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T-Mobile To Go Prepaid Cell Phones
Editor Rating
Overview
T-Mobile is based in Bellevue, Washington - and formerly known as Voicestream Wireless. T-mobile was the first international communications company offering service to both the US and Europe and is well known for its ad campaigns featuring Catherine Zeta Jones.
Pros: With T-Mobile prepaid there is no monthly bill, you just pay for refills either online or by buying a minute card at a retail location nationwide. You can also purchase a starter kit that includes a phone, basic accessories and starter minutes when you sign up and the phones include all of the basic calling features.
Cons: Calls can be expensive when purchasing the the lower denomination refill cards (for example, the ten dollar refill card works out to cost is 33 cents per minute) and minutes can expire quickly.
Detailed Provider Information
Plans: T-Mobile offers four different prepaid services. Their basic pay as you go plan offers four tiers of refill cards. The 10 dollar refill is for 30 minutes, the 25 dollar refill is for 130 minutes, and the 50 dollar refill is for 400 minutes. When you buy the 100 dollar refill, you are enrolled in the Gold Rewards program, which gives you 15 percent more minutes for each card you buy. The 100 dollar card is for 1000 minutes, which already includes the 15 percent bonus. The pay per day plan starts with a 1 dollar per day access fee, charged only on days you use the phone. This gives you unlimited night minutes, starting at 7 p.m., and unlimited mobile to mobile minutes. All other calls are 10 cents per minute. T-Mobile also has a FlexPay plan. This allows you to choose from among T-Mobile's most popular postpaid calling plans, but pay for them on a prepaid basis. FlexPay customers also have the option of signing a contract, which will entitle them to a subsidy on a handset purchase. Finally, T-Mobile offers a Sidekick plan for the popular device. It costs a dollar per day, and includes unlimited text messaging, email, and Web browsing. Calls are billed at 15 cents per minute. T-Mobile now offers three tiers of unlimited services. The 50 dollar plan includes unlimited minutes, the 60 dollar plan includes unlimited text and talk, and the 80 dollar plan includes unlimited talk, text, and Web. Each tier is compatible only with a limited number of phones. These plans are only available at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
Customer Service: Customer care is offered via a toll free number, email and retail locations nationwide.
Credit Check: None
Contract: None
Payment Options: T-Mobile's prepaid plans can be paid for with a debit or credit card, or by purchasing a refill card at retailers across the country.
Text and Picture Messaging: Text messaging with all plans, except the Sidekick plan, is 10 cents to send and 5 cents receive for new customers. Picture messaging is also available at 25 cents per message.
Data Plans: T-Mobile offers prepaid Sidekick data plans for $1 per day. However, we could not find that they have web access for any other device for a lesser cost.
Downloadables: Ringtones, games, wallpaper and applications are available and start at $1.49 each and up, with prices varying based on what you purchase and the phone you're using.
International Calling: T-Mobile prepaid does offer the ability to make international calls. Rates vary based on the destination country, but start at 30 cents per minute, on top of the regular airtime charges. You'll want to check with customer service before making international calls to check rates for the country you're calling.
Roaming Charges: There are no roaming charges on the T-Mobile USA network.
Calling Features: All phones feature call waiting, caller ID, voicemail and 3 way calling. Airtime rates apply.
Activation Fee: None
Nationwide Long Distance: Long distance calls to all 50 United States made with T-Mobile are treated like regular calls with no additional long distance fees.
411 Calls: Directory assistance is available for $1.79 per call, plus airtime.
Earliest Minute Expiration: All refill cards below 100 dollars expire in 90 days. The 100 dollar card expires in one year, and extends the expiration of future purchases to one year.
911 Calls: Yes
Phones: T-Mobile prepaid cell phones start at zero dollars (after sending in the mail-in rebate form) and go up to $89.99. There are a number of web exclusive deals, which offer substantial discounts from retail price. Select phones come with a free 30 dollar refill card.
Some Available Cell Models:
Nokia 1661 (shown)
Nokia 1208
Samsung t429
Nokia 3555
Samsung t239
Coverage Map: T-Mobile To Go Coverage Map
Activation Guide: T-Mobile To Go activation guide
Latest News: News about T-Mobile To Go Prepaid
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I BOUGHT THE RAZR V3 LAST YEAR, AND I WASNT VERY HAPPY WITH THE
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SONIA AKERSTROM
2010/02/06 |
I BOUGHT THE RAZR V3 LAST YEAR, AND I WASNT VERY HAPPY WITH THE COMPANY AT ALL SO I WENT AND GOT A NEW CELL FROM WALMART ON 2/2/10 AND I NOW HAVE THE STRAIGHT TALK PHONE AND IM VERY HAPPY WITH STRAIGHT TALK I RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
i was on the phone with a tmo agent to make a payment. at the
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T-Mobile Prepaid
just got off Tmobile chat for 1.5 hour, regarding $200 in minutes
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westsubmom
2010/01/27 |
just got off Tmobile chat for 1.5 hour, regarding $200 in minutes that completely disappeared over just 3 weeks. Turns out over 700 picture messages were supposedly sent to my phone, which I most certainly NEVER received. They refuse to restore my 2,000 minutes, since the pic msgs came from numbers that *they say* I previously had received from (they won't tell me which number), they figure that makes them valid, in their book, and therefore non-refundable....I am currently shopping for a different prepaid plan for my whole family which uses only prepaid. I have also written a complaint to TMobile, but, realistically, even if my snail mail letter gets the 2,000 minutes restored, who's to say I won't just have the same trouble all over again? Who knows, it might even be TMobile that sent those 700+ messages.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I received 245 ALERT messages on my cell phone in3 weeks..called
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Arlene Scully
2010/01/19 |
I received 245 ALERT messages on my cell phone in 3 weeks..called T-Mobile..they said they would block it...I went to their website and it specifically states that they don't block on pay-as-you-go plans!
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I've used T-mobile pre-pay for a few years now in Northern California.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
If you want a no frill service its great. It works in buildings
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I have to say best deal is the $100 up front for a full year
5
T-Mobile Prepaid
i like t-mobiles new t-mobile complete prepaid .its awesome.its
5
T-Mobile Prepaid
I love my T-Mobile prepaid service. I've had it for quite a few
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I use T-Mobile pay as you go for some three years now in Illinois
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T-Mobile Prepaid
They force you to buy more minutes by expiring the minutes you
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X-tmobile-user
2009/12/23 |
They force you to buy more minutes by expiring the minutes you have. Sucks! Go STI Mobile!!!! :-)
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T-Mobile Prepaid
searched and studied all the pre-paid phones. love the t-mobile
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I think you need to update your info. T mobile offers a 90 days
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I have mixed feelings about the Tmobile prepaid plans now. I
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T-Mobile Prepaid
An awful company, very crooked -- and surprise, surprise, they're
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Micael Sezlov
2009/12/03 |
An awful company, very crooked -- and surprise, surprise, they're German, actually Deutsche Telecom. The bottom line is their service is TERRIBLE. Go with another provider.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
T-Mobile prepay is OK. I would like to point out that if you
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Two members of fam have tmob pay as you go. It's been great,
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Tmobile prepaid is a good basic plan designed for those who use
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Got the 1 dollar per day plan. Pretty cool since most of my friends
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T-Mobile Prepaid
TM is definitely having problems right now. The BBB in Bellevue,
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Joshua
2009/11/13 |
TM is definitely having problems right now. The BBB in Bellevue, WA has thousands of complaints. This "sucking so bad economy" has forced them to make radical changes that have seriously hurt the consumer such as moving CS out of the U.S. to foreign countries...language & dialect creates additional problems when speaking on the phone...Add billing problems, defective phones, dropped calls, poor signal strength etc. and you have even bigger problems. As previous posters stated: complain, complain, complain... And keep monitoring your minutes...
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Problems: Unable to access call or txt history. $100 to zero
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EK
2009/11/07 |
Problems: Unable to access call or txt history. $100 to zero in 2 months. I know I txt a lot, but I should be able to see my call or txt history online or statement. Lack of it opens the window for fraud and errors in TM favor. I called complaining about this and how I could not see the bonus $30 posted to my account they advertised when I signed up. Difficult to reach customer service. Prepaid customers are treated as 2nd class. I have excellent credit, just tired of paying month for nonuse of minutes and locked in contract. Customer service is very condescending and even hung up when I complained. What a disgrace from 5 years ago when I switch from Sprint. I'm shopping around for another carrier. I'm going to complain to the FCC and FTC for deceptive trade practices and my Congressional representatives as well. No accountability whatsoever. I've had it large conglomerates with oligarchical or monopolistic behavior.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Been with TM about 5 years. Back then it was straight prepay
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I'm another one who got ripped off on their pre-paid plan. After
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Pissed
2009/10/29 |
I'm another one who got ripped off on their pre-paid plan. After four years of never using over 90 minutes a month with Verizon, I decided to switch to pre-paid. Bought 1000 minutes figuring it would last me a year. After two months, I noticed I only had 300 minutes remaining. Called customer service regarding the problem. They told me their records showed I was making about 70 calls a month. I told them that was impossible. I average about 15 calls a month. They said they show 70. I asked for a call log, but was told I was not allowed to see my calls. They tried to sell me a plan where I could access my calls. I said no thanks, fix my current problem. They said they couldn't help, and I should try going to a T-Mobile store to see if they could help. I did...they couldn't. They provided me an email address (privacy@T-Mobile.com) and said I would receive a response within 48 hours. Two weeks and 7 emails later...still no response. After three months, all of my minutes were gone, so I called customer service again. Once again, I was told that I'm out of minutes because I make 70 calls a month, and I should switch to another plan. I hope my emails to the FCC and BBB expose T-Mobile for what they are...pre-paid crooks. Suck it, T-Mobile!
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I just got rid of my verizon contract for tmobile to go. they
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Tried to use my cell phone but it would only take emergency calls
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Horrible reception at my home and work place in the middle of
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Ingmar
2009/10/24 |
Horrible reception at my home and work place in the middle of the city even though the coverage page of T-Mobile shows "Best Signal Strength". It's outrageous.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I am giving this 3 stars because I love the phone and the prepaid
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I'm a teenager, and I text a considerable amount. I'll break
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Mike
2009/10/18 |
I'm a teenager, and I text a considerable amount. I'll break this down into a few categories. - Coverage: Spotty traveling and at home (east coast). In my own home the service is bad, I've had to learn where to place my phone in order to receive service. - Rates: Awful for texting, it's really upsetting how much i have to pay (50-100 per month) NOT TEXTING FRIENDLY. The pre-paid cards are a scam as well, unless you buy the $100 card. - Phones I have the razor. It turns off randomly, restarts itself, and wont send texts and i will have to restart it myself. A real pain. - C.S. Great costumer service. Wish they had everything else.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
poor rception and customer service if i were u i would get verizon
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bob
2009/09/30 |
poor rception and customer service if i were u i would get verizon preapid with unlimited txtin bundles
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T-Mobile Prepaid
tmobile preapid needs messaging bundles like at&t & verizon
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I love the T-mobile prepaid service. I don't use my phone that
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T-Mobile Prepaid
T-Mobile is the best prepaid service you can get for the money.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Before that I have had Verizon for the $45 monthly contract,
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Bob
2009/09/15 |
Before that I have had Verizon for the $45 monthly contract, what a waste of money. Bought Samsung t349 for $100, nice toy. Decided to transfer my old Verizon # to this new TM, was afraid of problems when doing it online so I called customer service. The stupidest people I've ever seen!!! My 6 yo nephew listened them on speakers and she called them morons. After calling CS I was unable activate TM via online so the CS was the only option left, I guess I was stupid too. Well, I did activate it after all, promised myself not to call CS again ever. Transfered my old Verizon #, so everything is as it was except I don't pay monthly $45, but rather $100 annually. Charged it with $100 online and got 1000 minutes. So far so good. The t349 supports up to 4 Gb of memory, micro SDHC so you can put there ringtones, mp3, video, pdf, doc, txt and watch/listen these files on your phone, a micro laptop. It has photo and video cameras, voice recorder. I'm trying to figure out if it can record conversation when calling. Coverage is spotty when in NM mountains and highways, but is great around cities. Don't call CS, they suck! Do everything online. I spent $1200 ($90 activation, $400 deposit, $45 monthly) in two years on Verizon, unbelievable!
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Ive had this for about 3 years VEry happy with customer service
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Purchased my Samsung T109 about 5 months ago, and i haven't had
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T-Mobile Prepaid
i've been using t-mobile now for the past 5 yrs i never had a
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Samsung t-209 (2) purchased at Target in Chicago several years
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T-Mobile Prepaid
well the refill cards work real well if you use the minutes wisley
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I love my little phone.Iam a gold rewards member and i chose
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T-Mobile Prepaid
i have been using this service for 3 years now as a student.
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Sanket Dholaria
2009/08/19 |
i have been using this service for 3 years now as a student. i have only payed 140 dollars for my 3 years of service ! what a bargin the only downside is that you have to pay full price for a phone like a touch screen ( costs 450 dollars) and they dont offer lost/stolen worrenty. and they dont let you acess call history online
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Love my prepaid. I use it very little, it only charges me when
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Recycled numbers,14 calls from Target collection in 2 days,calls
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P-OFF at-em
2009/08/16 |
Recycled numbers,14 calls from Target collection in 2 days,calls from collection attorneys, obscene text,, all to the previous number holder, security sucks.. stolen acct and all minutes stolen twice in 2 months,,customer service ( no speaky english so good) sucks,,,,Local store personal great,, customer service even hung up on them,, took trips and several hours each time,,,,,Foreign company in US to extract dollars Do you home work I didn't , lot of sites Tmobilefraud.com is huge and google is loaded http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=tmobile+sucke&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Before getting a pre-paid cell phone service, I reviewed all
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G G Alexander
2009/08/16 |
Before getting a pre-paid cell phone service, I reviewed all the providers and chose T-Mobile based on that information. I got my first T-Mobile phone on 4/1/08 and bought 1,000 minutes. I was very pleased with the service until I lost my phone during a long trip. I ordered a new phone on 7/16/09 and had it sent to me in Cody, WY. I called to have it activated and was assured that it was done. However, I have not had phone service at all with the new phone. I have called customer service and chatted online with them several times. On 8/15/09 I visited a T-Mobile store in Spokane, WA, where Nick installed a new SIM card. He made a test call and said it was working fine. NOT!! I went back that afternoon and he installed another SIM card. He called customer service to have it activated and spoke with a supervisor. The supervisor placed a work order at high priority and stated that I should have service within 24 hours. However, after more than a month, I STILL do not have phone service as of this writing (8/16/09). That is the poorest "service" I have ever had!
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Reps:No hablamos mas english and understand even less....as I
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Colonel Walter Kurtz
2009/08/05 |
Reps:No hablamos mas english and understand even less....as I wrote in my memior letter in Apacolypse Now - drop the bomb, wipe them all out!!
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T-Mobile Prepaid
For those who keep saying they wish that they could use a more
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DeeJaye
2009/08/04 |
For those who keep saying they wish that they could use a more "upscaled" phone than the ones provided, you can. In fact, you can use ANY unlocked GMS phone on T-Mobile's prepaid service, you just have to pay full price for the phone. I'm currently using T-Mobile's Samsung Memoir. I purchased it on eBay for $425 (yes, I know, that's a lot of money). Anyway, as for TM's prepaid service itself, I was OK with their service for 3 years. I changed my phone number last month and, now, I have to constantly check my minutes. I'm on the Pay As You Go plan. Every time I refill, 60 minutes mysteriously disappears from my account. I had to call T-Mobile TWICE so they could fix it.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I bought a PrePaid T109.. The charger was defective and it damaged
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Alli
2009/08/04 |
I bought a PrePaid T109.. The charger was defective and it damaged the phone...T Mobile tried to accuse me of abusing the phone, they claimed I had a spike and my complaint was with my Electric Provider..GIMME A BEAK ! The Charger was clearly defective
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Bought T Mobile Prepaid in 2007..it did not work, took it back
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I have had the plan for a month and already the nokia 2760 mini
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Jen
2009/08/03 |
I have had the plan for a month and already the nokia 2760 mini display is not working. When ever I make a call, the caller id is wrong(shows someone else's id) and when someone tries to call me they offen get directed elsewhere. I have called CS a large number of times and have had helpdesk tickets generated a number of times and is still not resolved. The phone is going back today.
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T-Mobile Prepaid
I've had my prepaid service 8 months and still have $50 left
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T-Mobile Prepaid
Not perfect but about the best prepaid service you can get in
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