What are /r/ting's favorite Products & Services?

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Not sponsored, check out an app called "SMS Backup & Restore" by SyncTech Pty Ltd on the Play Store. I've used it for years now and it always gets the job done. Backs up SMS (also MMS and Call Logs) to a file that you can copy to your new phone, then load up the app on the new phone and restore everything from that file.

Link to app in Play Store

Hmm. I think you should see an option for $4 Priority Mail shipping (which actually costs Ting around $5 since the USPS doesn't really discount that even for really big shippers). The $9 option I believe is for FedEx.

I heard on Ting's parent company's most recently quarterly call that they're doing some retail testing with Kroger and Staples... You might be able to pick up a Ting GSM SIM and save the shipping cost if you live near one of their stores, but I'm not sure how widely they're in stock yet?

Nobody has ever got Android native VVM working on Sprint on any phone.

Sprint uses a proprietary protocol and requires additional services to run on the phone, so in general you need a Sprint branded phone (or an iPhone which is an exception).

There is an app that works on a few other phones:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sprint.vvm&hl=en

Other than that, you need a phone running a Sprint ROM or an Unlocked ROM that specifically includes Sprint extensions.

It works fine on Ting on my Sprint branded S8.

When did AndroidCentral start running Sponsored Content?

We have a [compatibility checker app.](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ting.compatibilitycheck\) It doesn't come with a fancy trial plan, but 100/100/100 is $15 on Ting, and any referral credit covers more than that!

The only one I have tried besides the default app is textra sms. After getting the app go into settings and scroll to the messaging section and click on mms. Under the mms section turn on prefer wifi and you should be good to go.

The network specs are showing some pretty impressive access to GSM LTE bands. It is looking like a great phone for our GSM network as it appears to also support VoLTE which will help with voice signal in an increasingly post-2G world.

> Mi Max 2

From GSMArena:

4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

The only hit there in the US is Band 5 on AT&T in some areas. I suppose Straight Talk with an AT&T SIM probably is the best bet for that device.

Don't get complacent. As soon as you're not getting a deal, start looking around. You'll have to pay for the rest of your 6T if it's before two years (how those things work), but it might be worth it for you if the bill gets out of hand.

I took a look at the specs and you've hit the nail on the head with everything. The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite will work on the network but it is missing the band 12. Just make sure it's not locked to a network and you are good to go on the purchase.

Feel free to DM me any links to phones before you buy and I can double check any fine print by seller for you if you want a second set of eyes.

Yes you can have a Ting GSM and CDMA SIM for the same phone, I have done the exact same thing with a Nexus 5 for a while.

I haven't tried it on iOS so I am not completely sure if just swapping out the SIM will work... you may need to reset the network settings on each swap.

2 things to keep in mind:

• For full band support you need an unlocked iPhone 6 model A1586 or an unlocked iPhone 6 Plus model A1524.

• Because Sprint's system is totally screwed up and is rejecting perfectly legitimate devices like the iPhone 6 from being brought to MVNOs like Ting, I would not count on being able to get your iPhone on the Ting's CDMA side activated right away. You may have to wait until Sprint fixes the erroneous "financial eligibility check" errors which they seem to be taking their sweet time ~~not doing anything~~ "resolving".

For 2 different numbers, yes you will have to pay $6/mo for each.

Many carriers preinstall difficult-to-remove apps on devices, often as part of marketing agreements. Your host, Sprint, has been especially notorious for doing this. Has Ting ever considered doing something similar to open a new revenue stream?

> They are as dependent on T-Mobile as Ting is.

For unsupported phones, GoogleFi provides T-Mobile. But for phones with their special firmware (such as Pixel phones, some Motorola phones, and some Samsung phones) then they use T-Mobile, Sprint (until it's finally shut down), US-Cellular and also roaming partners in some areas. People have shown logs from LTE Discovery that show their phone, on the Fi network, was using Verizon towers via roaming.

Great! I'm glad things are working again!

Speaking of task killers, I'm not sure which one you're using right now, but you might find something like Greenify useful. Instead of terminating background processes, it keeps them from operating while they're in the background - effectively hibernating the troublemakers in their tracks. This keeps your RAM full (as Android is intentionally designed to do), your cached apps opening quickly, and your CPU/battery from being wasted in the futile and pointless battle between auto-starting apps and auto-killing Task Killers. Just make sure you read the app description thoroughly and don't hibernate things like Hangouts again :)

The forums can get a little... heated... on the subject of killing processes, so I'll just leave you with one of the more tame articles on the subject and a closing remark that Greenify is great at its job regardless of how you feel about its competition.

Happy texting!

You would not get 4G speeds on it.

From GSMArena:

>NETWORK > >Technology
>GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE > >2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 > CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA > >3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 > CDMA2000 1xEV-DO > >4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), >8(900), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

Ting GSM uses GSM 1900 for 2G, so you would get that. We use 1700/2100 (AWS) for 3G, but this phone doesn't support that. We use Band 4, Band 2 and Band 12 for out LTE coverage. The MiMax 2 doesn't support any of those.

tl;dr Compatible: yeah, technically. For talk and text only. Usable: No.

I would keep looking.

The smallest card on Ting's pop-out SIM card is a nano SIM, so it's physically compatible. As for the bands, it should have everything we need.

I might get one. Maybe if Copperhead OS sees the light of day and gets ported to it. I don't like the direction OnePlus seems to be going with its supposed Android fork.

So, I noticed with PA ROM that it would say "Roaming Indicator off" instead of Sprint like it normally does. I found a fix for Boost and just did a file/replace for Ting. Place this file in /data and reboot the phone.

I haven't been able to get that T-Mobile one to work in awhile, it stopped about 2 years ago and now always fails to authenticate.

Nowadays I've had good luck with this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

Try Textra. It replaces your stock text messaging app, but still does regular text messaging. It fixes lots of little weird problems like this.

No. We get billed proportional to usage and per phone on the air. Voicemail access is quota exempt.

My suggestion is to install Signal Private Messenger and request your dad do as well. Internet calls are free (as in beer) when both ends are on Wi-Fi; when on LTE paying per MB is cheaper than per min. Signal Messenger has two significant advantages over regular calls: end-to-end encryption and use of the cutting edge Opus codec. Opus sounds even better than regular "HD Voice" and can compensate for variable Internet connection quality. The disadvantage is that Internet calling can be less reliable if your Wi-Fi & home Internet connection is sub-par or local LTE is weak or congested.

Some good points.

I don't know if this is a solution for you, but you might check into the NetGuard firewall app to restrict certain apps to WiFi. But some issues you might run into are:

• It can be disabled.
  
• You might forget an app is restricted to WiFi and instead think something isn't working, not realizing you need to enable mobile data to get it working.

1)

> Uninstall Facebook.

Great idea, and I have a couple tips for uninstalling it:

Open up your browser and create a bookmark to Facebook, and add it to your homescreen. If you want, you can allow FB to show you notifications in your browser. So you can still get the "beep beep bloops" all day from Facebook, if you prefer.

An even better route would be to get a browser sandbox app specifically designed for Facebook. The one I linked does not have such a great title but it's one that's been around for a while. This allows you to have an app and app shortcut like normal. It also increases your online safety though no solution is perfect -- you can be logged out of Facebook in your normal browser and not dragging [logged-in] cookies and local storage data around the entire time you are doing your thing on the web. Those apps keep your login cookies and storage data sandboxed. The same types of apps are available for Twitter as well.

2)

> they want to send back the little bits of data the app's company needs to better market to you. This is okay...

That is not okay.

I think it's T-Mobile who forces the soft cap on their MVNOs. I don't think this is an issue with Ting CDMA. Ting reps have also stated they expect pricing to be lowered sometime in September to better compete with other MVNOs.

If I end up travelling and requiring a tethering capable connection I'll probably research the cheapest service available that offers some sort of unlimited tethering at 2G speeds (EDIT: IIRC, some services offer 256Kbps throttled bandwidth). I would love it if Ting was able to offer such a service. See /r/NoContract.

Use HERE WeGo, Navmii, or Co-Pilot GPS for offline maps. No mobile data required. Google Maps also offers offline maps but you have to select the area you want stored. It's not as simple as downloading the map of a state. I use Google's offline maps to lower my data usage locally and use HERE WeGo as a backup.

Also for Android phones you might be interested in NetGuard (EDIT: It looks like Opera Max also has this capability). It's an easy to use firewall app that lets you assign whether an app can use WiFi or mobile data or both. This will keep your data usage down. But be aware that you won't see a notification the app is being blocked unless the app itself complains. If you have a data connection and your app isn't working then it's probably being blocked by the firewall.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is possible. In Europe ( and now apparently America) you can get dual SIM phones, so I think you'd have two numbers.

I stumbled on an article about them while doing research on a new phone, and I love the idea. Just google 'dual sim phone' and you'll find a ton of results. There's a quick article on CNET [1], and it gives the use case of using multiple providers to lessen / avoid roaming charges.

[1] http://www.cnet.com/news/why-you-want-a-dual-sim-phone/

EDIT: I misread, I thought you said that one can't have multiple phone numbers on a phone, not a single phone number for multiple carriers. Dual SIM phones are still pretty cool IMO.

The ones sold via the Ting shop would indeed be the factory unlocked/Multi-network option which is definitely what we would suggest for maximum compatibility and versatility should you decide to change networks.

The G950U is the factory unlocked model, though the Sprint G950P will also work on both provided it is unlocked.

Compatibility between networks differs by model but generally, with newer phones, the CDMA models will be GSM compatible but that is not always the case as far as moving GSM > CDMA as the model would need to be compatible and additionally whitelisted by Sprint to work on their network.

We suggest that if you don't have an IMEI to have a look at the specs via a site like gsmarena but we 'd also be happy to help via our Personal shopper program if that makes life easier.

My previous phone, near the end of its life, stopped getting some calls. I installed the YouMail app, which provides a better voicemail, notifications, and transcriptions of a number (10, I think) of voicemails per month.

But it got bad enough that I simply got a new phone, using /u/LiterallyUnlimited's recommendations about bands, as pointed to by /u/ChrisR_Ting here. The Moto G6 has LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 12, and 66, but not band 71 -- but LiterallyUnlimited wrote that that's more a future and rural thing.

I use whatsapp. It works on wifi (or data) and will not use your texts. Both parties need to have the app, but the people i text the most all have the app (mom, sister, husband). Outside of the application, if i need to text somoene without the app, i am perhaps using 20-50 texts a month. You can also send photos and video through the application.

There has been some upset because facebook bought whatsapp, but whatsapp swears it is not joining up/melting into facebook and the two are seperate.

http://mashable.com/2014/03/17/whatsapp-your-data-is-safe/

i have the HTC one (older one) and i really hated google hangouts that tries to take over SMS. It basically does not work correctly when i get a voicemail and freaks out. So i currently do not connect hangouts with SMS. So my texts are still currently seperate. But, i use whatsapp for 90% of my texts.

So, if it is the US997, that means Oreo will mirros US Cellular's release. It can take anywhere from a few days to a month for all users to get the notification to update.

The Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile models all support the necessary bands for our GSM network partner. As mentioned, the Sprint one is an outlier due to the current SIM lock situation (but otherwise has the necessary bands).

If you have a choice, the Verizon (A1549 CDMA model) is probably your best bet, since you can most easily go back and forth between the largest number of carriers/MVNOs if you so choose.

https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

The issue is caused by the software on the Samsung phone not recognizing the sim card as T-Mobile. They do this in a really stupid way: they have a table of SIM IDs and they just compare. Not all of Tings SIM card IDs are on the list.

Web developers used to do this same thing. They'd check if you had chrome, or internet explorer, or Firefox and show you a different, lower feature website if they decided your browser didn't support a feature. Nowadays they try the feature and if the feature fails, they show the crap version of the website. But if it works, you get the good one.

If you root your device and install a custom ROM like LineageOS.

Or you could try an app like this that let's you enable settings even if they're hidden.

But for a proper fix, Samsung has to fix the software on your phone via OS update. All Ting/DISH can do is yell at them. But Samsung is much bigger than ting, so generally speaking Samsung DGAF.

I use CoPilot.

It is an offline navigation program, and for the US, it only costs $9.99, and comes with free map updates.

Their website has links to the appstores of the three major mobile OSs.

You can load a few states or even the entire US (2GB, and it can be put on your SD card)

I can't recommend it enough. You don't have to figure out how to pre-download an area, just chose the state or country you want downloaded.

So to preface this: this is on behalf of my spouse. [Myself, I don't like or use iPhones or other Apple products. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S5 running LineageOS with microG (i.e. a 'free'-er version of Android with a replacement for Google Play Services). This is essentially the last Android phone that well-supported under LineageOS that has both a microsd card slot and a removeable battery. (The LG V20 is newer and has a removable battery, but still isn't the well supported under LineageOS.) I plan to run this phone, or at least this model (as I'd be happy to buy another one), as long as it's at feasible since it offers everything I want/need.]

My wife prefers the iOS environment to any of the mobile alternatives. Whether this is due to her having started with iOS or something deeper, I don't know. She tried using a high-end Android phone for a few months and didn't care for it. (And, frankly, stock Android is worse than iOS from the standpoint of security and privacy than iOS. [But LineageOS is better than iOS here.])

I think the attraction of the iUP is the notion of just getting the latest iPhone every year with the same terms.

The US CDMA models for the iphone 5 are really just one model: https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ that technically could work with either Verizon or Sprint. From what I understand, Sprint/Ting won't activate IMEIs that are assigned to Verizon and vice-versa... like Mr_You hinted at, you got lucky by apparently getting a device that was unlocked and whose IMEI was not assigned, nice!

HEY GUYS, you guys got it all wrong. This question comes up in one form or another all the time.

It is a cellular call that uses cellular minutes. Answering calls on iPad with iPhone nearby is a feature called "continuity" https://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/continuity/

Here's a link to the free article.

Edit: Here's an ABC article with an interview with a Ting customer!

Zoom into specific areas on Sensorly and OpenSignal to get an idea of coverage in your area(s). These are crowd sourced maps so you'll want to cross reference them with the coverage maps Ting provides. EDIT: I just checked your area. Looks like Sprint blows away T-Mobile when it comes to coverage.

If voice/text coverage is more critical to you than data then keep in mind that with Ting CDMA/Sprint based services with roaming you will roam on Verizon/U.S. Cellular and other rural carriers when no Sprint signal is available. With Ting GSM/T-Mobile based services with roaming you'll only roam on AT&T in "designated partner areas" (ie. where T-Mobile doesn't have coverage) regardless of your signal. So Sprint based services clearly offer the best voice/text coverage if that is important to you. Data roaming isn't available.

EDIT: Use HERE WeGo, Navmii, or Co-Pilot GPS for offline maps. No mobile data required. Google Maps also offers offline maps but you have to select the area you want stored. It's not as simple as downloading the map of a state. I use Google's offline maps to lower my data usage locally and use HERE WeGo as a backup.

Be sure to use someones referral link under their flair for $25 Ting credit.

Just got mine activated. Only shows one bar LTE in a spot where my iPad gets two bars. Speed test is pretty much inline with what we get for sprint in my rural Iowa town (5000 people about 20 miles away from the nearest city)

https://www.speedtest.net/result/8230452981

I mainly got it for when we travel so the home service works good enough. My inlaws have satellite internet with a 8 gig soft cap (slows to ISDN after that) so if this works good enough I may get a second device for them.

One of the great things about iMessage is that it runs over the Internet, not the phone system, so it works great on WiFi and doesn't depend on your phone number like SMS. Consider using a messaging system like Telegram or Signal that runs over the Internet with your Android pals.

The speed test app actually shows speed test run by other users using Wi-Fi and Cellular connection. So obviously what you'd be interested is a cellular connection speed. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.zwanoo.android.speedtest

> wireless home phone that had bluetooth and connected it to the cell.

Something like this? I'm always curious to hear real world experiences with these things.

They have the SIM cards on Amazon, do you have Prime?

Apparently they are available in some Staples and Kroger stores. I have no idea what kind of distribution they have... might be a good idea to call Ting and see if they can help.

Since it sounds like you have a CDMA phone, you will unfortunately need a new SIM card to activate any unlocked GSM phone. You can buy them from Amazon if that is an option.

The CDMA prepaid phones for the most part do not work on Ting for 1 year as you mentioned... you could try checking MEID numbers of some of the CDMA phones at Best Buy, but I wouldn't count on them working. If one does, let us know.

Your best bet is to probably buy a Nexus 5X from them and make sure to get the correct Sprint SIM card, model #SIMGLW446C, to go with it (they should also have that at Best Buy).

Give Textra a try. When we see this issue, it's usually got something to do with default apps and how they talk to the network.

If it persists, we'll take a deep dive into the network logs.

>Verizon's HUM

Welcome back to Dongle Talk. My guest today is Literally Unlimited.

Thank you for the thoughtful/detailed response. This is the head unit in question. The alcatel sounds good, but I saw it's not good to leave it plugged in once its charged. Ideally, I'd like something I could tuck in behind the head unit during install and forget about. What about a Verizon branded dongle like this?

With Android phones, we can support the built in VVM app in some in but there's some that are just not going to work with it. The solution that you may want to look into is using a third party VVM app. We have a blog post talking about some of the alternatives including YouMail which I'm a fan of.

Looking online there's not much information about this and it doesn't seem to happen to anyone here at the office so I'm a little in the dark. If it's working but it pops up what I might suggest first is just to make sure the software is up to date on the phone so if there was any patch for something like this it could be applied.

If you do try that and you still notice it coming up it might be an app that's causing so you could look into a history app to help pinpoint where it is coming from.

There is a voice mail app on Google's Play Store that seems to be designed for use with T-Mobile MNVOs like Ting's GSM side.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

It doesn't always sync for me but is a bit more convenient than dialing the voice mail number.

If you are on the Sprint side of Ting then I don't have any suggestions.

Have her try a third-party texting app like Textra. It just replaces the regular Samsung SMS app and she won't need to tell other people to download anything.

This question comes up a lot, and Textra is usually the accepted answer on our user forums.

Aww, man! I missed it by 3 days...Saturday was mine.

To answer anyway, my favorite currently is PBA Bowling Challenge even if it's a little wonky on my Essential.

If you need to go back in the other direction and didn't keep the original "adapters," Amazon can help...

http://amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSPQZIG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AU0EO920IKRSC

Showing as 149 dollars now, but the boost mobile version on amazon is 99 dollars atm: http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-Crystal-Silver-Contract/dp/B00O15E3MQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1423837166&sr=1-1&keywords=Sharp+Aquos+Crystal

Useful feedback! I'll drop this over to the app team and see if it's not something we could work out.

In the interim, look at GlassWire. It tracks data usage in a notification.

Keep in mind that navigation apps that offer real-time traffic info will use data. I use Google's offline maps for my local area for Google Maps or Waze (which I understand will use Google's offline maps on Android, but not sure about iOS) and use HERE WeGo as a backup for state-wide navigation in case I find myself in a situation where Google Maps/Waze isn't working without data.

Here is the iOS HERE WeGo app.

Here is the Android HERE WeGo app.

Glad to help. Here's another tip I like to give...

Use HERE Maps, Navmii, or Co-Pilot GPS for offline maps. No mobile data required. Google Maps also offers offline maps but you have to select the area you want stored. It's not as simple as downloading the map of a state. I use Google's offline maps to lower my data usage locally and use HERE Maps as a backup.

Also for Android phones you might be interested in NetGuard. It's an easy to use firewall app that lets you assign whether an app can use WiFi or mobile data or both. This will keep your data usage down.

I don't really have any tips myself for it, I just kinda poke around and play with settings here and there, but haven't found anything that I'd consider a must do thing.

Outside of my stock camera app replacement, the only other thing I would suggest is changing the stock messaging application, it feels a bit bloated and slow at times, I moved over to Textra SMS ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textra&hl=en )

It's a much better app as far as I'm concerned.

Unfortunately, because any SMS will always come through Ting's carriers' networks, Ting would be charged for them (and in turn it would subtract a message from your SMS bucket).

If you want the SMS to forward to a computer still for reasons other than cost, on Android at least there are some apps for that; for example...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.yas.freeSmsForwarder&hl=en

Is background data blocked on any system components such as Google Play Services or Android System? Some apps rely on those for push notifications (Google Cloud Messaging) instead of phoning home themselves.

Also, try this app which goes through the push notification process step by step and can diagnose problems with them. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrowria.pushnotificationtester&hl=en

Looking at the specs it has the right bands to work on our GSM network (bands 2,4,12) so it would be good to go as long as it is an unlocked version of the phone. I'd suggest checking with the seller to ask if it is unlocked before purchasing.

here

I'm curious to know as well. From what I gather its a rebranded Asus router. Of which is a pretty good one at that

http://www.cnet.com/products/t-mobile-personal-cellspot/ And here: http://www.reddit.com/r/wireless/comments/2uthzv/fyi_tmobile_will_provide_you_with_their_rebranded/

Plus around Christmas time Tmo had a deal on those routers

Theoretically yes, any Sprint phone would be compatible with Ting but for a device to be activated on the Sprint network it would have also had to be whitelisted by Sprint in addition to being compatible.

With the G7 it looks like the Sprint model of the ThinQ has GSM compatibility so that would be an option if you can get one that is unlocked or you'll want to look for listings that specify Sprint compatible in addition to unlocked/GSM compatible.

Will do. Idk if it would be helpful for you in the future but I just found a tool on GSMArena that tells you the bands used in any particular country. So then you just have to compare it to the bands available on a particular device (I think).

https://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=India

The H932 will work on GSM, including LTE Band 12 and VoLTE. It should also work with WiFi Calling.

The H931 technically has LTE Band 12, but may not be certified to work with VoLTE. I'm currently helping a Ting customer with an unlocked AT&T G6 who should otherwise be getting VoLTE and he's not, so I'd venture an educated guess to say not.

It'll connect to the GSM data network probably just fine, but no guarantees can be made about the reliability of phone calls unless you can verify with one in your hand that it actually supports VoLTE (the LTE symbol stays during a phone call).

The iPhone 8 is slightly more future-proof, being an iPhone that Apple still sells brand new in their store. The iPhone 7 isn't a bad phone by any stretch of the imagination -- it's still a powerhouse and as we've seen, phones are lasting longer and people are upgrading less often.

You have the iPhone 5s model A1533? That is the exact same model as the T-mobile version. You should be fine to activate it on Ting's GSM assuming it is unlocked (it should be).

With the BYOD checker enter your IMEI and choose T-mobile instead of Verizon under "where is this device from?"

No, you can quit after a year.

The "catch" (sort of) is you have to transfer your number from someone other than Sprint, and you have to have a phone from a specific list which you can find (here)[https://slickdeals.net/f/10235008-sprint-byod-1-year-unlimited-talk-text-data-free-w-eligible-device-sim-req]

Is there any document that you can point to on bands 66 and 71?

Also, do I understand right that that's just "future-proofing": 12 and some other existing bands are good now and for the near future for anywhere? (I'm looking at the Moto G6, which has bands 12 and 66 but not 71.)

Hi Msechea! We're working on a few things around WiFi Calling that you should stay tuned for, but we're still tacking down a lot on how that will work.

In the meantime, you could use a service like Google Voice and a third-party app like Talkatone to keep your cellular minute usage down. Take a look at this article for some ideas...

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/3-android-apps-for-wi-fi-calling-with-google-voice/

I've used my Google Voice number as my "front" number for several years, and it makes it really easy for me to pick up my calls on my computer, on my VoIP phone, or on Ting depending where I am. This is an old-but-still-good article...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370905,00.asp

And, by the way, Google Voice is just one way you could do something like this. If you're more into Microsoft, you could give Skype a try. If you're an Apple fan, you can use iMessage to make voice calls to other iMessage folks over WiFi. And if you want to build your own, you can spin up a local or hosted Asterisk server and bundle that with a SIP client. :)

I went to a Verizon store and did a side-by-side fast.com comparison and got the same results on my Ting iPhone XS and the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S20. Dunno how it behaves during congestion though.

You can verify you're using WFC by connecting to your WiFi and disabling the mobile network. If it's working correctly, you should still be able to make and receive phone calls.

Because you said this happened on your 6P, I'm curious to know what model router you have, and what your download speed is from fast.com. I've got a theory, but without those bits of information, I don't want to lead you down the wrong path.

What functions would the Arduino play? You can get software like https://www.cerberusapp.com/ and some type of low battery shutoff solution so it wouldn't drain the car battery if it wasn't used for a while.

>Finally, am I losing any expectation of privacy? Am I required to grant T-Mobile permission to harvest and sell information about me in order to get a cheaper rate?

I'll suggest that you can use a VPN like Windscribe for $2/month and gain protection from carrier-level access to your data.

First off, I would like to congratulate you on your interest in your own privacy. Secondly, I suggest the OnePlus line of devices such as the 6t 7 etc. The bootloaders are unlockable and they officially support lineage. Third, not certain what the privacy policy of Reddit is but I have not deleted my account yet. if you're ready to get rid of Facebook and Twitter tracking as well check out Mastodon at https://joinmastodon.org

Thanks very much for this report. Sad as the news is, it's also somewhat comforting, as I now know it's not just me.

I'm disappointed to see the functionality disappear. I'm switching to a LightPhone II and was hoping to be able to send SMS messages to a few email addresses to trigger filters and other actions (e.g., I use TickTick, which allows a user to send a text message to a customer email address in order to add an item to a to-do list for later).

Thanks again.

You could always get them a Google Voice number that rings both cell phones and get a device to let the GV number ring on a landline phone. Here's one such device. (Not sponsored or anything, I just did a cursory search for it.)

There are firewalls for Android that can block data usage for most or all apps on your phone. For example if you want to use the internet you can allow mobile data for only your browser, same for your visual voicemail.

Assuming you are not rooted, NetGuard is often recommended and is open source. The Play Store has many others if you want to look around.

Some system apps will still get a little data through, but having a firewall will stop most apps. Also make sure your Play Store settings will only update over WiFi. If you rarely use data it's easy to keep several phones under 1GB on the Flex plan.

I have a grandfathered T-Mobile Prepaid PayGo account that does not include any data. I get voicemail notifications and can retrieve and listen to voicemails in the T-Mobile Visual Voicemail app using WiFi. This is the app, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tmobile.vvm.application If the OP is on Ting X3 maybe it would work for them.

I have a Landline through Google voice with an Obihai 202. (You can also use an Obihai 201, which only supports 1 physical telephone).

To port a number to Google Voice you have to port it to a cellular provider, first. Then on your home router, you'll want to set up Quality of Service and give the Obihai device high priority.

After the initial setup, this is completely free, but does not provide e911. Maybe your OK with that because you have cellphones that can dial 911, but otherwise you can pay $12-20/yr for e911 service through the Obihai or through another VoIP provider (I use CallCentric for e911).

Yeah, you might want to look at the Moto E6: https://www.amazon.com/Moto-E6-Unlocked-Smartphone-Warranty/dp/B07RG85WY6

5.5" screen and it supposedly has a removable battery. 16gb of storage is going to be mostly taken up by the OS and apps, but at least it has an SD slot. Also, 2gb of ram makes me cringe (I hate how slow my phone is even with 4GB), but if you were ok with the 1gb of the S3, then you'll probably be fine with 2gb.

Sorry to hear about the trouble, we are no longer activating (or reactivating) lines on Sprint so that should have been mentioned when the decision was made to move to V1.

I hope that replacement SIM gets to you ASAP and if her line is on Android I would suggest (if you haven't already tried) downloading a 3rd party SMS app like Textra to see if that will allow SMS in the meantime.

Try this app. It is designed specifically for TMO mvno phones.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

Found it linked by a ting car in a blog post comment from 7 months ago.

I'm a new subscriber with x3 sim and was able to install the app with what appears to be a successful activation.

The success of using the VVM network branded app will depend on the phone's firmware with the new X3. It can be hit or miss with it right now.

If you notice it's not working you may want to try a third-party app like YouMail which will skip over any of the issues the branded app might have. Available for Android or iOS

Normally MMS is just a matter of having a data connection and the correct settings (APNs) on the phone so we should be able to help here. As far as iMessage goes it gets a little tricky but each iPhone user has the option to enable MMS in their settings which would allow their phones to send group/photo messages to your device.

One option we like to try to rule out the messaging app as the culprit is to try a 3rd party messaging app. Something like Textra will auto-populate the settings you need and will often work when the stock messaging app won't.

If you'd like me to have a look at the account and see if we can get this working send over a DM with your account info, I'd be happy to help out.

If you don't have one already ordering direct from us would probably not arrive in time (usually 3-5 business days). What I might suggest though is ordering through Amazon who has different shipping options that should be able to meet the deadline if you look at it today.

If you have the US billing address to set up the account you should be able to activate a GSM SIM while you are in Canada. We don't ship our SIMs outside of the US though so you would need to order a SIM from Amazon if you don't already have one.

My and my wife are a <1GB couple, often <500MB. Tools we employ:

• Use Data Usage Monitor (Android) to see what apps are using what data in the past day/3 days/week/etc. It also has nice data-usage trajectories.
• Turn off "Background Data" for almost every app but messaging apps.
• Ensure that I connect to wifi at any retail/grocery stores I visit.
• I use Google Voice for all of my calls/texting, and keep my phone in airplane mode most of the time as a result, simply relying on wifi. Bonuses of airplane mode: longer batter life, and encourages me to not be interrupted while driving while driving. Also: My phone has calls and texts disabled because I only use GV, cutting out the texting/calls portion of the bill completely.
• Me and my wife use a non-SMS app for messaging between ourselves (Threema in our case, but Telegram/Signal/WhatsApp would work fine too). This saves on any MMS data usage since these apps will use wifi. In case it matters, I like Threema because it has end-to-end-encryption, has a nice UI, and is not data-harvester-driven (app costs $2).

You can get the GSM SIM off Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Ting-GSM-SIM-card-Nationwide/dp/B013LKL5IQ

If you use it to activate, you will be on T-Mobile’s network. Alternatively, you could call them.

Maybe the SpeakerBoost app would help?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.omegacentauri.SpeakerBoost&amp;hl=en_US

There is a voice mail app on Google's Play Store that seems to be designed for use with T-Mobile MNVOs like Ting's GSM side.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

It doesn't always sync for me but is a bit more convenient than dialing the voice mail number.

There is a voice mail app on Google's Play Store that seems to be designed for use with T-Mobile MNVOs like Ting's GSM side.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

It doesn't always sync for me but is a bit more convenient than dialing the voice mail number.

There is a voice mail app on Google's Play Store that seems to be designed for use with T-Mobile MNVOs like Ting's GSM side.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vna.service.vvm

It doesn't always sync for me but is a bit more convenient than dialing the voice mail number.

If you are on the Sprint side of Ting then I don't have any suggestions.

If I recall correctly (I worked for Sprint at the time), the Epic was 3G/4G WiMAX, right? So you'd only be able to use it on Sprint 3G even if you wanted it alive anywhere.

If it stops meeting your needs, I've started taking my old phones, putting IPWebcam on them and monitoring them with MotionEyeOS. They're dirt cheap IP cameras to monitor my cat's litter pan, the basement drain or the shed, and they kind of just work without much fuss or setup. Motion detection, too!

You know what I found worked was using a different Android app for texting. Textra can replace the stock Android app on the Moto and can utilize the WiFi, the other party doesn't need to have it either which is good.

I swear I posted this on the 24'th, came back to check and it's gone..... Hope this Isn't too late!

My current favorite is Hoplite - (IOS & Android)

Hoplite is a turn-based strategy game focusing on tactical movement around small maps

Quest Mode:

• Make strategical choices to upgrade your abilities as you dive deeper into the underworld.

• Earn achievements and unlock access to new upgrades.

• Procedurally generated levels give a new experience every play.

Your "Subject: NoSubject" issue is related to the switch to Ting.

Per https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/135744 > Yes, it's in the default messaging app so it's not the app adding it. Apparently AT&T does not include the subject headed in MMS messages if the subject is blank. T-mobile does and sends "no subject".

Using a third-party SMS app like the one I mentioned to you in PM, Textra, will filter this message. Textra builds on top of the SMS functionality in Android, so it's worth checking out.

linkme: Textra

I was looking at the Moto C Plus link and it looks like it is an international version. It doesn't list the right frequencies to connect to the LTE network so I might stay away from this particular one. There is a Personal Shopper Program here at Ting that could help you find a version of the phone for you. They could also find some other options to choose from that you might not have that of.

As for switching over from the old phone to the new phone it's going to depend on what network you are on at the moment and which one you'll be moving to with the new phone. You might need a new SIM card depending on the new phone you choose but we have guides or our support line to help when you are ready to switch it over. Determining which new phone you are going to use is going to be the first step, then after that, we'll be able to know what the next steps are. We'll be here to help along the way though.

The coverage and data (internet) quality with Ting GSM will be identical to what you have now with T-Mobile. So if you are happy with that, I would just grab a Ting GSM SIM card if I were you. You can get them from Amazon too.

There are some additional benefits to Ting GSM such as Wi-Fi calling, better phone selection overall, and it is much easier to switch phones (just swap the SIM card). But, if Sprint is better in your area you should go with CDMA.

You can switch between GSM and CDMA, but you would need both SIM cards. Unfortunately, once you use the GSM sim and deactivate it (by switching to CDMA) if you wanted to go back to GSM you would need to buy a new GSM SIM card. The CDMA cards can be activated multiple times.

I know I'm ineligible for this, but I can't say enough good things about my HW1. I got mine for an absolute steal from Best Buy, and I get compliments all the time.

Bluetooth Shower Speaker: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGUUYTI

Available from many manufacturers, generally between $10-20. Listen to music or podcasts in the shower. Most allow you to take calls (oh hell no). Don't make the same mistake I did: get one with track FWD/RWD buttons. I thought I'd be recharging it constantly, or that it would not be loud enough. I was wrong on both counts. The battery lasts forever, and it's plenty loud enough. Note: I did not get the same one as linked, but I imagine they're all similar.

My car is an old piece of crap with a tape deck. I love this Bluetooth Cassette adaptor so I can listen to Spotify while I drive. I still have my 160 GB iPod Classic with an FM transmitter but I don't bother using it since I got this cassette adapter. And I love that I can take call too and be almost completely handsfree.

I'm not certain if Ting ships internationally, but I believe you can order one from the Amazon US site

You should check the ting site first to verify which SIM you need for your phone and check the compatibility of your ESN.

You could always just buy the signal booster yourself and see if it works. It is just a T-Mobile signal booster and your account status does not matter. Technically, any T-Mobile phone in range could use the extended signal... Of course the receiving end needs to be placed in an area with a decent signal...

I put one of these in my parents' house and my mom's dropped call issues have disappeared. She uses a Moto G3.