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Transfering my Verizon S4 to T-Mobile
- Thread starter SLEEVO
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- samsung galaxy s4
That doesn't make any sense. There's a gsm setting in the software so I assume there's gsm capabilities. It's just a matter if it needs unlocked or not
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Deleted User
Guest
I save the following post a while ago just in case I decided to do the same thing. It likely would need to be unlocked by Verizon first, however.
The i545 will work fine with any GSM card. I know this for a fact, because I am doing it right now. I left verizon and jumped onto a t-mobile pre paid account with my i545 S4 2 days ago.
#1 Insert new sim then restart
#2 Go to your network settings and make sure you are set to global or gsm
#3 Go to apn settings and hit menu and create new apn, call it what you want.
#4 Change its apn to: fast.t-mobile.com
#5 Change the MMSC (same menu) to: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
#6 Restart your phone
Thats it. The i545 is a global phone. It is legally required to work with the gsm network according to the FCC.
thanks for the post. I actually just did that this afternoon at the T-Mobile store. Phone works perfect and picks up the 4G-LTE in the local area. I didn't even have to unlock the phone. Did the speed test with 18 down and 8 up. Also did the same with my wife's S4. I was really looking into this because if I could keep my Verizon phones and port them over to T-Mobile, I'd save 70$ a month on my phone bill.
T-Mobiles Promo to pay off your cancellation fee has a few requirements. They are as followed.
1) turn in any verizon phone to them (gave them my old phones laying around collecting dust, Kept both my S4's)
2) port your verizon number to them
3) purchase a phone through them (i bought the cheapest of cheap phones to meet the promo (100$ total for both phones)
4)print your final verizon bill and fill out a form, mail it in.
In terms I ended up paying 100$ for the 2 new phones to meet the promo. Which pretty much means I paid 100$ cancellation fee to switch. That's a simple decision when I will be dropping my phone bill from 170$ a month to 100$.
jennlampert
Lurker
I switched mine to tmobile. Did that but my mobile hotspot doesn't connect. How did you get around that?
Unfortunately, when you have 3-5 phone lines on the T-Mobile plans you are NOT saving money with their new plans.
There are times through the year like black Friday that you can get current phones for either free or very cheap. It was possible to get the S4 for $1 or less. so even if the phones would only be $600 each then you only have 4 lines that would be $2,400 just for the phones. $3,000 for 5 lines. Just taking the $2,400 / 24 months for typical plan means the T-Mobile family plan has to be $100 CHEAPER than a plan from another company for someone to actually save money on the new T-Mobile plans. If they get new phones every 2 years which is not that uncommon.
The only reason I am posting this here is because of the comment of the person saying they are saving $70 a month. Though they only have 2 lines on their family plan. So their plan has to be $50 cheaper. SO they are only really saving $20 a month in reality....
I have been with T-Mobile for 12 years, and am frustrated in how this new CEO has everyone bamboozled on how much these new plans save everyone.....
There are times through the year like black Friday that you can get current phones for either free or very cheap. It was possible to get the S4 for $1 or less. so even if the phones would only be $600 each then you only have 4 lines that would be $2,400 just for the phones. $3,000 for 5 lines. Just taking the $2,400 / 24 months for typical plan means the T-Mobile family plan has to be $100 CHEAPER than a plan from another company for someone to actually save money on the new T-Mobile plans. If they get new phones every 2 years which is not that uncommon.
The only reason I am posting this here is because of the comment of the person saying they are saving $70 a month. Though they only have 2 lines on their family plan. So their plan has to be $50 cheaper. SO they are only really saving $20 a month in reality....
I have been with T-Mobile for 12 years, and am frustrated in how this new CEO has everyone bamboozled on how much these new plans save everyone.....
How long did it take to port in the number ? I am doing exactly like you but I haven't got the number ported to t-mobile.
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Deleted User
Guest
Do you have to wait for Verizon to 'unlock' the phone for you as well, before it can be used? Or just pop in the T-Mobile SIM card and good to go?
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
y2kgtp, ALL Verizon phones come unlocked. Say I wanted to take my Verizon Galaxy S4 and use it on TMobile. All I would have to do is get a Sim Card from TMobile and put it in my GS4 and switch the Network mode to either GSM or Global. Then it would work. That's all that it takes.
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Deleted User
Guest
After trying out a T-Mobile Test Drive phone, it's a lost cause for me. All I could access was T-Mobile Edge and GPRS network from my house - inside and out. Frequent dropped calls, and call failures in the area as well.
Will be sticking with Verizon.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
Well it works with pretty much all carriers, so you don't have to use Verizon, there is AT&T, Sprint, Virgin Mobile, ect.
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Deleted User
Guest
I was leaning toward T-Mobile, as they will pay off your ETF, and you can turn in any phone to qualify, working or not.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
I'm leaning toward them myself. Problem is I'm currently in a family plan with my parents, and I have no idea if it would still apply to have them pay off my ETF and transfer my number off of my family's plan.
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Deleted User
Guest
As long as your parents are fine with the transfer, and you have sufficient credit to get the T-Mobile phone, I don't see why not.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
The thing is, my parents don't want to switch, so it would be just me, and I'm not sure if it would cause issue with their phones.
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Deleted User
Guest
Doubtful it would be an issue with the plan.
One thing to keep in mind is Verizon will bill the ETF fee pretty quick, and T-Mobile will reimburse "up to" 8 weeks later.
Your parent's might not take well to having to pay this fee while you wait for the T-Mobile pre-paid Credit Card (up to 6-8) weeks they send out for ETF reimbursement.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
True, might have to wait for my 2 year contract to end before I switch. 2016 needs to hurry up..., or I could save up enough to pay my ETF myself. My whole reason for wanting to switch was brought on by my co-worker offering to sell me her iPhone 5 really cheap, and I wanted the ability to switch between the iphone and my GS4. But she has AT&T and I have Verizon. So I have to be on a GSM carrier to do that.
And I really only want a iPhone to iMessage my siblings who don't have phones, but rather an iPod touch.
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Deleted User
Guest
You can simply purchase a Verizon iPhone 5 shortly, and the prices are about to drop with the Apple announcement tomorrow for the iPhone 6.
You can switch back and forth between CDMA Verizon phones from the Automated customer service line, or just calling them.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
True, but I doubt it would be $70 in near perfect condition. It would probably be more around $350 or more.
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Deleted User
Guest
For $70 I would flip it on eBay and put the rest toward a Verizon iPhone, if that is what you want.
Kurtd_Kobain
Lurker
True might do that. Thanks for your help.
AstromechS5
Lurker
This thread might be the right one to post in. I am working on a friend's phone. He has an unlocked verizon S4 with a tmobile sim card. Everything works fine but he cannot send or receive pictures via mms. Trying to do so always results in download failed. Upon restart there is a notification that there is a foreign sim card detected. The apn settings that were changed seem to be right. Can anyone help?
thank you