AIO Wireless (ATT&T Prepaid) now live.

JKing106

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ATT&T's new AIO Prepaid service is now live, with the ability to bring your own device.

Comparison vs GoPhone:

AIO

$55
Unlimited talk and text, 2GB data, 4G/LTE @ 8 mb ps(throttled after cap, but still active.)

GoPhone

$60
Unlimited talk and text, 2GB data 4G/LTE (hard cap.)

I might take the plunge and try this with my Lumia 822.

Aio Wireless
 
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fatclue_98

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What carrier are you using now?

Please let us know how AIO is if you try it.

Hey Laura. I've been on AIO for about 2 weeks now and it's great. I bought the 620 and I like it so much that I sold my 900. The speeds are good for Miami compared to Straight Talk with the AT&T sim. The 900 nearly always showed LTE even though it's capped at 8mb but I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and my iPhone 5 on postpaid AT&T. The fact the 620 has IE10 vs. the IE9 in the 900 may explain why it feels actually quicker to load pages. I had some issues the first day because the port wasn't handled very well and the CS was great. A real life, English-speaking person answered the phone within 2 minutes and stayed on the phone for a good 20 minutes without sounding like she wanted to drop me. Once more subscribers latch on the service may suffer a little, but it's great right now.
 

EBynum

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I have an unlocked Lumia 620 that I use as a second phone. I'm currently trying it on T-Mobile, but the coverage in my area is horrible. Around my house, I either get Edge or "No Network Found". Needless to say, I'm done with T-Mobile. Now I'm debating whether to go with AT&T GoPhone or Aio Wireless. I also have a Lumia 520 ATT GoPhone (couldn't pass up the deal when Amazon had it for $88), but I haven't activated the sim yet. Just using it on WiFi. I believe the GoPhone sim would also work on my 620. I'm wondering if the Aio sim would work on the 520. I'm assuming the 520 is locked to AT&T. I've read comments in other online forums where people said their Aio sim worked on locked AT&T phones (even those still under contract), but I've also read comments that said the phone had to be unlocked for the Aio sim to work. So not sure which is true. Anybody know?

Since Aio and GoPhone both use the AT&T network, I assume coverage would be the same for both. My primary phone is a Lumia 920 on AT&T and the coverage here is very good and I get LTE. I know the 620 isn't LTE capable, but I assume I should get 4G HSPA+ here. Aio limits the data speed for 4G HSPA+ to 4 Mbps. Is that fast enough for most activities: email, web browsing, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I read in a post on another online forum that if you bring your own phone, you can sign up for Aio's $40/mo. plan. On their web site it says that plan is for basic phones only. If it's true that you can sign up for the $40 plan on Aio if you bring your own phone, then I'm leaning toward Aio. GoPhone also offers a $40 plan, but it's capped at 200 MB, compared to Aio's 250 MB. And with Aio, they just throttle the speed down after 250 MB, vs. GoPhone which would cut off data access (granted they do have the option to buy another 100 MB for $5). I'm thinking 250 MB should be plenty for me, since my 620 is a backup phone (for those times when it's more convenient to carry a smaller phone than my 920). I've yet to use 400 MB/mo on my primary phone since I'm on Wi-Fi most of the time.

I must say I like the simplicity of Aio's web site vs. AT&T's site. It's easy to find the information I'm looking for. I also like that they have a phone app for checking your account and usage. Didn't see an app for GoPhone. I think the MyAT&T app only works for post-paid accounts. An app isn't a necessity, but it's definitely nice to have. Aio also has a WiFi locator app.

What are everyone's thoughts on Aio vs. GoPhone? Pros/Cons for each?
 

TheSuperShoe

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I ordered AIO. It says my sim card will be in Tuesday, I'll let you know how it is in Northern Virginia. (Bringing my 920 from ATT). I decided to take the ETF, the savings from AIO are worth it over the next year.
 

EBynum

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I ordered AIO. It says my sim card will be in Tuesday, I'll let you know how it is in Northern Virginia. (Bringing my 920 from ATT). I decided to take the ETF, the savings from AIO are worth it over the next year.

Has your AT&T 920 been unlocked? If it's still locked to AT&T, I'd be curious to know if the Aio sim works in it, or if you do have to get it unlocked.
 

TheSuperShoe

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Has your AT&T 920 been unlocked? If it's still locked to AT&T, I'd be curious to know if the Aio sim works in it, or if you do have to get it unlocked.
I have the unlock code, but I have not had a sim to unlock it yet. I'll see if the sim requires me to put in the code.
 

Dr. Impossible

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quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by EBynum Has your AT&T 920 been unlocked? If it's still locked to AT&T, I'd be curious to know if the Aio sim works in it, or if you do have to get it unlocked.

"I have the unlock code, but I have not had a sim to unlock it yet. I'll see if the sim requires me to put in the code."

This may help: I just got a NET10 SIM and was using it on a 520 I had gotten and testing the NET10 service(on the Cape here in Mass). I had previously gotten an unlock code and instructions from an ATT rep for my Lumia 920(month to month plan on ATT, bought the phone outright) and tried to use the NET SIM to unlock the phone as you are required to insert another SIM to complete the process. It didn't work. In fact, the 920 recognized the NET10 SIM just fine. I did a test text to confirm. They run on the same network, as does AIO, which I am going to get a 620 from, so I would imagine swapping any of the three SIMs into any of the phones you guys are talking about would work just fine. Additionally, my 520 was an unlocked international version.

And yes, coverage should be exactly the same for all three; ATT, NET10 and AIO.

Thanks

-Doc
 

EBynum

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Thanks for your comments, Doc! I'm curious to see if SuperShoe has the same experience when he gets his Aio sim.

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered an Aio sim for my unlocked Lumia 620. One of the questions I mentioned in my earlier post was whether people who BYOD can sign up for the $40/month plan. So the process to order the BYOD Aio sim started with a page where I had to enter my device (Nokia Lumia 620) and my phone IMEI number. Then on the next page, I had to choose the plan, and the $40/mo. plan showed up as an option. The short description under the plan said it was for basic and feature phones only, but I was still able to add the plan to my order. You would think that after typing in my device and IMEI number, the system would recognize it's a smartphone and disable the $40 plan option, but it didn't. I completed checkout with the $40 plan. We'll see what happens when I get the sim and activate the account. Fingers crossed that it will work.
 

TheSuperShoe

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I just got my sim card and it's working great. Changing over the service was as easy as going to the website and putting in two numbers (even cancelled my AT&T immediately). I am seeing the 8 Mbps and 4 Mbps caps (went up to 4.3 Mbps). It's working pretty well. I had to unlock my phone to test something for a friend the weekend, but I popped it in my locked ATT Lumia 900 and it didn't ask to unlock. It connected without any problems. Oh, and internet sharing works! Initially: I'm glad I switched, we'll see what happens this month.

Update: Internet sharing worked once and now it's not letting me. :-(
 
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TheSuperShoe

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No visual voicemail support for Windows Phone yet, but I talked to a rep and was told they will get it working 'as soon as possible'. If anyone wants me to check some feature I haven't mentioned, let me know. I have the $55/month plan.
 

theefman

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I just got my AIO SIM today as well and ported from Tmo and so far the service has been night and day from my Tmo experience with an unlocked Rogers 920. At least in my house and at work Tmo service is not that good at all so switching to AIO has been almost a revelation. LTE, apps connecting and updating smoothly, internet connecting straight away and even contacting CS via their WP app worked smoothly. I did a speedtest from the same spot used when connected to Tmo just before I swapped SIM's and even though the numbers were not great they were still better than my Tmo results and in use data has felt instant.

As mentioned above, no visual voicemail and no tethering so will have to see if those become available later but overall I can say I'm pretty happy with AIO at the moment.
 

theefman

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Man, you really have to let that att hatred go. If you use the service as advertised, where is the problem? How exactly is anyone trapped by their policies?
 

fatclue_98

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I just got my AIO SIM today as well and ported from Tmo and so far the service has been night and day from my Tmo experience with an unlocked Rogers 920. At least in my house and at work Tmo service is not that good at all so switching to AIO has been almost a revelation. LTE, apps connecting and updating smoothly, internet connecting straight away and even contacting CS via their WP app worked smoothly. I did a speedtest from the same spot used when connected to Tmo just before I swapped SIM's and even though the numbers were not great they were still better than my Tmo results and in use data has felt instant.

As mentioned above, no visual voicemail and no tethering so will have to see if those become available later but overall I can say I'm pretty happy with AIO at the moment.

I'm seeing how you and The SuperShoe are having tethering issues. I don't know if makes a difference but my L620 has been working since day 1 with no issues at all. I even slipped the SIM card into the unlocked L900 I had prior to buying the AIO L620 and it also worked. It would absolutely suck donkey **** if BYOD plans have the service disabled.
 

theefman

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So what's the policy of other prepaid operators? Don't they do the same?

Edit: to be honest, this discussion is moot, there are several prepaid operators to choose from, so there's no need to go with this one if it doesn't meet a persons needs. This site has a good list of prepaid operators. http://www.allprepaidplans.com/.

On a separate note, using AIO at work is a marked improvement over Tmo, though I have come across a few dead spots of coverage while walking around my building but overall the positive impression still remains.
 
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Kebero

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Correct me if I am wrong, but if I buy a carrier locked phone for full retail, it still won't work on other carriers, right? So what's the gripe here? All carriers have their own unlock policies, and they don't all unlock retail purchased phones immediately.
 

EBynum

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An update to my earlier post:

My Aio sim arrived, and I activated it and put it in my unlocked Lumia 620. Everything is working fine, and my account shows the $40/mo. plan I had signed up for. So apparently you can use the $40/mo. plan (which on their web site says is for basic and feature phones only) with a BYOD smartphone. Whether this is a goof on their end that they'll eventually catch remains to be seen. I couldn't find anything on their web site that said you can use the $40 plan with a BYOD smartphone, so I'm not sure if this is really allowed or not. I dare not ask them though. It's working for me, so I'll just keep my mouth shut. ;)

I took my 620 for a walk around my middle-of-nowhere neighborhood this afternoon, and my data connection speed showed either H or H+ depending on where I was. So much better than T-Mobile where I got only Edge or no data connection at all. I ran data speed tests at various spots along my walk and data speed ranged from 1.3 Mbps to 4.45 Mbps, assuming these tests are accurate. I tried opening several apps (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, WPCentral) and everything loaded quickly. No more "having trouble connecting to data" messages like I use to get on T-Mo. I'm happy with Aio so far. Hopefully, they'll add video voicemail to Windows Phone soon.
 

fatclue_98

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I've seen this retort creep up more times than I can count. ATT has created a scenario that has not existed up until this point. They have made an ATT mvno that purposefully will not reciprocate compatibility with other ATT mvnos and even ATT phones themselves.

So? Don't like AT&T's policies, create your own wireless company and do whatever you want. Their house, their rules.
 

brad4560

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wow, I missed this thread. I switched from sprint (IPhone 4s) to AIO just last week for the Lumia 620. The trade in value of my iPhone covered the price of the phone. So far I am very happy with the coverage I have, so much better than sprint's. (To be fair, I am in Houston, TX, which is one of Aio's first markets to go live) I am on the $55 a month plan. (2GB 4G Data) And of course the phone is AMAZING.
 

savoirfairy

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I switched to Aio from Red Pocket (as of today). I have a brand new AT&T Lumia 925 (which surprisingly required no unlocking because my Red Pocket SIM worked immediately and I bought it in store, off-contract). Anyway, I ran Network Speed Tests on both and Aio was capping at 4 MBps and Red Pocket maintained at least 8 MBps after multiple tests. I'm thinking I might stay with Red Pocket anyway after wasting the money it cost for Aio's SIM and required plan before activation (nothing wrong with Red Pocket per se, especially with included international MMS and calling--no voicemail but I have been using MagikMail/YouMail). I live in one of AT&T's latest LTE markets, so speed should be "blazing" regardless...
 

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