Question about switching to T-Mobile.

spizzlee

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So I love my Lumia 920 but I want to switch to T-Mobile, and as you all know by now they are paying off ETF's when you sign up with them. Only problem is you have to give them your phone.
The Microsoft store is running a deal where you can purchase a Lumia 520 for $59, could I go purchase that phone and activate it with my AT&T sim card and just give T-Mobile that phone when I go sign up with them?
 

separry51

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Short answer is maybe. Just moved three lines from Verizon last night. You have to trade in your phone and purchase a phone from T-Mobile using their monthly purchase program. So, if you trade the 520, you will get some money toward a new phone. The cheapest way to go would be to buy a 521 from T-Mobile which is $100. You could then switch the sim back to your 920.
 

spizzlee

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Wait that doesn't make sense. If I have to trade in my ATT phone to T-Mobile I wouldn't be able to keep it to switch the sim back O_O
 

separry51

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I thought you were keeping the 920 and getting a 520 to activate with at&t before you went to T-Mobile. If that's not what you are doing, then no; you must turn in a phone and buy a phone from t mobile on their extended payment plan. I was figuring the cheapest way for you to go is keep the 920, buy a520 and use it as the phone to trade in. You could buy a mobile 521 and then put that SIM in your 920, if it was unlocked. Sorry if I didn't understand correctly.
 

phpmaven

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You don't have to turn in your current phone. You can buy a cheap used smartphone from eBay and give them that and keep your current phone. Sell it or use it with T-Mobile if it's unlocked.
 

spizzlee

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Yeah I tried it with the Lumia 520 and they said it wasn't a qualified phone. So now i'm stuck with it, but it was only $60. I guess ill try to sell it.

Currently looking for a Lumia 920 unlocked or 925 on Ebay and Craigslist.
 

liveforten

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I don't understand why the 520 would not be eligible for etf payment. That's the phone I'm looking to turn in, in order to switch from att. I've been reading about customers turning old flip phones that still get the deal.
 

spizzlee

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I don't understand why the 520 would not be eligible for etf payment. That's the phone I'm looking to turn in, in order to switch from att. I've been reading about customers turning old flip phones that still get the deal.

I literally went to 3 T-Mobile stores and they told me it wasn't eligible. The part that got me pissed is that I called a store and the girl said "Oh yeah its fine, as long as its a smart phone". And I get there and I get nothing...Bastards. I just bought a Lumia 925 from craigslist for 275 so im fine now :p

They also want you to pay off the ETF and after that they will send you a Visa card...
 

channing0214

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What I ended up doing was keeping both my AT&T Windows Phones, switching to T-Mobile, getting two new T-Mobile phones (paying them monthly) and now I will be responisible for the ETF from AT&T.

So basically, just like a normal termination with AT&T. Now what will be nice is I can get the two Windows Phones Unlocked from AT&T and sell them on my own and apply that to my ETF Fee. The price they were offering for Trade-In Value at T-Mobile was ridiculous ($41 for a Lumia 920, and $30 For an HTC 8X...no thanks).

I am so happy with the switch so far, saving lots of money on my bill, service in the area where I use my phone has been much better than when I use AT&T, I now get a 15% corporate discount, Wi-Fi Calling is now allowing me to get texts and calls while at work (I work on the lower level and normally had no service with AT&T), and I love my new Lumia 925!
 

spizzlee

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What I ended up doing was keeping both my AT&T Windows Phones, switching to T-Mobile, getting two new T-Mobile phones (paying them monthly) and now I will be responisible for the ETF from AT&T.

So basically, just like a normal termination with AT&T. Now what will be nice is I can get the two Windows Phones Unlocked from AT&T and sell them on my own and apply that to my ETF Fee. The price they were offering for Trade-In Value at T-Mobile was ridiculous ($41 for a Lumia 920, and $30 For an HTC 8X...no thanks).

I am so happy with the switch so far, saving lots of money on my bill, service in the area where I use my phone has been much better than when I use AT&T, I now get a 15% corporate discount, Wi-Fi Calling is now allowing me to get texts and calls while at work (I work on the lower level and normally had no service with AT&T), and I love my new Lumia 925!

I haven't applied my 15% discount yet but right now I saved about $5 haha. But I love having unlimited data and its way faster than AT&T. I hope T-Mobile gets a 929 variant or the 1320 :eek:
 

channing0214

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I haven't applied my 15% discount yet but right now I saved about $5 haha. But I love having unlimited data and its way faster than AT&T. I hope T-Mobile gets a 929 variant or the 1320 :eek:

I am really hanging on to hope that they get a 1520 or 1320 Variant in the near future! Fingers Crossed!
 

liveforten

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They definitely need more wp's. 1520 etc are too big for my liking, but I definitely hope they continue to get the next generation 8.1 phones. Hopefully the new tech is all they're waiting for. In the meantime, I'm gonna try and swing a 925 with the jump upgrade, just in case.
 

joe_easton

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I literally went to 3 T-Mobile stores and they told me it wasn't eligible. The part that got me pissed is that I called a store and the girl said "Oh yeah its fine, as long as its a smart phone". And I get there and I get nothing...Bastards. I just bought a Lumia 925 from craigslist for 275 so im fine now :p

They also want you to pay off the ETF and after that they will send you a Visa card...

They probably only allow you to trade in a phone that was a "contract" phone on another carrier. This makes sense; the 520 is a pre-paid phone so there would be not ETF. They were surprisingly thorough with this promotion to ensure that people didn't rip them off. I bet that they also only accept phones that were offered within the past 2 years from the other carriers. Again, if it was more than 2 years ago then you would be outside of the contract and not have an ETF.

However, I bet you could easily find a cheap android on EBay for less than $100 and use it. Just need to make sure it was a contract phone within the past 2 years.

T-Mobile could probably supply a list of qualifying phones.
 

joe_easton

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I personally love what T-Mobile is doing. It is crazy that we all pay a "mystery" subsidy on our monthly bill with the other carriers. They are letting people see the true cost of the service vs the device. This makes the public better consumers and will help drive honest prices. Theoretically, this could really hurt high end phones like the iPhone and others. The monthly cost will be much higher than a mid-range Android or WP.

I hope they are so successful that the other carriers step up and do the same thing. I should be able to pay for my phone and service separately.

If I wasn't in a 6 person family plan at VZW, I would probably have already switched and gotten the L925. Maybe I need to start convincing my family it is time for a change?!?!
 

channing0214

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I personally love what T-Mobile is doing. It is crazy that we all pay a "mystery" subsidy on our monthly bill with the other carriers. They are letting people see the true cost of the service vs the device. This makes the public better consumers and will help drive honest prices. Theoretically, this could really hurt high end phones like the iPhone and others. The monthly cost will be much higher than a mid-range Android or WP.

I hope they are so successful that the other carriers step up and do the same thing. I should be able to pay for my phone and service separately.

If I wasn't in a 6 person family plan at VZW, I would probably have already switched and gotten the L925. Maybe I need to start convincing my family it is time for a change?!?!

I completely agree with you on this. I am glad that T-Mobile is doing something different as the celllular industry needed a wake up call!

It's the same reason why I switched to Windows Phone in the first place.....competition is good! I don't want to have just an Apple or Android phone to choose from so I switched to the Windows Phone platform to try something new and I love it. My friends tried to get me to jump on board with Apple and Android (as I had a Blackberry Previous to this and we all know how that went) but after much research I decided the Windows Phone platform was for me.

People will always be reluctant to try something new and different and many who are "grandfathered" into plans with their current carrier or have been with them for a long time feel obligated to stay. My friend who is with AT&T pays $107 per month, after researching T-Mobile she understood she could be saving money but she doesn't care because she has been with AT&T forever. This is the type of mentality that I just don't understand. People please take a chance every once and a while and step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, you can always go back if you don't like it!

Okay, my rant is over...lol!
 

jgbstetson

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I personally love what T-Mobile is doing. It is crazy that we all pay a "mystery" subsidy on our monthly bill with the other carriers. They are letting people see the true cost of the service vs the device. This makes the public better consumers and will help drive honest prices. Theoretically, this could really hurt high end phones like the iPhone and others. The monthly cost will be much higher than a mid-range Android or WP.

I hope they are so successful that the other carriers step up and do the same thing. I should be able to pay for my phone and service separately.

If I wasn't in a 6 person family plan at VZW, I would probably have already switched and gotten the L925. Maybe I need to start convincing my family it is time for a change?!?!

BINGO! I've tried to explain this to others with little luck. Apple has just as much to lose as the big three carriers in this deal, because it exposes the true price. I am VERY curious to see how the relationship between apple and T-Mobile plays out.
 

joe_easton

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I completely agree with you on this. I am glad that T-Mobile is doing something different as the celllular industry needed a wake up call!

It's the same reason why I switched to Windows Phone in the first place.....competition is good! I don't want to have just an Apple or Android phone to choose from so I switched to the Windows Phone platform to try something new and I love it. My friends tried to get me to jump on board with Apple and Android (as I had a Blackberry Previous to this and we all know how that went) but after much research I decided the Windows Phone platform was for me.

People will always be reluctant to try something new and different and many who are "grandfathered" into plans with their current carrier or have been with them for a long time feel obligated to stay. My friend who is with AT&T pays $107 per month, after researching T-Mobile she understood she could be saving money but she doesn't care because she has been with AT&T forever. This is the type of mentality that I just don't understand. People please take a chance every once and a while and step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, you can always go back if you don't like it!

Okay, my rant is over...lol!


Yeah, people on individual plans can save a ton on T-Mobile right now. I am on a family plan where we pay about $50 per user and we all have smart phones. Not a bad deal but believe me I would switch if I could cut my bill in half.
 

joe_easton

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BINGO! I've tried to explain this to others with little luck. Apple has just as much to lose as the big three carriers in this deal, because it exposes the true price. I am VERY curious to see how the relationship between apple and T-Mobile plays out.


I have explained that to so many of my co-workers it is crazy. They don't get it. All they say is "why would I pay full price for a phone when ATT or Verizon will sell it to me for $100 or $200?". I again show them the math and they don't get it. They really don't understand that the cost of the phone is in the monthly charge. Some people get it but are afraid to switch because of coverage issues that T-Mobile had in the past. Either way, I hope they are successful and push the other carriers to wake up.

I think that Apple will have no issue with T-Mobile because they aren't breaking any rules and they make up a tiny portion of Apple's sales. The problem will occur when other carriers consider doing it. Then Apple will feel threatened. Subsidy has allowed the iPhone to be so popular which in a way it helped all smartphones. But I am tired of paying for everyone else's phones. Just let me pay for mine!
 

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