (with the screen and usb issue) and replaced it.

if tmo had this type of service or better i will surly switch.
 
I never get any phone insurance. I sell my phone before one year is up. You can just buy the phone from ebay and buy square trade insurance.

You might want to look at T-mobile prepaid. You can get a $100 refill card for $76 off ebay right now.

Do more research.
 
I don't really want ot go to prepaid because i want the perks of postpaid. does anyone else know how the repair centers work or if there are extra fees in the value plans?
 
rockerdudelive said:
I don't really want ot go to prepaid because i want the perks of postpaid. does anyone else know how the repair centers work or if there are extra fees in the value plans?
Click to expand...


What perks?

Prepaid is offering alot more than just Tracfone's 7-11 ppd cards. Postpaid locks you into 2 year contracts that suck your wallet dry.

Insurance is a ripoff. Like Chong said, you can get separate insurance/warranties rather than the TEP insurance Sprint offers and save alot more.
 
The perks of postpaid you get the phone for cheap. But still, do the math, you might be doing the same thing as prepaid by locking in on that contract. T-mobile said postpaid you get data roaming. I assume postpaid = contract

Prepaid you buy your own phone. But it is still alright. Do your bid on ebay to get good deal. Prepaid on T-mobile you dont get roaming.

I just like to be free. I have no contract for anything now, not even Dish.
 
Actually, getting an "inexpensive" phone is not a perk -- it is something you pay for, typically far more than buying the phone outright. Also, some postpaid plans, such as T-Mobile's Value Plans, do not have "inexpensive" phones, though they do allow you to purchase a phone (at full price) with a no-interest loan and pay it back with your monthly payments (I believe $15 per month).

There are advantages to postpaid, such as call forwarding and data roaming. Prepaid on T-Mobile does have roaming, but it is voice/Edge only. I'm not sure that qualifies as "perks". Rather, you typically pay more for postpaid because of those added features and the "guarantee" the mobile provider has with the contract.

Last, I've not used T-Mobile's repair service. My suggestion is you go into a T-Mobile store and ask them how warranty repairs are handled (exchange, local repair, sent to repair center). They will hopefully know if there is a difference in repair procedures depending if the phone is Individual, Family, Value, or Prepaid plan. If people drop off phones to be repaired there, they should also be able to tell you how long it typically takes and if there is any type of "loaner" service available if your phone has to be repaired.

Last, as others have mentioned, you can also buy warranties (either through T-Mobile or third parties) that will ensure you can swap your phone if it needs repairs.
 
Just be careful with your phone. Hold it tight. It is cover by 1 yr manuf warranty.

Sure if you like to pay more money, give me some.

I am not sure if any of you know this, you can get FREE telephone production if you pay your postpaid with this 5/3 cc company:

Link: Cell Phone Protection

Quote: You'll be protected with up to $200 in reimbursement for eligible phones purchased for personal use on traditionally billed plans.
 
tube517 said:
What perks?

Prepaid is offering alot more than just Tracfone's 7-11 ppd cards. Postpaid locks you into 2 year contracts that suck your wallet dry.

Insurance is a ripoff. Like Chong said, you can get separate insurance/warranties rather than the TEP insurance Sprint offers and save alot more.
Click to expand...

Perk 1 - I like my plan.
Perk 2 - My family plan is cheaper than prepaid for what I get. I get 1000 min. and unlimited data for 80 bucks a month. (I get a discount, so my plan really IS about 80 bucks)
Perk 3 - I don't have to search e-bay or use secondary markets to save a buck. I just don't want to. For me, that is a perk.
Perk 4 - I go to website, click 'pay bill' and forget about it for a month, or 32 days, or probably 37 days if paydates don't fall right. I don't have to keep up with when I have to plug in a new 30$ or 50$ card or whatever you need to plug in. I have never tried, but I bet I could go 2 or 3 weeks late on my bill before they cut me off. You get that with prepaid if you don't have the 30 or 50 bucks right then?



these are the 4 I came up with quickly. They are what I consider perks.

Perk 5. I'm happy. Different things make different people happy.

Some folks are happy blowing money on clubs, or expensive wine, or even shoving random plastic items up their rectums. Some folks get a kick out of shopping for stuff they will never use, or collecting pretty rocks, or watching a 5 hour baseball game.

But you prepaid folks who think that we contract folks are mentally deficient morons have got it made. All you have to do to be happy is tell us that we are fools and don't know any better and have sold our souls to our cellular providers because we are 'gasp' tied to a contract and have no freedom.
I have freedom. If I ever need out of my contract, I'll get out of my contract. It's not that hard. There are ways out of it, trust me.

Prepaid works for ya'll. It makes you happy. But please realise that some of us just wouldn't be happy with 100 minutes of prepaid bliss for a month.
And the 30$ month plan is the only way it would be cheaper for me.

Not mad at ya, but you asked 'what perks'.
 
rockerdudelive said:
Hi, I'm currently a sprint customer. I'm looking into t mobile because sprint is ok, but tmo seems cheaper. I'm asking because these plans are so new that i really can't find much about them.

I was wondering if the value plans include any hidden fees or if they are straight forward like metropcs? I pay 84 for unlimited everything on sprint, (cheaper than most because i have a discount) I was wondering if the value plans include the fees because it says 69.99 a month or will it turn into something like 75ish? I wouldn't really bother with that then beacuse i would add insurance and it would be the same price really, plus any monthly installments for a new phone.

my second question is with the repair center. I've had a smartphone for about 3 years now and i've had a few phones repaired. sprint has repair centers around. Once they replaced an evo because the charging port was broke, another the screen went out and the replaced it, still didn't work so they sent it in. evo 3d had signal issues and the tech opened it up and used an antenna from a broken evo (screen issues) and replaced it, and replaced the screen because there was a burn mark on it. This makes sprint win IMO because i don't have to call asurion myself and they take care of everything.

I kinda want to know how the repairs work for tmo. Do they just replace the phone, or send it to a repair center, or repair it right there? also what is their root policy? the guy told me that if the antenna replacement didnt work i'd have to unroot. The other times i sent it in they never asked (with the screen and usb issue) and replaced it.

if tmo had this type of service or better i will surly switch.
Click to expand...


question 1 = 75 ish
question 2 = I don't know. Almost depends on who you see when you walk into a repair center with sprint. I was with them a LONG time, it wasn't always as easy as it was for you.

TMO want's to grow up and be #1. Probably never happen, but they have to realize that customer service is the only way to get there.
 
walmart989 said:
Perk 1 - I like my plan.
Perk 2 - My family plan is cheaper than prepaid for what I get. I get 1000 min. and unlimited data for 80 bucks a month. (I get a discount, so my plan really IS about 80 bucks)
Perk 3 - I don't have to search e-bay or use secondary markets to save a buck. I just don't want to. For me, that is a perk.
Perk 4 - I go to website, click 'pay bill' and forget about it for a month, or 32 days, or probably 37 days if paydates don't fall right. I don't have to keep up with when I have to plug in a new 30$ or 50$ card or whatever you need to plug in. I have never tried, but I bet I could go 2 or 3 weeks late on my bill before they cut me off. You get that with prepaid if you don't have the 30 or 50 bucks right then?



these are the 4 I came up with quickly. They are what I consider perks.

Perk 5. I'm happy. Different things make different people happy.

Some folks are happy blowing money on clubs, or expensive wine, or even shoving random plastic items up their rectums. Some folks get a kick out of shopping for stuff they will never use, or collecting pretty rocks, or watching a 5 hour baseball game.

But you prepaid folks who think that we contract folks are mentally deficient morons have got it made. All you have to do to be happy is tell us that we are fools and don't know any better and have sold our souls to our cellular providers because we are 'gasp' tied to a contract and have no freedom.
I have freedom. If I ever need out of my contract, I'll get out of my contract. It's not that hard. There are ways out of it, trust me.

Prepaid works for ya'll. It makes you happy. But please realise that some of us just wouldn't be happy with 100 minutes of prepaid bliss for a month.
And the 30$ month plan is the only way it would be cheaper for me.

Not mad at ya, but you asked 'what perks'.
Click to expand...

Perk 3 and Perk 4 aren't anything real, I think you have a misunderstanding.

People go to Ebay or other secondary markets to save an extra 10% or so -- there is no need for them to do it. Which goes again to the non-existent Perk 4, you don't have to use a prepaid card -- again, people typically use them to get the discounted rate.

I've paid my monthly prepaid fee for T-Mobile from the website and, if I wanted, I could set it up to automatically pull the payment from my credit card every month so that I don't have to worry about it at all. You can make prepaid payments in T-Mobile stores. In fact, because of the cards, there likely are more ways for Prepaid customers to pay than there are for contract customers.

I don't have a problem with people who have contract plans, in some cases they are better. In fact, that is a problem with prepaid right now, there are very few family plans for prepaid.
 
walmart989 said:
Perk 1 - I like my plan.
Perk 2 - My family plan is cheaper than prepaid for what I get. I get 1000 min. and unlimited data for 80 bucks a month. (I get a discount, so my plan really IS about 80 bucks)
Perk 3 - I don't have to search e-bay or use secondary markets to save a buck. I just don't want to. For me, that is a perk.
Perk 4 - I go to website, click 'pay bill' and forget about it for a month, or 32 days, or probably 37 days if paydates don't fall right. I don't have to keep up with when I have to plug in a new 30$ or 50$ card or whatever you need to plug in. I have never tried, but I bet I could go 2 or 3 weeks late on my bill before they cut me off. You get that with prepaid if you don't have the 30 or 50 bucks right then?



these are the 4 I came up with quickly. They are what I consider perks.

Perk 5. I'm happy. Different things make different people happy.

Some folks are happy blowing money on clubs, or expensive wine, or even shoving random plastic items up their rectums. Some folks get a kick out of shopping for stuff they will never use, or collecting pretty rocks, or watching a 5 hour baseball game.

But you prepaid folks who think that we contract folks are mentally deficient morons have got it made. All you have to do to be happy is tell us that we are fools and don't know any better and have sold our souls to our cellular providers because we are 'gasp' tied to a contract and have no freedom.
I have freedom. If I ever need out of my contract, I'll get out of my contract. It's not that hard. There are ways out of it, trust me.

Prepaid works for ya'll. It makes you happy. But please realise that some of us just wouldn't be happy with 100 minutes of prepaid bliss for a month.
And the 30$ month plan is the only way it would be cheaper for me.

Not mad at ya, but you asked 'what perks'.
Click to expand...
As mentioned I can enroll in autopay on prepaid. so I wont go into those that have been covered.
I have a question though.
referencing what you have in blue what do you have ie 2 phones or?
how is the plan set up you mention 1000 mins
In green above I would say that is one real perk of post pay but if you do it very often do they cut you off?

I know the $70 is unlimited everything, including data even at full speeds.
I like getting the same or equal service for a cheaper price. Now I know that does not alway work. Some things are cheaper for a reason, quality.
 
mogelijk said:
Perk 3 and Perk 4 aren't anything real, I think you have a misunderstanding.

People go to Ebay or other secondary markets to save an extra 10% or so -- there is no need for them to do it. Which goes again to the non-existent Perk 4, you don't have to use a prepaid card -- again, people typically use them to get the discounted rate.

I've paid my monthly prepaid fee for T-Mobile from the website and, if I wanted, I could set it up to automatically pull the payment from my credit card every month so that I don't have to worry about it at all. You can make prepaid payments in T-Mobile stores. In fact, because of the cards, there likely are more ways for Prepaid customers to pay than there are for contract customers.

I don't have a problem with people who have contract plans, in some cases they are better. In fact, that is a problem with prepaid right now, there are very few family plans for prepaid.
Click to expand...
Metropcs was running a family plan I think it may have had a min of 4 lines though, $25 per line. unlimited everything. now that they are part of tmobile I dont know if that will still hold up.
 
You can go 2 or 3 weeks without paying, and ask if prepaid can do that. I don't know about T-Mobile because I'm new to it, but yes, I've done that with other prepaid carriers. I've also been given free months before.
 
Having prepaid means you can do variable things. Other month when you dont need it, you can just lay low and only do pay by the minutes.

I get refill card from ebay usually at least 8% off value. I get free ebay bucks and can buy other things. Sometimes ebay offer 10% off with buy it now and so I stack it.

Buying refill card from ebay means no need to pay tax. No universal fees.

The other day I use my $2 ebay bucks to buy TEN Colgate coupons at .50 off (which double at the store). It feeds itself.

I am on the hunt everyday for cheaper new refill. Then I stand cool until it is redeem.
 
new optimus said:
As mentioned I can enroll in autopay on prepaid. so I wont go into those that have been covered.
I have a question though.
referencing what you have in blue what do you have ie 2 phones or?
how is the plan set up you mention 1000 mins
In green above I would say that is one real perk of post pay but if you do it very often do they cut you off?

I know the $70 is unlimited everything, including data even at full speeds.
I like getting the same or equal service for a cheaper price. Now I know that does not alway work. Some things are cheaper for a reason, quality.
Click to expand...

2 Phones share 1000 minute, free nights and weekends and tmo to tmo.
2GB highspeed, unlimited pokeydata. I havn't broken .5G yet, thanks to wifi. Plan is 79.99, I get 12% off. I use the wifi calling feature at home, and those minutes don't count agains't my plan. They should, but, they don't. I pay, within a buck, 80bucks/month for my evil wallet bustin' plan. and



And to all you 'those aren't perks' responders, read the part where I said that they were perks to ME. Pull the various plastic items out so you hear me!
 
Let's try to keep this on the OP's topic please. They weren't asking about prepaid vs. postpaid.

We can discuss that elsewhere, where it's not off topic to the question asked. Thanks. :)
 
I use to have Sprint for 2 years and can relate with phone repair. Never had to pay a dime with Sprint. I even bought a couple of used phones in and they repair or replaced them without problem.
I'm with T-Mobile right now and from what I can tell, after 30 days you deal with the manufacturer yourself or T-Mobile does it for you for a fee of $20. This is what T-Mobile told me when I was complaining about an issue with my Galaxy Note 2.
 
Did you ship it to Samsung? How did it go?

You should get 1 yr extended warranty if you use your cc right?

In the mean time, get another new phone and pop in your micro SIM and just keep trucking along. :-)
 
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