Changes To T-Mobile $3/mo Prepaid Plan

[Boz1]

The changes look positive to me, but you do still have to go into a "select" T-Mobile store to sign up for this plan.

From www.ultramobile.com/paygo :

PayGo gives you 100 minutes of talk, 100 texts and 100MB 4G LTE data for only $3 per month. Data can be used for Mobile Hotspot. Once you reach 100, additional minutes are just 3 cents each, texts are 1 cent each and data is 3 cents per MB.

Data Add-Ons
1-Day (500MB) - $5
7-Day (1GB) - $10

Voice & Text Add-Ons
Unlimited 7 day - $10

PayGo plans can only be purchased at select T-Mobile retail stores.

[whacker]

I never kept up with the the "final" T-mobile $3/mo PAYGO plan around the time it was outsourced to Ultra.

The flexibility of being able to add bits to it as you go is pretty nice. I'm pretty happy, however, with my T-Mo Legacy Gold Rewards account with its balance just sitting there waiting for me to use it should the need arise, with no $3/mo drain occurring, and dropping $10 into it every year.

What is the relationship between Ultra and T-Mo other than Ultra being an MVNO? That's a pretty close deal for them to have set up.

[MVNO Joe]

I never kept up with the the "final" T-mobile $3/mo PAYGO plan around the time it was outsourced to Ultra.

The flexibility of being able to add bits to it as you go is pretty nice. I'm pretty happy, however, with my T-Mo Legacy Gold Rewards account with its balance just sitting there waiting for me to use it should the need arise, with no $3/mo drain occurring, and dropping $10 into it every year.

What is the relationship between Ultra and T-Mo other than Ultra being an MVNO? That's a pretty close deal for them to have set up.

They've had a relationship since last summer. I believe it was referenced in an earnings report, although they weren't specifically mentioned by name. Both Ultra's PayGo and Ultra's Tourist plan have been selling in TMO stores since at least July 2019. Was Ultra's PayGo plan previously just pay by the minute,text etc? And now having allotments are new?

[millept]

One thing I noticed while looking at the Ultra Paygo FAQ, the maximum amount you can have in your Paygo "wallet" is $150.
I have more than that in my T-Mo legacy Paygo plan, and I wouldn't want to lose any of it.

Sent from my moto x4 using HoFo mobile app

[Boz1]

When T-Mobile's $3 plan moved over to Ultra, it was simply the old T-Mobile $3 plan, which only included 30 minutes OR texts, no data, and 10 cents per minute/text overage.

100/100/100 for the same $3 is a vast improvement, not to mention the pretty good 3/1/3 overage costs.

[zapjb]

...I'm pretty happy, however, with my T-Mo Legacy Gold Rewards account with its balance just sitting there waiting for me to use it should the need arise, with no $3/mo drain occurring, and dropping $10 into it every year...

Same here.

[MVNO Joe]

When T-Mobile's $3 plan moved over to Ultra, it was simply the old T-Mobile $3 plan, which only included 30 minutes OR texts, no data, and 10 cents per minute/text overage.

100/100/100 for the same $3 is a vast improvement, not to mention the pretty good 3/1/3 overage costs.

Thanks! Yeah, that seems much better now for low usage/emergency usage customers.

[whacker]

Yeah, Boz1, you have that original deal correct. I had forgotten those details. The new deal is quite an improvement, if we're interpreting it correctly.

[Mr. D.]

Shame they don’t offer it by mail order and online activation. Not an un-carrier decision...

[ecs0013]

I'm a bit curious about getting this just to throw in an old phone...is it available at any T-Mobile store or is there some sort of list of specific ones?

I'm also still curious of if the fine print at the bottom of the T-Mobile Prepaid page is accurate (waiting on a suspended SIM to see):

If balance is insufficient to renew all lines on your account for 120 days, all lines will be suspended for 30 days. If you have an account balance, all lines will convert to Pay As You Go for 30 day increments with $3/mo. for 30 voice min./SMS messages. If funds available, additional minutes/messages @ $0.10/minute or message

Finally, does anyone have the $3/month plan on T-Mobile with the Rebellion billing system?

[lineisbusy]

I'm also still curious of if the fine print at the bottom of the T-Mobile Prepaid page is accurate (waiting on a suspended SIM to see):

An experiment is currently underway to determine this. I spotted the same language and wondered if it was a way to get the $3/month plan directly from TMo. See this thread:

https://www.howardforums.com/showthr...t-3-month-plan

We should know the answer in October...

[ecs0013]

An experiment is currently underway to determine this. I spotted the same language and wondered if it was a way to get the $3/month plan directly from TMo.

Yep, that's me.

Just thought I'd ask in this thread since it's semi-related. I'm also tempted to pick up the Ultra plan for an older device, but kind of annoyed it seems in-store only (not really the best time for that).

Then again, if I had kept all the old obscure plans I had, I'd be working on an Infinity Gauntlet of weird plans (AT&T Mobley, AT&T WHPI250, AT&T Walmart 25GB, T-Mobile 200MB Free Data for Life, old T-Mobile $3 plan, maybe this new "fine print" T-Mobile $3 plan, maybe Ultra's PayGo plan).

[lineisbusy]

I had just realized that you were the experimenter and was about to edit or delete my previous post.

I know what you mean about old obscure plans. I still use Scratch Wireless and FreedomPop phones for audio streaming (and other apps) through wifi, even though any phone service on them is long gone.

I agree with you that it's a nuisance to find a "select" TMo store to get the Ultra PAYGO.

[dmart]

I'm pretty happy, however, with my T-Mo Legacy Gold Rewards account with its balance just sitting there waiting for me to use it should the need arise, with no $3/mo drain occurring, and dropping $10 into it every year.

I use mine for overseas (and cruise ship), where my Page Plus PAYGO plan doesn't work.

It would be nice if they added a data option to the Legacy plan.

[ecs0013]

After calling a few stores in the area with no real idea of what I was talking about (one pointed me to Walmart or Target for "Simple Mobile," another said that Target sold Ultra Mobile SIMs), I reached out to T-Force and they knew exactly what I was talking about.

As it turns out, there are only two stores in my area that carry it, and one was temporarily shut down (vandalism during protests), so I went to the other, they knew what I was talking about, got me all set up.

The SIM itself was $13 ($10 + $3 for one month of service) and I bought a $10 recharge card. I also happened to be at Target for some other things, and picked up one of their Ultra Mobile SIMs for $1 (I was curious what made the two different). Both have T-Mobile-style ICCIDs (8901260...) and expiration dates.

Upon getting them home, the PayGo SIM directs you to paygo.ultra.me/activate to activate, includes an activation code (like the old T-Mobile kits), has no branding on the part that goes into the phone, and anywhere there is branding, the tagline "on the T-Mobile network" is included.

The regular SIM takes you to ultramobile.com/activate, without an activation code, and has the logo on it. T-Mobile isn't mentioned anywhere on the packaging or the SIM card.

Finally, the refill card explicitly states that it is only for the PayGo plan.

I activated, transferred a number that I liked from an unused data SIM on T-Mobile (Rebellion) and it went through immediately. On an older iPhone, the carrier shows up as Ultra (as expected). I ended up throwing the SIM in my RAZR V3 and it even still works (unlike the newer T-Mobile SIMs) - the carrier shows up as T-Mobile. My SLVR L6 shows Ultra. I think it has to do with reading from the network vs. the SIM which took me down a HoFo memory lane (I had another account that had long-been abandoned and modded the heck out of those in '06). Now, to just figure out how to set up data on that thing...