Pulse, T-Mobile and not getting ripped off on the costs

[Guest sane?]

I'm sure many will be getting T-Mobile connected Pulses for Christmas Day. As you know, top up the £10 and the next month Internet is free. Admittedly to a low 'fair usage', but enough for Gmail sync and AGPS etc.

However between Christmas and 1st Jan is a week. £1 a day, every day, would quickly mount up.

The idea would be to select a 5 day internet booster (Text WEB to 441) for £2.50 to deal with most of that week, which would lapse before Jan and therefore the free Internet would kick-in OK then. No overlap.

A previous poster here questioned if that would work due to the very small print. Talking with a T-Mobile rep. they seem to say it would be OK.

I'm still not certain if 'next month' is on a calendar or account basis...

Does anyone here know for certain, has anyone done similar with T-Mobile?

[Guest wlee]

definately every calendar month i've tried a sim with unlimited web and text

[Guest thinkscientist]

I'm sure many will be getting T-Mobile connected Pulses for Christmas Day. As you know, top up the £10 and the next month Internet is free. Admittedly to a low 'fair usage', but enough for Gmail sync and AGPS etc.

However between Christmas and 1st Jan is a week. £1 a day, every day, would quickly mount up.

The idea would be to select a 5 day internet booster (Text WEB to 441) for £2.50 to deal with most of that week, which would lapse before Jan and therefore the free Internet would kick-in OK then. No overlap.

A previous poster here questioned if that would work due to the very small print. Talking with a T-Mobile rep. they seem to say it would be OK.

I'm still not certain if 'next month' is on a calendar or account basis...

Does anyone here know for certain, has anyone done similar with T-Mobile?

text monthweb to 441 for 30 days Internet ;) stupid that I had to shout at someone at uk head office to find that out

[Guest sane?]

yeah, I found that in the end; but anyone ever had one of these 'boosters' and then had the free internet from the £10 top up the next month?

Oh, and the boosters seem to take effect from the NEXT day, not the date you do the text.

I'm convinced T-mobile make it so difficult to confuse you...

[Guest phead]

definately every calendar month i've tried a sim with unlimited web and text

LOL, thats the opposite of what t-mobile support told me, but their support is terrible so I just don't know now.

They said that a top-up on the 11th would give a month free internet starting from the 11th on the next month. Of course that would mean you would have to top up on exactly the right day to avoid gaps, which makes no sense.

[Guest wlee]

LOL, thats the opposite of what t-mobile support told me, but their support is terrible so I just don't know now.

They said that a top-up on the 11th would give a month free internet starting from the 11th on the next month. Of course that would mean you would have to top up on exactly the right day to avoid gaps, which makes no sense.

hmmm well i topped up my sim on the 27th of november and from the 1st of this month till now i have had free web and texts

[Guest giryan]

There's the 6 months web for £20, which I think's loads better, I didn't use it for calls/txts much, but loads of internet ;)

[Guest JingleManSweep]

Agreed, text "6MONTHWEB" instead. 6 months internet for £20, instead of £10 for 1 month. Also, with regards to "acceptable usage limits", I stream music from Last.FM or Spotify every morning and evening (on my way to and from work), plus all the GMail, GTalk, Google Maps usage etc.

[Guest Dr Who]

Agreed, text "6MONTHWEB" instead. 6 months internet for £20, instead of £10 for 1 month. Also, with regards to "acceptable usage limits", I stream music from Last.FM or Spotify every morning and evening (on my way to and from work), plus all the GMail, GTalk, Google Maps usage etc.

Do you know whether you can use this for tethering? I would like to get this six month web and use my old phone as a portable wifi hotspot - just wondering a, whether it would work and b, whether they would smash me for charges.

[Guest ianmack]

Agreed, text "6MONTHWEB" instead. 6 months internet for £20, instead of £10 for 1 month. Also, with regards to "acceptable usage limits", I stream music from Last.FM or Spotify every morning and evening (on my way to and from work), plus all the GMail, GTalk, Google Maps usage etc.

So, if you get a new Pulse on Christmas Day, with a £10 top up which gives one month free text and internet, and a £20 top up for 6monthweb, whats the best thing to do to get access asap?

If you use the 6monthweb, does the 1 month free internet kick after month 6?

If you use the £10 does it not start till Jan1?

[Guest boradev]

Do you know whether you can use this for tethering? I would like to get this six month web and use my old phone as a portable wifi hotspot - just wondering a, whether it would work and b, whether they would smash me for charges.

Tethering is against the TOS so if they find out they could kick you. As is running bit torrent. I also read on the t-mobile site that using instant messaging was against the TOS but that didn't make sense and another page didn't mention it. 6MONTHWEB is definitely a good deal if you dont get near £10 calls every month.

[Guest boradev]

So, if you get a new Pulse on Christmas Day, with a £10 top up which gives one month free text and internet, and a £20 top up for 6monthweb, whats the best thing to do to get access asap?

If you use the 6monthweb, does the 1 month free internet kick after month 6?

If you use the £10 does it not start till Jan1?

I am fairly certain that if you add any booster to the standard 'next month data free' scheme then you are taken off the scheme and cannot go back. I was also told it was not calendar month but account months.

[Guest sane?]

I am fairly certain that if you add any booster to the standard 'next month data free' scheme then you are taken off the scheme and cannot go back. I was also told it was not calendar month but account months.

I got told that as long as it wasn't extant at the same time, you still got the free month. And I found something that said it was calendar months.

However I wouldn't trust a T-mobile customer service rep to know what colour the sky was; which is why I was looking for someone who had done similar and knew for certain.

[Guest rjm2k]

Tethering is against the TOS so if they find out they could kick you. As is running bit torrent. I also read on the t-mobile site that using instant messaging was against the TOS but that didn't make sense and another page didn't mention it. 6MONTHWEB is definitely a good deal if you dont get near £10 calls every month.

Tethering is using your phone to access the net with your pc? How can that be against the tos when tmobile supply the phone with a "dialup" application configured for their network that does exactly that, albiet via usb rather than wifi?

[Guest Nikki Locke]

Tethering is using your phone to access the net with your pc? How can that be against the tos when tmobile supply the phone with a "dialup" application configured for their network that does exactly that, albiet via usb rather than wifi?

Do they? What is this app called, and how do I make it work? Everything I have read or been told says this bis not allowed in the UK.

[Guest martinbrook]

Do they? What is this app called, and how do I make it work? Everything I have read or been told says this bis not allowed in the UK.

It comes off the cd

[Guest Motoko]

So, if you get a new Pulse on Christmas Day, with a £10 top up which gives one month free text and internet

The £10 that comes already added on the phone is supposed to give you free net access for a month? I've checked my data usage on the t-mobile login and I've been charged for bits of data usage here and there in the 9p to 99p range. I've only had my Pulse since the 14th Dec so I am still well within the first month assuming the above quote is correct. Is there something else I need to do to get the 1st month free?

Can someone else confirm please?

[Guest rjm2k]

The £10 that comes already added on the phone is supposed to give you free net access for a month? I've checked my data usage on the t-mobile login and I've been charged for bits of data usage here and there in the 9p to 99p range. I've only had my Pulse since the 14th Dec so I am still well within the first month assuming the above quote is correct. Is there something else I need to do to get the 1st month free?

Can someone else confirm please?

The shop I got mine from automatically set up the £10 to give me free net access .

[Guest ianmack]

The £10 that comes already added on the phone is supposed to give you free net access for a month? I've checked my data usage on the t-mobile login and I've been charged for bits of data usage here and there in the 9p to 99p range. I've only had my Pulse since the 14th Dec so I am still well within the first month assuming the above quote is correct. Is there something else I need to do to get the 1st month free?

Can someone else confirm please?

Well it was only the guy in the T-Mobile shop, but the £10 - free texts and internet for life offer is what I was talking about.

ie Top up £10 get free texts and internet next month.

[Guest sane?]

Is there something else I need to do to get the 1st month free?

Its the next month's internet and text that's supposed to be free (eg Top up Dec> Free Jan). Discussion is how you avoid getting stung on this month's usage, before that kicks in.

And yes, making it the next month is dumb.

[Guest Motoko]

Thanks for the clarification everyone, I can now back off from the writing a "polite" email to T-Mobile ;)

My Pulse isn't my main phone yet, still got a Bold for that, and so I can live with no data access outside wifi enabled buildings (work + home) for now.

[Guest glossywhite]

;) Look guys - bottom line is that T-mobile are one gigantic SCAM. I wouldn't go on their network if THEY paid ME to, no matter how much they offered me. All the mobile networks are robbing us blind, but T-mobile are one of THE WORST, and not to be trusted. I bought my Pulse from them because that is the only place to get it, but I shall *NEVER* spend a penny on their terrible network. I once bought a WNW dongle, topped it up with £20, and it took credit off my account for the GPRS connection that was needed to connect me to their site, to activate the package, and hence my credit was debited so it was BELOW the required £20 that I needed to have to pay for the package.

S___C___A___M.

I use O2 and I pay £10 p/m for 12,000 txts to any network, and once this lovely is unlocked, I'll pay the £15 a month for the same + web. If you go with T-mobile, you need your head looking at - seriously.

[PS] Their HSDPA coverage is s*** - "Three" have the best coverage, but they're a ripoff too.

Edited December 21, 2009 by glossywhite

[Guest giryan]

<snip stupid unhelpful rant>

Any chance of posting anything relevant to those of us not interested by the axe you have to grind?

[Guest andy-andy]

I'm sure many will be getting T-Mobile connected Pulses for Christmas Day. As you know, top up the £10 and the next month Internet is free. Admittedly to a low 'fair usage', but enough for Gmail sync and AGPS etc.

I think the fair usage of 40mb per day i.e. 1.2 gb per month is the same as the other networks' fair usage policy isn't it. Plus t-mobile won't charge you if you go over, only if you go over too much all the time, will they start to limit you. Which sounds pretty good compared to Orange's 1gb limit and if you go over, you get charged.

[Guest mcleay]

I use O2 and I pay £10 p/m for 12,000 txts to any network, and once this lovely is unlocked, I'll pay the £15 a month for the same + web. If you go with T-mobile, you need your head looking at - seriously.

How is that a better deal than £10 a month for unlimited web & texts + your have £10 call credit?

As for when the free stuff kicks in, well the T&C's can be found here (http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/terms-and-c.../pay-as-you-go/). The highlights being:

"Successfully top-up £10 in a calendar month and we'll give you unlimited free texts and internet on your phone to use during the next month.... Providing you have stayed a member of the reward throughout the month we'll add your free texts and internet to your account at one minute in the morning on the first day of the next month"

So that sounds like the 1st of Jan to me.

"This reward comes with an internet fair use policy of 40MB a day.. .If you use more than your fair use policy amount, we won't charge you any more, but we may restrict how you can use internet on your phone, depending on how often you go over your amount and by how much."

I think i've used about 20MB on a hard use day but obviously one use of something like beebPlayer and you'll be up around that mark.

"We're afraid that you can only be part of one of our top-up reward offers at any time, so you won't get Little Extras when you join with this offer. If you try to opt in to another top-up reward or buy one of our 30 day Boosters, then you'll have to opt-out of this reward first."

So sounds like a 5day booster is ok but not a 30 day one. But hey only 10 days to go till free net kicks in (hopefully!)!

Edited December 21, 2009 by mcleay