T-Mobile Prepaid
T-Mobile US, Inc. operates the fourth and fifth (MetroPCS) largest wireless carriers in the U.S. market with 43 million customers and reach 96 percent of Americans.
They are a progressive large carrier, and in March 2013, introduced a new streamlined plan structure for new customers as part of an initiative called UnCarrier, which drops contracts, subsidized phones, overage fees for data, and early termination fees.
Dec '13: Tethering is no longer included for free. They charge $15/month to activate tethering.
more about T-Mobile Prepaid »Smartphone plan overview
T-Mobile Prepaid operates on the GSM 1900 and UMTS 1700/2100, LTE bands and is compatible with T-Mobile.
The best smartphone plan that we've located is the $30 unlimited web and text with 100 minutes talk plan:
- 5 GB data cap
- 100 minutes
- Unlimited text messages
- No setup fees
Latest news
- How AT&T and T-Mobile may be overbilling their prepaid customers - Washington Post (blog)
- T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) Announces New Price Offerings - USTrade Voice
- T-Mobile adds 1 million customers in Q3 2013 on $6.68 billion in revenue - Android Community
- T-Mobile prepaid SIM cards currently free with free shipping - U.S. Pro Cycling News
Community feedback
- Well sorry this is a stupid option as T-Mobile will only accept US address and US issued credit cards so not good if you don't live there :(
- T-Mobile mentions "This plan is only available for devices purchased from Wal-Mart or devices activated on T-Mobile.com". Can it be purchased to be used on our own smartphone?
- No conditional call forwarding available on pre-paid therefore Google Voice is not supported
- Dec '13: Tethering is now no-longer included. I chatted to their support team and they said it's now $15/month.
- I have been tethering off this plan for months now using stock Android on a variety of phones. Cheaper than purchasing a hotspot.
- I can confirm T-Mobile's refarmed 1900mhz 4G LTE is working in San Francisco. I have the $30 plan am using an unlocked AT&T HTC One X and I get LTE. Bear in mind T-Mobile in SF is very spotty reception wise. But now that they turned on LTE it's not as bad. It's still bad tho...
- Yes, the $30 plan is at the bottom of http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans, but you pick your plan when you activate the SIM.
- Does the $30 unlimited web and text still exist? I'm having trouble finding it on their website.
- http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/343-T-Mobile-prepaid
- T-mobile is fast in the city, but their coverage isn't that extensive in California outside of city areas. In some parts of the country you will see your phone switch to Roaming as they have agreements in place with other carriers to extend their coverage.
- Connection speeds in NY seem slower than in San Francisco.
- I can confirm fast data service in San Francisco on the Nexus 4. Have never hit the cap.