T-Mobile pay by the day/pre-paid

[Coan]

Anyone tried the pay by the day for pre-paid? Just looking for some feedback as i'm in the US now and again, but, only for short spurts. If i'm reading it right, its 3 bucks per day of use, which works out to cheaper than most Canadian plans to get international roaming. Just load up an account and you're set.

I'm packing an unlocked rogers 920, so bands aren't much concern (currently using it on Wind).

So, anyone tried this? any thoughts? I'm assuming i can get a sim at a tmo store while i'm in boston, get activated and swap it in (may need to get my apn info set up) and then I'm good.

Anyone know if credit expires after any length of time of non-use?

 

[peacefulberry]

I've used it before. $3 a day comes out to about $90 a month. If you're staying less than 20 days, and use less than 200 Mb during your stay then it'll be great. If you're staying over 20 days or want 2GB of high speed data, than I would recommend the $60 a month plan. Its still a great deal. Also, be certain that your phone is compatible with T-Mobile's 4g bands, otherwise you'll be stuck with 2g data on a 4g device, with some of your features, such as live tiles,etc not working.

 

[Coan]

Alright, so it is as good as it sounds for someone like myself...anytime i'd be in the US, its normally 3 or 4 days (up to a week). With a Rogers 920, I've got a list of bands a mile long, including AWS, so i'm set there.

 

[peacefulberry]

Also if its a new SIM, it'll expire in 90 days. So if its more than 90 days until you return, you'll have to get a new one- which means it'll be a different number. You'll have to keep adding money to the account or use it every 90 days to keep the current number. Hope this helps.

 

[Coan]

Post-convention update after the fact
Tmo sim card was tossed in free when I stopped in-store (available for free on website, was not clear if it would be ok instore) and i was able to just throw on the 15 bucks i needed to carry me through the weekend. They're saying that it will be suspended in 90 days but i wont lose the number then. I'll see where that goes in 3 months...good service around the BCEC though the room at the westin was a deadzone for all phones with my group, local or not.

All in all, if you're coming from Canada like i was and have an unlocked phone that can do AWS bands (wind mobile, mobilcity, Rogers Nokia 920) it's certainly worth it for the short term trips.

 

[senderj]

I am planning to use the $3/day plan. Is the 200MB data a daily limit? or the whole period of services?

Is tethering allowed?

 

[EBynum]

I was going to start a new thread about T-Mobile's Pay by the Day plan, but found this thread, so I'll resurrect it. I too have some questions about this plan, but my situation is different from the OP's. I'm in the U.S. and have a Lumia 920 on AT&T as my main phone. I've just ordered an unbranded, unlocked Lumia 620 to use mainly as a mp3 player/media device on WiFi. I've been thinking that it would be good for it to also have the ability to access data and make phone calls, should I ever need it (maybe on days when I just want to slip a small phone in my pocket and don't want to carry around my 920). The T-Mobile Pay by the Day plan seems to be a good fit for my needs, since I would only very occasionally need data/phone service on my 620. What do you guys think? Would it be the most economical option? I was also considering the $30/mo plan T-Mobile offers at WalMart, but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify spending $30 every month. If I get the $3/day plan, $30 would equate to 10 days of service, and at this point, I don't think I would use that many days each month. I assume when I'm home with access to WiFi, the phone won't use any data. And just to be sure, I don't accidentally access data services (i.e. apps with background tasks), I figure I can just disable data services on the phone's settings. And then only enable data when I need it.

So, aside from figuring out if the Pay by the Day plan is the best option for my needs, my other questions about the plan are:
1. What's the minimum amount I have to add to my account?
2. After I load my account, how long is that money valid for? A month? 90 days? In other words, how frequently do I have to add money to the account?
3. Like the previous poster, I too would like to know if the 200 MB of data is a daily limit. In other words, each day that I access data services, my limit is 200 MB. From their wording, I think that's what they mean.
4. Any other fine print I should know about?

Would really love to hear from anyone who uses or has used this plan. Thanks!