I mainly want to use it at the gym and running while NOT having my giant phone in my pocket.
My cellphone is on Sprint, can I use the Gear S from different carriers to have my phone forward calls/messages to my watch while my phone is at home?
Thanks. I'm looking at buying used from Craigslist and I never see a Gear S for Sprint.
If you had asked a few months ago, I would have said yes. Now, I'd say wait for the Orbis to be announced, which should be soon. If that one does everything the Gear S does but better, you may want it instead.
If you do want to go ahead and get a Gear S, your cheapest way to get a new one is to buy it up front from ATT, have it unlocked by ATT*, and get the wearables plan from T-mo if you want it to have data (which sounds like what you are interested in). I think it's $10/month for non-Tmo customers, which gives you unlimited calls and texts and unlimited data but only 500MB of it "high" speed (3g or 4g, depending on where you live). And yes, the watch can be on another network than your phone and call forwarding and everything else still works, as long as your phone is on the list of compatible Galaxy devices.
Warning
There is an issue with the charging cradle: it breaks by design sooner or later, so you may want to buy a knock-off from ebay or explore the lovely solutions described here, like socks, pill bottles, etc.
It's a great watch, no, it's still the best watch out there, one of the few with GPS and data, and I bought it for trail running without my phone. I use it daily and love it, but know that it is now a half a year old and updates are rare. The App store offerings are as meager as in the beginning; there is, for instance, only one music streaming app, Milk music, but with the T-mo wearables plan, Milk does not count against your data (search #musicfreedom).
Good luck
* To unlock a new ATT device without waiting 90 days, you need to be able to give them a phone number that is or has once been on ATT (prepaid does not count). If you have never been an ATT customer, see if you can find a friend who is/has been, and ask them to submit the unlock ticket for you. You save $50 just by buying it from ATT, plus, if ATT ever offers a better plan, you can just swap sim cards. T-mo won't unlock the Gear S if you buy it from them, at least they refused to unlock mine, so I went the above described route.
So this reply turned into a novel. Oooops.
My 2c anyway
The most unique thing about the Gear S is its ability to act as a stand-alone device. But the real benefit is having your calls, notifications, texts, and e-mails forwarded to it from your phone when the phone's out of range. The part that's amazing is how well it all works. Within 90 seconds of my Gear being out of BT range from my phone calls are forwarded, 3G and/or Wi-Fi on the Gear activates, and notifications and such don't miss a beat. Same thing in reverse when the Gear and phone are back in BT range. It's like having your phone with you but not having to lug it around. The real joy is not having to worry about, it all just works (at least for me on AT&T). Add a Gear Circle which is probably the most unobtrusive BT headset and you can do anything with the Gear you can do on your phone communication wise.
The Gear even pairs with the hands-free system in my car with 100% of the available features working with the exception of address book transfer and AVRCP not working in Milk (it works with the Gear's audio player).
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Here's a big caveat. For all this to work you need a late-model Samsung phone and ideally you use Samsung's apps (e-mail, messaging, etc.). There are stand-alone apps on the Gear for both e-mail and messaging that allow you to compose and respond the same way you can with your phone including using contacts in the Samsung Address Book. If you use third party apps all you can do in most functions like e-mail and messaging is respond to something you've received. As for the carrier of the Gear and phone needing to be the same that's a good question. For a generic (vs. U.S. carrier-specific) Gear logic dictates whatever the phone picks up from the Gear (EG: Gear's discrete number for call forwarding) it shouldn't matter. Each U.S. carrier has their own Gear version running its own non-standard s/w. So who knows what each carrier did to their individual Gear's in terms of interoperability.
For people with non-Samsung phones or using the Gear without carrier access its unique benefits are neutered. In that case it's just another Samsung Tizen wearable with the biggest stand-out feature being its 2" AMOLED display.
Thanks for the responses. Dumb question, but is it possible to forward calls and text without having a monthly plan for the watch?
No you must have a cellular connection for that to happen. Verizon only charges $5 a month
Sent from my SM-N915V using XDA Free mobile app
You can always pop your Sim in an AT&T GearS. Then again, you have to have a Nano sim.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Free mobile app
I just called for a warranty on the phone and tmobile doesn't warranty the charger piece. So if the charging clip breaks you have to mail the watch and all to samsung for it to get warranty and it's 2 weeks. JUMP doesn't cover the battery pack
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Or, for $30, you could have a working charger by Friday if you're an Amazon Prime member. Should you have to pay out of pocket? No. Is the time you'll spend packing up your watch and Gear to ship them back and being without them for two week worth saving $30? Only you can answer that.
AT&T, at least the local store I bought my Gear at, has said they'll replace the cradle if it breaks during the one-year warranty. If I want to exchange the watch with it they said that would be up to me. I have status in the Samsung support program and when I heard reports of cradles breaking asked them what my options (outside AT&T) would be if it happened to me. They said they'd overnight me a new cradle without needing to ship the broken one back. Obviously this hasn't been tested (yet) but there have been stories reported on the forum of instant cradle exchanges directly from Samsung as well as people Samsung's told to go pound sand. So individual experiences are obviously a big YMMV.
Just bought the att model on groupon for 181.00 with coupon. I hope it was worth as i ve been using a motoactv that i rooted with custom rom. Wish audible would work with it. I guess i have 14 days to return it if i dont like it. Also carries 90 warranty.
I use it every every time for cardio and weight lifting, if you want the watch by itself you can only play music installed inside the watch and listen via Bluetooth headphones. You can try YouTube music videos but is laggy.
Now, if you bring your cellphone , you can fwd and pause streaming music from the watch, also you can start , pause and stop endomondo , use your watch heart rate sensor to log it inside your endomondo phone app. If you also have the gear circle, you can set it to read all your texts and Internet messaging apps ,so you don't have to look at your screen. When I run at night I leave my watch with the screen always ON and I change the clock to a white bright clock so I can be seen from far away.
Update: the watch has wifi so you can try connecting it first to your gyms wifi and try streaming and see if is not laggy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app
I'm on Sprint so the monthly would be $10 I believe. I don't think I want to go that route.
I currently have the moto 360 and with the new update you can add music to it via Google Music, but it sucks. You can't pick and choose exact songs, have playlist, and the shuffle button only shuffles songs within an album. Needless to say this hasn't been a solution.
I'm a little hesitant to get this watch since I've had the Gear 2 before and it would constantly reboot, quit, freeze etc.
Thoughts?
It's $200 here, if you haven't purchased one
https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-samsung-gear-s-smartwatch-for-att-2
---------- Post added at 04:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 AM ----------
xendula said:
If you had asked a few months ago, I would have said yes. Now, I'd say wait for the Orbis to be announced, which should be soon. If that one does everything the Gear S does but better, you may want it instead.
If you do want to go ahead and get a Gear S, your cheapest way to get a new one is to buy it up front from ATT, have it unlocked by ATT*, and get the wearables plan from T-mo if you want it to have data (which sounds like what you are interested in). I think it's $10/month for non-Tmo customers, which gives you unlimited calls and texts and unlimited data but only 500MB of it "high" speed (3g or 4g, depending on where you live). And yes, the watch can be on another network than your phone and call forwarding and everything else still works, as long as your phone is on the list of compatible Galaxy devices.
Warning
There is an issue with the charging cradle: it breaks by design sooner or later, so you may want to buy a knock-off from ebay or explore the lovely solutions described here, like socks, pill bottles, etc.
It's a great watch, no, it's still the best watch out there, one of the few with GPS and data, and I bought it for trail running without my phone. I use it daily and love it, but know that it is now a half a year old and updates are rare. The App store offerings are as meager as in the beginning; there is, for instance, only one music streaming app, Milk music, but with the T-mo wearables plan, Milk does not count against your data (search #musicfreedom).
Good luck
* To unlock a new ATT device without waiting 90 days, you need to be able to give them a phone number that is or has once been on ATT (prepaid does not count). If you have never been an ATT customer, see if you can find a friend who is/has been, and ask them to submit the unlock ticket for you. You save $50 just by buying it from ATT, plus, if ATT ever offers a better plan, you can just swap sim cards. T-mo won't unlock the Gear S if you buy it from them, at least they refused to unlock mine, so I went the above described route.
So this reply turned into a novel. Oooops.
My 2c anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came here to ask same question, I guess I can wait for orbis.
Thank you
Ruturaj001 said:
It's $200 here, if you haven't purchased one
https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-samsung-gear-s-smartwatch-for-att-2
---------- Post added at 04:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 AM ----------
I came here to ask same question, I guess I can wait for orbis.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. I may wait as well. Time to sell my 360 me thinks.
simply dave said:
Thanks for the link. I may wait as well. Time to sell my 360 me thinks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess waiting will be wise choice. Use 360 for now and enjoy Orbis from November. This watch gonna sell like hot cakes. Only thing that can stop this watch from getting popular will be lack of compatibility. People don't look for workaround and just skips it and goes something else.
I was in at&t store yesterday, it was $100 on contract, I got tempted but remembered 2 things
1. Problem with charger on this one.
2. Orbis gonna be super awesome as Samsung is planning to use in house exynos SOC, so they might go for one in 14nm which will make watch more efficient.
Ruturaj001 said:
I guess waiting will be wise choice. Use 360 for now and enjoy Orbis from November. This watch gonna sell like hot cakes. Only thing that can stop this watch from getting popular will be lack of compatibility. People don't look for workaround and just skips it and goes something else.
I was in at&t store yesterday, it was $100 on contract, I got tempted but remembered 2 things
1. Problem with charger on this one.
2. Orbis gonna be super awesome as Samsung is planning to use in house exynos SOC, so they might go for one in 14nm which will make watch more efficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I heard the battery life is going to be awesome too. Only thing is it may be $350-$400.
I really think Sammy should make an Android wear version and a Tizen version.
I picked up the gear s only because it was on att's website refurbished for $49 with a 2 year contract. Don't think the price could get any better
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Themetnut said:
Don't think the price could get any better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was $74 new a couple of weeks ago. $99 on-contract less $25 Plenti Points for adding a new line of service (refurb devices are excluded). AT&T refurbs also only have a 90 day warranty.
Themetnut said:
I picked up the gear s only because it was on att's website refurbished for $49 with a 2 year contract. Don't think the price could get any better
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you have to keep the watch phone line for 2 years?
simply dave said:
Yeah I heard the battery life is going to be awesome too. Only thing is it may be $350-$400.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes battery life would be good if they go for 14 nm SOC with dual A53 cores. It will be costly but I guess it will be worth it.
simply dave said:
I really think Sammy should make an Android wear version and a Tizen version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be great, but android wear doesn't support sim card and google won't let them modify original OS (I guess they want to avoid fragmentation here). But Tizen is good OS too.
Themetnut said:
I picked up the gear s only because it was on att's website refurbished for $49 with a 2 year contract. Don't think the price could get any better
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's very good price, but I think for me second sim is not important, so spending 240 for 2 years totals 300, which is not bad but considering orbis is around, I would skip it.
simply dave said:
So you have to keep the watch phone line for 2 years?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Related
So I popped into my local sprint store today to check out the phone in person and I am wondering from some people that actualley have it. It was a half hour before closing and all the reps were busy so I didnt have a chance to talk to them. I am also wondering what kind of deal everybody got on this phone cause I know sometimes it depends on who u talk to with what they can do for you.
The floor model the buttons on the bottom felt really cheap and clicky, was this because its an abused floor model or is that just how it feels ?
I thought this phone auto flipped when you tilted it like the iPhone and that other verizon PPC ?
And what is up with the dpad ? are you able to just slide your finger over it ? Cause clicking it next to the other buttons felt weird and akward ?
Until I played with it in person ( a floor model though) I was really sold on getting this phone espicalley with all the cool 6.5 roms for it. The touchflo interface didnt feel very smooth either but that could be a number of things.
I guess I am just wonderng from some of the fans here who use the phone regulerly if these concerns I have are just some of the negatives of it or what ?
Obviously I would love a touch HD but that isnt an option at this time.
I am currently on boost mobile and ive gone from using a tytn back in the day to this w385 flip phone piece of garbage. But for 50 a month unlimited I cant complain much, but I called sprint and to my amazement with my credit I was approved for no deposit and 150 spending limit and I just want teh unlimted eveyrhting plan. Which I am also wondering if that includes tethering the phone ?
Hopeing some of your Touch Pro Sprint gurus can answer my questions so I can feel better and become one of the family and finally get posting again back on XDA I sincerly miss hanging out here but since my tytn died and I left atnt I havent been around much.
Thanks everybody!!
1. I got the phone from Best Buy on a price drop for $150 2-weeks after release.
2. I got $100 mail in rebate from Sprint (This is hit or miss from what I hear, but for .40 cent stamp try it).
Phone itself:
D-Pad is weird, yes.
Buttons and slide keyboard feel cheap, yes.
(Coming from a Mogul)
It's a cheap phone, for a cheap price, with some pretty descent insides.
Now at this point and time, personally...I would wait a couple months for TP2, which has reported on engadget coming to sprint 3rd Q, so I would guess 4th Q for real. Always late it seems.
And supposidly the Instinct 2 is literally an iPhone killer (potentially) according to reviews, but that is probably inappropriate statement without literally playing with it personally.
Contract speak.
Check this unless you have corporate deal (they seem to be better):
http://delivery.sprint.com/m/p/sprint/epc/epclanding.asp
E-Mail: [email protected]
CID: 383
$59.99 Everything 500
Not as good as the old SERO deal, but still descent compared to EVERYONE else out there...
Sprint will tell you, YOU can't teether. But you can get PDA Net or other's and do it, just keep you streeming bandwidth under there alloted contract amount and you shouldn't get dropped.
Most of the current ROMs and such the flipping of the phone (Accelerometer) works. There are plenty of applications in which you can define what can flip via gyro and what can't and utilities to set it up. In the Stock Sprint ROM, it's very finnicky as to when it will do it or not.
I've had my TP since December, it's good, I like it. Droped it a couple times, still runs like a champ, no dents or dings suprisingly tough for how cheap it feels. So I guess my fingures are decieving me...
But it's really up to you on if you want to hold off until TP2 Rhodium, or Diamond 2 Topaz, come to sprint later this year or not...
Hopefully this was enough info...!!!
L8R
Just buy it!!!
There will be no dramatic improvements in the mobile device industry to early to mid 2010. The latest on the touch pro 2 is that they are still under contract negotiations and there is no expected US release dates yet. The touch pro is a solid phone and buttons work great. Dpad takes a little getting used to. Interface is snappy and hardware keyboard is fast. Instinct 2 will be out of date before it is released. $250 after rebates at alltel.
Hey thanks for all the great info man I really appreciate it a lot!! Sprint has quoted me at 399 for a new signup and a 100$ mail in rebate. It just seems a bit pricey for the phone. Im jealous u got it for so cheap thats it much more reasonable for the this phone. I used to have a TyTn er whatever the second generation one was and then the company I worked at I had a Palm (those are just aweful) and now I have this w385 flip thru boost and I am having serious PPC withdrawls latly. I really would like to go ahead and get this phone but if something cooler is in the wings maybe I should wait I really dont know, I was even looking on ebay to see about picking this phone up and going with sprint and if I bring my own phone I shouldnt have to sign a contract and I could just bail on them if I wanted to. just for 99 unlimited everything I really am leaning towards sprint as I am paying 50 unlimited for everything with boost on my current phone.
I am checking out your referral link now, it shows the touch diamond as having the touchflo but I thought the touch pro did too ? Or maybe just with a Rom upgrade. it also has teh touch diamond for 50 bux cheaper guess that having a real keyboard counts. I would be all for the touch diamond if it had a bigger screen but having such a small screen with what seems like such a waste of space on the bottom of the phone that I need to have a hardware keyboard to make much sense of it all.
So with this referral the 500 minutes includes unlimited everything else ? thats not too bad of a deal I really will need unlimited minutes too eventualley but not quite yet so I could save some cash in the time being.
If I were to buy this phone on ebay and singup with sprint I wouldnt need a 2 year contract anymore would I ?
Oh wow the touch pro 2 looks AMAZING! I wish I could get a definite timeframe on this phone oh man I hadnt seen any pics of it and its all I need in a phone for a while how cool.
Coming from the Mogul as well, it was a major let down not having as many buttons on the side. That said, it's a whole lot faster, and worth the money. The buttons *are* clicky I guess.......suppose that's subjective.....but it never felt cheap to me. As for waiting for the TP2.... having used the TP1, I wouldn't wait I didn't get the cool deal that chAz15 got, but Ebay has them. I think I paid $379 for mine, and I didn't have to extend the contract. Just go to your Sprint acct web page and activate the new phone.
FYI, Sprint quoted me at $399 *with* a $100 rebate - meaning it was $400 after everything was said and done. Also, at the store they wanted to hit me $20 as a "conversion fee" or something. Did the one raised eyebrow thing, and put my money away. Jury is out on the TF3D. It screams "Aero" to me every time I use it: It looks really nice, but the phone is simply faster when it's off. I keep turning it off and on again, depending on how I'm feeling that day.
Coming back full circle - if you liked the Mogul, you'll love the TP....except for the buttons thing It's worth it to me to have gotten it.
Hope that was helpful.
Thanks for the info. I am actualley not a sprint user currently I am on boost mobile and am wondering if I signup for sprint and bring my own phone if I will have to still sign a 2 year contract ?
If you are going to get it, I say go to Best Buy and pick it up. They take off the $100 MIR already for you.
Nice info bro, I didnt know best buy sold sprint phones! So even if I bring my own phone "Jessica" on there chat told me I still have to sign a contract. last time I spoke to there live chat there name was Jessica too, and the person totally blew me off just now haha
wow the bestbuy website says 749 for the phone haha
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...h+pro&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218014505438
I see the whole best buy mobile thing I never knew they started doing this, so paying 299 plus tax on the spot sounds good to me much better then 399 lol what about the SAVE50 code I prolly cant use that at bestbuy though but I get my 100 right there. Hmm decisions decisions, I am getting close to finalley do this deal!
twist said:
I see the whole best buy mobile thing I never knew they started doing this, so paying 299 plus tax on the spot sounds good to me much better then 399 lol what about the SAVE50 code I prolly cant use that at bestbuy though but I get my 100 right there. Hmm decisions decisions, I am getting close to finalley do this deal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey before you do - go out and look for a SERO Plan to purchase off someone. Got to PPCGeeks or SprintUsers.com. I purchased a $30/month 500 minute plan (I don't use it to talk all that much)+unlimited data and text messaging for $110 dollars. The guy called Sprint and conferenced me in and it was done in around 20 minutes. I used to be with Verizon paying 60/month with no data and no texts. What's great is I got my bill and there is also a $5 discount taken off every month - so it's more like $25/month I am paying. I added in TEP (Total Equipment Protection) and now I pay around 35/month. It'll have paid for itself in a few months! IT'S SO WORTH IT! PM me if you need any tips.
twist said:
Thanks for the info. I am actualley not a sprint user currently I am on boost mobile and am wondering if I signup for sprint and bring my own phone if I will have to still sign a 2 year contract ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my knowledge you DO NOT have to sign a new contract. Boost is a part of Sprint/Nextel and the contract shouldnt need termination in order to switch to a different section [if you will].
I did something rather sneaky without noticing. I bought a bought a Mogul from ebay for $40..only thing wrong? (nothing) LOL! the seller somehow thought it was bricked because it got stuck on the loading screen. all i did was hard reset it again and it worked perfectly. I called Asurion to get it replaced because it was scratched up, I paid $50 for my deductible (now $100 after the 19th) and they sent me a BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED TP instead =0
Total= $90+ sooo worth it lol.
THANKS TO EVERYONE HERE FOR WHAT YOU GUYS DO ALSO.
cmajewsk said:
Hey before you do - go out and look for a SERO Plan to purchase off someone. Got to PPCGeeks or SprintUsers.com. I purchased a $30/month 500 minute plan (I don't use it to talk all that much)+unlimited data and text messaging for $110 dollars. The guy called Sprint and conferenced me in and it was done in around 20 minutes. I used to be with Verizon paying 60/month with no data and no texts. What's great is I got my bill and there is also a $5 discount taken off every month - so it's more like $25/month I am paying. I added in TEP (Total Equipment Protection) and now I pay around 35/month. It'll have paid for itself in a few months! IT'S SO WORTH IT! PM me if you need any tips.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SERO plan is officially DEAD. you cannot get the 30$ sero plan anymore the cheapest they have i think is 45 or 55 for their lowest tier sero plan. the plan was changed last year on july 13. i got my phone plan on the 11th
sorry to burst your bubble
i have every sprint htc device and by far the touch pro is the worst. imo it is a pos. the only reason i have one is because assurion didnt have any titans left and they sent me a touch pro. I hate this device for soo many reasons. The screen is lifting on one corner and if i wanted to i could peel the screen off easily with my fingernail. The stock roms and customs roms ive flashed all have bugs. Im really close to smashing this phone just for the enjoyment i would get from all the time ive spent trying to get it to work the way its supposed to.
If you havent bought this device yet, dont. wait for the touch pro 2, and hopefully HTC has stopped eating Big Macs and fixed their sh|t.
syaoran68 said:
The SERO plan is officially DEAD. you cannot get the 30$ sero plan anymore the cheapest they have i think is 45 or 55 for their lowest tier sero plan. the plan was changed last year on july 13. i got my phone plan on the 11th
sorry to burst your bubble
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While that's true the plan is dead, I stated that he could purchase the plan itself off someone else (i.e. not directly thru Sprint), who currently has a SERO plan that they'd like to transfer. So while you can no longer purchase these plans from Sprint - you can still find them out there...
The touch pro did seem a bit cheap feeling to me, I have had alot of HTC devices as well but I have no time frame on the touch pro 2 and I have this POS motorola flip phone and I cant stand it anymore I gotta get back to PPC land where I belong. Ugh what to do what to do...
So I was just on the HTC site and went to the HTC store to purchase this phone for sprint and have a 99 unlimited sprint plan. It is saying I will be paying 299 today and still have a 100 MIB ? Can anyone else check this out and let me know what they think if this is true I might just go ahead and do this today. 200 bux for this phone is pretty dam good. It mentions something about LetsTalk I dunno if that is some sort of third party that handles these transactions or what ?
I took a screenshot of the deal, I wonder if its legit, or am I just looking for excuses to buy this right now lol
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@twist,
I am not sure where you might be located, but let me tell you a couple of things regarding this phone and Sprint. I'll put it as highlights and will give you a nice site that has much more users than xda-devs for the cdma version of this.
*The battery life sucks. No matter what you do (data off, unlock and put a different rom, disable TF3D) it will eat battery like there is no tomorrow.
*Overheat. The phone will get crazy hot even after talking for only 5 minutes. Also, it gets hot while charging and syncing as well.
*The volume (speaker) stinks as well. You can barely hear the person on the other end. There is a fix for this (audiopara3), but even with this, it is still pretty bad.
*There is the chance that an oil spot looking rectangle will start developing in the middle of your screen, which will get bigger as you use your phone. I believe that this is due to the overheating, but it can render your touchscreen useless after a while.
*Half the time, you will get missed calls. I literally stood in one place monitoring the bars in my phone for a couple of minutes and I saw them ranging from 0 to 3 to all (I live in Miami and most providers have very decent networks around where I live). You will only realize that you missed the call because you will get new voicemails as the callers will be directed there. I have tried changing polling parameters so that this phone would poll the towers more often, but no dice.... I have read that this is Sprint's fault and not the phone since I have seen comments from people with various devices (Blackberries, regular phones, etc) reporting similar issues.
Long story short, the $99 (the one I have) is pretty good, but if you cannot communicate with the rest of the world is kinda pointless. I am telling you this because I bought one for my wife about 2 weeks ago and I am going to return it tomorrow (and break my contract with Sprint). Save yourself some time and don't do it.
Take a look at this site and you will see a lot of people complaining as well regarding similar things to what I just described.
Good luck and I hope I helped you some
I dont know what to do then bro, I need a new PPC I want to go with sprint cause of there unlimted plan, I am currently with boost paying 50 a month unlimited with this POS motorola w385 flip phone and I need my email and browsing and all that good stuff back.
Honestly, like I said... I am not sure where you live, but GSM providers are normally a little better (and for the most part cheaper) than CDMA. Sprint's everything plan is really cheap for what you get, but alternatively you could try going with one of the following:
*If you get MetroPCS where you live, they have a $50 all-inclusive plan (and yes, there are way of doing tethering with most of their phones too!). You can get a CDMA PDA phone (used or new without contract) and get the people at Metro to flash it into their networks for you. I have seen lots of people with the Touch Pro flashed on the network. I know that the internet can be a little sluggish but I heard that they are in the process of upgrading to something very fast. They have the Samsung Finesse if you don't want to go through the trouble of flashing a phone to their system. I know it doesn't have M$ OS but...
*AT&T offers the Fuze (GSM version of the Touch Pro). I actually have this one from my work and the worst thing that I can complain about is the battery life. All the other points in my previous post are not applicable to this one. The cons? The same (than the one from Sprint) plan costs $20 more.
*T-Mobile finally has 3G in many areas and you could try going with the Android, which has 3G capabilities. Most of their other phones suck (considering that they have heavy emphasis of the Sidekick). At this point, the only M$ OS capable phone that they carry is the T-Mobile Wing, which in essence is a Wizard painted blue. The Android (G1) is actually cheaper than the Wing too!!
*Don't even bother with Verizon... they are expensive as hell...
Hopefully, this will help you make a decision. Good Luck!
So, this is just a write up of my switch from Verizon to Straight Talk and (Probably) everything in between.
So basically, this starts out with me being on Verizon for 9 years, ever since I owned my first flip phone. Although, every year it became harder and harder to stay on Verizon, especially with Nexus's devices coming out and basically all the "Cool" phones on the other carriers and Verizon being more and more money hungry and caring less and less about the customer. Sadly, Verizon just had the best coverage and moderate prices (Grandfathered onto Unlimited data). No one could match what I had.
I stuck it out with Verizon, although I hated everything about the company, there was no easy or cheap alternative that could match Verizon's data coverage (Or so I thought), but finally I got my break. Well not that easily, I spent all of the weekend thinking about different options to take with my plan since it will be ending in December (I'm also bundled my parents plan and need to get off of it so it's either try my luck with Verizon or find an alternative and finally get away from this hell hole of a company). I even took a drive to T-Mobile to test out a Nexus 4, and ended at Best Buy seeing what they would give me for my phone ($250 for anyone who is wandering, which isn't bad since the best I could find on Swappa/Craigslist was around $300) to see if I could buy one straight up. Although this sounded like a great idea, I could never go to T-Mobile with their spotty coverage, and AT&T is just as bad as Verizon with the same prices, I had no other options in terms of a GSM carrier.
Although the Nexus 4 is one hell of a device, I just couldn't force myself to get it with the Nexus 5 coming out so soon. So I did some looking and finally found out that it's actually pretty simple to get a Verizon phone onto another network (Since the Verizon Note 2 has LTE/CDMA/GSM bands). So I pulled the trigger and bought a Straight Talk SIM card and an unlimited everything plan for $55. This was a small price to pay to test if there was a cheap and unlimited alternative to Verizon that was able to somewhat rival their coverage. Again, this was more of a test than anything for me to see if I am going to stick it out with Verizon or move to a prepaid carrier.
I ended up going with the AT&T SIM as T-Mobile get's almost no reception in my area (As proven by my friends who have them and never have service) and got my SIM card in the mail yesterday. I was on CM10.2 for the Verizon Note 2 and was ready to just stick this card in and go, of course it wouldn't be as simple as just putting the card in and going right? Well yea, it did take a little messing around. First thing first, I put the card in, activated it per usual, and was actually able to get data, calling and I could receive texts. I couldn't on the other hand, send texts and didn't have signal bars in the status bar. So I played around with APN's for a while and couldn't get it to work. So I tried moving to a Touchwiz ROM. Of course the first I tried was just a stock rooted and low and behold Verizon blocks you from using SIM cards that aren't from Verizon (Did I mention how much I hate Verizon?).
I then went on to try Beans ROM and low and behold, no setup required, turned it on and it was good to go. Everything working, I had a smile from ear to ear just having this actually work. I never knew from the beginning if Straight Talk or even another SIM would work in my phone so everything was a crap shoot until it would finally work, but was lucky enough to have it work! Although, I could have stopped there, I just can't stand Touchwiz so I decided today I would give CM another shot. Still didn't work even when messing with APN's so I thought what the hell, let's try something crazy. Backed up my current ROM and tried flashing the toLTE CM10.2 ROM and of course it failed since my phone isn't the N7105. So I dug a little deeper, and copied the updater-script from the Verizon version to the toLTE version and it installed! So, I reboot it and think, man, I'm going to get stuck in a boot loop, but maybe I was just lucky today as I made it straight to my home screen, even better, I had full data, signal bars working, and was able to send texts. I thought this was amazing. I literally had my cake and was able to eat it too, until I tried GPS. Which of course didn't work. Another hour of trying crap and finally tried just copying the GPS.conf from the Verizon CM ROM over and low and behold, I had GPS! So I now have a perfectly working phone, on CM10.2 using a Straight Talk SIM/contract, using AT&T's network, all for $45 a month.
I'm sure a lot of you will read this and want your 5/10/15 minutes back, but this is just for the few that want to break away but don't have the hundreds of dollars to switch to different carriers, different phones, different plans just to find one that works. I was in this boat, and know how it feels. I have been using this phone for roughly a day and am going to make sure I have service everywhere I need it before making my final decision (So far work and home have full H+), but if all goes well will be finally ditching Verizon at the end of the year and getting myself a Nexus that I won't have to worry about having slow updates because my carrier is lazy. At this point, I couldn't be happier and hopefully get some of you guys to at least give it a shot like I did.
Please post a reply or DM me if you have any questions on my process, I will be more than happy to help out as much as I can!
So for anyone who doesn't believe me or those of you "Pics or it didn't happen!". This is from my phone, using the Straight Talk SIM. Data speeds are no where near Verizon's nor is the ping but I am on WiFi 90% of the time anyways so just having a data correction is my main priority.
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Love it, I've been thinking about escape for some time so I appreciate the write up. The Note 2 is the best phone I've ever used, but I've debated whether to sign my life away with Verizon again for the 3.
I tried the T-Mobile route and the coverage was so abysmal I scurried back. This gives me hope for another option. What sort of data speeds do you get when needed?
Thank you for taking the time to write that up. I was thinking about doing the same thing last year but was worried about the decrease in data. I've read in numerous threads that data just plain sucks with Straight Talk.
Could you give us an update periodically on this? Thnx!!!
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story...art-sued-over-unlimited-data-claim/2013-08-08
No thanks. Been doing 30gb a month with Verizon. Looks like I'd be SOL with straight talk.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
nosympathy said:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story...art-sued-over-unlimited-data-claim/2013-08-08
No thanks. Been doing 30gb a month with Verizon. Looks like I'd be SOL with straight talk.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was more just for a general prepaid plan. I just so happened to pick Straight Talk. So far up to 6.7 GB of usage with no issue.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
miketoasty said:
This was more just for a general prepaid plan. I just so happened to pick Straight Talk. So far up to 6.7 GB of usage with no issue.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good lord you guys are data hogs!
How's the voice coverage? my 4 person family plan with only 6GB between the 4 of us is $237 a month. 4 * $45 would be a big improvement and of course, I could stop yelling at the kids for watching youtube all the time.
TrojanDroid said:
Good lord you guys are data hogs!
How's the voice coverage? my 4 person family plan with only 6GB between the 4 of us is $237 a month. 4 * $45 would be a big improvement and of course, I could stop yelling at the kids for watching youtube all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, for me I was able to get data/voice everywhere that I went, but remember I was using AT&T's towers so it may change depending on the carrier you go with. My month is coming to an end and I have about 2 more months before I have to finally decide, but it is looking like a go as of right now.
miketoasty said:
As I said, for me I was able to get data/voice everywhere that I went, but remember I was using AT&T's towers so it may change depending on the carrier you go with. My month is coming to an end and I have about 2 more months before I have to finally decide, but it is looking like a go as of right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mike,
Thnx for the continued updates. Come back when it's go time and let us know if you permanently made the shift.
I've been considering doing exactly this, its great to know that our handsets will work with these SIMs. Did you port your number over or chose a new one? I'm curious as to how hard it would be to do so.
broprah said:
I've been considering doing exactly this, its great to know that our handsets will work with these SIMs. Did you port your number over or chose a new one? I'm curious as to how hard it would be to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally had to get a new number as I didn't make the full switch yet but I know that Straight Talk does give you the option to port a number over.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
broprah said:
I've been considering doing exactly this, its great to know that our handsets will work with these SIMs. Did you port your number over or chose a new one? I'm curious as to how hard it would be to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Porting my number to T-Mobile was incredibly easy. I'm sure it's just as easy as Straight Talk. During the setup you're asked whether you want to get a new number or port your current number. That's it. Took only a few hours for everything to fully switch over to my Nexus 4 and I was on my way. I have one bill left for Verizon with my ETF and then I'll be completely free from them.
fascinating
This is really great to see. I was thinking about doing the same thing but I am worried about coverage issues.
I was in a similar situation, I have had Verizon for years on my family unlimited plan and I needed to get off of my parents' plan, so I gave Sprint a shot because I have a friend that has it. What he didn't tell me was that he has always had abysmal service everywhere, a point I discovered when I lost service repeatedly just walking across the house. Calls would drop out and I'd be lucky to even be able to send a text message in most places at work.
I abandoned ship pretty quickly and went crying back to Verizon. Unfortunately there was no way to recover unlimited data, but I checked and I only used an average of ~1.5GB a month anyway. Went in on the 4GB plan with my brother.
Verizon really doesn't care about their customers, and that goes all the way from corporate to the stores. Their customer service is pitiful. I missed one payment and they put my account on cash only for SIX MONTHS. That means I literally have to go into the store and feed a machine cash for 6 months or I can't pay my bill. Not online, not over the mobile app, not even over the phone. If you call and ask them about it they treat you like you're some second class citizen that isn't worth their time, or they just spout off how they have no control over anything.
I've also noticed over the years that the employees in the store have less and less power over anything. They can do almost nothing for your account aside from activate your new phone. You have to call customer service to do anything. If they didn't have the best coverage around by leaps and bounds, I'd never use them again.
Just read this.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gear_s_tipped_to_have_its_own_plan_on_sprint-news-9972.php
I think that is the pricing that all the phone providers are looking to be at. Any more then 10 bucks a month and people will not go for it as that is the same price as normal cell phone.
Nice find atleast hear something
http://9to5google.com/2014/10/30/samsung-gear-s-release-date/
So I walked into a Sprint Corporate store yesterday morning to inquire about the Gear S and phone combo. The employees were not even aware that it was coming Nov 7 I kindly reminded them it was announced on sprints website and all over the internet. One employee told me if it were coming out this Friday the store would brief them on Wednesday. The other employee told me that the Gear S will have it's own phone number. While another told me it is Bluetooth only. I said this all to say they are clueless and I'm still left wondering how Sprint will deal with this uicc card in the Gear S as LTE will not be available for this. I also called Sprint Sales Center they had no Idea the watch was coming to the USA so soon.
Thats crazy. I myself went into best buy spoke to a Samsung employee and he didnt know that it was coming out this week.
Sent from my SM-G900P using XDA Free mobile app
Consigning, I've called five Verizon and four Best Buy stores and they have no clue when they will receive or sale the watch. There were some Samsung reps at Best Buy who never heard of the watch. Really? How is that possible?
I had a long chat with the T-mobile rep who sold me the Gear Circle. He said they are selling the watches this Sunday, 9 November. If Verizon or Best Buy doesn't come through I will purchase the watch outright from T-mobile and put a Verizon sim in it later. I want the watch NOW!
myisf08 said:
Consigning, I've called five Verizon and four Best Buy stores and they have no clue when they will receive or sale the watch. There were some Samsung reps at Best Buy who never heard of the watch. Really? How is that possible?
I had a long chat with the T-mobile rep who sold me the Gear Circle. He said they are selling the watches this Sunday, 9 November. If Verizon or Best Buy doesn't come through I will purchase the watch outright from T-mobile and put a Verizon sim in it later. I want the watch NOW!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's our watch and we want it now lol. Yes If t-mobile will allow me to pay the 350 plus taxes with no contract I will gladly pair it to my Note 4 Sprint. I don't plan to use the standalone internet i will bluetooth tether the gear S. and forward my calls when I want to leave the phone at home.
myisf08 said:
I had a long chat with the T-mobile rep who sold me the Gear Circle. He said they are selling the watches this Sunday, 9 November. If Verizon or Best Buy doesn't come through I will purchase the watch outright from T-mobile and put a Verizon sim in it later. I want the watch NOW!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, Verizon SIM only works for LTE. Since, Gear S doesn't appear to support LTE, that will be useless. And probably will never work because you will need CDMA hardware inside and with CDMA, the ESN of the watch must be already registered with the carrier.
Uniquebarbee said:
It's our watch and we want it now lol. Yes If t-mobile will allow me to pay the 350 plus taxes with no contract I will gladly pair it to my Note 4 Sprint. I don't plan to use the standalone internet i will bluetooth tether the gear S. and forward my calls when I want to leave the phone at home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure the watch will need to have an active SIM to work with receiving calls when your phone is not near.
gingy13 said:
I'm pretty sure the watch will need to have an active SIM to work with receiving calls when your phone is not near.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the calls will be forward to the watch when you leave your phone at home. Other wise the gear will have a separate number for the phone and there will be no need to pair the phone besides downloading apps. Sprint does not have SIM cards they have uicc cards that give LTE only which the Gear S will not have.
rmont23 said:
Just read this.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gear_s_tipped_to_have_its_own_plan_on_sprint-news-9972.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ne...ung-gear-s-arrives-at-sprint-nov-7-2014-10-30
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I have unlimited on my phone and they expect me to pay 10$ month for 2 years for some minutes and text on a watch. Or get off my unlimited and move to family to share my data with my watch hum.. no thanks to on contract
F U Sprint I just walked out of AT&T with my Gear S off contract no way I would pay 416$ (384 plus tax)
when I just paid 325.49 (299 plus tax) Although I still have my Note 4 with Sprint
Uniquebarbee said:
View attachment 3004263
I have unlimited on my phone and they expect me to pay 10$ month for 2 years for some minutes and text on a watch. Or get off my unlimited and move to family to share my data with my watch hum.. no thanks to on contract
F U Sprint I just walked out of AT&T with my Gear S off contract no plan no way I would pay 416$ (384 plus tax)
when I just paid 325.49 (299 plus tax) Although I still have my Note 4 with Sprint
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JUST IN CASE YOUR WONDERING
So I had a long confusing talk with Sprint this morning and the Sales Rep say's this there are 2 options for Sprint right now either or you add it to you Family Share plan (As long as it has 20GB or more to share). The gear has its own NUMBER. If you use all of the 100MB before the month is up they will Suspend your Gear S until you pay the overages or just wait for next month to pay again. When your phone is at home the Gears Number, messaging and data will be used . It is considered a mini phone. So if you have unlimited everything your watch will have a mintues/text plan of 1,000 100GB internet. It is best to use Bluetooth a lot. Unless you don't use internet if you want to cancel your plan from watch (9.99 a month for 2 years) 200$ cancellation fee
so happy i'm with t-mobile. they're treating the device like a tablet . if you go over your data it will just slow down, they won't charge you extra
gingy13 said:
so happy i'm with t-mobile. they're treating the device like a tablet . if you go over your data it will just slow down, they won't charge you extra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would make more sense for all carriers to do right. Do you know how much t-mobile is for outright? I may return this to AT&T and buy t-mobile to get free data for life lol thats what they advertize anyway
So I work at an AT&T store but I have Sprint service on my Note 3 because I need unlimited. Can I buy the watch from my AT&T for a discounted price and still put it on my Sprint plan for $10/month or is the watch carrier locked to AT&T then? I can get it from my store for under $300 after taxes with my discount, but I want it to work with Sprint service on it and I didn't think that was possible. Can someone clear this up for me please?
All US Gear S watches are carrier locked. Even it is not locked, you can't use a GSM(AT&T) phone on CDMA(Sprint) network. That will never happen.
almony8 said:
So I work at an AT&T store but I have Sprint service on my Note 3 because I need unlimited. Can I buy the watch from my AT&T for a discounted price and still put it on my Sprint plan for $10/month or is the watch carrier locked to AT&T then? I can get it from my store for under $300 after taxes with my discount, but I want it to work with Sprint service on it and I didn't think that was possible. Can someone clear this up for me please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly we've preliminarily determined that it does not use the hybrid GSM/CDMA architecture, even though it's chipset supports it. There have been no teardowns and no root yet, so we don't know what the radios include. The FCC documents say that there are at least two completely separate versions, one for GSM (AT&T/T-Mobile) and another for CDMA (Verizon/Sprint). They were tested separately and there was nothing indicating that they had hybrid radios.
Just have to wait until they get opened up.
It was a bad move on Samsung's part ...
So I've been using the Gear S for a few days, and thoroughly enjoyed leaving my Note 4 in the truck or at home for quick errands. But aside from call forwarding I think I'm a bit confused about the functionality of the watch in terms of it as a stand alone device, and don't get me wrong it came through as promised as a stand alone, and I love this thing, the wait was worth it.
But the question is: when paired to my phone as Bluetooth I can not receive calls direct to my Gear S number, unless I'm missing something, but it goes straight to voicemail when I'm connected to my phones, can I set call forwarding to phone from my watch number or just only my phone to my watch? And do I only get text/calls forwarded, or all of my notifications (aside from emails which I know you got to add to the email app.) and does my phone need to stay on while at home?
I studied the crap out of this watch for 2 months before release, but a lot of the information was vague or speculation, then out of no where it dropped and just kind of looking for solid informed information now.
Overall, I'm still on the fence about using it on a plan, not because its come up short on what it promised, but because I'm not sure how often I'll use it. Im mainly just looking for any and all advice/tips to get the most out of this thing thinking maybe I've missed something ...
I justify the At&t $10 a month, because out the gate I saved $100 (Basically a free 10 months of stand alone service) and I do see the beauty of leaving my phone at home sometimes, plus for hitting the gym or taking the dog for a walk, I love my Note phones, but they do take up a lot of pocket real estate, so the watch is a nice feature.
And as far as battery life, I def get more on Bluetooth than as a stand alone, I can easily get a full day with cellular connection, but probably 2+ with just Bluetooth, and those numbers are wifi off/motion off.
Today: 8am - 100% - 12:45pm 92%.
Bluetoothed, Motion on, 19 Apps set to notify, brightness very readable but low.
Chances are I'll keep the cell plan on it, as far as the watch try and pry this thing from my hand ... at least until the Gear S2 drops lol. I'm just looking for any tips or tricks with the watch I might have missed, or maybe stories on how having there stand alone watch has improved your life.
It seems as if they focused too much on locking this watch down so you can ONLY use it with Samsung devices that they ended up with a watch with so much potential.
I thought I would be able to log in to my Google account on my watch and still be able to receive notifications on it. But nope, Samsung can't have us set up the phone temporarily and keep using it without a Samsung device. There's really no justification at this point to have a SIM card on this watch and being charged a monthly plan.
I wish another company would have released this device without the greediness of Samsung.
See I only buy Note series phones, so the locked to Samsung phones doesn't bother me, all the other watch companies would do the same if they weren't only making Android Wear devices and had proprietary software, just like the Iwatch will only run off an iPhone and not a peep will be said about that, people will praise it's old tech and uglymess as the second coming of jesus. Only samsung seems to catch the heat.
Let me reiterate that I'm 1000% happy with this watch, it's beautiful and functional, and the stand alone is great, just looking for a reason to keep it on a data plan in terms of fitting my lifestyle and need, I can see a lot of people needing this feature. The watch will stay on my wrist regardless. Me, I'm trying to justify the contract just to leave my phone in the truck during a shopping trip or to run errands or something. But again it's just $10 so it's not a huge deal.
It really depends on how your going to use it. Everyone is not going to use it the same way.
The price plan was not a concern at all and i was fine with that. I knew I was going to have the plan on it. Mines is mainly used for going on walks or runs. Sometimes i may still bring my phone, sometimes i may not. Felt i was covered either way. Making quick trips to shop, I'm set. Basically an "quick and short insurance policy" for me. Everything else is cool for me, but chances of me using is slim to none. And to do for $10. I'm good with that. It's doing every bit of what I had hoped it would.
Sent from my SM-N910P
Dmac1984 said:
See I only buy Note series phones, so the locked to Samsung phones doesn't bother me, all the other watch companies would do the same if they weren't only making Android Wear devices and had proprietary software, just like the Iwatch will only run off an iPhone and not a peep will be said about that, people will praise it's old tech and uglymess as the second coming of jesus. Only samsung seems to catch the heat.
Let me reiterate that I'm 1000% happy with this watch, it's beautiful and functional, and the stand alone is great, just looking for a reason to keep it on a data plan in terms of fitting my lifestyle and need, I can see a lot of people needing this feature. The watch will stay on my wrist regardless. Me, I'm trying to justify the contract just to leave my phone in the truck during a shopping trip or to run errands or something. But again it's just $10 so it's not a huge deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 PM ----------
Dmac1984 said:
But the question is: when paired to my phone as Bluetooth I can not receive calls direct to my Gear S number, unless I'm missing something, but it goes straight to voicemail when I'm connected to my phones, can I set call forwarding to phone from my watch number or just only my phone to my watch? And do I only get text/calls forwarded, or all of my notifications (aside from emails which I know you got to add to the email app.) and does my phone need to stay on while at home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Bluetooth thing if you forward your calls to GS your phone (on smartphone will ring) If you forward GS calls to smartphone it will ring both numbers. Its how you set up your GS. Think of GS as a house phone. When your home bluetooth/wifi your GS to pair with the smartphone. When you are out and about leaving your phone at home you may forward your calls to bluetooth as well as accept calls from your GS.
I have a Sprint note 4 and a Gear S T-mobile. I will not pay the Sprint plan for the GS the detailed plan does not work for me so T-mobile GS I got. I many never use my GS number on my watch but it's nice having it in case I may need an emergency phone.
gingy13 said:
how unique are you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not your average bear boo-boo (Yogie)
Super subjective ...
I see that dilemma as one of extreme subjectivity ...
I carry my phone with me everywhere I go, for the most part. What I discovered today is that if my phone is at home, and I connect my watch to WiFi wherever I am, I can still see missed calls, browse the web, receive and respond to text messages, and view new emails (though there is a weird glitch in there with composing), all of which came to my phone while I was out.
That said, having a mobile plan can certainly be a safety net because it allows calls when you leave your phone somewhere ... and when you're out of WiFi range ... but I can't say for me that's all that much of a problem. When I run to court or have to do quick errands, I'm not usually gone long enough to have to worry all that much about receiving urgent messages -- that's not to say that it isn't convenient to still be able to.
Ten dollars monthly really isn't a lot of money. It's actually kind of a negligible amount. For me, though, it costs a lot more. I threw in a StraightTalk sim because I bought the device at AT&T but have Verizon phone service, and it was pricey, plus it doesn't feel worthwhile to pay 30 bucks for something that I only need as a safety net or a convenience.
I just went through the full specifications of the device via the model-config.xml file on it, and I also started digging through the folders on the device. This thing is nowhere near its potential right now ... but we will have to see what Samsung does with it, and more importantly, what developers do with it. It really is a phone on the wrist and it has a ton of power that isn't being used just yet.
Wondering if anyone can answer this for me. I am up for renewal on my work line through ATT and wanted to make sure everything would function correctly if I got the gear s on my work line and paired it with my personal phone through verizon. Anyone have any experience with this and can share some insight? Thanks!
d0ntp4n1c said:
Wondering if anyone can answer this for me. I am up for renewal on my work line through ATT and wanted to make sure everything would function correctly if I got the gear s on my work line and paired it with my personal phone through verizon. Anyone have any experience with this and can share some insight? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything will work fine carrier does not matter with this watchphone
I've got an AT&T Gear S paired with my Sprint Note 4. Everything works.. Including the remote function.
Thanks for the replys! Currently waiting on my Gear S to arrive
duongdn said:
I've got an AT&T Gear S paired with my Sprint Note 4. Everything works.. Including the remote function.
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An update to the Gear Manager came thru last night that broke the remote connection between my ATT phone and Straight Talk watch.
Samsung and the carriers are working hard to make sure both devices remain on their networks in order to have remote connections work.
Do backups prior to accepting updates....
mghtymse007 said:
An update to the Gear Manager came thru last night that broke the remote connection between my ATT phone and Straight Talk watch.
Samsung and the carriers are working hard to make sure both devices remain on their networks in order to have remote connections work.
Do backups prior to accepting updates....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I received the update also. Used the remote connection this morning taking my niece and nephew to school this morning. No issues. Left my phone at home and still received calls, notification and texts. Was able to reply also using Gear Notifier Extender.
duongdn said:
I received the update also. Used the remote connection this morning taking my niece and nephew to school this morning. No issues. Left my phone at home and still received calls, notification and texts. Was able to reply also using Gear Notifier Extender.
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Yeah, after a reset and some tinkering I was able to get it working again.
Did you see Verizon's terms on the watch? $349 on contract and $45-$55/month Doesn't make sense comparing it to the other OEMs. The wildly different prices and terms from the big three are going to come with restrictions. Think about it, why would you buy the watch from Tmo for $400 if you can just walk to the ATT store, pay full price, get it unlocked and save $100?
After a good talk with a friend at Samsung, he said that right now the remote notifications are being handled by Samsung's servers... But not for long. That control will ultimately be transferred to the OEMs. Updates to the watch and phone app could soon kill the ability to receive cross network notifs. According to him, this will happen in two stages....First, through the mobile data connection, then via Wi-Fi.
So far, I have hit one road block after another getting this device unlocked even tho I paid full price and seeing a few XDA members post successful unlocks. The latest excuse from an ATT Support Supervisor, is the $299 price is for ATT GO customers only. If you wish to buy it in an unlocked state, you must first tell the rep your intent prior to purchase, pay $399 and then the store mgr will override the unlock prevention. I found this out on Tuesday and called my ATT rep (worked with him for 9 years), and this was all news to him. Waiting for callback....
Just posting what I've learned in the last 13 days and an FYI for those wanting to use these devices on different networks.
mghtymse007 said:
An update to the Gear Manager came thru last night that broke the remote connection between my ATT phone and Straight Talk watch.
Samsung and the carriers are working hard to make sure both devices remain on their networks in order to have remote connections work.
Do backups prior to accepting updates....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mghtymse007 said:
Yeah, after a reset and some tinkering I was able to get it working again.
Did you see Verizon's terms on the watch? $349 on contract and $45-$55/month Doesn't make sense comparing it to the other OEMs. The wildly different prices and terms from the big three are going to come with restrictions. Think about it, why would you buy the watch from Tmo for $400 if you can just walk to the ATT store, pay full price, get it unlocked and save $100?
After a good talk with a friend at Samsung, he said that right now the remote notifications are being handled by Samsung's servers... But not for long. That control will ultimately be transferred to the OEMs. Updates to the watch and phone app could soon kill the ability to receive cross network notifs. According to him, this will happen in two stages....First, through the mobile data connection, then via Wi-Fi.
So far, I have hit one road block after another getting this device unlocked even tho I paid full price and seeing a few XDA members post successful unlocks. The latest excuse from an ATT Support Supervisor, is the $299 price is for ATT GO customers only. If you wish to buy it in an unlocked state, you must first tell the rep your intent prior to purchase, pay $399 and then the store mgr will override the unlock prevention. I found this out on Tuesday and called my ATT rep (worked with him for 9 years), and this was all news to him. Waiting for callback....
Just posting what I've learned in the last 13 days and an FYI for those wanting to use these devices on different networks.
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Let's hope a decision is made down the line to not lose cross carrier notifications. It's really the one thing I like about the watch.
duongdn said:
Let's hope a decision is made down the line to not lose cross carrier notifications. It's really the one thing I like about the watch.
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Me too! Wouldn't be pleased at all if I lost this ability.
Waiting for an answer from my rep on all this, considering returning if the above is currently in play.
mghtymse007 said:
Me too! Wouldn't be pleased at all if I lost this ability.
Waiting for an answer from my rep on all this, considering returning if the above is currently in play.
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My decision to return it may be based on this also. Please keep us updated.
duongdn said:
My decision to return it may be based on this also. Please keep us updated.
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Will do.
---------- Post added at 11:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 AM ----------
For those interested, here's the link to Verizon's Gear S press release and pricing....
http://www.tizenexperts.com/2014/11/verizon-wireless-announce-their-prices-for-the-samsung-gear-s/
Jeez the news about them locking cross carrier stuff sucks if it's true. I swear they are trying to kill this fricken device before it has a chance to succeed. From my understanding you can still use this through Bluetooth and get all the functionality right? (albeit through your phone and not the Gear S's own number)
I haven't seen any reviews of people using it without one. Starting to think maybe I should just cancel my order and hold off...
EDIT: To specify I mean functionality like respond to texts and email/ make calls and what not. Just through the phone its paired to.
d0ntp4n1c said:
Jeez the news about them locking cross carrier stuff sucks if it's true. I swear they are trying to kill this fricken device before it has a chance to succeed. From my understanding you can still use this through Bluetooth and get all the functionality right? (albeit through your phone and not the Gear S's own number)
I haven't seen any reviews of people using it without one. Starting to think maybe I should just cancel my order and hold off...
EDIT: To specify I mean functionality like respond to texts and email/ make calls and what not. Just through the phone its paired to.
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Unfortunately, this situation isn't any different than Samsung's ridiculous decision to make these compatible with only their latest flagship devices. They are losing SO many sales due to this silly decision.
As to your inquiry...Yes, even without a SIM card, the BT connection will give you all the functionality of the companion Gear models. But, obviously, none of the standalone and remote features will be usable.
Overall, I've been very happy with this watch and amazed by it's features and hardware. However, the lack of quantity and quality apps is very frustrating. Again, another moronic decision by Samsung to provide an OS that is considered to be inferior to Wear, and is slated to be the OS for their cheapo line of phones.
Where is the logic in this??? Here they build a flagship watch and decide to finish it off with the "blue light special" of OS's!?!?!? WTF to that....
Samsung REALLY needs to stop copying and, ultimately, trying to be Apple. They really do have the ability to be a leader and pave their own path, but instead continue to follow. Truly a shame.
mghtymse007 said:
Unfortunately, this situation isn't any different than Samsung's ridiculous decision to make these compatible with only their latest flagship devices. They are losing SO many sales due to this silly decision.
As to your inquiry...Yes, even without a SIM card, the BT connection will give you all the functionality of the companion Gear models. But, obviously, none of the standalone and remote features will be usable.
Overall, I've been very happy with this watch and amazed by it's features and hardware. However, the lack of quantity and quality apps is very frustrating. Again, another moronic decision by Samsung to provide an OS that is considered to be inferior to Wear, and is slated to be the OS for their cheapo line of phones.
Where is the logic in this??? Here they build a flagship watch and decide to finish it off with the "blue light special" of OS's!?!?!? WTF to that....
Samsung REALLY needs to stop copying and, ultimately, trying to be Apple. They really do have the ability to be a leader and pave their own path, but instead continue to follow. Truly a shame.
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Bit of a mixed bag imo. They ARE trying to do their own thing and push their own brand/eco system. Ultimately that is what every brand wants to aspire to. When iOS launched the app store was ****. Same with android and windows phone (albeit THAT one is still ****). Personally I feel that they might have jumped the gun with this one by making it SO goddamn enclosed inside samsungs ecosystem as it is, but they are kinda trying to be a leader by branching off into their own ****. I also want to say when I first looked into it there were devs semi excited about Tizen. I'll have to go research the os again as it has been a couple months (originally looked into it when the gear s was announced) Regardless, I am definitely not saying your wrong the choices they made on this phone seem to be stopping A LOT of people from buying. IMO they should have made some exclusive features that only work properly with Samsung phones that were innovative (not something expected in the device) enough to make you WANT to go out and get a note 4/ s5 to pair with it.
duongdn said:
My decision to return it may be based on this also. Please keep us updated.
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After my 1.5hr visit to the ATT store... My gear is now finally unlocked. I did not have to pay any additional $$$, nor do the lengthy activation/deactivation process mentioned in an earlier post.
Being armed with the ATT Unlocking terms and conditions page and the FCC regs helped get this done. But, it's ridiculous that I would even have to go to this level.
If and/or when you go into the ATT store to make this purchase, be sure that you deal with one of the managers. The regular reps are clueless in this respect.