T-Mobile Says Goodbye to MyFaves

myfaves

After T-Mobile introduced its new Even More plans, everyone was wondering why in the world T-Mobile had decided to get rid of their MyFaves plans which many, including myself, loved. If you aren’t already familiar with the MyFaves feature, it simply was unlimited calling to any 5 people (landline or mobile) who were labeled as your “Faves”. T-Mobile, in reply to FierceWireless, claimed that it’s “simply time to replace the feature”. T-Mobile states that they are not dropping support for customers already enrolled in the now “grandfathered” feature and will still continue to offer the MyFaves home screen on their mobile devices. Full statement from T-Mobile USA below:

Our new Even More plans, which feature options for unlimited calling, text and data service, have taken the place of our myFaves unlimited calling feature.” “We continue to offer the myFaves home screen, at no additional charge, across our broad portfolio of phones as a way for customers to easily connect with their Fave Five through voice, text and email. And customers currently subscribing to the myFaves unlimited calling feature can choose to continue to benefit from that plan.

Let’s have some thoughts from the peanut gallery. Do you guys think this was a wise decision on behalf of T-Mobile’s part? Would you rather the new Even More plans? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

FierceWireless

T-Mobile USA is quietly phasing out the use of its myFaves calling feature in the wake of the introduction of its new unlimited plans, the company said in a statement provided to FierceWireless. While it is not dropping support for customers who already use the calling feature–which allows unlimited calling to any five numbers regardless of what network they are on–the carrier said it was simply time to replace the feature.

Tags: t-mobile news

Seriously!!

ALRIGHT IM WRITING IN ALL CAPS FOR ALL OF YOU TO READ!!!!!!!! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR RATE PLANS IF YOUR GRANDFATHERED PLAN IS BETTER FOR YOU!!! T-MO WILL NTO FORCE YOU TO CHANGE YOUR RATE PLAN! I WORK AT A CORPORATE STORE, AND IF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR CURRENT PLAN, THEN JUST KEEP IT! IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN UPGRADE, THEN JUST UPGRADE YOUR PHONE, YOU WONT BE FORCED TO CHANGE YOUR PLAN IF YOU WANT TO UPGRADE YOUR PHONE! I WILL SAY THIS THOUGH, ALL THE PEOPLE I HAVE SWITCHED TO THE NEW PLANS HAVE SAVED MONEY!Also for those of you saying you have to pay $35 for the migration fee, its only if your switching to the Even More Plus plans, and if you have a discount, the migration fee is waived! so if you have AAA, you are a college student or alumni with student ID, or work for a company, check to see if you are eligible to get a discount on your rate plans from T-mo for the reasons ive listed.

AND TO ALL THOSE WHO AR SAYING THE COMPETITION IS CHEAPER, IVE HAD AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE SWTICH TO OUR SERVICE FROM AT&T IN THE PAST WEEK WITH THEIR IPHONES. A FEW OF THEM LEFT THE STORE AFTER WE DISCUSSED PLANS, AND CAME BACK A FEW HOURS LATER AFTER THEY HAD GOTTEN THEIR iPHONES JAILBROKEN. SO THE COMPETITION IS NOT REALLY CHEAPER!!!
Viper

Dear myFaves,
So sad to see you go. So many people joined the company you were birthed on, even putting up with occasionally spotty coverage in their area, simply because you existed at a cheap rate. You even helped stir the pot and cause the competition to clone your very likeness. Thank you for helping us get 750 minutes out of our 600 minute plans on those particularly talkative months. We may have had a few rough times when our significant others did not find themselves as our #1 fave, but we got through it, and you stuck by our side. We hope you find peace and comfort in all of your future endeavors as you remove T-Mobile from your own personal faves circle. You will be missed.

Love,
Viper

PS: Now you’re all mine, mwahaha. There will never be a new fling between you and anyone else. I’m pretty elated about that.
GreenTea

saving $10 month. Myfaves 300 $40 vs Unlimited $50 works for me. I really ONLY talk to 3 ppl. Most of my usage is data/txt. I turned down the unlimited Loyalty plan offer just for that very reason. MyFaves 300 is the equivalent of having unlimited talk FOR ME and at $10 cheaper than unlimited I am a happy camper. Probably will keep this plan forever, unless they force me to do otherwise. When they come out with a $40 plan just as good then ill switch. TMo can keep there $50+ Even More Plans.
rossi

@ Seriously

“I WORK AT A CORPORATE STORE”….. nuff said. I stopped reading after that. I can probably do math as well as you. Unlike you, I have no vested interest in which cell phone carrier I choose to patronize. I am only concerned about the cost and the return on my investment. Therefore, I simply evaluate the options and decide what is best in my situation. My situation involves a Family. It is absolutely no cheaper for me to stick with my current myfaves plan OR to switch to one of their Even more or Even More plus plans UNLESS I want to go to an unlimited plan. Guess what? I DON’T, but I need a few more than 1500 minutes (2k something, so tmobile decides I should pay unlimited pricing (huh?).

I know for a fact that Verizon and Sprint offer plans to cover my situation at less or identical cost compared to tmobile’s new plans. Sure, I can also keep my current plan, but I’d actually double my minutes for the same amount of money to go to Verizon (not to mention gain a MUCH more robust network, and wider phone selection). Data add ons are IDENTICAL in cost for Verizon, and MUCH cheaper to go with sprint’s everything data for family plans (which, btw, where the **** is tmobile’s reaction to this?)

I am fine with the argument that the plans are a savings for unlimited, or individuals, but I don’t need you coming in here with your CAPITAL LETTERS telling me that I am an idiot for thinking the competition is cheaper. Unlike YOU, I’ve actually looked.

Sorry man, you SERIOUSLY! need to think for yourself. Like I said before, I’m sick of tmobile employees coming in here and telling me how to do math and how to think because they’ve “seen” it while they’re working. By the way, the CSR that I spoke with told me that my current plan is a better option, so I didn’t have to rely on my math skills alone(if you doubted them) I’ve posted a direct comparison between verizon and Tmobile’s even more plus plan for MY family, and over 2 years I actually save $1000 to go with Verizon (while buying 4 new phones with verizon AND using my current tmobile phones, which further adds insult to injury) mostly due to the fact that I DON’T need an unlimited plan.
- http://Tmo CellMan
  
  Fine, we’ll see you in a few months with a win/back. Hummmm, tired of Tmo emps coming in here? This is Tmo news. If your plan is better then stay put Mr. Spock. Lose the attitude and emotion. No one is making you do anything but explaining options. If you have it all figured out more power to you. We care about our customers and try to save them money. If VZ is better for you jump. They say their the best! Thats why we sign them up everyday. Live Long and Prosper.
  - rossi
    
    Lol.
Dustin

Then T-Mobile should’ve made that clear when they started hyping up all this Project Dark/Black/Stuff. A tiny * at the bottom of the page would’ve been sufficient. Instead of having a bunch of angered myFave owners.
Chris`

Why do so many people that are obviously in love with the other providers and their so called “cheaper plans” (And I have checked too, they aren’t cheaper not even close.) still frequenting a website that stricly deals with T-Mobile. Go somewhere else, and leave it be.

The new plans are great. They were over hyped sure. However had these plans been released with little or no hype we’d be estatic. In fact i’m estatic we have them now. Whether an old plan works better for an existing customer or some of the new plans for someone who has never had t-mobile it’s all the same. If you don’t like it, stop whining and just leave already. Take your attitude with you, no rage is needed here.
Bill48105

@startBlue & @Seriously!!
What you fail to mention is you may be able to keep your MyFaves plan but then you are stuck with the # of minutes you have at the moment TMobile switched the plans.. So let’s say you are on a 400 minute Fave plan with 3 lines & now need to add 2 lines for the kids, but guess what, you are stuck with 400 minutes still because TMobile won’t let you change your plan at all and stay grandfathered in! So you are forced to either go with an ‘Even More’ (money) plan and lose your beloved MyFaves that you supposedly can keep forever or get bent over in overages.

Oh and @Seriously!!, price me out a 1500 Family plan with 5 lines where we use about 1850 total minutes but about 1000 are MyFaves or UMA calling so we have plenty then price it on an ‘Even More $’ plan and tell me if it’s better to pay a bunch more to make all the lines unlimited even though 2 of them do about 200-300 per month, 2 do about 600-700 each and the 5th is @home or if it’s better to do 1500 plan & get screwed when we go over.. For some people the new plans really suck and having people say “quit whining you can keep it forever if you want” just pisses me off.

** Quit telling people they can keep their MyFaves plans when MANY people won’t be able to because they’ll need to change their minutes at some point! **

Anyway, TMobile should have a plan between 1500 & unlimited or why not have better add-a-line options besides unlimited OR 200. Or guess what, bring unlimited myfaves & UMA back so they can be added to the new plans and we’re golden.
JBLmobileG1

What a mistake to get rid of MyFaves. It must have been a good idea because every other carrier copied it with a few tweaks here and there. I myself will keep my current plan with MyFavs because I only pay $39.99 for 1,000 w/MyFaves and unlimited N/W. Nothing comes close to it now and probably won’t for awhile unless Tmobile lowers their prices some more. Maybe Tmobile will realize MyFavs was actually a good idea and bring it back as a special or improve it for the future (unless… like I said they drop the prices again).
Seriously!!

@Rossi

wow, where did you see me call anyone any idiot! I just stated what I experienced in my store. For the most part the other carrier will not be cheaper, but in certain cisrcumstances they will either match T-mo’s prices, with something that is more suited to you, or beat T-mo’s prices! I wrote in all caps so that everyone that was stating they would be forced to change their plans to upgrade phones, would read they would not be obligated to change. I compare people’s plans all the time, and we even break it down for them on paper so they see if they are saving on the new plans and where. If they are not saving anything, then we advise them that they are better off staying on their current plan. I understand that the plans are not saving everyone money, and for some they are more expensive. I personally have criticized the plans for not covering every body’s needs. Honestly, not to be rude or anything but you came off a bit arrogant and all knowing in your post. Just because I said i worked for a corporate store, doesnt mean im gonna support everything that the company does. I will def state that i have saved quite a few people money on their plans, and that includes people that have switched from their myfaves plans!

So maybe the new plans arent for YOU, and if YOU are saving money by switching over to Big Red (VZW) then I will encourage YOU to go for it!
Nobody101

My Favs was the best thing tmobile ever did and even though the competition TRIED to copy it they just didn’t come close!!! 5 lines have to share 10 numbers? Really Verizon? T-Mobile was smart enough to get rid of Sue Jokes, now they need to smarten up and rid the company of Robert Dotson. My Favs will be missed and probably go down as a game changer in the wireless industry history books. It will be missed by many and probably cause many to jump ship.
Ritchie

We still might reach 3rd place after all after the new years…

Sprint Plans to Lay Off Thousands
Today, 3:05 PM by Eric M. Zeman

Today Sprint Nextel said that it plans to reduce its personnel expenditures by about $350 million annually. In order to accomplish this cost savings, Sprint will need to lay off between 2,000 and 2,500 employees. Sprint said that positions will be eliminated company wide and across all regions where Sprint has operations. Most of those to be laid off will see their jobs eliminated by December 31, 2009.
ok7

The new plans seem fine for solo users. The Family Plans are way too expensive.
Months ago I was very irritated to find I was not eligible for Loyalty Plan because one of my five lines is “@Home”. But, actually I pay T-mobile far less each month than I even would have on loyalty plan with MYFAVES + 1800 (five lines), and certainly far less than these new plans. I don’t understand the new anti-family T-Mobile bias…
- Firebird
  
  Actually, I have found that family plan users are the ones who are saving the most money. Individual plans usually save about $10-$15 per month, but since the new plans have come out, I have regularly saved 4-5 line family plans $35-60 off their monthly bills. In most cases when I examined their previous month’s bills for MyFaves usage, they weren’t talking enough to warrant MyFaves and if I had been advising them before Even More/Plus I would have suggested dropping MyFaves anyway. It’s too bad if it doesn’t work for you individually, but for most people it *is* saving money and the question is merely whether they want to still receive discounts for phones in the future or get the lower price on the plans every month.
bryan

I also work at a corporate store.
Overall I like the new plans,BUT getting rid of myfaves was a mistake. I understand most people will be paying less on the even more plus plans, but most is not all.
Some people would be better off with myfaves on an older plan type, or even make it an add on feature. Even if it does not save people money, it would be a positive PR move.
Lastly, these plans are not going to move tmobie up in subscriber count, the plans were already less expensive than most of the competitors. Hopefully the upgraded faster 3g network will. I would love to have an N900 running on 21Mbps HSPA. Both of those are in the works for early 2010.
rossi

@ Seriously!

haha, I thought about removing the idiot line, but I thought it might get a fun response. For the record, although you didn’t say anything too offensive a few of your colleagues have voiced their opinions and said they were getting tired of the whining (you’d think they’d get the hint rather than blaming us). You were actually fairly cordial in your original post (informing those that were worried about losing their plans etc), but I was annoyed by the use of the capitals. I’m more annoyed at tmobile than you in the first place though… I simply can not believe the hole they left in the plan line up for families. I’m also annoyed by the fact that they raised their data prices from $25 to $30, but I guess that one was bound to happen.

As far as sounding all knowing, what can I say? In my situation I AM all knowing! haha… I am a bit arrogant too ;) However, that does not mean that I am not open to discussion. In fact, I welcome a well thought out response.

Like I said, I have done the research to find the costs for my family, and I know what’s best for us. I know I am not the only one who thinks Tmobile’s project dark, dropping of myfaves, family plans, and phone selection are currently more than disappointing. However, I’m content to wait for more powerful devices to start dropping next year, and then I’ll re-evaluate the situation (until then I’ll pray that tmobile fixes the family plan mess, and brings me some snapdragon, omap 3, or Tegra love!).

I apologize if I was a bit harsh earlier, and I appreciate your follow up. Seriously.
Mega G

MyFaves was becoming a slippery slope. T-Mo has five.. then Alltel (scumbags who stole the idea from T-Mo during the development AT T-mo) said “oh we’ll offer 10″! And then AT&T has their A-List. What’s next? 20 numbers? 30?

Better to just make it so you can call whomever you want. Nuff said.
kershon

Ritchie you might just have a point. I have driven by the local Sprint store 3 times in the last week and a half. There has always been no one in the store and no cars in the parking lot. The last time 2 Sprint employees were standing outside smoking a cigarette. If this is a sign, they will be bleeding good this quarter. Maybe when their net worth drops enough DT will make an offer just for the spectrum. **smiles**
smackiesfunkies

mann i think this sucks!
i switched to even more plus only cause i was laid off
and wanted to save a bit of money hoping i could switch back to myfavs once i get another job but oh well :[

what they should do is combine myfavs with the lower even more plus plans
now that would be sweet!
kershon

I was on the family 1800 minute plan with 3 lines, one of them is hotspot@home. I have switched to the em+ unlimited plan with one line bis and am saving about $15. Not a whole lot, but more bang for my buck, so I have not missed the faves but I can see how some would benefit. Now just release my bold 9700!! Anybody in the market for a curve 8900? I will have one for sale pretty soon.
Robert

@Chris

You are an idiot. Don’t spout off that you’ve checked the competition and their prices aren’t cheaper. Sprint’s prices for a competitive plan are FAR cheaper than T-Mo’s now AND you get more services for that as well.

Of course it’s all in what you’re looking for. The new T-Mo plans might be fine for some single people that don’t need much… but they SUCK – in all caps – for families… and now T-Mo has stuck it to families again by getting rid of MyFaves… which was a BIG incentive for parents with teenagers as much as anything.

The new plans being offered are horrible and will end up driving more potential new customers to Verizon and Sprint especially with their Any Mobile, Any Time plans.

So don’t be a homer and spout off about things you know nothing about obviously.

This is a HORRIBLE move by T-Mo… horrible.
Robert

Oh… sorry… and P.S.

The layoffs by Sprint won’t affect their customers… it’s a cost saving measure so everybody sitting here thinking it’s good news for T-Mobile and saying that it will help T-Mo become #3 don’t understand a thing about business.

The only thing that will help T-Mo is to come out with decent phones – which they don’t have now – and to start getting their act together when it comes to taking care of their customers… which they are starting to massively fail at.
http://nokiaphones.ws/ sadia

Nokia phone not only offers a communication media intended for family, associates plus equals, but moreover a stand for information as well as amusement for the customer.
Ritchie

@Roberts

Ohh im sorry, i used to work for sprint and decided to leave before they closed down a site. Im sure that closing a small center with 1200 reps didnt affect the customers. Who do you think answers the calls magic? They will lay off reps as well as upper mngmt. Thye have a shity CCR service as is emagine when they lay off reps. The calls are still going to be coming in but not as many will answer and give shity sirvice. I dont say all spint reps give shity serv. but for the most part they do, you know what some reps do, they put you on hold and talk to there side buddy and chat about how much of a dosh you are acting on the phone because the cust. cant read the bill correctly and gets mad.
rossi

@Robert

Chris feels personally attacked because there are some of us that actually do shop around. Fanboyism knows no bounds. Tmobile could probably steal his first born, and he’d proclaim Robert Dotson as the second coming of christ. I’m JUST KIDDING!!!!

@ Chris,

Care to detail which plans you compared? I’m really curious to see what you come up with for a family that uses 2000 minutes on a 5 lines split evenly (that’s 400 minutes per line ;) ). If myfaves was available for the 750 and 1500 plans I wouldn’t even be asking you this question… but… well, you know…
Beastly

It seems to me the reason myFaves (and unlimited UMA calling) were removed is that the cost to add them to a rate plan would cover the cost to bump up to unlimited minutes. With that being the case, keeping faves on the table just seems gimmicky.
kevin

i’d like to say a few things regarding myfaves. yes it was ground breaking and yes it will be missed but if u have looked at the even more or even more plus options unless im mistaken they allow tmo to tmo calling so for families i dont know why u think you are getting screwed even in unlimited for all thats still a good deal mind you its not a suncom deal but then again who is lol especially if its 2 lines or better plus if u change it while your on a flexpay plan no overages. now back to the competition yeah ate me and pee (at&t) has a good idea with the a list thing but that is for people that talk all the time because u get 10 people on the a list plus your anytime minutes rollover if u dont use them some people can benefit from that. verizion is good if u have donald trump credit but sprint has a good idea call any mobile number without worrying about using minutes for teens thats the best thing since sliced bread because some people all they use is their cell phones but those of you that think the new plans suck it all depends on your useage if ur not talkative go for the 1000 minutes plus u get ur unltd nights weekends and tmo to tmo ihave a 300 myfaves on a sidekick i dont talk much the people i do talk to are all in myfaves and if i know i’m talking to someone more that month i’ll swap someone out last month i used out of my 300 i had 118 left when my month started over the other day but differnt strokes for different folks
Steve Sjoblom

I understand that those of us currently on MyFaves plans will be grandfathered, and that we won’t have to change plans, but does that include the following situation?

I’m Currently on a MyFaves family account with 4 phones, but I want to add my youngest son who’s soon to be at the age where he “needs” a phone. Since the terms of my plan allow for 5 phones, I assume that I’d be OK, but I want to make sure that T-Mo doesn’t try to say that I have to have a separate plan for the youngest kid.

Has anyone successfully added a phone to a grandfathered T-Mo family plan?

Thanks.
- Beastly
  
  Try it and let us all know whether it works!
watbetch

I’m seriously confused as to why Rossi, and bill which seem to be the same people or are trolling together are still here posting, and only on these types of blogs. GTFO! Verizon is waiting for you.
Beastly

@rossi,
If the situation you described above really describes your family, then AT&T and Verizon both have voice plans that would cover you for $140 a month, compared to $150 a month for 5 individual 500 minute plans on T-Mobile or $180 a month for a shared plan on Sprint that would cover the use. If this is your family’s situation, I am genuinely curious why you don’t just make the switch to a plan that gives you better value. If that were my family’s situation, I’d be back on Verizon in a heartbeat.

Currently, my family’s use is actually covered perfectly for $215 a month on an Even More Plus plan. My wife’s and my mother’s lines are covered by the unlimited everything for $140. My mother-in-law is covered for $30, which gives her unlimited talk and text. And my line (which I almost never talk on) gets 200 minutes plus unlimited talk and data for $35. Throw in an unlimited VoIP home line for an extra $10, and we’re getting five lines for what we used to pay to Verizon for two Blackberrys. My only regrets are that these plans weren’t available when I first signed on with T-Mobile (I hate contracts) and that I traded in a beautiful Verizon Blackberry for a Sidekick that doesn’t even deliver my texts and emails on time. Also, if I wanted to, I could add another line like my own (200 minutes plus unlimited text and data) to a fellow dataholic friend for an extra $35. I call that a pretty good deal, at least for us.

I understand that you’re disappointed by the new rate plans. There was a lot of buildup on sites like this, and it doesn’t seem like the new plans will wind up saving you any money after all. That’s a shame, and something most businesses would be grateful to hear about.

But this site really isn’t the forum for constructive criticism. (It’s perfectly suited to ranting and venting, of course.) If you have feedback to give, call 611, mention it on T-Mobile’s official fora, or get an address for Robert Dotson and write him a letter. I have no doubt that the decisionmakers at T-Mobile are more likely to monitor such feedback than they are to read the comments on sites like this.

Also, to pick a nit, the $30 data you mention only applies to people on the Even More plans who have no messaging. Most data customers (those on Even More Plus, with messaging) will actually be paying $20 a month for smartphone data.

And damn I miss my Blackberry. Can’t wait till the 9700 hits the racks…
Bill48105

@Beastly
You are correct for some people, paying $9.99 for unlimited wifi when unlimited plan is almost same price would seem silly but remember on FAMILY plans not only does the base cost additional but EACH LINE is either $35 or $40 each vs $5 or $10 so after a few lines you are paying a LOT more. Part of the problem is the gap between 1500 & unlimited but also their unlimited OR 200 minute options for extra lines. To add insult to injury they’ve done away with everything but unlimited for texting & internet. (Well aside from ripoff pay per use)
Bill48105

@Steve Sjoblom
Yes they let me add lines to my grandfathered plan BUT they won’t let you change the # of minutes & stay grandfathered so hopefully you had extra available for your son otherwise they’re make you move to Even More plan or like you said add it as separate plan which in some cases might be better or the same as being forced unlimited on More plans.
Bill48105

@watbetch
Didn’t you post that you moved to verizon? Who should gtfo? No I am not the same person as rossi, we just happen to be in the same situation odds are we are not alone because it can’t be that uncommon for people to be on family plans needing between 1500 & unlimited and not needing unlimited txt/net/calling on every line.

I’m in here while I wait for your mom to get back from the store and figure maybe someone @ TMobile will read the suggestions. 2 birds, 1 stone. If you don’t like what I write don’t read it, especially if you have nothing constructive to add because obviously you just like to argue with people rather than come up with reasonable solutions.
Rossi

@watbetch

Really, two people can’t have the same issues? Wow, smart guy, I’m sorry you’re mad that we both have the same grievance with tmobile. I honestly don’t understand why my statements offend you? I have been complaining about tmobile (on a blog post asking me to do just that). Strange.

@ beastly

thanks for your response. I’m glad that it covers your needs. That nit didn’t really need picking though, as I was comparing subsidized data plan prices.

I agree that this isn’t the place for constructive criticism, but like you said, ranting and raving on the other hand…. Haha

As far as getting the better value at verizon or sprint (which surprised me more than anyone). Two things keep me here, mainly etfs, and I want to see the phone selection in q1 2010. I’d also be lying if I didn’t tell you that the build up to project dark has nothing to do with my disappointment. I’m disappointed about the new plans, sure, but I was already counting down the days since I discovered verizon’s prices (it was a shock for me). I’ve also been considering sprint because their everything data for families with any mobile is so cheap (especially since I qualify for a 23% discount= 147 a month for 5 lines!!). However, things don’t look rosie in sprint land, and I’m not that impressed with the hero or moment…

Until then, sorry watbetch, I’ll continue to hang around here because, believe it or not, I am a tmobile subscriber.
- Beastly
  
  @rossi,
  It was surprising for me to see how certain Verizon plans stacked up as well, but then I noticed that you had left a few things out. Data on Verizon is *not* included on their Family Select plans. When they mention “included Mobile Web access” they are talking about WAP browsing for phone-first devices, NOT data for smartphones. Adding smartphone data on Verizon costs an additional $30-$45 per line. I found that out as I was going through the plan builder on their site after having selected 5 droid phones. So comparing the Family Select pricing with T-Mobile’s voice+text+data is misleading unless you count in the extra data cost.
  
  If, on the other hand, you don’t need data, and will only be using voice as in the scenario you described above (exactly 400 minutes on 5 lines, and no other use) then Verizon has a better deal for you than T-Mobile. If your lines are like to (A)use smartphones and (B)use messaging, then I expect you’ll find T-Mobile’s plans are still cheaper. Also, Verizon plans seem to nickel-and-dime for a lot of services that T-Mobile doesn’t charge for, like visual voicemail and push email.
  
  On top of that, if you have a smartphone on Verizon, you are required to purchase a data feature for that line. T-Mobile seems to have toyed with that idea as well, but has since abandoned it. Here’s how a Verizon rep explained it to me: If you activate a Blackberry on Verizon, there is no way for them to prevent you from accessing data features. If you don’t have a data plan, you wind up paying data overage charges for all that use, and that gets very pricey very fast. Customers were winding up with hundreds of dollars in charges all because their nephew decided to pick up their Blackberry and surf the web. T-Mobile, on the other hand, seems to be able to activate phone use and data use separately, so they don’t much care whether you’ve got your SIM card in a Blackberry or a Nokia 2760. Pay for data if you want it, or don’t if you don’t. So a textaholic who doesn’t need data services can get a Blackberry and use it as a phone and full-QWERTY texting device if they want to, and not have to pay an extra $30 for the privilege.
  
  At any rate, you and Bill have pointed out that a certain group of customers is actually paying more for voice use than they would pay on a comparable Verizon or AT&T plan. So someone is overvaluing their unlimited plans. Take a look at the price jumps here:
  
  To go from a 5-line, 1400 minute plan to an unlimited plan on Verizon costs an extra $380. (From $120 to $500, based on Verizon’s Basic plan.)
  To go from a 5-line , 1500 minute plan to an unlimited plan on T-Mobile costs an extra $95. (From $75 to $170 on T-Mobile’s Even More Plus.)
  
  That’s an extra 315% on Verizon, compared to 125% on T-Mobile. Either Verizon’s customers are getting more use out of their unlimited plans than are T-Mobile’s customers, or someone is over- or undercharging to switch to unlimited. Hard to say which.
  
  The question is whether it’s worth an extra $10 per line to never have to count minutes. For someone like Bill who crunches numbers and seems to be able to keep all his family members’ phone use consistent from month to month, it looks like the new plans are not a win for him. I didn’t realize that $10 used to cover unlimited UMA calling for all lines on a family plan. I can understand why he’s disappointed.
  
  I think that one of the big things T-Mobile was trying to accomplish with these plans is simplicity. UMA and MyFaves and adding unlimited weekends to basic plans and selecting the best combination of text messaging bundles for a given account… All that stuff is great if you’re Bill and don’t mind making a spreadsheet to determine which plans and features best suit your family’s use. But most people don’t want to be bothered. They want to get a cool phone and sign up for a plan that will cover them. They don’t want surprises on their bills, and they like to avoid contracts and ETFs. Perhaps T-Mobile should have left their old plans in place, and just rolled out the Even More Plus as a new option. Or rolled out unlimited EM+ plans, and then given a second option for those who want to pay-by-use- maybe a flat per-byte charge for voice, data, and messaging? I believe Bill suggested something like this earlier. That way, everyone wins. People like Bill and Rossi still get the options they like, and those who can’t be bothered to compare pricing on spreadsheets can just sign up for EM+ unlimited, and not worry about contracts or overages. Maybe I’ll suggest something like that next time I talk to someone at T-Mobile.
  - rossi
    
    Actually, I have posted the exact details of the plans I was looking at previously. You can also take off an additional 15% percent of the verizon plan in my situation because of a corporate discount (yes that puts the service charge at $3467.80 for two years). Go ahead and add those data packages. It’s not going to change much. Especially when you consider the fact that you can’t use corporate discounts on the tmobile plans…
    
    *Verizon: 4 lines 1400 minutes, unlimited text, 10 unlimited numbers, 1 line droid data = 169.99 monthly + fees, Equipment= 1 droid + 3 LG enV Touch (what is tmobile’s comparable phone selection?) = 499.99 + Tax (no activation fees, yes, I actually looked)
    
    2 years= $169.99 x 24 = 4079.76 + 499.99 = 4579.75 + tax & fees (4 brand new phones)
    
    *Tmobile: 4 lines Even More PLUS Unlimited talk + text, one line unlimited smartphone data = 184.00 monthly + fees. I’ll even use my family’s current phones, but I would have to pay $105 migration fee (140 activation fees if I was a new costumer)
    
    2 years= $184.00 x 24 = 4416 + 105 = 4521 + tax & fees, and I would be using old phones! Even if I bought 4 of the above phones for $80 on ebay it’s only adding insult to injury!
    
    Obviously it depends on your usage, but that is my point, I don’t have an option that fits my usage for a comparable price.
    
    “Perhaps T-Mobile should have left their old plans in place, and just rolled out the Even More Plus as a new option.”
    
    Now you’re on to something.
    - Anonymous
      
      @rossi,
      I actually took the time to research the plans you mention for myself, and you are off in your comparison again. I went through Verizon’s price builder to duplicate what you mentioned, and here’s what I came up with:
      
      1400 minute Family Select plan for four lines: $140 monthly ($3360 over 2 years)
      Data for Droid: $30 monthly ($720 over 2 years)
      Data for the 3 LG phones (required): $30 monthly ($720 over 2 years) (This data caps at 25MB, and the cost goes up to $20 a month if you want 75MB.)
      Money down for Droid: $200
      Activation fees for all lines: ($35+$25+$25+$25) = $110
      
      Verizon total over 2 years: $5110 over two years
      
      Compare to T-Mobile’s EM+ plan:
      Unlimited talk and text for four lines: $160 per month ($3840 over two years)
      Data for one line: $25 per month ($600 over two years)
      Activation fee: $70 (you only pay an activation fee for the first two lines on a family plan)
      
      Total for the T-Mobile Even More Plus plan: $4510 over two years, which is $600 cheaper than the Verizon option. That’s $600 that you can put towards phones for the line, plus you never have to count minutes, for what that’s worth.
      
      Both plans cover your minute and text use, and both plans get you unlimited messaging. The Verizon plans don’t cover push email, which doesn’t sound like it’s an issue for you. It also doesn’t sound like you need any data for the three non-smartphones, so both plans get you the data you need on one phone. If the unlimited minutes don’t benefit you at all, you don’t mind being locked into a contract, you’re really attached to the Droid rather than, say, the Touch Pro 2, and you’d rather get new LG phones than use existing phones on the other 3 lines, then I suppose the Verizon plan is slightly better value for you. Plus, Verizon’s network is much more extensive in North America, although you won’t be able to use your phones on other continents the way you could with T-Mobile’s GSM phones.
      
      As you said, it’s all about what works best for your family. For what it’s worth, I’ve had both Verizon and T-Mobile service, and while coverage has never been an issue for me on either network, I have noticed more problems with my Sidekick than I ever had with my Verizon Blackberry. That may just be a device problem. Customer service with both carriers has always been top-notch in my experience.
      
      Keep us posted on what you decide to do with your family’s plans, but don’t write off T-Mobile just because the new plans are a disappointment compared to your old plans. I don’t think they were trying to injure *or* insult you with them, in any case. :)
  - Bill48105
    
    Thanks for seeing it from another perspective. :)
    
    Assuming your calculations are valid this says it all:
    “To go from a 5-line , 1500 minute plan to an unlimited plan on T-Mobile costs an extra $95. (From $75 to $170 on T-Mobile’s Even More Plus.)”
    
    So for a family with 5 lines who uses just over 1500 minutes they are forced to pay $95 more (which is over double the $75 for 1500 plan). Gaping hole I say.
    
    And yes, unlimited wifi calling was $9.99/month for ALL lines on ANY wireless router ANYWHERE. Think about that for a second & you’ll see why it was such a value. Aside from the shortened battery life & sad selection of phones that feature ROCKED because I have wifi available almost everywhere I go so essentially unlimited calling for everyone except when driving.
    
    I hear you on simplicity & I agree options can make things difficult BUT you can’t tell me the new plans are simpler.. I mean different prices for different options depending if Plus or not (add a line fees, unlimited or not, 200 or not, uggh) and different options available (like no text add-on available on Plus since it is part of a Plus plan and no data besides per-use unless you have texting) is crazy confusing. Try calling up a rep & price compare between Even More & Even More Plus with some different scenarios & you’ll see how confused they get. Besides, add-ons are optional and people don’t even need to know about them if they don’t want to. I think that is the beauty of them since they let people customize their plan to their needs if they want. But I don’t think they cut stuff because they thought it was confusing, they were so high on themselves that they thought the new plans were so great & best thing since sliced bread that people would be drooling & fighting to sign up but they failed to think out all the scenarios. Again we’re back to options. That is why clothes & shoes come in different sizes and colors even though it’d be simpler to just sell “one size fits all” in blue. LOL
Rocko

I’m realizing I’m extremely confused here.

T-mo had a calling-circle plan before Alltel? I really had no idea. I’ve been with T-mo since 2005 and I never noticed, never saw the option, never was offered the option. I genuinely thought it was something Altel started!

But I’m thinking I’m even more confused… myFaves is just 5 numbers you can call for free, right? Regardless of what carrier they’re on? So I’m confused by statements like,

“I’m Currently on a MyFaves family account with 4 phones…”

If your family is all on T-mo, wouldn’t it be better to have mobile-to-mobile over a myFaves plan? I never felt the need to use anything outside of mobile-to-mobile because everyone I *regularly* call is on T-mo. I understand if you’re a T-mo user and the people you call the most are on another carrier… but then I would hope you’re saving yourself some $$$ and dropping mobile-to-mobile?

Really, besides being confused… I really think a lot of us pay for these extra features and don’t need them. Yes, I know there are some chatty mofo’s out there who know 1,000 people and talk to all 1,000 every week and NEEDS nights/wknds, myFaves AND Mobile-to-Mobile… but at this point most of you should be on unlimited plan anyway. I’m wondering how many people paid for all of the above and didn’t think that they might not need it. For me, I even got to the point where I realized I could drop mobile-tomobile and all I had was my minutes + nights/wknds.

Again, it’s all dependent on an individual’s situation, all I’m saying is whatever carrier you’re on, please really do some analysis on your calling habits before shelling out extra money each month for nothing. I say good for T-mo for getting rid of it… while I know they probably didn’t think of this, it helps save customers money on extra junk they may have opted into without really thinking about it.
- Bill48105
  
  I agree with much of what you said Rocko, it really does boil down to each person’s circumstances and many people don’t pay much attention to what they have or what is available let alone be like me & make a spreadsheet to compare side by side every combination of every cell company’s plans to see which deals work best for US. Doing that pointed out big gaps (like families with 4-5 lines who talk more than 1500 minutes total, where they had many of those go to MyFaves, UMA & m2m calling) and are forced to either pay overages or pay a LOT more for unlimited on all the lines. Some people’s circumstances are super rare & some are super common. THAT is where the add-on’s come in.. They let people customize the plans to suit their needs which is a huge help. For someone like me who calls no one on TMobile, m2m doesn’t really help besides calling the other lines on our family plan but we don’t talk to each other much, just a quick call here & there & definitely not the ‘top 5′ people we call each month minute-wise so it’d be silly to have each other in our Fave5, because it’s included in our m2m & also since minutes are so low to each other. For most people, most calls are to a select few people and TMobile hoped you’d waste your Faves on people who would have been free anyway, like your family or other m2m people. In the end I think TMobile did away with Faves partly because it was being abused with google voice & such but also they knew they were being VERY generous with minutes on the new plans (or outright unlimited) and they figured the minutes most people lost from losing myfaves & unlimited wifi calling would be made up with extra anytime minutes. Seriously, most of the plans are very generous minute-wise and feature-wise for many people & if I fit into those groups I’d be jumping for joy but unfortunately I am in one of the groups left out, fallen into the gaping holes left by them eliminating MyFaves & unlimited wifi. Along the same lines of your suggestion to check plans, TMobile has burnt many people like myself who are light texters because you are forced to go unlimited or get ripped off with high pay-per-use fees. (No need to tell me for the 1000th time I can keep my plan, that is not the point since MANY people who are grandfathered in will likely need more or less anytime minutes at some point & be forced to change..) I’ve stated numerous times in these posts what my circumstances are & what I think TMobile could do to help those of us in those situations so no need to repeat for a 100th time but hopefully TMobile wakes up & does a little tweaking to expand the scope of the new plans. Oh and expand coverage & get us some new phones ASAP! Had to throw those in again. :D
Bob

*sigh* I am very sad about this. Our BASE PLAN is the myFaves for Families 1800, for $89.99. We’re at the point where we need to add more minutes because the three of us are talking on the phones to non T-Mobile subscribers a lot more in addition to lots of minutes used to myFaves people. I was told that our only choices are the Get More plans. Since there are only a few, and the middle plan has FEWER minutes, our only option is the $99.99/mo Unlimited. Ah, but the additional lines are $40/mo for unlimited. That, plus the MyTouch Data package that’s required and unlimited messaging brings us to over $220/mo before taxes. :( That’s not really the direction that we wanted to go. We don’t want to add money to our phone bill every month.
- Bill48105
  
  Welcome to the rossi & Bill club Bob! (Wait watbetch thinks we’re the same person so now the 3 of us are 1 person. lol) It’s easy for people to criticize us for complaining when they can’t take a second to think about our situation. All it takes is to sit down & price it out to see there is a huge gaping hole between 1500 & unlimited that grows with the more lines you add. And don’t get me started again on required unlimited data plans by cell carriers! lol
- Scott
  
  Why don’t you look at the Even More Plus? $139 for 2 phones unlimited + at the most $55.00/month for your third line unlimited everything. Could be less depending on smart phone or not.
Bob

Oh, besides… it looks like Google has happily jumped in bed with Verizon. DROID and ERIS are already getting OTA software updates, while we still have no word on when we’ll be getting Android 2.0….an update that is obviously finished and shipping already.
- Beastly
  
  Software updates have a way of jacking up Android phones. Based on what I’ve seen on my wife’s G1, many of the apps written for earlier versions of the Android OS don’t work on later versions, and if your phone is already running an earlier version with those apps, it makes for a big mess when your phone gets the update. My guess is that this is why T-Mobile is biding their time with Eclair. Also, I would guess that the Droid and the Eris will likely find that a lot of market apps haven’t been modified to work on 2.0 yet, which is probably somewhat frustrating. Until these issues get smoothed out, I wouldn’t get too envious of Verizon’s android phones. If you follow the fora on Android sites, you’ll probably see some discussion of this.
  
  It may be that Google and Verizon have planned for this, and the problems may be minimal. Or they might cause a lot of headaches for a lot of people. Stay tuned to the Android sites; they should keep you posted.
mnDave

I think it’s wrong to say that Google jumped in bed with Verizon. Verizon paid the cash so they get the service. And T-Mobile didn’t so they got the Cliq. You get what you pay for, Verizon just paid more so they get more.
Mark

I didn’t use my Faves so I will not miss it, but I can see how others really benefited from it.
watbetch

No, the same issue is not it ( and t-mobile is cheaper/offers darling, even if it’s by 1 penny ).

You bitch, moan and complain over the same crap on multiple posts. I don’t understand why you’re still sticking around on a T-MOBILE blog, shouldn’t a Verizon or Sprint blog be more suiting?
- rossi
  
  Apparently you didn’t read what we said before… “and t-mobile is cheaper/offers darling, even it’s by 1 penny,” umm…what?
  
  Did you not read the part where I said I AM a TMOBILE subscriber, offering my thoughts on a blog post asking ME to do just that?
  
  “Let’s have some thoughts from the peanut gallery. Do you guys think this was a wise decision on behalf of T-Mobile’s part? Would you rather the new Even More plans? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!”
  
  YEP, seems like I found the right place.
  
  Poor Watbetch.
  - watbetch
    
    Again, You've already said T-Mobile is not for you, nor are the new plans. Too costly, not enough coverage yet you're still sticking around here. I don't care what it asked you, why are you still here if they are NOT going to be your carrier?! Can you grasp that? Apparently you think they'll fix the plans for you or something?
    - rossi
      
      Lol,poor watbetch.
nr552

I use to have MyFaves Family plan 1800 minutes $89.99, unlimited txt familys $9.99, 2 Android Data plans $24.99 x 2, and 2 additional lines of service $9.99 x 2 = total bill $169.94 – 10% work discount = $152.95 + taxes/fees/bs

I used myfaves about 650 min a month, about 450 peak minutes, 250 nights, 300 mobile to mobile and roughly 175-200 weekend. ~ 1850 a month (I used GoogleVoice on myfaves

My wife used approx 60 myfaves (couldn’t ever get the right numbers in there that she used the most), 1200 peak minutes, 350 nights, 550 mobile to mobile and approx 300 weekend. ~ 2400 minutes a month

Son’s line– approx 45 minute a month total

Backup line– approx 10-15 minutes a month total

Switched to Unlimited More Plus – no contract.
Cost me $35 x 2 lines to switch over ($70)
Cost $139.99 for unlimited everything for my wife and myself.
Added line for my son for $9.99 month, 200 minutes, NO DATA, unlimited nights/weekends/mobile to mobile and unlimited txt
Added line for spare for $9.99 month, 200 minutes, NO DATA, unlimited nights/weekends/mobile to mobile and unlimited txt

Net cost = $159.97 – 10% work discount = $143.97 month + taxes/fees/bs

Saves me approx $8.98 a month overall.

No issues with overages on me or my wife’s part, fits my son’s useage. I COULD add family allowances, and lock down the spare # to only allow calling to our numbers/911, and or cap useage but it won’t be an issue.

I upgraded right before the Get More plans came out, so got a Mytouch3G for $149.99— which freed up my G1, which I gave to my son to use (much easier to txt with than a W9). I have it up and running with no data plan, on his own email (which is locked down and doesn’t work because I do not have a data plan, which is fine)… so he can TXT (no picture messages), and send/receive calls. Haven’t tried setting him up on our wifi @ home to get email or android market. I went to TMO store and confirmed he doesn’t have data, and since the phone works as is– I won’t have to deal with additional chargers ($25 a month for data for him isn’t worth it). He’s 8 years old!

Anyway, if you don’t like the current plans– stick with what you have– any give TMO a few months to shake out these current plans, as they will again change/update– people tend to forget that they do offer specials on plans from time to time.
- Bill48105
  
  That is very cool you got one of the new plans to work out for you. Sounds like you’ll be golden as long as your son doesn’t get chatty then the overage minutes will kill you. And you pointed out a big flaw in TMobiles current plans: They force you to go unlimited data or nothing, and you chose nothing so they lose out on the $10/m you would have likely paid to have SOME data if they had a non-unlimited add-on or didn’t charge a premium for ‘smartphones’.
  Ps. Keep in mind the discount only applies to add-ons with Plus plans so your monthly amount will be a bit more than you’re expecting.
  - nr552
    
    I was told my corp discount applies to my rateplane + the add ons like it did before, if not, I’ll complain and see where that gets me ;^)
  - Bill48105
    
    @nr552
    Good luck with that. :D Unless they changed it recently corp discounts cannot be applied to monthly base on Plus plans but you can get the $35/line waived (they offered me that with AAA) and apply discount on add-on’s like text data IF they are not part of the monthly base.
- rossi
  
  This is another situation I don’t understand. Sure you save $8.98 a month, while losing 4 subsidies. I guess if you need the no contract option it makes sense. However, for a savings of $216 over the course of your contract you gave up nearly 4 times that in subsidies. I guess if you were having overages previously, or you prefer to buy phones elsewhere it might work out to your benefit. You also benefited by taking advantage of the pre-project dark subsidy and switch method for now. What about when you decide to get another new phone? Let’s say all 4 lines are upgraded, average cost for the higher end phones on tmobile with a subsidy is $200 x 4 = $800 plus the extra $216 you would have saved if you were on the PLUS plan= $1016.
  
  Now since you are on the PLUS plan 4 x $399 (rough prices of the current smartphone line up) = $ $1600 – $200 (savings of being on the plus plan) = $1400.
  
  Of course if you only buy two smartphones, and two dumbphones you might break about even. Again, it all depends on your usage. It doesn’t really seem like you changed much (and may have actually lost) unless you had overages before…
  - rossi
    
    **** btw, it’s a savings of $216 over two years, not the life of your contract. oops.
Ritchie

Ok people just because theres a fam of 4 lines doesnt mean all of there friends and acqt have the same carrie. We are in 4th place not 1st. I have 3 lines in my acct and mobile to moblie wont work bc we dont call each other all the time, why? because we are a family that lives together. Fine work and school gues what you rally cant be on the phone at work or school depending on the issue. As for me most people have cricket comm, pocket comm, then it goes sprint, verizon and att. few people that we know have TMO. So my favs really helped us out. I love what sprint did, they forsaw the Project Dark and added Mobile to any mobile carrier to there plans without changing the price of there plans they just threw it in as a freebie
- Bill48105
  
  I agree, our family is the same. We see each other in person so much why would we sit on the phone for hours talking enough to warrant putting them in our Faves vs putting family or friends not on tmobile in there instead.
  
  I wonder how Sprint knows a call is to/from cell or landline since number portability.. Do they contact each carrier & get a list? Is there some secret notification going on in the background that tells them the line type? Anyway, I think the Sprint any cell thing is cool but it seems a desperate move as they are gasping for air to survive and many will say the same thing with TMobiles Even More plans. My hope is that at some point the cell companies won’t differentiate voice from text from data & just charge for DATA since the others can all go down that same pipe and either be metered by MB/GB or of course unlimited but it should be clear by now where I stand on that. ;)
doofus

Absolute idiocy, my faves is a great feature and the even more plans would be great if they had them. See the simple fact is there are many people with a 39.99 plan using 2000 my faves would now have to get a 59.99 unlim, which is tmob plan, unfortunately those customer will most likely just decide to do metropcs or cricket for 39.99 unlim now.
Robert

T-Mo is basically trying to force people to unlimited plans but they are not offering cheap prices when they do, especially for families or those that need data plans.

I am currently spending just over $150 a month on my 1500 minute MyFaves family plan… but I am the only one that has an Android phone and a data plan.

My wife and 2 kids (now 16 and 17) have been screaming they want a data plan so… if I went to the Even More plans and went 1500 minutes then I’d be spending around $180… but losing the MyFaves which makes no sense since my kids talk about 2000 minutes a month on their phones using MyFaves.

If I went to the Unlimited plan (which is what T-Mo wants me to do)… then I’d be at $250 per month.

A comparable Sprint plan (not unlimited but Any Mobile, Any Time – which would virtually accomplish the same thing)… would cost me $180 per month… and that would include all the other services such as TV, Sprint, NFL… that T-Mo doesn’t offer.

1400 minutes on Verizon for 4 lines with data and messaging would run me around $220 and 2100 minutes is about $250 per month… and that’s with the 10 friends and family lines included.

So there is proof that T-Mobile isn’t saving families money at all.. no matter how you slice it.

They are going to lose their asses over this. Mark it down.
- Beastly
  
  Um, before you mark those prices down as final, go through the entire plan building process on Sprint’s and Verizon’s sites with the types of phones you’ll be using. All the carriers right now are charging differently for phonefirst data vs. smartphone data, so the prices you’re seeing may not reflect actual use for your family.
  
  I do kind of agree with Bill, but the fact is that however a carrier sets up their plans, someone will be left out in the cold. I like the idea of a per-byte charge vs. a flat unlimited-use charge. If T-Mobile did that, they could simplify their rate plan lineup to only four plans: Unlimited Talk, Unlimited Text Add-On, Unlimited Data Add-On, and a simple Pay-Per-Byte plan for light users. Overage charges on *any* carrier are a little on the outrageous side. Props to T-Mobile in any case, because if they hadn’t rolled out these plans, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion.
  
  I am still happy about the lack of contracts and subsidies on the Even More+ plans. I think this is a clearer and fairer way to handle things, but it does create some confusion when rates are compared to other carriers’ rates.
  
  Finally, can someone explain to me why everyone seems to charge differently for data use on phonefirst vs. smartphone devices? Is it a different type of data they’re selling, or are smartphone users just expected to use more data per month? I’m not really clear on why web on a Samsung Highlight is only $10 a month, compared to $25 on a Blackberry 8900. From what I could tell when I played with the phones, the internet connection is more or less the same, except that the Highlight connects at 3G speeds…
  - Bill48105
    
    I agree it is ridiculous they charge a different rate based on phone type. They claim it is because they’ll use more data but HELLO first of all UNLIMITED should be UNLIMITED no matter if you are using a mytouch or an iphone or a basic Nokia. It just shows how much of a ripoff the cell companies really are, or at least the games they play to try & maximize profits in a sly way. I am all for companies making money, they have to or they wouldn’t exist but please do it honestly & not by raping customers with $0.30 per text rates or $0.40/min for overages or forcing people to go ‘unlimited’ then put in the fine print they ARE in fact limited. Anyway, back to the phone thing, it is a crazy assumption that just because someone has a certain phone they will definitely use more data than someone else with a different phone. Granted there are some exceptions like BIS/BES use, tv streaming, video calling, etc but in the end it shouldn’t matter WHAT data you are transmitting because unlimited should be unlimited if that is what they claim to be selling no matter what phone you use. Otherwise go back to metered which is the most fair way of billing assuming their per unit rates are reasonable.
  - Robert
    
    The Sprint ‘Any Mobile, Any Time’ plan does include unlimited data and messaging… so it doesn’t matter what phone you’re using.
    
    And as I explained that is Verizon’s data and messaging plan as well… which isn’t any cheaper than T-Mo @ $250 per month for 2100 minutes for 4 lines (which is what it would cost me for unlimited with T-Mo – $180 for 1500 minutes – but it would include 10 calls to any number AND their network and other services. So that’s not really saving money with Verizon but it would be better than spending $180 for 1500 minutes and NO MyFaves.
    
    Some people here have never priced the competition it appears and just believe T-Mo when they say they are the cheapest… which in reality for the ‘bigger’ plans and especially when it comes to high end phones and data plans they have not been for the past year or so.
- Bill48105
  
  Welcome to the club Robert. Hopefully if enough of us bitch & complain TMobile will wake you. Your situation is yet another example of how big a failure TMobile’s current plans are for families in similar situations. Do like I do & call TMo customer service every day complaining & see if at some point they get the hint.
Beastly

@Bill,
I’m intrigued by your ideas, and I’m wondering what you’d think of a hypothetical Even More 2.0, where all phones are charged a per-byte charge with 3 simple add-ons: one that covers unlimited calling, another that covers unlimited messaging, and a third that covers unlimited data. Say, $10 a month for basic service (an active phone) $40 for unlimited voice, $10 for unlimited messaging, and $20 for unlimited data. That would make it more or less comparable to the current EM+ plans, with a simple $.0025 per byte on top of that for any overages. They could also add optional free features to set usage caps. Would that cover everyone nicely? Maybe also a 10% discount on each line after the first instead of family plan rates?
- Bill48105
  
  Hmm, definitely interesting but as I’ve said numerous times I don’t like unlimited at any price really. I think it’s unfair in general & is asking to be abused. What I had in mind was a say a $10/line charge for connectivity then in its simplest form a low cost per KB for any data that your phone transmits or receives, be it a voip call (as in TMobile or whoever proving the call like @Home or vonage) or email or text or whatever. As mentioned in here before supposedly it is a real hassle for them to track by the byte & bill (although I’m not sure I agree since if you log in you see it broken down that way anyway) so maybe it’d need to be simplified a bit & done in chunks of data maybe like $5 per GB or whatever made sense. I guess the idea is that since the cell companies are pushing data so hard there seems to be no real reason why the calling part & texting part couldn’t go down the same data channel and billed all as data vs voice+text+data separately. It annoys the piss out of me that I have to pay $20 for unlimited text OR $0.30 each when I already pay for unlimited data. And you know the cell companies are scared of things like voip calling over their data networks, losing out on the voice piece of the pie so why not go 100% data & be done with it. ;)
  - Anonymous
    
    I may just be wasting my time, but this seems like a really intriguing idea to me. Pay-by-the-byte (or -gig or whatever) would have to be based on T-Mobile’s cost to provide the services. Right now, it seems like they’re willing to provide the following, so these prices must be somewhat reasonable:
    -unlimited voice for as little as $34 per line
    -unlimited messaging (including text, multimedia, IM, and push email) for as little as $4 per line
    -unlimited data for as little as $10 per line (or $20 per line for smartphones on certain plans)
    
    Also, voice is the only type of service where they are actually giving incentives to people for using fewer minutes.
    
    This makes me think that providing messaging services for their customers is cheaper than providing data, and providing data is cheaper than providing voice. There could be other reasons for these price structures, but since I’m not privy to their corporate cost analyses, that’s the best I can do.
    
    I like your idea of a basic monthly connectivity charge (to maintain the phone account and number and voicemail and whatnot) with the option to either pay by use or pay a flat fee for unlimited use. Honestly, doing away with tiered bundled services appeals to me, aesthetically. (It’s inelegant to ask people to choose to pay $5 a month for 300, or $10 a month for 1000, which, again, leaves the people who send about 350 messages a month in a lousy position, relatively speaking.)
    
    I also think the unlimited plans should be reasonably priced so that even people who don’t use their phones 24/7 can still get the benefit of not having to track use by paying a flat, prearranged rate for service every month, without getting skewered in price, compared to pay-by-the-byte use. What we were expecting before ($50 all-you-can-eat) was probably unrealistic for a nationwide carrier, and I think the current unlimited plans are priced pretty fairly. Personally, I am a fan of unlimited plans because they give most people the benefit of knowing exactly what their cell phone bill will be, regardless of how long they spend on the phone. I understand your objection about them being unfair, which they may be if they are the only option, but a lot of people are willing to pay for them because they don’t like to get nervous every time they’re on the phone that they may “go over their minutes.”
    
    I extrapolated the following price structure from the Even More Plus family rates, previous messaging rates, and a conservative assumption about data use:
    
    $20 connectivity for the first line on an account, $10 for each additional line. (This provides basic cell capability, an active account, voicemail, etc. It also provides free nights, weekends, and mobile-to-mobile. I am assuming that these types of calls are cheaper for cell phone providers to provide, since all the major carriers like to give these calls away for free. Perhaps VoIP/UMA calls should be included here as well.)
    
    $0.02 per minute of talk time
    $20 per line for unlimited calling
    
    $0.01 per message sent or received
    $5 per line for unlimited messaging
    
    $0.005 per KB of data use
    $20 per line for unlimited data
    
    In order to calculate a per-byte cost, I’d have to know how many bytes were used in a minute of phone conversation, or to send a text, multimedia, or instant message. If we could find that out, we could refine this price structure. I think this would be a great way of keeping the plans simple, while still allowing people to customize them as needed. The icing on the customization cake would be an online way of managing use caps on all the lines on the account (family allowances style.) This would allow customers to mix and match lines on their account, get decent value, and still pay fair prices.
    
    Profitability, simplicity, and customizability. If you like this idea, let me know, and I’ll consider sending a letter to the address on the website: http://www.t-mobile.com/Contact.aspx?WT.z_unav=ftr__contact. Does it need tweaking or improving in some way?
    
    Darn, I realize this is a thread about myfaves, but honestly things like faves and calling circles always seemed a little gimmicky to me. I like the simplicity of knowing what I’m paying for, and paying fair prices for fair use.
Legaci

T-Mobile is WRONG for taking away the MyFav's feature! Loved it! I'm not switching to the New plans at all cause overall it's more expensive! Look at Att they even brought out a 10 ppls to call! TMO you gotta bring it back for reals or you gonna lose a long time customer ME!!!
yor PAPPI

TMO u never seem to amaze me with yor new plans new this and that. Listen to your consumer all these people are TMO suscribers why not listen for once.Well let me tell you and ive said it b4 that ur gonna lose alot trust.Myself iam alredy looking @ other carriers ,once there gone there gone 4 EVER. So try to remember that and not feed these loyal customers BULLSHIT
Stan

They should let me build my own plan instead of trying to fit me into some one size fits all plan.

I need free weekends, 325 minutes and 3 faves. Give me a price for that and now we are talking.
Will miss Hotspot@home/Talk Forever Mobile

The thing I’ll miss most? Not being able to go to any country, use any open or password protected wi-fi and call back home for free (with unlimited UMA).

I will stay with my current plan (4 lines with unlimited UMA, myFaves, 700 min, nights and weekends, and mobile to mobile for $100). It is awesome.

Good luck with the new plans T-Mobile.
Nanna

For goodness sakes. I’ve been a customer care rep with t-mobile for 10 years (back even when it was voicestream). We are NOT going to make you loose your My Faves. If it works for you, KEEP it. Our job is to fit you with the right plan. If it’s to stay where you are, then for heaven’s sake – don’t change. I love my customers. I always try to find the right fit. Maybe that’s why I’m still working for this company.
- Bill48105
  
  Nanna that is great & all (congrats on such a long tenure @ TMo btw) but I am sick & tired of people (Tmo reps or just people in general) telling people to keep what they got if it works because for some reason it’s not sinking into some people’s heads that perhaps the current plan works & being grandfathered in is great (and definitely the right thing for TMo to do) but the truth is life happens & things change & often people need to adjust their plan details. What you fail to mention along with many people making the declaration “JUST KEEP WHAT YOU GOT” is that depending on the circumstances we might not be able to keep the features we want (or NEED) like unlimited MyFaves & unlimited UMA WiFi calling depending on what changes we need to make. Perhaps TMo woke up & is allowing people like myself grandfathered into a MyFaves account now change to another MyFaves account with more minutes to accommodate new family members being added or increased usage even though I was told but 10+ reps it was impossible & that I would be required to LOSE MyFaves & wifi calling add-ons (they would still work but count towards minutes unless I went with an unlimited plan) if I wanted to increase from 750 minutes to 1500 minutes. THAT is not good business. The FAIR thing for TMo to have done would be to allow existing customers to freely switch between the old plans as needed or better yet keep those features available as add-ons to the new plans, perhaps even ‘secret’ just for existing customers if the higher-ups trembled at the idea of giving customers that freedom but the truth of the matter is people like yourself need to quit telling people like myself we can keep this or keep that when it may not be true depending on out circumstances. If you truly want to help out TMo customers you’ll pass this on to whoever needs to hear it to make the right decisions there. And while you’re at it please tell them to renew roaming agreements that got dropped where there are now dead zones! A cell phone is worthless without coverage. Also, bring back some non unlimited data/text addons or get reasonable per-use rates. Continue the 3G expansion but please don’t forget those of us with NO coverage in some areas or stuck on GPRS while getting ripped off paying full price compared to someone else who gets to enjoy 3G. Please add another tier between 1500 & unlimited or fix the foobar of a mess of add-on lines on family plans being either expensive or only 200 minutes. More exclusive phones that make us drool would be wonderful & why not put UMA on most of them.. Many may say I’m asking for too much but I also think many would agree that much of what I say is common sense if you truly want to be a successful wireless carrier and compete with the other big 3.
  /endless rant off :D
  - rossi
    
    Things do change. Anyone ever heard of Churn rate? Go get ‘em tmo, you went from the cheapest plans to the cheapest plans if you’re an individual or if you are a family who wants unlimited (screw the middle-of-the-road family users, right?). Sad really.
    
    Watbetch, don’t worry if things don’t change in the next 6 months I might still come back and stir the pot a little bit for you when/if I change carriers at that time.
    
    Bill, you know I agree with you.
  - Bill48105
    
    Oh rossi, my long lost conjoined twin separated shortly after birth. Perhaps we should stop agreeing with each other or we’ll be accused of being one person. hehe
http://LiddellGraphics.com Tyrell

I believe t-mobile stop myfavs because of Google Voice!! if you have Google voice as I do then you already have unlimited whenever minutes when you make your Google Voice # a MyFav!! Its awesome I am just MAD I Did not change my plan to the lowest Myfav plan when I had the chance. so the new plan is not great, just a cover up!
- Bill48105
  
  Well I’d agree it’s possible TMo dropped unlimited MyFaves & UMA WiFi calling partly because of people cheating the system with things like google voice except if you look the differential cost of unlimited vs the highest minute plan is only $20 for voice and if you compare the # of minutes included with MyFaves vs the new plans (or other cell companies) you will see TMo had compensated for that usage by giving a lot less minutes for a set amount per month. I’ve said it many times, that I think unlimited anything is ripe for abuse & is likely unfair to all but those who abuse it because of the possibility of disproportional use of service for the same flat rate per month and that the cell company takes into account the average usage of all users when determining price. In the end those who use very little are paying extra to cover those who use a ton. Anyway, yes for those who only talked to 5 people or those who used google voice to cheat TMo the MyFaves plans essentially gave unlimited calling for a lower price but in the end aside from a few combinations (like family plans with 3 or more lines especially when the people have a variety of voice/txt/data usage) the new plans are very fair & quite competitive. But I just wish the cell industry was going away from unlimited plans/features & instead gave us more reasonably priced options so we could choose the one that works best for us & not be forced to eat til we’re stuffed or pay extra for those who abuse the system.
caro crushed

I too am crushed over the new plan. More only means more money, for T-Mobile. Who wants more? I want less. Less minutes, better coverage and a better price. We just opted for the $10 home phone (not installed yet)because coverage here is so freakin spotty. No service at all at our home, and hardly any on the highway. Nationwide coverage????? I say FALSE ADVERTISING. Have called, but to no avail. Actually, T-Mobile’s answer was they didn’t have the money to put more towers up. Say that again…
Now I am faced with paying more for a inconvenient home phone and keep a cell plan that is history. Now we are unable to save money again cause can’t change our plan to less minutes.

Somehow T-Mo keeps taking more money out of our pockets. Promises, promises. I can’t wait til our contract is up.
- Bill48105
  
  Hey caro, not best solution but grab a UMA WiFi-calling enabled phone then you can at least use any available WiFi to make calls even if there is no TMo cell signal. Pretty sure all the crackberries support it along with 2009 Shadow II a nokia and a few Samsungs. Not best selection but hey solves your signal issue until TMo gets some more towers activated and doesn’t tie you down to your house. Granted it doesn’t help when driving but I’ve used it MANY times when visiting friends/relatives when there is no TMo signal and it is helpful inside very old buildings where the signal doesn’t penetrate. Anyway you can either pay the $9.99/m for unlimited wifi calling (ONLY available on old plans) or on any plan (even the new ones) you can use wifi calling for free (as in no additional charge) but it just uses your normal minutes as they would if you were on the cell tower. (As in m2m, n&w are still free)
  
  Btw, I’ve had TMo reps tell me that “at least you can call 911 on ATT’s signal if needed” when I complained about dead zones I drive through where ATT works. Almost laughable if it wasn’t so aggravating how seriously crappy TMo’s coverage is in so many places. That is why the Big 3 (Verizon, ATT, Sprint/Nextel) don’t even bother running ads against TMo & just each other, because they don’t take TMo seriously & put it with Cricket & MetroPCS. I’ve told TMo reps numerous times what I thought should be done to help TMo and I’ve stated things many times on this site so we’ll see what happens.
- Bill48105
  
  Ps. You can put your SIM in an @Home adapter (I bought the HiPort one for $8 shipped on ebay) when at home without paying the $10/month fee, it’ll just use your anytime minutes like normal & you would have anyway if you had a signal. Granted it’s a hassle to move your SIM between your cell & @Home adapter and adding a extra line for it costs $10/m anyway in which case you might as well get the unlimited calling with the official @Home service. I just figured I’d mention it in case you were super serious about saving money. Or maybe if the unlimited @Home line saves you a lot of minutes you might be able to drop your plan.. TMo reps will allow you to switch MyFaves plans when you’re grandfathered in, you just need to be persistent because it requires an override from the retention dept. Or maybe you’ll save enough minutes with @Home you can live without MyFaves & do an Even More Plus plan as long as you can stay under 1500 minutes per month without free MyFaves minutes since Plus monthly base is cheaper with more anytime minutes (again granted no free myfaves but they accounted for that in the old pricing & why the new 1500 minute plan is cheaper than the old 400 plan..) and add-a-lines are $5 on Plus vs $9.99 on MyFaves so in the end it could end up less. (For us *IF* we can stay under 1500 minutes we can save like $30/month but it’s scary to think if we go over we get raped on overage minutes) Where they get you is with add-a-lines if you end up going unlimited (which sounds like you wouldn’t do if you are wanting to save $) or with data/txt add-on’s because they ONLY have unlimited or rip-off per use now so people who don’t use enough to warrant unlimited get screwed OR if you are on a family plan with 3 or more lines & need more than 1500 minutes (especially after losing unlimited myfaves & wifi calling) but can’t justify going unlimited because the add-a-line rates are MUCH higher unless the line can live with a measly 200 minutes. Seriously confusing as hell & why I needed an excel spreadsheet to compare scenarios side by side! Anyhow, some food for thought.

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