[Elect] USA Roaming T-Mobile, AT&T & Sprint Hotspot *iPhone w/3G HSPA on T-Mobile (NEW)

[andriykoua]

Contents

Post # 1
1. T-Mobile
a) Pay As You Go Rate Plans
b) Walmart and T-Mobile Monthly4G $30 Unlimited Web & Text Plan
c) T-Mobile APN Settings
d) How to TOP UP to obtain/keep your Gold Rewards
2. AT&T
a) Go Phone Plans
3. How to Set Up/Use Google Voice in USA
4. How to forward your Canadian phone # to your GV, AT&T or T-Mobile phone numbers
a) Configuring VoipMS
5. FAQ
a) Blackberry
b) Hardware Compatibility

Post # 2
6. Internet on the Go Mobile Hotspot
7. HOW TO SETUP/USE GOOGLE VOICE HERE IN CANADA
8. Bypassing T-mobile's Greedy Tethering Filtering Policy
a) Browser AddOns
9. T-Mobile 3G/HSPA+ coverage on 1900Mhz enables 3G service for iPhones & many other non-AWS handsets (NEW)

1. T-Mobile

A) Pay As You Go Rate Plans and How to TOP UP to obtain/keep your Gold Rewards

With Pay As You Go, you get wireless service exactly how you like it. There’s no long-term contract, no credit checks, and no surprises.

Price List of what's included in Pay By The Day*



*Pay By The Day is simple and convenient Price Plan for frequent travelers or for people who travel at least once or twice a year. It offers Unlimited Nationwide (US) calling, unlimited text and unlimited data.

Price List of what's included in Pay By The Minute*



*Pay By The Minute is a price plan designed for travelers who are not planning to have long conversations, and simply need their phone for emergencies. Data and Text messaging are NOT INCLUDED in this price plan and will cost you extra (Pay Per Use)

B) Walmart and T-Mobile Introduce Exclusive No-Annual Contract 4G Offering



New T-Mobile Monthly4G $30 Unlimited Web & Text with 100 min of talk
Fund your Monthly4G or Pay As You Go plans
Exclusively at Walmart
No Annual Contract, 30-day Monthly4G plan
Great for Facebook, texting, games, and streaming music/video
Nationwide 4G Network
No Annual Contract
The $30 Unlimited Web & Text with 100 min talk plan works only with T-Mobile Phones purchased from a Walmart store or from Walmart.com.

C) T-Mobile APN Settings

T-Mobile APN: epc.tmobile.com

D) How to TOP UP to obtain/keep your Gold Rewards

Pay As You Go: Service available for 90 days (one year for Gold Rewards) after activation/refill/conversion. After that, your account will be suspended and no service will be available. Gold Rewards requires activation of $100 in refills; you must refill while on Pay As You Go plan to obtain full Gold Rewards benefits. Pay By The Day: Service available for 90 days (one year for $100 refills) after activation/refill. You will be charged for each Day you use plan services. Daily rate charges apply when you make or receive any call, including calls to voicemail and other calling features, and when you make or receive any message. Plans with data are charged the daily rate when any data usage occurs, including background data connections or automatic data syncing by phone applications or features. If you sign up for plan more than one time in a day or switch between plans, the daily rate for each plan will be deducted each time. Day is 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., based on time zone associated with your phone number. If call spans multiple days (e.g., starts at 11:58 p.m. and ends at 12:05 a.m.), you may be charged the daily rate for each day.

How check your T-Mobile phone Balance dial: #999#

T-Mobile activation kit is $10 dollars (US) + tax (includes SIM card and $3.34 credit towards your minutes *When Purchased at T-Mobile store) *Pricing may very based on the dealer and the top up amount.

2. AT&T

A) GoPhone Plans

No contract, no credit check, no deposit...no surprises! Plus, GoPhone plans give you choices – pay by the month, day, or minute!



Smartphone users must purchase a data package to use data services with any plan. Pay-per-use is not available with smartphones.

Calling, messaging, and data services are available only if your account balance is sufficient to cover the applicable rate charge.

*Unlimited text within the U.S. includes text, and picture/video/sound messages. Unlimited text to Mexico and over 100 countries includes text only. See a full list of countries available for text messaging with unlimited plans.

**250 minutes of nationwide calling are included in plan. Additional minutes over 250 are charged at 10¢/minute.

***$2/day is charged only on days phone is used to make or receive a voice call (including a call to voice mailbox) or send a text or picture/video/sound message. A minimum account balance of $2 is required each day to place or receive a call or send a message.

Packages
Packages are good for 30 days as long as your account balance is not expired. Standard rates apply if package is not renewed after 30 days. Also, package balance rolls over if renewed before expiration date.

Data Packages
Access the Web, email, social networks, and more! Smartphone users must purchase a data package with any plan to use data services on their device.

$5 for 10 MB
$15 for 100 MB
$25 for 500 MB





3. How to Set Up/Use Google Voice in USA

T-Mobile and some AT&T plans do not offer calling and texting (SMS) back to Canada, and this is why you need to sign up for a Free Google Voice account. With Google Voice, you will get UNLIMITED TEXT, UNLIMITED CAN/US CALLING and best of all, only ONE NUMBER to give away to your contacts. If you ever change US cellphone provider and or number, your Google Voice number will always remain the same for as long as you have your Gmail account i.e. if you obtain a new US number, and you don't want to confuse your contacts with your newly acquired number every time you buy a new US SIM card. You will be able to signup for GV account after you get your T-Mobile/AT&T number as Google Voice requires a valid US number to work. GV may only be activated while you are in US or using US proxy/VPN service. Once you have Google Voice set up (can be done via your Android or iPhone mobile browsers) you are now ready to start using GV service.
To start using GV you will need an Official Google Voice app available for iPhone or Android devices. The GV application will allow you to enable/disable GV for voice calls and it will also allow you to send/receive SMS.

UPDATE for Non Android and iOS users by Zork1984)

Alternatively you may place a call by calling your own Google number

When you call your own Google number and sign into the Google voicemail system, you’ll have the option to place a call. Just press 2 and enter the number.

For calls within the U.S and Canada, enter area code and number. For example: 212-555-2222. For international calls, enter 011, the country code, and the number (or "1 and the country code," depending on where you're calling). For example: 011442012345612345 or 12464260200

4. How to forward your Canadian phone # to your GV, AT&T or T-Mobile phone numbers

You can forward your Canadian Phone # using voip.ms service. It is very simple and inexpensive. It costs $99 cents a month plus 1 cent for every minute you forward.*

A) Configuring VoipMS

- Voip MS provides you with local Canadian #
- Forward your Canadian Phone # to a local Voip MS Canadian # (Make sure you set your forwarding while you are in Canada and or your local calling zone)
- You forward your Voip MS number to your US number this can be done via Voip MS portal

UPDATE: If you have Mobilicity account with FREE US calling, you may forward your Canadian number to your US number directly FREE of charge. Unlike other carriers, Mobilicity does not charge you extra to call forward to a US number as long as you have Unlimited US calling as part of your plan or an add-on.

Voila! You may now receive all your calls from Canada and call everyone back for FREE by saving your hard earned $ on Expensive Roaming charges.

5. FAQ

A) Blackberry
Blackberry BIS service (BBM, Email, Data) will not work on T-Mobile or AT&T prepaid services.

B) Hardware Compatibility
T-Mobile supports same frequencies as Wind, Mobilicity and Videotron
AT&T supports same frequencies as Rogers/Fido/Virgin*/Koodo*/Telus* and Bell*. GSM based devices only.

[andriykoua]

6. Internet on the Go Mobile Hotspot (NEW)

Powered By

Easily connect your laptop or tablet with the TruConnect Internet on the Go Mobile Hotspot. With the footprint of a credit card and only one third of an inch thick, the Mobile Hotspot allows you to connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices. With the Internet on the Go plan, you only pay for megabytes and your balance never expires as long as you use it at least once a year. There are no other charges, like monthly bundles or activation fees, and the nationwide network will allow you to connect virtually anywhere you go!

TruConnect Internet on the Go Mobile Hotspot:
Quick and easy setup
Connect up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices
Removable lithium-ion battery
Up to 4 hours of usage/40 hours standby battery life
Great value pre-paid plan
No monthly charges
Balance never expires (when used at least once a year)
Internet on the Go wireless network services are provided on the Nationwide Sprint Network
Zero monthly fees
Balance never expires (if used once a year)
Never lose your megabytes at the end of a month
For use with Internet on the Go mobile hotspots and service
Only at Walmart Currently on SALE for $80+TAX

Download/Upload Speeds

Average Download speeds will range from 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps
Average Upload speeds will range from 350-500 Kbps, peaking at 1.8 Mbps

My Account/Refill/Coverage Maps

http://www.internet-go.com/

Plan Details
"Thank you for being a loyal Internet on the Go customer. We are pleased to announce that effective today, Internet on the Go will be improved with new plans and more megabytes. The current "no expiration" plan will continue to be offered as the "Go Big - Use Whenever" plan, but with more megabytes for each of the refill options. We are also introducing a completely new "Go Bigger - 30-Day" plan that gives you even more megabytes for use within a 30-day period.
The next time you refill your account, you will be able to choose one of the following plans:

Go Big - Use Whenever plan (*For the account to remain active, you have to use it at least once a year. *You will only need to top up when you run out of MB)
o $10 / 500MB
o $25 / 1.5GB
o $45 / 4GB
Go Bigger - 30-Day plan
o $10 / 1GB
o $25 / 3GB
o $45 / 8GB

7. HOW TO SETUP/USE GOOGLE VOICE HERE IN CANADA by djino

Before discussing the setup, you should know that Google Voice has not officially released here in Canada. This post is a means of a work around to allow you to use it here in Canada. There is evidence to suggest that Google Voice will officially launch here in Canada, but until that time, you will have a bit of work to do to get it working successfully here.

What are the benefits of using Google Voice in Canada?

Google Voice provides you a U.S. Telephone number. Google Voice forwards calls received on the number to your existing Canadian Number. So it may not be ideal to use Google Voice for receiving calls from your Canadian Contacts, as it would be long distance for them to call you. But if you have U.S. Contacts, you can provide them with your Google Voice number so that they can call you here in Canada for free without long distance charges.

Google Voice also allows you to place free outgoing calls to any number in Canada/U.S. This would be ideal if you do not have a nationwide/U.S. calling plan as Google Voice can be used to enhance that benefit. Google Voice also allows you to send/receive text messages to any Canadian/U.S. telephone number. You can also added multiple forwarding numbers on your account so that you can receive incoming calls on multiple phones.

My purpose for using Google Voice in its current state, is to make it free for my U.S. contacts to call me here in Canada for free.

Creating a Google Voice Account

Before creating a Google Voice account, you will need to know that you cannot "DIRECTLY" add your Canadian number as a forwarding number. A Canadian number can later be added once you have a U.S. Forwarding Number setup.

Where to get a U.S. Telephone number to use with Google Voice Forwarding

If you are planning to head to the U.S. anytime soon, then you can use your t-mobile/roam mobility U.S. cell number. If you are not going to the U.S. anytime soon, then you can sign up for an account at voxox.com. Voxox.com can provide you a free Telephone number. You also want to setup Voxox.com to forward calls to your Canadian Telephone number.

Signing up at Google.com/voice

The creation of your Google Voice account is blocked from being created here in Canada. You can mask your IP Address with by running Hotspot Shield (Just google it, and install it). Hotspot shield, only needs to be running during the sign up process. You can uninstall it after your Google Voice account has been created.

Add your T-mobile/Roam Mobility/Voxox U.S. Telephone number

Part of the sign up process of Google Voice is to add at least 1 U.S. Forwarding Number. After inputting the number, it will need to be verified. Google Voice will call you and ask you to enter the 2 digit code provided on the screen.

How to Add Your Canadian Number to Google Voice

As mentioned, Google Voice blocks Canadian Numbers from being Added directly to Google Voice. There are 2 methods to get by this.

1) Using U.S. Telephone Number provided by Voxox.

If you have not already, you would Create a Voxox account. Request a U.S. Telephone Number and setup forwarding to your Canadian Telephone Number. You would Add the U.S. Voxox number to your Google Voice Account. The Call Flow would end up being Google Voice -> Voxox -> Your Canadian Number.

2) Directly Adding your Canadian Number to Google Voice with the Android Google Voice application

If you are not running the Google Voice application on your Android phone for the first time, sign out of the application to delete all your settings. Sign into the app and have it add/verify your cell phone automatically. After this is complete. The Call Flow is Google Voice -> Your Canadian Cell Number.

How to place an outgoing call

There are 4 ways to place an outgoing call via Google Voice

1) Direct Access Method

This method can only be used by those who have their Canadian Number added/verified directly on the Google Voice account (i.e., this will not work via the Voxox method). You will need to instruct your smartphone to dial a local access number before completing the call to your contact. Launch the Google Voice app and go into the Settings. You want to set the option of either having Google Voice be used for ALL Calls or for it to pop up and ask you on each time you attempt to place an outgoing call. Once the option is set, you can exit out of the application. Anytime you dial a number/contact , Google Voice will intercept, and have your phone call a Google Voice local access number before completing the call to your contact.

2) Click2Call Method

This method can only be used by those who have a U.S. Number added/verified directly on the Google Voice account (i.e., this "may" not work via your Canadian Number on Google Voice). Here, you select a contact you want to call by visiting Google.com/voice and select the Forwarding Number (Voxox). Google Voice calls your Voxox Number (which should then get forwarded to your Canadian Number), you answer, and Google Voice connects you to your Contact. Note: There are free apps like Voice+, GV Dialer that you can install on your smart phone. When clicking a contact to call, the app can intercept and send the Click2Call instructions to Google Voice. Google Voice calls you back, you answer, and you are connected to your contact.

3) Google Chat Method

This is a Voip method. Uses an existing data connection for the duration of the call. From a PC: Open up Gmail -> Google Chat. Place an outgoing from there (you can also setup Google Voice to forward incoming calls to Google Chat). From a Smartphone: Install Talkatone app. Sign into Talkatone with your Gmail account. Place outgoing calls from there.

4) Call Your Google Voice Number

Only use this if your current cell/phone plan includes U.S. Calling. But if it did, it would defeat the purpose of using Google Voice. But the option is there for you to call your Google Voice number. Choose option 2 from the automated menu, and dial the ten digit number of the person you want to call.


8. Bypassing T-mobile's Greedy Tethering Filtering Policy by alanbrenton

A) Browser AddOns

http://benbuchacher.com/posts/2012/0...g-filters.html

B) How to Change Your Browser’s User Agent Without Installing Any Extensions

http://www.howtogeek.com/113439/how-...ny-extensions/

9. T-Mobile 3G/HSPA+ coverage on 1900Mhz enables 3G service for iPhones & many other non-AWS hansets (NEW)

http://www.airportal.de/

Official News: http://blog.t-mobile.com/tag/refarm/

[nabeel]

How is it cheaper than T-Mobile prepaid?

T-Mobile prepaid is $2 per day for unl talk/text/data. That's $2 per day , not "from $3.xx per day" which is really $6.32 per day on a 3-day trip.

Yes, I get free LD back to Canada which I don't with T-Mobile prepaid, but that isn't worth the extra $4.32 per day on a 3-day trip.

[mikesxf]

more expensive than t-mobi ppd:
$3/d unlimited talk/text/data
$2/d unlimited talk/text/2G


this: $7.95/d for talk/text/100MB data

rip off!

[Jonavin]

T-Mobile still cheaper. Use Google Voice or one of the many free voip services (Dell Voice, Fongo, Vonage, etc..) for free calls back to Canada.

[cool canuck]

I think this looks like a decent deal. I just need a data plan (not offered by t-mobile) since voice can be done via voip. I might go to the US maybe 3 times a year, so the t-mobile plan is a bit inconvenient in that after 90 days it looks like the sim card expires for good and you need to purchase a new sim card to reactivate (or pay $10 for the lowest priced top-up). Trying to find a store across the border seems like a bit of a hassle and t-mobile doesn't ship sim cards to Canada (ebay may be an option).

The roam mobility will let me do $30 for 500MB of data, then it sounds like i can wait up to one year before I use it again without the sim card expiring. I can then pay $3.00 to keep it alive for another year but chances are i'll be using it at least twice a year so i won't have to deal with an expired sim card.

So the main disadvantage of the t-mobile plan is the 90 day expiry (i'm not a frequent traveller) and then having to get a new sim every time you go to the US.

The disadvantage of roam is that the iphone will only get 2G speeds.

[bvit6667]

I think this looks like a decent deal. I just need a data plan (not offered by t-mobile) since voice can be done via voip. I might go to the US maybe 3 times a year, so the t-mobile plan is a bit inconvenient in that after 90 days it looks like the sim card expires for good and you need to purchase a new sim card to reactivate (or pay $10 for the lowest priced top-up). Trying to find a store across the border seems like a bit of a hassle and t-mobile doesn't ship sim cards to Canada (ebay may be an option).

The roam mobility will let me do $30 for 500MB of data, then it sounds like i can wait up to one year before I use it again without the sim card expiring. I can then pay $3.00 to keep it alive for another year but chances are i'll be using it at least twice a year so i won't have to deal with an expired sim card.

So the main disadvantage of the t-mobile plan is the 90 day expiry (i'm not a frequent traveller) and then having to get a new sim every time you go to the US.

The disadvantage of roam is that the iphone will only get 2G speeds.

I tend to agree! I only go to the U.S. two or three times a year. The T-Mobile 90 day expiry (and the resultant need to purchase a new SIM card for the next trip ends up increasing the actual cost for me. I believe if you spend $100 the expiry does increase to one year but, for a couple of trips per year Roam Mobility just might be the way to go.

[t3359]

hmmm... we tried using the T-mobile $2/day thing but the guy at the store said there was a $10 minimum and $10 access fee. anyone know? or is this guy making up BS.

thanks...
bjl

[royal]

hmmm... we tried using the T-mobile $2/day thing but the guy at the store said there was a $10 minimum and $10 access fee. anyone know? or is this guy making up BS.

thanks...
bjl

Yea I heard that too, can any one confirm/comment on this?

[RaVo]

How about http://www.straighttalk.com
"Straight Talk, a pre-paid cell phone service with no contract required, is now offering a new $45/Month plan that includes Unlimited Text, Data, Talk and 411 calls (No additional charges). Save even more when you buy a 3-month Plan for $125.99 ($41.99/month)."

Straight Talk sim is 15$ vs 19.95$ at Roam Mobility

[soblecram]

Yea I heard that too, can any one confirm/comment on this?

bs...

i just came back from a week in the US. Was on pay as you go with gold rewards (have put in over $100 in the 4 years I have had my prepaid TMo cell).

Added $15 before I left, switched online to $2/day switched back to PayGo when I got back to canada. That way my $$ don't expire, otherwise you have 90 days..

[andriykoua]

How about http://www.straighttalk.com
"Straight Talk, a pre-paid cell phone service with no contract required, is now offering a new $45/Month plan that includes Unlimited Text, Data, Talk and 411 calls (No additional charges). Save even more when you buy a 3-month Plan for $125.99 ($41.99/month)."

Straight Talk sim is 15$ vs 19.95$ at Roam Mobility

Too expensive, plus most people go there for few days not 3 months.

[andriykoua]

bs...

i just came back from a week in the US. Was on pay as you go with gold rewards (have put in over $100 in the 4 years I have had my prepaid TMo cell).

Added $15 before I left, switched online to $2/day switched back to PayGo when I got back to canada. That way my $$ don't expire, otherwise you have 90 days..

Can you explain the PayGO, I am going to NYC and I will stop in Buffalo @ TMobile store and buy a SIM Card. What should I have it activated on? If you elaborate on that, that would be much appreciated.

[redflag999]

I think this looks like a decent deal. I just need a data plan (not offered by t-mobile) since voice can be done via voip. I might go to the US maybe 3 times a year, so the t-mobile plan is a bit inconvenient in that after 90 days it looks like the sim card expires for good and you need to purchase a new sim card to reactivate (or pay $10 for the lowest priced top-up). Trying to find a store across the border seems like a bit of a hassle and t-mobile doesn't ship sim cards to Canada (ebay may be an option).

The roam mobility will let me do $30 for 500MB of data, then it sounds like i can wait up to one year before I use it again without the sim card expiring. I can then pay $3.00 to keep it alive for another year but chances are i'll be using it at least twice a year so i won't have to deal with an expired sim card.

So the main disadvantage of the t-mobile plan is the 90 day expiry (i'm not a frequent traveller) and then having to get a new sim every time you go to the US.

The disadvantage of roam is that the iphone will only get 2G speeds.

If you are going to the US for 3 times a year, and you already have TMobile pre-pay sim, chances are you are fairly close to their $100 gold status. If not, just top it up until you hit the $100 mark and from then on, all your top up will be 1 year expirey. Also you will get 10% (or 15% can't remember) bonus minutes when all new topup.

[redflag999]

Can you explain the PayGO, I am going to NYC and I will stop in Buffalo @ TMobile store and buy a SIM Card. What should I have it activated on? If you elaborate on that, that would be much appreciated.

When you buy your sim card, you can put in $100 and achieve Gold Reward Status right away. From that day onward, all your topup will expire in 1 year + 15% bonus minutes. US to US calling (anywhere within their network) is $0.10/minute. US to Canada is $0.50/minute (use WiFi DellVoice or Vontage if you can).

You can also switch online from PGo to Pay by Day for $1/day talk, $2/day talk+text+2G data or $3/day for talk+text+4G data (200MB) then 2G unlimited and when you come back to Canada, switch back to PayGo and keep your balance and your 1 year expiry date until your next trip.

Post or PM for more questions